ZRP-2 Chapter 6: Scattered

Mira closed her eyes, snuggling into Sarah like a child would it's mother.

Eve huddled against James. "I miss mommy...I miss Sam..."

Hibiki sighed. "I know...but I want to hold her more...I haven't done that in so long..."

(Andrew)

=I simply nod, knowing that griping would get us nowhere at this point. We needed to regroup=

Well...what's our next move?

=I raise an eyebrow=

Do we move on now, or do we wait till daybreak to move out?

*Cooper*
"We're setting up camp for the night Andrew. Stay here, give ourselves time to rest."

*Marcus*
"Then at first light we leave."

(Andrew)

=I nodded=

Good idea. We're all exhausted, and some sleep would do some good for all of us.

=I go up to Sarah and Mira=

You two might want to get some shut eye. Cause we're setting camp for the night.

=I go to find a place to keep warm and try to go to sleep=

(James)
"I miss them too Eve. I miss them too."
=Tightening my embrace, I nuzzled my chin against the top of her head=

(Sam)
"Yeah......so, does this mean we need to set up a schedule or something for hugging sessions?"

"You and me?" Hibiki teased.

Eve sighed softly. "I know."

(Sam)
"Well.....I mean if we're both hugging Eve, not like we can hug her at the same time, right? So, we're going t have to have.....joint custody?"

(James)
"With luck, we'll see them tomorrow."

"I meant you hugging me silly." Hibiki clarified. "And we don't need joint...well...you have custody. She loves you...so that overrules all."

Eve nodded. "Ok."

(Sam)
"Oh.....oh god, no I mean I'll hug you during Christmas and everything, but other than that I'm sticking to Eve."

(James)
=I shivered a little, cold myself. So I scooted closer to the fire, dragging Eve with me=
"My kingdom for a sleeping bag...."

Hibiki laughed. "In the interest of staying warm, I think an exception should be made." She pointed out.

Eve was dragged. "My kingdom for Sam and a warm bed."

(Sam)
"We could always add more to the fire."

(James)
"You really love her, don't you?"
=There was a hint of jealousy in my voice, but not because I wanted that same kind of romantic affection. But she always seemed to enjoy spending more time with Sam than me=

Eve nodded. "Yes...I really do daddy." She snuggled up more. "But you're still daddy...and you always will be."

Hibiki sighed, adding more. "Fiiiine."

(Sam)
"What, you wanted to snuggle up?"

(James)
=That made me a little bit happy=
"I know. I just wish we spent more time together. Or that.....this world wasn't so hectic that we could actually have a fun time together."

"Hey, I didn't fall in love with James at first. Can't deny I wanted a little redhead." She stuck her tongue out at Sam. "Sorry. But hey...can't blame me for wanting to hug my soon to be daughter, right?"

Eve nodded. "Maybe the next place wont burn down."

(Sam)
=That.....made me a little uneasy=
"Hibiki, don't even joke about that. I......I could never do that to him."

(James)
"Yeah, maybe. All we need to do is take out the Shepherds, and things will be a little easier."

Hibiki looked a bit...surprised. "No No No! I was teasing you! Before I really fell for James, I kinda had a slight crush on you. That little want you can have for someone you see. I didn't mean..." She rubbed her temples, then gave up. "Get some sleep."

Eve nodded. "Yeah..."

The girl started humming quietly to herself.

(Sam)
"I'll try."
=Laying down on the cool tiled surface, I closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep=

(James)
=Without meaning to, I began to hum along with her=

Hibiki reached over and patted Sam's shoulder, then got ready to stand watch.

Eve was humming "Angel with a Shotgun."

(James)
=Eventually, I started humming my own tune. It came from, of all places......a video game. I started humming "The Journey Home," which, in a way.....seemed slightly appropriate I guess. We were all on a journey for home=

*Marcus*
"Alright people, everyone who's not going to sleep, I want the, divided between guard duty, and sorting through our supplies."

*Cooper*
"You heard the man people, lets get to it!"

Eve soon joined in with the song.
"When history witnesses a great change..."

(James)
"Razgriz reveals itself.......you played that game?"

"I played a lot of games...being his daughter...I had some privileges..." she sighed. "And I had a life...before that..."

(James)
"It's strange. I try and imagine what Jonah was like before all this. What kind of life he had led. And it creeps me out, thinking of him as an average guy in a suburban neighborhood, mowing the lawn and getting the newspaper."

"Or being a raging drunk." Eve said sourly.

(James)
=I winced=
"Sorry."

"He beat me an mommy...the Shepherds...just took the alcohol away and gave him a gun." She closed her eyes. "You've never seen my back?"

(James)
"Your back? Why?"
=I suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was soon followed by a growing fire of anger=

Eve wiggled out of James' grip and scooted forward. Now in front of James, she pulled the back of her shirt up to show the same jagged, horrible scar that Sam had once witnessed. With the bandages on her arm, she looked horrible.

(James)
=It was all but impossible to suppress the very angry growl that bubbled up from my throat=
"I only wish I had done worse to him."

=Slowly, I reached out a hand to her back, and gently felt the scars. Besides my anger, I also felt a desire to cry, seeing her like this=

Eve whimpered softly as James touched her scar. But she scooted back a bit.
"Now you know..."

(James)
"I'm so sorry Eve..."
=Grabbing the hem of her shirt, I pulled it down to cover her scars. Then I pulled her back against me as I hugged my daughter=

"I'll never hurt you."

Eve closed her eyes. "I know daddy. I know."

(James)
=I held on to her for a minute before I let go and stood up=
"Get some sleep. I'll keep an eye out."

Eve nodded, laying down and closing her eyes.
"Thank you daddy."

(Jason)
=Nodding, I left her in the room while I exited the house, standing out on the porch=
Hibiki......please be okay.

All the girls, from Eve to Mira,to Jennifer, all fell asleep, some content, some troubled, and some in fitful, silent nightmare.

Hibiki kept a silent watch, not wanting to disturb Sam.

(James)
=I kept watch for the night, resting in a comfortable chair by the fire. There was no sleep for me, not tonight, so I watched Eve sleep. She was, dare I say it.......adorable, asleep=

(Andrew)

=I went into a deep for the first time in nearly a month. It was a fantastic feeling to finally get some sleep=

God...finally. It may not be five star, but this sure as hell beats no sleep at all...

(Sarah)

=My sleep, unlike Andrew's, was not restful. And was soon beset upon by silent nightmares=

Will you just leave me alone...please. Let me rest in peace...

=Andrew and I, however, try to get what sleep we could get, despite my restless mind=

=While most of the caravan went to sleep in their cars, the rest took watch, moving around the group. The caravan was parked on a road, with trees on one side and an open field on the other. Everyone kept in contact, and for the most part it looked safe. An occasional walker drifted too close, but they were put down quickly=

=Morning came soon enough, and the caravan was once more on the move. They drove along the road, heading straight for Owensboro though it wouldn't be until later that they would reach it. Behind them, keeping their distance, the Shepherd caravan followed=

(James)
"Come on Eve, we've gotta go now."
=I stood by Nomad, waiting t help her up onto the horse=

Eve yawned and shuffled over, allowing herself to be helped up.
"Thank you daddy."

(James)
"No problem. Now hang on, we're going to be moving a little bit fast today."
=Mostly because there were some walkers emerging from the woods=

(Sam)
=I yawned as we walked out of the convenience store, reading the road map we picked up inside=
"Okay, so we just need to keep going along this road we're on now, and we should reach Owensboro by sundown."

Hibiki walked the motocycle out. "Let's go."

Eve groaned. "Ok..."

(James)
=I stuck to the grass, keeping us off the hard road. It wasn't that bad, and we managed to speed away from the walkers=
"Okay we should be getting close by now. If I read the map right, we'll be coming up n the north side of the town."

(Sam)
=Waiting for her to get on, I climbed on behind her=
"Good to go."

Hibiki opened the throttle wide.
"Hang tight."

Eve rested her head on James' back quietly.

(Sam)
"No problem there!"
=I screamed out as the wind picked up my hair and tossed it around behind me. God, it must have looked like I was trailing flames behind my head=

(James)
=I slowed us down to a trot once the walkers were well behind us=
"We should be good now Eve. You can stop crushing my ribs."

Eve mercifully loosened her grip.

Hibiki kept her eyes on the road, praying they would make it without delay.

(James)
=We soon reached a fork in the road, a sign pointing to the right saying "Owensboro, KY." So I went right=
"So, think this place will be any better than the last one?"

(Sam)
"Hey wait, are we supposed to wait for Marcus to vouch for us, or do we just drop his name?"

"Drop his name. If that doesn't work, we just cooperate and don't piss them off." Hibiki replied.

"Anywhere is good with Sam and mommy and you." Eve replied.

(Sam)
"Have you seen our track record with people in towns? We tend to piss people off in the opening moments!"

(James)
"Ha, yeah I guess. But I meant more secure."

"Pregnant women tend to get treated better." Hibiki said.

Eve just shrugged.