Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[Jason Carlile]

(Sorry, I was hanging out with family and worked today. I was so tired. Anyway HERE I AM.)


Jax saw what she was talking about. No. No. He walked up and saw her. Bloodied, unconscious. But alive. Relief swept over him. He gently picked her up and carried her in his arms. He saw the rest of the group. He was alone in the room. "Hey, don't die on me. It'll be okay." He smiled weakly and walked gently out. He looked at Ven and Aleks on the ground. He nodded.


"She is alive, bloodied and wounded. But alive. We need to go. Now." He walked out slowly, and winced in sharp pain in his shoulder. He walked outside and gently laid her inside. Examining the wounds, he nodded and started using some water to gently clean her wounds. After 3o minutes she looked clean and patched up. He took off his jacket, revealing the wound in his shoulder and wrapped it around her. He turned in his pistol and shotgun into his bag, but kept the magnum. He held back tears of relief. He was happy and relieved. No one was left behind. He slid down and sat on the concrete, closing his eyes. Reliving the past of his actions.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

"If you need to vent...go ahead...start ranting, yelling, screaming, crying...take a punch if you need, hard as you want, don't need to worry."


God he is so stupid sometimes.


Welcome to the male species, Venni.


Turning back to look at him she felt as if she was going to start crying just out of pure frustration. As her eyes drifted back to his she caught a look...she didn't know what it was. But, it was the same look he had given her when he had kissed her in the truck. That one moment to make everything lift off her shoulders. When he looked at her like that, it made her forget the pain and suffering the apocalypse had caused...it made her forget her sister being taken, and most of all it gave her that pure second of hope. Where she felt that maybe in this shit hole she could find something else to want to live for. Unable to hold it back anymore, she wrapped her arms around his waste letting her head bury in his chest. Taking deep breaths she focused on just calming down, letting the stupid things brush off her shoulders. After a moment, she pulled away noticing Jax coming out carrying Lyric.


Ven grabbed her stuff feeling everything drop back on her like a ton of bricks. Gesturing for Lupin to follow, she walked out of the museum luckily the howling was coming from up the stairs. If they moved fast enough they could make it out of the city without fighting. Running to her car, she grabbed the container full of gas filling the truck up while Jax fixed Lyric up.


"Listen, we need to get to a safe location outside of the city."


Ven said to Jax before moving back to her car and closing the trunk. Letting Lupin in the backseat she turned to look at him. It was imperative that they found a safe zone to recover and settle. Maybe a farm or something, she wasn't too keen about going back to Dark's. At least, she wouldn't be going back. Shadows were moving again and they seriously needed to get out of there. More sounds of the dead were growing louder. Ven turned to Jax,


"We need to leave and we need to leave now."


She didn't care what the decision was she just needed to know which way to drive.

 

[PKCV2]

Doing the least expected move, Ven turned to him, holding her gaze with his as she did nothing. She just stood there for what seemed like the longest time, it almost made Aleks leave in anxiety. He had no way of knowing what she was thinking but he knew what he was about to do. His hand twitched, animalistic desires rising from his stomach, something that happened after having the majority of the world's women dead, he knew the consequences of this.


Arms wrapped around his waist, the weight of her body all leaning against him, melting away any previous desires. He didn't know what to do, his plan of lust had been foiled and for that he was grateful...yet disappointed. Her arms were too low being wrapped around his waist, he could just hug her normally but then he'd be encasing her as he would wrap his arms around her arms, trapping her, she might've panicked. He could wrap his arms around her neck but her face was pressed against his chest. So he settled for standing there, feeling her chest heave against him as she took deep breaths.


Only then did he realize that he wouldn't enable to hug her anyways as she had trapped his arms against himself when Jax ran by with Lyric. Ven ran off with them, leaving Aleks by himself, not knowing what to do, his heart thudding in his ears. As quickly as he could manage, he made his way to the truck, cursing his suspicion of having arrhythmia.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Giving Aleks a glance, she chewed on her bottom lip slightly wondering if she should offer for him to ride with her. Not that she had anything against Victor she was just avoiding him like the plague. Swallowing she figured the worst he could say was no. Dangling her keys from her thumb, she looked at him.


"Want to drive?"


She questioned gesturing towards the new car they had looted. It almost seemed too real with all the things they had managed to get this trip. The packs of water were by far the best find so far. Waiting for Aleks to respond she cast a glance at Jax waiting for his call.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks made it out of the museum without having his heart explode just in time to see Jax stuff Lyric into the truck, doing another scan of the area he saw another car...he didn't know why kind of car it was but it looked fast...and expensive.


"Want to drive?"


Aleks looked at her, his face full of distress at the sight of the keys.


"What...n-no...I can't...drive. Never learned never bought."


He had no reason for a car anyways since tended to walk to his destinations...like right at that moment as he moved to the passenger side door.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven smirked widely looking at him.


"Looks like I'll have to fix your hair AND teach you to drive. Damn Aleks, anything else you want to share with me?"


She chuckled softly, poking fun at him just because. As soon as they reached whatever destination they were heading towards...she would be sure to fix his hair. As lopsided and cute it looked, it kind of made her want to secretly laugh every time she looked at it. Her eyes followed him as he slipped into the passenger side of the car. With a ghost of a smile she clutched the keys in her fist hoping that Victor wouldn't mind riding with Jax.


Getting into the driver's side she put the keys in the ignition deciding to play the same trick on Aleks she had on Victor. With a evil grin, she looked at him.


"I should have you know, I never got my license."


She mused keeping her face serious but her voice anything but. Ven watched for his reaction trying not to bust out laughing.

 

[PKCV2]

Seeing Ven's big smirk made Aleks feel a bit better, she seemed to have calmed down.


"Looks like I'll have to fix your hair AND teach you to drive. Damn Aleks, anything else you want to share with me?"


Aleks sat in the passenger seat as he waited for Jax and Victor, twisting a lock of blue hair between two fingers, remembering how he had cut it...with a knife...painful, and here she was, planning on undoing his hard work. He'd tolerate that but he'd make sure to never learn how to drive, one of his worst fears was hurtling down a road at 100 miles per hour in a flaming steel can of death, he barely handled Lyric driving at a nice 60 miles per hour...and this car looked like it could go 100+.


"I should have you know, I never got my license."


And that confirmed his fears...as if they weren't clear enough. He looked at her devilish smile with wide eyes. He almost jumped out of the car and into the truck after that little statement.


"Y-you're f-fucking with me right? Oh man I hope you are....."


All he could do now was try his best to relax and hope that this car didn't burst into flames...and that Ven wouldn't drive so fast.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax nodded while positioning Lyric laying down on next to the bags and having his jacket as her bed. "I agree. We need to move. I suggest somewhere close to a small town and find somewhere to fortify. We can't keep moving in a city. But also we need to be close to here just in case." He voiced his opinion and watched as Ven and Aleks take both the front seats. Great, that leaves me with Boy Wonder. He chuckled at the thought, he wanted to observe and think about what he saw.


"If Aleks drives. I rather take my chances with the dead." He chuckled and sat behind Aleks. He pushed the seat back and let his legs stretch and his shoulder to relax. He hasn't stopped moving in the past 24 hours. Maybe it was finally time to relax. "There was a small town close to the city. About 9 miles. Not a bad drive. I suggest we move there. But just my opinion. You're driving." He chuckled and leaned back. He trusted them to lead him to a safe location.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven blinked at his horrified face. Placing her hand on his knee she looked at him a little concern. She hadn't meant for him to take her joke like that.


"Aleks. I was joking. Besides, you'd know if I was fucking with you. I'm sure it would involve less clothes."


She mused, reverting back to her usual snide comments and sarcastic humor. Giving Jax the thumbs up watching him get into the truck. Waiting for Victor she figured he must be driving the Truck which meant she was to be the lead car. After all Jax had gotten in the passengers seat of the truck. Glancing at the museum doors she wondered what the fuck was taking Victor so long. Her attention was averted away when she realized she hadn't taken her had away from Alek's knee. Doing so, she blushed slightly looking out the window putting both hands on the steering wheel.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

((Sorry, got to watch Guardians of the Galaxy early. By the way, I'll probably won't be on too much tomorrow since I'm having the oh so fun root canal. So feel free to drag Victor around if need be.))


Victor stood by and watched Jax carry the blonde girl to the truck. He looked to take great care while handling her battered body. With all the difficulty Victor had getting along with the guys, he saw the good in Jax or at least the caring for this girl side. Victor followed them outside of the museum. Outside, Victor saw Ven holding on to Aleks and he felt uncomfortable all over agin. His early assessment of the situation seemed to be right. Victor was definitely the fifth wheel in the situation. His earlier moves with Ven might have been for nothing.


Victor hadn't really spoken for quite some time. He felt like some hollowed being that just followed along. If he were being honest, he really didn't know how he should feel. Should he continue being defensive, force his way into the group more, or just let everything fall where it may? Victor was ready to bolt again, he was never known for staying in one place for very long. Ever since the start of this hell, Victor had been to all the places that he never thought he would be. He missed the rain in the northwest, the snow in the Rockies. It just bugged him in the back of his skull that Victor should settle stakes even if it were a little bit. Help these folks get set up.


Ven and Aleks moved into the sports car, while Jax moved to the passenger seat in the truck. Victor reached up and removed his mask. He used it to tie off his arm; he would use some super glue later to seal the cut. Victor pushed his hair back and got into the driver seat of the truck. He started the truck and felt the engine shake throughout. Victor gripped the wheel and checked the mirror for any more surprises.


Victor leaned out the window and called out, "Ladies first."

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks looked out the window, arm propped against the door, his fist covering over his mouth. Was this how he would die? In a metal trap, speeding down a road with a girl that looked like she was 18 years old? No. He needed to have some faith in her...after all she might've been the one driving when she and Victor got to the museum...but how chaotic the ride was, he didn't know and a new wave of doubt washed over him. The only thing he was certain at that moment was that he hated cars more than anything else. A hand on his knee broke him from his trance, almost making him kick the bottom of the glove compartment out of instinct.


"Aleks. I was joking. Besides, you'd know if I was fucking with you. I'm sure it would involve less clothes."


He looked back to Ven, a sheepish grin on his face.


"H-heh...that was good...sure got me."


Not knowing what else to say he noticed the hand still on his knee, Ven noticed it too as she jerked it away, not making eye contact with Aleks.


"Ha...might as well get naked now if you're that desperate."


He heard Victor call out...ready to go...his stomach churned in anticipation.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven smiled, rolling her eyes at his comment.


"Shut up."


She mused softly before turning the car on. Slowly pressing on the gas, she pulled the car ahead of the truck. Making sure he was following she kept the car moving at around 20, navigating the maze of abandoned cars. Taking the route Jax had told her about she glanced at Aleks.


"Here. Pop this in."


She stated handing him the mystery CD. Ven kept her eyes on the road hoping he was a little more relaxed. She figured the music would help calm him down.


Accelerating to 30 as they got into a more open area she felt as though the slower speeds were constricting and she knew he needed something distracting if she felt the need to gun it.


Glancing over at him, she offered him a reassuring smile. He needed to relax a bit, though if he had a fear of cars it would explain why he hated driving around in the truck.


"Calm down Aleks. If it's any comfort, the driver is usually the first to die."


She mused softly chuckling at the thought of her crashing.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax let Victor drive. He decided to let the past drop and sighed. "Look, if that was you in there. You can bet everything you have on your back that I would've got you. Come whatever may." With that he leaned back and closed his eyes. He had nothing more to say to him unless he responded with his typical 'I am too tough for this' bullshit. He put Lyric in the car with Aleks and Ven, because Jax thought it wasn't the best idea to wake up to Jax and a stranger. He found a CD case and had some nice metal band cds. He put it on the console.


"Pick whatever." He smiled and continued to watch as the city grew dimmer. We will be back here soon. Possibly. He nodded in hopelessness and grit his teeth. Damn shoulder. Its been fading away but every now and then it has a pain spike. He shook his head and watched the sky.

 

[PKCV2]

The car came to life, lurching forward, ahead of the truck and into the streets. The car was moving at a relatively reasonable speed, to which Aleks felt safe, only a bit of fear lingered as they advanced around abandoned cars.


"Here. Pop this in."


Aleks looked at the CD in her hand, the same one she was twirling earlier in the truck, he never found out what was on it but he would now. Taking the CD from her hand, he slid it into a thin slot at the front of the car...it was the only place that the CD would fit so he hoped it was the right slot. Fiddling with the knobs, he found one that changed the volume, he turned it to the right slightly, the music coming in.


Some rock band started playing (or at least he thought it was rock), Aleks didn't know the genre, he didn't know the band, he didn't even listen to much music on his way to adulthood, the most he listened to was some street group that played Jazz music for money...there were pretty good. The music did some to help him but it was all squashed as he felt the car accelerate.


"Calm down Aleks. If it's any comfort, the driver is usually the first to die."


Aleks looked over, talking a little louder over the music.


"That doesn't make me feel better. Where are we going anyways?"

 

[Dafizh1]

" Yup... " I say from behind Xian taking a seat next to him " Are you three going to abandon me or each other like they did? "

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven glanced at Aleks, giving him a slight pout over the fact that it didn't give him any comfort. Rolling down the driver side window, Ven let her left elbow rest just outside the window. She was slowly increasing the speed, changing lanes so that they were going down the opposite lane. Purely because there were no abandoned cars facing towards the city.


"Well, I'm guessing some type of place we can hunker down and yet get into the city if needed."


She replied glancing at him. She was pushing 55 now though she wasn't giving him any clue that she was increasing speed. On that off chance that he couldn't tell though he still looked nervous. Ven listened to the music a smile coming to her face as she tried not to sing to the lyrics.

 

[Turbinail]

Argus took his Bo staff, he was caught in a horde of the infected. He jabbed one of the infected with his Bo staff, and tried running away when he kicked one down, he hadn't seen much survivors lately, hopefully he would find them some where. He got on his motorcycle and began riding back into the town.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor revved the engine as he continued to follow Ven's car. He heard Jax sign beside him and offer, "Look, if that was you in there. You can bet everything you have on your back that I would've got you. Come whatever may." Victor looked towards Jax through the corner of his eye while still watching ahead of him. He thought about if Jax would really come back for him if something happened. He thought back to how Ven got him out of the garage, but there was a bit of hesitation just with his rough encounters with this group.


Victor thought better and decided to be magnanimous with his reply, "Thanks, I appreciate it that." Victor thought about what Jax had bascially offered so Victor joked, "I'll make sure you come back in as many pieces as I can manage."


Jax laid out a few CDs for Victor to pick from. Victor didn't know all the bands that were on these CDs but he knew a few of them. He passed his fingers over the bunch as he continued to watch the back of the car in front of him. When he finally selected a CD, he slid it into the console. THe truck filled with a heavy bass and drum rhythm that reverberated through the truck. They were getting close to the edge of the city and hopefully close to where they could rest a bit. It had honestly been a long day.


In his peripheral, Victor caught sight of a motorcycle. He dared not slow down, otherwise he might end up losing sight of the other car. All Victor could do was lay on the horn a little, hopefully catching the guy's attention. Although, that may have been for nothing as he continued to accelerate to keep pace with the speeding car ahead of them.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks looked away from Ven as she directed a pout towards him, not wanting to fall prey to any devious plan she might've had in mind, settling on staring out the window. He watched the road start to blur, a sign that they were accelerating and he could do nothing about it.


"Well, I'm guessing some type of place we can hunker down and yet get into the city if needed."


Having lived in cities his whole life, he guessed he'd be relying on his friends if they went to some rural area, they would probably have more knowledge on apocalyptic-rural etiquette.


Continuing to stare out the window he saw the road pass by a bit faster, he gripped the side of his seat, his fingers aching as he did so. He tried closing his eyes, letting the music flow into his ears, helping him find some relaxation.


"So...really...what got you so upset back at the museum?"


He didn't want answers about Victor anymore, he just wanted know why she seemed so frustrated...and it wouldn't hurt to have knowledge ahead of time about what pisses her off/makes her upset.


Ha! Gettin' soft there!

 

[Turbinail]

Argus turned around and caught the eye of a guy a little bit older than him. He slowed down, trying to get they guy to slow down and roll down his window and talk to him.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Seeing him tense, Ven sighed glancing at him before hearing a honk from the truck behind them. Confused for a moment, Ven accelerated to 60 and holding that speed. Her eyes looked to Aleks who seemed more freaked out.


Releasing her right hand from the steering wheel, she softly laced her hand with his tense one. Keeping her focus on the road ahead she hoped the gesture calmed him along with the music.


Glancing over at Aleks she considered his question. Not knowing if she wanted to actually tell him the truth about what has been plaguing her mind as of late. Settling on just telling him about the room she took a small breath.


"My sister, Ali, was taken a few weeks ago. That's why I was in the city when I ran across the three of you. It's also why I flipped when I saw Lyric shift."


Ven paused, her hand tightening onto the steering wheel and also around his hand. It was hard to force the words out of her mouth at this point.


"She was taken by a group of Vampires....they uh....are the reason for that scar on my side."


Ven smiled tightly, looking at the road as if she wanted to murder it. Before relaxing slightly, growing a little less murderous looking as she realized she was squeezing his hand. She relaxed the hold a little more glancing over at him.


"The blood reminded me of that night...and it just brought the feeling of failure on top of everything else."


She breathed falling quiet waiting for his response.

 

[PKCV2]

A honk from the truck caught his attention, it was a quick honk but it still got it's attention, trying to see what was happening, the feeling the car accelerating even more made him forget everything. A hand latched onto his, a way to try to get him to calm down...or at least he thought so.


Ven told him about her sister being kidnapped not too long ago, vampires she had said. He didn't know anything about her freaking out about Lyric since he was stuck between severely sleepy and coma during the time. Her hand tightened, bringing slight pain as she continued talking. Noticing what she was doing, Ven released his hand, red marks visible on his skin where her hand had been.


"So let's say you find these 'vampires...'


He hadn't seen vampires in this whole thing but after seeing zombies, werewolves, and every other possible creepy predator of the night, he supposed vampires weren't far off.


"...what do you plan on doing with them? Assuming they can't fight back."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven turned her gaze from the rode to him. This time taking her hand away from his so that she wouldn't hurt him as she gripped the steering wheel once again.


"I'll kill them."


She said just loud enough for him to hear. Her voice was calm and steady almost as if she would take pleasure in ending their existence. Letting out another breath she smiled quickly changing her demeanor from murderous to happy go lucky. Like someone flipped a switch.


"How about we talk about something else. "


Ven said lightly, looking over at him and slowng the car down to about 40 seeing that she had really pressed on the gas. The truck being a speck in the distance behind them. Turning off to the side of the road she waited for Victor to catch up. Her eyes going to Aleks's hand seeing the red marks she had left. She felt really bad about that....she just hadn't planned on telling him more about her life.


"Sorry...about you're hand."


She looked a little miserable at the thought that she might have hurt him.

 

[PKCV2]

Just killing...nothing exciting. Those vampires would be helpless, subject to whatever sadistic plan their executor would have yet Ven would just waste it by simply killing them. No. That was how he thought, that wasn't how Ven operated...as far as he knew.


"How about we talk about something else. "


Aleks agreed, too many dark topics tended to surface when the world had ended. Trying to figure out what else to talk about, he noticed the car slowing, much to his heart's release...and his lungs as he filled them with air. She steered the car to the side, waiting for the others, a reasonable move seeing how far back they had been left.


"Sorry...about you're hand."


Aleks looked down at the marks on his skin, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over it.


"Eh, a little squeeze is nothing to get worked up about...and you kept my hand warm..."


He let his sentence trail, bringing the back of his hand to Ven's cheek, letting the warmth spread to her face, lightly drumming the middle joint of his index finger against her temple to the beat of the drums sounding from the speakers. All the while he kept his gaze out the window, arm back to the propped with fist over mouth position, thoughts of the vampires were coming in slowly, of course he was going to keep that to himself for now.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Her gaze lingered on the rear view mirror, suddenly brought back to him as his hand touched her cheek. His hand felt slightly warmer than her cheek. For a moment, she ended up blushing darkly. Feeling his finger drum against the side of her face. Ven watched him, not really knowing what to do in this sort of situation.


Her subconscious decided to do it for her, leaning into his hand. Her heart drummed along to the beat of the music. Watching him look off into space seemingly deep in thought. Ven bit her bottom lip, slowly taking his hand away from her face. She looked down at his hand, slowly stroking her thumb over his knuckles. Still blushing slightly from his sudden contact earlier.


She turned over his larger hand in hers, running her fingers over the callouses and the different lines on the palm of his hand. For a moment she wondered how his hands became so rough almost as if he had worked on a farm all his life though she knew for a fact he wasn't a farm boy. He didn't seem the type anyway and she also knew fairly well that he used to be part of some sort of gang. It felt a little strange to her smaller and slightly smother hands, but the small circles she was ghosting over his hand sent tingles through her own hand making up for the odd feeling. Ven dragged her eyes slowly up from his hand to his face.