ZRP-2: Chapter Two, Paradise in Hell

"I stayed in cover so that I wouldn't. So that I could came back to you, honestly."

I squeeze her hand.

"But If I had been shot I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself. James is still in bed because of it."

(James)
=We made our way back to the hotel, the tiny box in my pocket a little uncomfortable as the denim was stretched over it, and it pressed against my own leg. Cooper and I parted ways, since he said something about 'grabbing another drink' and I headed for my own room. I found Hibiki inside, sitting at the bed=
"Hey."

=I smiled as I finally got something to eat in the process, the pain ebbing away slightly. Thing was, I hadn't felt this excited since high school prom, even if the pressure of getting a tux was out of the question=

Now...what should I do for a good impression...?

=I then leave the cafeteria with a vague idea=

Well...time to treat these two to a Harris style celebration...without that, it just doesn't seem right...

=I head back to the room, feeling a happiness I hadn't had in two years=

Now...what the hell should I wear...?

=I get to the room and open the door, careful not to wake Mira=

Hell...I'll tell her in the morning...

=I take off what little of my gear I had on and place it on my side of the bed, laying down and desperate to get some sleep=

I could tell he was being honest and I smile.

"We should probably find some food, you must be hungry."

"Actually.. yeah. I guess I am pretty hungry. I could use some food."
I smile and get up.
"Also, you can keep that gun I gave you. If you still have it."

Hibiki looked up.
"Hey."

I nod, pulling it out of the waistband of my pants.

"Lucky I haven't had to use it."

(James)
=Walking over to the bed, sitting down next to her. I pressed against her=
"Tired?"

"Yeah. I am. Still exhausted...I just want some peace...least Sam and Eve have it, right?"

(James)
"Yeah, they earned it I think. Unlike me who simply got my finger cut off....."

"Really? Thank God."
I reach in and pull her into a hug.
"I was worried that you would."

"You at least didn't devolve into a pathetic heap of limbs." She teased.

(James)
"Ha, yeah, that would have been pathetic."
=I figured it was now or never, so getting off of the bed, I got down on one knee, a repeat performance of earlier, and pulled out the tiny box=

"Hibiki Ikezawa.....would you make me the happiest man in the post-apocalyptic world?"

Hibiki threw her arms around James.
"Yes. Yes. Yes." She said. "I will."

(James)
=I hugged her in response, a smile stretching from ear to ear, and I kissed her cheek=
"I love you so much."

"I love you too." She said, holding him tightly

(James)
=Pulling away from the embrace, I opened the tiny box, revealing the star sapphire ring for her to see=
"What do you think?"

I return the hug.

"Now how about we get some food?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. Just got in the moment there..."
I lead the way out of the room. Then lead her out of the Inn and towards the bar. I didn't know anywhere else to go.

Hibiki gasped. "It's...perfect James."

(James)
=Smiling, I took out the ring and slipped it on her right hand=
"Glad to hear it. Cost me a lot for that ring."

=Yeah, it was stolen but what the hell=

"And arm an a leg?" She asked, jokingly.

(James)
"More like a pinky."

Hibiki laughed. "Yeah..." she kissed him. "I love you."

(James)
=Kissing her back, I briefly considered "fuck it, take her now you've earned it." I still didn't wholly agree with the idea, but that didn't stop me from reaching a hand up and under her shirt, over her stomach. I wasn't sure if I just wanted to feel her skin or have one less barrier between me and our child. Whatever the reason I still reveled in the feeling of being the only one that could feel that part of her, in the fact that this was our child. Maybe it made me possessive, but I felt privileged=

As I walked I avoided the piles of undead that were now just dead. It smelled. When spring would get closer, the birds would come. For now, stray dogs, the occasional fox, and a maybe a wolf or three will come in and nibble at them. I watched from time to time, with a fascination that could only come from a biologist. I hoped the virus wasn't non-discriminating; I didn't want to fend off zombie dogs and animals. That would be terrible. I'm not saying that it wasn't already terrible. But I guess years of killing human zombies in video games desensitized me.

I eventually passed a butchers storefront. I stopped in front of it. Curious. It was oddly well kept. Dead zombies littered the area, all of them with gunshot wounds to the head. All of them. 30 or so zombies lying about. I made an impressed face, despite knowing that no one would see it. I looked around, nodding. "All right Nick, let's see what's in here..." I began to open the door of the store when I suddenly met resistance. "...Or not."

I walked over to the window, instinctually, and knocked. Nothing. I tried peering into the store, like some people do when looking into a dark store. I couldn't see anything, it was all dark. I scratched my head. "Well, I guess nobody's home." I started to walk away when I heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps, like someone was running. I turned just in time to see a flash of blonde hair and blue eyes only to be suddenly on my back. I let out a breath of air. "Ow." I said half-heartedly.

My gaze was up at the dark sky, as tendrils of light began to streak across it. The sun was rising. A woman entered my suddenly vertical line of vision. She was blonde, blue eyed, pretty tall, or at least, from the ground she was pretty tall. She was pretty cute. She was giving me a hard look. I smiled stupidly. What can I say; I'm a sucker for women. "Hey there.." I said quietly, looking up at her. She grunted, and helped me to my feet. I groaned a little. She could hit hard. "What are you doing?" She said with a slight Russian accent. Well, maybe it wasn't Russian, but it sounded Russian to me. "I was wondering the same thing." I said, trying to be wry. She gave me an exhausted look, which, if I may, all but made my heart skip if you know what I mean

She looked me up and down, and frowned. “You didn’t answer my question.” I responded quickly, “I was curious.” I turned to the shop, “The place is mostly barricaded. There are signs of defenses and traps, and someone lives here. But I can’t tell whether or not that someone is friendly, or if they’re trying to keep someone out or in.”

Her demeanor changed slightly. “You’re observant.” I couldn’t tell if she was shocked, or startled by what I’d said. I pressed on, “So, which is it? I’m fairly certain you live here, as you responded quite quickly when I tapped the glass. You must also be watching this place and keeping it safe from unwanted visitors, people and zombies alike.” This made her take a step back. “I…”

I smiled, interrupting her, “It’s alright. You don’t have to explain.” I turned my gaze back to the shop. “So, why are you still in the city?” I was trying to play off the ‘stranger phenomenon’, a psychological phenomenon in which people tell strangers all about themselves. Well, that’s by ad-libbed version. She was silent for a while, after I said that. I stood idle, watching the horizon, or trying to buildings tend to get in the way of that, but I could see the reflection of the sun from the clouds. “My father isn’t able to take care of himself without me.” She stopped, and looked away, into the street. I noticed a brief flash of something silvery, and asked “Is that a crucifix?” She wasn’t looking at me, so I could see her expression. She whispered, quietly, “Yes.” I almost didn’t hear her.

I was quick to analyze her response. Quiet answer meant she was afraid of admitting it to someone, it also meant that there was a story behind it. The crucifix held some sort of significance. But what? Religion, or finding religion has many significances. There’s a myriad of possibilities here. I decided to ask, seek a confirmation, and hope she answered. “I’m sensing a story here, may I ask?” I gave her a slightly concerned look. Furrowed brow and all.

“Well-“ She was interrupted by a gruff voice, “Who is this?” A man, big guy, had apparently snuck up on us while we were standing there. He seemed to be an authoritative figure. I looked at the girl as she looked at the man. “He’s just someone who wandered by.” Her demeanor changed again. My mouth opened and closed, I was going to say something, and decided not to. Who was this newcomer? He must have some connection with the girl. He stood around 6’5”, he was pretty jacked, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could snap me like a twig. I’m not going to lie, I was intimidated by him. He, too, wore a crucifix. I sensed that this wasn’t just a coincidence, but for the sake of the hairs on my chin I said nothing. “He’s harmless, Ananias. He won’t cause any trouble.”

The big man turned to me, “Who are you, and what do you want?” he seemed a little hostile, so I answered neutrally, “Well, I’m Nick, and I want no trouble with you…” He looked at me hard. I felt myself shrink under his gaze. He turned back to the girl, we’ll take him with.

Hibiki moved her hand under her shirt to rest on James' own.
"Soon I'll know."

(James)
"Know what?"
=I still never moved my hand away as I stared into her eyes=

"If it's a boy or girl." She smiled back.

(James)
"Heh, I think we still have a few months before we know for sure."
=I rested my head against her chest, eyes closed=

"God.....Hibiki, how are we going to raise this kid? Where are we going to get food for them in this world, when it's hard enough finding food for ourselves?"

"We'll find a way. As long as we try. We can do it." She gripped his hand. "We can."

(James)
=I returned the squeeze, her confidence....not washing away all my doubts but lessening their effect on me=
"Probably......I just hate that our child is being born into this world."

"It's still our planet." She responded. "It's up to us to fix it."

(James)
"That's a tall order if we're talking the two of us. We could always clear out a large swath of land and settle down there instead?"
=I took her hand in mine, lightly kissing her fingers=

"Once the war is done....let someone else handle fixing the world?"

"Who is left? You want Andrew fixing the world? Miranda? Sam? EVE?!?!"
She started laughing a bit...then sighed. "The beach. I want to live on the beach."

(James)
=Getting off my knee and sitting next to her=
"With a small dock maybe, and a boat. We go out fishing now and then, get our food from the sea?"

"I always loved sushi." Hibiki replied.

(James)
"Well if you know how to make it, I'll leave that up to you. Most I've learned how to do is scale a fish and filet it for preparation."

"Works for me." With another smile Hibiki flopped onto the bed on her side.
"I want two stories. So we can have a balcony overlooking the beach."

(James)
"That might be hard to do...."
=I laid down on the bed, mirroring her position=

"I suck at carpentry."

"I'm sure we'll find someone to help." She shrugs. "If not, there always is the internet." She said, grinning at him.

(James)
"Don't even tease with that. I miss the internet. Spent a huge portion of my time there before the outbreak."

"I looked up anime and movies. Kept my occupied between whatever." She sighed. "I miss a lot."

(James)
=Smiling, I figured I may as well say a slightly cheesy line=
"Still, all of that.....I'd trade it all to be with you. Zombies and fanatics not withstanding of course."

"As long as you don't trade me for the internet." She warned jokingly.

(James)
"Now why would I do that?"
=I teased her again, as I pulled her close to me for a hug=

We eventually make it to the Bar. Like I said before, I didn't know anywhere else to go. Maybe they serve food here is my thought.

I look over had him.

"You got anything to trade or pay with?"

"Yeah, I come into contact with a bunch of new stuff..."
I walk up to the bar but more importantly the bartender. I lay down one clip of ammo.
"Just uh. However much food this'll get us."

I walk up next to Tyler and stand there shuffling my feet.