Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[Jason Carlile]

"Long story." He got up and took some more cans and found some more wood out back. He carried it over his good shoulder. "Lets go, we got enough for tonight." They started to walk out. The sun in the distance. If Ven was going to do something. It better be damn quick. As he re entered the house he looked at Lexi.


"Do an inventory check on the supplies we picked up. I am going to stat barricading some windows." He found some tools in the garage and went to work. He hammered down wood beams in the back few windows and hammered hard the metal plating in the front windows. Now if they had some power tools, they could make some windows. He got up from hammering the last nail and took a drink of water. Its getting cooler. He motioned for everyone to come in. They needed to hide their vehicles in the back and transfer the rest of their supplies in the house.


"Sweep the house for any more supplies." He asked Lexi and Dark. And with that. He sat next to Lyric. Tired. But a job well done.

 

[Dafizh1]

" And look for any chemicals... " I disappear (( sorry yall i gtg see ya later ))

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi swept the house one last time after checking inventory. They were in pretty good shape, she found a couple more pieces of wood and helped board the house up a bit.


She looked at the woman who'd been on the couch for awhile and rolled her eyes. " Hey Jax, your friend took off..." she said informatively.


She went and sat beside G in the corner, "quite the day," She sighed..


They talked for quite sometime and eventually Lexi rested her head on his shoulder and fell into a much needed sleep.

 

[Jason Carlile]

"Eh. I wouldn't worry about it. He does that." He got up and walked up into the bedroom. He had the necklace he was saving for Lyric around his neck. He pulled it out and looked at it. I can't save everyone. He watched as the others were still outside. "I'm sorry I wasn't good enough." He sat on the bed. He didn't care if it was dusty. He didn't care. His body and mind were fried. He shut the door and let the pain Jaximus had let go. The man had to let go and this was the best time.


He fell to his knees. Weeping quietly. "I am not strong enough. I can't protect these people. I couldn't even save one." He threw his pistol onto the floor and threw the magnum. His knife was on the bed. He could have gotten jumped by Aleks, Victor or anyone here and he wouldn't care. He never asked to be the leader. Hell he wasn't sure if he was. He felt like a guardian. A teacher, the one dickhead everyone hates. But also knows what he is talking about. For the first time in a long time, he wondered if he should go back to the loner life.


"I should. So that way these people will live." He didn't care about his life. He looked up and saw his reflection in a mirror. A broken man. The man who's at his weakest. A man who is afraid of letting his friends die. He punched the mirror. "Fuck it all." He laid down on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling. Necklace in hand. "Please wake up soon." Jax for once, needed someone he could talk to. And he trusted Lyric. More than anyone here. He suppressed the tears. I am sorry. I am sorry that I wasn't strong enough. But I will carry that as a testament to the man that I have become. With that, he sighed slowly and looked outside. In about an hour it would be dark. They had to hurry.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

((I feel like I missed the party...))


Ven bit her bottom lip, looking over at him as he got out of the car. Sighing again, she got out with compact bow in hand and arrow resting between her fingers. Looking back to the building, she moved into the store part of the gas station. Not taking any amount of caution as a bell rang over her head. Continuing to walk to the back of the store she ignored the groaning from the back room. Grabbing two bottles of lighter fluid and a lighter, Ven put them in the small basket she had grabbed from the front of the store as she walked by. Coming to the food section she piled in everything that could be counted as edible. Her eyes never lifting to see if Aleks was following her. Swiping a cheep bottle of Jack Daniels from behind the counter she placed it in her basket quietly. Looking around the small shop, the light straining to stay on, and the tipped over shelves. It brought back the painful realization that things weren't going to be how they were before. Not ever.


She stood frozen, taking in that sour thought.


If this had never happened, she wouldn't have had to kill her sister, their father wouldn't have left them for dead, and all the horrible decisions in her life wouldn't have happened. Casting a glance to Aleks she thought hard about all the bad.


And not the good.


She wouldn't have ever met him.

 

[Jason Carlile]

(Not much. Just getting supplies and stuff.)

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor's eyes shot open as he felt people returning to the house. He didn't know how he knew but he could feel the heartbeats reverberating through the house. He smelled their sweat as they began to relax from the day's labor. The venomous pain that grew from his arm was gone, but now replace be something else something that held its grasp on Victor's very being. He leaned against the bedroom wall trying to make sense of it all, his darting around as it picked up the new sights. He had never seen the world like this but this new sense had its price. Victor hearing was filled with the heartbeat of everyone in the house. He licked his lips as he learned about the change that also occurred in his mouth, his felt the larger canines that grew with a hunger. Victor wondered how he would handle this new hunger, how would he hide it from everyone else.


Victor stood and looked at a dark mirror in the bedroom. He looked at his face and he could point out the hollow hunger. He wondered if anyone else would notice, but he wouldn't take a chance. Victor placed his half-mask back on his face to cover his eyes, hopefully no one would notice how much he ached. He felt like he was being drawn to everyone else, so he had no choice but to walk to the door. Victor unlocked the door and swung it open; he watched the door slam against the wall as it swung open. He had a new strength as well that he would need to conceal. No matter what was happening to him, Victor stepped out of the bedroom realizing that this was a new day for him.

 

[Purpl]

Frank heard everybody talking about staying in this house. The house next to the one they had pulled the little girl out. If so was the case, then something had to be done about the house, sure it might already be safe. But if he were to stay somewhere, he took NO chances what so ever.


He went in the house, checking room after room for a suitable one to stay in for himself. He found one with a large couch, TV and an armchair, One door and one window. Decent enough. He put his backpack there, leaving everything except his warhammer.


He went out, and asked Victor, who seemed to own this place more or less if it was okay if he stayed in the room.


After getting the answer, he went out. Carrying his huge weapon with him, he went to a house nearby. Checking it carefully before he went in.


He started knocking on the walls, looking for the hard beams of the house. When finding one, he backed up, took his warhammers axe side and swung it against the wall. The wall was crushed, dust being spread across the room he was standing in fast. He put a rag around his face so the dust particles did not spread in to his lungs. After exposing the beam, with kicks and punches and hits from the warhammer, he started chopping it off. When done, he simply carried it out and put it in a pile.


Almost tearing the whole house down, he broke loose as many columns as he could before getting too tired to swing the large axe like weapon.


He started dragging all the beams back to the house.


Entering the room he claimed, he put his axe and took Icebrand, his short sword out with him. He started sharpening all the beams. He sat there, looking as the others ran out doing there stuff, came back and talked to each other.


After he had sharpened all the beams that he had gotten, he took a tour around the house. One back entrance and one front. At the back entrance, he placed the beams in the stairs by destroying the back of the stairs and wedged some of the beams in. Making it impossible to get in that way for anything trying to walk or force it's way in.


On the front side, he placed the remaining beams around the path that led to the porch. Placing them so that nothing could get a surround on the porch, the only way to get there was to go by the middle path. He placed them tight together, but not too tight. If you were a thinking creature you would be able to get past this. This was mostly for those who did not think.


Feeling tired and rather tired, he placed himself on the stairs and sat there, resting.


Now he just hoped the others would not get mad at him, finding this a good method of protecting he almost dozed off sitting there. Seeing Lexi come and placing herself next to him surprised him.


"Soo, did you find any of that liquor?"

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi looked at him with a sly smile. She rummaged throughout her bag and found the mason jar filled with clear moonshine, "Oh I found liquor." she mimicked.


she shook the jar to show him and threw the rest of her stuff back in her bag.


She enjoyed the company of another person, and after the day she had, she wanted, better yet, needed to relax.


She took a swig and leaned her head against the wall.


"Story time," Lexi said.

 

[PKCV2]

He watched Ven move out of the car, only taking a second to look at the building, and heading straight to the station. She made her motions without much thought but with purpose, striding in with no hint of hesitation, swiping lighter fluid, lighters, food, and a bottle of alcohol.


Aleks was left behind as he walked through the store with more caution then necessary, an urge to make sure neither of them came out unscathed came to the forefront of his priorities. He checked every shadowy area, combing the shelves and stands for anything useful, only able to grab a bottle of water and a few bags of potato chips.


Done with scavenging, Aleks looked around for Ven, his head swiveling 180 degrees to see her standing near the counter, eyes sweeping the trashed interior. Making one last round through the building, a bright orange ball caught his eye. It was nothing special, completely round with no obstructions. Taking it into his hands he squeezed the rubber, watching it shift from the pressure.


Aleks afforded a small smile, something to remind him of the old world, a small yet reassuring symbol...a stress ball. Pocketing the ball, Aleks pushed the doors open, stepping outside and holding it open with his foot.


Well...stress balls are better than smoking.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Walking out of the station she took a glance at Aleks who was holding the door open with his foot. Giving him a weak smile of thanks, she turned towards the wood pile checking to make sure it was dry enough to burn. Loading large piles of the logs into the cart she took it to the trunk and put it inside. She really did not want to drive, but she knew Aleks wouldn't. So, left with little choice she moved back to the driver's seat. Getting in she leaned her head back on the head rest, running her fingers through her hair once again.


Putting the keys in the ignition she waited for him to sit down in the passenger's seat, satisfied with what they had looted.


((Sorry it's short I'm on my phone so it looks way longer))

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks returned the small smile with a nod. With everything that happened a silent nod was the best gesture he could manage. As she walked through the open door he finally noticed the wood she was lugging around. Having lost him gentleman instincts, Aleks trailed behind, letting her place the logs into the car.


He got back into the car once the trunk closed with a thump, wearily hunching over to fit himself back into the car, his jaw still mildly in pain.


"So...where are we...you, doing this?"


Once again he was stumbling with his words. He didn't know if he qualified to be part of 'we', of course that didn't mean he wouldn't help with the preparation...if he was allowed.


(( I'm always doing this on my phone...everything looks longer than it is. ))

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven turned the car on after a moment, slowly pulling back out onto the street.


She thought about his question, biting her lip as she drove down the road and out if town.


"I don't know...I guess wherever."


She said quietly, looking at him when he said 'we'. After what had happened, she really didn't know if their relationship would ever be the same. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, her eyes scanned the deserted farms for a good place. Taking a sudden sharp turn onto a dirt road, she pulled off the road slowing the car down to about 5mph.


Ven sighed slightly, pulling the car into a clearing surrounded by tall grass and what looked to be soy bean crops. Turning the car off, she listened making sure there weren't any crawlers hiding in the tall grass. She looked over at Aleks, opening her mouth to apologize about earlier but, she didn't really have anything to say sorry for.


"How's your jaw?"


She asked instead, sitting quietly with her hands on the wheel even though the car was shut off. At least she had stopped crying, still hating herself for breaking down in front of all those people.

 

[PKCV2]

"I don't know...I guess wherever."


Since it seemed the two had been reduced to short and simple answers, Ven took the car back onto the road, probably not feeling like holding a full conversation. Fortunately she didn't say anything about his 'we' comment though he could make out her head turning to him when he said it, but he kept himself facing forward.


Eventually he found himself staring at a field of crops...a farm. The car came to a stop, it's rumbling abruptly disappearing into the quiet rural air. Everything seemed to get a little creepier. He strained his ears listening for the sound of some murderous predator laying in wait but he heard nothing.


"How's your jaw?"


Aleks raised his bottom up, digging the stress ball out of his pocket. Setting himself back down, he squeezed the rubber sphere in an iron grip.


"Stings. Conflicted. Don't know if I should beat the shit outta the guy. Or at least get my ass handed to me while trying."


Involuntarily he had turned a simple question into...whatever that was.


Giving the ball a few more good squeezes, he stepped out of the car and back to the trunk to retrieve some logs.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven watched him take the small stress ball from his pocket. She strained a smile, at least he was forming sentences...kind of. Watching him get out and open the trunk, Ven stayed put for a little bit. She couldn't tell if he was still pissed about something or if it was just the tension from not really talking about anything.


It was obvious to Ven that they needed to settle their problems, but now might not be the best time. Finally getting out of the car, she grabbed the rest of the wood and built a small bed like shape. It was just big enough to fit one person. Ven went to work digging out a perimeter so that the fire wouldn't spread to the field.


"Could you...."


Ven paused staring at the wood pile she was building. Her vocal cords wouldn't work, she still couldn't believe the last hour or so had really happened.


"..bring my sister over here?"


Ven managed, not looking at him as she stuffed dried grass in between the logs. If he didn't want to get involved and just wanted to be there for whatever reason would be fine. The fact that she had been the cause of her sister's demise didn't make her think it would be right to be the one to pick up her limp body. It was hard enough carrying her from the basement and outside.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax was restless. He couldn't sleep. Haunted by memories. He got up and looked outside. Its almost dark. Ven and Aleks better hurry. He got up and walked out of the room. He was on the second floor. He looked like a mess. He smirked and walked down to the main floor.


"So what food do we have?" He sat on an arm chair and looked out. "We also need to find some lanterns or something." And winced. He was exhausted. But he needed to stay up. To make sure Ven and Aleks made it. If not he would go and find them himself.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks stood to the side, logs secured underneath his armpits, watching Ven to see where he should put the logs. Seeing her build some sort platform, he neatly stacked his collection of wood to the side. Piling on the last log, he heard Ven make a request.


"Could you......bring my sister over here?"


Aleks stood up, looking at the girl with a hint of concern in his eyes. To him it seemed like he shouldn't even be a foot away from the body, not after what he said to Ven about her sister. He thought she would've pr


eferred to do something like that but maybe she just couldn't bring herself to do something like that. But if she wanted him to...he wasn't going to refuse something like that.


"If you're fine with it..."


He turned back to the car, opening the door, finally getting a look at the deceased girl. Upon closer inspection he could only focus on the small fangs as her mouth was slightly open. Harsh realization slammed into his head. She was a vampire, her captors were vampires, and now he felt even worse about his comment. Gritting his teeth and stowing his emotions, he hooked an arm under the backs of her knees and his other under her shoulder blades, head falling back, hair flowing downwards.


Putting one foot in front of the other, he kept his eyes trained on the girl's face the whole way.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven leaned back on her knees, looking at the small platform. It wasn't anything fancy, but it would do. Her eyes traveled to the sky noting the failing light. Turning, she saw Aleks carrying her sister to the pile. For a moment Ven thought the scene was surreal, it was like staring into a mirror when she looked at Ali's face.


Choking back a sob, she grabbed the lighter fluid squirting it into the pile before he laid her down.


"It should have been me."


She whispered looking at the girl laying on the pile. Taking something out of her pocket, she placed it in her sister's hands. The smaller girl clutching what looked to be a worn ring. Biting her lip even harder to keep herself from crying, she soaked the rest of the wood with lighter fluid. Taking a step back, she struggled with the lighter, her hands shaking too much to get the flame to light up.

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi heard Jax from where her and G were sitting on the stairs.


"I put all the food I collected on the table in the kitchen." She said


"Why don't you go to bed, you look exhausted.."


She thought about adding that he was not their mom and they would be back in time and probably be alright even though she had no idea. Plus she had started off on the wrong foot with the girl and would not be bothered if she never came back.


She looked at Jax, clearly injured, clearly needing rest.


After all she wasn't his mom either and he could do whatever he wanted.


"Jax... there are three lanterns, I grabbed one and the other two are in the kitchen as well."


She looked at G waiting for him to share his past.

 

[Dafizh1]

Still hiding from all I continue to wach Jax "Poor guy... yet I cant help..." I say to my self (( probably going to be on tonight... probably))

 

[Purpl]

There G sat, with Lexi and a bottle of moonshine.


Moonshine, it was not something that he was fond off, but it'd do it's job.


He looked at her, wondering if he really should tell her what happened, and if he should tell her everything or just separate parts.


But anyways, he started.


"When the bomb blew up, me and a couple of my close friends where on a hiking trip, high up in the mountains. The only thing we heard or saw, well we actually didn't hear or see anything. We just felt the whole earth rumble and move. We all understood something was really really wrong. Hurrying back to where we all lived, we came to chaos. There were so much, death. The first things we saw were people killing people, Just regular people, trying to get their hands on valuable things, and killing for them. We hurried to our neighborhood. Nothing was left. There was only rubble and ash. At the time we were 6. With all having no homes left, we ran back to the city trying to scavenge what we could.


There, we lost our first. An old lady, seemingly nice came up to one of my friends and stuck him down with a knife. Apparently she wanted his bag, or at least that is what she cried when i beat her to death. Yes, i killed that woman. I did it with my bare hands.


Moving on, we moved slowly, no one of us were used to being on a constant walk. Hiking, sure, for some days, but this was different.


One person could not stand it, went mad, killed himself and suddenly we were 4.


Then, the time had passed so long that the people that were affected had started turning.


And, before knowing, one of us were bitten. And if that was not bad enough, it bit another one in the sleep before we could do anything.


Having to kill my own friends, watching them dying, should have been horrifying, but i could only think about my survival.


Now, we were two. In a matter of weeks, everything that i knew had been lost. Seeing what i was becoming, the last person was afraid of me. Running away in the night and leaving me with nothing. I started wandering around, killing, and killing, doing that just to stay alive so i told myself, but the truth was that i enjoyed it. Far too much.


And, then i found myself with another group. But now it is your turn! I have already shared some!"

 

[PKCV2]

He walked slowly, somberly, watching the fading light play against Ali's face, giving her face color, removing the vampiric features. Stepping up to the kneeling girl, he heard the sound of the lighter fluid being shot over the platform of logs. Once she finished, Aleks set Ali down onto the platform.


"It should have been me."


Ven straightened herself as he rose, stepping back with a lighter in her hands. Her hands shook violently, too jittery to get a flame started.


Advancing to her back, he stopped a finger-length away, reaching his arms around her and secured her shaking hands into his much more steady hands. Eventually he had her hands still, manipulating her fingers to get the flame started.


He couldn't think of a response to her earlier remark, he tried to think of reversing the two sisters' roles but either way one of them would be grieving over family's death, right now this was the best he could do.

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi looked at him, he had been through some rough times, she couldn't say much so she just grabbed his hand and ran her thumb across the top of his hand. She knew that he wouldn't want anyone to feel bad for him, so she stayed quiet, and began gathering her thoughts. At the end of his story she got nervous, she got a little shaky, and she had never really told anybody her story. One nobody cared to ask and two it was still hard to tell, but it was time so she began releasing his hand and placing hers in her lap..


"Unfortunately, mine starts before the bomb went off, and gets worse after."


" I was engaged to a man, the love of my life, the night we got engaged everything was perfect.. Until he drank a little bit too much, that was the first night he hit me. Its hard to say why I stayed with him for a whole year, fear, love, a mixture of both. I had bruises and was constantly applying the makeup to hide them, I never really knew what would set him off, I would tip-toe around and do as he said ,but he would always get set off. I loved people and laughing ,but after about a month, I stopped really having friends except my best friend who was persistent and I hardly could break a smile. My self-esteem was so low, and coming home from work every night I would cry just cry because I knew he was already a couple drinks in and waiting . One day my best friend finally figured out what was going on, Ive always been a poor liar and my stories stopped losing there touch. She didn't know what to do, she said maybe we should break off the engagement. That was not an option, I knew for certain if I did that he would kill me."


Lexi looked at him and she pushed back the tears in her eyes, eyelashes fluttering, and took a long drag from the moonshine.


"I guess thats my part one, but part two might even be worse." She said in a sad tone.


She hardened a little and balled up her fists "I was weak back then."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Feeling his arms wrap around her, Ven found herself relaxing if only slightly. His fingers felt warm to the touch, giving her another feeling of calm.


Her eyes watched his hands manipulate hers into getting the flame to rise. She didn't move, feeling as if everything that had overwhelmed her was taken off her shoulders for the briefest of moments. Her pain was reduced to a dull throbbing ache as she became more aware of his arms around her and his chest to her back.


The orange and yellow flame flickered patiently and yet she didn't move.


Just tell him what you're thinking....


Now isn't the time or place for-


Then how about you just start with Thank you?


Ven's gaze slowly moved back to her sister's body, knowing only too well that she would have said something like that and she sure as hell wouldn't want her sister being utterly depressed with a guy she cared for around. Looking back at Aleks, she let her guard drop completely. Every emotion she was experiencing was depicted across her face.


"Thank you."


Ven said softly, expressing all of her feelings in those two short words. She would work her way up to three. But for the meantime, two seemed adequate.

 

[PKCV2]

He felt her relax, though it wasn't much of an improvement it lifted his spirit. Her almost clammy hands was a nice contrast to his warm palms, his fingers playing hers like a puppet. For the first time in his life, he moved with precision, each of Ven's fingers moved with purpose under his control.


Once he got the flame started, he didn't move, deciding to let her finish this on her own as he withdrew his arms, taking a step back to let her finish. Instead of setting the body alight, she turned to him, and for the first time in this long day, her face was full of life and emotion.


"Thank you."


Happiness and relief flooded his system, those two simple words broke him. A glimmer of hope surfaced in the darkness of his mind, a place that had gone dark long ago. Containing it, he gave her a genuine smile, not a big smile, but not too small. Remembering the situation that the two were in, he lightly patted her shoulder.


"We should...finish this."


Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry!


I'm not gonna cry!