ZRP-2: Chapter 3, The Coming Storm

(James)
"Tempting, but no."
=The conversation was nice, but honestly it didn't permanently derail my emotions, what they cried out for. Stepping away from her, I walked to the bed, sitting on the edge as my gaze wandered to the floor=

=I lay my head against the wall, trying to get a bit of a nap in before any coming events left me restless once again=

Good food, shower, and a decent night's sleep...that's all I want at this point...

=My mind, however, remained restless, and I spent a few moments in deep thought=

Eve relaxed.
"I'm...here for...you...always..." she said softly, falling asleep against Sam.

Hibiki sat beside him, just being quiet.

(James)
"At the risk of getting hit again......look, all of this? Everything I've lost, everyone I've cared about dying, against the people I still have,"
=I placed a hand over her belly while my head turned to face her, my eyes staring into her own=

"the family I find myself building, and the woman I love......the thought of losing you, of losing more scares me so much Hibiki. Sometimes into doing nothing."

"You said that already..." Hibiki sighs, not continuing.

(James)
"I know but.....I guess I need to say it again. Not because I don't think you didn't get the message before but because..... Because if I keep saying it, staring down that possibility I might be able to find it in me to overcome the fear. So that it doesn't cause me to break down again. It's a stupid, crazy reason, but it's mine. And it makes sense to me."

"And I still love you." Hibiki flopped onto her side, laying her head in James' lap. "Stop making me angry."

(James)
=My hand came to rest on the side of her head, idly stroking her hair=
"I never doubted it. And I'll try not to make you angry in the future."

"Alright." She said. "I'll hold you to that."

(James)
=I wanted to kiss her, even see where it would lead.....but what kind of bastard does that after burying a child? I wasn't willing to see if I was that kind of bastard, though I still leaned down so that my face hovered over her head, and I took in her scent=

--Shepherd Camp, exact Location Unknown, somewhere northwest of St. Louis--

=In one of the tents, a faint bit of humming can be heard from one of the tents. A figure approaches the tent, knowing full well who is in that tent. As soon as the figure approaches the man stops humming=

Shepherd: "Come in my child, you know you are welcome to enter any time."

=The figure--a girl about 19 and wearing a Shepherd's common uniform--comes in, her face wearing an expectant expression, and bows before speaking=

Girl: "I...I think I saw him..."

Shepherd: =Raising an eyebrow= "Really...you saw him? When?"

Girl: "I...I...saw him during the raid on St. Louis. I nearly hit him too..."

Shepherd: "So...you saw your brother, and nearly shot him?"

Girl: "Yes...sir..."

Shepherd: (Amused) "You know you don't have to call me 'sir', my child..."

Girl: "Sorry..."

Shepherd: (Kindly) "Don't be sorry, my child. Let us be blessed that the Lord had given us this wonderful sign."

=The girl simply nods, a pleasant smile on her face=

Shepherd: "I think we should give you a chance to reunite with him, my child. Next time he comes, I think we should introduce you to him. Don't you agree, little Sarah..."

Sarah: "I most certainly agree, Father Abernathy...I want to see the shock on his face when he sees me..."

=She smiles wickedly, Abernathy smiling and placing a firm hand on her shoulder=

Abernathy: (Firmly) "Good. Now go, my child...pray to the Lord on your good fortune..."

Sarah: "Of course, Father..."

=She then bows, leaving the tent, a gleeful expression on her face and giggling like a schoolgirl=

--Lockdown town, many miles outside St. Louis--

=I sigh and take a deep breath, hoping to calm my confusion=

Come on...just a few minutes is all I ask...

=My mind relents, letting me have a few moments to get some much needed sleep=

The zombies broke through the glass from the window across from Abel. Two buckshots dropped the first two that attempted to enter, but more were there to take their place. He kept firing, then the window behind him crashed, and one of the biters grabbed his shoulder.
"Oh mother fu-"

Abel brought his shotgun right up to the zombies head, next to his own, and pulled the trigger. Blood now covered half his face, and his ears rang. He cringed his face from the loud ringing, but didn't have much time for that. Another one started reaching for him, making gargling sounds while its arms were stretched out to grab him. Abel leaned away from that window, but all he was doing was leaning right toward another zombie on the other side of the car.

He put a shell into that zombie, and started aiming for another that was right behind the last, but was met with a loud 'Click!'
"Shit."

Abel was drawing his pistol as his ears began clearing, just in time to hear a faint rumbling, what sounded like it was quite off in the distance, but as Abel's ears cleared, he could hear it getting closer.

=I rest a few moments, my mind recovering from the day's events=

Yeah... but I wasn't the one who had to put Harry down like Old Yeller...

=I stand up and head to my room, feeling a bit weary=

Some time with Mira would do me some good...

"What will we do now? What's the plan? What are we going to do." Hibiki asked him.

(James)
"Well, we're about to go back to St. Louis, with an entire town behind us. Clarissa might not have a problem with it, but if she does she's got a good reason. After all they'll have limited supplies for all of us."
=I leaned back, continuing to stroke her hair=

"Then we go and beat the living shit out of the next Shepherd camps, steal their supplies and bring them back." Hibiki answered. "Then we get the army, and start building it up. Then, we go and kick the Shepherds right to hell, then we nuke them for good measure and then come home for celebration sex and preparations for our child."

(James)
=I barked out a laugh=
"Well, that was well thought out. But you know what they say about the best laid plans...."

=Grasping her hand, I pulled it up to my lips, gently kissing her fingers=
"We still need to work one step at a time. Make the plan sure.....but I've never known any plan to work out the way it was written. I speak from experience."

"The best laid plans can go to hell. If that was a well laid out plan for you, I'm scared of what your vague plans are." She answered.
She sighed softly, her fingers lightly twitching at the kiss. "Outlines. If there is no outline, then how do you get to your goal?"

(James)
"Hmm, true. But there was a saying someone once told me: You plan ten moves ahead, and you never notice the first two."

"Then plan the first two and as you plan the next ten pay attention to the first two. Or something. Everything was easier when I just had to figure out who to shoot."

(James)
"Or maybe everything was easier when you just had Eve and yourself to look after."
=Bending as low as I could, I kissed her stomach=

"Now you have her, me....and our child. I don't think it's going to be easy anymore."

Hibiki sighed. "I don't mind the added stress...she's really happy with Sam. There was thing thing I always saw in her eyes. This...like a fear. I don't see that now that Sam returned the feelings. So I'll deal with your idiocities, Andrew's...worse idiocities, all of it...because she is happy...Not to mention you stole my heart." She teased.

(James)
=Smiling, I lifted her head so she wasn't resting on my lap, and then lay down next to her, my face turning to hers=
"And you stole mine."

Hibiki rested her forehead against James'.
"Attempt to retrieve at own peril."

(James)
=Kissing her lips, my hand traveled to the back of her head, fingers curling in her hair=
"Or one's own pleasure?"

"Ehe. If you want something, you gotta take it. You can't sit back sometimes." She answered.

(James)
=Again, it felt wrong to do this the day of Harry's burial.....but I hurt. More than anything I wanted a balm for that pain, even if the timing was less than appropriate. I kissed her again, letting that be my response, my other arm snaked it's way under her side, wrapped around her waist and pulled. There was sound of sheets rustling, and then there was the sudden warmth of her body against my own=

Hibiki kissed back, pressing against James. "No matter how stupid you act...I'll be here for you James."

(James)
=Breaking off the kiss, I stared into her eyes. I wasn't sure, but I had a feeling mine showed nothing but longing, and hunger in them. Even if it was restrained=
"That means a lot Hibiki. And I'll try not to be stupid anymore."

Hibiki smiled. "Good." was all she said.

(James)
=Honestly, just laying there with her like that, was enough. For a brief moment, I forgot that Harry was dead. That I had to put a bullet between his head. All that mattered was her, this goddess who lay before me. But the moment was brief, and soon enough the truth came rushing back in. My smile faltered for a few precious seconds=

Hibiki blinked. "Something wrong?"

(James)
"No....no I was just....reminded of earlier."
=I moved to kiss her, but stopped short a hairsbreadth from her lips=

"I....I don't know if I want to forget or not. When I'm kissing you, the pain, the memories go away. But is it right for me to not feel it, so soon after the injury?"

"It's right for you to find and escape. A way to cope." She answered.

(James)
"Maybe..."
=I murmured it softly, almost as if I was asleep. Something said she was right, and that I should take this moment to relieve my pain, find a release for the stress inside. Eventually, the want and need to relieve myself won, and I kissed her again. I had no intent of going further. All I wanted was comfort in her arms=

Hibiki snuggled closer, kissing him back.

(James)
=It went on like that, the two of us kissing, holding each other, for.....I wasn't sure really. I know that at some point though, my barriers broke, and I finally cried once more. I felt like a child, weak pathetic and curled up in his mothers arms. Hell, it's what I looked like, except for the mother bit. We were at the head of the bed, near the pillows with my head on her shoulder as I quietly wept for the fallen child=

Hibiki joined him in his crying, finally able to drop it all and release the tears that were backing up.

(James)
=My cheeks were damp, from my tears or her own I wasn't sure. I clung to her tightly, terrified that if I let go then she would just disappear, and that would be one more person I cared about, gone=


=In the past hour, the town's people were quite the opposite of James and Hibiki. Moving like crazy, they packed all the supplies they could into boxes, crates, whatever they could safely load into either their cars, or the assault bus. People wanted to move today. In the distance, coming from the East, dark storm clouds began to gather=

Hibiki finally fell asleep.

Eve didn;t dream; her sleep was black and uneventful, a welcome respite from the nightmares that plagued her and seemed to chase her everywhere.

I hear the people outside talking and things being moved. It snaps me out of the haze I was in. And because of that haze I wasn't sure she said anything.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"

=I then flop onto the bed, my mind giving me fits=

C'mon...give me a break...

=I then replay the attack against the Shepherds at St. Louis in my head, my mind going back to the last moments=

At that distance, I haven't known Shepherds to be THAT accurate from a moving vehicle, much less at range...

=My eyes widen briefly as I come to a bit of a revelation=

With how fast they pulled out...there's only one man who's that tactically savvy, and I know who he is...

=It just seems that the past couldn't leave me alone, couldn't it?=

Miranda woke with a start.
"Andy, you nearly fell onto my head." She said irritably.

(Book)
=For the past hour, I sat in the lobby of the inn, having a pleasant chat with the owner, Marge when Marcus walked into the building. He looked....flustered wasn't the right word. He looked like a very busy man, and when he started walking for James' room I got up to intercept him=
"Marcus, what's going on?"

*Marcus*
"Preacher....I need to talk with James. Is he free?"

(Book)
"He and Hibiki took some time alone in their room, so maybe now isn't the best time."

*Marcus*
"Then I'll knock, but we need to talk."
=Brushing past Book, he walked to the door and knocked firmly on it=

(James)
=I woke with a start at the sound of heavy pounding, and I saw the door shaking a little=
Damn, who is it...

Hibiki was fast asleep.

Eve mewed a bit but otherwise was still.

(James)
=I gently shook Hibiki, hoping to wake her. Then I got out of bed, and walked for the door. When I opened the door, I found Marcus standing outside=
"Marcus, what's going on?"

*Marcus*
"James, good you're awake. Listen, the town is just about ready. We're going to be heading out soon by the end of the day, so you may want to get ready."

Hibiki groaned, sitting up. "I was comfortable..." she said, not hearing a word.

(James)
"Wow, already? We've barely had time to rest."

*Marcus*
"The sooner we leave, the better. Gives the Shepherds less time to attack us or mount an attack. I know it's too soon.....but we have no choice James. So get ready, and head for that bus of yours."
=He walked away, leaving James to walk back over to the bed=

(James)
=Bending down, I brushed my lips over Hibiki's cheek=
"Hey, we need to go."

She groans. "Fine." She slipped out of bed and got ready, grabbing her things. "I'll warm up the bus. Wake Sam and Eve." She said, lugging the majority of their things (minus James' weapons) and heading for the bus.

(James)
=Nodding, I grabbed my gear. The P90, still attached to that strap, was slung over my shoulder, and it hung down by my waist. My bow and quiver were also slung over my shoulder, and I was sure I'd now have some form of marks on my shoulder from the straps. Exiting the room, I walked over to Sam and Eve's room, lightly knocking on the door=

(Sam)
=There was the sounds of knocking, and I woke up. Eve still clung to me, but I wormed my way out of her arms to get up and out of bed. Opening the door, I found James, armed for bear=
"Whoa, what's going on James?"

(James)
"Grab your gear, we're heading out."