ZRP-2 Chapter 8: Survivors One and All

Marcus shook his head at the last bit, saying "Yeah that will never work. They see Eve right now as a threat to their children, and without setting anyone off Eve isn't exactly a little kid. She's a teenager, and to them that's enough to make her an adult. So we won't be able to earn the sympathy card that way." James sighed, and said "Look, let's start with what we know can work. Head to the bar, check on the bottles and see if any match the glass."

Sam looked at Hayley and said "That really won't help. Say someone does come and try something. You shoot at, or shoot them at all, and they'll think there's another traitor here protecting her."

Hayley kicked the floor. "dammit."

Hibiki gathered the glass. "Let's go."

James nodded and followed Hibiki as they left the house. Sam stayed behind to keep an eye on everyone else, though Marcus and Clara followed the pair out of the house. Clara stuck with James and Hibiki, while Marcus headed to inform Andrew of what was going on.

Hayley sat beside Ella.
"Don't suppose...you'd be willing to talk to me alone?" She asked softly.

Hibiki was silent...she just was cradling Eve's P90, finger on the trigger.

Curious, Ella nodded though the look she had on her face showed she was mildly wary.

The trio reached the bar, and inside....it was oddly vacant. No one else was inside, clearly at home and not in the public space. Not even the bartender could be seen. "Well," James muttered, "isn't this creepy?"

Hibiki frowned.
"This isn't right..."

Hayley led Ella to an adjoining room...then hugged her, burying her face in Ella's neck.
"Please just hold me. I just need someone to hold me."

Ella was startled by the move, and at first tried to worm her way out of it before she returned the hug. She didn't bury her face into Hayley's neck though, instead keeping her head held up and expression calm. "Guess you're not okay then huh?"

"They may just be closed," Clara said as she moved forward. "They're not setting a trap for us that's for sure." James moved to the bar, looking at some of the bottles. "Hey Hibiki, you still got the glass?"

Hibiki passed them over silently.

Hayley shook her head. "No...No I am not."

Gingerly taking the glass pieces, James gave them a look over before he spotted a bottle with a similar label. "Vodka.....someone used vodka for a molotov," he said. Clara grunted, and said "Damn, they sure didn't mind wasting that kind of rarity." She stepped over to the bar with James, and blinked. "Jesus Christ.....there used to be two bottles there. Look, there's an empty space next to that bottle right there."

"Well I'd be surprised if you were," Ella said in a hushed tone.

"So...." Hibiki paused. "I think it's not the bartender. Why would he waste the rarity? Someone just stole a bottle..."

"Ella...I wanted to babysit Eve, ya'know? I was watching her when the zombies came in, and I liked it...."

"Probably," Clara said, before a sound behind her, from the doorway, made her turn around sharply. There was a boy standing there, younger than Eve by three years. He looked a bit....scruffy, clothes as dirty as his face. "Who are you?" he asked. James turned around and said "James. Who are you?" Clara answered for the boy, saying "His name is Riley. He's the son of the owner of the bar."

"You make it sound like she's a kid. Isn't she fifteen years old?" Ella asked. She always wondered why people doted on Eve like she was a child ten years younger than she really was.

"Ella...she might be fifteen, but you have to admit that...she's mentally younger and far more scared then anything. Can't you tell?" she said.

Hibiki frowned. "Hibiki. James' wife."

"Yeah.....but she seems more bipolar than anything else. Switching from hard ass, toughened survivor to a princess that needs saving."

"Oh," Riley said. "You shouldn't be in here." Clara looked at the boy and asked "Why not?" He looked at her and said "Dad doesn't like it when people are snooping around."

"I think in this case, she had no real choice in the matter." Hayley lifted her head. "Didn't she go willingly with them, to protect us? So...wouldn't...that be hardened survivor, not princess?" she asked softly.

"And why wouldn't he mind snooping?" Hibiki growled.

Riley looked nervous, shrinking up and hunching his shoulders. "He doesn't want me to talk about it." Clara moved forward, slowly and said in a calm tone "Talk about what? It's okay Riley, you can tell us."

"Yeah," Ella said though not in full agreement. "But like I said, she still seems to go back and forth."

Hibiki went silent and stepped back, letting them speak.

Hayley nods. "But aren't we all a bit screwed?"

"Riley, come on tell us what you're father doesn't want to talk about," Clara said. Riley however looked like he was about to shut down, when the door opened.....and the grubby man from before walked in. "The hell are you doing in my bar?" he demanded with a leer. James, upon realizing who the man was, suddenly surged towards him with a furious look, and surprised him a with a fist to his nose, breaking it exactly the same way. Clara grabbed James, hauling him back (and surprising him with her own strength) as she said "Dammit James, not here!" Riley freaked out and screamed "Don't hurt my daddy!"

"Speak for yourself, I'm goddamn perfect," Ella said with a small smile.

The click of a gun echoed.
Hibiki had raised the P90. "This bastard, Riley, has tied up MY DAUGHTER to a fucking FLAGPOLE. You don't want us to hurt him?" She did something she seriously hoped James didn't think she'd really do.

She aimed the gun at Riley. "So, fucker. My daughter's at your mercy, yours is at mine. How's karma feel?" She didn't smile, didn't act up. "So, if you don't want me dragging your son off much like you dragged my daughter, you'll explain why this fucking vodka bottle was found in the wreckage."

"You are perfect. Can I call you my goddess now?" Hayley said with a smirk.

The man reeled back first from the blow James gave him, before staring down Hibiki and saying "I have no idea why that bottle was missing. Maybe your daughter took it and decided to get drunk, what do I care? Now get that fucking gun away from my son, you cunt." James blinked, and really wondered how fast Hibiki would kill the man.

Ella chuckled, but said "No, no you cannot."

Hibiki looked at Clara... then fired.

The shot nicked the mans ear, and buried itself in the wood. Then, as the man reeled, she slammed him against the wood, pistol against his throat.
"That's my daughter out there, and if you don't answer our questions, you're fucking dead."

The man yelled in pain, James blanched at the gunfire, and Riley ran at Hibiki, slamming his fists down on her back in a futile effort to hurt her as he screamed "YOU HURT MY DAD! YOU HURT MY DAD!" Clara grabbed Riley and pulled him away, even as he flailed, while James grabbed his wife and yanked her away. The bar owner screamed at her, saying "Fucking bitch! You nearly shot off my ear!"

Hibiki barely felt the blows.
"YOU TIED MY DAUGHTER UP LIKE AN ANIMAL! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE BRAINS ARE NOT SPLASHED OVER THE WALLS AND YOUR BODY TOSSED OVER THE WALL YOU FUCKER!" she screamed at him.

James dragged Hibiki out the door, while Clara let go of Riley and went after them. Only when they were not just outside the bar but across the street, did James let go.....and even then he had a firm grip on Hibiki's arm. "Dammit, that was not a wise move Hibiki."

She threw his arm off.
"Don't fucking try me."

"Don't try you?" James demanded. "Like I'm one to cast stones. Practically returned the favor that guy did me by breaking his nose. But aiming a gun at a kid Hibiki? Are we really there now?"

Hibiki glared back.
"You really think I'd shoot a kid? I'm not going to stoop so low, nor do something so wrong." She growled.

"Well you could have fooled me," James said in a level tone. "I mean Jesus, Hibiki. That's how scary you can be sometimes, even when it's an act. Especially when I know our daughter--not just your daughter, our daughter--is being threatened."

"You should know me better then to shoot an innocent child." She seethed.

-Couple minutes prior-

Abel had heard a bit of a bustle going on earlier, but no gunshots so he hadn't payed much mind to it.  As he was walking down the street with a lit cigarette in his mouth he noticed what looked like someone tied to a flagpole, in the distance.  As he got closer he was able to make out the figure, it was Hibiki's daughter Eve.  Abel tossed the smoke on the ground as he mumbled to himself.

"What the fuck?"

He picked up his pace towards her before he was intercepted by a man in his path.  "What the fuck is going on here!?  She's just a girl, get your ass out of the way!"  Abel tried to moved forward but the man drew his pistol and held it in his hand as a warning.  Another few townsfolk appeared from the buildings.  Abel glared at the man, but really he was just confused as to what was happening and why someone was tied up to a pole.  His hand hovered over the holster of his pistol, but the odds were against him.  Abel looked to Eve, hanging by her wrists before backing up, still looking behind him as he turned around and started moving down the street.

Abel was heading to James' house to get a situation report when he heard a gunshot come from the bar.  He rushed over in that direction, pistol in hand.

-Current-
Abel came around the corner and saw Hibiki and James in the middle of the street seeming to have an argument.  He approached the two, still holding a firearm.  "James, I know that some fucky shit has been going on around here lately, but why the hell is there a kid tied up to a fucking flagpole?!"

James was a bit surprised to see Abel, but didn't mind explaining what was going on. "Someone's setting up Eve for the recent events here. The ammo dump burning, the wall being broken. The residents think she did it, and they took her from us to make an example of her."

Hibiki growled. "And its only be God's divine patience I have not fucking slaughtered them all." She fell silent.

Abel's face grimaced.

"So what's the plan? you want me to get the Elites around, you can get the rest, then we grab Eve and shoot our way out if we have to?"

"No," James snapped. "We have a lead on who may be behind this, and I want to see them burn for this. So we wait, patiently, until either we nail the fuckers......or they try anything worse on Eve."

Hibiki cradled the P90 again.
"I'm going home." She said flatly. "Before I kill someone."

She started to walk away.

Sighing, James left Clara and Abel behind as he followed Hibiki. "So.....guessing you're not okay?" he asked her.

"No. No I am not okay. I want to fucking kill people and get my daughter." She growled.

Abel wasn't really comfortable with James' plan.  Even if they find out who framed Eve, the townsfolk still tied someone up and called them guilty before having even so much as a hearing.  After this whole ordeal it'll be a surprise if they could all still live together. Abel left the rest to what they were doing and started walking to the building he was staying in. Might as well start packing now.

"I understand Hibiki," James said quietly. "But we can't, at least not now. Right now we have a lead on who did this to her, and if we can nail them for it then everyone else will stop trying to blame Eve. If we just take her now, everyone will think we're also traitors. The whole caravan will pay."

Andrew was simply content to keep watch on the outside, paranoid that another mob would show up, demanding his sister's head. But both of them knew it would take a hell of a fight to get her to come with them.

The former farmboy sat down in a chair, while Sarah went to try and recover her wits, the nightmare having shaken her. And she didn't want to tell Andrew about it. Not yet, anyway.

"Why the fuck do you think I haven't grabbed the tank yet?" Hibiki snapped.

Mira followed Sarah, then hugged her from behind.
"Hey...you seem out of it today. You okay?"

Hayley pulled away finally. "Thank you Ella...I just needed that..."

Sarah looked to Mira while Andrew kept watch below, mutely shaking her head. What she had seen in her nightmare was...scary.

"No..." she said softly, "It's just...I saw something in my nightmares that was frightening..." Sarah continued to say in a soft voice, "Something that I thought I kept locked away...a side of myself that only now resurfaced."

Sarah then closed her eyes as she said, "A side I'm afraid will come out if something bad happens..." and the voice in her head hissed creepily "Naughty Sarah...you revealed the secret of our existence...~", not caring if Mira was with the former Shepherd agent.

Mira gently pushed Sarah onto the bed. She climbed beside Sarah and gently pulled her close, resting her friend's head against her chest and holding her. She stroked the ends of Sarah's hair.
"There's nothing you have to fear...I'm here, Andy's here...you're not alone and there's nothing to be afraid of..." she kissed the stop of Sarah's head. "I'm here for you."

"Because I took the keys?" James suggested. "Look, let's just take this asshat down, and then we'll get to go home with Eve."

Ella let go of Hayley and said "Sure thing." She was silent for a moment, looking away as she folded her arms over her chest. "It's going to get worse, isn't it?"

Hibiki produced the tank keys. "Anyways." She continued walking.

Hayley nodded sadly. "Yeah...it will be."

Ella didn't actually have a follow up, so she moved to the door, stopping at the frame and saying "Should we stay, or go? No matter how this ends I mean."

James followed Hibiki again, at a loss this time for what to say. Or even how to get her to calm down.

Hayley moved over and put a hand on Ella's shoulder.
"I don't know. I just...I hope you'll take me with you, and not leave me alone."

"Well, it would be kinda cruel of us to just leave you here with the psychos wouldn't it?" Ella said.

Hayley smiled.
"Thanks."

Hibiki walked into the house, and sat on the couch.
"I want my baby..."

James, following behind her, simply stood by the door, closing it after he got back inside. Sam still sat in her chair, Estel leaning against the wall. "Where's Ella and Hayley?" James asked. "Upstairs," Estel said. "Hayley said she needed to talk."

Hibiki looked up. "Are they okay?"