The World's End

[furo]

“It’s no problem, Jessica is a very good girl,” Hazel replied, glancing back at the girl huddling up in the backseat with her brother with a tender smile. Her countenance withered down as she formulated her next statement. She cleared her throat lightly and shifted comfortlessly on her seat, “Richard…” Her look sunk at her lap, “I’ll be honest with you, and believe me this is only for your own safety, and for the kids… If you come in with me to the reformatory, in the best of cases, you will be interrogated and processed, for having it look like you’d been holding me captive, and the children will most likely be taken away from you. What is more likely to happen, however, and it pains me that it is so, is that as soon as you step off the car… you’ll be straight-up shot. The children will still be taken away. The only reason why I want you to stay in cover is so you stay safe. It… upsets me that I’m not lying to you. It’s sad that this is so true.” There was a pause. She swallowed, then turned to stare out of the window car. “I’ve seen it.”


Hazel’s fingers twiddled with her narcolepsy chain, pondering whether she should inform Richard about her condition. There wasn’t even much to think about –he ought to know that if she swoons out out of the blue, it wasn’t uncommon.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. Okay, could we at least do this...? If you head inside and tell them that I was the one who saved you from captivity, they could come and talk, and then once I've proven that I'm an alright kind of guy, they could let me in? I mean, if it's too dangerous for us to drive right through the gate, wouldn't that work better?" He asked, the kids in the back instantly looked scared.


".. I don't want Richard to get shot..." George whimpered quietly, his eyes wide. He'd seen things get shot before, and they didn't get back up after it happened. He didn't want his one and only savior to be shot down.


".. Is--.. that not a possibility?" He asked, seeming a little phased and suddenly very skeptical of the whole idea. ".. I hope you realize that this has put a... a weight on things, in my mind." He said, tapping his fingers gently on the driver's wheel.


".. I don't wanna'be taken away..." Jessica blurted, and then both she and George promptly burst out into tears. Richard sighed and rolled his eyes as the two young children in the back hugged each other as tight as they could. He didn't know how he was going to deal with that.

 

[furo]

“None of you is going to be taken away,” Hazel stated firmly yet delicately, turning back to the apprehended twins on the backseat. Her look was reassuring of her statement. She fixed her look back on Richard with the corner of her eyes, quite intensely, and said “As long as Richard understands what I’ve said.” Her head turned fully towards him now, even if he was fixated up ahead on the road. She was muttering now, “There is nothing for you there. I told you I only need to check back in and get my stuff, then we’re off to wherever you want to;” Hazel was speaking nearly in an austere way. Richard’s stubbornness was beginning to frustrate her, but she didn’t let it get the best of her and show on the outer layer. It also scared her –it scared her that his obstinacy would be enticing ulterior purposes he may have in mind.


Her nerved fingers dug onto the denim of her jeans. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear a response from him.

 

[DrTrollinski]

He looked more upset than anything. Something came to his eyes. It was a mix of sadness and a mix of some sort of unknown emotion. He felt strange. He felt like he could burst out into tears but also completely flip out - he hadn't felt like that for a long time now.


"Oh, those sons of bitches..." He murmured, shaking his head slowly. He truly did look upset. "Those sons of bitches." He said again. "The world's got no one left, and we've got a bunch of ungrateful sacks of shit thinking they own the world, taking things that mean something to people away, and shooting every Tom, Dick, and Harry that shows up at their gate." He shook his head again, his voice gradually getting weaker.


"The sons of bitches." He said as he punched the driver's wheel and set the horn off for half a second, the tears finally breaking out and going down his cheeks. "Jesus Christ..." He sniffled. "A civilised girl like you doesn't deserve to be witnessing murder like that." He added, his lips quivering. He felt dreadful. "This world truly is a shitty place, it always has been, even before this all happened... And it was all because of shitty people." He blinked away the tears as quick as he could and kept his eyes on the road, but was speeding up without really realising.


"I'll wait a distance away." He choked in a whimper. His eyes didn't move away from the road. He was going back to that dark place where he was losing faith in life again, and it was all so sudden.

 

[furo]

Hazel twiddled with her fingers, frowning slightly and staring elsewhere, growing to feel blameworthy. It wasn’t a few minutes later that she spoke up.


“I’m… I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to do when somebody cries. Hell, I don’t even what to do when I cry myself –I don’t remember the last time I did…” Her voice was low and powerless. She felt guilty for having induced such strong feelings from someone who seemed rather mild-mannered and emotionally stable, and quite useless for not being able to provide him any solace.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Ain't your fault that the world's full of murderers." He sniffed and then shook his head, quickly wiping his eyes with one hand. The kids were still crying, but he'd deal with that. ".. You ain't a bad girl, Hazel. You ain't got nothin' to apologize for, I promise." He gave a weak and sad smile as he took his eyes off of the road to look at her for a second, and then looked back. "You're not one of them shitty people I was talking about, alright?" He took one hand off of the wheel and patted her on the shoulder, and then looked into the back via the rear-view mirror and sighed. He sniffled again before speaking. "Come on, kids... It's okay... I won't let you get taken away, and Hazel won't, either... We'll wait outside somewhere, and when Hazel gets back, we'll go on a road-trip together. How's that sound?" He asked.


Both George and Jessica looked up from hugging and sobbing to each other and wiped their eyes, simply nodding.


"Uh-huh..." George whimpered. He sounded like he was agreeing, but he was truly saying 'that sounds okay', but in more of a four-year-oldish way. Richard was quick to get at least somewhat close to the reformatory. When he actually did arrive there, he gently eased the car to a halt and then flicked the engine off, looking across at Hazel.


".. So, I'll see you back here in a short while? We're about a block away from there, just tell me if I need to go another block down and you'll know where to find me." He said, he paused for a moment and then sighed. ".. How long do you think you'll be? I have a bit of a phobia of waiting in one place for too long." He said. God, the memories he had of incidents caused by that.

 

[furo]

Hazel’s eyes were fixed to the environs settled around the vehicle. She became acquainted. Somewhat sadly, she felt back home –everything she knew. Hazel sat there, silently, watching the rain tumble down upon the cluster of walls and mediocrity that became the only place she’d keep coming back to, and the place she’d be lost without.


A quiet sigh escaped her nostrils; her eyelids were weighed down halfway, staring expectantly, as if she were waiting for it to explode, and a blast of flames and cinders would settle her fate and end with the mundane monotony. She hoped it wouldn’t, though –there were people she’d miss too much, unfortunately.


“Won’t take longer than twenty minutes or so,” She said, her voice remained subtle and carefully blunt. Hazel didn’t feel she owed even a last glimpse before she opened the car door and stepped out, slinging the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. Her footsteps made no sound, like the tread she left on the dirt meant nothing. Muted screaming.


Hazel felt as if her feet were effortlessly hovering above the ground, dragging her towards the main gates, due to how accustomed she was with this ritual.


Returning from a furlough: The chubby guard clad in blue uniform (nametagged as ‘Rivers’) would be awaiting in the small tottered booth beside the big gates, below a widespread white sign which read “Underage Educational & Disciplinary Reformatory of Memphis” in capital bold letters, peppered with several bullet holes –scars from riots in past years. She’d have to give her name and her inmate digits, ‘447-17’ from Battalion #4. This time the Rivers guy gave her a disapproving face due to the suspicious delay. Yes, they both knew it was damn suspicious.


Checking in was the easiest part though, even in the middle of the night. She was lucky there wasn’t anybody around past midnight, save for sergeants or lieutenants on night-shift sentry duty. If she won the lottery, it’d be who she was “subconsciously” desirous to see. Sneaking into the military quarters was the tricky game. Sweaty palms and trembling knees all the time, freaking out over the slightest noise of her boot against a grumpy stone.


No bonfire tonight, jackpot. Hazel didn’t hesitate to scurry her way straight to the lieutenants’ barracks, noiseless as a scampering rodent. Peeping her head through a window frame, she found the subject in question right where he always was. Thank goodness his bed was the closest one to the window, and the windows, by the way, where glassless. ‘Murica.


“Lieutenant Jeffers,” Hazel whispered, striving for it to be as quietly as possible, but audible for an individual slumbering. She had to repeat it only a few times –no more than three or four. Lt. Jeffers bolted upright from the bed, his beady eyes slitting wide open at the sight of the young girl. He was befuddled.


“H-Hazel! What are you doing here?!” He yell-whispered, furrowing his brow deeply as he shifted in his bed to be looking at her directly. He glimpsed frantically at the First Lieutenant who mumbled in his sleep and tossed on the bed, afraid he’d awaken.


“I need your help,” She muttered, unintentionally using her helpless tone that induced such heartbreak in Shiloh Jeffers. Her fingers clutched the window frame, and in her eyes gleamed the reflection of the moonlight sewn into the clear night sky.


“At this time? C-can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Shiloh was genuinely confused –Hazel wasn’t one to ask anything of him, despite his constant persistence that he would do anything she needed. Hazel’s pleading eyes simply got through him.


“I-I’m really sorry, but it can only be now,” Hazel’s voice reassured him she was being very earnest, and given the occasion, truthful.

 

[DrTrollinski]

After only a few minutes he started to feel nervous. No. He couldn't stay in this car for any longer - there was a small apartment complex beside them. That'd be better than nothing, and safer, too. He sighed and then looked into the back at the sniffling children, and then took a deep breath. The air was warm, but full of dust - this old car had never seen the action of four people before, so it'd be nice to get out of it and let it air out for a while.


"Hey, kids... I want to head inside that building there, okay?" He said. "You two are coming, of course."


"Okay, Richard..." Jessica sniffled and slowly reached over, opening the door closest to the sidewalk. George hopped out, and then she did, and then Richard quickly followed after them, leaving only one window slightly down so that the dust could escape. He pulled out all of his guns from the back and slung them over his shoulders, just in case someone decided they wanted to raid the car. He took his crossbow out and held that at the ready as he and the kids approached the door - The crossbow was for his silent jobs. Plenty of bolts, power, and a mobile weapon if he needed to crack some skulls.


"You two stay right behind me and tell me if you see anything." He muttered as he creaked the door open and peeked inside. There was a breeze in here, so a window must have been open. He was sad that he wasn't in one of the safe-zones. Hell, he didn't even think their was a safe-zone in this State. Reformatories didn't count as safe zones, they counted as settlements. There was no sense of Government over the country aside from the top, TOP places. Richard knew most of them, and he'd visited them, too. Worked there as a therapist for a short while, but he didn't like doing that job that much, especially now. The best places he knew were up in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Virginia. There were other places, but not quite as fancy. He wanted to visit the place in Wisconsin again - he remembered being up there twenty years ago and meeting everyone there. There was a little five-year-old boy there, Carl, his name was. He wasn't so little anymore - Last he remembered, he was expecting a child of his own. He was a sweet kid back then, though. He'd love to check in on them again. Hell, Hazel said it was his choice after this - Maybe they'd go up there?


He walked into the house and then looked around, ushering the kids behind him, but also making sure they were close to the door in case they needed to run. He reached out and knocked on the wall with a closed fist, instantly hearing some shuffling upstairs. He looked up towards the stairwell, only to see a walker tumble down them. The kids both gasped and gripped his legs, but this was going to be easy to deal with. One flick up of the crossbow, and boom. Headshot. He gave a loud whistle and then listened out - he heard echoing of groans way way up in the apartment complex (even though they were only five floors), so anything that tried to get down here was going to kill itself by falling down the stairs before they could do any harm to the three, anyway. He lead the kids into one property and then looked at the front - it was a living room with a boarded up bay window, so not only were they out of sight, but they could see through the cracks if they really needed to. That'd be helpful for whenever Hazel got back.


He watched George and Jessica hop up onto the couch opposite the armchair that he'd placed himself in. His chair was in clear sight of the window, so he could keep a lookout for when Hazel returned from the reformatory. He looked at the two kids for a moment and noticed that they both seemed very down - this worried him. He looked over them both for a few moments and then spoke up.


".. You okay, kids...?" He asked.


".. We miss our mommy and daddy." George choked. Richard sighed and then nodded backwards.


"Come over here, you two." He said, they both hopped up and went over to him, nonchalantly climbing up onto his lap and snuggling up close to either side of him. Wow. Richard hadn't had someone do that in a long time - It was a nice but also quite an intrusive feeling. He wasn't used to it. ".. I miss my mommy and daddy, too... I miss my sister most, though... She died a long time ago, before you two were even born." He explained, gently rubbing either of their backs.


"How did she die?" Jessica asked mindlessly, looking up at him a little. Richard sighed as he recalled that fateful night. God, it was something he hoped he'd never have to think about, let alone see, again.


"One of those monsters killed her..." He took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment. It all came back to him. The torn throat, the blood, the depression, the alcohol, the loneliness. ".. You see, kids... At some point... Everyone dies, they pass away, but it's not for any reason... What happened to your parents?" He asked.


".. They--.. They locked us in the car and made all the monsters chase them..." George whimpered. Oh god, what if their parents were alive?


".. You see? They probably gave themselves up so that you two could be safe. So... So that I could find you. And help you out." He smiled. ".. Then we found Hazel, rescued her... And now we're all gonna' be travelling together. Won't that be cool?" He said, a little enthusiastically. He knew what they needed as soon as it happened - that was a good cry. They both started sobbing. They'd built up so much emotion, and now they turned to the one parental figure they had and started to let it all out. Richard just stayed silent and gently hushed them, but continued to hug them and rub their backs. Hopefully he could calm them down before Hazel got back.

 

[furo]

Lieutenant Jeffers’ attention was caught up in something else, however: “Aren-aren’t you on your furlough? I thought you had two days,” Yes, and he was missing her already. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his fists with a brief yawn.


“Yes, I came back already –it ended today. Are you… are you going to help me? I swear this is going to be the only time –I swear.” She seemed in a hurry, as if hustling him with her huffing. Shiloh could tell her despair was genuine, crawling underneath her skin. There was silent staring, but no pondering.


“Yeah –uh… of course, yes. Tell me what you need,” Lt. Jeffers reassures, discombobulated still, as he –cautiously –climbed out of the bed to step into his pants and boots. Hazel halted him briskly before he snuck out the door, and told him “It’s cold outside, put on a coat.” It was true, even if it wasn’t freezing, it was chilly enough to stop oneself from walking around in boots n’ utes. There was only an imperceptible smile to himself at her youthful concern as he followed her imperative suggestion.


Presently, after scurrying quietly among barracks and sound asleep hallways, they arrived at the fourth wing of aisle 1. Hazel was made to hush and hide behind a wall, while Lieutenant Jeffers did his job. “I’ll take it from ‘ere,” He said to the Third Lieutenant McCallister, who had been in sentry duty in said wing for the past four or three hours at most. Shiloh sauntered over and gave him a gruff clutch in the soldier as he sighed in relief and, after thanking him, receded to the quarters.


Hazel could now head towards her door smoothly, resuming her stealth mode as she entered her dormitory. Her roommate (Abby) was a deep-sleeper, she knew. The brunette was able to quickly gather belongings she considered desirable, such as books (many books), clothes, meds, and silly knickknacks she’d grown attached to.


Example of a knickknack Hazel has grown attached to: an adorable pet owl plushie, whom she’d named ‘Edward’.


Hazel loved owls. Eyes full of wisdom; wings perched with secrets.


Having to leave such majestic instrument back was like ripping her heart out of her mouth. She had to, though –it was too big. The most painful thing was the uncertainty of whether she would ever see it again.


Hazel knew she couldn’t make Shiloh wait, or most importantly, Richard and the kids.


The door was slid ajar, and she squeezed through noiselessly after paying the room a last nostalgic and affectionate peer, blowing an imaginary kiss. Hazel was greeted by a fuddled scowl of the butterbar.


“What are you… –What’s that for?” Shiloh was puzzled, and admittedly frantic. The rucksack clinging expectant from her shoulder gave away a message he didn’t want to see. Hazel, however, hustled him, and told him he’d explain later. Less than ten minutes had passed, but she still felt they needed to hurry. Befuddled still, Lieutenant Jeffers escorted the inmate back out, but diverted their path towards an inconspicuous spot beside the training grounds. A kerosene lantern was lit up and poised over a moderately tall tree stump.


“Tell me what this is all about,” Shiloh’s tone matched his beady eyes, dismal yet imperative. He knew what was to come, but there were last scraps of hope that it didn’t necessarily be what he was expecting.


“No, I’m…” Hazel wavered; she hesitated. She swallowed noiselessly and puckered up her flannel sleeves. The backpack was set down at her feet. “I’m leaving.” Her eyes were casted elsewhere; she couldn’t bring herself to look into his bereaved soul windows.

 

[furo]

“Leaving? You mean the reformatory?”


“Yes.”


“Wha-why? You can’t do that,” He attempted to coat his disappointment with peremptory authority.


“I have to, Shiloh. I need to go look for my drawer,” Hazel was determined as she spoke, and her words had a heavy weight on her mouth. However, to Jeffers, they were like a broken record –something he didn’t have faith in. It wasn’t any of his concern, but he didn’t deem it worthy to risk her life in such speculation. With an exasperated sigh, his hand clasped his forehead, “Again with that? You really ain’t stopping, are you? Hazel, God…” The sleep still clung to his eyes. He wished he could go back to bed, knowing Hazel had changed her mind once and for all and left things as they were. Shiloh thought, to some extent, she’d come to her senses and her devotion would die down eventually.


“Please don’t be like this...” The girl pleaded; her hand looked for his in a subtle attempt to regain his regard, as if she’d ever lost it. Her hand was evaded. Hazel was stared at with flaming daggers, but the fire quickly sputtered out as his eyes caught sight of the bracelet of bruises in her wrist. Now it was he who reached out to grab her hand, but she snatched it away. Shiloh’s rejected grasp knelt down before the inmate.


It remained a mystery how a bond between an inmate and a lieutenant. The lieutenant delivers commands – the inmate obeys. Now tables had somehow turned. The lieutenant’s emotions had taken the wheel and were being safely kept tucked into the inmate’s hand. Lieutenant Shiloh Jeffers was extremely sensitive (love-wise), and only Hazel Royce’s smooth palm was safe enough to give shelter to his feelings; someone else’s would get them scraped with rugged walls.


“What happened to you?” He asked, but she remained silent, diverting her eyes bashfully, like an infant who cannot bear to look at his parents in the eye and confess his innocent misdeeds. The hems of her sleeves were tugged down, concealing the bangle of bruises strewn across her wrist. “Hazel, tell me,” Shiloh strived to lock his eyes with his own, catching her jaw in his grasp, and his voice grew imperative.


“I–… I went to the mall to get some supplies and this couple of assholes got me. I swooned out and when I woke up I was cuffed to a pipe in an underground room,” She explained. There was a pause for the processing of information.


“Oh my god…” Crept out inconsolably of his mouth as a whisper, “But how’d you…?”


“A man rescued me today afternoon. I didn’t know how long I’d been there ‘cause I feel asleep many times –I lost count of ‘em. They took… they took everything from my bag…” But Hazel’s storytelling was interrupted by the young lieutenant’s arms enclosing around her in a tight embrace and his head digging desperately into her neck.


“Oh, god… babygirl… I can’t believe–…” His breath was agitated, hitting against Hazel’s stunned skin. He could not formulate any further words, thus he only opted for hugging her tighter, and seek for solace in her warmth. Hesitantly, Shiloh was corresponded with clinging fragile hands on his shoulder blades.


“Shhh… it’s okay…” Hazel hushed him soothingly in whispers, “I’m fine.” Their foreheads were pressed together.


“If I ever find those motherfuckers, I swear to fucking Christ…” Shiloh snarled, struggling to keep himself from clenching his eyes shut, calmly weighing his eyelids down.


“Okay, okay, settle down…” Her hands cupped his cheeks gently, “They were just a bunch of junkies who’d asked me to smuggle in some hooch but I—”


“Wha—wait, what, do you mean those kids are from here? For fuck’s sakes, God mercy their souls –those sons o’ bitches are gettin’ the beatin’ of their life,” He got his engines blustering in less than several short seconds of realization.


Hazel bit onto her lip and casted her eyes to the ground with a dry titter. “It’s alright, Shiloh. Leave them alone, you don’t have to do that. It’s no big deal –really…” She was interrupted, though, by a snort of resignation and the furrow of a brow. After several moments of silence, except for sputtering flame of the kerosene lantern, the lieutenant’s hand carefully looked out for hers, his fingers sneaking into her sleeve. She allowed him to examine her bare forearm; his fingertips traced the bruises delicately as he peered down at them.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Richard heard something. Something loud. He didn't know how far down the street it was, but it was something he hadn't heard for at least twenty odd years, and even back then, he'd only heard it on the TV. Both the kids suddenly looked mortified and they both squeezed Richard as tight as they could, whimpering and quivering like puppies on the night of The Fourth of July. They looked a whole lot more panicked than Richard did - This noise was rumbling through the neighborhood, and as soon as he heard it, he knew exactly what it was.


Tonight was going to be messy.


"Shh, sh, sh." Richard hushed them, a little coldly, but then took off his jacket and wrapped it around the two of them. He ran up to the window and darted his eyes around through the crack between the wooden boards that were blocking them. Thank god the windows were fortified. If they weren't, he and the kids would have been dead by now. He saw them. They were circling a block that was only another block down from where he was. They were tanks - there were only two, but in this day and age, two tanks could take down half the fucking country. It was... It was an unreal sight to see. He'd hoped that the tanks were just rumors to keep everyone on their toes, but from his angle, it certainly didn't look like it. He had to stick by the window, knowing that Hazel could come back at any moment. It was important that she didn't get killed in the brink of all this.


".. Come on, Hazel..." Richard muttered, anxiously tapping his foot on the ground. He had a horrible feeling that they were going to attack the reformatory, but he couldn't be sure. He didn't want that to be the case, but right now, seeing as they were so close, that may just happen. Soon the engines went quiet, and silence hit the streets once again. They were waiting, but for what? Daylight?

 

[furo]

Hazel bit onto her lip and casted her eyes to the ground with a dry titter. “It’s alright, Shiloh. Leave them alone, you don’t have to do that. It’s no big deal –really…” She was interrupted, though, by a snort of resignation and the furrow of a brow. After several moments of silence, except for sputtering flame of the kerosene lantern, the lieutenant’s hand carefully looked out for hers, his fingers sneaking into her sleeve. She allowed him to examine her bare forearm; his fingertips traced the bruises delicately as he peered down at them, his eyes as gentle as his hands. So was his voice next.


“What if you hadn’t…”


“Don’t—don’t think about that. I’m alright, that’s all that matters,” Hazel’s eyes never left his face, peering at the shimmer of the firelight ricocheting Shiloh Jeffers’ mellow complexion.


“I don’t want you to leave; you can’t leave alone, there’s a million things that can kill your out there, Hazel, I’m not letti—”


“I’m not going alone,” She said, firmly. He stared, a strange frown developed.


“Then who are you going with?”


“The man. The man who rescued me, he—”


There came the rebuking again: “Hazel, will you stop? You’re insane, you—you can’t just leave the reformatory and take off with some man,” There was bitterness in his mouth when he said the word, the predisposition of an image he got from it brought the taste of rusty iron to his tongue, “Who might as well have helped you out of your s—situation with—with… ulterior purposes and—”


“Augh, please Shiloh! Don’t come patronizing me; I know the world is real fucked up out there, but I wouldn’t have been such a dumbshit to stick around a guy who had ‘cannibal’ or ‘pedophile’ written all over his forehead,” Hazel was getting worked up, spewing venom in her words and clenching her hands into fists, “This man has two other kids he’s takin’ care of, Shiloh… I…” She clutched her forehead as she cleansed herself with a deep prolonged sigh, shutting her eyes tightly.


“Hazel…” The lieutenant’s voice was nearing a muster now, “You don’t even know for sure if your brother is even there.” Hazel fixed pained yet determined eyes on him, hard.


“Have some faith, Shiloh,” Her voice had lowered as well, kneeling pleadingly at his feet, begging for mercy, without the knowledge that he’d raise his own next.


“Think straight, Hazel, straight! You can’t leave; YOU WON’T!”


“Watch me!” There came her retaliation, unsparing… defiant. Her teeth had sharpened as she snarled at him –it was like a spit in the face. ‘Watch me!’ Like a rebellious prepubescent against her parents; like a vengeance from a previously attacked battleship. She was proving to be of the same worth –the same power, the same strength and height.


There was more bitter staring, glaring. Glaring daggers.


The raging girl clutched the strap of her backpack aggressively and slung it over her shoulder as she stormed away, heading the street. Richard’s car. She didn’t make it further than thirteen or fourteen sulky strides away before a pair of strong-willed arms captured her around the torso, and fought against her striving to escape.


Something else was caught next, after she was forcefully turned around.


What was caught next: Hazel Royce’s lips.


What Hazel Royce’s lips were caught by: Lt. Shiloh Jeffers’ own sneaky pair.


It sure as hell wasn’t the first time.


“I have…” He said against her warm skin, huffing, desperate to be heard, “I have faith, Hazel. Ple—please be safe, babygirl.” Her smaller frail body was clasped in Shiloh’s solely loving grasp; his arms hope the grip would linger long enough to shield her along the way. The entire way.


“I will. I’ll come back, I promise,” Hazel’s last words were pronounced as her hand pressed against his chest, where his racing heart restlessly rested. She was released, though reluctantly. She adjusted herself.


“I love you.” It simply tumbled out of him, unhesitant. Shiloh was motioning her forward, encouraging her to leave before the goodbye turned even more painful than it already was. “Go, come on.” Hazel could’ve sworn to have seen him wiping away some tears with a sniffle after she nodded and pecked his lips one last time prior to her leave. A handgun was briskly tucked to the edge of her pants, by the lieutenant.


Soon, Hazel had scuttled her way back to the lane, where she was relieved to find the vehicle intact. However, her breath paused for a moment as she noticed it was empty. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted anyone, ever.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Richard was looking out of the window continuously while she was gone, and when he finally saw her, he dashed out of the room and ran out into the street, waving at her.


"Hazel!" He yelled as quietly as he could. He waved at her. He was relieved to see her back - very relieved. In the time that she was out there, he ran back inside and picked up both of the kids and then made his way back outside, literally throwing them into the back of the car. He did it gently, though. He didn't hurt them in the slightest. After that, he dashed over to Hazel and put one hand on her shoulder and near enough dragged her off to the car, and then opened up the passenger door for her. With a gulp he helped her inside and then slammed the door shut, and then sped around to the driver's side and climbed into it.


The kids were both confused to what had Richard so panicked. Hazel could see the panic in his eyes, as well as the desperation to get out of here as soon as possible. Paranoia? Anxiety? Or was it something else? Oh, yeah. It was something else, alright. Richard twisted the key in the ignition to the point where it almost snapped, and then floored the gas pedal - He didn't go far, though, he literally went across the street to an old garage that had been salvaged of anything useful. He reversed the car into one of the doors, and then jumped out and ran to both of the doors that manned the face of the little once successful building - he reached up and pulled the shutter doors down on either side, leaving them in mostly darkness. There were some bullet holes in the shutter doors that allowed beams of sunlight to creep in, but that was mostly it. He ran back to the car, climbed inside, and then shut the engine off and leaned back, taking several deep breaths as sweat poured down his forehead.


".. Hazel... The rumors were true. Holy shit. The rumors were true! I saw them! They're real..." His voice weakened, and he sounded absolutely terrified. "They're fucking real." He whispered darkly to her, the kids were in the back and were confused out of their minds. They didn't have a clue what was going on. ".. We cannot move from here until they're gone. It's not safe..." He sighed. "If any of you need the bathroom, you'll need to go out the back of this building where you're out of sight." He urged. His right hand gripped his Desert Eagle pistol so tight that his knuckles had gone an ash white. What the hell was he talking about? Whatever it was had him scared, and Richard had only ever been upset since Hazel met him, not scared. If Richard was experiencing fear - an emotion he hadn't felt for years - that meant that whatever was going on out there was no laughing matter.

 

[furo]

Hazel was quite plainly mazed at his ballistic discomfiture about the knowledge of tanks roaming the streets. There was a pause of bewilderment –she scowled and pondered. “What’s with that… surprise? For all I know they’ve been around for a little more than a month supporting the bombardment of Atlanta and other overrun cities in Alabama. Or so I’ve heard,” She said, glancing out the small gap between the planks boarding a window facing the street. “I—I mean, yeah… It’s probably not safe that we go walking around out there or drive off, ‘cause the military are quite hostile when it comes to strangers, but I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of.”


Hesitantly, Hazel encouraged herself to cautiously step over to the apprehended man and slowly reached out to lower his gun, nice and easy. She wasn’t certain how Richard would react in such a state –she didn’t know him as much. Although she did know he needed to simmer down a few notches, for his own sake.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"No, no, no!" He slammed his hand down on the driver's wheel, refusing to lower the gun. "You don't get it, Hazel! It's all a lie! They ain't attackin' the places that are filled up with the undead!" He yelled, and then finally realized that he was overreacting just a little too much and slowly lowered his gun back into his holster, taking a deep breath as he did so. Hazel had Jessica suddenly climb over from the back and sit on her lap and hug her, and Richard had George do the same. He was taken aback - the kids were whispering in the back of the car for a while during all of the conflict - was this just their plan to make things seem a little less tense? ".. I'm sorry." Richard said, and then shook his head as he gently hugged George. ".. We need to stay here. I know that much." He sighed a little. ".. I've got a feeling that something very bad's going to happen, and if it does, we cannot leave this garage until it's over, okay?" He said, and then gently hugged George.


".. Don't be angry, Richard... It's okay." He said as he reached up and gently bopped him on the nose with his finger, giving off a cute little giggle as he did so. Richard couldn't help but smile and then hug him a little tighter. He'd never really been one for kids after his job, but these two were really starting to grow on him. Especially George. He was probably the sweetest and most innocent little boy he'd ever met. Jessica was a quiet little girl with him, most likely because he was a fully grown man who didn't really show any other emotion other than anger or sadness, and she was a four-year-old born into one shit-bad world.


".. Thanks, buddy. I'll try and cut back on the anger if you keep being so darn cute." He grinned and then gently tickled George's ribs. His little legs squirmed and he seemed to curl up a little bit while breaking off into wild giggles. It was nice to have a little bit of interaction with someone so young and innocent, and it almost made Richard forget that there were tanks surrounding the whole block they were in. He saw two, but believe me...


There were more.

**

​

It wasn't until three hours later that both the kids were fast asleep in their laps, and the sun was starting to go down. But then there it was. The loud sound of machine-like engines came grinding down the streets. Through the bullet-holes in the garage door, they saw five tanks - two of them went off either left or right and went around and out of the block to go to either side of the facility - Richard and Hazel couldn't see that happening, obviously. The other three went straight down towards the facility on the main road and parked beside each other in front of the gates. Another thing they couldn't see were the other five tanks on the other end of it. Three at the end, and one more on either side beside the ones that were already there. These guys had some solid military tactics, but Richard could only ask himself one question.


Why?





He waited. The engines had woke the kids up, though.


".. What's happening, Hazel...?" Jessica asked as she rubbed her eyes with one hand whilst hugging her with the other. Richard quickly hushed them.


"Whatever you do... Don't move a muscle. Don't make a sound until we know..." He took a deep breath and then slipped off his leather jacket and moved it around George, whom of which snuggled up closer to him.


".. Richard I'm scared." He whimpered, Richard simply held him close and hushed him, making sure the young child's head was bowed against his chest. And then it happened. There were three loud-as-thunder explosions that rained down upon the compound from the three tanks that were by the gate. Jessica and George instantly burst out into tears, and Jessica instantly went into a state where her arms and legs seemed to get some sort of death lock right around Hazel. She had her face buried in her chest and refused to move. She was just crying and sobbing.


At their position, they didn't have a single angle they could go to to get towards the compound in time to do... Well, anything. Who were these people? Jesus. The stories of large settlements being destroyed by them must have been true, but why?! The question screamed in Richard's head, but he could find no answer as more and more bombshells seemed to rain down in the dozens. As much as it saddened Richard to admit it, there was one thing he was sure of - the whole place was surrounded.


"There's nothing we can do." He choked.

 

[DrTrollinski]

It went on for at least twenty more minutes. Explosions, gunshots, death, destruction, screaming, gunshots, explosions, death - it was all the same, all over again. Every bombshell that struck the once untouched reformatory made Richard shudder or flinch. He was near enough crying, but he was keeping it together for the kids.


After locking all of the car doors, of course.


At least they were safe in the garage. That was the main thing - the main thing was that he, the kids, and Hazel were all safe. He didn't really care about himself all that much. It was all about the kids and Hazel. The kids especially - he hoped that Hazel felt the same way. Now that all this death and destruction was surrounding them, or happening a very short distance from them at least, the children were the ones who were going to need the most care and understanding, and the most comfort and consoling. What else could be done for them? Hopefully they wouldn't ask questions, but Richard knew how to be blunt about things - it was necessary in this world now.


After all, anyone could kill anyone. It was always that way, it was just never as frequent. The last time the world saw peace was around ten years ago when the production lines were finally rejuvenated, and to think, Hazel was only a young child at that point. Craziness. That was when Richard also thought that there was hope for the world outside of all of the large settlements - he preferred the settlements that had resided in towns over anything else. He wasn't so keen on the reformatories, but... The settlements were nice. He knew most of them, like mentioned previously. His favorite was by far the one in Argonne, Wisconsin. They were great people up there. Wouldn't harm anyone unless they had to, and they had a very stable community with vast farmlands and fantastic defenses. And to think, it was all started off by a guy that was once Hazel's age. That was scary, wasn't it? That this guy was seventeen when it started, and now he was thirty-eight? Crazy. To think that he was going to be one of the strongest leaders in the post-apocalypse USA, before Hazel was even born, was probably the most outrageous thought of all time. His brother, Eric, was the second-youngest brother, and he was thirty-five now, and fourteen when it started. He was the finest musician that Richard had ever heard, and that was when he was only fourteen. He looked forward to seeing what he had now - that was if he still had time to practice. He had kids a long time ago. Richard thought that he would have put down his guitar years ago.


Oh, and better yet, this place had hot water and power. What could be better?


Right, there was a window. Richard put George into the back and then dived out of the car and threw the shutter door open before jumping back into the vehicle and slamming the key to the side in the ignition. In a shot, he sped out, but when he thought he had a window, he'd actually chosen no worse time to do it. A tank was coming right towards them on the road as they drove out of the garage, but it stopped. The barrel lowered.


Shit.





The sight of the reformatory being up in flames and obliterated by what, seven? Eight? Nine? Ten tanks? Who knew, however many, they'd done some damage. But why? These fuckers were going to pay for what they did, there was no doubt about that. All in due time. They had to warn people before anything, gather an army, do something to stop more people from dying. But what?


Oh fuck. What if Hazel thought that he was involved in this? In destroying the place she was (presumably) born and raised? Jesus Christ. He made them sit here and let it happen - What if she thought that he organized it because of his natural hatred for the reformatories, and--


He was over-thinking this. She wouldn't think that... Right?


He slammed his foot down and sent the car speeding off, and then took a sharp left, narrowly missing the blow from one of the shells that flew straight into the garage they were hiding in, and pretty much blew half of the building away. Richard was hit heavily by the explosion, as were the kids. They had nothing but ringing in their ears for a good fifteen seconds, and Richard couldn't even hear how much the kids were screaming now. Not yet, at least. When he finally heard it, he took another sharp right at the nearest turning point to dodge anymore potential shells, his fave flooded with terror.


"It's okay, kids! It's over! I'm getting you out of here, okay?!" He said to them. Not very soothing, but it was hopefully the truth. "Holy-fucking-shit." He gasped. "Did you see that? I thought it was a damn rumor! I thought that quack radio host 'Airway' was a complete nutjob! He was right! Holy shit!" He yelled, and then quickly shook his head. "We need to get out of here. We need to go to Wisconsin, and then to Virginia, and then to New Hampshire. We need to warn everyone we can and get them ready for this shit! What if these guys hit all the bigger places?! Oh, fuck..." He started breathing quickly as he sped through the streets and tried to make as much distance between themselves and the tanks.

 

[furo]

Hazel remained motionless and emotionless during the mayhem, sitting tight right in her seat. The only moment where she found pertinent to speak up was as soon as Richard finished with his whimpering; “Nah, man, you gettin’ things wrong ‘ere, I ain’t going anywhere with you. I don’t know who you mean by ‘we’ ‘cause you shouldn’t count on me for that. I’ve somewhere to be, and I’mma get there whether it is with your help or it ain’t,” Hazel was clutching the door handle already, prepared to open it even with the vehicle speeding away. She was in denial of the recent takeover – the same ‘they’ who had paved the streets for the thriving of the next generation were the same ‘they’ who were destroying them.


“Stop the car.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Quick change of heart. First it's me deciding where to go, and now you're back on the ball. Tell me where you need to be, and I'll get you there. Holy shit, I said I'd drive you across the country, didn't I? After I help you, the least you're going to do for me is help me prevent more people from getting slaughtered like that. We move faster than them, that's our advantage... But I am not stopping this car - if you go out there, you will die. You'll get shot down by whoever those fuckers are." He sighed and kept the speed up. The rhythmic sound of engines grinding in the distance was still somewhat apparent. They must have been giving chase.


He noticed she had her hand on the handle of the door. It was a good thing he locked them. She'd be no good to anyone if she dived out of a moving vehicle and ended up breaking an arm or leg - she'd probably die at this speed.


"What's the matter, don't you trust me anymore? You think I did everything that I have just for me to say 'fine, fuck you' and then watch you wander off into the distance? I'm sorry, but that ain't happening. Honestly, I'm sorry about that place going down in flames like that... If we could have done something about it, I would have... I didn't want to risk yours, the kids', or my own life by running us all into a warzone. That ain't fair of me to do that." He paused for a long while and kept his eyes on the road. He was going full speed, swerving around old rusted vehicles and swarms of the undead.


"Just tell me where and why, and I'll get you there. I've done nothing but take your word for what you've said. For all I knew, you could have gone into that reformatory and then have a bunch of people come and shoot me, but you didn't. You're not that sort of person. Well, let me promise you that I'm not the sort of guy that's going to screw you over. I hate to play the favor game, but I owe you for coming back, so I'll help you here. Once we've done what you want, I hope that you'll help me do what's right." He said, he spoke calmly. He wasn't demanding nor was he yelling. For the first time ever.


(Posted from my phone)