ZRP-2: Brave New World

I sit down on one of the many benches here and relax a bit. I would take out something to drink but I don't have anything other then vodka.
And, well, that just hurts my head real bad. Actually, I do have a half empty bottle of water but I only use that for emergencies.
Like when I'm about to die of dehydration. Or whatever. Perhaps I can go trade these vodka bottles for food and water.

Oh shit! Jennifer! When's the last time she's had anything to eat or drink?

(James)
=I didn't really know what to do. God....we were both each others first, so her being pregnant meant that...=
I'm going to be a father?

=Raising my head from the counter, I couldn't help but look at Hibiki, a smile stretching across my face. I reached out, lightly grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her in for a kiss. Yeah, this all started with a kiss and right now it was making me the happiest guy in the bar=

Hibiki kissed back, smiling.
Yeah.
She was happy...because she had James...she had Eve...
She had a new life growing.

A life that gave her an even stronger want to end the threat of the Shepherds...forever.

(James)
=Breaking away from the kiss, I was aware that not only did I still have the smile on my face, but most of the bar had turned to look at us. I guess two people kissing in public like we were was out of place or something=
"What? We can't kiss in public?"

"Guess they forgot the meaning of love."
She grinned, taking his hand after finishing her water. "One clip for one glass of water? I hope that isn't so." She said evenly.

(James)
=I couldn't help but give her a slightly stern look, despite the smile on my face=
"Yeah water is all you're drinking, if you don't mind me saying anything."

=The barkeep came over with two more glasses of water, and I slowly drained the next one=

Hibiki drained hers as well. "I feel better...I just want to go sleep now..." she sighed. What great timing for this...
Well, there goes kicking Shepherd ass for another year...like he'd ever stop keeping me from fighting...

(James)
"Well, I think that can be arranged. And right now...."
=I squeezed her hand gently=

"I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."

Hibiki smiled. "I couldn't have picked a better man." She said simply, resting her head against his chest. "Pregnancy, on top of exhaustion after saving the town...I think I deserve more sleep."

(James)
"Then you'll get it. Come on, let's go back to the inn."
=Stepping away from the counter, her hand still in mine, I lightly pulled on her, guiding her towards the door=

Hibiki followed.
"Oh...how will I explain this to Eve?" She said.

(James)
=As we walked out of the bar, and back towards the inn, I couldn't help but ponder that same question=
"We'll think of something Hibiki. I'm sure she'll be fine, maybe even like the news."

=Crossing the threshold of the inn again, I didn't even glance at Marge. I guess I wasn't quite prepared to share the news with everyone. Once we were in the room and the door was closed, the first thing I did was pull Hibiki into a hug, my head resting in her shoulder, cheek pressing against her own=
"I love you."

Hibiki hugged back.
"I love you, too..."
She then pulled away, wobbling a bit, and laid on the bed after removing her shoes. She sighed softly.
"Can you find some...buckets or something I can throw up in, just in case?"

=I take Miranda out in my hand, just the two of us, and not worrying about the apocalypse=

You have anything you want to tell me? You know, anything that's happened before I picked you up out of hell?

=I look at her with a bare smile=

We're alone...so don't be afraid to tell me anything.

Miranda came closer, resting her head on Andrew's shoulder.
"I was their groupie...but no more. You saved me Andy...the nightmare's over...and soon...we'll end the nightmare for everyone."

(James)
"Of course. I'll be right back."
=Leaving the room, I walked out of the inn, not really willing to ask Marge for a bucket for fear of the questions that would lead to. Outside, there were a few buckets fairly close to what looked like a faucet on the side of the building. I picked two of them up, walking back into the inn. Marge looked concerned but she didn't really seem to go further than raising an eyebrow at me. I just ignored her, and walked back into the room, placing the buckets down on Hibiki's side of the bed=

=I put my hands on her shoulders, and try to support her=

We'll do it together...I promise you that.

=I comfort her, knowing my hell was nothing compared to her's=

My god...what did they do to you...?

(James)
=Once the buckets were on the floor, I climbed into bed on my side, and got up close to her. Taking her hand in mine, I lay next to her, unsure of what to say now=

Hibiki rested her forehead against James's chest. "Well. Too bad we don't have the equipment to see if it's a boy or girl when the time comes." She laughs softly. "i hope Eve will take it well..."

Eve nuzzled Sam some more. "You're nice and warm, Sam..."

(James)
=With my free hand, I gently stroked Hibiki's hair, while her head went up and down in time to my breathing=
"I'm sure she'll take it well. She might even love the idea."


(Sam)
=I could feel my cheeks flush at the words of affection. Don't get me wrong, I liked Eve, but it didn't feel right for her to be saying these things to me. We barely knew each other, she was a former traitor, and I wasn't even her mother. if anyone should have been getting these words of affection, it was Hibiki and James. They were more deserving of the words than i was=

"Yeah..." Hibiki relaxed and fell asleep.

Eve too, fell asleep again, going slightly limp in Sam's arms.

(Sam)
=Only when Eve was asleep, did Sam gently work her way out of the girls embrace, and stand up from the bed. She wasn't all that tired, and didn't feel like staying in the confines of the room, so she silently left=


(James)
=I did my best, to try and fall asleep. Nothing would have been nicer for me than to fall asleep with the woman I loved. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, like I was forgetting something important that was when I remembered that I still needed to talk to Andrew....and Sam. They needed to know the plan=

Yeah, there's that, but we had two days. I could tell them tomorrow.

=That was of course before I heard a light knock on the door. With a barely audible groan, I carefully lifted Hibiki's head from my chest, and laid it on the pillow next to me. Softly kissing her hair, I got out of bed, thankful my clothes were on, and opened the door, surprised to find Sam outside=

You know what? I thought to myself. We should go scavenge somewhere nearby and bring it back into the town. After I speak with the Sheriff.

So that's what I do. I head over to the Sheriff's office and go straight in. Might as well talk about work or something... Iunno, I'm bored.

*Marcus*
=Sitting at his desk, reading a book and sipping some coffee, Marcus was more or less having a very peaceful moment, and it was putting him in a good mood. So when the new guy walked in, Marcus simply said outloud=

"Yes, how can I help you?"


(James)
=I blinked in surprise, finding Sam outside my door=
"Sam? What's wrong?"

(Sam)
=Staring back at him with a cool gaze, I made a gesture with my hand for outside the inn=
"Can we talk? I think we need to discuss a few things."

(James)
=Stepping out of the room and closing the door behind me, I started to follow her=
"Yeah of course. What do you want to talk about?"

(Sam)
"Just....well, I need someone I trust to talk about this with. Someone from home."
=I couldn't help but still call the caravan home. After all, that's what it had been for us=

"Yes.. um.. I was wondering if uh... you had any jobs available? Or something."

I was nervous as hell and I don't even know why. Maybe it's a person of power I shouldn't screw with?

*Marcus*
"Well, if you're looking for work I'm afraid the most we've got open is just being a fighter here. Protect the town, go out on supply runs. There's one other thing, but I suppose that's been filled by now."


(James)
=We stepped out of the inn, standing in a patch of grass=
"Ah.....do you, want to talk about what happened?"

(Sam)
=I could feel my shoulders shake as I took in a deep breath=
"No....not yet James. I don't think I'll be ready to talk about what happened for a while. I just want to know.....what's going on? What are we doing?"

(James)
=I arched an eyebrow at her=
"What do you mean?"

"Ummm... might I ask what that other thing is?"

Nervousness gave way to curiousity as the man said this.

*Marcus*
"The other thing is not exactly your concern, unless you're interested in joining a war. Even then, you'd have to talk to the guy leading the trip, not me."


(Sam)
"I mean where are we going, what are we doing? Because I can tell you right now James, I'm sure as hell not going to stay here, not while the Shepherds are still alive."

(James)
"Well, now that you mention it there was something we needed to talk about. Marcus wants us to head to St. Louis. Apparently, there's an Elite compound there, and he's got a contact who might be able to get us supplies for a full out attack on the Shepherds."

"A... war? Against who? If you don't mind me asking."

I rub the back of my head, my nervousness coming back.

*Marcus*
=Marcus couldn't help but get a little suspicious about this new comer=
"Why so many questions?"

(Sam)
=I could feel a wolffish grin on my face=
"Excellent. And all we have to do is get the guy on our side?"

(James)
"It's not that easy. We need his support, and the support of others within the compound to get the soldiers we need."

"It's just... Iunno. This town most likely saved my life and I want to, well. Defend her. I know that's being a bit hasty but I want to help."

Half of me just wanted to walk away and go back to the Inn. But, I don't know, the other kept urging me to go on.

"And if you'd rather me be a town guard then whatever that other thing was will be fine. Like I said, I only want to help."

*Marcus*
"Wouldn't go so far as to say the town saved your life. You made the choice to come in here, so you saved your own life with that action. As for the other job.....look, it's not my place at this point to choose who goes. That power rests with James Martin, one of the new people around here who I've grown to trust. If you want in, talk to him. He should be in the local inn."


(Sam)
"When is it ever easy....."
=I crossed my arms, looking away from him and back towards the inn=

"So....you and Hibiki huh? Got pretty busy, pretty fast there didn't ya?"
=I couldn't help but tease him a little=

(James)
=Okay, I was pretty sure my face went red again. But this time I did my best to smile=
"Yeah......she and I kinda hit it off. End of the world and all. Besides, we get along just fine, and well....."

(Sam)
"Go ahead, say it. I promise not to laugh."

(James)
"I...well, fell in love."

(Sam)
=Despite the promise, I couldn't help but snort a little. Still, I grinned=
"Well, I'm happy for you both. You seem like a nice fit, and I guess it's about time you finally got with someone."

Even if they were never who I had hoped for.

Miranda smiled and laid her head on Andrew's chest.
"I love you."

So... a Lockdown Town leader trusts a newcomer...? Wait, who am I to say newcomer to address someone else?

"Hmmm, okay. James Martin at the Inn, gotcha. Should I say that you sent me or just... say I want to join... or?"

=I smile, feeling a small sense of relief=

Still, I feel something...something off

Love you too, Mira.

=I try and dismiss that need for information, but it nags at my mind=

*Marcus*
"Tell him I sent you his way, and that you're interested in the job. The rest is up to him though."

(James)
"Finally got with someone? What, were you praying I ended up with a girlfriend or something?"

(Sam)
=I blushed a little, as his question brushed very close to my thoughts=
"Something like that, yeah."

"Okay... because it would be kinda strange to walk up to him with this information... would it be okay if I knew what the job is?"

Waking up again, finding herself alone, Eve slid out of bed and put her shoes on, then quietly plodded out to find Sam talking with James. Yawning, she walked up behind Sam and quietly hugged her stomach, peeking out from behind her at James with a tired loo.
"Hi..."

*Marcus*
"No. At least, I won't tell you. He'll be the one to tell you, since he's the one that will be evaluating you."

(James)
"Well, glad I met expectations then."

(Sam)
"Heh, I guess you did."
=I couldn't look at him directly, it was kinda awkward even if he wasn't aware of why. When I felt a pair of small arms though wrap around me from behind, I could feel my face heat up as I heard Eve's voice=

"Eve? Hey, what are you doing?"

(James)
=I turned to look down by Sam's waist, and sure enough there was Eve, wrapped around her midsection =

"Oh, alright, I understand. Mind if I ask your name? It'd be strange to say you brought me without your name..."

Abel tried to be of as much use as possible on the zombie killing spree. He had killed a few of the undead, slashing their heads off with his broad sword. But once the action was over and the trucks came back to the... What did the locals call it?... Lockdown town. After they got back to the lockdown town, Abel was still unsure what he should do next. He helped the town a bit, with minor things really, and that was pretty much it. Once on the bench he had been sitting on for the other part of the day he considered his options.
"Maybe I should leave? Go back on my own?"
And do what? Back to running away from zombies? At least here you could help out some.
"Except so far it seems I've only stressed people out around here..."

=I look at Miranda, my mind swirling with questions=

I need to know...

=I think and then come up with the words, my tone a mix of regret and sympathy=

What happened to you?

Eve tightened her hold. "I don't like being alone." She said quietly.
She sounded, in her little-girl voice, completely serious.

Miranda was quiet.
"They raped me, Andy. Over and over, whenever they wanted a good time..."

*Marcus*
"Name's Marcus. Just tell him Marcus sent you."


(Sam)
=I could feel my hand going down to lightly pat Eve's head, though I was unsure why in the hell I was doing that=
"I didn't know, and I'm sorry. I just needed to talk with James was all."

(James)
=A part of me found the scene before me kinda cute, Sam and Eve standing like that. Another part though was slightly, barely irritated that the conversation had been interrupted=

Eve looked at James, then seemed to sigh softly with contentment, the patting causing her hold on Sam to relax. She closed her eyes, just resting against Sam.

=I went silent for a few seconds, my anger boiling=

Jonah...you sick bastard...you sick, sick bastard...

=I then let loose a scream, fueled by rage=

JONAH!!!!!!

=I look at Miranda=

I'll make sure they pay for this...I swear by it.

=I embrace her, my mind filled with anger, revenge on my mind=

(James)
"Hey, Eve? I hate to intrude, but I need to talk with Sam about something important. Could you give us a few minutes please?"


*Marge*
=Marge was calmly cleaning her revolver, when a scream out of nowhere made her jump, and drop the gun on the floor=

Eve tightened her grip for a few seconds, then let go and stepped back.
"I'll go see mommy." She said, disappearing into James' room, where she curled up with Hibiki.

Miranda was a bit scared, but she relaxed into the embrace.
"Don't let revenge fuel you Andy...please don't."

"I'll go then. See what I can do. So uh.. thank you. "

I turn to leave and open the door.

=I want to listen, but my mind is filled by rage, Jonah's face etched in my mind=

He's a dead man...a very very dead man...

=I looked at her face...my mind clearing=

I want to kill him...I just feel all this anger. I...

=I close my eyes...the hate nearly overwhelming me=

I just feel like I'm about to lose control.