ZRP-2: Chapter 4, Backtracking

(Andrew)

=I grunt as Sarah lands another punch, this time hitting me in the left rib cage=

If this keeps up, Sarah will end up putting me in the ER...

=I charge, Sarah flipping me like a pancake and sending me crashing into the door=

Gah...even that fight with the raiders wasn't this brutal...

=Sarah then shoulder charged me, breaking down the door=

Alright...that's it...I'd better end this before it turns into a circus...

=I then tackle Sarah, finally getting her into a sleeper hold, but not before she gave me a sharp elbow in the chest and making me curse loudly=

I'm giving Cooper an earful after this...

=I keep Sarah in the hold before she drops to the floor unconscious, my body feeling like a punching bag=

Mira rushed back.
"What happened?! Is she ok!?"

Hibiki nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Eve's hand gripped back. "You can share the bed. I'm small enough that you can lie diwn."

(Andrew)

=I shake my head=

Heck if I know, but she's fine. Cleaner and fast than clubbing her senseless.

=I cough, holding my left side=

She sure as hell can scrap. She really rang my bell.

(Sam)
"......no. I'm sorry Eve, but no. Not now."
=My hand jerked away from her fingers=

"I just can't, not right now."

(James)
"Now I just need to worry about who else we're going to face. I mean Jesus, there were walkers, Shepherds, now Raiders. Next thing you know, we'll be facing a bunch of mutants."
=I silently hoped that wouldn't be the case=

Eve fell silent...then nodded.
"Then...will you...just stay here? Please?"

Mira sighed. "Great."

"Don't jinx us dammit." Hibiki scowled.

(Sam)
=I settled back in the chair=
"Always."

(James)
=For the first time, I smiled=
"I'll do my best."

(Andrew)

=I give a short cough, still feeling winded=

I know.

=I look to Sarah's unconscious form=

I'm going to give Cooper an earful when I see him next.

=I rub my chin briefly=

And I wonder what set her off like that?

Eve reached out again.
"Will you...please...hold my hand? Even just a few fingers...please?"

Hibiki chuckled. "Alright."

(Sam)
=Slowly, I reached for her hand at grasped it=
"I'll try and hold on."

(James)
"So.....we saved the damsels in distress, wiped out the dragon, and secured who knows what kind of loot. I say that's cause enough to celebrate."
=I stood up from the chair, and for simple dramatic effect pointed my finger to the ceiling, adopting a pose that was my best attempt at looking heroic=

"Let the feasting begin!"

Hibiki looked at him.
"Babe. No. Just no."

Eve gripped back. "Just do your best. It's all I ask Sam...it's all I ask."

(James)
=I grinned at her=
"Oh come on. You can't stand there and tell me this doesn't deserve a celebration or something?"

(Sam)
"Yeah well......as a wise group once said, 'You can't always get what you want.'"

Eve fell silent.
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

"I want eep. Then food. That sounds good." Hibiki said.

(Andrew)

=I carried my unconscious sister back to the room, seeing the results of our scrap=

Well...it could have gotten a WHOLE lot worse...

=I rub my head, still feeling as like it was in a thunderstorm=

Oh yes...Cooper is going to get an earful when I see him next...

=I get into the room, knowing I might have some explaining to do=

(James)
"Yeah, I guess."

(Sam)
=I just remained silent=

*Dex*
=They found what they were looking for, and according to one of the mechanics brought along for the ride, the vehicle was still functional. It just needed some fuel and minor repairs. So he called it in=
"Send word to Cooper. The train yard is secure, and we have our engine."

*Cooper*
=A few seconds later, his walkie beeped and he answered=
"Yeah?"

*Soldier*
"Cooper, the train yard is secure. We found an engine, and it's operational."

*Cooper*
"Excellent."

Eve closed her eyes, hand tightening just a bit more.

Hibiki shucked her stuff in the middle of the room and flopped into bed. "I need a shower actually..."

(Andrew)

=I bring Sarah back into the room, the results of our scrap apparent=

Well...management won't be happy about the mess we left...oops...

=I set Sarah in a chair and find an extra blanket and use it as a makeshift door cover=

Now...what set her off...

=I sat down on the bed, wanting to tell someone about what just happened=

(James)
=Despite today's events, and the knowledge of what happened to my friend and daughter, the neanderthal in me couldn't help but speak in a slightly husky voice=
"Oh really?"

=Yeah, poor timing thy name is James Martin. I hit myself in my head, feeling stupid for saying anything of the like=

Yeah so. They had brought me in the ER with most of the other wounded. While they treated my head I had asked what happened.
Turns out I was hit with some sort of explosive and I was lucky to only have gotten a gash (and a few other cuts and scrapes). Let alone be alive.
Once they had left and I was alone. I had time to think. Soon realizing I don't remember anything past exiting the bus.

Hibiki reached over and slapped James.
"Put that down before you ruin your pants. You don't get any of that for a few days. I'm still calming down."

(James)
=Despite the slap, I found myself laughing=
"Hey, no problem there. Mostly just heat of the moment."

Hibiki sighed.
"I hope their doing ok..."

(James)
"We'll, said it before but I'm sure they're going to be fine. As for right now..."
=My voice trailed off as I remembered how I was after being rescued from Jonah=

"If I'm right, they'll probably be withdrawn. Distant. And judging by the way Sam acted earlier, they won't want any kind of physical interaction. Nightmares for sure."

"Which is bad actually...Eve is the kind of girl who wants someone to hold her close ans tell her it will be ok..."
Hibiki stared at the ceiling. "And I can't face her. I just can't."

(James)
=I looked at her, concerned=
"Why not?"

"I didn't save her or Sam in time. I failed. Now look at them James."
Hibiki's eyes watered up. "I failed them."

(James)
=I got up, took her hands in mine, and looked her hard in the eyes=
"Hibiki, let me tell you right now: you didn't let anyone down. And even if you did, you weren't the only one. I also let them down when I remained here, and waited. I let them down when I made the choice to retreat and not even try and save them. If anyone, I'm to blame. And so are the Raiders, and they paid in blood. As for me, I have to pay by living with it, by looking at them everyday from now on and seeing the state they're in."

Hibiki gripped back.
"I'll never have my Eve back. I want the Eve who I saved and cared for, nurtured...defended..."
Hibiki just broke down and cried. "I want my baby."

(James)
=I held her against me, making soft sounds=
"Hibiki.....I've never been a parent, at least not yet. So these next few words will be strange for me to say. But, every parent wants their baby back. The child they cared for, raised and nurtured. But we have to accept that children staying the way they are can never happen, not while the grow, not as they mature. This isn't how Eve should have grown up, or how she should have to mature. But she's going to. And as parents, we have to be there for her no matter what."

"I will always be there. But I never wanted her to go through this. Barely off of heartbreak...and now...th-this."
Hibiki buried her face in James' s chest.

(James)
"She isn't alone Hibiki. She has us, she has Sam. We're her family, and as such we'll stand with her, help her up when she falls. That's what family's do."

"But does she have Sam? She barely can get a hug from her since the breakup. And now? I sont know what Eve will do."
Hibiki almost dug her nails into James. "Because I can't replace the girl Eve loves with all her heart."

(James)
=Thankfully, she couldn't see me wincing in pain as he nails dug into my shoulder, though my voice did come out a little strained. Maybe she'd think I was trying not to cry=
"Hibiki, I don't think Sam is lost to Eve for good. She's probably just uncomfortable is all with the age difference."

=Hell, I was uncomfortable with it=

"Five years. Pff. Mom and dad had seven years apart, and she was older. So really. Sont try that one. What, if their below twenty five it's a felony to date someone younger then you by five years?"
Hibiki obviously was calming down.

(James)
=I sighed=
"I'm not talking about myself Hibiki, I'm talking about Sam. In her shoes, she probably loves Eve like a sister, and a close one at that. But giving her heart to someone else, especially after it was crushed before by....well, her former crush, is going to be hard for her. And you and Eve jumping down her throat over it doesn't help matters."

"I jumped down her throat for leading Eve on and then finally crushing her. Aorry if my maternal isntincts to kick down the offenders door and start shooting a shotgun are wrong."
Hibiki scowled, finLly cal - nope, now getting mad.

(James)
=I loosened my grip a little, making sure to give her space to leave the hug if it was her choice=
"So Sam is the enemy now? For simply reacting in her own way when told she has someone's love? Hibiki, remember how I was when I tried telling you. Yeah, I managed it but only after coaching myself, and even then it was all I could do just to stay standing. Sam didn't even have feelings for Eve until she took the time to think on them, after Eve started showing affection for her."

=Leaning back a little, I looked her in the eyes=
"Sam is human, just like the rest of us. Is it wrong for her to react as such?"

"James. You are right on all accounts. But remember you're talking about a pissed off mother. We think we're right and the complaint department ticket dispenser is actually a grenade. We went over this dear."

(James)
=I smiled at her, even though I was pretty sure it might compel her to bite off my face=
"I always thought that was what you found so charming about me."

"I ahould bite off your face for that, but I conceed yes. Again."
Hibiki kissed him. "I just hope...Sam doesn't end up ruining Eve..."

(James)
"Oh no, she's too smart for that. And compassionate as well."
=I returned the kiss, and then let my head rest on her shoulder, my cheek against her own=

"They just need time Hibiki. Time to heal, and in Sam's case come to terms with Eve. She's already taken the first step, and that one is always the hardest. The rest will be easy."

"Yeah..."
So, Hibiki fell asleep. Because really.
She just couldn't stay awake longer.

(James)
"Fuck"
=Of course, she had to fall asleep in my arms. Because I was totally prepared to hold her up. Needles to say, I was able to hold her up and place her gently on the bed, and then proceeded to remove her boots, placing them down by the foot of the bed. After everything from today, I myself felt tired, exhausted actually. So with a kiss on her cheek, I laid myself down next to her and slowly drifted off to sleep=

(Sam)
=At some point, I had drifted off into a nap. It wasn't going to be peaceful though. The nightmare seemed to be normal at first, a pleasant dream actually. Eve and I were alone in the bedroom, holding each other close and.....well, kissing. Then the nightmare began. One moment I was kissing Eve, the next there was loud crashing sound, and I was back in the cell. Dark walls of cold concrete, a door with hardly any cracks of light. Then hands, whole arms in fact, pale and muscled, sprang out of the wall behind me, grabbed a hold, and pulled me against the wall. They started tearing off my clothes, touching me......and I felt so afraid. And then I saw, right in front of me, what could have been a mirror image. Arms and hands, groping a female form. But then I saw with horror it wasn't me. It was worse. It was Eve. And as I screamed in the dream, I screamed in reality, waking with a start in a sweat, alone in the room save for Eve, my hand all but crushing her own, knuckles white=

Eve shot up, pulling from under her pillow a Ruger P89. She aimed wildly around, wincing as her fingers were being crushed.

Finding it empty, she clicmed the safety on and looked at Sam.
"Sam...?" She asked hesitantly.

(Sam)
=I heard my name, and I looked at Eve. It was all a dream. She was safe, in front of me. Hesitantly, I reached out a hand and touched her face=
"Eve....Eve!"

=And then I surprised myself (and certainly her) and flung myself at her, wrapping her tightly in my arms. My breathing was coming fast, hard, and ragged as my heart was racing, the fear from the dream not fading away anytime soon=
"Oh god, oh god."

Eve, wide awake and alert, was...happily surprised.
Slipping the gun under her pillow, she slipped her arms around Sam.
"It's ok..." she said softly. "Everything is ok..."

(Sam)
=The dam broke all over again, and I sobbed into her shoulder=
"God, they did things to us. How is it going to be okay? How's anything going to be okay?"

Eve rested her cheek against Sam's head.
"I found solace in mommy. I found warmth, kindess, safety, love...I had the exact opposite of what happened to us..." Eve rubbed Sam's back. "The cure of cruelty...is overwhelming kindness."

(Sam)
=In all honesty I found it very hard to believe=
"We were humiliated. Tortured. Almost violated. And kindness is supposed to wipe it all away?"

"Wipe away? It will never wipe it away. But it will drown it down until it is so far down you barely remember it. It's how I can be me. The love given to me by mommy, daddy. Mira...and you."
Eve hugged Sam tighter. "Don't let the past consume you. Make it make yourself stronger."

(Sam)
"I can't see myself gaining strength from this Eve. From you always. But this? There is no strength in being tortured, or violated."