Let's take a few steps...(DudeGuy and Selena)

A mere student. . . Raphael wanted to think of himself as such, but he knew that he was far from just being your average college student. Selena did now too. So much for his life being normal. He couldn't help but wonder if some of the other people that he had been raised with found themselves in similar positions now. How they would handle the irony of the situation. His thoughts were disturbed by the question he had just been asked by his companion.

This was a question that he had been waiting for since he fought the man off in the ruins of the building on campus. Now that she finally asked it, he wasn't sure he knew exactly how he should go about answering. He knew that he had to be careful, as giving her a direct answer would probably freak her out. Then again, lying to her seemed like a well enough solution, but. . .wouldn't it be better for them to trust one another now? For all they knew, they were the only people left alive in the city now.

"It would be difficult for me to answer that question without making you uneasy. For now, let's just say that I have a rough childhood and leave it at that," he said. His answer was honest, yet vague, just as he intended for it to be.

"Ahh..I see..I apologize for asking." Selena replied, not really sure what it was about his childhood. Her curiosity was getting the better her, but she wouldn't bring up possible mad memories. She mulled over the different situations that could've happened to him in his childhood for a few moments. Maybe he had bad parents...or maybe he was an orphan...or maybe..

Her hands dropped down into her lap lazily, her dark eyes looking at the lines in her palms. "I'm a competitive archer. That's how I was able to see those men. I've been trained to find and shoot moving objects -usually just clay pidgeons- but still..after a while I guess that stuff just kinda comes natural." She stated calmly, her eyes moving up from her hands towards Raphael. She exhaled, closing her eyes tiredly. "Man, what I wouldn't give to go shoot a quiver-full of arrows right now. It's such a great escape." She laughed, trying to make the current situation less serious in her mind.

A competitive archer? Her incredible eye sight only made sense. She didn't talk about how good she was, but if she were good enough to fire at moving targets, then she would be able to handle a gun rather well. Though he had been thoroughly trained with all kinds of weapons, he was always best with pistols, and other, smaller fire arms. Rifles were things that he never excelled with. Selene, on the other hand, would probably do well with one. "You want to try firing this," he said, holding the gun towards her. "I've never been good with long distance shots. If you can find and shoot at moving objects, you should be just fine with a rifle."

When Raphael thought about it, the only thing that would probably be a problem for her was the recoil from the shot. If she learned how to position herself when she fired, she would be just fine. It would also be good for her to learn how to use whatever she could to defend herself right now.

Selena took a hand, pushing the gun down softly. "This may be hard to understand but..." She replied with a sigh, "when an archer trains himself or herself, there is a point at which shooting a gun becomes too difficult because they have become accustomed to the bow. My father has tried his best many a time to teach me how to shoot a firearm. I understand the concepts of course, but my eyes are just too trained for archery that I can't handle a gun. In archery, you must focus at the point where the arrow will land, not looking directly at the target, because arrows are much slower than bullets. I'm sorry." she said in a guilty tone.

She really wanted to shoot the gun, she really did, but her eyes were just trained too differently than she couldn't become accustomed to it, and she doubted that she ever would. She felt like she had let him down.

"It's alright, I understand," Raphael said, sitting the rifle back down beside him. To try to compare a gun to a bow and arrow was like comparing apples and oranges. Still, he was concerned about her ability to defend herself. There was no telling what would happen in the future. She could find herself in danger without him there to help her. What would she do then? "Can you fight at all? If I suddenly attacked you, would you know how to defend yourself," he asked. At the very least, he felt that she should know that much. If she could stop one of these PRAT soldiers, even for a moment, it would put her in an advantageous position. She could slip out of their reach, or even better, she could knock one of them out. It didn't matter to him, so long as she didn't end up getting killed.

Selena listened to his question, looking at him differently now, like he would pounce at any moment. "The only thing I have going for me is my speed and accuracy. I don't really have a large amount of real strength, only what the average girl would have.." she sighed a bit. "Of course, give me a softball bat any day and I could do a fair amount of damage. Punching and kicking..I'm just not strong enough." she replied, a slight smile on her face as she thought about last week's game..the least she was worried about was getting the enemy team out at first..and now everything was so different, everything had drastically changed from what it had been.

"In terms of raw strength, that might be true. But if you combine your speed and the motion leading up into the attack instead of just thinking about your own power, you're probably twice as strong as you think. Think of it like swinging a bat. Your arm strength will of course transfer into the full power of the swing, but a slow powerful swing is weaker than a faster equally powerful swing, right," Raphael asked, slowly pushing himself up onto his feet. He clapped his hands together a few times, cleaning the dust from the ground off of them, then he reached down and picked up the rifle. "I can show you how to utilize your power to your advantage. In light of our circumstances, I think that would be the best course of action."

Since she wasn't going to use a gun, it would probably be best for her to be able to know how to use her body. On the off chance that they managed to find a bow and a quiver of arrows, she could use them. But. . .even if it was an off chance, it would definitely be worth going to the gym to see if they could find anything that survived there. Judging from the landscape outside, the blast came from the west side of the buildings. The gym lie to the east, in the shade of the main buildings. Though it wouldn't have been spared from the entire blast, the explosion would have lost considerable power before it hit the athletic complex.

Selena stood up as well, wiping her hands off onto her pants, pulling the hem of her shirt habitually over the waistline on her pants. She looked down at herself for a moment. "Well, I guess if we're going to be lost in a destroyed city, might as well be comfy for the part!" she replied. Little did she know that her comfy-college wear would be what she'd be wearing for quite a while, at least until they found other clothing.

Her eyes seemed to light up as he was speaking. "You're absolutely right!" She replied, her hand smacking her forehead. I should've remembered that from Physics class... "I'd love for you to teach me." Her eyes lit up, remembering something that might help them. "Raphael, the softball, baseball and soccer fields lie behind the gym. I'm sure that some equipment may come in handy from the shed down there, that is, if it's still there. Y'know, bats, protective guards and pads, that kind of stuff."

Baseball bats, pads, protective guards. . .it may not have been made for warfare but at this point, they could use anything that they could find to help. "If we use the service tunnels, we could get to most places around campus without being seen. We just need to get back onto campus. The nearest entrance I saw was covered in debris. It's no good. There should be another not too far from the building we were in. I'm worried about those armed men though. We'll have to keep out eyes open, stay amongst the debris, and close to each other.

"We've got one of their radio's, so we'll be able to hear their communications. We should be okay," Raphael said. Ever since he woke up, he seemed to have reverted to an almost mechanical way of thinking. They needed to do this, they needed to do that. He wouldn't be able to relax until he knew that they were safe and in a secure environment.

Selena nodded in agreement. "The service tunnels.." she replied, almost to herself. Those armed men..that was a nightmare..either of us could've easily died...but we've got to. We must get to the service tunnels. It will only be a matter of time before this cave collapses under the weight of this debris, or the armed PRAT men find us. Selena shut her eyes. When she reopened them, there was a much more determined look on her face, the dark hues of her eyes brightened up. "Alright. When shall we leave the cave to get to the service tunnels?"

She couldn't help but feel safe with another classmate here with her, and a one that was trained in fighting and warfare. If it weren't for him, she would've probably been dead by now..killed by a PRAT soldier. Selena sighed. He's a blessing in disquise. She thought, looking above as if God had sent her this miracle.

Raphael glanced down at his watch. The gesture of doing so was useless, as the watch had been practically destroyed from the explosion. From what he could tell, they had been under here for about two hours. Which meant that it was late in the evening now. They needed to hurry so that they could move with some light outside. Fortunately, it would be growing dark rather quickly soon. If nothing else, it would make it a bit easier for them to hide. And with Selena here and her hawk-like eyes, he was sure that she would be able to accurately spot any men waiting to try and take a shot at them.

"Yes, the sooner we get moving the better. It's going to be getting dark soon," Raphael replied. He picked up the gun and placed the shoulder strap around his neck. They headed to the trap door where they entered, and Raphael went up first. He tipped the door upward slightly, to be sure that there was no one on top of it. He remained still and silent, his finger around the trigger of the rifle twitching as if he were awaiting the moment that someone would try to open it. Nothing happened.

He then pushed up on the door once more opening it fully. There was no one around the opening, and he didn't see anyone attempting to line up a shot on them. All he could do for now was hope that there was no one out there trying to kill him. "It looks like it's clear," he said, extending a hand to help Selena back up onto the surface.

Selena took his hand in her own, pulling herself up through the trap door. "Thanks," she replied, her eyes scanning their surroundings like a mountain cougar who'd just caught the scent of a white-tailed deer. "I can't see anyone at the moment either.." she said, her eyes never seeming to always move about their surroundings.

"When you're ready," she replied. All the sudden, however, she bent down on one knee, looking at an oddly-shaped black object with an LCD screen. There were numbers shown on the screen, decreasing in value. "...I really hope this isn't what I think it is!"

Raphael allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. There were no shooters around. He should have known better though. There was a reason there weren't any shooters around, and that was because of the bomb that they left on top of the cave. If they hadn't decided to leave when they did, it was quite possible for them to have been killed in the cave in that would result from the explosion. He picked the device up and scanned it with his eyes. This was a type of bomb that he hadn't been trained to disarm. He pushed her back slightly, then spun around and threw the bomb as far as he possibly could. He was hoping that the resulting explosion would kill a few of the PRAT soldiers.

"Let's move," he said. He crouched down and quickly made his way across the street. After quickly scanning the area around him, he motioned for Selena to follow him.

Selena winced when he threw the bomb away from them, closing her eyes as if that would protect her. As he darted across the street, she followed him, thinking about the things she had been taught in competitive archery about stealth, and how to approach the game she would hunt in bowhunting. This time however, she was using this same knowledge to evade the PRAT soldiers. After darting across around half a dozen streets, moving around the corners of dismantled and mangled buildings, following Raphael, her eyes always on her surroundings, they had made it to their destination: the service tunnels.

Selena followed Raphael into one of the only partially covered service tunnel entrances, her breath slowing in relief seeing as they finally made it there. The service tunnel seemed warmer than the cave, and she leaned against the wall tiredly.

For some odd reason, she felt like crying- like all the different things came together and clicked in her mind all at once. I wonder if mom and dad are still alive...all my school friends...did they survive this and go into hiding to? What about my little brother, my animals at home? My home, my keepsakes, my...everything? How long will it be until they find us? She was finally realizing the gravity of the situation. Selena tried to hold the tears back, but being the girl she was, she couldn't. She shook her head, a few tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry..it's just.." Selena replied in a shaky voice, "I think I'm understanding..the gravity of this situation.."

Raphael did not have such attachments to this world. Sure, he had friends, and he knew that they were gone. But he couldn't cry for them. They had all moved on to a better place. He would surely miss them though. For normal people, people like Selena, such a devastating loss had more serious effects. He couldn't imagine the pain or sadness she was feeling now. This had been the one thing that he hadn't thought about the entire time that the two of them had been running around together. That was a short amount of time, but he seemingly accounted for everything else.

He tucked the gun back and slowly approached Selena, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Selena, I'm sorry. I truly am. You shouldn't have to be going through this. . .none of this should be happening now. I. . .the only thing I know how to do is keep moving forward now. We're going to live, we're going to make it out of here," he said softly. What Raphael didn't tell her? He planned on taking out all of the PRAT forces that he could before they did.

Selena wiped her tears away with her arm, looking up at him. I've got to be strong, we're going to survive this...he said so... "Ahh, um thanks.." Selena replied, her voice shakey and faint. She took a few deep breaths, trying to hush her crying.

Selena's face showed dissapointment. She couldn't help but feel as if she had let him down; showed him that she had weakness. If they were going to survive this mess, crying wouldn't do anything except hold them back. She closed her eyes, clenching a fist. It was if a new anger had emerged from within her. "Those PRAT men caused me to lost everything I had," Selena replied, a determined and almost angry tone to her voice, "I think it's only proper to return the favor."

Selena was a human being. She had thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Raphael learned himself that those things were not signs of weakness, but signs of strength. The fact that she could cry showed that she was hurting, and was a proper outlet of her emotions comparable to numerous other things she could have done. Her mind was still in one piece, and she hadn't attempted to herself or attack him. He was thankful for those things. After watching the way that her tears suddenly stopped, and the resolve that she showed in living, he knew that they would be just alright.

Especially when she said that she was ready to return the favor to the bastards that took everything from her. "Let's get to the field house. We'll arm ourselves, then come back here and make sure that we have food and water before we get started. There are a lot of things that we need to do before we take the fight back to them," he said, a slight grin forming on his face.

Selena nodded towards him, the last of her tears drying up. "Alright, that sounds like a good plan to me." She replied, noticing his grin. That's the first time I've seen him grin.. Selena thought, A grin not of happiness or hysterical madness, but one of determination...

Selena shook her head, focusing on the task at hand. Her eyes looked around the area where they were at: the service tunnels. She had heard about these tunnels, but never had a need to use them herself, thus not knowing the layout of the tunnels. She turned to Raphael. "After you."

Raphael walked ahead of Selena, heading down the tunnel directly ahead of him. There were several branches at the junctions that followed this one. Somehow, he knew the way through them, a place that no normal student knew well. She would probably be wondering how he knew these things, and felt that it would be best to at least tell her this much after giving her such an ambiguous answer before. "My major was engineering. We were taught about the tunnels, the entrances, and came down here with the professors and several professional engineers who showed us around," he said. He figured that telling her these things would catch her off guard. That much could be understood.

Since the two of them met, he hadn't exactly been chatty nor had he volunteered much information about himself. Nothing more than his name that was. "The tunnels are mainly used as underground transportation pathways, allowing large trucks to take goods all around campus without interfering with the normal traffic of the students and teachers coming to the school. There is an entrance into all of the main buildings around campus and a few manhole entrances outside in various places around campus. I've seen several entrances outside of buildings covered up by debris and can only hope that most of the remaining entrances are as well.

"We'll have to make sure that they are all secure once we get ourselves armed and ready. This place will serve as our base of operations."

Selena nodded, following Raphael. "Engineering, huh? The technology regarding engineering these days is absolutely incredible. Our biology professors would do much of the same things with our local parks and outdoor areas, y'know, show us around and stuff. I'm really glad that you know of this area." She replied, a tired smile on her face. She glanced around at the walls of the tunnel, taking in the experience of a new place.

Selena listened to him describe the tunnels. "That's quite amazing, about how they are so efficent and such!" As they continued on down the tunnel, her mind started wandering.

"Have I been a hassle?" she asked, not realizing she had said the question aloud.

"A hassle? Don't be stupid. I would probably be dead if it weren't for you spotting those shooters earlier. I didn't see that first one at all. You've been a huge help," Raphael replied. He didn't at all believe that Selena had been a drag. She saved his life. And that winery place? He didn't know about it at all. It was a great place for them to hide. There was food and water down there, all of which they would have to find a way to do something with before cavern caved in. Transporting the goods would be difficult though, as they would have to go underground and bring things above ground, carry them a short distance, then take them back underground. Even if they could find a vehicle, it would have been extremely difficult.

Perhaps Selena would have some idea's on how they could handle those things. "Thankfully for us. Because of their efficiency, we have a place to lie low for a while. After we come from the sports complex, we'll need to work on securing the tunnels before we rest."

Selena blinked a few times at his response. "Huh? Oh! Um..thank you! Sorry, it's just..I didn't realize I had said that out loud!" She replied in a nervous tone, a guilty smile on her face. She looked downward, avoiding his frame walking in front of her. How embarrassing! Now I'm speaking out of my head! She thought, one hand smacking her forehead as she closed her eyes.

She listened to his words as the continued along. "There's only one drawback, though..I hope the sports complex's items aren't ruined! It would be a wasted trip..." Selena sighed, listening to the sounds of their footsteps echo off the walls of the service tunnel they were in. She remarked about how her leg was starting to feel better the more she walked on it, her hobbling becoming less noticeable as they continued along.

"The damage to the building itself shouldn't be too bad. The main buildings one campus would have absorbed much of the explosion. Even if we can't find the things we're hoping to find, we should at least be able to get out hands on something. Even if not, I don't think this would be a wasted trip. At least. . .I don't want to think that it is." Wasting time was the one thing that Raphael didn't want to do. Everything that they did now was of the utmost importance. They had to work, they had to push themselves, they had to take serious risks so that they could live and make it out of this city. How far, how wide the destruction had gone? They didn't know.

As he thought before, the World Government wouldn't let such an action go ignored. They would send in troops to look for survivors and they would do what they could to put down these PRAT soldiers. And as for the organization itself? Also for those who helped orchestrate such attacks? You could believe that they would all be held accountable for their actions, and that they would suffer the most severe punishment that they possibly could.

But until those moments came, until they were saved and taken out of this horrible predicament, they were both resolved to fight.

There was a bit of a lengthy walk between where they had been and their destination, but it thankfully wrapped up rather quickly as the two chattered about various things. When they reached the ladder that lead up to the building, Raphael readied the rifle and climbed up first to make sure that the area was clear. When he was sure that there was no one around, he peeked back down into the hole and motioned for Selena to follow.

Selena followed his lead, her eyes always looking around their surroundings as they made their way towards the athletic complex. "There..there's something in the distance." She replied, pointing up at the horizon line that was cut into an odd asymmetrical line because of all the debris. Only 400 or 500 feet above groud was some kind of aircraft, jet black in color. It seemed to hover for a moment along the horizon before going out of sight, opposite the way they were travelling. This made them both quicken their pace towards the complex.

When they arrived at the complex, only one of the walls was completely destroyed, while the others were moderately to critically damaged. After they found their way inside, Selena's mind went back to the aircraft they saw. "What was that thing?"

Raphael couldn't even see what she was talking about at first. Not until it flew off in the opposite direction. "I have no idea, and I don't think I want to stick around to find out. Let's hurry and see if we can find anything inside of the building. There's a way to get back into the tunnels inside. Let's hope it isn't covered up by debris as well," he said. Selena seemed to be thinking the same things that he was saying, as her reaction was the same. Their steps quickened and they hurried inside of the building.

Once they were inside, he motioned for her to slow down and stay behind him. For the most part, there were several sections of the building that were still in tact. Thankfully. They would have to be careful not to make too much noise, and to stay away from the most damaged walls. Tactically, if they could trap their enemies behind a wall, he could it several key places and cause it to crumble onto their enemies. "I have no idea. If I see it again, I'll shoot it down and we can drag it back with us. I'll take it apart if I can and see what it does. I'm just. . .praying that it didn't have a camera or other recording device on it. If so, we could be in big trouble," he said as they made their way through the debris and to the storage area.

This area seemed to be unaffected by the blast for the most part. Several of the basketballs and volleyballs were deflated, and most of the wooden baseball bats were broken. Seeing what was there, Raphael felt pretty good. They could arm themselves at the very least.