Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[Hell0NHighWater]

I narrowed my eyes at all the people in the car. I ignored the extended hand of the girl, my eyes narrowing in on her. "I'd say nice to meet you but I don't make friends with people, or monsters." I growled, slipping out of the backseat as the car came to a halt. I slung my quiver around my neck, notching an arrow as I headed in front of the group, recklessly kicking in the door of what looked to be an old Hospital or clinic of some sort. With an arrow aimed I walked in, cautious of the smell of rotting flesh and rusting metal.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks looked on nervously but discreetly at the interaction between the two women. As much as he found drama amusing, the thought of a giant wolf suddenly sitting in the passenger seat very much made him not want to see that.


Eventually they stopped at a medical building of sorts. Ven had taken up front position and loudly kicked in the doors, making Aleks flinch, guess he wasn't used to loud noises anymore.


Aleks followed but he kept his eyes on the back of Ven, making slight frowns every so often. The bow along with her rather small size gave her the look of a little sister that thought she was deadly and able to handle any situation. He whispered to her, eyeing his surroundings.


"There's other ways to walk into buildings...quieter ways too."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

I glared behind me at Aleks. "I know what I'm doing." I hissed, trudging on down the hall. Muttering angry curses, I kept my alert on high, turning the corner when I heard the sound of a little girl crying. I froze, everything rational about me at that exact moment became noting but a distant memory. It could be a trap...or it could be some little girl lost...just like her...I shook my head slightly, refusing to think of the past. Biting down on my lip I aimed my arrow towards the noise slowly creeping towards the door that was muffling the sound. I reached out, my pale hand about to clasp the knob...

 

[PKCV2]

"I know what I'm doing."


Aleks rolled his eyes.


Filling in that little sister archetype quite nicely huh?


You can say that again.


Filling in that li-


I didn't mean it.


They continued down a hallway in silence, the shadows played well with the building. Some things popped out to Aleks but turned out to be meaningless objects. Out of habit, Aleks unclipped the knife from his belt, still wearily looking around.


Ven had suddenly stopped, Aleks barely noticed, a second later he would've stabbed her in the back, probably not fatally but still...the outcome wouldn't have been nice. Fearing an accident he twirled the knife around so the blade was pointed backwards.


He looked to Ven who was starting to open a door.


Weird spot to start checking rooms...we passed a few.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

My hands trembled, suddenly not being able to open the door. Old pictures of drawings done by a small child were pasted onto the window, a pair of small bloody handprints stained the glass. My hand jerked away from the knob, my body stumbling back into someone's hard chest. I turned slowly, not prepared to find Aleks standing behind me. My eyes widened, it starting to click that I was the only one who was hearing the crying. Swallowing the lump in my throat and failing to fight down the blush heating up my cheeks I turned back down the hallway. Not saying a word as I went back to my previous job of searching the halls and checking for signs of life or death.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks watched the door intently, his hand tightening around the handle of his knife. Ven's hand recoiled as if the knob was made of boiling water, to make the situation worse she stepped backwards, hitting Aleks's chest.


The impact caught him by surprise and he stumbled backwards but he quickly regained his footing and managed to not fall over. His assailant slowly turned, her eyes wide. Aleks studied her face in confusion noticing her cheeks reddening. Aleks relaxed, his body losing tension and he gave her a small, but reassuring grin. She turned and continued down the hall.


Once she turned, Aleks opened the door to the room she was about to enter and took a peek. Standard medical bed, a few boxes, sink, cabinet...nothing out of the ordinary except for a body, he shut the door and went to catch up to Ven. Eventually he found himself behind her again.


"Something wrong?"

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

"Something wrong?"


The question seemed innocent enough. Not that I was going to answer him truthfully. My trust was something to be earned and I wouldn't give it out to any random guy I /might/ have thought was cute. No. Scratch that. I'd have to be mental to be attracted to....that. I have him another glance before moving slightly faster down the hallway. "Nothing that concerns you." I stated bluntly, hoping to shut down whatever fake concern or politeness he was trying to show me. I paused at a set of double doors with an iron bar crossed between the handles. A sign held flimsily, reading 'Do Not Enter: Dead Inside'. I frowned slightly, "It doesn't look like we should venture off any further." I mumbled to my own self, something I was used to doing after years of being alone.

 

[PKCV2]

"Nothing that concerns you."


With that she started down the hall, faster than before. Aleks kept his original pace, not bothering to keep up with her.


Of course...things really can't be that easy anymore.


Well...women are complicated beings.


Annoying or complicated?


Eh...both.


Well you know what they say...if all else fails...then why bother trying.


That's...no...


Aleks quieted the voice. He definitely felt something about this girl but he didn't know what it was. He continued on, eventually stopping at a pair of doors that were sealed off. A sign was posted warning people not to enter.


"Well...this building might not be as safe as you thought...got a better idea friend?"

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

I pressed my lips together, thinking for a moment. "Could go in...clear them out...no...don't know how many...could be searching for a new building for hours yet...don't have the time...." I mumbled thinking it out, subcontiously counting my thirty arrows and looking at the door with a questioning gaze. Too many would mean a dead me...though I don't know if that would nessicarily be such a bad thing. I bit my tounge in thought before turning towards Aleks, finding him watching me. "We could board off a room and be as quiet as possible. Or....we go deeper into the city and pray there is a relitively empty building to hide in. Worse comes to worse we are looking at a very cramped night in a truck." I muttered thoughtfully. Strategy was not really my thing. I was impulsive, I went with whatever came my way and I never planned. Revenge was the only thing that I ever planned and that was not working out too well.

 

[PKCV2]

He watched Ven go through a list of options, she was mumbling and Aleks only caught half of what she was saying, but he got the gist of it. She turned.


"We could board off a room and be as quiet as possible. Or....we go deeper into the city and pray there is a relatively empty building to hide in."


Aleks tapped the gun in his holster, sliding his finger up and down the blade of his knife, he started thinking.


"Well...the door's still blocked and it doesn't look like anything's been trying to get through. We might be safe on this side of those doors...we clear out those rooms back there and we settle down for now...or...Lyric took me to a motel on the edge of the city, was clear when I checked it out...if you exclude some glass shards that may or may not have been caused by me...that might be the safer option."


He stopped talking and looked at Ven expectantly.


"Your call."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

I scowled at the sound of the werewolf's name but made no move to empathize the point. I doubted that we'd have enough daylight to even make it back to the edge of the city. Why was I making the calls anyway? Shouldn't gun-guy be doing that? I let out a huff, blowing a piece of my red hair into my face much to my annoyance. "Hunkering down seems like the best bet." I grumbled. "Better ask Chief though, last thing I want is a bullet in my foot for making a call to fit my own preferences." I stated bluntly, not even ashamed that I practically came out and said that I was looking after myself more than the group. I looked back at Aleks, waiting for his input. Not that I cared. A ridiculous thing to suspect that I gave two cents about the guy before me. Right?


....right....I think

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks smirked to himself, not letting it show on his face when the woman in front of him made a face at the mention of Lyric. He'd have to remember that. Ven suggested that the group stay in the building, Aleks just nodded slowly, thinking about every scenario that could go wrong.


"Better ask Chief though, last thing I want is a bullet in my foot for making a call to fit my own preferences."


A brief moment of indecision came upon Aleks.


Her own preferences...


Hm...you shouldn't worry about something like that, if bad comes to worse...that bow won't help her.


Sometimes you seem like you're filled with bad ideas...


You're welcome.


Aleks turned back to the hallway they had walked through, he started walking down it, his regular walking pace. He called out, just loud enough for Ven to hear.


"If you wanna ask then let's go."


Though he didn't show it, he felt happy that Ven even considered his ideas.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax sat around waiting for the two to come back. Looking at Lyric, "So how long do you think its going to be before they try to kill each other?" He didn't send them in together to kill each other, rather to help them get a bond going to trust each other. If anything he called this a trust exercise. It better damn well work. I don't want them fighting every day. And I hope they don't think of me as hostile. Also will the new girl leave us when we need her? He had every right to be afraid, Lyric was down and Aleks was a powder keg of emotion and personality. This new girl looks like she could give two shits about them and Jax was trying to teach these guys how to live.


"Kids these days." Jax muttered angrily and sat down on the hood looking into the building holding the shotgun ready. He was tense and he suddenly feels like a father, even though he never had any. Why is this different? Maybe because isolation took a tole on me. Jax studied Lyric, and looked away scanning the buildings looking for activity. He was getting restless.


"If they are not back in 30 minutes I am going in there and dragging them out myself." Jax scanned the area again, waiting. Hoping they were okay. I wonder why I care so much. He shook his head in anger and waited. Trying to get the emotions in check and trying to keep on the task at hand.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks burst through the doors, a wide smile plastered on his face, he look at the guy sitting on the hood of the truck, shotgun in hands. He walked over to him and spoke to him in a hushed voice.


"Okay so...plan so far is that we clear out a few rooms and we just bunker down for the night. There's some doors blocked off so don't go past there...."


Aleks looked at him expectantly.


"So what's your plan of action man?"

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax lowered the shotgun and took Aleks words to consideration. Blocked off doors, could be anything in there. Zombies, werewolves and vampires. Jax first thought it was a good plan, but then again there were the uncontrollable variables. Aleks' emotions and personalities, Lyric's injury amd the new girl's issues. Granted she had every right to not trust him or the others. But Jax hasn't done anything wrong to her. Well good news is that they didn't die. Jax smirked and looked into the building. Well maybe it could work, Aleks and I can hold pretty much anything even if the new girl leaves.





Jax nodded after a few minutes and looked at Aleks in the eye. "I think its a good idea for now. But we got to be careful, Lyric is still down and I don't know about the new girl just yet." He said quietly, hoping Aleks didn't think that he hated the knew girl. Well what can you say Jax just had an arrow pointed at his head.


"What do you and Ven think?" He wanted them to know that he appreciated all their ideas, it kind of felt nice that at least Aleks considered his opinion on it. He looked into the building waiting on Ven to come out.

 

[PKCV2]

"I think its a good idea for now. But we got to be careful, Lyric is still down..."


Aleks nodded in approval.


"...and I don't know about the new girl yet."


Aleks slowly stopped moving his head. He studied Jax's face, looking for an emotion related to Ven. He saw a sliver of...desperation? Hope? Longing? Whatever it was, it made Aleks relax.


"What do you and Ven think?"


"Well...basically she thinks that this would be our best bet. Me? Um...yeah same idea."


Aleks patted Jax's arm, gave him a wink, and walked back inside the building.


"She's not that bad."

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax chuckled, thinking that Aleks may have something for Ven. He didn't know but at least Aleks tried to put his mind at ease. "Alright, I will be in soon. Is there any light or do I need to bring some light?" He took inventory in his head of his stuff. Not much. Damn, well we need to find food and ammunition. Why do you think I don't use my guns? I was trained to survive, so knife and hand to hand was a need.





He shook his head in frustration but calmed down and looked inside at Aleks, securing the outer rooms and hopefully they will give them some reports of inventory. Jax walked around the outer area finding some stuff in cars left behind and 3 cans of food. Feeling a little better, he sat around looking around. Not much sun left. We gotta hurry. He turned on his flashlight and walked in.


"Hey its me, anything good to tell before we settle in." Hoping good news.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks was inside the building, he heard Jax talking about needing light but he raised a hand and waved him off. He went about clearing the building. Every room was the same, medical bed, boxes, empty cabinets, sinks that no longer worked. There were the occasional medical supplies, though they were in small numbers.


Nothing weapon or food related though, this place had to have some kind of cafeteria, he'd check later. He walked out of another room, taking another glance at Ven, realized he was looking too long and continued with his business.


A bright beam of light cut through the darkness.


"Hey its me, anything good to tell before we settle in."


"Eh...just some medical supplies, painkillers, tweezers, stuff like that, no food or water but there should be a cafeteria somewhere. You get anything?"

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax took in the words and nodded. Well got some medical supplies. Not much food. He pulled out 3 cans of food and random items. A hammer, 2 batteries, one small flashlight, and a small chain. It wasn't much but it was all he thought was useful for the small area he went around.


"Nothing much but it was the small things that was worth scavenging from cars." Seeing that they are doing okay, he nodded at Aleks. Seeing how they worked together was a nice feeling. Lets hope it lasts. Jax got up and gave him his gun. He didn't need it for outside and who knows what could be lurking down here.


"Take it I don't need it."' In all reality he didn't, he had his Beretta and his knife. Jax looked at the man with respect, he has changed a lot within the past day and hopefully he doesn't regret giving him the gun. Or I will be screwed and I deserve to die for me being naive.





Jax gave him the pack of items and food and walked out, watching Lyric and the truck, scanning the area again waiting till nightfall.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks looked over the supplies that Jax had found, he was relieved he had found at least some good stuff.


Aleks watched Jax's face again. He looked content? Proud? Happy? Whatever...Jax gave him his gun, a move unexpected but Aleks took it, slowly as if to give him time to confirm his actions.


Then...again...Jax handed him the pack of supplies and objects, which he took.


"Huh...thanks...but uh, let's not get too chummy yeah?"


Aleks's eyes had a glint of mischief as he said it. Seeing as how Jax was going back outside to Lyric, Aleks waved him away.

 

[Jason Carlile]

"I am not getting chummy, trying to help you survive." Jax said as he heard Aleks say that. Aleks was down in the dark, he was in the light. He sat down and closed his eyes in thought of all that's happen. He has gotten more attached and the only conclusion was that the man he thought died was brought back to life. But he refused to show him out again after Aleks almost killed him. I can't, never again. In fact it hurt him so bad that he had a tear in his eye. Lyric actually sparked it, but wouldn't admit it. Aleks was like that crazy brother that Jax never had. But Jax had to come to grips that he had to keep it impersonal. He was Jax, top agent, non social, cold person. Not Jaximus.


"Damn it all." Jax whispered to himself as he looked into the sky. He hated how this happened, he hated how he had to push others away. But yet he kept giving in. It started when he caught Lyric and looked her in the eyes, for some reason he felt something. Like they shared a past with same hardships. But Aleks tried to kill him, so why is he being so nice and giving to him. Maybe because I know I need him and he is useful to me. He thought as he took out his knife and cleaned it. Looking to Lyric he sighed and closed his eyes again. Should I just give in or should I stay the way I am? Jax's mind was fighting with itself. And its hard enough with keeping track of a sociopath, a rebellious girl and an injured werewolf with a chip on her shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes. Waiting for nightfall.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Biting my bottom lip, I continued to shift through supplies. Would it have been a good idea to tell them my black bag was full of ammo and the little food I had salvaged. Then again that would imply I was going to stay. I caught Aleks's gaze, noticing him watching me before quickly looking away. That was weird.


Noticing Jax, or Chief as I will now call him, come in to give Aleks a gun and a few supplies I quickly got back to what I was doing. So far there wasn't really anything useful. Which sucked. Turning, I headed outside seeing Jax watching the sky. "If it matters...I may or may not have some ammo you guy can use." I blurted before I could think about what I was offering. I adjusted my bow on my shoulder trying to seem unattached as I previously felt. There was something about these people...that made me want to hang around for a bit. I glanced back at him, a small smile coming to my lips. "Unless you don't want it. Your call, Cheif." I mused vaguely aware that it was dangerously close to night time.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax heard Ven and looked at her with a gaze, for the first time studying her. His piercing blue eyes looking into hers, but yet hers was a mixture and it was strange. Jax continued to study her while he responded, "We was running low on ammo to begin with." Her body was slim, her skin was pale. A lot of red hair, Irish maybe. He knows people like to dye their hair. Jax stood up, and nodded.


"Thanks for the ammo." He said and what she said caught him. Chief...Huh, never got called that. Jax felt good, maybe because Ven kind of thought he was the leader. Jax never thought himself leader, he just did what he had to do to carry an injured werewolf and a crazy man away from a hostile situation. He never expected thanks or being called chief. It made him feel good. He smiled.


"Thanks and I would like to keep the ammo, and you're welcome to stay. I am not trying to kill you. I am trying to help you." Jax was always felt like a teacher, he taught younger agents some tricks. Now he is teaching them survival and trust techniques. He hopes it was working. He looked up, "Are you going inside soon?"

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

I nodded slowly, throwing the black duffle bag at him watching him catch it. Maybe I'll stay maybe I won't. It all depended on what happened and how close they could get me to finding Abbi...or my father. I smiled a little sadly, "I don't think anyone can help me.." I cleared my thoat letting my emotion fade away quickly. "I'll go in in a bit. I need to do something first." I muttered before turning and walking off.


I continued a few blocks down the diserted street, finding the biggest car I possibly could before climbing on top. Surveying the area I watched the shadows consume the world as the light faded, hisses and wails filled the soon to be night. My eyes searched frantically for a sign, a book bag, a piece of clothing, anything to let me know she changed direction. Without any sort of obvious sign, I moved quickly back towards the medical center...in a race with a consuming darkness.

 

[PKCV2]

Before he knew it, He was standing in the same room with the blocked off doors, his knife in one hand, a gun in the other. The room forked off, the other path not blocked off.


I guess we should check that way.


Stay on guard.


Aleks continued his trek down the unexplored hall, his gun raised, grip on his knife tight. The hall seemed to turn darker, the shadows growing shorter as darkness grew over, replacing it with a sheet of grey. The first room of the hall came to his left, he opened the door slowly, quietly, stepping inside, leaving the door open. His footsteps and breathing were the only sounds in the room. He carefully sat himself down on the bed and laid down, staring at the lights, probably didn't work.


"Aleks?"


Aleks snapped his head to the right. A girl with white skin, black and violet hair, small build, 5'7, undefined cheekbones, a plain black shirt, and jeans.


Aleks smiled.


"Hey...what're you doing here?"


The girl moved closer and lightly pushed him.


"C'mon man, move over."


Aleks chuckled.


"Only room for one, we can make something work."


The girl grinned and laid herself, face down, on Aleks, burying her face in his shoulder. He stroked her hair.


"I miss you..."


Aleks fell asleep.