Realistic or Modern the end of it all

[demonology]

​

Pondering the idea for a moment, Milo took another sip. He smacked his lips a little, just enjoying the taste. He hadn't really thought about the possibility of there being a way out of this country, muchless by boat. Therefore, he hadn't really pondered the zombie's weakness to water. Or perhaps strength. "I 'aven't really thought about it, to be fair. However, I imagine they need oxygen. Whatever is living inside of them, assumin' it's a virus since it usually takes people a while before they're infected, probably needs it." That was his guess, anyway. He wasn't very smart, admittedly, but Milo did excel in biology in middle school. He tried to remember some of that now.

"I think we could make it out by boat. I just don't know what's out there, ya know?" He mashed his lips to one side, trying to think. "We'd have to find a working boat. Then, we'd have to pack up enough supplies to survive the voyage. We could do it, though. We'd just need to do a lot of planning." Milo tried to have hope about such an idea. He liked the idea of finding a safe place to go. But what if everywhere else was just as bad? Maybe even worse? The idea of international enforcement coming to the UK to bomb the place is promising, but he didn't know where that enforcement came from.

It was then that he began to grow curious about the radio. "Would you like to go check it now? The radio, I mean." He smiled a little, picking up his mug. "You can take the mug and the bread with you. There's a comfy couch to sit on and a coffee table to set it all down on."

He grabbed his last section of bread, popping it in his mouth, before moving out of the kitchen and into the hall. The living room was decent-sized with two loveseats and a poofy couch. Sitting on the floor, Milo began to fiddle with the radio.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie nodded. She had most definitely thought about it. She had thought about every single possible plan to escape known to man, trying to figure out how the hell to get out. Constantly being on the run and having a plan as to where she was headed meant she was constantly thinking. Being alone only made it worse. She had never gotten her drivers license, but her friends had let her try driving a few times regardless. The only problem was that she had no idea how to hotwire a car, not even where to start, and she had trouble finding a car that actually had a set of keys. "I wish zombies came with a handbook." She mused.

"Yep let's go." She nodded as he began to stand up, carefully getting out of her seat before picking up her mug with one hand and the bread with the other. As she followed after him, she continued to nibble on her bread, satisfying her stomach. Nellie followed after the much taller male, and as they entered the quaint living room, she took a seat on the small twoseater. It was comfy, and she relaxed with her slim legs stretched out in front of her, watching the male working on the radio. She could only see half of his face, his side profile illuminated by the bright evening light of the window. She couldn't help but admire the human, making sure not to keep her eyes trained on him for too long or in an obvious manner that could make things awkward. Nellie was never like this around people her age, but being deprived of any social interaction and people did wonders to a person.

Nellie continued to sit there patiently and sip on her tea, quite close to finishing it. Once the mug was empty, she carefully set it down on the coffee table and finished off the last bit of bread she had left.

 

[demonology]

​

He chuckled at her little mumbling about needing a zombie handbook. He wanted one too, honestly. Milo hadn’t lived at home for two years now, but this whole zombie debacle made him miss his dad. He would’ve known what to do. He probably wasn’t alive anymore, but his dad grew up camping. Perhaps he had made it.

Milo plugged in the radio, mumbling about how it drains the generator to leave stuff plugged in. Then, he flipped the switch on, keeping one hand on the volume knob. Turning it up a few notches, he moved on to the tuning knob. It took him a few minutes, but Milo finally found a channel with a human voice on it.

“Attention all European citizens. Please avoid all urban areas until further notice, particularly any urban areas surrounding London, Paris, and Berlin. In the following areas, there will be U.S. military waiting for UK survivors: Brighton, Liverpool, Edinburg...” The voice of an American female went on, listing off more places that all were near water. She moved on to French and German cities. This was when Milo’s eyes glazed over, even as he took mental note of the potential places they could go. Brighton must not have been hit very bad, and it wasn’t too far off from the nearest city. He didn’t really want to go to Americans for help. They seemed suspect, intrinsically. However, it might be their only option. It was one of the few urban areas that hadn’t been burned yet. It was also a coastal area, letting them take to the boats.

Milo started to pay attention when the lady stopped listing off cities he could never reach. “There are rest-stops, monitored by soldiers, being set up along all major highways and roads. We can offer protection. The virus is contained in America. Help us contain it here.” That is when the audio began to repeat itself. The woman sounded earnest with that final sentence. It made Milo reconsider going to a sanctuary.

He turned the volume down, resting his back against the stereo. “Well then...” he mumbled. “What do you make of that?” He wanted to know how Nellie felt. She seemed to have more of an urge to leave here than he did. He didn’t blame her. Milo had been resting here for the past month, not really doing much. She’d been running for awhile. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to finally escape.

 

[amberskies]

The second the radio switched on and an American lady started speaking, Nellie's eyes immediately widened. She sat there completely still with one last bite of bread between her fingers, so focused on every word from the radio that she couldn't even bring herself to finish off he last bit of food. Her heart started beating a little fast, trying to figure out what could possibly be close to them. Quite frankly, she had absolutely no idea what city she was currently in since she had been wandering aimlessly for the last month. She could be up North, or down South, or East, or West. She had no clue whatsoever. Hearing the radio announcement almost felt unreal.

She was silent for a few moments once the message started repeating, trying to gather her thoughts. Did this mean that there was really a way out of here? "Bollocks, I thought i'd be stuck in this mess for the rest of my life.." She muttered quietly at first, her eyes focused on her grey trainers. They used to be white, but all that running didn't do them good. Nellie lifted her head up and finally looked at him, remaining silent for a few moments.

"As much as Americans worry me, I don't think there's another way out of this." She admitted. "She said it's in Europe. That means that even if we were to get a boat, it would be useless." Nellie then added. "What do you think?" She asked, wanting to hear his own opinion on the matter. She would much rather try and get out with the help of the Americans than stay here and accept the status quo. Nellie didn't even realise she had been holding in her breath; she finally released it, leaning back against the mini cough and dropping the last piece of bread in her mouth, watching Milo. So many things had unfolded today that it was almost a little bit overwhelming; first she found another human, then it seems there is news of possibly making it out. Was it too good to be true? Was it worth the risk?

"What city are we in anyway?" She then blurted out, wanting to be somewhat aware of their geographical position.

 

[demonology]

​

Milo sat and stared at Nellie for a moment. She was obviously taking a moment to process all this new information. He played with his belt loop, nervously fiddling with it. He didn't exactly know how to broach the subject. Instead, he let her take the reins. Milo was always comfortable with silence, and he thought that perhaps a moment of quiet was important after all that they found out.

Truth be told, Milo's mind was racing. He wanted to figure out what their next course of action should be. Part of him was trembling at the thought of leaving his uncle's house. He just wanted to pretend this wasn't happening to the world, muchless that there were Americans out there to save him. When have Americans done anything other than fuck over its people? Not that the UK was that much better, given the whole Margaret Thatcher thing, and don't get him started on good ole Boris. Moving on, he didn't like thinking about relying on the Americans. It made him jittery. Not that he was a conspiracy theorist. He just doesn't know what's to come of Americans saving them. "I'm fine with going to the Americans, I just don't want to rely on them. They're more of a last resort, currently."

He looked over at Nell though. He could tell there was a hint of hope in her eyes, even as she let out a deep breath. "But I'd be willing to get you there, scope out the place. I'm runnin' out of food anyway, so perhaps we could get some at those checkpoints they mentioned." He smiled and got up to sit across from Nellie in the loveseat closest to her.

It was then that she blurted out her question. Milo scoffed good-naturedly. "King's Somborne. It's about 100 miles away from Cardiff." He tried on a smile, even though his insides were turning themselves outward.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie nodded, obviously understanding the situation. Who knew, maybe those camps would end up getting overrun with zombies as well and they'd go back to being hopeless. A small smile spread onto her features as he mentioned that they could give it a try either way. Could her normal life be back sooner than she anticipated? Even if it meant starting fresh in a brand new country, since she doubted the situation in England would be resolved anytime soon. Her eyes followed him as he moved from the floor to the couch parallel to the one she was sitting on.

"It could be a backup plan, yes." She agreed, and upon hearing she was 100 miles away from home, her eyes widened. "100 miles?! Christ!" She told him with a slightly bewildered tone. It made sense though, considering she had been walking almost everyday for the past month in an attempt to loot as many places for food as possible. She didn't have a car at any point, but she was happy things turned out the way they did. If she hadn't come across this house today, she would have never found another human or even gotten the news that there is in fact a way out.

"Far from home, aren't I?" She mused. "What do you usually do here all day?" She asked curiously, wanting to hear more about him and his life. Did he have anything to do at all? Did he have chores? Some kind of entertainment? She had absolutely no clue. She would kill for some Netflix, but there was absolutely no way internet still worked. Most communications like phones seemed to be jammed.

 

[demonology]

​

He smiled at her upon hearing that she saw the sanctuary as more of a back up plan. Milo didn’t want to leave her, and he would’ve probably followed her to the Americans if she wanted. He gave a small chuckle at her surprise. “Yes, I suppose it’s a long way.” He drained the last of his tea

He hadn’t thought about how odd it was that Nellie had made it all the way here. It wasn’t that it was an impossible distance, just one he hadn’t imagined her traveling. “You must be a lucky charm, given you made it so far.” He hadn’t ventured very far from home because he knew how dangerous it could be.

It was hard to talk about what he did in a day. Milo’s existence was fairly boring. “Well, I usually make breakfast, do some reading, make the bed, listen to music, work around the property to try and safe guard it. Fortify the grounds, all that. Sometimes, when I go exploring and I find some extra gas, I’ll watch a movie before it gets too dark. Then I make dinner, drink some tea, and head to bed.” He paused and continued, “Oh and I kick zombie ass”

 

[amberskies]

Nellie let out a soft laugh upon hearing she was a lucky charm. It seemed counter-intuitive to her; the first 15 years of her life were rough, with her mother passing all of a sudden and her loving father becoming a monster. Perhaps it was her extreme pessimism and worry about every single detail that helped her survive for so long. Her friends always told her she thought about things way too much before committing to them, no matter how small the decision. She was always very prudent while on her own during the past month, even though she didn't have much hope that there was a way out. She wasn't sure why she kept going in the first place. She had never thought about why she kept surviving.

She listened carefully to what he did during the day, shifting a little so she sat with her legs crossed in front of her. "Wow," she murmured quietly, kind of jealous that she didn't think to just stay in the same house the entire time instead of constantly running around. Her life would have been way more peaceful, but at the same time, always being on the run kept her busy and stopped her from realising how lonely she truly was. But being within the same old walls, she was sure he had gotten bored on multiple occasions.

"And the zombies occasionally kick your ass." Nellie teased a tad bit, referring to the events that happened not long ago. "Music? Movies?" She asked curiously. She would occasionally hum songs to herself, but that was the closest thing she had to music. The only other thing that kept her entertained was the occasional comic book she would come across. Another guilty pleasure of hers was reading Goosebumps books. It was a ridiculously easy read, but for some reason she enjoyed it.

 

[demonology]

​

It was fun to joke with Nell. He liked that she teased him, especially because most people rarely did before. He always had this hard exterior that he used to protect himself. A facade, of sorts. Now, Milo was softer. His core was much more exposed. However, Nellie didn’t exploit that. Rather, she made him remember the beauty of human conversations. Thus, he laughed at her joke. “Yeah, I certainly know how to get my ass kicked.” Then, his shoulder throbbed and he got up to get some Advil.

First, Nellie asked about his music and his films. As he started walking towards the kitchen, he called back, “Oh yeah. I have a few DVDs and there’s a record player. It’s an antique so the needle doesn’t work very well. In fact, it scratches the records. It winds up though so it doesn’t use up any of the generator. It’s actually really nice.”

Picking up the bottle of Advil, Milo doled out two pills and swallowed them quickly. Filling up his cup with cold water, he walked back into the living room, setting his cup on the coffee table. It was covered in old comic books that Milo had bothered to bring with him. The vast majority of them were X-Men, but many of the rare ones that he had carefully put back in their plastic coverings were Spider-man ones. There were some of his more nerdy interests, but he didn’t expect having to hide them from a cute girl. Sheepishly, he put them into a pile, treating them like precious art. “Sorry,” he mumbled with pink cheeks.

Moving around the coffee table, he found himself in front of the record player. Picking up the record currently on the player, Rumors by Fleetwood Mac- Milo set it back down on the turntable. “It’s not like anyone is gonna be around to listen to it except us, so I don’t really care about keeping them in pristine condition.” He smiled sweetly, still a little pink in the cheeks. “I don’t know if you like Fleetwood Mac, but I’m a fan of Stevie so this is one of my favorites to play, even though my uncle owns London Calling by the Clash on vinyl.” He was a little sheepish about the music. He couldn’t really look Nell in the eye. Music was an important piece to the Milo puzzle, but something about his obsession with it didn’t make sense during the apocalypse. “We don’t have to listen to it, but it’s about to be dark soon so you’re welcome to pick more from the stack.”

There was a stack of records on the shelf by the fireplace. It was a whole mix of genres, with a lot of old classical titles and some musical soundtracks from the 1950s. There were also a few hippie staples, including stuffy by Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, The Doors, etc. Milo’s personal favorite section of the collection was the 80s-90s part. It had some Dead Kennedys and The Jam stuff. It was a pretty big array, given his uncle enjoyed collecting music.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie was happy her joke wasn't taken to heart. She couldn't help occasionally teasing people, but sometimes she had to be careful because some people wouldn't understand they were joking. She thought most people were a bit too sensitive for their own good. Something she did like about people was when they talked; she preferred listening rather than talking, getting to know someone by hearing them talk about their interests. The pink tint on his cheeks was slightly visible, and she quickly assumed it was because he did not want to be perceived as a nerd. Prior to the apocalypse, Nellie had never touched a single comic book; in the past month, she read a couple out of pure boredom. There was absolutely no way for her to pass the time, with all of the houses she had spent the night in not having working electricity. She chose not to comment on the comic books, not wanting to tease him too much.

Their music tastes seemed to be a little bit different, but Nellie was not about to complain considering she finally had access to real music that wasn't her own humming. "Play your favourite song for me." She told him, suddenly feeling the need to stretch her aching joints. Nellie extended her slim arms up into the air, simultaneously letting out a content sigh. The hem of her black jumper lifted up slightly, and she felt the cold air hit the small strip of exposed skin. She was as pale as a ghost. "I never thought i'd be so excited about listening to music." Nellie then admitted, placing her hands onto her crossed legs once more. Even though she wanted to give him the liberty of picking, she stood up and approached the stack of vinyls. They weren't neatly organised, but that only made it easier for Nellie to sift through them out of curiosity.

She wasn't surprised to find a record of Nirvana's album "Bleach", which happened to be among her favourites. She placed it back in the shelf but slightly to the side of the pile, that way she could keep track of it. She continued standing there quietly, the only noise coming from her being the shuffling of records.

 

[demonology]

​

Milo’s heart sang a little when she asked him to play her favorite song. Very little people let him indulge in his varied music tastes. Alejo used to make fun of him for being so all over the place, only letting Milo have aux when he had a new local band to show the group. They were bar lurkers, always hanging out with a bunch of old timers and kids in their 20s to keep up with the local scene. Milo’s favorite thing was discovering hidden gems, so he opted to put Rumors back in its case.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a peak of skin. It made his heart seize, seeing a strip of Nell’s pale stomach. It wasn’t that he had never seen a girl before, or that he inherently wanted to sexualize a girl he just met. He just didn’t expect it, and he didn’t know whether to avoid looking at her out of respect or to act like it didn’t happen. He was never quite sure what was an acceptable form of appreciating a woman’s body, so he opted to simply move towards the stack and ignore the idea that her incandescent skin looked soft and lovely.

Putting the album away, Milo picked up another. This was one from his own collection, which he had decided to keep amongst his uncle’s collection since he didn’t own a record player at home. It had cost him $30, though it probably would have cost more if the seller hadn’t been so stupid. Where You Been? by Dinosaur Jr. was his favorite album of all time. Though it wasn’t particularly punk, it had an edge to it he enjoyed. It was also one of those hidden gems he adored finding. “You might hate this, but it’s my favorite.” He smiled, putting the record on. The first song, “Start Choppin’” was his favorite, and as he started up the player, he resisted the urge to play air guitar.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nellie pick out a Nirvana album. It wasn’t his personal favorite, but he liked that they at least had some common ground. He’d hate to annoy her with his stupid shit. At least he could get an idea of what to play. “You can play that after, if you’d like.” He smiled. “What else do you like?”

 

[amberskies]

Nellie and her friends had practically the same music taste, meaning they never argued over who got to play music in the car. At least, Nellie didn't partake in those discussions. A small part of her was scared of showing people the less famous songs she enjoyed, worried they'd judge her music taste and label it as 'poor'. In the end, music was completely subjective anyway and one person's favourite song could be Nellie's least favourite.

There were only a few records that represented her music taste well enough, but then again it made sense considering she listened to more recent bands that may not be part of the collection. Maybe she wasn't looking well enough. As the music started playing in the living room and she found the taller male by her side, she looked over at him. Now he was definitely one for details. She simply responded with a smile, thankful that she didn't have to directly ask him. Nellie wasn't the greatest at being upfront about certain things, especially asking for favours, even if it was something as small as playing her favourite album.

"I really like Three Days Grace." She told him, continuing to sift through the records despite having a hard time finding her favourite artists. "Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin.." She continued. "But Three Days Grace is definitely my favourite." If she had to pick one artist to listen to for the rest of her life, it would definitely be Three Days Grace. It always reminded her of her friends, since they practically always blasted their songs, especially the song Running Away. Part of her hoped that if he did find a record of that group he wouldn't stumble into that song in particular, or she'd definitely get quite nostalgic of her friends whose fates were unknown.

"This song is sorta bangin' though," Nellie added as she paid attention to the background noise, her head ever so slightly bopping along to the beat of the music.

 

[demonology]

​

Milo recognized a few of the bands she listed off. He wasn't necessarily a huge fan of them, but he had a phase where Five Finger Death Punch and Three Days Grace was amongst the only bands he listened to. Those bands made sense given what little he was beginning to understand about Nell. "That's pretty cool. Solid choices," he said in a psuedo-macho voice. Milo liked playing at being a music asshole, especially when people assumed he was one since he talked a lot about stupid obscure shit.

"I'll keep my eye out for a Three Days Grace record if that exists." He laughed, though not in a mean way. He was more so laughing at his own stupidity. He didn't keep track of modern music as much as he should. When he did, it was for local bands and nerdy shit like King Gizzard. "If you want, we can go lootin' sometime soon. Tomorrow, even, if you would like. I'm low on some supplies." Milo hadn't left the farm in a few days. Given he was now injured, he didn't really want to go alone, and he needed gas.

The song ended, and Milo stopped the record player. He put Where You Been? in its case, placing it delicately on the shelf. Grabbing Bleach, he put it on. He began to turn the knob, realizing his shoulder began to hurt. He groaned for half a moment, trying to keep it quiet. He continued on, moving through the pain.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head softly at what he said. "How old are you anyway?" She asked curiously, wanting to figure out how close they were in terms of age. He definitely sounded like he was older than 18, but she still wanted to ask; there were instances where she thought someone had to be her age, mainly if they were really tall, but they'd turn out to be like 15 which was awkward.

"Yeah, tomorrow would be good. Not like there's much else to do." Nellie admitted. At least, she hadn't lived life through his perspective yet, so she had no idea what it was like to stay in one place rather than move around all the time. Maybe she'd end up finding lots of things to do, it would be nice to sit back and relax for once rather than constantly think of where to go next. "I'm low on food. I move from house to house and grab what I find. Sometimes they're empty, other times I hit the jackpot." She said, watching him fumble with the vinyl player. As "About a Girl" started playing, a smile quickly overtook Nellie's features. She absolutely loved that song, and to be able to finally hear it in its pure form rather than her own live version was far better.

"This has got to be one of my favourite songs by them," She admitted as she returned to the loveseat she had previously been sitting on, unaware of Milo and the pain that was throbbing his shoulder.

 

[demonology]

​

Milo went to go sit down on the couch, plopping his feet up on the coffee table. "I'm 20. You?" He was growing exhausted due to the day's events. It also didn't help that the Advil was the nighttime-kind. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to bop his feet to the music. It had been a while since Milo had listened to this album, and he forgot how much he enjoyed Kurt's crooning.

His eyes popped open though when Nellie discussed being low on food. "Well I can whip you up something, if you'd like. I have enough food to make chili. Though, it doesn't have meat in it, for obvious reasons." He smiled, though it was a bit sad. He missed chili with sausage in it. "I can even find some powdered eggs and make cornbread."

Milo was not a chef, in the slightest, but he was the only one at his dad's who knew how to cook. He could follow a recipe pretty easily, and even knew some off the top of his head. For example, he could make a mean snickerdoodle. Though he liked to flex his cooking skills, he doubt he'd find the extra sugar to make some for Nell. Lost in thoughts of snickerdoodles, chocolate chips, and candy, he didn't hear her at first when she mentioned that the song playing was her favorite. Snapping out of it, Milo looked over at her, "Personally, I'm a fan of Floyd the Barber." However, he added, "About a Girl is also a banger though."

 

[amberskies]

Twenty, he did appear of that age. That made her feel a little better for some reason. "18." She told him. Maybe she expected him to be a tiny bit older, just because of his height.

Hearing that he could cook made her mouth almost start watering. She was living off of canned and packaged food, and though it resembled her diet prior to the apocalypse, she still needed the occasional fresh produce and home-cooked meal. She could especially remember her aunt's sponge cake which she'd always eat with nutella spread atop a slice. Boy how she missed nutella. If she saw a jar, she'd probably get through the entire thing with a spoon. "Oh are you sure? Your shoulder doesn't seem to be doing too good." She told him, not wanting for him to get up and do a whole task just for her. Nellie could not deny, though, she would eventually have to try some of his cooking.

"Every Nirvana song is a bop, to be fair." Nellie concluded. Though she had a few that were lower on her list of favourite songs, she couldn't think of one that she absolutely disliked. Then again, there were few songs she genuinely disliked. She almost forgot they were in the middle of an apocalypse until an audible groan from outside caught her attention. She immediately stiffened in her seat, instinctively placing her hand on the small dagger that was sheathed and attached to her belt. She quickly removed her hand upon realising that they were inside a house, meaning she had absolutely no reason to worry that much.

 

[demonology]

​

Her age was unsurprising, given how tiny she was, so he merely nodded. Physically, she reminded him of Piper, who was only 19 when she passed. His throat thickened at the thought of Piper. The guilt weighed on him still, weeks later. Milo didn’t think he’d ever get over her death.

He tried moving on, sitting up on the couch instead of sitting back. His tailbone sat on the wooden frame. “It’s no trouble, really.” He tried to bring some brightness into his eyes, though he likely failed. “It’s not that bad, plus I need somethin’ to think about other than the bullshit in my head. Ya know?”

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Piper. Therefore, Milo began staring off at the fire place, intent on not going down that mental path. He’d spent so much time by himself, trapped with the images of what happened on the trip up to the farm. He was barely sleeping, making the loneliness so much worse. Now, Nellie was here, and he didn’t want to let his pesky brain ruin things.

Milo saw Nell flinch toward her knife. On instinct, he put his hand on the one on the dagger. Realizing what he did, he pulled his hand back just as she did. “It’s all okay. If they get too close, the bell in the kitchen will ring.”

That’s what Milo got up, cheeks burning from the touch. He was a naturally affectionate person, often known for his hugs. However, given that they had just met, he felt like a creep. Why would his brain think that she’d appreciate a comforting touch from the random guy she met in the middle of the woods during the apocalypse? Milo began internally scolding himself. “I’ll go start dinner, okay?” He smiled, trying to push himself through the awkwardness he felt. “Would you mind turning that down? It’s probably why you’re hearing growling.”

 

[amberskies]

The apocalypse forced Nellie, and pretty much everyone, to sleep with one eye open. Well, not quite literally, but if the female heard a single off putting noise in the night, she would instantly wake. It didn't help that her past made her hyper aware when it came to any noise, always dreading the moment she'd hear the front door creak open and the cap of a Whiskey bottle falling to the ground, signalling her father's return. At the time, there wasn't much she could really do but mentally brace in case her father chose to take out any frustration from the day onto her.

Upon hearing the sound, her head snapped in the direction of the nearest window, though as she felt something on her right hand, she flinched a little and looked at Milo. There was no decipherable expression on her face, as she didn't have enough time to process the situation between his hand moving onto hers, and Milo getting up. Though his hand was gone, it felt as though his touch was lingering upon the top of her hand. Her eyes followed the man as he stepped away from her, and she was quiet for a moment. She chose to not say anything about what had just happened, figuring it shouldn't have been a huge deal anyway.

"Sorry. Instinct." She admitted with a tiny smile. Her shoulders dropped, indicating that she finally relaxed a little upon realising that there was no imminent threat. She nodded, and approached the vinyl player. Quite frankly, she had absolutely no clue how to reduce the volume. Her eyes somewhat frantically scanned every inch of it in an attempt to find it, but she realised that she'd have to suck it up and ask Milo for help.

"Right, so.. how do you reduce the volume?" She asked a little sheepishly, moving so that she was facing him with her hands clasped in front of her, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her jumper.

 

[demonology]

​

Milo had his back turned when she asked him about the record play. He instantly felt a like a dick for assuming she'd know how to, especially because he hated asking for help. "Of course, silly me." He turned around and crossed the room in only a few strides. Finding the volume knob on the opposite side of the power knob, he explained, "It's really easy. Here's the knob, and you turn it towards the back of the player to turn it down."

After showing Nellie how to alter the volume, Milo proceeded to the kitchen and began banging around in the kitchen. He tried not to think about Piper or Alejo or anyone else he was currently missing. Having another human made him miss the ones he knew before the apocalypse. Instead of dwelling, Milo got out the powdered eggs, spices, and grown veggies. He set to cutting up the veggies. In no time, chili would be done.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie felt a little silly, not knowing how to turn down the volume on the thing. To be fair, she had never used one before in her life, since she usually relied on the half-broken, somewhat shitty radio sitting in her room. Otherwise, she'd blast music through her headphones to ensure she would not be annoying her aunt and uncle. She stood there, feeling a tad embarrassed as he instructed her on how to turn down the volume. "Got it," She told him in a bit of a mumble, comprehending everything he had told her. She did as he explained, turning the knob away from her a little bit. She adjusted it until she felt as though it was quiet enough but still audible.

At first she was sitting on the loveseat, simply enjoying the calm atmosphere with the music. Then, she realised she would rather spend time with the human that she had met today. Having her alone time was nice, since Nellie was a little introverted, but she had spent far too much time in solitude. So, she forced herself off of the couch before silently stepping toward the kitchen, her footsteps light as a ghost.

"Need any help?" She asked him, half of her body peeking from behind the door frame.

 

[demonology]

Milo had already started cutting the onions he grabbed from the garden. He smiled at Nell's voice. "You can help me with cutting up the veggie" He stopped cutting and grabbed another cutting board. He washed off another knife, setting it and the board down on the counter next to the sink. "I'm working on the onions right now, but you can cut the tomatoes."

He was having fun, cooking with someone else for once. "Did you cook much back before this shit-storm hit?" Milo wasn't good at talking, but he couldn't help but want to know more about Nellie. They were going to be spending all this time together, and he wanted to know the person he was going to trust with a lot more than what he was used to.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie approached the small countertop by the sink, and proceeded to pick up the knife. Quite frankly, she was not a good cook. Maybe she had it in her, who knew, but she never gave it a try. Her aunt did most of the cooking at home, and would always fill Nellie up with plenty of treats. Her aunt was part Italian, and had lived there for the first years of her life, so she knew her way with food.

"If occasionally stirring the pot counts as cooking, then yes i'm a chef." She told him, making it quite clear that she knew near nothing about cooking. The apocalypse didn't give her a chance to hone her skills either because her constant migration meant she heavily relied on cans, and cans, and cans of food.

She took a hold of the tomatoes sitting by Milo's cutting board, reaching over him to grab them. She muttered a quick sorry as she proceeded to set the tomato in front of her, holding it steadily before carefully slicing down on the vegetable. The knife was a tad dull, but otherwise it seemed to do the job.

 

[demonology]

Laughing quietly at her joke, Milo tipped the cutting board up and used his knife to push all the little bites of vegetables into the pot. He moved to the pantry, grabbing a canister of beef broth. He poured the whole thing into the pot, knowing there was no purpose to save any of it, given he didn’t want to drain the generator by using the fridge. Besides, he could keep the chili in the oven and it might stay for a day or two, given there was nothing raw in it. “Well you’re in luck because I’m gonna need someone to stir this pot in a minute,” he quipped. He needed someone to monitor the pot while he worked on chopping the potatoes and frying them up in the spices. He liked to use them as a meat subsitute, even though it was not the same at all.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a great cook either, but I’ve had to learn over the years.” He paused, aware that this was the first time he had a real conversation in weeks. It made him get an out of body sense of himself. “My dad and mom got divorced, and ya know. Middle age male divorcees kind of don’t know a pot from a pan, so we’d eat out a lot. My mom taught me a few things before she cut ties, so I kinda just learned from there.” He smiled, stirring in his veggies and keeping the temp low until Nell was done chopping the tomatoes. He did reach around her and grab some cumin and chili powder, along with other spices. “I like my chili full of flavor and spice, so I hope that doesn’t bother you,” he smiled.

 

[amberskies]

Nellie let out a small laugh, and after finally managing to cut up all of the tomatoes without injuring herself, she stood there quietly and watched him begin to cook the potatoes in a pan of oil. It was still early on in the cooking, but the fragrances making their way toward Nellie's nostrils were incredible. The last home-cooked meal she experienced was her aunt's carbonara, which was one of her favourite dishes. Remembering home-cooked meals only made her stomach knot up with worry filling her, concerned for the well-being of her aunt and uncle. Was there any possibility that they were still alive? She had a gut feeling that they were long gone, but she never properly mourned anything. Maybe deep inside she was still hopeful that they had made it somewhere.

Their conversation about their families only made her think more of her family. Nellie knew nothing of the whereabouts of her father, since it was a few years since she had last heard from him. Her aunt did everything to make sure her father could no longer come into contact with any of them, since her entire family quite literally feared for their life because of him, especially Nellie who was forcibly taken out of his house. Despite the thoughts swirling around in her head, she focused on what he was saying, noting how he was opening up about her family. Nellie quickly contemplated whether she would bring up her private life, and whether he would notice that she would only end up talking about her aunt and uncle. Her family life was something she never delved into with others unless she really trusted them, and at the moment, she was quite far from that stage with Milo.

"Oh thats shit. Sorry about your family situation." She said at first. Nellie may be a good listener, but sometimes she struggled with coming up with empathetic answers. She couldn't help it, she was more of a person someone could spill their life into but not expect a perfect and well-thought out response from. "Smells great though. I love spices, I can't eat without 'em." She admitted. Nellie grew up eating spiced and spicy food, and quite honestly could not palate half of Britain's bland cuisine.

 

[demonology]

Milo smiled. "Good, I'll be sure to not hold back." He noticed her response to his story. He wasn't surprised that she didn't open up in response, but he found her casual response endearing. It wasn't that tragic, but Nell apologized anyways. "Eh, it's no biggie. Divorce is hella common, so it's no surprise." He smiled casually, though it had a hint of sadness.

Sprinkling in some more spices, he let the potatoes cook until they had a skin. Turning off the heat, he slid them into the pot. Taking Nellie's tomatoes, he placed them in the pot and added a hint of more broth. He let the pot come to a boil before adding a few pieces of beef jerky. Stirring thoroughly, he put the lid on the pot and turned the heat down a touch. "I'm gonna let some of the broth cook off before we eat." Popping into a seat at the table, he used his foot to pop out the seat next to him. "Not to mention the smell is delightful and it'll fill the house up."

Sitting back, Milo twiddled with his thumbs. Restless, he got up and grabbed the piece of wood sitting atop the fridge. It was vaguely in the shape of a dragon/serpent figure. Only Milo knew what it was, and he was hating the results of his weeks of wood whittling. Popping back in the seat, he stuck his feet out and began working at the figure. "You got any hobbies ? Or were you a 'sit and watch TV' person before?"