Run This Town (Rory+Ishu)

[Ishu]

At the mention of her strange abilities, he glanced over at the furniture piled up next to the door. She hadn't reacted like that in a while, not in her own home. He finished his fresh stitches and went over them with cleaning fluid and a cotton ball. He was going to ask the Gamatom if he loved her but to his surprise the Gamatom said it outright without hesitation. Haijime looked over at the Gamatom and stared at his features, seeing that he really meant it.

He peeled the plastic covering off of another bandage and carefully stuck it onto his torso. As the Gamatom walked across the room to the front door, he decided to cut in a quick comment before letting him run off into the night, "You an tell her that tomorrow." He fully intended to bring her home if her condition had gotten better. If anything the hospital would give them some medication for her and send her on her way. They couldn't keep people for long periods of time without endangering their health or refusing new people at the door.

He hoped he made the right choice putting even a shred of trust in the Gamatom. If this had been the beginning of the war in their town, he would have given all of them another chance. But this wasn't the beginning. This had been going on for far too long.

___​

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP

Her eyes were wide and staring out with such a heavy essence of terror that the two men who ran into the room wanted to run back out. Her body seemed almost paralyzed though her neck rolled enough to let her head move just slightly.

"Hurry, give it to her before her heart fucking explodes!" A man in scrubs stumbled with an IV and a needle. He missed the IV the first time and stuck the needle into the plastic the second time he tried. He pushed down on the needle until all of its contents rushing through the tubing and entered her veins.

The second man watched as her heart rate went back down and she seemed to level out. He walked over to her bedside and tucked the blankets around her. He picked up a clean rag and wiped the sweat off of her forehead and neck.

"Jesus, she's panicking even in her sleep. What the fuck happened to her?" The man who injected her with the sedative put the needle down and put his hands under his arms as he looked her over.

"She isn't asleep, she's sedated. This is her second dose today. She's just out of it." He tossed the rag off to the side and walked over to the window. He drew the curtains down but left them open just enough to let a little bit of light into her room. "We just need to keep an eye on her room in case she panics again."

"Right... do we know why she's freaking out?"

"Why the fuck else would she freak out? Have you been outside for the past 3 years?"

"Oh... right." He rubbed the back of his neck and stepped away from the side of her bed.


Even as the two men spoke, her eyes had been half-lidded and distant. She couldn't move and she could hardly breathe even with the tube down her throat and the mask from the machine pumping oxygen directly into her lungs. She had an IV taped into one of her arms and each of her wrists and ankles were strapped down against the metal bars of her bed.

 

[RoryN]

As Cade made his way back down to the street, he mentally fixed the location of not only the apartment but also the gated community itself. Where Ishu lived.

Walking back to the library, he thought back over the meeting with her brother, but everything about it bothered him now - especially his own thoughts and behavior right from the beginning. He just missed her and it was just the old Gamatom rituals and dominance trying to reassert itself within him; he was feeling scared and helpless without her and it was his way of trying to control the people and things in his environment. He UNDERSTOOD that...but at the same time, he felt guilty about it. Monogamy was not something he was used to but as possessive as he'd been over Ishu, it felt like betrayal to lust after her brother - even if the urge was purely physical in nature. He instinctively knew that if she had seen him like that, it would have hurt her.

Whatever. He let out a heavy breath and headed back to the library, trying to shove thoughts of Haijime and the bothersome meeting out of mind, focusing instead on her. It was somewhat soothing to revisit the few memories they'd made together, but the worry about her current condition flared up again. She would be alright. Haijime said he expected to see her tomorrow and..Cade would see her then.

Walking up to the library doors, Cade saw his note where it was wedged between them, unmoved from the last time he'd checked in. Reading over what he'd written, he shook his head and released a heavy sigh, crumpling it up and tossing it to the side. That's when he remembered the car and stopped from entering to go around the southside. Opening the driver's side door, he smoothed his hand over the seat, smelling the faded stain of the rogue's blood and looking around the interior longingly. He couldn't get rid of it, but he'd definitely have to stop using it lest he get recognized by the brethren or they find out where he was staying whenever he parked it anywhere.

Climbing in, he drove it several blocks away, parking in the back lot of a post office that sat just on the border between the southern Gamatoms turf and his own pack's. Taking his jacket, pockets still stuffed with cans of tomatoes, and the duffel bag of peaches, he left the car there. He hoped it was well hidden, or at least far enough away that if any of the brethren found it, they would start searching for him in the wrong places. And if any of the southcity pack found it, they would not know it belonged to anyone and would leave it alone because of it's undesirable status - it was definitely too small to bring a herd of humans home in.

The trek back to the library was long but not terribly bad, and once he got into the special room where Ishu liked to go, he was exhausted. It was only around 2 in the afternoon, but setting his things aside and gathering up a blanket that smelled like her, he plopped down on one of the squishy bean bag chairs, wrapping himself up and dozed off.

His dreams were filled with images of rabbits, much like the wild ones he'd hunted the night before last except these were pure white, eyes red and fur flawless. Does. Picking one of them up, he was careful and gentle with it, cradling it to his bare chest with one hand cupping it's chest and abdomen while petting it with the other. Underneath his fingertips, he could feel her little heart beating so fast, her eyes blinking up at him sideways as he murmured to her softly, bending down to kiss the fur of her back and on her neck...rubbing his cheek against her and breathing deeply of the unique feminine smells she possessed...

Hunger gripped him, but it was unlike anything he'd experienced while hunting, like a hollow, burning ache within his lower stomach and groin. Without giving it much thought, the dream turned violent as he placed the rabbit over his erect cock, the tiny animal finally beginning to struggle in his firm hold as he shoved himself within it's tiny body. A sharp, animalistic scream came from her throat before her body split open around his much larger organ, blood...hot and thick coating his thighs and stomach while he continued to murmur excitedly to the animals corpse.

Waking with a sharp panting breath, sweating and shaking slightly, Cade rubbed a hand over his face to clear the disturbing images from his head before he realized he was not alone.

***​

Out in the main hall of the library, Valheru and Bast searched together while Dey was somewhere further in the building. Quin had sent them out an hour before sundown to retrieve Cade, obviously not trusting the lone Gamatom to come back on his own. And honestly, after nearly getting his head bitten off yesterday, nobody had expected Cade to leave the mansion on his own again for a while. But he had and here they were.

Valheru glanced around warily at the shelves surrounding him, hearing the distant rumble of something echoing in the hall as Bast knocked something over, the younger Gamatom letting out a snotty laugh in response to whatever it was. Shaking his head, he tried to find any sign of Cade having been here recently, but there was none, and he wasn't sure whether he should believe what the man had said about him finding him here twice. Hearing the whisper of something in the hall, Valheru let out a small rumble within his chest and turned swiftly to face it, but like the hundreds of times it'd happened before, there was nothing.

And suddenly, Bast was there, holding a book by it's pages and laughing with his tongue sticking out as he shook the book in Valheru's face. The larger man gave him a frown and swiped it from him effortlessly. "Knock it off."

"Aw, come on. he's not fucking here. Can't we just have a little fun? I mean, if we're going to be sent out on a wild goose chase, we might as well enjoy ourselves."

Valheru wanted to admit the man had a point; they'd searched the upper floor and main hall and despite their senses not having opened completely yet with the sun still in the sky, there was no sign of ANYONE having been here recently, let alone the Gamatom they were sent to fetch. Valheru would have agreed with him and joined him, but just then while Bast was kicking over a round ball within a spinning wheel and wooden stand, the tall Gamatom felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and what sounded like someone saying his name.

"Shhhhshhhshh!" he said, jerking the younger man up by his shirt. "Did you fucking hear that?"

His laughter suddenly quieted, Bast blinked stupidly and looked around at the empty hall. "Hear wut?"

Further in the building on the lower floors, Dey stalked the halls, a serious frown etched in his features. He didn't want to be here and he was seriously going to throttle the other Gamatom when they found him; knock some sense into him. Gritting his teeth when he heard Bast up above making noise, he merely shook his head and continued his search, the only thing bothering him about the empty place being the fact that he had to be here at all as Cade's errand boy. Coming upon a locked room, he paused at the doorway perplexed at why it wouldn't open. From what he could see through the slivered opening between the doors, there seemed to be a bunch of stuff piled up against it from the inside.

Hmmm... why would someone do that? Leaning close, he pressed his ear against the door and waited silently to hear even the smallest sound from inside.

 

[Ishu]

Haijime sat on the bed for the rest of the day, thinking about his sister and her health. He did not know what to do for her or what to expect, but he hoped her would get to see her tomorrow. He hoped he would be able to bring her home and take care of her the same way she took care of him. He smiled to this thought and lay back on the bed, staring out the bedroom window as small slivers of moonlight seeped in.

___​

She gasped in a few breaths and looked around her. Everything was blurry and dark. It was quiet aside from the occasional cough or grunt outside of her room. She turned her head to look through the doorway and saw nothing. She thought she heard someone walking around but... there as nothing. It was quiet. Her hands tried to move but felt resistance. She did not know what it was but she felt so... tired. Her eyelids fluttered as her IV dripped and more medication pulsed through her veins, giving her just enough to sleep through the screams outside.

___​

The jeep moved around a pothole in the road and the RV did the same behind it. JD had his goggles on and he tried lighting a cigarette but failed due to the lack of a roof and the sharp winds from their speed, "Eh, boss! How about we put the hood up?" He tried lighting his cigarette again and groaned when the wind licked out the flame before it could even breathe.

Gabriel glanced up at the rear view mirror, "No."

"Wha? Come on! I haven't had a cigarette in hours!"

"We don't put it up until he stop off." They were traveling through another state, the second one that day, and they were planning on stopping a few miles off the road soon. There wasn't any sign of civilization for a while so they'd be ok through the night.

"Tch!" JD shoved the lighter into his pocket and stuffed the cigarette back into its' case.

 

[RoryN]

From the muffled, echoed sounds in the halls, Cade could tell it was the brethren, Bast's familiar, obnoxious laugh sending chills running through him. Apparently, Quin was done relying on Cade to bring himself home and had sent a search party out to retrieve him. Either that or the Gamatom leader had found the folded crane and somehow figured out that Cade wasn't planning on coming back.

Either way, they were already here and within the building, and night had crept upon him while he'd been asleep; it wouldn't do any good to run, lest he accidentally draw attention to himself, so he merely stayed where he was, hoping they'd eventually leave on their own. When the doors to the room shook from the outside, he instantly tensed, holding his breath and every muscle going still as stone. Someone was being thorough in their search.

"Cade?" Dey called through the door, experimentally. He hadn't heard anything through the door - just the ambiguous sounds of dust and wooden supports settling. Thankfully, the other two Gamatoms further in the building had quieted down now so he could actually hear.

As soon as he heard his name, Cade knew who it was on the other side of the door and had to restrain himself from giving into the urge to respond. Dey was most certainly thorough in executing orders and the chances of him trying to open the room up just to make sure Cade WASN'T in there were very high. It would look really bad if the Gamatom found him in here when he refused to respond to his name being called...

Dey jerked on the doors again, letting out a frustrated sigh. He hated this. He understood why Quin was sending them out to do this - Cade was being disrespectful to not just Quin but the rest of the gang and it appeared that the man was going crazy with all this "going off alone" and "missing the hunt" business. But there were things about this that Quin wasn't telling the others, information that Dey, as his brother's mate, felt he was owed. He didn't like it when Quin pushed him around without letting him into his circle of trust, instead pouting to himself and taking it out on everyone and expecting everyone just to dance in the right direction because he'd told them to.

And Dey hated feeling like his brother and Cade had a secret together that they weren't sharing. "Fuck it," he finally murmured to himself, giving the door one last surly jerk before walking away. He didn't care. If Cade really had left the pack, then he'd be smart and not hang around, because if Dey or any of the others found him, he'd be dead. Quin would be punished for lying to the rest of them. There wasn't a lot he could do from his position to give the leader the finger, but he didn't have to look hard for Cade, and he wasn't going to. Not tonight anyway.

In the main hall, Bast and Valheru stood close together, eyes wide, looking down a particular hallway, tense and fearful. There was nothing in the dark that their eyes couldn't see, but the hinted voices they kept hearing and the feeling of dread that had captured them both said there was something there.

"Dude..." Bast whispered anxiously, before Valheru quietly shooshed him, both of them straining their ears to hear what remained unseen.

"What the fuck are you idiots doing?" Dey asked, flashing sharp teeth in a sneer as he stood looking at the two huddled together. Quickly, the Gamatoms turned and separated, instantly forgetting their fear in the presence of the more dominant Gamatom, and Bast pointed back the way they'd been looking.

"Place is haunted," nodding, as if he were a supreme authority on the subject.

Dey blinked for a moment at him, his eyes seeming to see right through the other man. "Out of all the shit that comes out of your mouth... You're banned from talking the rest of the night. Another word from you and I swear to fucking Hell, I'll kill you before you can come to your senses and beg me for mercy." And he shook his head, annoyed and started walking towards the doors. "He's not here. Let's go. We're going to be late for the hunt." Fuck Cade and his stupidity.

***​

Cade finally let out a breath 20 minutes after he heard the doors of the library slam closed and he knew they wouldn't be back. That'd been close, but now that they hadn't found him here for once, hopefully they'd stop coming here. He'd been really stupid that first time when Valheru had come looking for him; Ishu had been right, he should have just waited until the Gamatom left. Now they were being sent out in groups which were harder to hide from.

Alone once more, he got up from his makeshift bed and glanced out the window. Only when he didn't see anything out there, did he fully relax and wander back into the main part of the room. Looking around at the shadowed stacks of books, he contemplated reading but discarded the thought and began to anxiously pace instead. It was night and he could feel the bloodlust calling to him, but he promised himself no matter what, he wouldn't give in.

Digging into the pockets of his jacket, he brought out several cans of tomatoes and opened them, scarfing down their contents one by one, until he had a stack of four situated around himself. It eased his hunger but it did not erase the lust, especially not after that dream he'd had. He didn't want to think about it, but the more he struggled with it, the stronger the images in his head became. His cock hardened against his desperate attempts to fight it and soon he was lying on the ground, his back and head half-supported on the mattress with his hand wrapped firmly around his cock.

It didn't take long for the images of fucking a dead rabbit to bleed into images of Haijime, his desires from earlier rearing it's ugly head, but pounding his fist against his thighs repetitively, he was beyond fighting it. His cock leaked liberally over his fingers, lubricating his swiftly moving hand as he pumped it up and down his shaft, images of the man's bared skin coming to mind. As he imagined pressing his body against Haijime's, dick sliding between the other man's thighs and rubbing their cocks together, Cade was panting heavily and humping into his own hand, small groans coming from his throat as he neared climax.

Murmuring aloud in a husky voice to the empty room, taunting words to the fantasy man, his legs and back stretched out rigidly as he finally reached the end, his voice coming out in gasping moans, even as his cock sputtered and squirted heatedly across his bare thighs. Finally coming back to his senses and looking down at himself, he made a soft disgusted noise in his throat and cleaned himself off, trying to remember Ishu and everything she meant to him.

Needless to say...he was glad he hadn't decided to stay the night at the apartment.

***​

Morning couldn't have arrived soon enough and as soon as dawn broke, Cade was leaving the library, heading in a beeline straight for the apartment where Ishu and her brother lived. There was little sign of the struggle he'd been through in the night except a slight worn look to his eyes, but other than that, he'd cleaned himself up in hopes of seeing her today. It'd only been two days and already he felt like it'd been too long.

Haijime probably hadn't been to the hospital yet - the sun barely having peeked over the horizon and the western sky still darkened shades of blue and purple - but it wouldn't hurt to be there. Maybe he could go with him? Maybe he could see her in the hospital. Maybe he could help her home if she needed it. He was just sick of being away from her and needed to be close to her. Even if that meant he'd have to spend a few hours with Haijime - which, he was already feeling impatient and surly about; last night had left a bad taste in his mouth - if it meant he could see her sooner today, then he was willing to suffer through it.

Besides, he really didn't want to stay at the library any more. After spending the rest of the night folding every piece of paper he could get his hands on into birds, he was starting to feel crowded and edgy in the space.

Standing at the gate now, he looked at the key pad and scratched the back of his head. He'd been distracted yesterday, so he didn't remember the code that Haijime had put into it. There was a button by the panel with an intercom and he pressed it, unsure of what it was supposed to do.

 

[Ishu]

The intercom sputtered before a woman's voice answered with an automatic message.

Please insert the number of the resident you wish to reach.



Haijime was finishing up shaving his face at this time of he morning. He glanced over at the clock on the bedroom to see the time. It would still be a while before he could head out to pick her up. He looked back at the mirror and swept off the last bit of stubble, then rinsed the razor under warm water and wiped the cream off of his face with a damp rag. Now clean up, he went into the bedroom and put on a clean pair of briefs and a pair of pajama pants. His hair was still drying from the shower he had taken not long before but he didn't mind it touching at his naked back.

He walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards... still no food. He completely forgot to go back to the grocery store the day before. Well, he could mix everything together. He took down some spices and a bag of "instant soup". It wasn't a flavor he much cared for but he needed to eat something... but the stove was broken. He tapped the packet onto his forehead and sighed. Why wasn't this fixed yet? Forget this.

He went back into the bedroom and grabbed the sweater he was wearing the day before and put it on before stuffing his feet into a pair of loafers and leaving the apartment. He walked carefully all the way to the side gate but stopped when he found Cade, the Gamatom, fiddling with the code box on the outside.

 

[RoryN]

The answer he got wasn't exactly what he expected, but at least it was directions of some kind. Okay...so people had numbers here. Did they mean apartment numbers? He knew where the door was but as far as the actual number... There was a list by the intercom that he eventually spied - Gawd, fuckin' moron! - and was busy looking it over when the familiar scent came to him and he looked up.

"Hey," he gave a curt nod to the other man in greeting, trying not to glare at him - just forget about last night; forget about yesterday altogether! "I was thinking I could go with you...when you go to see her. They....probably won't want me in the hospital but I could be there, waiting outside to help you bring her home..."

He didn't want to state directly that he doubted the man's confidence about bringing her home and seeing her today, but...well, yeah. "You said she's gonna be okay right? It was just a panic attack?" Concern put a crease in his forehead and made him frown, his fingers playing idly with the key pad in a nervous manner.

 

[Ishu]

He sighed at the Gamatom, unable to stay angry with him s he exuded true concern, "I want to believe it was only a panic attack, but you know some of what my sister can do." He walked to the gate and pushed the door open, stepping out and shutting it behind him, "So you should know that her panic attacks tend to link with her abilities- for example the day you two met." He pointed over at the garage area with his thumb and walked with the Gamatom, opening the garage with a code and walking over to the car. He got in the drivers seat and waited for Cade to get in before driving out and going down the street.

"Her powers don't always "ride" on her panic attacks unless it's something serious. I am going to assume you saw the furniture yesterday." He had spent part of his night moving everything back so his sister would not worry about it when she came home. "She hasn't done anything that substantial in... a long time." His hands squeezed on the steering wheel, "I can't know anything more about this until I talk to her." He kept driving through the broken lights even if they flashed a color or two.

"As for her actual health, I don't know what to expect. It's only been a few years since... your pack has arrived but the hospital isn't what it used to be. There are strict rules to save lives and if they say they can do nothing for you- they mean they can do nothing for you." He drove up to the hospital gates and continued down the street just a little bit. He undid his seatbelt and turned the car off, "Look, they're not going to let you in. It's... one of the rules. They have security on sight and they would shoot at both of us- even though they know I'm human."

He looked over the Gamatom's face before opening his car door, "I'll be right back." He got out and shut the door and headed over to the gate. He waited for a minute as someone approached him from the inside and let him in before shutting the gate again and escorting him up to the hospital.



Once inside, he was brought to his sister who had just woken up. She looked terrified as her tongue lolled against the small tube going down into her throat. She tried to reach up and touch him but couldn't due to the restraints. She even tried to talk to him but she felt like something was blocking her. She could see her words bouncing off of some kind of wall and hitting her instead.

"Ishu, it's ok. It's alright." He reached down and touched her hand before looking to the doctor for information.

"It looks like excessive panic attacks. We can't do anything for her here except keep her sedated for.... well, as long as she's alive." He sighed and fidgeted with a pen in his pocket, "If we keep her here we will run out of drugs and oxygen. Our rations are short and we only get refills every few months." There were organizations from Canada that tried to help when they could, sending out helicopters to states along their border to deliver medicine and transport people. "Either we can send her to Canada on the next helicopter for proper care, or we can give her a prescription to help her. Maybe it is all she needs. If you choose the medication I would recommend a trial run. Say, come back in a few weeks and let us know that it's working- assuming it does."

Haijime nodded and looked over at his sister. If he agreed to send her to Canada, she would have a chance at a normal life. She could be taken care of and she would be free of the Gamatom terror. But he knew that she would be upset. He knew that she loved this Cade and he could tell by looking into her eyes that she did not want to go. He stroked his thumb over her fingers and nodded, "Get us the medicine." The doctor nodded, "Very well," and left the room.


About thirty minutes later, Haijime walked out of the gates and walked towards the care. He was carrying his sister in his arms, clothed in the hospital gown. He had a bag hanging off of his arm filled with her clothes and some medication for them to try when she got home.

 

[RoryN]

Cade understood and agreed with what the other man said - from what he'd seen of Ishu using her powers resulting in her eventually collapsing, it had been in reaction to extreme situations. What Cade didn't understand was WHAT THE FUCK HAD HAPPENED? She'd been home and safe, obviously, but for some reason had felt the need to make the furniture in the apartment dance around. Had Haijime done something? Had she been threatened and attacked?

There was the urge to grab the man and threaten him for answers, but riding on it's coattails, he could also feel the urge to violently sexually abuse the man - he couldn't do one without releasing the need for the other. Besides that, he figured that Haijime wasn't telling him not out of a desire to hide something from Cade, but rather out of the fact that he simply didn't know. And he clung to that as they finally came to a stop.

Cade had been about to get out with him but was stopped when the other explained about the hospital rules. He understood that and had anticipated it, and really, he'd been planning to only wait by the gates. But he acquiesced and nodded, allowing the other man to leave the car without him.

Impatiently, Cade waited for him, watching out the windows for them, growing more anxious by the minute. Even for an absurd moment promising that if Haijime showed up without her, Cade would jump him in the street, beat and then rape the stupid fuck and then storm the hospital all by himself just to see her. The asshole hadn't promised him anything, but Cade wasn't thinking rationally when it came to Ishu. He wanted to be with her and no human was going to stand in his way.

When he finally saw them coming, Haijime holding her cradled in his arms, Cade's eyes widened and all his hair stood on end, but despite himself he broke a smile to see her, rapidly replaced by a worried frown. Scrabbling wildly to move into the backseat, he opened the back door for Haijime and slid back with open arms to take her from him. He needed to hold her..to touch her... She'd always seemed so soft and fragile but not as much as she did right now and it was like something breaking inside of him.

 

[Ishu]

He reached down to open the door but watched as it opened for him. He was reluctant to hand his sister over but he couldn't hold her and drive, not when she could be more comfortable. Plus he could see her begging him to let her be with her Cade. He knelt down and carefully slid her frame into Cade's arms. Immediately, her skin began to warm when she felt Cade holding her. She couldn't move much of her body due to the sedatives that were still circulating in her system, her limbs flopping if not held properly. She pressed her cheek against Cades chest and exhaled, letting her eyes close.

Haijime put the bag of her things in the front seat and closed both doors once he was sure nothing was hanging out. He got into the driver's seat and looked back at the two of them before starting the car and doing a u-turn, taking them back to the apartment. He couldn't help but glance over at the rear view mirror too many times a second just to make sure she was ok and that the Gamatom wasn't plotting to rip off the flesh of her face with just his teeth.

His hands were squeezing the wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. It hadn't even been a few minutes and he was already on edge as he watched. He tore his eyes away long enough to slow down as a pedestrian crossed the street and decided to let it go. The rest of the drive was smooth and soon the car parked into the garage. He turned off the vehicle and grabbed the bag. He looked back at Cade and, reluctantly, ordered, "Bring her upstairs."

Ishu had been quiet the entire ride aside from her little breaths. Even her voice that eased into others minds had been quiet. It hadn't said anything.

 

[RoryN]

An uneven breath left him as his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him and sitting back in the backseat with her. It felt like some long and arduous torture had finally ended, her soft breathes and heart beat filling his head and making him choke up briefly. She was with him now and he was never going to fucking leave her. EVER again.

The world did not exist outside of the backseat, and he was totally absorbed in her, consumed by her smells and the feel of her body up against his. The whole universe had become her pulse and the feel of her breath on him, so he blinked a bit sluggishly when Haijime finally spoke to him. Looking out the windows, he realized they were no longer parked where they had been and he had no recollection of the ride back to the garage.

Looking back at the other with shining eyes he cleared his throat and nodded, scooting towards the door and opening, being incredibly careful as he stood with her in his arms, bridal style, supporting her with his torso. She was so light... had she always been this way? It made him feel a bit frantic to think that it was also a result of what happened to make her so vulnerable, but he tried to close himself off from that thought process as he carried her to the gate and waited impatiently for Haijime to allow him inside.

Carrying her upstairs, he started to calm back down, looking down at her even as he watched every step, and he smiled, brushing hair out of her face with his chin and pressing his lips to her forehead. "Your plan worked," he said, softly, giving her a gentle smile. "They were so wrapped up with the story I told and the disguise you gave me...they didn't care that I'd been missing for a whole day. The head really helped... I couldn't have done it without you."

He didn't want to tell her just yet that he was now on the road to leaving the pack behind; she'd eventually figure it out when he never left her side and he didn't want her to feel like the ruse they'd set up had been all for naught; if anything, it had helped facilitate him being able to leave the gang behind.

"I was worried when you didn't show, yesterday... Went looking for you. I'm just glad you're alright." He hoped that she was. Haijime hadn't told him anything about what had happened in the hospital - at least...not that he remembered from the ride here - and although they'd allowed her to leave, the man had made it clear that wasn't necessarily a sign that she was "better". It could just as easily mean they couldn't do anything else for her and had sent her home to die... The thought made him want to scream and his fists clenched briefly before he was able to wrestle back control of himself.

When they got to the apartment and Haijime let him inside, Cade carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently, holding her hands and crouched beside her - he wasn't letting her go; it wasn't just a small bit of concern now. He could not physically stand it if he was not touching her. Turning to look at Haijime, he asked, "What did your people say? She is better now? She is healed?" He didn't want to mention the word "die" but it was basically what he was asking.

 

[Ishu]

He locked up the garage and led Cade to the gate, putting in the code and letting the Gamatom carry his sister through. He shut the gate behind him and went ahead of them to get the door to the apartment open. He let them pass, again, and stepped inside. He shut and locked the door behind him then set the bag down on the couch. Cade went into the bedroom with her and lay her on the bed. Haijime watched while Cade spoke and soon gave them some privacy


He went through the bag of pills and looked over what they'd been given. They'd given her xanax, valium and emergency syringes filled with strong sedatives. He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. He checked her clothes and decided to leave them there. He would clean them later.


Ishu could feel him holding her hand and smiled. She could hear him, just a little bit, but she wasn't responding to him. She wanted to turn over and hold him but she couldn't feel much of anything.

Haijime entered the room and looked to Cade when he was addressed, "They did what they could. They gave her some medication." He sat down on a chair on the other side of the room and looked over the pills, "They gave her xanax for her panic attacks. It will help. She needs to take them everyday but she should keep her inhaler with her. They also gave her valium which... is unnecessary." He rolled the bottle in his hand before continuing, "If I made her take valium every day she would be like this," He looked over at her. She was unresponsive, unable to communicate and she could barely move. "every day..." He wouldn't let that happen. "It probably wouldn't be this bad. I think they gave her muscle relaxers as a precaution." Which could have been dangerous but he did not know the hospitals modern policies. "She'll be ok. She just needs a lot of rest."

 

[RoryN]

"Like this?" Cade asked him, giving him an incredulous look. "You mean she's like this because of something they gave her? Whatever it was that makes her like this...I want it to stop..." he looked back at her and let go of her hand with one of his to reach up and touch her face. She blinked and smiled at him but it was like a flickering flame compared to how she could light up a room before. And there was nothing inside his head except her lonely heart beat, melding with his own pulse.

Haijime said she'd be alright and Cade nodded, softly, placing his hands in her one again, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles. He was so glad to have her back with him but the pleasure he got from it was tempered by her current state of...vegetation. And he felt a bit like the man's statement of her needing rest was a bit like a warning. So, he sat kneeling by her side, watching her, smiling reassuringly at her but kept himself silent so she wouldn't feel taxed by the need to talk to him.

After an hour, his legs started to go numb and he stood, letting her go for a minute to bring over a chair, instantly putting his hand in hers again as soon as he was back within reach of her. And he continued to sit with her, occasionally moving his hand and touching her and looking down at her hand in his, waiting and aching to hear her echoey voice. To tell him everything was going to be alright. That SHE was going to be alright. To tell him...explain to him what happened so he could make sure it never happened again.

***​

Dey paused with the dick in his mouth and looked up at his brother who sat reclined on the old mattress, idly twirling the white paper bird he'd found between his dark fingers. He wasn't paying attention. With a sigh, Dey let the cock fall from between his lips and frowned up at the older man.

"Quin."

"Hm?" the man did not look at him but even though his eyes were on the small paper bird, he wasn't looking at that either, his yellow-green eyes seeing something distant and faroff.

Dey tried not to sneer as he asked, "Do you even fucking want this?" even though Dey had been the one to offer it in the first place, looking for attention from his leader. "What's wrong? You're miles away."

"Hm." Dey gritted his teeth and waited for something more than that. Quin stopped twirling the bird and pressed it thoughtfully to his lips, turning his head to give Dey a narrowed gaze. "You're certain he wasn't at the library? You searched everywhere?"

"I'm positive," Dey said without hesitation, although with a hint of fatigue as if this had been the fiftieth time Quin had asked him. In truth, it was only the second time.

Quin nodded slightly, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. Thinking it was an opening to change the subject, Dey began to lightly stroke the other man, licking his balls with the flat of his tongue.

"And you're certain, there was no sign of him having been there recently?" Quin asked suddenly, looking off distantly again. As soon as the words came from his mouth, Dey stopped what he was doing in irritation, and shook his head.

"No. No sign of him. I would have fucking smelled him there." Quin was looking at him again, the bird held loosely between two fingers; Dey tried not to show any anxiety under that stare. "The best I can tell, it's been a few days. Come on, Quin. Let it go, alright? He'll turn up." He'd gotten up to be level with the man and started to reach for his neck to pull him in for a kiss, before Quin turned his head away, rejecting the gesture. "What's so god-dammed, fucking important about it? It's just a stupid library! Even Valheru said that Cade told him he didn't go there often."

Silence. Goddammed Cade. Stupid fucker causing all this trouble. "If he's gone rogue, we'll just kill him on sight. No big de--"

THAT got Quin's attention, the man sitting up suddenly so that Dey was slowly slipping off his lap to sit back on the floor, a heated look in his eyes as he held up a black finger in front of Dey's face. "You don't touch him, understand? I want him brought to me alive. I want to talk to him and anyone he's with."

Anyone he's with? What did he mean by that? Submissively, Dey nodded his head and finally his brother relaxed and lay back on the bed. He was silent for a moment or two longer, idly caressing Dey's face and hair, before he put pressure on the back of his head and jerked his hips and still semi-hard cock in his face. "Shut up and finish me," he said, softly, before once more returning to his musing and looking at the folded bird in his hands. Dutifully, Dey obeyed, working hard to milk the eventual climax and cum from his brother's cock, all the while hating Cade and this secret the two of them shared. Who was he supposed to find Cade with?

 

[Ishu]

( ooooooh~ Quin is jealouuuuuussss!! )

It wasn't long before she nodded off. Even in her sleep her lips had just the slightest curve of a smile. She was happy to be with Cade again. Even though she could not voice her pleasure, she felt that he knew. Haijime watched Cade nearly crumble emotionally under the weight of his distress. Seeing this, he knew the Gamatom could be trusted- at least with his sister.

Haijime stood up and idly picked off some lint from his sweater as a distraction for his eyes as he spoke, "I am going to go to the store down the street. we are out of food and, well, I don't want her going hungry." He took his glasses off of his face and cleaned them with the end of his sweater as he looked over at the Gamatom, "What do you want me to get for you?" He was expecting to have some kind of meat as a request and would buy it no matter the expense. Most of the money in their city was worthless. Heck, his own flower shop didn't take money. He bartered. He hoped he could pull that off at the grocery store. They could sell his flowers for something else.

____​

Eve stepped out of the bathroom while buckling her belt and shut the door behind her with her foot. Her eyes trailed off to the side as she heard snoring and put her weight on her back foot as she peered into the large room in the back filled with a bed. She rolled her eyes at the sight of JD with his face wedged between Michelle's breasts. She pulled the door shut and walked to the front of the RV and leaned against the wall opposite of Isaiah.

"How much longer until we reach the next town?"

He grunted and curled his fingers around the wheel as he counted. He looked over at her through a scarred eye and grunted, "T'morrow."

Eve nodded, "And the population? Do we know?"

His chest rose as he inhaled deeply, sucking down half of the thick cigar propped between his lips. He exhaled, smoke billowing out of his wide nostrils as if he were a dragon. He tilted his head toward the back of the RV, "M'ch'lle."

She rubbed her forehead as she realized the aggravation she would feel when she had to walk back to the end of the RV and wake them up, "Right..."

 

[RoryN]

"For me...?" Again, he'd been lost, watching her chest rise and fall gently, completely forgetting that the other man was in the room until he spoke. So, it took him a few minutes to understand what the words meant, even though he'd heard him say where he was going to go. Glancing at Haijime, for a minute his eyes locked onto the man's green ones, seeing his face much more clearly now that the glasses were off, and Cade bristled a bit to find that desire still lurking in the back of his mind. Gawd! Wouldn't it fucking leave him alone??? She was here now! Nothing else should have ever entered his mind after that.

Irritated by it but not AT Haijime, he turned away to look back at her to continue watching her sleep as he thought over the question. "Some tomatoes...canned and diced if they have any... Beans I guess...but not green ones..." What had she called them? He forgot and for a minute he panicked that he couldn't remember something she'd said. "They're...cooked or something... I don't know... Tomatoes will be fine."

He didn't want to think about nightfall or what would happen when the bloodlust hit him. Last night hadn't necessarily gone well, but he had been able to fight the desire to kill someone...sort of. Either way, it wasn't like he could ask the guy to pick him up a living rabbit or two... Then he silently cursed at himself for thinking of rabbits.

 

[Ishu]

He nodded slowly and put his glasses back on. He cleared his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned a bit, "She uh... needs to be cleaned. She was in the hospital and she probably has germs on her." Not to mention he was sort of a clean freak himself, "I trust that I can... leave her here with you and you can... clean her." He swallowed a distasteful batch of saliva after speaking and pointed over at a door, "The bathroom is over there. The water works fine." He walked over to the door that led out into the livingroom and made it to the front door, "I'll be back in a bit."

Locking the door behind him, he went down the stairs and stopped by a bush that lined the complex. He looked around him before reaching into it and picking at the plant while humming. Soon he had a handful of flowers, roses, and he made his way out of the complex and down the street. Once he made it to the grocery store, he picked up a little basket and nodded over at Jennifer before peeling into the aisles.

He got a few canned soups, plenty of tomatoes, baked beans, some mixed vegetables and another can or two of soup. He stopped by the back of the store and pick up a slab of steak and dropped it into the basket. He, like his sister, did not eat meat. However they had a guest with... special needs. While approaching the cashier, he smiled genuinely and set the basket down on the counter, "Good afternoon Jennifer." He riffled through his pockets and found a few bills and some change, "I don't have much but I brought some bartering tokens," He showed her the fruits of his well known labor, the dozen roses he had just picked. "Will these do?"

____​

Eve walked back to the end of the RV and slammed her hand on the door a few times before calling out, "Michelle! Get up!"

JD groaned and buried his face further into his lovers breast, his hand squeezing on one of them in his sleep. Michelle grunted and giggled as his face bristled on her soft skin. Her giggling woke him and only made him tickle her more. The two played, giggling and growling until Eve hit the door again, "Come on!"

"Alright! Alright!" Michelle sat up and ran her hands through her bed-head hair and started to zip up her jacket. She kissed JD, whom whined as she crawled out of the bed. Michelle popped out of the room and shut the door behind her, "What is it?"

"We need to know how populated the next area is."

"Oh," Michelle padded over to the little dining spot and started typing on her laptop.

 

[RoryN]

At mention of her needing to be bathed, Cade nodded again and glanced in the direction the man indicated. Yes. He could do that. Distracted by the task he'd been given, he was picking her up from the bed just as he heard the front door close, and carrying her into the bathroom, giving her a small kiss on the forehead before he closed the door behind them. Sitting on the toilet with her cradled in his arms, he began to operate the knobs to turn the water on, testing it to make sure it wasn't too cold or too hot - it wasn't something he personally cared about, but it wasn't going to be HIM in the water and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.

Putting the stopper in the bottom- working awkwardly and one handed as he kept one arm around her holding her on his lap; he really should have done all this before bringing her in here, but his desire to keep touching her had been in the forefront of his mind. As the tub began to fill, he directed his attention to her and began to gently undress her from the hospital gown. As a creamy shoulder came into view, he stopped to caress it with his slightly trembling fingertips and kissed it, his lips lingering on her skin before he could finally draw himself away.

Then the rest of her porcelain skin was bared, some underwear lightly cupping around and between her thighs which he also removed, slipping them off of her legs and stroking her slender calves and shins, fingers dancing across her knees. Carefully, testing the water again before hand, he laid her into the tub so that she was sitting up with her head propped on the edge and held his arms up hovering above her, waiting and ready if she would slip below the surface of the water. She didn't...for the moment and he quickly slipped his shirt off and bundled it up to place beneath her head as a better support.

The water had reached high enough now, so he turned the knobs until the faucet was silenced and began looking around for soap and things to clean her with. Getting up smoothly, he searched in the small closet in the room and brought out a small folded rag and a towel. Setting the towel on the sink, he knelt by the tub and drenched the rag in the water around her body, small waves caused around her breasts from his movements.

There was soap and shampoo on the edge of the tub and it was what he used to lather the rag up, finally reaching for her with a soft smile. The first he addressed were her arms, each one individually, lightly rubbing the wash rag across her skin, covering her from fingertip to shoulder in suds. With his arm around her, he lifted her up to lean against him pausing to kiss her face again, rubbing the rag over her breasts and back, moving her half-wet hair out of the way when it was necessary to reach her skin.

Although his cock jolted a bit when his fingers grazed over her nipples, there was nothing sexual in the way he was touching her, careful and taking his time to touch everything he could, not just reveling in being close to her again, but enjoying the ritual, intimate act of washing her as well. A deep rumbling purring trembled from his chest while he worked, vibrating through the water repetitively. There was a brief moment after he'd set her back down and was lifting her legs gently to move the cloth over them, where he realized how sad it made him that she couldn't do this herself. But it passed quickly when he remembered Haijime said she would be fine. It was medicine or whatever that they'd given her. She was going to be okay.

The last thing he passed the rag over was her hips and upper thighs, his hand delving under the water to stroke between her thighs in a distant way - at least, he hoped it was distant. Then with the rag filled with water, he ran it over everything again, clearing away the soap, moving a lot quicker now but no less deliberate in his movements. Not wanting to juggle her too much and possibly lose her beneath the water accidentally, he didn't wash her hair but squeezed the water logged rag over her long white locks, making it all wet.

Finally, he was done, and reached over to the stopper in the drain pulling it out before reaching for the towel and opening it up. Lifting her up to lean against him, he used it to dry her hair of most of the moisture - awkwardly and one-handedly again - before wrapping the dry, fuzzy cloth around her body. Without her leaning against it, his bundled shirt slipped from the tub edge into the draining water, but he left it there as he picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom, murmuring comfortingly to her. Setting her on the bed, he dried the rest of her before tossing the towel aside and reluctantly left her side again to look into the dresser against the wall.

His first thoughts in dressing her were to put her in something pretty, but he immediately amended the thought when he considered her current condition - he wanted her to be in something comfortable. Picking out some underwear and a loose gown of some kind - it felt soft and he thought it wouldn't be very restricting on her body - he walked back over to her and put them on her, maneuvering her hips up so that the underwear slipped into place perfectly.

When she was dressed, Cade contemplated sitting back in his chair and just holding her hand again, but after touching her so much and feeling her body so limp and unresponsive, he ached to be closer. Kicking off his boots, he crawled into the bed with her, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her, nuzzling her softly and letting out a heavy sigh. The apartment filled with the heavy sound rumbling from his chest and throat, almost like the inner mechanics of an engine puttering away.

***​

After what happened yesterday, Jen hadn't expected to see Haijime again so soon, but she was definitely glad that he'd stopped by again. She and everyone else in the neighborhood had heard about what happened to him and although she wanted to believe that Gamatom was different - he certainly treated her differently - the confrontation between the two had made her nervous.

When Haijime approached the counter with his basket, she went through the motions of ringing him up, typing mechanically at her old register, and her eyes brightened to see him offer the flowers to her. Of course, she understood the value of it - even in this day and age, people still looked for these old tokens to give as gifts to each other, especially around here where people were used to buying flowers from a flower shop. But still, the gesture of it, especially considering it was Haijime, someone she held a small flame for, made her blush and tuck her hair behind her ear as she accepted.

"That'll be perfect," she said with a small smile, also accepting the money he gave her. Hesitantly she bit her lip as she was placing the worn dollars into their slots and glanced at the meat in his basket. "Entertaining company tonight?" She worked here often enough that she knew that was not something he and his sister would usually get.

On the one hand, there was that belief that the Gamatom Cane or whatever his name was, was actually odd and unlike the rest. There had been that first day he'd attacked her and she could have sworn she was going to die at his hands, but he'd let her go and she'd considered herself lucky. Then, the monster came back and...she'd taught him how to use a tooth brush, which was also strange, but not just for the fact that she expected to get killed again or in the least attacked. Although he was rude and seemed easily annoyed with her, it was not in the same vein as it had been on that first day and it kept surprising her every time he came in treating her with almost a sense of...tolerance.

She wanted to have faith in that difference, but even so, she was loyal to her fellow human beings which was why she then asked, "If you're ever in any kind of trouble...my dad owns a gun." He also owned the store. "I'm just saying...the help is there if you need it." And she nodded hoping that was enough.

Looking down at the flowers he'd given her, she smiled again and asked, "Does this mean you're opening the shop again? Soon I hope... It really means a lot to our community." Jennifer tried not seem like she was begging him; afterall, it was the man's decision and everyone would understand if he never wanted to set foot in there again. But it DID mean a lot to them. After Jennifer's sister had died during a surprise day attack, her mother hadn't left their home. It had been a big effort for her to even allow Jen and her father to leave. Every day though, he stopped to pick her up a few flowers and it never failed to bring a smile to the woman's face, even as tainted by sorrow as it was. Jennifer hadn't seen her mother smile in weeks since Haijime's attack...

 

[Ishu]

She was still out of it during the day and she came in and out of her slumber. She wasn't very aware of what was going on around her, but her muscles would quiver from time to time. It seemed random when they did, like a subtle heartbeat that surged throughout her entire body. While she slept, she didn't know much of where she was or what was around her but she knew one thing for certain: Cade was there. Cade was there and he was keeping her safe. As if on instinct, her head turned towards him when he lay next to her and her breath danced quietly on his skin.

___​

He handed the flowers to her with great care, as well as the money. He glanced over at the meat when she mentioned it and he nodded, "I assume I might be. I'm not sure." His eyes trailed over the contents of the basket as she went through them before they lifted to meet with hers at the mentioning of a gun. That's right, her father did own a gun store. He'd completely forgotten about that. "Thank you." He touched his hands over the rim of his sweater while considering buying a weapon. He was not one of violence or carnage and he'd been safe so far but he was worried about his sister. But, then again, he wouldn't want something like that around her. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt by it. If she was shot, it wasn't likely she would come back from that.

His eyes lit up briefly when she mentioned the flower shop. He looked over the roses he'd picked and thought about the weight he had with these people. The town had seemed so... dark and meaningless since he closed it down. He did feel responsible for the people and he loved to bring joy to others. His lips curved into a brightening smile, "You know... I think I will." Haijime stepped to the side and bagged his own groceries. He did not know when he would open the shop, but he thought it should be soon. He just needed to clean it up, which would be emotional for him but he knew he could do it for the people.

_____​

Michelle's fingers swiftly clattered over the keyboard as she searched and scanned all kinds of things until a map popped up with colors and a few different layers, "Uuuhhhhhuh! It looks like it is still well populated. There aren't a lot of people but there's enough to keep a small community and plenty of nightly feasts." She huffed, "I don't see why these people keep going out at night."

Eve leaned over and looked at the screen, "Maybe they're attacking during the day." She glanced at the smaller female before standing upright, "Once the pickings get small, they have emergency day raids. That or they lay low for a while and attack when the people think it's safe."

"You really think they're that smart?"

"No, but their alpha could be." She put a hand on her hip and looked at the front of the RV, spotting the jeep speeding in front of them. "We need to figure out a game plan. Get the prints for the town and we'll go from there."

"Roger!" Michelle went back to typing away, hacking into the old files of city hall that had been spread all over the internet years before.

 

[RoryN]

"What did he say to you? Tell me everything." Dey stood outside on the porch addressing Valheru, Bast and another Gamatom, Vernon, while they lounged about in the afternoon shade.

After he'd sucked his brother off, Quin hadn't wanted anything to do with him, leaving Dey feeling burned and unsatisfied. Fine. He was going to find out about this secret whether Quin helped him or not. It wasn't good for their leader to get wrapped up like this emotionally and he was going to do his best to bring Cade to justice for the turmoil he'd caused them. It wasn't enough that he had to be antisocial - fine. If he didn't want to be in the pack anymore, the damned idiot could leave and get himself killed either by them or by another pack somewhere else. Good riddance. But this constant drama whoring was affecting the pack and Dey wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Exactly what I told you," Valheru said, his deep bass voice rolling with each word in a blithe manner. He'd become increasingly aware of the tension between the two brothers who led their pack and he wasn't one to split loyalties and didn't like being forced to. But Dey made excellent points about this Cade business, which, no matter about the rogue attack and whatever else; it should have been dealt with in a firm manner or at the very least let go. Quin had made a mistake not keeping a firmer eye on the Gamatom and now they were cleaning up the mess. He didn't like it, and he'd help Dey because he offered a better solution than just sitting around waiting for the disobedient Gamatom to show up again.

"He nearly bit my head off when I asked about the library, which at the time... you know I just assumed it was Cade being Cade. Nobody wants to be up that early in the morning and he seemed to cool down when I told him how mad Quin was."

"And when you asked why he was there?" Dey pressed, giving the large Gamatom a narrowed look, his fingers playing idly with his bottom lip.

Valheru shrugged in a exhausted and defensive manner. "Exactly what he said to Quin the other morning; he'd dragged himself into shelter until he healed or whatever." Dey nodded but the thoughtful scowl on his face did not mean he was pleased with that answer. Then something caught his eye and he looked up at Vernon.

The lanky Gamatom sat perched on the porch railing with his back against a column, long features drawn out wioth a weary and bored expression. and in his unnaturally long and skinny fingers, he sat playing with red paper that was torn and folded. Dey's green eyes widened. "What is that? Where did you get that?"

"Found it," Vernon said with a shrug and smug little smirk. The expression was instantly wiped off his face as Dey jumped up and grabbed him by the shirt, growling in his face.

"Don't fuck with me, asshole! This is Cade's! Where. Did. You. Find. It." Hands swiftly snatched the folded piece of paper from the other's hands and released him with a sharp jerk, looking over the small paper. It was definitely like the other one that Quin had, except it was different, torn and looking less like a bird and more like just a really folded...thing. He assumed it was from Vernon's constant playing with it that had warped it so.

"The night he beat the shit out of Bast... It was on the floor. Thought it looked weird, so I kept it," Vernon's tone sputtered out unevenly, rubbing at the neck of his T-shirt where the other had grabbed him. Still, he glared at the other Gamatom, who was dominant, true, but he didn't have to listen to him; he wasn't the gang leader even though Dey liked to act like he was.

Nodding slightly, Dey brought the paper to his nose and inhaled deeply several times, breaths filling and exiting his lungs in long, slow drawls. It was covered in different signatures and although the sun wilted his natural abilities, he could still detect most of them. First and foremost, it smelled like Gamatom - there was Vernon's sweat and oils on it most clearly but also Cade's just as strong on it. Then underneath that, it was that old musty smell that was most definitely the library. And underneath it was...something else.

Walking over to where his lover, Bast sat on the ground, he crouched beside him and offered the red paper creature to him. "What is that?" he asked in a wondering tone, hoping that Bast's particular sense of smell might be able to shed light where his failed.

Bast held the paper in his hands, looking it over and gave a shrug, "Looks like a plane... or a dog...maybe."

Frowning, Dey gave the man a swift smack on the back of his head, getting a small "ow" from him in response. "Smell it."

Laughing a little, Bast put it to his face and breathed in deep, smirking lewdly. "Woohoo! That's sexy!" he said and cast a look over at Vernon who stuck his tongue out and grabbed the crotch of his pants in a lascivious manner. Bast got a punch in the arm and Dey took the bird thing from him and stood with a growl in his throat.

"Ow! JeeeEEEeez, Dey! I don't fuckin' know what that is! Gawd! It's just fruit or somethin'!" and he rubbed at his arm woundedly for a few minutes before something like a lightbulb clicked in his head. Actually...it was kind of familiar. "Hey...wait, lemme see it again..."

"Forget it. Enough of your jokes. You're banned from talking again. Just shut up and look pretty for the rest of the day," Dey said curtly.

"Chill, a'right? Lemme SEE it!"

Something about Bast's tone got him another considering look and with a reluctant sigh, Dey handed the folded bird back to him fully expecting Bast to make another idiot comment.

Instead, Bast held it to his nose again and for once looked like he was concentrating - that empty space in his skull got some use afterall - before looking back up at the other man. "I know what that is."

***​

It felt so good to be able to hold her like this again, her smaller form pressed up against his, soft breaths warming his skin where they fell against his chest, not just comforting in knowing she was breathing and alive, but also...reminding him of the night they'd shared. It was different now and he knew he wouldn't feel completely right about it until she was sitting up on her own and talking to him again, but it was still pleasant all the same.

Cade was slightly nervous about what the future would bring, but he was excited as well. This was sort of what he wanted, the morning after that fateful night. What he'd imagined was possible and all that had been really holding him back before was a loyalty that felt completely ridiculous and superficial now. What he had with Ishu was love, REAL love and he couldn't believe even after what they'd shared together, he still hadn't been willing to give up everything for her.

Shaking his head, he let out a sigh and caressed her back. It didn't matter now. He'd made his decision and nothing was going to keep him from her. That brought up the fact that Quin had sent those others to go looking for him and he knew even if the search ended and they gave up, he'd still have to be careful to make sure they didn't know he was still in the city. Either that or...he'd need to leave and that just presented a whole mess of problems as far as what to expect out there. Nowhere was safe.

And then there was the problems he was having with himself and...Haijime... He made a soft sound his throat, glaring at nothing as he shifted slightly around the woman in his arms before settling once more. He loved her. He LOVED Ishu. And he even knew the reasons behind his attraction to her brother and that it had nothing even remotely close to do with love. Still...with the way Ishu seemed to silence the urges within him about everything else...he'd expected her presence to be like a shield...to protect the other man... Then again, she hadn't completely stifled his urge for blood that other night; she'd simply kept it from being directed at herself, which he was endlessly thankful for. He would have never forgiven himself if he'd hurt her while locked in that animal rage.

It all came back to the pressure to change and whether or not he'd be able to do it. It wasn't enough to leave the brethren and not participate in their madness any more. It wasn't enough to run and hide in Ishu's arms and try and find her reasons for loving him as justification that he was doing "well". He needed to actually make the effort to reject it all within himself as well. And last night, if it'd proved anything, like the nights before, it was that he was weak.

Well, she was here now and he had a duty to not only protect her but be worthy of her love. It would not be good for either of them to constantly endanger the people she was around, if he couldn't control himself and love would not be enough then. Cade kissed the crown of her head, making a soft noise with it as he silently vowed to himself and her, no matter what, he wasn't going to touch her brother or another human being ever again. He could do it. If he wanted to be with her and be accepted as something other than a beast needing to be caged...he was going to have to.

***​

Jennifer smiled excitedly when he said that he would be opening the shop again and nodded her head. "You know... If you ever... I mean, I could help you clean it up and fix things up again... If you need it." She thought she'd offer even though she had no idea how bad it was or even if he'd want her help, but she felt a connection with him. Not just because he was kinda cute and a nice guy but also...she knew what it was like to be a victim of these creatures. Maybe not to the extent that he did, but she'd lost someone and almost got attacked herself. In these confusing and tumultuous times, they needed to support each other.

He was getting ready to leave and she added one more thing before he was stepping away, "When you see Cane, tell him I said 'Up and down and front to back; twice a day.' He'll know what that means." And she nodded again with a small giggle.

***​

Out in front of the gate where he'd chased that little whore the other night, the four of them stood. "She went through here, you said?" Dey asked, walking up to the gate and giving it a small jerk before turning to look at Bast.

The shorter Gamatom nodded, squinting in the afternoon sunlight directly overhead. "Yeah, I almost had the bitch and she slammed it in my face. If Cade hadn't broken my ribs and leg the night before, I woulda been able to jump it and grab her. Probably coulda caught her before she got in there too."

"And you're sure that it's the same smell?" Dey asked, holding the bars of the gate loosely, glancing at both Valheru and Vernon who stood on either side of the other before giving the younger Gamatom a level look.

Bast was nodding excitedly now, his hand jerking out to point roughly at the gate. "I would never forget that cunt's smell! Fuckin' reeked!"

Dey had no doubt; Bast wasn't the most reliable, being the youngest of their group and constantly goofing off, but he believed him about this. And definitely the younger man's sense of smell could be trusted. Turning back to the gate, Dey looked at the bars and key pad thoughtfully and looked through them to the building beyond. How did this relate to anything...? What was with these goddammed paper birds?

"Do you want to break in and search her out?" Valheru asked, Bast standing by his side practically a midget compared to his much larger girth and height. The younger Gamatom was jumping eagerly on his heels now, tongue hanging out the side of smiling lips; sweet! They'd capture the prey that had gotten away!

Dey let out a sigh and shook his head, glancing at the sun - still several hours to go until sundown. After sunset, nothing would be able to touch them, not even bullets, but right now...too risky. "No. I don't even know if it's important or not. No. We'll search the library again, EVERY room this time." He let his hand fall away from the bars and stalked away, the other three following dutifully behind.

 

[Ishu]

Ishu frowned in her sleep, a familiar feeling filling the room around her. Her feet tensed as her toes curled and her throat made a catching sound. Absently and without waking up, she turned onto her side and burrowed into Cade, searching for that sense of safety again. She had seen so much the night she spent in the hospital and she felt like... part of it was going to play out- like she had seen something something before it happened and now it was about to start. Her body soon rested again, no long moving as her breath steadied an purred against his skin.

___​

He smiled over at her and tied knots in the bags, "You know... I think I might need help." He looped his fingers through them and looked at her, "I will have to see how it is doing. I might have to clean it up a bit before you come in. I will... keep you posted, alright?" He smiled over at her again and nodded when she gave him a message. He did not know what it meant but it sounded... cute. He could only imagine the weight it would carry with Cade. The Gamatom's mannerisms were already... strange or questionable considering his species.

Haijime picked up the bags and nodded to Jennifer as he walked out. He headed down the street while thinking about what he was going to do with his shop. It was done the street from the Grocery store but he was more concerned with getting food into the apartment. As he walked back down toward his apartment complex, he saw something rather vexing- Gamatoms were standing outside the complex. He gulped, his eyes wide, and hurried behind some bushes between two buildings. Gasping for breath, he swallowed excess saliva and quieted himself. He had recognized one of them, the smaller one, but swore not to move until they left.

___​

"It looks like most of their buildings are still intact. The residents hole up in gated apartment complexes. The hospital is active and it is also gated. The Gamatoms.... hm, they're active in the day time but... it's looking like they're nest is the mayor's place. It's nice." She smiled at the shots she found with a satellite she had hacked. "These Gama's look pretty social. They're all over the place all the time." Michelle leaned back against the seat and looked over at Eve. "Game plan?"

Eve was leaning against the counter with the sink while thinking it over, "We have a source in the town." She leaned off the counter and picked up the radio, "Gabriel, ETA is 10 hours. If we hurry we can get there before nightfall and set up for pickings." She let go of the button and waited for a response.

Gabriel looked down at his side and picked up the radio. He listened to the message before pressing down on the button, "Alright, let's hurry up. I want to get there today." "Roger." He put the radio down and pushed his foot onto the gas.

She clipped the radio onto the waist of her pants and grabbed a grip bar over her head, "Alright Isaiah, let's hoof it!"

Isaiah grunted and put a fresh cigar into his mouth. He inhaled until the end lit up and he let his foot rest on the gas, the RV jerking forward as it barreled down the road after the jeep in front of them.

 

[RoryN]

Cade looked on in concern as her heart sped up in his head, the pulse of it quickening and causing his own heart to race anxiously. Then she made a small disturbed sound and curled into him again, once again settling, somewhat. Dreaming, maybe? Reminded him of his own dream yesterday while he'd slept and he caressed her shoulder comfortingly, not wanting to stifle her with his arms around her. He'd battled everything that sought to cause her harm or discomfort, even the phantoms that plagued the halls of her mind.

***​

The small band of Gamatoms did not stop in their trek to the library, although Dey had to slap Bast a few times for whining about walking so much. True, it would have been easier to bring the truck, but Dey didn't like using it unless it was on hunts for toting purposes. Seeing it gliding on the streets was supposed to strike fear into people and right now...Dey wanted a bit of covertness about this mission. Besides, they were Gamatoms and for all of Bast's spoiled complaining, physically, the long walk was nothing.

Searching the rest of the lower floor of the library revealed nothing except that one remaining barred door. With a bit of effort from both Valheru and Vernon, the two got it opened enough that they could get inside. And what they found...

"Holy fuck..." Vernon murmured as his eyes danced around the room, entering behind Dey and moving shelves out of the way so Valheru could come through the opening. Every surface except the floor had a small folded crane perched upon it, like a murder of crows or vultures leering and waiting for something to die.

Dey didn't know what he'd expected to be in this room, but it certainly wasn't this. "You smell that?" Valheru asked after taking in a deep breath, a smile coming to his lips.

Dey nodded without looking at him continuing to gaze about the room as his own nostrils filled with the scent. "Cum. Recent. He was here last night! I KNEW it!" His tone was a mixture of triumph and regret and he glared thoughtfully down at nothing. "The son of a bitch... If I'd just opened the door..."

"Do you think this is where the ghosts live?" Bast asked, busying himself by flicking all the birds off of the different stacks of books.

Normally, he would have gotten a severe punishment for bringing that idiocy up again, but Dey's eyes caught sight of something and he merely muttered, "Shut up, Bast," as he crouched down and looked over the article of clothing he'd found. It was Cade's jacket and the pockets were bulging roundly with something. Reaching in, Dey frowned grimly to read the labels of the cans, instantly recognizing it for what it was. Why...? Why would he have these?

"Dey, check this out," Valheru said, bringing over a duffel bag he instantly recognized. His eyes widened again to view it's contents, not recognizing what type of fruit it was but knowing that it was indeed fruit.

"What the hell...?" he murmured, picking one out and rubbing a thoughtful thumb over it, the crease between his eyebrows growing as he held the tomato in the other hand and looked at it as well. His attention was only diverted when suddenly a shelf along the other side of the room fell over and they all looked up simultaneously at Bast who stood beside it.

"This room is really boring..." the young Gamatom said with a labored sigh.

"Knock it off, Bast. We're here to find out what Cade's been hiding, not to wreck the place. After we're done searching, you can do whatever, but for right now, shut up and sit in a corner and don't fucking touch anything." Dey shook his head and let out a heavy breath, again focusing on the food in his hands trying to puzzle out what the Gamatom had been using them for. Had he been just collecting them? For what purpose? Had he been eating them?

Vernon brought up another concern however, nudging his shoulder with a long finger. "Dey...you smell that? Underneath but still really strong..."

Pausing to consider it and breathe in deeply, the blonde man nodded and stood, setting the food down idly. "Yeah... Cunt. There was a woman here..."

"What do you think it means?" Valheru asked, hovering nearby where he'd been looking at the grate. Nobody wanted to mention the fact that there wasn't any blood in this room.

Rubbing his hands through his hair and letting them stay there for a moment as he thought it through, he shook his head and shrugged. "Hell if I know... Maybe he's found himself a human pet or something?" Not likely if it was a woman. Did Quin know about this room...?

"Hey, lookit!" Bast said happily causing the others to look in his direction again. He'd been over by the toppled shelf, pouting to himself still when among the books that had fallen, he noticed one that he recognized; the book he'd stolen from Cade when he was being a surly jackass a few nights ago. Cheerfully, he waved it carelessly at the others putting strain upon the mended tape and causing a few pages to shake loose.

"I told you to fucking knock it off," Dey said curtly, shaking his head again. He stood silently for a few moments, looking around the room at the different things they'd found and still trying to make sense of it. No solutions were forthcoming and he relented finally. "Alright...let's head back..."

"Are you going to tell Quin what we found?" Vernon asked as they headed back to the doorway, his long skinny legs stepping carefully over book piles that Bast had knocked over in his rush to the door.

Dey stopped in the opening and shook his head. "No. And none of you are going to tell him either. Not until I figure out what they've been hiding from us." With the way his older brother had questioned him about it, it made Dey think he'd expected him to tell him about finding the room; maybe Quin had and he knew he hadn't searched as hard as he should have last night. Well, screw him and his fucking interrogations! It wouldn't have ended up like this if he'd just kept Dey in the loop! Now he was going to pay the fucking price!

Nobody said whether they agreed or didn't with that plan of action, but Dey knew they were just as disturbed as he was about what they'd found. SOMETHING was obviously going on and they were all being danced around like fools while Cade got special treatment. If it meant finding the truth, they'd keep this under wraps until the other side revealed their hand.

 

[Ishu]

Haijime waited until they had left and recollected the groceries. He moved back through the bushes and over to the gate. Looking around, he made sure no one was there before punching in the code, hurrying through the gate and closing it behind him. His feet character him quickly up the stairs and to his apartment. He pushed the door open quietly, shut it behind himself and locked it up. "Cade- Cade-" He wanted to speak to the Gamatom in the kitchen but he did not want to wake his sister in the process, thus why his voice was quiet.


Once Cade came into the kitchen (assuming he does) Haijime was busy putting cans away into the cupboards, though he looked vexed. He finished putting the food away before turning over to Cade. He didn't know how to tell him what it saw. It was so... "There were... others... at the gate."

___​

"I have widened the scans and it looks like a lot more of the city is in tact. A Few of the hospitals are intact and... a hotel seems to be a nest- A Hilton."

Eve grunted, "At least they have taste." She knew they would have a lot of fun in this city. It was one of the bigger ones in the nation. She didn't think it could beat Houston- that one took a while. But New York was more... eclectic. There was more to see, building wise.

"I will scan for other nests."

"Make sure you figure out where the residents are. We need to know how many lives are at risk."

Michelle nodded and went back to work.

 

[RoryN]

When Cade heard Haijime reenter the apartment and quietly call for him, he was annoyed about needing to leave her side. Stalking out into the kitchen where the other man was, he gave him a glaring look while he waited for the other to finish putting away the things he'd gotten. When Haijime finally turned to address him with that news, Cade's face instantly fell to one of surprise.

"How did they...?" he started to ask, but no doubt Haijime had no clue how the brethren had found him. If they had at all. They might not have wanted to breach the gated complex during the day, but it was still uncertain whether they'd found his location without directly talking to them. That was very hopeful thinking; why else would they have been there?

"They couldn't have followed me..." his eyes grew distant as he tried to think and remember. No, he'd been careful when he left the library and there hadn't been any of the brethren around. Finally his dark eyes came back up to look at Haijime.

"You threatened me earlier... Do you have a weapon here?" If the pack really had found him and were waiting until nightfall to make their move, they'd need a way to protect themselves. To protect Ishu. "We need something ranged, preferably. If there's nothing like that here, we need to find a way of getting something like that before...if they come back."

A seriousness had descended upon him and he glanced at the windows, wondering how long it would take to gather up the necessary weapons to keep them safe before nightfall. Cade had used a gun before but not in any constructive capacity; the brethren had found a rack of the things in a house they'd passed through on their travels and spent a time messing around with them before the bullets ran out. Gamatoms didn't need guns to kill the fragile humans. But he and Haijime would need one now to kill the brethren.

 

[Ishu]

He shook his head, "No. I don't promote carrying weapons... but," They were at risk of a serious danger. He was not as concerned about himself, but he was seriously concerned about his sister, "Jennifer, from the Grocery store. She said her father owns the gun shop. I could go back and ask her for the favor." He did not like the idea, especially because he felt they were... unorthodox, but he was willing to do anything for his sister.

____​

"So far it's looking like... at least ten thousand active humans. There's always more than the active, I'd say at least fifteen thousand people. There could be more but this is all I have so far." New York was big and it had a lot of people- but only because of the numerous apartment complexes. Without that, it was just as big as Seattle or Denver.

"alright, we need to treat it like it was back in the day- we don't blow up any buildings unless we've checked for survivors and recent human activity."

 

[RoryN]

Cade nodded slowly at what Haijime said but he didn't know how to feel about it exactly - he didn't promote carrying weapons? The Gamatom was a little irked that despite the anonymous rivalry that had sprung up between them, when he'd heard that Ishu had a brother, a MALE figure in her life, he'd been comforted by the images that the humans had given him in the past. Namely, the gun-toting grim-faced fathers, brothers and lovers who put themselves at risk for the lives of their loved ones.

And here, not only had Haijime been wounded the whole time but he didn't even seem to TRY and protect her. A human with a gun wasn't a sure bet of protection when Gamatoms were involved. But he couldn't help feeling it showed a level of ignorance in this world of savagery to say something foolish like "I don't promote violence and weapons" when he himself had been brutally victimized. It was selfish and unnecessarily idealistic.

The list of reasons Cade disliked the guy were growing; bunch of small little things piling one on top of the other.

Looking Haijime over, Cade could still catch small whiffs of the wound in his side. Even though he thought the human was ignorant, he was Ishu's blood and he had a duty to protect the both of them now. The Gamatoms had been out at the gate once already and no doubt would be back at some point. Sending Haijime out there wounded with the probability of being recognized was just asking to take risks he wasn't willing to bet on. Not if it meant the man got raped again and bled out and died on the street. At least Cade knew them and might be able to sway them to leave peacefully or...at the very least use his own strength against them if it came to that.

"No. You've done enough running around for the day," he finally said, his voice coming out harsher than he wanted. It was a mixture of the bad taste Haijime's misplaced passivism had put in his mouth and the fact that he realized, he'd have to leave Ishu's side. "I don't want something bad to happen if they come back and see you. I'll go. I sort of know Jennifer a little bit..." He paused to curl his lip slightly, but there was something soft about the expression. "Sort of."

"I'll need a way to get back into the gate though..."

 

[Ishu]

Haijime nodded and leaned against the counter. He could hear the disdain in Cade's voice- the Gamatom didn't like him, and, or what he was saying. Honestly, he was fine with that. Everyone was entitled to their opinion and the Gamatom could have been write about whatever it was he was thinking. He sighed quietly and absently touched at his side, feeling the stitches started to heal yet again. "tell her it's for me. She should believe you." Considering the fact that they were seen in the store together, left together and he came back to buy meat... yeah, anyone with a moderate amount of brain cells could put two and two together.

"The code for the gate is 1249. At least that's our code." He got up from the counter and walked out of the kitchen, but stopped before he went out of Cade's sight, "Just... don't give it out to anyone." He continued to the bedroom until he saw his sister sleeping. He smiled, happy to see her well, clean and dressed. He carefully lay down on the bed next to her side and stared up at the ceiling.

___​

Eve walked up to the front of the RV and checked the speedometer. They were just barely going over a hundred, which would cut their time down considerably. However, they wanted to get there before nightfall, "Isaiah, do you think you can juice it up any more?"

The large, black man grunted and scratched at the stubble growing on his face. He shook his head while inhaling his cigar.

Eve sighed and crossed her arms, pressing a few fingertips against her forehead, "Right, it's kind of an old model. We couldn't find the parts in the last few towns." Huffing, she walked back to Michelle, "When you're done, check for auto places- we need new studs." She looked at her watch. They had a few more hours before nightfall. They would barely make it in time to set up at their prime location.