Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven blinked when she felt someone take her hand. She looked back to see Victor holding it and taking out some things out of the pouch he had. This guy had everything, for a second she wondered if he had some kind of black hole in there. Shaking her thoughts away she stared at her hand as his moved around it, bandaging her thumb with care. Ven bit her lip, feeling a shiver go down her spine. This wasn't good, she winced slightly from the Neosporin and her thoughts were once again cut off.


"Y-yeah will d-do, t-thanks."


Why was she stuttering? She only stuttered around Aleks. What was happening? She racked her brain, so utterly and hopelessly lost with what was going on. Her heart skipped a beat again when he didn't let go of her hand after he was finished. Ven looked at him, kind of wishing he would take off that stupid mask so she could see his face fully. She shut her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows, mentally slapping herself. She didn't know what to do, she was clueless. With Aleks it seemed simpler...but this...this was strange and she didn't know how she felt about it. She opened up her eyes again, extra aware of his brown eyes on her now. Ven met his gaze, and her stupid heart did that little jump again. What was wrong with her? She bit her lip again purely out of a nervous habit then anything else.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks gave a small grin as Victor moved away, appreciating his sense of humor.


You know that you were also part of raising the crime rate?


Yeah, maybe I'd get to see him before all this...we'd get to fight...sounds nice yeah?


I guess.


Aleks stepped to the side as Jax woke, immediately making amends with Victor, extending an invite to their little group. A little surge if excitement grew in his stomach, another person that could take care of themselves...it sounded nice to Aleks.


A little yelp and a crimson finger later, Ven had cut her thumb in something while rummaging around for something. Thinking she'd be alright and not wanting to put a show on, he decided she would be fine, opting to shove his hands in his pockets and look around. Scanning the area, a few words cut through his concentration, turning his head back, Victor was cleaning up the thumb wound. Once it was clean, nothing happened, nobody moved, the hand wasn't released, and stuttering sounded into the air.


Aleks watched on, mouth twitching ever so slightly, no sign of a grin or a frown visible, just a straight line, shut tight. Was this really happening? Even in the apocalypse he couldn't maintain some kind of relationship.


Something in his peripheral vision caught his eye, a small light shimmering to the side, nobody else saw it. The light grew brighter, only then did he notice that it was a person, light fading as the person came closer. Black and violet hair, simple black shirt, blue jeans, the sly smile she always had for backup.


That...that isn't...she's back? No! Why?


She's still waiting for you to die you know...wants to be with you...and you're just hallucinating. Side effects of insanity.


Aleks recoiled violently, the light was gone, she was gone.


Aleks...boy...let go.


What?


Instinctively he stretched his left hand, the feel of his knife leaving his palm, he was looking at Victor's back, but he quickly turned around. His hand was slightly aching, the hilt of his knife was imprinted into his palm. He hadn't known he was gripping his knife.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven looked up, seeing Aleks with his hand tightened around the hilt of his knife. He was looking at Victor with a stort of murderous rage she hadn't ever seen on his face before. Moving her hand away she felt....guilty? She had never in her life felt to slutty even though there wasn't anything to feel slutty about. It wasn't really like Aleks was her boyfriend. Romantic Interest yes, but she never got the memo about being in an exclusive relationship...so what did he care if she had her hand held by some other guy? No...that was a stupid question, if he cared for her he'd be pissed. At least she knew he was capable of being jealous. Her eyes went back to Victor.


"Um...thanks again."


She said it without stuttering this time, she turned and lifted the glove compartment back up. She had to admit Victor bandaging her thumb up was unnessicary. Ven thought back to her previous moment with Aleks and felt even more guilty. She needed to talk to him...but was kind of scared to after that look he was giving Victor. If this was how it was going to be everytime someone did something she didn't know how she was going to keep herself together. She rested her forehead on the dashboard, keeping her hands on her lap as she tried to think.


Something was clearly wrong with her.

 

[Dafizh1]

I watch in the distance "And yet I have no one to have an alliance with..." I say to myself

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor stood up and stretched his back, unaware of the intent that stared at him from behind. He turned around to see Aleks looking at him, but there was something off like Aleks was upset about something. Were Victor's earlier assumptions correct that Ven and Aleks were coupled? Was Aleks the jealous type? Victor shook off the thoughts, after all he was just cleaning a cut. In this day, infection could kill just as easily as a zombie could. Victor would play it off as nothing for now, but he may want to watch for more reactions from Aleks.


Victor initiated, "Let's head back to the museum, yeah? Should one of us tell those other knuckleheads what we're up to or should we just take off?"


Victor looked between Aleks and Jax to see who would take charge and make decisions. He already knew Jax had verbally assumed leadership back in the house but he wasn't sure if Aleks would be more eager to prove something now.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven moved her head to the side, resting her cheek against the dashboard so she could see what the guys were doing.


"Just taking off would be nice. But, someone should tell someone. We don't really need any unwanted followers."


She was surprised that she spoke loud enough that people could hear her. She was still stuck in that dazed state where she really didn't know what to make of all this. She paused, seeing some heads swivel towards her at her comment.


"Er...I mean, it's up to Chief."


She cleared her throat awkwardly, tilting her head slightly so that her hair fell in her face, like that would somehow magically hide her from the rest of the world. For a moment she wished that things were how they used to be, when people were alive she was just background noise. Average at everything, average friends, average family, average job. She didn't really do anything out of the ordinary with the exception of the archery contests she won. Ven sighed, trying to just clear her thoughts. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling as if everything was just draining her. Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her hair so that it was out of her face. She listened to the guys but didn't really make much of an input, for once she wanted to be alone with just herself and her rude voice.


Come on Venni, face facts.


What facts? There aren't any facts.


You are soo naive it really hurts me.


Ven let out a slight laugh, staring at the roof of the car. She didn't respond figuring it would be better to pay attention to the real world then to be caught absorbed in her own.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax looked at Victor. "Believe me, I will as well." He looked around and saw the house and the people stirring. "I don't want those people coming with. Is everyone else good with that?" He looked at Aleks and Victor. Feeling an uneasy tension in the air. He motioned towards the truck. They needed to go now. He opened the door and got in. He looked back at the house and then back at the city. Took him a minute to justify what he was doing. He nodded and turned on the truck. His shoulder hurting in pain. He turned to Ven.


"So you feeling okay?" Despite the past few hours, he felt the need to watch over Ven and Aleks. Like good friends. "Also, want to lead me to that gun store you was telling us about?" He looked waiting on Aleks and Victor and went over the gear on his belt. Everything was in order and he quietly took a gummy worm that he still had. Still hungry. He chuckled and gently started to rev the engine.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

"I don't want those people coming with. Is everyone else good with that?"


Victor didn't know who was originally in the group, but he could already see the divide between two factions. He was unsure of how he felt about just leaving but to be honest he also did not want to have another confrontation. They had a mission and motive, so they might as well go through with it.


Victor nodded, "No time like the present. I'm good to go."


Victor opened the door to the backseat of the truck and hopped in. This was another experience that he had not felt in ages, being in the back of a truck on a "road trip." He was used to walking around everywhere the past few years. Sure there were a few times when he was able to get to drive a car or ride or horse, but for the most part he didn't remember this sensation of being in a vehicle with three other people. Victor contemplated opening up the window but decided against it, just in case some ghoul tried to claw at him through it. Being in a seated position was definitely not the best way to start a fight. Being in a truck, Victor took off his mask to breath a little fresh air. He brushed his hand through his shaggy hair. Maybe it was time to cut his hair or even find a comb, but the mask kept everything tied down so there may be no real need for that.


With a smile and waiting for Aleks to get in the truck Victor said, "Let's do the damn thing."

 

[PKCV2]

An immediate wave of conflict washed over Aleks as he watched Ven climb into the truck, shielding herself from everyone. What was happening to him? Was he turning into some over-attached, possessive asshole? He certainly hoped not.


Caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't know what was going on when Victor and Jax got into the truck, leaving him outside the truck.


Only then did he catch up on everything when Victor spoke up.


"Let's do the damn thing."


Okay...maybe not everything but he got the gist of it, they were leaving this place. Seeing no other seat except the one next to Victor in the back, Aleks grudgingly sat himself next to the masked vigilante, keeping his gaze out his window.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven perked up at the mention of guns, "Yeah, do you want to go there before we get Lyric or after?"


She asked, opening the window as he backed the tuck up. She, unlike most sane people, would rather feel the wind rushing past then worry about something reaching in and grabbing her. She was reckless like that. Glancing in the side mirror she could see Aleks sitting behind her and next to Victor. He didn't look too happy about the seating arrangement, but that wasn't her problem. She called shotgun so to speak.


Finding that she was staring at him in the mirror, she quickly looked away. Ven put her hand out of the window as the car started to gain more speed. Her hand started doing dolphin motions, loving the feel of the air pressure pushing between her fingers. This was her favorite thing to do as a kid, it was sad how much she missed it. Her sister used to have difficulty copying her wave movements and she smiled at the memory. Her eyes glanced to the mirror, seeing Aleks again. She smiled a little wider and then it faded quickly seeing a girl sitting between the two men. Her legs were crossed and she held a teddy bear in her lap, a grumpy expression plastered on her youthful face. Swallowing, Ven looked away pulling her hand back in and putting the window up.


She couldn't tell if she was going insane or Ali was haunting her.


She would prefer to be insane and find her sister alive.


Then to be sane and finding the only family she had left, dead.

 

[Jason Carlile]

"I think it be the best option to get to the store first and have a squad of two go out and scout the museum while the other two fortify the store." He responded as he drove down the vacant highway at a decent cruising speed. He let his ideas stay in the air as he gathered good own thoughts. Any two would leave to problems. He wanted Victor to come with, but he wasn't sure after what happened at the house. He wanted to be one of the scouts.


"Does anyone object me going into the museum? And who wants to volunteer to go with?" He said as he approached the city limits. Never thought they had to come back here. Jax gritted his teeth as the pain in his shoulder came back. Not now.





He waited on Ven's directions as he casually drove, he didn't want to stop. But then again it's slowly drifting towards E. Shit. We got another objective. "We need some fuel as well. But that isn't a major priority." He hoped while scouting they'd find some fuel. He was anxious. He felt tense and he looked at Victor and Aleks, the tension still there. He sighed quietly and hoped they'd solve it soon.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

"Turn here."


Ven pointed to a street, her eyes spotting familiar landmarks. She glanced over at Jax, thinking about his proposal.


"Well, I'm obviously going to the store. I can pick up some fuel on the walk back."


She knew the layout of the city fairly well.


"Next stop sign make a left and it's the fourth building on the right."


She pulled her bow up so that it was resting in her lap, her eyes noticing the uncomfortable look on Jax's face. Pulling out a small bottle of iberprofen, she set it in his lap.


"Take two after we leave."


Ven turned, looking at the two men in the back. She raised an eyebrow, "So who's coming with me?" She questioned. She was fine with either of them, she just wanted to know who was going to be having her back. This was a risk, and she needed someone with her.

 

[PKCV2]

Silence. Silence throughout the entire ride until they were nearing their destination when the directions and plans came out. Apparently the plan was to split into pairs...something that he didn't feel all too confident about, more or less because of the idea of losing each other, in more ways than one.


Aleks turned his head forward for the first time during the trip, catching Jax's look of tension. Jax and Ven were the only ones that decided to find out who was going with who.


So...who am I going with?


Jax...don't wanna seem too clingy now, just let her hang out with masked man over there, you got nothing to worry about.


"I could go with Jax...just...a suggestion."


In truth every fiber in his being was screaming at him to stay with Ven but the voice in his head said no. And it had been a while since he had a chat with Jax.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor looked through the window as they drove this way and that in the city heading towards the gun store. There was a tense drive as they had now begun a mission. A mission, Victor thought, makes me wish I could go back to those days where we'd go on adventures instead of doing things this serious. Victor shook those childish thoughts out of his head; he prepared to carry on the fight as placed the mask back on his head.


Jax was going to the museum after dropping off Ven at the gun store. Both asked who would volunteer to go with them. Victor could help find Lyric but have to put up with Jax hard ass attitude or he could go with Ven to pick up ammo and supplies. Aleks quickly offered to go with Jax, making the decision for them both.


Victor quipped, "I like new toys. It'd be like Christmas morning."


Victor pulled the latches off his holsters, ready to pull the 1911s out as soon as the truck pulled over.


Victor licked his lips in excitement to do something, "You ready for this, Ven? Lord knows that I am."


With those last words, he cracked a devilish smile as he already saw what seemed to be the gun store and a few zombies on the street.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven nodded, a little relieved that she wouldn't have to choose between the two guys. Notching her arrow, she kept her bow lax waiting for the moment that they were to get out and start clearing the store.


"I swear Jax, if I die and hear that you didn't take two of those. I'm coming back from the grave to shoot you in the ass. Or worse, I'll tell Lyric."


Excitement bubbled in her, it felt like forever sense she had shot something. She just hoped that no one had figured out how to crack that safe she had spotted last time. Ven smirked at Victor's comment, placing her hand on the latch ready to open the door. Chuckling lightly, she opened the door just as Jax hit on the breaks. Moving out of the car, she managed to keep her balance shooting one of the dead closest to her. She moved to catch up to the car that hadn't completely stopped. She smiled a little, she had always wanted to jump out of a moving car and she could say now that she did. Though she might have been 100ft too eager. Ven broke out into a sprint, shooting anything too close for comfort. She pulled the handle to the door, finding it stuck on something. Whatever it was, it was new. Last time she was here to replenish arrows there weren't as many dead...and there definitely wasn't something stuck to the door.


"Shit!"


She hissed, putting her body weight into trying to get the door open. Ven heard something shuffle before the door burst open. Caught off guard and off balance, Ven's face bought a one way ticket into the sticky tile floor. Completely grossed out, she sat up noticing some kind of substance that stained the front of her shirt. Features twisting into that of disgust, she didn't have time to ponder what she had landed in when something grabbed her foot. She twisted at an odd angle, taking her bow and hitting the thing that had grabbed her in the side of it's head. Not that did anything much but release her foot for a millisecond so she could try to scramble away.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax chuckled. "Don't tell her." He took the ibuprofen and stopped. "Be careful you two." He motioned for Aleks to get into the passengers side and they drove. Silent. They haven't been the closest of friends. But he had a feeling what was going on. He just didn't want to bring it up. Especially since they were about to walk into hell and hopefully come out alive soon. So he had to get it off Aleks' chest so he would be ready for the mission.


"Jealous of Victor? Its all right, you can tell me." He said as he drove closer to the museum. He couldn't blame him. That was probably the tension he felt. It was gone and he slowed down. He sighed and got out. "Look, if you like Ven. Then you'll find your way and you got to trust her." He slowed down and saw the shadow of the museum. Well its better late than ever.


"Check our supplies. We got to be sure we are ready to go in here." He slowly drove closer, looking at the amount of undead. It was quiet so they were not alarmed. But once they detect us, we got to be ready. He tightened his grip on the wheel and then turned off the truck. Dead silence.


"You ready?" He pulled out his shotgun and holstered his pistol. He never uses the shotgun unless he had to. This was that time.

 

[PKCV2]

Ven and Victor jumped out of the truck, Aleks taking the passenger seat by Jax's invitation. The truck lurched forward at a steady pace, neither person saying a word to break the silence. Aleks stared out the window at the passing ruins of the city, abandoned buildings, dead bodies, useless objects littering the ground, all evidence that a better world existed before this.


"Jealous of Victor?"


The question brought Aleks back, who had turned his head to the driver, studying the man's face as he kept his gaze forward on the road. Why would he care? To his knowledge, they hadn't really hit it off in the friendship department and yet here he was...either feigning sincerity or actually caring...interesting.


Aleks scoffed.


"Jealous? Yeah I guess you could call it that. It's weird ain't it? A lowly gangbanger now reduced to an emotional, insane mess. Goddamn crazy."


They pulled up to the museum, the monsters milled about undisturbed. He checked their medical supplies, what little food they had, extra ammo, flashlights, a few batteries that he wasn't sure still worked, and other miscellaneous items. Staring at the undead, Aleks flipped off the safety of his pistol, securing his free hand over the trusty, familiar hilt of his knife, his heart was beating a bit faster.


"Whenever you're ready..."

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor watched as Ven jumped from the still moving truck. Instead of a leap, Victor got out as calmly as he could and watched as the truck sped off. Victor watched for a moment as their ride was going away. He pulled both his guns from their holsters and took aim. Victor dared not raise as much noise with the guns. Ven could be quiet with her bow but his guns would echo in the streets and probably making any escape harder. He aimed down the sights but used his legs to kick out the zombies' legs and gave a finishing blow with a crack to the head with the butt of the gun. Victor saw Ven working on the door. He faced his back to her as she worked to make sure nothing would sneak behind as she got the door open.


Victor heard the door open and turned around only in time to see Ven fall through while being caught be a zombie. Ven's leg was caught but she smacked the ghoul to free herself. Victor rushed and grabbed the ghoul by the back of is ratted camo jacket. He slammed it against the door to close it shut and pinned it facing away from him. Victor had a multitool with a blade, it wasn't the best at killing zombies but it did the trick when the need was there. He flicked the blade out and with a roar slid it through the back of the skull. Thankfully, zombie bone is infinitely more fragile which allowed this killing blow. Victor let the body slide to the floor before turning towards Ven.


Victor slid his arm underneath Ven and helped her to her feet, "You hanging in there?"


Victor looked at the gun store and the supplies that were left. Obviously there were things that had already been raided but the leftovers were still more than enough for this small group. A smile broke out as Victor looked at everything he could ever want. Victor listened for any other zombies that may have been inside with them. He could hear some scraping but nothing definite.


Pulling off the mask, Victor looked towards Ven and winked. "We should move slow, but shall we go shopping?"

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven scrambled to her feet with Victor's help. Her eyes glanced behind her at the body of the dead slummed against the door. Biting her lip, she picked up her bow and some of the arrows that had fallen from her quiver. She let out a small breath of relief, scolding herself yet again on her own need to be reckless.


She cracked a small smile, glancing up at him. "Hanging wouldn't be how I would describe it."


Looking down at the blood on her shirt, she gagged internally. Before moving her gaze back to the man beside her, she watched him pull off his mask. Ven was mildly surprised with how young he looked. For some reason she thought that he was in his 30's considering that she had never seen him up close without it on. Biting her lip, Ven watched his face as he looked around the store. She could hear the slight scraping noises, but hoped it was just the sign creaking behind the counter or something like that. She really didn't like the idea of running into another being.


Emerald eyes looked back at the man before him, doing a double take when his one eye closed in a winking action. Ven felt her face heat up, clearing her throat and looking away. Her retarded heart started doing it's little drum roll again, which just made her annoyed.


She didn't give her usual snide comment, too flustered to really think about a response she moved toward the back of the store with an arrow clutched in her left fist.


"Tell me if you find some arrows. I'm running low." She stated, moving behind the counter and crouching below the case. A small silver safe was sitting on the ledge. Scrapes running across it from someone trying to bust it open without knowing the combination. Whistling softly, she placed her ear to the safe door, slowly turning the dial.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor watched as Ven went behind the counter to a safe she already knew to be there before. He peeked over to see her trying to crack the safe by listening to the tumblers. He thought it better not to disturb her and went through the store. On a separate counter, he started placing a few ammo boxes and the guns that went to the ammo. He didn't know offhand what guns Jax and Aleks had so he grabbed some odd and end ammo just in case he didn't cover them in the first go around. Victor went through the store and cleared out what they may have needed; including some flashlights, lamps, camping gear, and other miscellaneous items. Even though Victor could still hear the scraping, he did find anything in the storefront that would have made it nor had he found any extra arrows for Ven. Victor decided to check on Ven and make sure she was still okay. From the looks of it, she was still working on the safe but probably close enough that he still didn't want to bother her. Without really thinking about it, Victor eyed Ven's curved body but quickly shook off the lustful thoughts and got back to work.


Finally Victor found out where the noise was coming from. There was a door that led to the back room that he hadn't really paid attention to on his initial rounds. He could hear something behind the door, faintly. The only problem was the door was locked from the other side and there didn't seem any way to pick a lock or anything.


In a calm voice as to not scare Ven, "Hey Ven. Just to let you know so you're not surprised, I'm going to break down this door. Just ignore it if you can unless you hear my girly screams."


Victor threw out that last joke to hide his anticipation of what laid on the other side. He knew that he may have to fight off some new zombies, but he had to try to see what other supplies were behind the door. With a gun in his hand, Victor lined up his shoulder to the door and counted to three in his head before ramming it. The door cracked, buckling under the weight of Victor. Behind the door was a small supply/office space for the gun store. Behind it he saw a few more supplies, including an unopened box of arrows, and a dead man that taken a gun to his head. Poor stiff had been bitten and didn't want to turn into a zombie. Before grabbing the box of arrows, he found what had been making the scraping noises. A half starved husky laid against the wall trying to move for attention. Next to the dog was an emptied out bag of kibble, long gone and eaten. Victor cautiously bent down and reached in his pouch for a protein bar he had. It wasn't much but Victor couldn't see an animal like this. The dog immediately gobbled the bar, as soon as he was done he began sniffing Victor for more food.


"Sorry, pup. There's not much else I have that you can eat," Victor consoled the dog.


Victor began scratching the dog behind his ears which the dog returned by licking Victor's hands. The dog was friendly, just malnutritioned from being stuck back here. He brought the dog out to the main store front and grabbed a bottle of water he had collected. He poured some into a surplus army helmet so the dog could drink.


Victor called out, "Look what I found! Can I keep him?"


Victor couldn't help but laugh with the thought of finally having a pet.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

"Uhuh.....girly screams...got it..."


Taking the joke seriously, she continued concentrating on the safe. Aware Victor was making a lot of noise, she figured he was just doing her job. Absently she wondered if there was a combat vest in here somewhere that she could put on instead of the soiled shirt. Getting back to business, Ven began to ignore everything else in the space around them. She was so close to opening the blasted thing that she could taste sweet victory. A soft clink filled her ears and then the safe popped open. Grinning, a feeling of glee rose up inside of her and she quickly had to keep herself from shouting.


"Houston, we are cooking!"


Her voice held excitement, as she opened the safe wide enough to take notice of the silver magnum and about seven boxes of ammunition. Documents were shoved in the back along with a scope that belonged on a compact bow. Eyes lighting up, the girl reached her hand into the silver safe. Ven's grin grew even louder at the sight and she clicked off her scope on her bow and put the new one on. Standing, she placed her eye behind the scope pulling back the bow string even though it wasn't loaded. Turning slowly she assessed the scope her grin going as wide as possible.


"This is soooo cool!!"


Her nerd instantly showed, her body turning towards Victor's voice. Her eye was still in the scope so she could only see his upper torso really up close.


"Can we keep what?"


Pulling her head back she saw a Husky drinking water out of a helmet like it was going out of style. Seeing how famished it looked, her face turned into one of concern for the adorable cuteness before her. Squatting down, Ven held her hand out tentatively, holding out a small handful of peanuts that she had pulled from her cargo pants. She had swiped them from the museum gift shop and she guessed that it was good she had saved them. She watched the dog turn towards her, move forward as if unsure about her before taking the offered food. A smile spread across her face reaching out slowly and rubbing the dog's head fondly. Instantly, she knew she wanted to keep the dog. Lifting the tag, she frowned. The metal was too warn for her to understand what it said. Undoing the extremely loose collar, she put it to the floor watching the dog as it put it's head against her chest only to recoil from the smell of dead man's blood. Ven chuckled lightly looking at the dog,


"Yeah, I know. It doesn't smell too good does it, Lupin?"


The dog responded by tilting it's head to the side at the new name. "It's french or something for wolf." Ven continued looking at the dog before standing. Turning to Victor she tossed him the supplies in the safe and put the gun in the loop of her belt.


"Oh yeah, totally keeping him."


Smiling, she moved towards the clothing section searching for something to replace her shirt.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor was more than thrilled to see that happiness on Ven's face as she fed and talked to Lupin. He never expected to have a pet of his own since he spent most of his youth at a boarding school. The dog took to Ven quickly and to the name. Of course the food helped. While there was concern that feeding another living thing would be troublesome, Victor always dreamed of having a dog. It was a sacrifice worth it. Plus the decision was helped when Ven said that they were keeping Lupin.


Victor caught the supplies that Ven was able to find in the safe, not a bad addition to the things that he was able to scrounge up in the store. Now, they needed to find bags to put the supplies for when they head out towards the museum.


"Just to let you know, there's a box of arrows in the back room. I'll grab it in a bit, just don't head back there. It's, uh, not pretty."


Victor knelt down next to the dog and scratched him underneath his jaw, looking into the husky's tell-tell icy blue eyes. In a whisper voice, "Alright, Lupin. To earn your meals, you have to keep an eye on that girl." Lupin gave a slight gruff sounding bark to acknowledge the command. Victor would quickly find out that this dog was very smart and helpful.


Victor stood up to grab the arrows from the back and look for a few bags to put the guns in. He watched as Ven walked towards the clothing section, probably to change the bloody shirt that she had. Lupin obediently followed her further into the store. Victor grabbed two duffle bags that would fit the supplies that they were able to find. He placed the supplies in snugly with enough room for Victor to pick up an extra compound bow. He may have not been any good with it, but no time like the present to learn or to have as a backup for Ven. He then went in back and grabbed the box to bring out front. While he was in the office, he draped a tarp over the dead body and silently thanked him for not killing the dog as well. Everything was packed in the two duffles. There was a lot more that they could have grabbed, but if they wanted to make good time to the museum then they needed to not overload themselves with supplies.


Thinking that Ven should be ready by now, Victor headed towards the clothing section only to see the young girl changing shirts. Victor instinctively turned around.


Apologeticly Victor called out, "Uh, shit... I'm sorry. Uh, I'm all set to go..."


Lupin barked at Victor as if to call him out on his bullshit. Victor held his head down and raised his arms, hoping the dog wouldn't rip his throat out after he told Lupin what to do a few moments ago.

 

[Jason Carlile]

(Sorry. Long and frustrating day.)


Jax crept out and took out a few dead with the butt of his shotgun, and walked towards the museum. "Okay, we got to stay together." He opened the door and walked in. Barely anything has changed since the last few hours. He nodded and turned on his flashlight. Maybe this was a good time to let Aleks open up.


"A lowly gangbanger? I don't think you're that type of man. Crazy, but not that crazy. And I can tell you like her. You have that look." He walked down the hall taking out a few more dead with his gun. He stopped and scanned the area. Two ways. "We'll go one way then the other."


He continued to the right and thought of things to say. What can he say? Well Aleks may have thought of Jax as an asshole. So maybe that had to be addressed here. He groaned internally and turned towards him.


"You may think I am a dick, but I am trying to watch out for you guys. And you need Ven, and I think Ven needs you. You need to trust her." Jax smiled slightly and turned back towards the darkness. He continued on and marked where they were by putting some old posts in an X formation. And we need to stay together, no arguments. Jax sighed and hugged the wall, seeing a few more undead in the next corridor.


"Whatever happens. We stay together." Jax turned and hit the others and walking on down. Hoping his statement marked his intentions.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Sighing, Ven looked through the shirts and military like vests trying to find one that suited her liking. Picking out a black tank top and a type of military jacket what had a bunch of pockets. At least it was black, and looked comfortable. Though the low 'V' wasn't something she was fond of. Then again, beggars can't be choosers.


Noticing that Lupin had followed her to the back of the store, Ven smiled at the dog.


"Stand guard for me, okay?"


She gave it out more as a command then a question. Lupin panted slightly, tilting his head to the side before sitting down in the middle of the alley with his back to her. Rolling her eyes, Ven removed her stained shirt, grabbing the tank top from the rack. She really hoped that this would fit.


Before she even had the chance to slip it on, footsteps suddenly were behind her followed by Victor's stuttering apology. Blushing darkly, she send a glance over her shoulder keeping her hands clutched around her chest. Without being told twice, she slipped the tank top on and the vest after it.


Ven could feel the redness in her face, as she stuffed her pockets with whatever type of food was left. She grabbed a survivor jackknife and slid that in the breast pocket of her vest. Clearing her throat, she swung her quiver back across her shoulders followed by her bow on the left shoulder. Grabbing a duffel bag she put it on her right. Glancing at Victor she had no clue what to say.


"Uh...yeah...l-let's go."


She mumbled, looting something random off the shelves and placing it in her pocket.


"Lupin, stay close."


She said calmly, addressing the dog like it was no big deal.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Despite his embarrassment, Victor knew when Ven said for them to go that he would have to get everything ready to go and try his best not bring up anything. He probably should apologize until he was blue in the face, but there was a part of him that said that he shouldn't bring it back up. Instead, he reached and grabbed the other duffel and put it across his shoulder. He was actually surprised that Ven had picked up the duffel. Victor had planned to carry both and have her lead the way. He knew that the bow may have been slower that his guns, but definitely quieter.


"Here, let me," Victor said while keeping his head straight to look her straight in the eye and try not to let his imagination wander.


Victor reached over to her shoulder and grabbed the duffel she had picked up and placed it over his unoccupied shoulder. He knew that she would probably complain but he could be stubborn as well. As he walked towards the door, Victor gave a hearty scratch to Lupin to make sure that they were still on good terms. Victor may have found the dog, but it seems like Lupin had already taken to Ven like she had raised him from puppy. It was funny that Victor was jealous of them in that regard, but it was fun seeing Lupin wag his tail slightly as he followed Ven.


"Alright, let's do this," Victor prepared as he was about to open the door.


The door swung open freely and with much surprise they were left alone for the moment. The street was actually empty and free from any ghouls. Victor sighed in relief as this may be easier than he thought.


Trying to re-break the ice; Victor asked, "Ready to skip? Because we're off to see the wizard."


Victor smiled shyly as the cool air ran through the empty street.