Apocalyptia (Retro/ValiantPickle)

Lance took a seat on a junk pile. He took his canteen out and took a drink. This girl liked to ask questions didn't she? It wasn't that bad but Lance was already getting sick of it. He was short that day anyway. Thier haul of scrap metal was pretty bad and the only thing they managed to bring back was a girl who could end up being more trouble than she was worth. Exactly what was she planning to do anyway? It's not like she could follow them forever. They had a dictatorship to overthrow. Lance wasn't going to take care of her. But they could give her some water to get her outta there faster. "We scavenge. Just like anyone else."

James and Sam took out thier canteens. Both taking a drink but the little boy offering his to Charlie. Lance rolled his eyes. He was a boy alright. What a gentleman. While they were sitting, Lance figured it would be a good time to ask a question. "Do you... know what Heaven's Redemption is?" It seemed to be normal. Cause if she did it would make ditching her a little harder.

Like everyone else she sat down. Her mouth was dry, too, and she was about to reach for the final mouthful of her canteen when the boy offered her some. A soft smile crossed her lips and she shook her head. Although she didn't have much left, she wasn't going to take any from someone so young.

"Don't worry, I've got a little left. You can have all of yours," she reassured him before pulling a canteen off of her hip and taking a long sip from it. It hardly quenched her thirst but it was enough to moisten her mouth and that was amazing to her.

"I haven't heard of it. The only group I've heard of is Samson's Order and that is only because they kidnapped my mother when I was little and tried to abduct my father and me a few weeks ago."

"Oh." Lance said plainly. She had just tried to be abducted? Wouldn't that mean someone would be out looking for her? Lance shook his head. This, day, sucked. Well not eveything was bad. Seeing a girl was rare, and not getting killed was the best thing ever. Lance looked at the sky. He pulled his goggles back on, assuming they had taken enough time off. "Let's go guys."

"Right-o." James said. Sam finished the water in his canteen. It was hard to tell whether he was disappointed or didn't care at all about his kindness being rejected. She did it in a nice way after all. Lance could see the shack in the distance and he pointed at it. "That's where we're going."

Charlie sighed. It felt as if they hadn't rested long enough but she understood why they were being so quick. This was a long trek back to the home they lived in and the longer they were out, the more likely they would be to run into more gangs. So she drug herself up and continued on with it.

"Its not really far away, is it?" she asked with a soft smile. "At least we can see it now."

The girl was very optimistic at that time. When she had food in her arms and the prospect of getting to fill up her canteens, she tended to be much happier then when she was worried about starving to death.

"Do you think you guys would be able to... you know... help me out more?"


Truth be told she was getting rather attached to the three of them. It was lonely by herself. There had never been a day that went by when she was alone or didn't have someone to talk to. Being by herself for as long as she had been made her yearn for company.

"I know its dangerous to house a woman but I am really an asset if you think about it. I have medical training from my dad. I also have some medical supplies and knowledge to use them. It wouldn't be too bad if I were to... you know... stick with you guys for a little while longer?"

It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself. There was a difference between independence and survival. Until she could get the things to use for herself, she was going to have to rely on someone else.

Lance winced when he heard her question. The exact thing he didn't really want to hear. But he had to admit that having medical experience was useful. More than once had the boys had to tough it out and risk disease instead of recieving proper treatment. Lance and James exchanged glances. James didn't have any answers and since he was the oldest he would have to decide. Crap.

"I don't know. Let us think about it." he managed to say. It's what he was feeling right now anyway.

Everything they did was meant for three. They got enough water for three, thier shack had three beds. Hell thier shack only had one room! There was no room for a girl to change in there. Lance still needed time to to weigh the pros and cons. He thought about it long enough that he was silent until they got to thier destination. There was a lock on the door, and the door was surprisingly sturdy. All the reinforcement they'd done paid off.

"Here we are." he said brightly, moving over to a lantern on the table.

The room lit up. The shack was tall, and filled to the brim with tools and junk. It was dusty and the lantern's light didn't reach the corners of the room. There were three beds up against the wall. On top of one another like a triple bunk bed. Lance threw his bag on the floor next to the table. The other two dropped thier bags other places and the boys each reached for a can of food. They had a little wooden chest filled with cans.

"Welcome to our slice of life. Sit wherever you want." James said. Lance nodded in agreement while he climbed the ladder to his bed.

A place like this was amazing to her. Never before had she seen a living space so intact before and so, well, homey. True it might have been lined with tools and junk but she had never seen three beds all together like that before with mattresses in all. A low whistle escaped for her lips and she removed her hat. Again her hair flopped down.

"This isn't so bad," she said with a grin. "You're pretty lucky to have even one bed. I wonder how it was like to drag those things all the way back from the Mall."

Her eyes landed on the lantern that was filling the room with light and she clapped her hands together. What a lovely bit of technology. Seeing things like that made her feel some hope. Perhaps if something like that survived there was more things in working order, though the likelihood of that was slim.

"This is a nice little cubbyhole of a place. I bet you don't have to deal a lot with the Order in a remote cabin like this."

She sat down on the floor, kicking off her worn boots.

Lance sat on top of his bed. Looking down at them all. She was right. He often took this place for granted but it was a really nice place to live in.

"They weren't that bad to carry. Didn't get accosted once." he said.

He looked on as she was intrigued by the lantern. It was gas powered, which meant if it fell over this whole place went up in flames. They tried not to use it since gas like everything else was super rare. He took note of how long her hair was. In the light she looked alot more like a girl. The other two seemed to take notice as well. Lance tore his eyes away to open up his can of fruit.

"Yeah, Samson's Order doesn't come around Heaven's territory anyway." he replied. "If the did they'd get a knife in the gut for thier troubles."

He opened up the can to reveal the peaches looking at him. He smiled a bit as he raise it to his lips to drink the sweet syrup.

She watched as he ate the peaches, heaving a sigh. Hopefully whatever was in her cans was just as delicious. Not that she would mind peas or beats. Being picky was just not something she could afford to do but it had been a good long while since she had sweetness on her tongue. She placed her cans on the floor, picking up one in hope that it had something tasty inside.

"What is Heaven's Redemption anyway?" she asked, eyeing the can grasped in her hands carefully. "It seems to have some clout around here. Especially if it can hold back Samson's forces. Their power has spread almost everywhere, hasn't it? This Redemption thing must be pretty powerful."

Charlie shrugged off her backpack and opened it, revealing the medical supplies she had. She picked through them carefully until she stumbled upon her can opener, laying in the very bottom of the pack. She hurried and opened the can. A grin crossed her lips when she did. They're weren't peaches but pears made a good substitute.

She drank from her can, letting the sugary juice slide down her throat. A dribble went down her chin and she licked her lips.

Lance smiled both happy the she had gotten something tasty, and remembering the time her ate unlabeled food. Sure it unfar to have a wary feeling against all cans that had no labels especially since it not having a label had nothing to do with how good the contents were. Ah well, better to be safe than sorry. Lance thought about her question. It wasn't like it could harm anything right?

"Heaven's Redemption is a group of rebels. We're trying to overthrow Samson's order." he said. That was about as basic as explainations got.

He finished his Peached with a satified sigh. He found his tin of cigarettes under his pillow and pulled one out. He lit it with a match and breathed in the smoggy goodness. It was a vice of his, yeah. A little treat from the old world left behind for them.

"People are only scared of us because we have a bad reputation. For finding people and killing them in revenge. Which isn't true. If those guys would have killed us back then, they would have been fine. They would have had some foor and metal too." Lance took another drag of the cigarette. "But it's always a good day when you don't die."

Charlie didn't even bother looking for an instrument to eat the pear halves. Instead she tipped the contents into her mouth. It was delicious. One of the best things that she had ever had the luck to stumble upon.

"That is pretty brave of all of you then," she said with a sigh. "Have you saved a lot of people then? I mean the group as a whole, not you personally."

From what she had seen from the three of them, they didn't seem like the sort to throw themselves in the line of danger. Then again they did offer to help her, a strange, and that was risky enough. There was likely more than met the eye with those three.

"Living is very, very good. I didn't realize how difficult it was to live out on my own. How do you guys ever manage?"

Lance kept smoking. The harsh taste masking the delicious peaches he had just consumed. He felt sleepy now, going from the hot outside to the reletively cool and dark shack. He looked down at Charlie and said,

"We've saved our fair share. Usually they join our cause afterward. It's not like there's a better alternative." Lance raised his eyebrow taking another drag of the cigarette.

Her next question stopped him. He'd never thought about it before. They did everything alll the others did. It was all about food and water, and in Lance's case the occasional cigarette.

"We just do what we do. Until we get called to go raid a Samson's Order camp, or caravan or something like that."

[[Ugh. I'm brain dead. Sleep calls me.]]

This really seemed to interest her. Never had she imagined that people would try to overthrow the Order. For her entire life she had been told to avoid Samson's men at all costs and that it was fool hearty to face them. Running had been her way for so long that she never thought anyone else might be different. It was a romantic notion, to her, that there were modern day heroes willing to fight for those under the thumb of a nasty and unfair regime.

"I think I would like to join your cause as well. My mother and father are currently in the hands of the Order. If I could help folks like them then, maybe, I'll actually get my chance to rush in and save my parents."

It was a huge dream of hers to one day rescue her parents. Her mother had been taken away to become a breeder when she was young and her father was kidnapped because of his abilities to heal. They wanted her simply because she was a young woman who just happened to be attractive; a nice arm ornament for any high ranking officer.

"I know I've already ask but you really should let me join your team. We get along pretty good and, like I said, I'd be pretty useful."

Lance put out his cigarette as she asked the million dollar question. Both of her parents were in thier grasp huh? It was as good a reason as Lance ever heard. How long exactly had her mother been gone? Depending on alot of things, this girl sitting below him could have and number of step-siblings. Honestly Lance didn't want to think about it.

"Sounds good to me." Lance said. "But you'll have to take it up with the boss."

By boss he meant the right hand man of the guy behind Heaven's Redemption. He was in charge of accepting new members and such. Lance had no argument that she wouldn't be useful. But since she was a woman Lance had no idea if they would use her for that or not. Probably.

"Pass that screwdriver to me will you?" Lance asked Charlie, pointing at the tool next to her.

A grin crossed her lips. This was a start. Hopefully she would be accepted into the fold. The group had to have saved a fair share of people and, even with the smaller numbers of women, certainly one or two had been rescued. There had to be at least another woman within Redemption. Why not another?

She reached for the screwdriver and handed it upward to him.

"I am sure that the boss will really like having me around," she told him. "Erm, at least he wouldn't mind. I know it'll be another mouth to feed but I don't take much and, hell, I won't even risk lives to get myself a mattress. The floor is good enough for me."

"Thanks." Lan said taking the screwdriver. He pulled out this ting that looked like a slingshot made out of metal. It was a useful tool and could hit hard. But it was always breaking when the metal got rusty. He started to add more layers after removing the old broken metal when she spoke again.

"Someone probably has a mattress you can use." he said, half paying attention to the rest. "You know you might get stationed somewhere else. So we might not see each other again. They'll probably stick you where you'll be with some other girls."

Lance shrugged. It was true, the side of the territory they were on was pretty well off. It's the other side that constantly got assulted by Samson's Order and was in need of trained medics.

"Or not, I've been wronge before." Lance shrugged and started working again.

She frowned a little bit. She had grown to like Lance, Sam, and John during their short time together. Though 'like' probably wasn't the right word. Mostly she had bonded to the idea that the all had the same shared experience and that was soothing to her. Knowing that someone else went through similar pain made them easier to trust.

"Well," she said slowly, "the only other girl I have seen is my mom so it would be interesting to see others. My dad says it isn't worth it. He told me most girls are mean, not that he blamed them for it because of what the world had turned in to, but he didn't like it any."

Keen green eyes took in everything that Lance did. Out of all the three that she had met, she figured Lance was the best one. The kid was nice but the other guy was silent and stared at her a little much. Even if the leader of this small squad was very serious...

"So... this may seem like a silly question but is there a way I could possibly wash some of the crust off of my body and my face? I wouldn't dream of using fresh water but even if you had a brackish little hole of a place..."

Lance lifted up the slingshot, giving it a couple of test pulls. Thankful that it didn't break and slap him in the face, he breathed a sigh of relief. Satified with it he put the screwdriver down. She wanted to clean up? They didn't really have anything. Oh wait.

"There are a couple of buckets of water outside. We usually use it to clean other stuff, but you can go ahead and use it." he said. Looking at the other for confirmation that it was alright. When they nodded he continued. "It's probably colder than all hell though."

Lance raised his eyebrow. He meant it too. He sometimes used to to wake up in the morning by splashing it on his face, it was pretty extreme. Lance pointed at another tool next to Sam and the boy tossed it up to him. Lance's day was pretty much over. He had alot to do tommorow, finding another place to scavenge from. Oh yeah, he had to help this girl talk to the boss too. Lance let out a sigh, the things he did for the sake of being nice.

"Just make sure you aren't being watched," he added. "While you're washing is the perfect time to get robbed."

While Lance doubted that anyone would come here it was better to be safe then sorry. Also, she would have to get used to being on the lookout constantly if she was going to join the Redemption.

Cold water was fine by her. It was hot outside anyway and it wasn't as if she was going to be sitting out in it all day to soak. She just wanted to dip a shirt inside of the water and scrub the filth from her body. Taking up her backpack, she darted outside, leaving her halfway eaten can of peaches for anyone who may have liked them. She was full anyway.

When she got outside she instantly began to strip down. She peeled away the overalls from her body, so crusty they have been with wear that the garment stuck to her body. She then took off her shirt. If anyone were watching her they'd realize why she kept such baggy clothes on. Her breasts were quite large. So large, in fact, that they overflowed her hands. With her slender hips and narrow waist, they stuck out and called attention to themselves. She sighed as she dug into her bag to get a cloth to wipe herself down.

It was, in fact, very cold and she winced as she began to wash herself. For the first time in a long while goosebumps lined her skin and she shivered. But, still, she took some time with it and made sure to get every bit of sand and grime she could. She even went as far as to dip her head into the icy water with a shocked gasp as she removed it.

Finally clean she took the time to, with her newly procured blade, to take some of the hair off of her legs and other unsanitary places like her armpits. Feeling comfortable with the boys she decided to dress in her one tank top and a pair of shorts she loafed around in when her father was still with her and, so, she walked back in with her filthy clothes over her shoulder.

"I feel better now." She announced in a chipper voice.

Lance continued messing with the slingshot. James, after decided that the girl really was gone, went back to his little puzzle. James liked to build and as such he was always putting together something. They didn't have much point since they were just lumps of twisted metal, but they looked cool. Sam was drawing, using some paper and a piece of chalk. Of all the things in the wasteland that were rare, thanksfully paper wasn't one of them.

Lance took off his goggles and put them on the bed he was sitting on. "Do you guys think it was a good idea to bring her here?" he asked the other two.

"I don't know, it was your call." James said, not looking up from his work.

He was right. Lance hoped he wouldn't regret this. she seemed nice enough, it a little naive. Lance took the slingshot in his hands to take a couple test pulls again. That's when Charlie walked back in. What was she dressed in?! Lance's hand went slack and he felt the slingshot slap him in the face.

"Ow, dammit..."

She looked... well she looked like a girl. Lance had really no referance point when comparing women but she really looked pretty. Oh god he was staring. Lance tore his eyes away to find his slingshot. That hurt so bad. He rubbed his face, looking at his companions, both of which were trying thier best not to stare.

Charlie wondered why everyone was staring at her. Was there something wrong with her? She arched her back so she could look at her bottom, unintentionally pushing out her chest and showing off her toned backside; a cheek haphazardly poking out. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

"Did I miss a patch of dirt?" she asked. "Why are you all... oh, Lance! You shot yourself in the face!"

She ran over, chest jiggling with the movement. "How did you manage that? You should let me look at it..."

"Ah, no... I'm fine." Lance said, averting his eyes to her... feminine features. He rubbed his face trying to think of something to say. He needed to change the topic. "How long did you live with your dad?" he asked.

It was strange mixture of actually wanting to know and not caring at all. How two opposites could be in the same emotion Lance had no idea. He didn't understand emotions in general. He saw his slingshot and picked it befor looking back down at Charlie.

"Where was it? Was it far from here?"

There was a moment where Charlie hesitated. Breeching the subject of her father was painful. He was all that she had known since the tender age of six and losing him in such a quick manner had left her emotionally damaged. Pain flickered in her eyes but, soon, that was replaced with her typical cheeriness. It might have been difficult to talk about but she was sure that talking about it would make it much, much better and now she had an audience that would listen to her.

She sat back down on the floor, stretching out her slender legs.

"I've been with my dad for my entire life," she started slowly. "We didn't stay many places for very long. He is a brilliant physician and, not only that, my mom was one of the few fertile women left in that part of the sector. We had to constantly move or we'd be in danger. When mom was abducted he had to take on that role, too, and he did it with very little effort... from what I could see. Now that I think about it he was probably strained and in grief."

Charlie sighed and laid down, moving the backpack off of her back and upward to use as a pillow. She reached for her canteen but remembered that it was empty and instead became spread eagle on the floor.

"I don't know if its far. I just picked a direction and started walking. I figured anywhere was better than the place that I was nearly captured at... do you think I could have some water? I feel like I am about to die from thirst."

Lance, ever oblivous to emotions, didn't notice her moment of sadness. He listened to her talk about her dad. It made him think about his own father. He wasn't around anymore. He was killed by Samson's Order when Lance was sixteen. Lance wasn't sad about it anymore, in fact that might be the reason he was so cold. Lance never knew his mother, she either died or left when he was younger. His father never liked to talk about his mother. Lance saw Charlie lay down. She had the right idea. Lance lied belly down on his matress. He arm hung off the side lazily swinging back and forth. For a moment he caught himself staring at her again. He switched his gaze to the ground. What was wrong with him? He felt wierd. When she asked about the water he answered without looking at her.

"Yeah. There's a water spout right there." he said, pointing at the object in question sticking out of the wall. "Drink up. We have plenty, for now."

Of all the things the boys did daily, collecting water was the thing they were best at. They used tarps on the ceiling that collected water drops. Every couple of hours one of them would climb up there and shake them. It would release the water into a tank. It was simple and gathered more water than it sounded like it would. Sure they had to be careful alot of the time. But they could have enough drinks to almost satisfy thier thirst, and certainly enough to keep them alive. It was more than you could say for alot of folks.

Lance rolled over, facing the wall. He let out a yawn. "I'm gonna take a nap. So... do whatever it is that you do."

Charlie was amazed with their water collection system. For something so simple it worked very well and likely kept them decently hydrated. She walked over and filled her canteen halfway from the spigot. Although he said there was plenty she did not want to overstep their bounds. Plenty for three was certainly not plenty for four. Rations were important and she would not over step her bounds when it came to kindness. She took a mouthful before she sat back down.

"I suppose I should nap, too. Its been a long while since I've slept well." she said with a yawn and she curled up on the floor. The sun really was terribly hot during the day and at night she was frightened to snooze. There were plenty of animals out there starving and sleeping out in the open made her easy prey.

As Lance and Charlie drifted off there was something else happening not too far off.

Twenty miles south by south west stood an old luxury liner that had been dragged up on to land. Although it was repaired hastily with pieces of odd metals and was propped up with random bits wood, the vessel cut a striking figure across the horizon. Men stood guard at every major entrance. A small line of four to five women were being ushered into the cargo bay. From each quadrant of the liner banners flew. They were a simple red, black dipped on their ragged edges but they struck fear into the hearts of many. This was the pennant for Samson's Order.

Inside of this ship plans were being made. The expansive dinning room had been carved out, the once shining floors stripped and scarred of their beauty. Strange bits of old technology hung from the walls and were shined as garish trophies. Mufflers, laptops, cds, and other things dotted the inside.

At the end, where the windows wrapped around the hull, sat a line of thrones. This was for Micha; lord of the Southern territory. And he sat there, tenting his fingers in thought. He was waiting for his second in command to come by with news of the growing rebel group in his section. Heaven's Redemption or some nonsense like that.

A woman massaged his back. Infertile, like so many, but beautiful. It made her the perfect ornament in his room. He reached up and took a hold of her dark brown hair, yanking it. Like a well trained woman she did not make a peep but shuddered a little bit.

"Be more gentle Esme," he said, his voice a dangerous hiss. "Do not think I won't be afraid to toss you out into the waste for the mongrels to devour."

He let her go and she did as he told her to, making her touch almost feather light. He sighed and went back to waiting. Micha was not a patient man either.

The metal floor clinked with every step as Gilles walked toward his meeting with Micah. The corridors were choked with a dull yellow light and the echo produced by the slightest sound could be heard through the walls. This man was tall and overly muscular. In fact he looked almost gross. The answer to all this guy's problems were to work out. However despite most people's expectations, he was also very smart. In all honesty it was really unfair. Gilles found his way into the so called "throne" room. He saw his superior sitting in his usual spot. He appraoched him, stopping to salute.

"You called for me sir." he said, more a statement than a question.

The man stood exactly at 6' 9" and had black hair cropped very short. He had been second in command for a few years now. After Micah had gotten upset with the last one. Gilles on the other hand, had no intention of angering this formidable man. Or waste his time for that matter.

"Sir, the rebels have ammassed what looks like an attack force about twenty five miles east of here." he said, casually pointing east. "They don't look like they'll be much trouble, but I think it would be foolish to leave them be."