Surviving in Chaos. (Dies/Midnight)

[Dies Irae]

In the future, man would destroy the Earth, the desert would rise to cover the world and humanity would struggle to survive, this was the future the current humans lived in. Cannibalism, Rape, Slavery, these still existed and now they were considered all under the same category Survival of the Fittest. One group however upheld virtues and helped those who had survive the Apocalypse, a society built to shelter those who needed it, a place in which the survivors had named 'Eden'. The leader of Eden was known to the survivors living there as simply Mother. She was caring to them, she didn't sit in an office while other worked, she had built Eden with her own hands, with help from her group of ragtag survivors she created a place for people to be free to live in peace. Still outside of those high walls was chaos, it reigned supreme over the wastelands of earth. Raiders would pillage from anyone they came across, Slavers would take women, men and children to their own camp. Somehow in the midst of all the chaos the rich who survived still saw themselves better than everyone.

The group responsible for this tragic outcome had long vanished, it had been 17 years since the apocalypse had fallen, 17 years since chaos had taken control, the group responsible had long been forgotten by some, other chose to hold the hatred forever. Others simply chose not to care about them, what's done is done right. In the end the world was still going to be that desert and no matter what anyone did nothing would change how it was. Radiation was high in some areas, Nuclear plants that had exploded left their destructive powers in the rubble, that's were mutants had been created, humans, animals it didn't matter. these had become common in the barrens. No one who valued their lives would dare to stand against a mutated creature, the most dangerous recorded was known as 'Reapers' mutated from what they believed as alligators and crocodiles, long legs, looking almost like raptors except for the large blade arm each bore, People who had seen them called those arms almost like a giant Scythe and that were the name stemmed from.

In the midst of all this, Mother was out in the field again, supplies were collected once a day during sunlight, they could of had the time as once a week but that wouldn't put food out if they happened to run out of food and clean water. The small town came into view from a distance. All that could be heard was the sounds of engines, if one was looking on they would see, motorbike leading, two cars following and a truck with a modified bed to carry their loot for today, this was the group of survivors that everyone had named "Angel". It was a name chosen by the people not them, they wouldn't call themselves angels, well not by how the acted around each other anyway but that was when they were out like this, today was no different as they pulled in the gas station of the town. It was empty as expected, nothing out of the ordinary which meant everything was out of the ordinary to them, nothing was this quiet.

The rather slender woman on the bike slipped off slowly, the brown and black goggles slipped off to dangle around her neck, she was Mother the leader of Eden and the Angels, she wasn't one you would take as a leader for something so great, she had navy blue hair, that spiked out the back just under her collar, the longest her bangs came about an inch below her collar. Her eyes were almost the same color as her hair, just more tinged with a light purple giving off a small grayish blue color. Her body was much less impressive as woman, though she wouldn't tell anyone of her past it wasn't much to dwell on anyway, in her life before the apocalypse she was only 10 herself, being in a rich family they bought her a medical treatment so expensive not many even bothered but they wanted her precious girl to stay young for as long as possible. The medicine slowed the aging process that meant her body would grow at a much slower rate though she was 27 in years, due to that effect she wouldn't pass for more than a 19 to 23 year old. It was nice to have the looks but sometimes she wanted to be taken seriously but every just thought she was the age she looked, she hadn't exactly told them how old she was.

She wore rather outdoors clothing, it was decent weather today, shorts and a tank top that hugged the skin so it couldn't be grabbed by an enemy, a belt around her waist let two Jericho 941 pistols hang, easy to reach and reliable weapons in her hands, she had various ammunition for them, most commonly she used .40 S&W rounds for them but in some cases she would use the .45 ACP as well, the extra ammunition was in the belt near the holsters, making it easy for her to reload quickly though after a firefight she usually had to go and search for the empty cartridges or Fix would have her head about having to build new ones from scrap metal. That was her to a tee she was often playful and a bit of a goof around when they were about to prep for a mission or just hanging out somewhere in the desert, but during missions and at Eden she held a more calming and serious nature one the children she saved could see as a role model.

"Tell me some good news Charge!" she yelled looking to the rather large man at the back, heavy weapons and lifting was his specialty, all though he was a little more quite and hard pressed when out like this "Nothing, looks like these pumps have been dry for a while" he said climbing down from the storage tank and going to the pick up truck "I bet it was those fucking raiders, they always steal our gas" she yelled looking at the surrounding desert "The nearest raiders camp is about 15 miles to the north actually" a younger girl chirped looking at a laptop screen and giggling. That was Fix, Fix was almost like a sister to Mother, well out here in their group she was nicknamed Delta. There group was made up of 5 people Charge, Fix, Shot, Track and her. In the history of their past they had been together for almost 6 years now, which was making them a little more like family that a group of scavengers.

Delta looked at the ground and groaned, kicking the floor with her boots that each concealed a nasty looking hunting knife, looking back at her group she smiled, "Fix monitor the perimeter and don't you dare go get distracted, Charge you stay here with Fix, Track go put the camera perimeter up, we haven't tracked this place yet, Shot there's a water toward go take the point" she said walking off down the road "What about you Del?" Fix asked confused "I thought I'd go get a tan....What do you think i'm doing idiot i'm looking for stranded!" she said throwing a small rock at Fix's head and continuing to walk down the road while everyone went off to their tasks. A small ear piece in her ear would let Fix tell her of trouble, as well as jabber on about what she was thinking and what she saw go by the window.

Delta heard the sounds of the everyone being in place, Shot had his sniper over the town, Track had set the camera perimeter and Charge and Fix were withe their vehicles at the station all was going as planned "Radio Silence, Fix tell us if you see any raiders or slavers, and for god sakes if a reaper comes get the hell out" she said looking up at the school in front of her, it was rather large so it might have been used to as a raiders den that they hadn't found yet. She drew her pistols, slowly opening the door of the school, the entrance was empty but the halls were stained with blood, A reaper maybe, or cannibals, perhaps those sadistic raiders. She mulled over the possibilities as she continued down the hall, pulling a bandanna from her shorts pocket and tying it around her head to cover her mouth from the horrid smells. Her boots made soft thuds against the ground, as she checked a class room, tables and chairs everywhere but something told her she wasn't alone in the school, looking back she thought she smelt smoke as she turned into the halls and looked for the source.

 

[Midnight]

The abandoned school was almost totally quiet, and very dark, all life that once existed in this place vanished long ago, it was a place of death now, with corpses littered about, victims and raiders alike. Luckily most of the corpses were somewhat fresh, they didn't stink that bad. at least.

In the shadows of the darkened room in the abandoned school a young male sat on a large desk, what once belonged to a teacher of whatever was taught in this class before the world came to it's abrupt halt. The young man had his knees drawn up to his chest, his breathing was erratic, clear negative emotions coming off of him, trying not to choke in the stench. Draped over his frame was a tattered trenchcoat a couple sizes too large for his form, he had been using it for a blanket. Nearby a small fire had nearly burnt itself out, the smell of smoke masking the smell of decay deeper in the school, keeping it from the young man's sensitive nose. The boy had his back to one of the corners of the room, it had been a rather large classroom once, he could tell from his early exploration.

Crow's 'father', Fox, had mentioned people once learned how to do things they needed to do like reading and math, oh he longed to be able to read, though that was a luxury Crow had never experienced. The young man stirred, groggily feeling around the desk, his head rising, his attention perking as he used his senses to gauge his surroundings. Fox often spoke about how beautiful the world was before it was destroyed, this was something the young man would never experience, green trees, green grass, he had never seen the colors in anything but the sickly and mutated plants that did appear in some areas that had been especially contaminated, of course, Crow barely even remembered what that color looked like. Of course, Crow never even saw what much of the current world looked like, he possessed a serious disadvantage in this world.

Crow was blind.

The people who had held him before Fox had rescued him had ensured that he would never see again, they took everything from him, even after the slavers had taken his real parents from him. The years that the boy spent with the Covenant were the most horrifying in his life, giving him many physical and mental scars to bear. There were many factions in this new world that were best avoided, mutants, cannibals, bandits, raiders, slavers, then there was The Covenant. The Covenant's adepts were possibly one of the most horrifying groups of humans in the new world, if they could even be called that. The Adept's mutilated themselves in reverence for their gods, they welded masks of iron to their flesh and grafted salvaged technology into their bodies, turning themselves into monsters of flesh and steel.

If Fox had not rescued him from them, he would have died, he had heard they were planning on sacrificing him to their god. Fox whisked him away during the night though, and even though he was safe with him for the years he spent with him, he couldn't give the boy his eyesight back. Crow felt around his desk blindly for a moment, checking on the bag of supplies that had been left with him, there was barely enough food for him for the evening. Crow was mainly paranoid about someone taking it while he slept, but he probably would have been killed then too. He checked several times to make sure everything was in place. When Fox came back, he would want to know where the supplies were.

Crow had been told to wait there by the man who had raised him for over seven years. They had been set upon by slavers, they were after him, what he could tell from their shouts over Fox's gunfire. Fox had dragged him along into this town, then into this school building telling him that he would lead them away and be right back...Crow stumbled into one of the more intact classrooms and waited.

That was four days ago. Crow knew that he wasn't coming back, he had been orphaned yet again, the fact that the slavers had not come back meant it wasn't likely that anybody had come back. Fox had given him his duster and his sword, when he hugged him, he smelled like blood, from that moment, Crow knew he wasn't coming back, but he still waited. The boy felt pathetic, and was battling with despair, what was he going to do? The corpses in the building were starting to smell, and the sound of Crow's stomach growling was threatening to give him away. He hadn't eaten for almost two days. The young man realized he couldn't stay there earlier, he had felt his way around previously, memorizing where things were, there was nothing even remotely edible, nothing to hunt. Crow would have to leave this place soon or face starvation, or worse. The male coughed, stifling it as soon as he felt it coming, he had to avoid making too much noise, there could be slavers patrolling the town, even if Fox managed to lead them away.

Crow's head lifted when he heard strange noised echo through the building. His entire body moved, it wasn't the sound of the building settling or falling apart, no, it was footsteps. Crow's entire body tensed, someone was coming! Immediately, his heart rose and plummeted when he realized it didn't sound anything like Fox's, which meant that the intruder was a threat. Crow sniffled, he wished he could cry. Something inside him called for action, he immediately straightened, slipping the duster onto his body and beginning to grope around for his gun.

The boy felt around for the gun his adoptive father had given him. Fox had handed him the Beretta 92f (stainless) only a year ago, he had also taught him how to shoot it before that, but it was a gift for his sixteenth birthday, how not to let the sound overload his sensitive hearing. Crow's fingers searched around, finally finding the grip of the weapon and taking it firmly in his grasp, it was heavier than he remembered. The boy stood, spinning towards the source of the sounds, he heard bootsteps echoing down the hallway, it was a single person at least, it didn't sound like any more, and it didn't sound very heavy. Crow looked down and listened hard, listening for any hints of ragged breathing, that would mean it was time to simply run. Crow snuffed out his fire, if it would buy him time it would. Seconds felt like hours as he waited, the intruder was checking classrooms, the boy's palms went sweaty with fear and his gun shook in his grasp, when the intruder entered he lifted his gun to bear. Crow was Seventeen years old now, he had lived his entire life in this waste, a rather unlucky child, he was alone again.

"S-Stop where you are! Stay back!!" Crow pointed his gun at the intruder, or at least where he assumed the intruder was. The boy's gloved hands were shaking, both out of fear and because of his hunger, what precious rations he had left, he had to stretch out.

The young man pointing the weapon at her was obviously not a raider or a cannibal. Crow's eyes and much of his upper face were covered by two layers of bandages and gauze that wrapped around his head, from his eyebrows almost down to his nose, crossing lightly over each other over his eyes* and, stained with flecks of blood in several places, covered by the dark, messy, feathery hair that reached down to his ears. Over the bandages of his eyes Crow had made sure he was wearing large sunglasses that hid most of the bandages from view. If most of his face hadn't been covered, he could easily be called very attractive, he had several scars on his face, the skin that was exposed at least, below his eyes, on his jaw, and his cheeks. The boy was seventeen now, yet he felt so much older, he had lived without his sight for almost seven whole years, he didn't even remember what colors looked like anymore. Crow was quite dirty, then again, was there anybody in this world who was clean?

Crow's body was thin, and covered in several layers of patchy clothing in mostly greys and whites, a long sleeve shirt, a large scarflike peice of cloth wrapped about the boy's shoulders under the coat that his mentor had given to him. Crow's clothing was patchy in many places, torn and worn. Crow was very thin, he didn't eat often, that much was clear about him, if his clothing wasn't so baggy the woman could likely see that. Crow had several belts and bandoleers suspended about him, a wicked looking knife sheathed at his left side. Crow's pants were heavy cargo pants that were tied in with his boots, he really hadn't chosen his clothing himself, but they didn't look mismatched at least.

If Crow was going to die, he was going to die fighting, he couldn't take his own life or let himself starve to death. The stranger could likely figure out that something was off about this young man on her own though, Crow's pistol aimed at any source of noise made, his finger tightening on the trigger, the moment the intruder made a hostile move he would shoot. "Stay away from me or I will shoot!" Crow could barely hear anything over his own heartbeat, he pointed the gun and 'looked' in the direction he had last heard the noise, imagining where the person's chest was, where to hit to kill them quickly and painlessly if they attacked just as fox had taught him. He tried to sound formidable, but had a hard time masking the confusion and fear in his voice.

The boy took a step back, almost tripping over a desk, aiming his pistol as firmly as he could at the intruder.

* (Hes wearing bandages like a blindfold, the cross is a little above the bridge of his nose, covers his eyes and parts of his cheeks)

 

[Dies Irae]

Delta was getting closer to the source of the smoke, someone was here, the pungent scent of the burning wood was strong meaning it was fresh, seeing the blood stained walls around her start to get less thick she continued down the halls, checking each classroom for the smoke. Delta looked to the radio on her hip and sighed "Possible stranded in the school, wait for my signal for pick up" she whispered to Fix and Charge. She walked to the last classroom and raised her guns slowly. Looking at the door she walked slowly to the opening and looked inside, it was dark but the smoke was coming from here that was certain.

Panning across the room before she stepped in, she looked for the signs of people, she eventually found one but she was careful not to come to assumptions, she stepped into the room quickly pointing her guns up at the figure in the corner, from her experience it was never a good idea to assume someone was a stranded, raiders liked to play these kinds of tricks, especially when the knew the group was going on their stranded rescue missions. Delta could smell the blood, it was old at least so she had come in contact with a fighter? maybe.. though she didn't have the gut feeling of a threat so this person was either very good, or very bad, She stepped forward into the room, her pistols raised to the legs of the figure, she would wound the person if anything should happen, she wasn't going to kill anyone besides raiders and traders. The electricity passing between them seemed smaller, Delta was confused usually when two people stared down each others guns their was more feeling in the air, something like death creeping around the two, but this was different, there was no death in the room just her and this person she wanted to save.

Delta was slightly surprised by the words, not surprised that he spoke but the nervousness and fear in his voice, the tone was something like fear and hunger mixed into one, she looked at him and sighed softly looking at him and thinking of something to say, "Lower your weapon, I am no enemy of yours" she said looking at him but her pistols never wavered for a second.

Delta's eyes we're locked on the boy, she would have to think of something to do, she would have to get him to comply with her and get him to Eden, that was the promise she made to herself when the stranded became much more prominent, people needed saving and Delta took it upon herself to save them all, some would say she was an angel, others called her a plague. She often wondered how people could be so hateful on someone when they we're saving people, perhaps the people who still saw God as a saving grace would say she should let God decide if they are to be saved. There we're other she had heard of, she hadn't seen them but someone had once told her she was their greatest enemy in the world, she was the white ray of hope in everyone's eyes, some wanted to make humans die and wither away. The adepts, she had heard the name, seen what they could do, she had hoped they would never get into Eden, there were to many living there.

Delta looked at the boy, she was sure he was young, the figure underneath the duster and the way he held the gun, he had not gonna much practice from the position he was in, she waved the thought she would never make a rash assumption like that again, in her mind, he could shoot like Shot, and that meant he could hit a pin at 400 yards. A long time ago Delta has made a poor assumption, though that man was long gone she did learn things, she learned what it meant to be a leader, how she had to want to save these people to be able to do it. She did want that, more than anything, she just wanted to be able to help the people of the world, nothing made more sense than that. Delta looked down to the boy and lower one of her pistols, she wasn't going to waste the ammo if she only needed one bullet if he attacked.

Delta looked at the boy and sighed when he spoke, looking at him she smiled "You fucking shoot me and there will be hell to pay kid" she said walking forward and smiling "My name is Mother child i'm here to take you to Eden, you can be safe" she said getting to his eye level and smiling, even though he couldn't see she had lowered herself, Delta looked at him and put her gun on the floor "Let's go Reapers will come soon" she said looking at the boy she waited for him looking at where she saw the bandaged eyes, maybe he was a sound sniper, Shot told her some use only their hearing to shoot, she looked at him smiling, not once did it cross her mind he was blind, much less that traders and Adepts were after him. If they came she would have a high death probability, she hadn't fought more than 3 by herself and even then she hadn't escaped unharmed.

Delta looked to the boy and smiled as she reached for her radio and heard Fix's voice "Del!!, There's traders about 10 or more, Shot is picking off as many as he can but they'll get to the school with at least 7 or more" Delta looked up to the door and picked up her pistol, looking to the boy she grinned, "You better be able to shoot we've got company" she said walking to the door, unknowing to the fact she just did exactly what Fox did when he left. Delta moved a table to the hallway, the door was a straight shot but there was a lot of overturned tables in the hall, she pushed hers against the wall and sat behind it waiting for the firefight that was to come.

 

[Midnight]

Crow kept his gun pointed at the voice, he wasn't apt to believe her immediately, a raider would try a similar trick. The male didn’t care if she was a woman, or even that she tried to tell him that they weren’t enemies, he was quite focused on defending himself, he couldn’t see her expression after all. Crow seemed to relax when he heard the gun touch the floor, he had no idea that the woman was carrying two guns of course. The male moved his head down, tracking the sound and 'looking' to where she put it. "Eden" he questioned, she said she would take him to Eden, perhaps Fox would be there! Crow hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided that safety was far better than starving or being eaten in here. When the woman mentioned Reapers, he paled, "Okay" he agreed with a hurry.

Crow heard the voice coming from her communicator, he knew what was happening, when she spoke to him he nodded grimly. “I know how to shoot” he assured.

"Don't leave!" Crow bolted towards the stranger, his voice panicked despite his attempt to sound calm, nearly tripping again... He caught himself midstep... he didn't want to be left alone again, though the woman shortly asked him if he knew how to use the gun in his hand. The young male nodded and followed her footsteps as she set up the barricade. "I hear them coming" he quickly followed up, he didn't want to be left alone again, not again. The young man followed the woman out into the hallway and listened, he could hear the thundering footsteps of the men now entering the building, the shots of the woman’s sniper outside.

“Here they come” The male readied his pistol, he could hear three pairs of boots storming in his direction, and more coming from behind them, promising an intense firefight. Crow’s palms began to sweat; he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, feel his own pulse, he wasn’t used to fighting, though Fox had taught him how to shoot at sounds, throwing rocks at a fencepost as an example, he had never shot at another human being until now.

The first trader rounded the corner, spotting the pair and opening his mouth. "Found 'em!" The man smirked and raised his gun, but it was too late, Crow locked in on the noise, aimed his pistol, and squeezed the trigger. The man slumped to the ground; the round had struck right above his right eye, instantly lethal. Crow was stunned for a second, the gunshot was loud, it hurt his ears. The two men behind the first jumped back, one of them shouted "Fuck!!!" just as the ringing ceased and Crow took aim, firing again, aiming at the sound, the round struck the corner of the wall between them and their makeshift barricade. The man screamed and a heavy thud could be heard, he wasn’t dead yet, the boy had struck him in the leg, likely shattering the bones in his leg, he was out of the action for now. Three rounds down, six to go.

Crow straightened when he heard another noise, the incredibly distinct sound of a shotgun being pumped; by the sound of it it was a large one too. "GET DOWN!!!" Crow panicked and shouted to his current ally, spinning around and ducking covering his ears as the man with the shotgun rounded the corner. Crow himself ducked as the man, smirking, pulled the trigger of his weapon, the wall of shot peppering the desk, but not penetrating the wood, sending splinters of wood everywhere. This said something about the traders, they weren’t trying to kill, or they would have used heavier shot that would have ounched through the boy’s cover. The man moved to pump his shotgun again, making the mistake of doing so out in the open. Crow popped out and fired again, two shots again, the first one missed widely; the second struck him in the chest right above the shotgun. The bandit fell to the ground without a sound, unable to pump his weapon again.

Crow turned, he had his back to the woman, deciding that she wouldn't stab him when he wasn't looking and tried to tune out the noise of her own battle. Crow adjusted the tinted goggles over the bandages, they obviously had no use, but hid the obvious fact that he was blind. Once the noise died down he popped his head up, turning back and hoping dearly that the woman wasn't dead, he didn't hear a scream. "Are you okay?" he asked, groping around his coat and taking out a fresh magazine for his pistol, releasing the current into his hand and slapping the new one into the handgun with a round already in the chamber. "Are they gone? We need to get out of here!"

Crow listened hard, he didn't hear anything, but he knew anything in the area would be attracted to the gunshots. Crow coughed, pressing his hand to his chest as he waited for a reply.

(I will leave the bandits you want to deal with to you. )

 

[Dies Irae]

Delta sat still against her makeshift cover, the decaying wooden desk wouldn't serve well for long, hearing the hurried footsteps of the traders entering the school she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hearing the shouting she held a small laugh knowing they were shaken from the carnage Shot was creating. Looking to her new companion she smiled and held her pistols tightly, counting in her head slowly as she blocked out everything negative her mind wanted to throw at her. As the first trader went down fast she smiled and lent up from the cover as the second was wounded by the boy's shot, see the trader left standing she felt the emotion she had expected when she encountered the boy, the world vanished between the trader and her, staring down each others guns seeing the ghostly visage of death looming behind them. Delta's finger squeezed first, the loud bang and continued ringing filled her void, then came the thud, her target was dead "1 down" she said listening for any indication of the numbers they were facing.

Delta looked to crow for a moment, his shots were fairly accurate, surprising for a young boy like him, hearing the loud pumping of the shotgun she lent back behind the table as her ally yelled, her heartbeat moved into overdrive, again the feeling of death crept over her, a feeling she got whenever she had to fight. Hearing the two shots and the thud of the man she breathe a sigh of relief, the steps started to die down, a few left now. Delta lent back up from cover and quickly bullets sped past her, ducking behind the table again she at least got there locations, one behind the rotting bench and one in the doorway. Breathing slowly she rose again, firing four shots, she hit the first behind the bench in the skull, just behind the ear while he was shouting to his ally, the second was much more sloppy, her first shot missed, the second and third directly to the chest. If she was going to stop and check for life, he wouldn't have survived her attack.

Leaning against the table she sighed "Still breathing" she said smiling as she waited for any sounds, picking up her radio she issued one command "All clear, Pick up now, one passenger".

Delta stood slowly, reloading her pistols slowly as she checked the corners for more traders, looking to the boy she smiled as she lent down to one of the traders and taking a ruck sack they were carrying, "Take the ones you killed, we need ammo, weapons and anything useful" she said slowly handing him the rucksack and moving to the three she had killed, filling her bag with their weapons, ammo and anything they could use she stood holstering her pistols and holding her hand to the boy, snapping her fingers as to tell him to get it in gear.

Leading the boy down the halls of the school she get his hand in hers, making sure she wouldn't lose him. Delta checked the corners of each corridor they passed, nothing was going to complicate this rescue any further. Hearing the familiar sounds of their vehicles and Fix's gossip about what she would do when she got home. Smiling she stepped outside and looked to the trail of traders corpses leading towards the school, giving a thumbs up to shot sitting on top of their truck with his sniper at the ready. Leaning down and doing a once over on the boy to make sure he wasn't hurt she smiled "Now, whats your name?" she asked smiling, as they setup to leave with the newly acquired information about the boy she looked around "He can ride with me to Eden, I'll give him the spare bunk in my place till we can find a suitable bed for him" she said pulling their spoils of war into Charge's truck, Fix sitting in the passengers seat putting the town on their map of searched places.

Delta stretched in the moments before she headed for the bike "Ok guys pack it up, home time" she said looking at Crow and smiling "Eden awaits" she said as the rest of them started packing up their things, The everything went wrong, time froze around the group as a terrifying screech crossed the town, Delta looked towards the dunes to were it came from, the first words she could say were "EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE", Delta didn't think past that, her actions foggy as she pushed Crow into Charge and they took him in with them. Pulling herself onto the bike she took another look to the dunes as a chill ran up her spine. There stood the things no one wanted to see this close, standing tall on its boned legs a reaper and by the looks a female, the blackened skin, boned limbs and the scythe like arm that could tear them to pieces. Delta looked at Fix and nodded as they all took off towards the towns exit. The reaper could keep up probably even outrun them. With the precious fuel they had they couldn't floor it out of there.

Delta at the side of Charge's truck caught eyes with Crow, they had just saved him from the impossible and now death itself was chasing them, Her mind thought of something to do, many ideas and all seemed to end in a gruesome fate. Looking back to her squad her voice wold come over each of their radios in the vehicles, "Take the path to Eden, at the dead tree up ahead I'll distract it, i love you guys, don't fail me". it cut off then, She hit her brakes falling behind the group as everyone caught as many looks at her as they could. Delta looked up and smiled, her Mother personality smile, warm and caring as she turned her bike to face the oncoming Reaper. Pulling one of her pistols she held it towards the face of the reaper and fired, the shot bounced off the hard bone like a fly but it did what she wanted, a split second later another loud screech and it was after her.

Delta spun her bike sand kicking into the air as she ran from the thing chasing her, nothing would kill it that they knew off, their bones stronger than metal, she could only hope to lose it in the wide expanse ahead of her, she would try her hardest even if she died, her mission was a success saving Crow that what she wanted to do and now she was living the bad part of the job.

**The radios of the Angels were alive, Fix was crying into her knees, Charge was attempting to drive and keep and eye on Crow, Shot and track were yelling over the radio at how stupid Delta was. They reached Eden before sunset, Fix still crying as she left to the fortified city, Charge took everything in and led Crow with him as Shot and Track went to go warn the watchmen Mother was still out their fighting off a Reaper. Meeting in Delta's house in the hours to come the air was still "Its almost dark, what if sh..." "Shut you mouth", the small outburst was a shock, everyone looked to Fix rocking on the bed holding Delta's only stuffed animal left from the old world "She'll be back, she has to come back". The silence continued after that for a few more hours.**

"Fuck off you bastard!" the shouting wasn't encouraging, before the sun had set the reaper still trailed her. Entering a small town Delta swerved in and out of Allys and backstreets, eventually backtracking to the entrance and gunning it as fast as she could in the direction of Eden, her eyes shifting from the road ahead and for the Reaper behind her, Nothing came after her for awhile, she smiled and sighed as she sped towards her home, the large shadow coming up in the night. Pulling her goggles around her neck as she stepped off her bike in the garage she knocked on the door into the city "W..Who is it?" a nervous voice asked, "Mother has returned to her children" she said softly holding her right arm now she her adrenaline had stopped she noticed the gash the reaper had dug taking a swing at her. Quickly she entered the city and smiled heading to her house tying her bandanna around her injured arm. Opening the door she walked in slowly seeing many sets of eyes staring at her "Its like you guys have seen a ghost" she said standing still and smiling "Miss me much?" she asked jokingly as a barrage of shouts from her friends, stemming from her stupid and reckless decision.*

*(You can control any of the side characters if you need to =P)
**(Mini-scene doesn't involve Delta/Mother)

 

[Midnight]

At the woman's suggestion Crow felt around, he scavenged a couple bags from the traders, occasionally shifting them, listening for the sounds of ammunition and food in boxes. He found the shotgun carried by one of the traders and grabbed it, taking the clips from their weapons and placing them in his own bag as instructed. Crow would have to investigate what type of ammunition they were using later; his own weapon was a nine millimeter pistol. It would be pointless to end up with forty-five rounds or even thirty-twos. Crow followed the woman through the hallways to where the rest of her group was waiting, were these people really going to take him to a safe place?

Crow listened to the woman speak, offering him a place to stay until they found him a real place to stay. Crow turned towards the woman, touched by her kindness, a smile actually beginning to form on his lips. “My name? I am-“ Crow was cut off by the terrifying screech of a Reaper spotting her prey. He looked in the direction of the creature, and though he couldn’t see it, he could tell by the reactions of those around him that it was terrifying. The screech was horrible, but Crow showed little fear, the events happened far too quickly for him to react. He had been put in some kind of vehicle, and the woman that had saved him had yelled something about going to Eden. Crow stayed utterly quiet during this time, having drawn his own knees to his chest, resuming the position he had taken while he sat alone in the classroom. This time though he could hear other things, there were other people with him, though strangers. He could hear sobbing from some, yelling over the radio. Crow tried his best to keep calm in this situation despite the fact that he felt alone yet again.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Eden as the woman had called it, Crow was moved from the vehicle to a house, there he sat down in a chair, along with the others, listening to them worry about the woman who had stayed behind to lure the reaper away from the main group, it was a heroic thing to do, but crow was more worried about the idea that he was now alone and among strangers. The young man made an effort to make himself as small as possible in his chair, listening to the survivors talking to each other, mostly about how idiotic she was for pulling a stunt like that. Crow couldn’t seem so he didn’t know how many eyes were actually on him, it took a moment before one of the survivors approached him.

“Hello” A voice cut through the silence behind them. The voice was calm, rather gentle considering the situation that was occurring. Crow felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. The man who had touched him knelt before him. He had black hair that was tied back in a ponytail and was wearing an old white lab coat, a patch on his arm bearing a red cross gave him off as a medic. “I am Doc, I am going to take a quick look at you and make sure you are all in one piece, alright?” Crow nodded and the doctor smiled. “I will make this quick, I just need to make sure you aren’t hurt.” Though crow didn’t feel hurt, he was so tired and hungry he might have been and he wouldn’t notice. The doctor began his examination quickly, checking all of Crow’s vitals before using various instruments, that were very cold, to check other things. The checkup lasted only a few moments as the doctor had planned and the man hummed while he performed the examination. Crow didn’t like being touched, but he seemed to know what he was doing. Once the doctor tried to couch his goggles however, crow reacted violently and wrenched his head away.

Doc frowned, a little startled by the young man’s reaction to his touching of his goggles, some people were picky about some things so he put little thought into it.

--

Quite a while later, there was another commotion, Crow had fallen asleep briefly, feeling much safer than he did for the past few days, he didn’t realize he was asleep until began dreaming. The commotion woke the young male up, people were talking, excited. The woman who had helped him out in the school building had returned! People had gathered about, the girl he had heard sobbing earlier was crying hard now, others were yelling shouts and insults her way. Crow lifted his head and focused in the direction he heard the clamor coming from, he didn’t recognize most of the voices, having not interacted with any of Delta’s crew. Crow did however straighten and listened to what went on.

"Outta my way, move it." Doc himself pushed his way through the crowd, the woman had faced a reaper and come back alive, that was no small feat. “Hello Del, I am glad to see you in one piece” Doc’s eyes moved down a little bit, and he noticed her bandanna. “Mostly anyway” The man approached her and examined her wound for her, carefully removing the makeshift bandage and applying gauze.. “, hold still, Ill fix this up for you real quick”. It was doc’s Job to keep the members of Eden in one piece, and he was good at it, he often accosted members returning from missions at the door like this, and his willingness to help had saved many lives. Doc would go to work, removing the makeshift bandage and cleaning the wound once he could, applying a new one, speaking while he did it. “I took a look at the new arrival” He said, “He isn’t really hurt, a couple scrapes and bruises, but we need to get some food in him, he looks he hadn’t eaten in some time.” Doc spoke while he worked on her injured arm, replacing her bandanna with a fresh bandage and spraying the wound with disinfectant.

Once the doctor finished, he turned around and pointed to where Crow had been sitting, but he had stood, following the doctor's voice and had walked over to them, ignoring the other and accidentally bumping into at least one of them. "Thanks for helping me back there" Crow smiled a little. "You asked my name earlier, Its Crow" Doc looked at the young man, then at the woman. Crow had a lot of questions to ask, mostly as to where this place was.