ZRP-2: Chapter 3, The Coming Storm

=I plant my shovel in the dirt at where the near the head of the grave, almost like a memorial=

We've done our duty to the dead and fallen...

=I then look to the others=

Now we do our duty to the living...

(J)

I shrug and look up at the ceiling.

"I don't really know.. Its just a feeling."

"Then I hope that it's a good feeling. A good change, I guess."

(James)
"Yeah....maybe not 'soon' soon....."
=I stood there, silent for a few seconds before I slowly backed away=

"Now....we have a vote to attend, and Shepherds to kill. Standing over his grave won't get either of those done."

(Sam)
=I couldn't help but say under my breath=
"About fucking time...."

(J)

I look at him smiling.

"One good change has already happened.."

I grab him and pull him ontop of me while I kiss him. I felt so warm and safe in his embraced.

"Oh. Why thank you."

I say in between kisses playfully. I keep myself from crushing her with my arms.
Maybe I could use my... well... maybe. That'd be creepy for her. I mean, wouldn't it? I wouldn't mind it...

With stranger thoughts going on in my head, I smile into the kiss. Just enjoying the moment. The safety.

(J)

I pause in our kisses.

"Tyler. What does mean for us? What are we going to do, together, in the future..?"

"To be prefectly honest. I-I don't know. This town isn't safe, it proved that today. But I'm trying to get us in that Elite compound."

I reel myself back a little. A couple inches from her face.

"Rarely anything gets in there. We'll be safe there."

=I smile weakly=

That, we can agree upon...

=I grimace inwardly, knowing my arm would be feeling like hell tomorrow=

(Allie)

Me and Sammy had walked out a while after Andrew but kept our distance out of respect.

(J)

I smile.

"Thats nice to hear, but I ment US.. "

"Oh... well. I don't exactly know. What do you mean us? Our future? Like, what I think will happen?"

I was guessing really. Then a thought came to mind.

"Did we go too fast? Do you prefer we went slower?"

Glass shattered into the car as a zombie began crawling in. Abel aimed his shotgun and pulled the trigger, completely destroying its brain. It laid limp as other zombies tried to fit into the now broken window. Abel shot the next one and it blocked the only entrance the creatures had. These zombies were more lively than most, and they were barely rotten. Abel wouldn't have cared much, but from how fast they were, he couldn't ignore it.

There seemed to be more of them now than when he was running from earlier.
Maybe from a nearby town?
His thought was cut short when the driver side window cracked. A zombies was bashing its head against the glass, and it was actually getting somewhere. Abel leaned back and pointed the shotgun at it, but decided against shooting, it would've just given them another entrance.

Instead, he jumped into the back, they were more focused on the front, leaving the back windows in better condition. He knew he couldn't survive this, with even more walkers, and having to reload. But he was gonna try taking some with him. Abel put his back against one of the doors, giving him a clear shot at the one that was bashing the front window. The shotgun cracked a shot, both shattering the front window blasting the zombie's face.

(James)
=I backed away from the grave, Hibiki's hand slipping from my grasp=
"I'm going to go and join the vote. Anyone wants to see how it swings, feel free to come along."

=Turning from the grave, and the group, I began to walk back towards the center of town. Already I could see people gathering there. Not a dense crowd or anything, but enough people to maybe pack an office. And they were all walking into the Sheriff's office=

(Sam)
"I'm going to go and check on Eve, see how she's doing."
=With that said, I made my way to the inn=

Hibiki was about to tell Sam to go to Eve...but Sam was a mind reader it seemed.
So...Hibiki again took James' hand and went with him.

Eve was sitting on their bed, only dressed in some shorts and an oversized In n Out burger Tshirt that must be serving as her pajamas. She was in actuity huddled against the wall, silently sobbing.

(James)
=I was glad, when Hibiki joined me. With everything I was going through today, I needed the support. We walked into the office, and found it was packed, mostly due to the small size. A dozen people at best were inside, and there was a commotion of noise as they were all talking. It was hard to zero in exactly on what any one person was saying but it sounded like a battle between 'leave' and 'stay'=

*Marcus*
=He noticed James and Hibiki standing in the door, and raised his voice=
"Everyone settle down. The vote can begin. James, Hibiki glad you could make it. Now, as you're all no doubt aware, we gather here to vote on whether or not we should leave this town or not, in favor of the Elite compound in St. Louis. In light of recent events, I'm inclined to cast my vote in favor of this decision. What say the rest of you?"

=A middle aged looking man sitting by where James and Hibiki stood rose up, and cleared his throat=

*Middle Aged Man*
"If we leave, we let the Shepherds win. We're letting them drive us out of our home, even if it would be to a potentially safer one. And what about the journey to get there? We may lose more people if we come under attack."

"Your defenses are breached, your guards are pitifully outnumbered and you yourself obviously can't or won't fight. If and when the Shepherds return, they will decimate your guard with overhwleming force, breach your defenses and massacre you. That is the inevitavility of staying here. In Louis? They have to get through ex military, far more then those fanatics have." Hibiki crossed her arms. "They are not hunters or volunteers. They are Army. SWAT. I spotted a few Marines. As for the jour ey there? You got the battlebus. You got mobility. You enough to get there with many. If you stop wasting time and leave NOW."

(Sam)
=When I got back to our room, the first thing I noticed was Eve curled up....crying. I rushed to her side, wrapping my arms around her=
"Eve, what's wrong?"

*Middle Aged man*
"That's all well and fine, and a good reason to go. But the Shepherds have not destroyed enough of our defenses that we can't repair them in time. And we have that bus of yours; we can beat them back."

(James)
"Except for when we run out of ammo."

=There was a young woman, sitting off to the side who suddenly stood=

*Woman*
"Look, we already worked to build a proper alliance with the Elites. Okay, maybe not us, but those two, James and Hibiki. Point is, what's the point of having it if we're not going to join up with them, where they live?"

(James)
"She's got a point. Everyone, look: I understand that for the longest time, this has been your home."
=I slowly walked forward, into the center of the room. All eyes were on me=

"Home is the hardest place to leave, to abandon. But right now the enemy is at our doorstep, but we've beaten them back for the moment. That gives us a chance to get somewhere safer. We need to take that chance."

"Excuse me. That is our bus. When we leave for war, what then?" Hibiki retorted to the man before falling silent.

Eve leaned into Sam. "Harry." Was all she said to her, slowly unwrapping her arms from her knees and hugging Sam back.

(Sam)
"I know....it's going to be hard on us all for a while. But I'm here for you Eve."

(James)
=A lot of people were nodding their heads, silently agreeing with me. So I continued=
"We're at war. In war, you always take up better positions, and St. Louis is that position. It's a death sentence for everyone here if we don't take it."

=At this point, it wasn't just nodding. People voiced their approval=

*Marcus*
"Alright, I get the sense everyone's mind has been made up. I guess we vote now, just to be safe. All in favor of leaving?"
=Over half the room silently raised their hand=

"I guess that settles it."

Eve buried her face into Sam's chest. "I'm here for you, too." She said. "WhT kind of girlfriend would I be otherwise? All take and no give."
Eve managed to choked laugh, her crying subsiding.

(James)
=As people walked out of the building, I walked over to Marcus to talk with him=
"Okay, when do we leave?"

*Marcus*
"It'll take us time to get all the supplies together, same goes for the vehicles. But we should be ready by midday tomorrow. We're not a dense community, so that should make it easier."
=He clamped a hand down on James' shoulder=

"Look James, get some rest. You've been through hell today, so take a break. We'll handle things on our end, but you need to rest."

(James)
"Yeah, no kidding.....thanks Marcus. I'll be up and ready in a while."
=Turning, I walked back to Hibiki....and for the door=

Hibiki came closer to James, putting one arm around his waist.

Eve looked up at Sam. "I'm scared. More scared of losing you."

(Sam)
"Don't be....I'm not going anywhere."
=That was true enough I supposed=

(James)
=I cast Hibiki a tired smile. Well, tired was one word for it. There was also strained, pained, and miserable. But tired summed it all up=
"Let's go back to the inn....spread the news."

Hibiki nodded.

Eve leaned closer to Sam's face. "I don't think I can really so the two bed thing Sam..." she said lamely, trying to lighten the mood. Knowing she would fail.

(James)
=Walking out of the office, the two of us walked in silence back to the inn. I wasn't sure why, but my grip on Hibiki's hand was getting tighter, and my breathing was coming in ragged gasps. I think only now, did the reality of it all hit me, with all its power and lacking all sense of mercy=
Harry's dead.....and I put a bullet between his eyes....

(Sam)
"Heh, only if you're sure.....but it's still just the two of us in the same bed. No funny business."

Eve nodded. "I wosnt do anything inappropriate...without consent." She managed a small, shy smile before hiding her face against Sam's chest again.

(James)
=When we got back to the inn, I noted a few things: Tom and Jaime were nowhere to be seen, so either they were safely in there room or they were....somewhere else. I hoped that wherever they were they were safe. Second thing I noted was that Book had made his way back to the inn, and was talking quietly with Marge. Everything else kinda faded from my mind, as I grew closer and closer to the door of my room. When I reached it.....I didn't enter, instead choosing to stand outside for a few seconds. I was afraid to go inside, because I knew the moment I did I'd collapse again, and this time there might not be any coming back=

(Sam)
"Good, because there will be no consent. At all."

"I wouldnt really go for sex anyways...just having you is enough for me. It always will be enough."
The girl relaxed against Sam, softly nuzzling her neck.
"I'm...sorry about Harry." She said quietly.

(Sam)
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault. Your ties to the Shepherds have nothing to do with his death, so don't tear yourself up over it."

(James)
=Eventually, I made my choice. I gripped the door knob, twisted it and walked inside, and I was sure Hibiki was close behind me. Whether she was or not though didn't seem to matter, as I walked no less then five feet into the room, standing in the center and did....nothing. There were no tears, no welling up of emotions. I was at this point devoid of them, having already said my peace earlier. Well, cried but they were one and the same. All in all, I just stood there, silent, unmoving=

Eve kept nuzzling.
"Thank you." Was all she said, just holding herself against Sam.

Hibiki came up behind James and held him.

(James)
=I felt her presence, as she came up behind me, and wrapped her arms around me. Raising my own hands to touch her own, I hung my head in shame. Shame for how I had acted earlier (even if I was within my rights to act that way) and more importantly how I had acted towards her. There was nothing I could say=

=I just went back to the inn earlier, finding a seat in the entrance, just finding a seat=

Good Grief...it's been a rough day...

=I sigh, more being tired than being relieved. I then pull out an old family picture, about thirteen years old. I then look at a photo taken a little later. I furrow my brow, slightly confused=

Wait a minute...something...just doesn't add up...

=I then put them away, the confusion sticking with me=

(James)
=Turning in the embrace, I found myself facing her once more. My throat felt tight, and I reached up a hand to cup her cheek.
"Hibiki....."

(J)

I nod.

"Do you thing we'll ever see the world like it used to be? A peaceful world.. And I don't mind going fast. Now days everything happening fast, you wake up not knowing if today is your last."

Hibiki toom James' s face in her hands and kissed him, shutting him up.
"I love you, idiot. Stop making me call you idiot. Please."

Eve pushed Sam down, snuggling up. "More comfortable."she explained, scooting up to rest her cheek against Sam's.

(James)
=Her kiss felt....somewhere between nice, and numb at the same time. It was hard to describe but, I just couldn't feel anything from the kiss. Or maybe I didn't want to. Leaning my head forward, I pressed my forehead against hers=
"I'm sorry.....about earlier Hibiki. I was just so angry, and I didn't want to be the leader right then. And you suffered for it."

(Sam)
=I smiled, just a little, as I found myself laying back with the girl in my arms. It was a welcome sensation after today's events=

Hibiki closed her eyes. "You brought us together. It has to be you..." she smiled. "Do that again and I'll shoot you."

Eve closed her eyes. "I love you Sam. No matter what I love you."

(James)
=A ghost of a smile played on my lips=
"Hitting you, or just breaking down like that? I promise not to do one of those ever again."

(Sam)
"I love you too Eve."
=My grip tightened on the girl=

"Do both and I will shoot you twice." Hibiki smiled.

Eve snuggled even closer.

(James)
=Arching a brow I leaned back from her=
"The fact that you said both so casually with a smile has me worried about you."

"The old world? Maybe one day in the far future. Killing off the big bandit groups would help. Such as the Shepherds..."

And there you have it. A reason to help James, or at least try to. For a better future.

"Be afraid. Be very afraid." She sead, deadpan.

(James)
"Be afraid of my fiancee.....yeah that'll result in a happy marriage."
=But that ghost of a smile gained new life, and I found myself smiling more=

"I know most martial arts, gunplay, swordmanship, can drive tanks and helicopters. You should be afraid."

Eve made sure her face was hidden. "Sam...please smile more...for me?"

(Sam)
"I'll try Eve."

(James)
"Yeah, but I shouldn't have to be afraid of my own wife Hibiki. There should be no reason for either of us to fear the other."

"That's all I ask Sam. And for a kiss." She added.

Hibiki laughed. "You need to smile more."

(Sam)
=Smiling, I brushed my lips against her cheek=
"That's all you get."

(James)
"Maybe....but there are times I need to let stuff out Hibiki. Today you saw what happened when I try to bottle it all in, and it's far from pretty."

Eve smiled. "I'll get what I want one day."

"Then let it out differently." She retorted.

(James)
"Not like I have a punching bag on hand, or Shepherds in the immediate area to vent my issues out on."

(Sam)
"You're going to have to work for it Eve."

"There's always Andrew." Hibiki offerdd deadpan.

Even giggled. "Challenge Accepted, Sam."