Fantasy When Darkness Comes.

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor knew most of the group was gathering in the living room. He made his way downstairs to see who was who, this would be where Victor would put the sounds pounding in his head to the faces. He was quick to start paying attention to the details that he would have normally taken for granted. Maybe this wouldn't be such a problem and he would be able to help out more with these senses.


He walked into the living room where everyone was swapping stories and getting to know. He saw Jax, the guy that tried to help him earlier, the new blonde girl, and Dark was hiding although Victor was taken aback that that guy had actually found the group again. Sometimes it's more than than coincidence.


Victor acted like he just woke up from a nap and asked, "Hey, what's going on? What are you up to?"


Victor took a seat and pulled out on his last two Twinkies since he couldn't shake that feeling of hunger. Sadness hit Victor as he felt nothing from the Twinkie, it was like ash in his mouth. He didn't understand why it was so; he starved but the food actually disgusted him. He decided to place the Twinkie on the coffee table for any of them to take. He sat down in one of the unoccupied seats, putting his head in his hands.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven nodded, watching him smile at her. For the second time she felt a tightening feeling in her chest, though it didn't hurt. It sent a school girl type feeling through her.


Looking back to the flame flickering in her hands, she took a step towards her sister's body. The corner of her mouth twitched into a slight smile.


"Say hi to mom for me, kiddo."


Ven's voice just audible for Aleks to hear behind her if he wanted to. Taking a deep breath, she set the lighter down on the log and stepping away quickly. The small bed of wood burst into flames, causing smoke to swirl into the sky above. Crossing her arms over her chest, she watched the fire build.


Huh. I never imagined my funeral to be quite like this.


I never imagined I'd be the one to prepare it for you.


Returning to her unconscious habit of biting her lower lip, she grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels from the cart. Studying the liquor she was thinking twice about drinking it. Honestly she knew not why she had grabbed it in the first place. Her mother abused substances such as Jack Daniels, making it one of her most loathed beverages. Turning to Aleks, she held the bottle up.


"Do you want any?"


She asked him some of her usual personality shining through.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax saw that they were discussing things. Personal things. He decided it wasn't right to listen. He got up and saw Victor. "Careful. They are getting personal." He turned and walked into the kitchen. Two lanterns. He lit one and hanged it. And the other he lit and put in the stairwell. He sat down back into the armchair. "Well. About time to set up watches. I'll take the first one." He couldn't sleep. Might as well be useful and keep the others safe.

 

[PKCV2]

The smell of burning wood and flesh, the constant crackles of the logs, the dancing smoke rising into the air, and the blaze of orange and red all rushed to his senses. The scene before him ripped him from reality. The monsters never existed. The other survivors didn't exist. All that existed in the world was himself, the fire, and someone he cared deeply for.


The glow enveloped the redhead, shielding her from the falling darkness.


Wrapped up in watching Ven, he didn't notice the bottle of alcohol until it was held up.


"Do you want any?"


Did he want any? Besides Ven and the stress ball, there wasn't much that kept his nerves together...the stress ball taking first place in the relaxation department, Ven in second. Yes this could end up badly since if they got drunk during this time but he'd done it once before and ended up fighting Jax in a pseudo-drunken style...though there might've been a bit of alcohol coming through and taking hold of his body so maybe not all pseudo...but still, a second time couldn't hurt.


"Hell yeah."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

"Hell yeah."


Cracking a small smile, Ven twisted the top of the bottle open. Moving towards him, she took a swig of the amber liquor. It had a bitter taste and made her throat sting for s moment. It was a nice sting but not something she cared for all too much. More for the sentimental value then anything else. Passing him the bottle, she watched the shadows flicker across his face. The fire giving him the appearance of seeming way older then she knew he was. He looked like he could be a senior in college at this point. Looking at his haircut she let another half smile come to her lips.


Though still some part of her was recovering from the very broken heart she had, the other was too busy trying to move forward. Ven was learning that....there was more to life then finding the monsters who took everything from her.


"Mind if I fix that hair cut of yours? It...would take my mind off of...."


She didn't have to finish her sentence to get her point across. Besides it would only take her a few moments to straighten the sloppy cut out.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor nodded to Jax as he mentioned how personal the others were getting. He only assumed the stories that they were swapping were a little more than he had given to anyone before. Jax went on to mention setting up watches. The thing was that Victor had no fatigue at all and felt like he could stay up all night.


"I'll stay up with you for a while, just in case," Victor offered.


He began sizing up the new arrivals and seeing how much trouble the would be if it came down to. He also knew that he hadn't always gotten alone with Jax but he should make the effort at least to throw off any suspicions that he was different physically. Victor had to put every single piece of energy into forgetting the drum of heartbeats and the hunger that wouldn't go away with food. He noticed so much with his senses but his mind was already beginning to be stretched to its limits.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks watched the orange-ish girl lean her head back, letting the whiskey flow into her mouth. She almost looked like...normal. A normal girl, in a normal world, drinking in a regular bar, a dim bar. He'd seen that kind of picture many times, each girl he watched looking better than the last. And now here was Ven, looking very cute...and free, as if the alcohol was washing away her troubles...then again alcohol tended to that.


Taking the bottle from her outstretched hand, he lifted it to his lips and took a long sip, swallowing twice. The bitter taste felt refreshing and he welcomed it with open arms. Now that he'd had his swig, he turned it over back to Ven.


"Mind if I fix that hair cut of yours? It...would take my mind off of...."


He lowered the bottle, a small smile forming.


"What? You don't like how I cut my hair? Had to go through a lot of pain for this. But if you really want..."


He didn't know of any tool that they had to cut his hair but he was going to trust her to not cut his ear off or give him a permanent bald spot.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven rolled her eyes, smiling slightly.


"Oh yes, that lopsided style of yours is doing wonders."


Ven chuckled softly moving to the car, she opened the door to let Lupin out. Being a dog, he took this as an opportunity to run wild. Chuckling at the dog, she shook her head grabbing a bottle of water and a very sharp knife. Doing one last thing, she turned the key in the ignition. Popping the radio on without turning the car on itself. She turned the radio up only enough so that they could hear it and not attract any unwanted company.


A guitar rift filled the space around them, Ven turned with a smile on her face. This was the best funeral she could ever give Ali and she was more then positive that she would have wanted Ven to be happy.


Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see


I got a fever of a hundred and three


Come on baby, do you do more than dance?


I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded.


Ven walked over to where Aleks stood, humming the song's tune to herself. Foreigner.


She would have never thought she would hear them again. Turning to Aleks she grabbed the bottle of Jack, taking a small sip before handing it back to him.


"You're going to have to sit or kneel, it's not my fault you happen to be a giant. "


Ven grumbled, though she knew full well she was just short for her age. After all, she was barely 5'5".

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks ran a hand through his hair at Ven's lopsided comment, twisting and turning a lock of hair, fingering the rough edges...he didn't have a mirror at the time...wasn't his fault...then again he made the decision to cut his own hair so it was his fault.


Music filled the air, along with the sound of the dog running around, sometimes making circuits close to the roaring fire. Humming to the song, Aleks listened to her blissful sounds, taking the bottle back from her hands, taking another long sip and kneeling down at her request, setting the bottle gently on the ground, careful not to tip it over on the uneven dirt. He braced himself for the inevitable pain as he caught sight of the not-so-dull knife she brandished.


"One of these days I'll get to cut your hair...I swear..."


He grumbled, three longs swigs equaled a woozy Aleks, he was always a lightweight when it came to these things.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Chuckling, Ven shook her head. She wasn't letting him anywhere near her hair. If he did this bad of a job himself then she didn't want to see what he would do to her. Looking at the bottle of water and back to his shirt she grimaced slightly.


"Do me a favor and take your shirt off so you don't get it all wet."


Woah there Venni if I knew things were moving that-


Shut up. I just don't want him catch a cold.


Mnhm...sure.


Mentally glaring at the voice, she watched him take off hos shirt a little sloppily due to his buzzed state. Not taking the time to examine the way his back muscles looked in the shadow of the fire, she slowly poured the water on his hair making sure it was wet enough to cut easily.


Setting the water down, she slowly and carefully cut his hair in the back. Her blade making precise cuts to even out the mess he had going. Still humming softly to the song, she tilted his head so that she could cut one really long strand. She was careful not to cut him or pull on his hair like she would have if his hair were dry. Finishing the simple cut, she poured more water of his head. This time she ran her fingers through his shorter black and blue hair. Making sure she didn't miss anything, though her fingers stayed tangled with his hair a little longer then necessary. Parting her fingers from his hair, she listened to the music for a moment.


"Much better."


She whispered quietly, staring at him. The fire must have been playing with her eyes, because what she saw before her dulled the ache even further. Looking away from him she poured the rest of the water on her knife before slipping it into her belt.

 

[Jason Carlile]

Jax looked at Victor. "Alright." He turned and walked outside. He climbed the wall to the roof with ease. He sat on the roof with his shotgun. He was restless and it helped to keep him awake. It was sunset. He kept one lantern on himself. To be sure he would have some ambient light while he was out here. Jax ate some gummy bears he still had from the museum and waited. If darkness fully fell and they didn't show. He would find them himself. He just couldn't let go of the thought.


"You okay? You've been quiet." He stared into the darkness. He was tense. Something didn't feel right. He felt it. He couldn't shake it off. Victor was..quiet. Not the usual smart ass that he was. He played it off casually. Jax may have been quiet, but he isn't blind. He had the feeling. But he put it aside.

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi hated the taste of the moonshine, it was god- awful actually, but man it was starting to hit her. She looked at G to see if he was feeling it too, but she could never tell what he was thinking.. she felt a little embarrassed about her story, it may have been too much and she didn't expect him to really care. After all she was still working out that she did not deserve to be treated like that because for the longest time that is what she thought. She looked down at her black boots. " Man were pretty fucked up," She joked, but she knew they both would probably not being sitting here today without their past occurrences. They were survivors, they all were.


She saw the man who was clearly in love with the small girl who honestly probably didn't deserve him,, he'd been really quiet and he carried a slightly ominous way about him.


She introduced herself "Im Lexi, you were that guy that punched the other one in the jaw, nice shot.. but I would've went for the nose.. but actually I wouldn't have hit anyone over that girl" She said a little tipsy


She immediately apologized, no filter.. " Im sorry, none of my business, I lack a filter sometimes."


She offered him a small smile and looked at the lantern illuminating her and G

 

[PKCV2]

"Do me a favor and take your shirt off so you don't get it all wet."


A blush flared through his face, his mind going into alarm but went through with it, shrugging off his leather jacket and clawing at the back of his shirt, trying desperately to get it off as if it was slowly choking him to death. After a few torturous moments he finally got it off. Waiting for the knife to start cutting into his hair, he absentmindedly traced his tattoos.


He ran his finger over the gears, pipes, and every other metal part that machinery was comprised of, which spanned from his wrist to his elbow. Then to his other arm, the assorted items that littered it from his wrist to his shoulder, which ranged from cool looking khoi fish to pizza.


Warm water suddenly ran through his hair and down his body, a feeling of content running through him, the closest he's been to a shower in ages. Mild to moderate pain shot through his head as Ven put the knife to work. His head was lightly jerked around as she worked at various angles, once she was done he reached a hand to his hair, very aware of her fingers still tangled in it, but he made sure not to touch them. His hair was much shorter, the front only falling just above his eyebrows, the back stopping right where his head met his neck.


Feeling her slip away with the job done, he gathered his shirt, only bothering to put on his jacket, not feeling ready at tackling his shirt again, snatching the bottle as he got up.


"So...we should p-probably...get back."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven blushed, watching him get to his feet his muscles moving as he did so. She found herself staring at the different on his body not having the guts to look away. The fire was dying down, but it was still raging. Moving towards the fire in order to hide her blush, she knelt down close to it. Watching the logs crinkle and the fire slowly start to die and with it her sister's body reduced to ash.


Turning back to Aleks she nodded just now noticing the wolverine like jacket hr was wearing. She smirked slightly,


"I'd like to make sure the fire goes out if it's alright with you, bub."


With that wolverine reference, she stood back up again watching him adjust his clothes. Her heart drumming steadily in her chest, a feeling that she could only describe as ' butterflies' swarmed in the pit of her stomach.


Looking back to the fire, she watched the flames flicker as if reaching out towards the sky trying to grasp at any oxygen that could keep them alive.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks raised the bottle back to his lips, taking a smaller swig after the brutal bigger ones. A pleasant buzz went through his head as he kept his eyes on Ven, sometimes roaming to other parts of her body as she moved past him towards the still-blazing fire.


The fire finally dwindled down though still enough to cast the orange glow around the area, smaller than before.


"I'd like to make sure the fire goes out if it's alright with you, bub."


Bub...why would she call me bub?


It's your jacket...remember?


Jacket...oh!


Ven looked backed to the fire, her figure consumed in darkness and light, shadows and fire. Taking clumsy steps he trudged across the dirt, kicking and shuffling until he found himself at her side, having the dark and light wash over him as well. He watched the smoke swirl through the air for a bit until he swung an arm around her, hand on her shoulder in an one-armed hug, gently rocking her.


"I'm...sorry...for everything."


Was all he could manage before getting too lightheaded.

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Feeling his arm sweep around her shoulder, she smiled hesitantly as her body swayed slightly with his.


"I'm...sorry...for everything."


Her eyes snapped to his face, watching him watching the smoke swirl up into the atmosphere. As hard as it was, she felt a little happier to hear that. It had been what she had wanted to hear sense he sat down in her car on the way here. Giving a sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder watching the fire now. It was her small way of saying apology accepted. He kept swaying even when he stopped rocking her and she instantly knew he was drunk if not very buzzed. Her shoulders shook and before she knew it she was laughing. Washing away the grief and pain of living through this new hellish world she laughed for a good ten seconds before it faded and the grief returned along with the pain. Her smile fell slightly staring at the flames still.


"You two would've gotten along so well."


She mused almost to herself, though aware that he was still holding onto her.

 

[PKCV2]

A weight rested on his shoulders after a moment of blissful silence, he didn't need to look to know that it was Ven's head, her hair brushing the bottom of his jaw. He didn't know what happened next that caused Ven to laugh but the laugh was long and lively, an almost alien sound but very heartwarming.


Once her laughter faded she looked back to the fire, he couldn't see it in their position but a measure of sadness was mixed into her voice.


"You two would've gotten along so well."


His smile grew smaller, his mind still addled.


"Ehhh...she probably woulda kicked my ass by now."


He stumbled backwards, bringing the bottle back to his mouth, taking another sip and holding it up to the sky as some kind of toast.


"I'm sure she was a good kid."

 

[Hell0NHighWater]

Ven almost laughed at his response. On the contrary she probably would've tried and failed miserably. She wasn't even sure she could kick Aleks's ass herself without her bow. Ven wasn't a very hand to hand oriented person. Ali was more of the stab things first ask questions later type. She watched his stumble back and lift the bottle to the sky like he was saluting her.


Yeah I could kick his ass.


Only when he's drunk.


Ven chuckled softly watching him teeter trying to stay balanced. She still couldn't tell exactly what kind of a drunk he was, but she was certain that he wasn't the kind her mother was. Ven turned fully, crossing her arms over her chest to smile a little at him.


"Yeah she was."


Looking back to the dying fire she took her eyes off of him waiting for the last log to crumble producing a pile of embers and sparks. The music was still playing and had switched artists all together. This must have been a mix tape someone had made. The sound of an electric guitar coming to the end of the song filled the air, giving an almost calming feeling.


"So, uh Abby I hope you like this."





Ven's head turned to the radio her feet moving so that she could sit on the hood of the car. Crossing her legs she listened to the guy's voice before the next song started to play. She thought that was a sweet thing to do even though it was obvious that the guy was totally nervous about making this. At least he had a great taste in music.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Jaz asked, "You okay? You've been quiet."


Victor thought about everything that was going on, but he had to bury it deep before he could even consider revealing it to anyone. Halfheartedly Victor responded, "Yeah, I'm good. Just been a long day, starving for a real meal. Y'know..."


Victor sighed as everything from the past day went through his head from his crashing through the museum, his conflicts with the men of the group, the new people, his short shopping trip with Ven, the monster in the Egyptian exhibit, the vampires, and the never ending complications. Even with everything that was going on with Victor physically, he was mentally drained from everything else. He need a vacation from the apocalypse. Victor watched as the blonde walked up to him.


"I'm Lexi, you were that guy that punched the other one in the jaw, nice shot.. but I would've went for the nose.. but actually I wouldn't have hit anyone over that girl. I'm sorry, none of my business, I lack a filter sometimes," the obvious tipsy girl said to Victor.


Victor cocked an eyebrow and pushed his hand through his shaggy hair. He eyed the girl from top to bottom, stopping at any revealed flesh before stopping to look her straight in the eyes. He cracked a smile with the mention of a filter.


Victor replied, "Hey, I'm Victor. Yeah, I punched him but I wasn't trying to hurt him. Guy just needed some sense knocked in to him. Don't worry about the filter, I'm usually the same way. It's not like anyone minds their own business these days anyways. That's just the way of the world."


Standing so close to people caused the drumming to fill Victor's head. Victor needed to figure a way to shut it out.

 

[PKCV2]

Aleks tried his best to keep a steady gaze on the girl as she walked from the fire to the car, sitting on the hood and listening to the music that filtered out of the car. Looking down at the bottle he held he decided against another drink, instead shuffling over to Ven to offer her the bottle.


Setting the bottle carefully on the hood, he followed, feeling the hood dip down from the extra weight. The dog that had been running around finally stopped, trotting over to the two, panting loudly. The music was still playing, the genre still a mystery to him.


"So we should...go...back to the others...unless you have another plan."


He let out a loud burp and a chuckle, amused with his own bodily functions.

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi looked at him as he smiled at her, she returned the smile "Moonshine?" she offered.


G left and went to his room, probably to sleep (He's not coming back, he messaged me).


She got up and wobbled a little, "Victor, you don't deserve that.. nobody deserves to be treated like that."


She spoke softly "Nobody deserves to be hit either.." the words clearly having a deeper meaning for her.


She immediately wanted to change into a more positive conversation. She brushed her hair behind her ears, and looked at him with her hazel eyes.


"Tell me something about you,something positive?" She asked

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor looked at the bottle as Lexi offered moonshine. He shrugged and took the bottle, maybe the Twinkie from earlier was just a fluke so might as well try something else. Victor tilted his head back and took a swig but to no avail. The mouthful of alcohol gave no release or burn. With all the new senses Victor was receiving now, he still couldn't taste anything. Not the sweetness of a Twinkie or the burning bitterness of alcohol. He handed the bottle back to the girl. Lexi continued talking and brushed her own hair back. Victor lost all common sense and just stared at her neck, licking his lips. He wondered why he felt this way. He definitely enjoyed the female form but he was never this pervy or at least he thought he wasn't. He shook his head trying to remove the physical wants he was feeling.


Victor chuckled as he responded, "There's a lot of people that deserve to be hit, I deserved it quite a few times. Something positive?" Victor couldn't think of anything directly to answer the question, "I don't know, I can be pretty self-deprecating. I guess, it's up to you to figure out. How about you, since you're asking? What brought you to our very dysfunctional group."

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi watched his eyes eat her alive for a few moments, it made her shift uncomfortably. He was a nice looking man, but no way he thought she was that nice looking, plus he probably was too busy swooning over that lovely girl she was so fond of.


Anyways she disregarded whatever just had happened


"Long story or short?" She asked. Lexi chose for him, short. She was to drunk to be bothered by the whole story.


"Basically I was beaten by my fiancé who then ended up sleeping with my best friend and then they both got murdered by the dead." She flinched a little, it was still painful even through the moonshine.


"Then I got a couple guns, taught myself how to fight, went out on my own, and have been out on my own for awhile. Until I showed up to this shit show. So here I am." She chuckled a little.


" Im just a pissed off female I guess, thats why I've survived so far."


"Not very positive..." Lexi gave him a half smile.

 

[ChanpuruDragon]

Victor listened to Lexi's story. It was hard to hear such stories happened, even before this hell. He didn't want to pity the girl, but he definitely felt sympathetic. He watched as she still hurt from telling the story.


Victor placed a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her even from the story, feeling the heartbeat through his arm now. Apologetically Victor said, "I'm sorry for that. That was definitely a dick that deserved to be hit and probably more. But you've survived this far, that's pretty positive in of itself."


Victor didn't know what he was really trying to to say. He had heard a lot of sob stories through the last few years, even with the latest news of Ven's sister. It felt like nothing was really going anyone's way. The group was still waiting for Lyric to gain consciousness as well. It would a long while before things really started to look upwards for anyone it seemed to Victor. He removed his hand from Lexi's shoulder because every second of contact just drove Victor closer to an animalistic hunger that he did not understand.


Trying to change the subject, Victor pulled out his last Twinkie from his pouch and held it out in an offering. The other one didn't taste remotely appetizing despite his hunger, so there was no real need to keep something that wouldn't be used. Trying to revert to his normal self, Victor winked at Lexi as he held out his hand and said, "Something to help soak up that liquor? Probably don't want to get so shitfaced it front of people you don't know."

 

[Lexi Whittaker]

Lexi felt his palm on her shoulder, it was awkward, this whole situation. She saw him wink at her and she couldn't help ,but enjoy it a little.


She didn't really like the shitfaced part so she closed the gap between them, got close to his face and grabbed the twinkie from his hand. She gave him a bit of a light-hearted shove.


"Do you think I give a single fuck about what people think about me and you don't seem like the type to care either so cut the bullshit?" she said firmly.