Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[Vamanara]

"i am no leader, but nor is anyone here. i would rather jax took command, but did so productively"


he had no leading capabilities, but he had intelligence. he knew it were better jax were in command. as long as jax then knew how to do it right.


"we have accused you of leading us. are you ready to do so?"


seeing the trust thing happening. he put vens gun on the table too.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor listened as this group was on the verge of solidifying or breaking apart. Especially since not everyone was willing to listen to Jax as he tried to get everyone into the room to discuss what was going to happen. Apparently, this was originally a much smaller group which made sense as in the last few hours it seemed that more and more people had wandered into their world. Victor wasn't set if he could trust this group, but it would make sense to still with some people that could stand watch. It had been weeks since the last time Victor was able to get any continuous sleep. Of course, this may have been all for naught.


Ven, the girl that Victor saw with the bow, was advisably upset with the situation. Jax tried his best to appease her, but that didn't mean it did anything. Jax would continue with a little speech attempting to instill his leadership in this dysfunctional group. Jax would even say that any new members would need to be approved by the core group that knew each other. That's just what Victor didn't want, a clique. If he were to join then he would always be the odd man out and that meant expendable. A couple of the weirder element already threw in their support of Jax's leadership. Victor wasn't so sure.


Victor chuckled, "Jax, you really need to work on your people skills. I mean, you act fast but if you think that little speech of yours is going to win all these hearts then you must be dumber than a common ghoul. From what I can see, you can barely keep everyone safe. I mean where's this Lyric I keep hearing about?"


Victor looked challenging into the Jax's eyes. He didn't want to come off as threatening but Victor also didn't want to be taken as a sucker.


"No shit we need to work together, but hell if I'm going to trust your little tribunal to approve me. What's this Survivor? I go where I want."

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax took Victor's words like a grain of salt. Until he said that Lyric was MIA. His body tensed up and was about ready to grab his gun but he restrained himself. "Don't you ever say that. I didn't lose anybody. And you want to leave go for it. No one is stopping you." Jax looked at him with cold eyes. "If you want to be on your own go ahead. I was alone once. Didn't get too pretty." He didn't feel threatened by Victor, if anything he touched a nerve with Lyric. He smirked and looked at Victor.


"I may not be a people person. But someone needed to step up." He didn't care what Victor said. If anything he could rot in a hole. Jax didn't need people stabbing him in the back. Granted he only trusted a few certain people here. And yet he did feel as if he singled out the ones who weren't in the original four. "Look, I messed up. And I didn't mean to sound like I singled you or anyone else out. I just trust these 4 other people more. And they seem to trust you. So if you want to leave, no one is stopping you. But say I left Lyric behind again, and you better hope the first shot kills me or knocks me out and you run." He was hurt that Victor would say that. With that he took his gun and walked outside and looked over into the city. Angry with himself.


"Never again." He said quietly, retreating into his own hell, trying to block out the isolation without Lyric. Victor brought back the few moments the group had for the first few days it was just them. He sighed and closed his eyes. His shoulder taunting him.

 

[Vamanara]

"Zian! get back in there! look how useless jax is! the slightest criticism made him sulk off."


krystia was right. he was beginning to question putting jax in the limelight. his nostalgia for a small group was not going to work here.


"stop asking people to leave jax. remember as of yet, none of us know who lyric is, or whether she isn't a corpse." that was as bad as victor. he had to add something, to make it less offensive.


"thats just a fact jax"


he wondered why he felt jax should lead in the first place. as it goes he was beginning to believe victor, or even aren would be greater leaders.


"leader or not, i have a plan for what to be done with this inflated number of people. there is a farm outside the city limits. the grain silos are not rusted through. we will have food until we can clear the fields for tractors. then we can produce food forever."


it seemed alright for a plan, but krystia started poking holes in it. like petrol for the machines. he worked out answers, but did not mention them.


"can you imagine it? living in peace?"


(im off festival-ing, very unlikely to post in the next 3 days.)

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor eyes as he became upset at what Victor had said. He saw the look in Jax's eyes and knew that this might come to blows. Victor clenched his fists ready for a throw down. Ever since he first arrived, he didn't know how long he would be welcomed and the signs of stress were showing.


Victor was unsure of what to make of Jax's response to his confrontation. Jax had apologized but also threatened Victor if Lyric was brought up in that way again. Victor would have to store that information away, he knew cliques were dangerous but couples could be deadly. He already knew that the way Aleks and Ven were connected with the way he took off in the museum at her scream. A clique comprised of two couples, Victor would need to watch that if he decided to stick around. It could mean his life.


When Jax finished, he walked out. Victor feeling confrontational, "Sure making me feel all warm and cuddly inside especially when you turn your back on the people that you just asked to trust you. I'm sure glad you're leading this pitiful group. Dios mio!"


The scrawny kid reacted to Jax walking out of the room. He brought up a farm outside of the city where they could live off the fat of the land.


With a chuckle Victor rebutted, "There is no living in peace. We're all dead and it's just about how you want to go about it. Grow up, kid."


Victor looked at Zian with pity and walked out of the room. He headed to kitchen to look for any sort of food that may have been left behind. Most of the cupboards had already been emptied but in the back of a high shelf, Victor found a jar of peanut butter. It wasn't a full meal, but it was something. He hopped up and sat on the counter as he opened the jar. Victor reached in with his fingers and scooped out some of the peanut butter. He knew he just told the kid that they were all pretty much dead, but it didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy the little things in these last few moments.


Victor laughed as he just thought about the absurdity of what the world had become.

 

[Dafizh1]

(( dont forget you are all in my house)) My eyes turn black and I get up "Victor... don't ever do that again... there are boundres in people and you cross them now, you just might regret it..." I walk out pushing victor out of the was sending him flying, I go find Jax and put a hand on his shoulder " you ok?"

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

((Dafizh, your guy is coming off OP. Maybe reign it in a little bit and maybe be a more descriptive with your posts. I don't always get what you're trying to do, but I'll try to play along.))


Out of nowhere, someone who Victor didn't notice came up to berate him then leave with a push. Victor had no idea who this guy was or why he thought he could come up and lecture him about boundaries when he laid his hands on Victor. Victor was still defensive with everything that was going on. As the new guy Dark walked outside, Victor pulled out one of his guns and aimed it at the back of Dark's head. Sure, he argued with Jax and his first encounter with two of the other guys was anything but smooth but this was the first time Victor wanted to put two in the back of someone's head.


"Fuck this. I don't need this stress or these wackos."


Victor stormed out of the house, tying his mask back on. It was one thing to not get along with anyone, but to know someone would physically touch Victor meant that he couldn't sleep peacefully. Victor would need to get his forty winks somewhere else. Maybe Victor would head back to the museum and scrounge up anything that was left behind by this group. Cool air hit Victor as he ventured into the city. Sure, there were zombies out there but at least he didn't need their permission for anything.

 

[Dafizh1]

Where is he going? I think to my self

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

The girl paused, kicking a rock and sending it skidding across the uneven pavement. His words stuck into the back of her head and it was pissing her off. Growling to herself, she turned on her heels and stomped back towards It's house.


What are you doing? I thought you were going all 'I'm going to get Lyric-'


"Shut the hell up, Ali."


The fact that she finally recognized the voice in her head scared her, but Ven kept her legs moving. Seeing Victor stomping towards her, confusion entered her face and suddenly she was a little more calm.


"Hey, What happened?"


Her voice came out a little more strained then usual but she went with it. Ven watched him come closer, his body language screaming rage. Ven wondered what had happened, and at the same time, she wondered why Aleks didn't stop her from leaving. It was a small feeling of pain and rejection that swirled in the pit of her stomach no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

The girl with the bow, Ven, interrupted ideas of what to do by himself with the question, "Hey, What happened?"





Victor eyed the redheaded girl who seemed to be in more control of herself then the time he saw first saw her in the museum. Victor pushed his half mask up partially to show his eyes as he talked to the girl. She didn't seem that much younger than Victor, but he could tell that this world had taken its toll on her.


"I'm out of here. Apparently I need to pass some test to be part of the group, I can't mention this girl Lyric, and little shits think they can put their hands on me. It's been fun but there's a big enough city for me to run off to without having to deal with some people."


Victor suddenly realized that she had been outside this entire time and didn't know what had transpired in the house. He also wondered why she was outside when Aleks was inside. Victor had ultimately thought that the main group was comprised of two couples, but maybe he was wrong. He started to hesitate his decision to take off without making sure everyone was okay.


In a less hostile voice, "Fuck, the world just gets to me at times and I think this was one of those times. How about you? What were you doing out here? It's not really safe for people to be outside by themselves, I mean things go bump in the night."


Forgetting his manners after being in an apocalyptic world for so long, Victor reached out his hand. "Sorry, I don't think I actually introduced myself to you. Name's Victor..."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven smiled slightly at him, watching him go off on a small tangent. It was amusing, it made her relax a little more as he continued talking.


"You can mention Lyric. Jax just has....an attachment to her so anything you say about her gets taken seriously by him." Ven let out a small sigh, "First time I met her...I think I almost shot her." Ven laughed slightly at the hazy memory. Not all of her memories were clear enough for her to full recount the details. She shrugged, "I almost shot Jax and Aleks too. I don't take too fondly to strangers." She watched him for a moment, trying to piece things together before adding,


"Ignore Dark, he's someone I actually would like to put an arrow through."


Ven reached out and took the hand that he offered, it was weird how she was feeling comfortable next to this guy. Maybe it was just him being the only other remotely nice person she had come across besides the other three.


"Ven. And it's nice to formally meet you, Victor."


She allowed herself to smile a little, before letting out another sigh. She knew Jax was trying to make this a unified group, but with Dark there she didn't think she really had a place anymore. Though, it came to her attention that possibly if she found Lyric...she could unleash the wrath of the werewolf. Not that Lyric would harm anyone...except Dark, she could harm Dark.

 

[Dafizh1]

(( ))

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor returned the small smile that Ven allowed when they shook hands. It was actually refreshing when Victor found out that Ven had wanted to do the exact things that he wanted to do when he met most of the group. It was nice to hear someone open up and didn't appear to be guarded. He knew there were probably secrets, there always are; but Ven actually gave him information that helped him understand the initial group.


Jokingly Victor replied, "Disregarding that bow being pointed at everyone at the museum; you seem to be fond of me. Err, that may have came out wrong. I meant to say since I'm a stranger and I didn't feel too put off by you."


Ever since crashing that window, this is the nicest any of these people have been to him. To think it only took a few times pointing weapons at people to eventually get it right and talk to someone.


Victor pulled out a packaged yellow cake, "Now, do you have something to trade for a Twinkie? I've been dying for some chocolate or something."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven stared at the package in his other hand, a smirk crawling onto her face at the thought of actually getting something sweet. Ven arched and eyebrow at his coment trying not to bust out in laughter.


"Good to know I'm not too put-offish."


Ven responded in a teasing manner before looking back to the small treat in his hand. She didn't really have anything on her. Her pack was in the car...she cut her thoughts off.


"I have a Hershey's candy bar in my pack. It's in the truck though...meaning we'd have to walk back. Besides that I can't trade anything but my company."


She mused, looking at the boy before her.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

The girl was becoming playful with their conversation. It had been too long since Victor flirted with a girl and he liked seeing her smile. Even though he usually cracked jokes and was a general wise ass, this was one of the few genuine smiles breaking through.


"I have a Hershey's candy bar in my pack. It's in the truck though...meaning we'd have to walk back. Besides that I can't trade anything but my company."


Victor played along, "Aww, nothing I can do for more of your company. Seriously, though I'd kill for some Hershey. Definitely a Ghiradelli man myself, but trying to find one of those is like finding a cure idiocy. Let's head over to the truck and we can make a trade before any these knuckleheads makes me want to bolt."


Victor motioned for Ven to lead the way.


Maybe Victor could be convinced to stay a while longer. It was all he really wanted; a place to sleep with some people to watch over him and hopefully not try to eat him. He didn't like being a hard ass, he wanted to have fun and enjoy these last moments that any of them really had on this miserable planet. Not to mention, he wanted to have some fun killing zombies along the way.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax looked at Dark. "Yeah. I think we are done here." He shook off the hand and walked angrily back to the truck. He sat in the driver's seat and locked the door. He was angry, at himself for letting his feelings bust out and loose. That has not happened in forever. He sighed, he didn't want to apologize to Victor. But he is going to try to keep him around. He sighed and made himself calm down and looked out towards the city. He closed his eyes and let himself talk to Jaximus.


You idiot. You know you don't like being the leader.


I know. I just felt like I had to bring peace. It was reckless and impulsive. Never again.





You can't mess it up. I know you feel guilty for leaving Lyric behind. But you can't show emotion. You were trained not to. We'll go back for her. You know we will.





"Yeah I know." He sighed quietly ending the talk with his other self and cleaned his gun quietly. Thinking of what to do next. Ven probably wants to kill him and he can't blame her. He looked up and wanted to change everything the happened today. But he can't and he wanted to try and make the future better. He closed his eyes and started to drift away.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven smirked, adjusting her quiver so that it rested comfortably across the back of her shoulders. She glanced away from him trying to figure out if he was flirting or just casually playing along. Obviously, she wasn't very good at these sort of things.


"Ah, the cure to idiocy...I gave up on that once I realized the side effects."


Ven mused softly, heading towards were the others were. Convincing Victor to stay with them was a huge bonus. He was another fighter and more importantly, another person who didn't make her want to shoot everyone. Then again maybe the others weren't so bad. She just had horrible experiences with groups and she would really hate for history to repeat itself in that way. She glanced at Victor, agreeing with her previous thought.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks stood in the background, arms folded, a frown placed onto his face as he listened to Jax, Victor, the kid, and Dark...all squabbling about surviving and staying together. He didn't comment on any of this, only one thing was certain to him, no matter what happened to the group, he'd be following Ven.


Clingy eh?


Ha. I guess so.


Eventually the crowd dispersed, physical and verbal battles being the causes. Seeing no further use in staying inside the room, he walked out of the house and into the yard. Feeling the cool night air snake around his body, he exhaled in content, it was so quiet, the world seemed peaceful...until he was thrust back into the apocalypse.


The sound of a truck door opening and closing caught his attention, scanning the area he found the truck in a record time of 6 seconds. From the distance he could just make out Jax as the one in the truck. Brief thoughts of Jax going out into the city crossed his mind but he dismissed it, surely he wouldn't do anything like that alone. Not sure of what to do, Aleks made his way to the truck, looking to his side to see Ven and Victor talking.


Looks like she's calmed down...no thanks to that man over yonder.


A twinge of guilt and a twinge of worry. He continued to the truck, it had been a while since he had a talk with the closest thing he had to a second friend. Discovering a sleeping Jax, Aleks leaned against the passenger side door, right now he needed a plan, something to keep him focused, something to keep his heart at bay.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor followed Ven back. Being the first girl Victor had talked to in a long while, he occasionally checked out the sway of her hips as she walked. The apocalypse will do that to a guy. The arrived to the truck to find Jax asleep inside and Aleks leaning against the truck. Victor became a little uneasy seeing these two men, one of which he had just argued with moments ago. Even the gap of understanding between Aleks and him had not been covered. He didn't know where he stood with these guys but after what happened with Dark; Victor was ready to fight if the need came.


"I guess this is where the cool kids are hanging out now," Victor broke the ice.

 

[PKCV2]

Every so often Aleks turned to look at Jax, hoping for a stir of movement, hoping he would wake up with some kind of idea to carry out, even if he just wanted to get his shoes shined Aleks would take it, just to keep himself busy, to keep his thoughts away from reality. Of course the man never stirred, oblivious to the glares he was receiving from the man on the outside of the truck. He didn't risk waking him up purposely, not after the little spat he got himself into back in the room, Aleks had no idea how explosive he was once he was frazzled.


Turning back to his original position of leaning against the truck, Ven had come over, followed by Victor. Watching the man in slight distaste and caution, he prepared for something to happen, maybe a sucker punch, maybe a challenge, maybe some verbal abuse, maybe they just wanted to talk, who knew? Aleks didn't.


"I guess this is where the cool kids are hanging out now."


Aleks relaxed a bit, caught off guard by the casual remark, definitely not what he was expecting.


"I think you're the only cool kid here. Mask and all. Could've used you before this all happened, with that vigilante look...could've brought down the crime rate...make the city a better place before it went to shit."


He didn't know what he was saying. He didn't know if his words were fighting words. Maybe it was his attempt at friendly hazing.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven rolled her eyes giving Victor an amused glance before her emerald eyes traveled back to Aleks. She wondered briefly why he was sulking against the car. He seemed angry, maybe it was because she left? Then again he probably should have gone after her if he was so angry that she stomped off like that. Her thoughts wandered for a moment before she responded with her usual sarcastic humor.


"I'm pretty sure Aleks didn't qualify in the "cool kids" group."


She teased, giving Aleks a slight smile to show she wasn't being serious though she was pretty sure he knew that. A small look of confusion crossed her face, obviously not reading into the testosterone building up around her.


"Huh, I didn't know this city was that bad. Then again, I lived back in San Fransisco before all this happened." She sighed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to recall more details, yet to no avail. Shrugging, she released her neck and looked between the two guys for a moment. Ven moved to the trunk and opened it up quietly, rummaging around in the back for her black duffel bag. She bit her lip, leaning in further to try and find the blasted thing. Why did she have to put her things all the way in the back? Because she thought Lyric was going to come right back and then bon voyage to this city. Her thumb pricked something sharp and she let out a loud curse, bringing back her thumb to see drops of crimson pooling down the side. A small frown came to her face, holding her thumb in front of her like it needed to be quarantined. Using her other hand, she unzipped one of the pockets and carefully pulled out the King Sized bar she had found a while back.


Ven broke the bar in half with an arrow figuring that she would keep the other half for her self, considering that the bar was bigger then the twinkie he was offering her.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

"I think you're the only cool kid here. Mask and all. Could've used you before this all happened, with that vigilante look...could've brought down the crime rate...make the city a better place before it went to shit."


Victor picked up on the sarcasm Aleks was throwing out there, but it didn't faze him. Victor knew how helpful the mask was to surviving alone in the world. Too bad for Aleks, this was how Victor was raised. He knew his way around a little verbal sparring; there was no lack of smack talk back at the boarding school.


Victor replied, "It's called being practical, buddy. I mean do you know what you've been inhaling the past couple of years? No wonder your breath is stank."


Victor gave Aleks a little wink with a sly smile. Victor already felt a hundred times calmer than earlier when he heard Jax's speech and how Dark acted. Yes, the world was ending but it definitely didn't mean that Victor wasn't going to make the most of it especially when it came to having some fun.


"Huh, I didn't know this city was that bad. Then again, I lived back in San Fransisco before all this happened."


"Really? That's where my folks are from a little further south. I didn't get to spend much time in the city growing up before I was shipped to boarding school," Victor shared with Ven as she went in the truck.


Victor watched as Ven went through her things in the truck. She was probably searching for the candy bar that she wanted to trade for the Twinkie. His ears perked up when he heard Ven curse as she hurt herself on something, but she was a big girl and it was probably nothing. When she came out of the truck she broke the Hershey bar in half and offered it for the trade.


Victor raised an eyebrow, "Really now? We're playing like that?"


Ultimately, it didn't bother Victor. He knew which battles to pick and where he could win. He had a couple other Twinkies in his pouch, so it's not like there was some grand shortage. Well, maybe there was. It was just that Victor had not tasted chocolate since he left the school. No matter where he went, chocolate was the first thing to go. This was his chance. Victor tossed the Twinkie towards Ven and with his other hand held out waited for her to trade her half of the chocolate.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax stirred. Nightmares. He woke and turned to see Aleks and Victor. Ven just shutting the truck door. He put on his jacket and put on his pistol on his belt. He opened the door and looked at the three. He sighed as he looked at Victor. "Look, I am not mad at you. Or want to be a dick. Just the things you said back there, there is a few reasons why I got that way." He closed his eyes to think back on the past. Leaving people behind, his other life. He had to kill his other half. He shook his head and sighed.


"We kicked ass back at the museum. And I don't leave people behind. I am going back there, and I will find her. You can come with if you so desire. But we could use you. And no, I am not going to judo flip you or point a gun at you." He held out his hand, and looked at him through his mask. Whats with that mask?





He waited for a response from him while he looked at Ven and Aleks. Hoping they didn't mind him coming along.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

She found it odd that he was originally from the same state as her and suddenly the world felt very very small. Ven smirked, finding his reaction to her breaking the bar in half amusing.


"Playing it like what?"


Her voice dripped with fake innocence, catching the twinkie gingerly with her injured hand. Holding back another curse she played 'hot potato' with it for a moment trying to get a grip on the package that was now smeared with some of her blood. She handed the chocolate to Victor, making sure it didn't get any blood on it first or she would have to give him the other half. Grabbing the twinkie with her other hand she glanced at Aleks.


"Does Lyric have any band-aids in the first aid kit up front?"


Ven asked, not really feeling like digging back through the truck to find some supplies from the hospital that she could use to bandage her thumb up. She glanced at Jax as he shook himself awake and got out of the car. She glanced between the other three, feeling as if she missed something really important. Ven blinked a couple of times,


"This is really heart warming and all, I can feel the bromance going on, but I kinda need a band aid if you don't mind."


She held up her thumb to Jax so he could see her bleeding thumb. Moving around Aleks, she opened the passenger side door and sat down, opening the glove compartment and rummaging for a band aid. She hopped Lyric had one hidden in here somewhere.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Jax rose from the truck, most likely awoken by the rummaging of Ven. Jax approached Victor with a sigh. Victor squared his shoulders to look Jax straight in the eye. Victor didn't know how Jax was handling the confrontation from earlier after a few minutes to calm down. Victor was ready for anything; if it be another verbal fight or even a physical one. Instead, Jax offered a half apology to Victor and asked him to go back to the museum probably to finally find the girl Lyric. Victor shook Jax's hand firmly to show that there were no hard feelings.


"Just don't think I'm some poor pup. I pull my weight and I give the same respect that you give me. I'll help you find Lyric."


Before he forgot, "Oh, and just to let you know: I don't have a filter and I'll tell you the shit you don't want to hear."


Victor then turned to Ven as she handed him the chocolate. He didn't know why until now he didn't notice the cut on her hand, hopefully it was just something that happened in the truck and didn't have time to get infected. Ven quipped about the male bonding that seem to be going on between the guys. She moved around the guys to the other side of the truck looking for a band-aid. Victor followed her and knelt down just outside the passenger seat. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small roll of bandages and some Neosporin. He took Ven's hand into his own and examined the cut.


"Doesn't look like you need stitches, but let's make sure it doesn't get infected," Victor instructed.


Victor knew that the Neosporin was the best disinfectant but it was what he had available. He spread some of the cream on her thumb, then proceeded by wrapping the thumb with bandage. He handled her hand gently and made sure not to make any harsh movements with the bandage.


"Let me know if it doesn't stop bleeding. We can try to find something to stitch it up or I have some crazy glue to seal it."