ZRP-2: Chapter Two, Paradise in Hell

I lean over and rest agianst her. Not actually putting much weight on her. It's really just to be touching her.
He comes back with quite the amount of food. Enough to eat a bunch now and have some for later. It's all canned too.

Bartender - "Would that be for here or to go?"

I laugh. He sounded like the old fast food cashiers. I look to Jen for an answer. 'Whichever you want."

I was busy enjoying the touch of him against me, when he asked It caught me off guard causing me to blush.

"huh?... oh.. umm.. I don't care?"

"Back to the room where we can put some of this for another time?"
She said she didn't care doofus.
I turn to the Bartender and nod. "It'll uh... be to go. So uh. Thanks." I take the food and turn for the door.

I walk with him.

"That was surprisingly a large amount of food.."

"Enough to feed you, me and Wrex. It'l be gone before you know it though."
I take a moment to realize what I said.
"Wait. Have you seen Wrex in awhile? Has he come back?"

I shake my head frowning.

"No.. he just left without saying anything.. Maybe he'll return?"

"He probably won't. Seeing as he didn't say anything."
I feel kinda bad. I liked him.
"Guess it's you and me then."
I smile.

I take his and give it a squeeze.

"You and me.."

"Alright. Well, I guess I should tell you that I probably lost my job."
I squeeze her hand as she did mine.
"So uh. I'll need to find something quickly. Maybe go scavanging. I don't know yet."

I smile up at him.

"It's okay, your last job was suicide anyways. Maybe you could work around town? I'm sure someone could use a extra man for security."

"That's a good actually. And I won't be too far from you..."
We get to the Inn and go inside, heading for our room.

I sit down on the bed.

"So what all do we got? And what do you want to eat?"

I set the food down on the floor and look them over.
"Well. Let's see. We have peaches... and uhhh... some different types of soup. Beans. And rice."
I shrug and take my coat off. Then set it on the chair deemed mine.
"I personally don't care what I eat as long as it's food."

--Outside of Lockdown Town, Campground Used by Traveler's Caravan. Shepherd Camp--

=Jonah, before retreating back to one of the Shepherds more permanent bases, had given orders for one last assault. It was no small mystery who was responsible for the loss of the camp so soon after the destruction of the Traveler's caravan, and Jonah felt it was time to repay the town for their transgression. They managed to capture several of the Lords soldiers, violent walkers who hungered for the flesh of the heretics, and loaded them into the back of a van. They planned on ramming them right down the throats of that town at dawn=


--Timeskip of Several Hours, Morning--

(James)
=We were out of the hotel now, walking for the bridge as we headed back for our cars. An hour earlier, as we were all preparing to set out I met the priest Cooper had mentioned. I guess word had been passed along and he decided to come on down. His name was Anthony Book, and he seemed like a nice enough man, if somewhat quiet. No one talked that much until we got to the gate for the bridge, and the first thing we noticed was the large city bus they had by the gates. The windows had been replaced with sheets of steel, offering better protection against bullets. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the two emergency exits on the roof had been replaced with turrets and the front had, I shit you not, something that looked very much like a pointed front of a steam engine=
"So, we don't get the SWAT tank......but we still get the City Bus of Death?"

*Cooper*
"Heh, pretty much. We'll hold onto the tank for now, until it's needed but we figured we'd send you this as a gift, along with the supplies inside."

--Morning, hours later--

=I look at the bus with an approving eye=

It'll do. And at least it has some teeth on it.

=I want to fold my arms, but know that would put me in a degree of pain=

"Eve. Never repeat this. Holy shit." Hibiki grinned wide. "I love my wedding present. Can I drive?"

=I groan a bit, knowing how Hibiki drove=

Dear God, she'll put me in my grave...

=I look at the bus, feeling like I should be the one driving=

(James)
"Hey, you drove the tank last time......doesn't someone else get a turn?"

(Sam)
=I let out an appreciative whistle, walking up to the side of the bus with the doors=

(Book)
"I must say, not bad Cooper. Must have had a lot of free time for this."

*Cooper*
"Well padre, we were actually building this for a while now, starting after James and his people showed up. Figured that even if they didn't get what they wanted, they leave with something."

(James)
"Damn, so either way we win."

Eve follwed Sam, holding her hand.
She was silent.

Hibiki ran her hand along the side. "Do tell. Do any of you have practice driving oversized vehicles?"

(James)
"I drove the RV. Even Sam did, we all alternated."

(Sam)
"And I was still better at it than you. So all those that say women suck at driving can kiss my ass."

=I sigh=

If you won't drive... I will.

=I smile=

I was driving tractors at the time you were learning how to drive a stick.

(Sam)
"How about the red head without the injury drives for once?"
=I walked to the door by the front, thankful that it was still open. I noticed they had modified it to have more metal plates over the windows, and when I walked up the small staircase I noticed locks on the inside, like an apartment building door=

(James)
"Fine by me. I'll man a turret."

"I was driving a patrol car through city streets not breaking everything while you drove a tractor. I drove a tank while you drove a tractor. You get a turret with Sam or James. They can choose or alternate."

(Sam)
"Wait, what about the cars? Heck, what about Abel, Tyler and Brook?"
=The three of them were nowhere to be seen lately, though Cooper spoke up soon=

*Cooper*
"Uh, Abel, the one with the sword left I think. Same went for Tyler. Not sure where they went but they went their own ways. As for the girl, Brook.....no idea. I think she did the same."

(James)
"Damn, no one ever stays do they?"

=I sigh, muttering a bit of a curse under my breath=

Fine.

Damn this injury...

=I head up the stair case with Mira, finding a turret on the bus=

I'll take the other turret...

(Sam)
"I'll take one of our own cars. Eve, you're riding shotgun."
=I walked down from the bus, deciding to let Hibiki drive. Besides, I may have been better at driving large vehicles, but I preferred cars=

(James)
=Climbing up past Sam, I got a look at the interior: some of the seats had been removed, save for the ones that were against the wall. The back seats had been removed as well, making room for a bunch of small boxes that I guessed were the supplies. Two ladders stood beneath both emergency exits on the ceiling, bolted to the floor, and I climbed up the nearest. There was a nice heavy machine gun set up on a circle, swiveling left and right at a touch=
"Let's get going people."

(Book)
"I guess I'll ride with you then Mr. Martin?"
=He was unsure of where to go=

(James)
"Sure, climb on in padre. And it's James, if you don't mind."

(Book)
=Instead of answering, he nodded once and climbed inside=

I wake up ubruptly, as I always does. Kinda my thing. First thing I do is look around. Finding myself in the bed in the room.
"Oh right..."
Briefly I forgot that she let me sleep in the bed. All the food that he gave it us was just sitting there, on the other chair.
I look over for Jennifer, seeing her resting against me. In the same bed. I don't know why but I had a bad feeling. Something felt off.

=I look at the gun, a nice heavy gun=

Awww...thank you Cooper...

=I rack a round into the gun's chamber=

Let's get moving!

= I then let out a rebel yell=

(James)
"Easy there Rambo, we still need to open the gates. Sam, Eve ride with us until we get to the car. Feel free to get off from there and take the charger."

(Sam)
=Climbing back in with Eve, I looked towards where James stood on the ladder=
"Keys?"

(James)
"Left pocket."
=I suddenly felt the sensation of her hand rifling through my pocket, and my cheeks flushed a little=

"Uh wow, wait for me to get down first?"

(Sam)
"Nah, this is funnier."

=I give James a grin=

Sorry...having a gun this big just brings out the redneck in me.

=I keep my grin=

Eve smiled happily and flowed Sam.

Hibiki strapped in as Miranda sat behind her.
"Ready?" She called back."

=I nod and smack the roof=

Ready up top.

=I grunt a bit in pain=

I get out of bed and get my coat on. Then heading outside. It wasn't exactly morning yet, so the light level was kinda dim.
The air has this slight chill to it but otherwise it was warm. The birds were singing to one another beautifully. There wasn't many people out though.
So what was wrong?

(James)
"Ready as I'll ever be."

(Book)
=He sat down in the center of the bus, distracted by his own thoughts before coming to=
"Good to go."


=Cooper stood outside the bus, choosing to stay in the city. He motioned towards the gate, and it opened, revealing the bridge before them=

Eve took shotgun.

Hibiki started the motor. "Let's roll!"

=The bus lurched forward, gaining speed as it drove out of the gates and across the bridge. The other end was already opening their gates, and the bus passed through them as it did the first set=

(James)
"Hibiki, make a left at the second block, that should be where we parked the cars!"

=I let loose a cheer=

We're going home...well, what passes for home...

=I can't help smile=

Dude, calm down. I found out why you feel soomething's off.

"That is?"

You don't feel wrong. You feel safe. You have some form of stability now. Food, housing, girlfriend and water. You don't have to watch your back.

"Oh.."

Hibiki did as instructed, then started to slow to a stop.
"He took the jeep...Sam, get the Chatger. Mira, drive the picmup."

Eve and Miranda stood immediately.

(Sam)
"Son of a bitch.....not only did the runt leave us, he took one of the damn cars."
=I got out of the bus, keys in hand as I ran for the charger, Eve no doubt following me. At least it was still there, and I climbed into the driver's seat, keys going into the ignition=

(James)
"Alright, let's go let's go let's go! Do not want to be here if the walkers show up."

=I sigh=

Let's hope Mira doesn't drive as bad as she shoots...

=I keep my gun trained on the surrounding area=

You and me both, James.

Mira slid into the truck. She paused.
"Andy! Stop thinking at me!"
She closed the door and started it up.

Eve slid into the car, buckling in and looking at her lap.
"Thank you for holding me." She said softly.

(Sam)
"Uh, kind of an odd thing to say Eve. You still got Sammy?"
=I started the car, pulling us away from the street. The bus was far away enough that we could pull out and onto the road without any hassle=

I go back inside and sit on 'my chair' and begin to think. About who you might ask. Pretty ironic since I was just with them.
And thinking about Jennifer. Now I'm with Jennifer but thinking about James, Andrew, Hibiki and the other two I forgot the names of.

Are they any closer to getting done there? And when will they be back?

Eve nodded.
"She's in my bag. And...I never thanked you..." she blushed and looked away.

=I put on an innocent face=

SORRY! I have an injured arm here, so I have a right to be concerned.

=I once again continue to look for anything unusual=

Best to keep your mind off it. You know how you get. Right now, just enjoy your time.

I stand up and go back over to the bed. I lay back down. I didn't care if I was wearing my coat. I just wanted to be next to her as she slept peacefully.

(Sam)
"Oh. No problem Eve."
=I took the lead, Miranda in between me and the bus as I guided us to the road we took before. We were going back to the town=

(James)
"It might take us a bit longer than before, the bus is a bit slow. But we should get there before the end of the day I think."

=I nod=

Well...at least I can get a power nap in...

=I yawn a bit, slightly tired=

Damn pain...

"And we'll have a nice way of saying 'we did it' to Marcus." Hibiki grinned.

Eve reached over and took hold of Sam's jacket pocket. "I'll try to sleep in my own bed this time."