The Aftermath (Rauk x Sigr)

It hadn’t even been a full day yet, since the creature had wreaked its havoc on the previously bustling city. An aura of despair and gloom hovered in the clouds above, almost blocking the rays of sunlight as what remained of the city had been left in a cold, dark pile of rubble and death. Buildings were decimated, and homes were crushed. Countless lives were lost, their bodies perhaps never to be found underneath the destruction. Some say the city never sleeps, but those days were clearly over. For the town was now forever in a state of slumber in that respect. Electricity was gone, and families were torn apart without any warning whatsoever. The culprit was a gargantuan, hulking beast with titanic strength and an insatiable bloodlust from who knows where. There weren’t many who saw it with their own eyes that lived to convey the visual information. Those slim few who did survive never saw it coming, and tremble in fear, worrying of its return. Among the lucky few that survived the onslaught was a 33 year old Caucasian man by the name of James Conrad, who had sought refuge in one of the changing rooms of a clothing store on the bottom floor of the local mall.

Waking up in a daze, James couldn’t make heads or tails of his situation. Such a traumatizing event had left him battered, though the horrors of what he had just endured soon came back to him. He’ll never forget the bone chilling screams of the victims outside the store he was in, inside the mall, or the horrific roars of the beast that laid waste to the town. Unable to move his lower body due to being pinned down by some debris that had landed on him, James looked to his right into several pieces of a mirror that had shattered on the ground. In the mirror he was able to see that other than a few minor wounds and bruises, there was no serious damage done to his body. His business casual black slacks and white button up shirt now sported several holes and tears. “Ugh..” His deep voice groaned. “H-hello? Is anyone out there? I’m stuck in here.” He yelled into the eerie silence, hoping that there may be someone else nearby that could hear him.

Maite wasn't specially sure about spending the honeymoon on a city, even if it had it's beaches and museums and such, she feared that she would feel out of place without knowing much English, not to mention that her horrible accent embarrassed her and she preferred not to try at all. Arturo said that it would be fine, after all he knew the language perfectly and it wasn't like he was going to be able to keep himself away from his wife at all. Well, Arturo didn't count for the monster attack, or at least that was what they heard when the city exploded into chaos. Running away from something unknown in the same direction as everyone else was doing, they ended up splitting in the mob, as Maite entered the first sort of standing building she could find in a panic.

When things calmed down, she waited yet a while, unsure if it was something that would last, afraid of the tremors, the explosions coming back. Maite left the bathroom stall she was holed in, washed her face on a miraculously working sink before heading out. The building itself wasn't much different from the mall she worked in, a known chain of huge clothes shops all around Spain. In the silence of the seemingly empty place, she heard a male voice, calling in intelligible English, Maite unable to understand a thing past the hello. She had to find her husband, but she didn't know where to begin and it wasn't like she was capable of leaving someone in need of help. Even if the 28 year old wasn't precisely elderly, it has been a while since she had been a lifeguard on the beaches of San Sebastian, but her spirit of rescue was well alive.

Following the voice to a part of the building that was quite worse, the woman moved the tilted curtain of a changing room to find a man trapped under a piece of roofing. "Espera un momento, ahora te ayudo" she talked slowly, looking at him with bright green eyes, as if that would miraculously make the man understand Spanish. "Me help" she dared to say, her accent horrible. Maite rolled up the sleeves of the dirty white blouse she was wearing, ready to help the man. She was dressed for the planned day of lunch by the sea before hitting the beach, so she was wearing a floral bikini under her white blouse and beige skirt, walking barefoot since her flip flops didn't hold during the panic run. The outfit, even if it had seen better days, emphasized her bountiful curves, the paler tones bringing out her olive skin. Her black hair waved around her as she moved, looking for something suitable for the task. Maite finally decided to throw a bunch of hangers to the ground and take the metal bar they were hanging from, aiming to use it for leverage. "Calma, ahora te saco de ahí" she whispered to the man, using the metal bar to try and displace the debris trapping him, even if she had to use all her weight to do so.

It seemed hopeless, as if he were going to end up dying here. Even if he didn't, he assumed the monster would return soon to claim his life, regardless. Just as he shut his eyes to accept his fate, James heard the voice of a woman not far away. "...Hey! I'm in here!" He called out, as she fortunately came to his rescue. She was a beautiful Spanish lady that would be extremely that he'd consider incredibly easy on the eyes any other day. However, his desires were the last thing on his mind at the moment, thinking only of survival. He listened to what she was saying, but unfortunately did not speak enough of the language to properly hold a conversation. "Thank you!" He said, as she used the metal rod to pry him out from under the rubble. Using what little strength he had left, he lifted against the load, and eventually was able to slide free.

He dusted himself off and reached out his hand to offer a shake. Not thinking about whether or not this was a proper gesture of thanks to her. "Thank you for your help, miss." His deep blue eyes on his bruised face looked into hers. James was a bit taller than the woman that had just rescued him. In fact, she seemed to be about the same height as his wife whom was in the next town over with the rest of this family. The more he thought about it, the more he hoped the creature hadn't gotten there yet. The battered man had but one goal, and that was to escape the city and find his family.

"My name is James." He said slowly, patting his own chest with the palm of his hand. "And you?" He questioned. Not sure if she'd understand him. "We should stick together for now." Limping heavily, he started walking over to the entrance to the clothing store and peered out into the rest of the mall. There were piles of rubble everywhere, even some bodies crushed by fallen debris. The scene seemed to be straight out of a horrific nightmare. "Oh my god." James muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and turning around to get the sickening view out of sight. They were most likely going to have to spend the night in this mall, and would need to find a safe location to hole up for the evening. The temperature was dropping rapidly, as the cold night air started to replace the warmth of day.

Maite hugged the man briefly after he managed to slide himself under the piles of rubble, kissing his cheeks as per usual on her country. It wasn't as she wasn't aware of the customs there, but in that moment it seemed inappropriate to pay mind to such a thing. She nodded and showed a tired smile to his words, even if she couldn't understand much of it beyond the thank you part. "James" she repeated with another nod, "Maite" she said pointing to herself, something that sounded more or less like 'My teh'. He said something else that she didn't understand, but as he limped outside she helped him, allowing him to lean on her shoulder.

The sights outside made Maite gasp, look wide eyed at the destruction, the carnage. James suddenly turned around, visibly affected by it as well, even if in a different way. Was her husband among those fallen there? No, he couldn't be, they split in the chaos further away from that place, there was no reason for him to be there, he wouldn't be. He just couldn't be. Maite shivered, trembling at the view and the descending temperature. Being on the middle of that once busy street and staying completely silent was eerie and creepy, and just standing there was unnerving.

"James" she said, calling for the attention of the man, then hugged herself across the chest and unsubtly shivered, trying to make him understand that she was getting cold. "Vamos adentro" she pointed back to the mall, putting a hand on the back of the man as she helped him walk, supporting him. She had to find her husband, and that man sure had family as well, but there was no way they were going to get anything done by night with the lights destroyed. Knowing the shop distribution she guided him to a different floor that didn't seem in risk of falling to pieces, an area with winter clothing and crazy overpriced fur coats. "Espera un segundo" she leaned him against a column, grabbing a coat for him and another for her, making the duo look as some tacky rich couple.

These types of coats were typically not the kind of apparel James would ever be found wearing in reality. However, at this point in life it was all about survival and a means to keep warm through the night as he slid the large fur coat over himself. "Thank you." He replied with a smile, still a little nervous about the fact that they were stealing merchandise from the store. Though, it's obvious that those sort of rules do not apply anymore.

Thinking to himself for a moment at that time, he realized that the monster itself would not be the only danger to them now. Since there would be no law and order in the city from this point on, the true nature of humankind would eventually show its ugly head. James knew this would spell trouble for him and his new friend, but tried not to think about it any further for now.

As the evening passed, the aches in his body started to subside, and he could eventually walk on his own. "We need to secure a shelter soon..." He said, forgetting again that they spoke completely different languages. "There." He held Maite's hand, pulling her into a sporting goods store that had several tents put up on display. Luckily, most of this particular store was still intact, and they would be able to build a small campfire to keep warm, as it was a decently large building. There were displays of various stuffed animals all about, right next to a small 4 person tent that had been set up on display. "We should sleep in here. It'll be out of sight at least." Grabbing a couple sleeping bags off the nearby shelf, he ripped off the tags and threw them both inside the display tent. Not wanting to admit it, but James caught himself looking at the beautiful woman from time to time, darting his eyes away from her curves every time she may return the gaze. You have a wife. He thought to himself, wondering why he could be thinking such lewd thoughts at a time like this. Conflicted in his mind, the unfortunate man wasn't able to help that he still found Maite to be easy on the eyes.

It was an odd, eerie sight. Not only the empty building looked more and more derelict as daylight faded, but the worse thing was the silence. Only their steps and the occasional crumbling of debris broke the silence on a place that was usually lively and bright, small hints of the chaos popping here and there. Maite couldn't help but feel her imagination run wild with every small thing that was out of place. A shoe left in the middle of a corridor spoke of a person that was fleeing in a hurry, and now maybe was squished by the rocks outside. A trail of blood drips that ended abruptly spoke of a person getting aided after an accident, or perhaps a person being attacked over something petty.

Their nonexistent conversation offered no relief and only made things worse, as Maite was idle enough to feel her mind running every possible scenario of her husband's demise, only to try to think away from it. If she had survived, so had he, Maite was sure of it. What was James' story? Was he married? Had he lost someone or there was still hope? More worried about finding somewhere to rest than trying to bridge that language gap, at least it seemed that James was getting better and better, and it was him the one to find a place to stay in a quite good place. It wasn't like a bed, but it would suffice, and the place had other advantages, Maite soon thought.

"Vuelvo enseguida" she tried to say, but James wouldn't understand. She gestured for him to stay there, pointing to the ground, the palms of her hands towards him, but as intensely as he looked at her she didn't know if he understood it. Maite pointed towards herself, then to a different aisle in another part of the place, then back at that place. Hoping that he understood it, she went away, grabbing a couple backpacks on her way, the dim light making harder to find what she wanted.

Maybe it felt longer for James as he readied the camp than for her, but Maite could swear that the whole supply run didn't take even five minutes, well, maybe ten since some things were awfully hard to find. Returning to the tent, she left the backpacks on the ground, showing the contents to James. The loot was still undivided, but he could see flashlights and batteries abound, picked close by in the camping area, and an assortment of energy bars and powder to make isotonic drinks. She grabbed two ready to drink bottles next to a register, so they wouldn't have to get crazy for what would pass as dinner that night. The matter of getting proper clothes could wait until the next morning, and in her case she would need footwear, as her bare feet ached after running without shoes, ending up sore and dirty.

The language barrier between the two of them could pose as quite the problem, James thought as he watched Maite say a few words before walking off. He assumed she was scouting for supplies in the immediate area since it would not be a wise idea to wander off alone at this point. During the time in which his female companion was not present, James took it upon himself to move a few of the shelves of merchandise around to form a makeshift wall around their camp for the night in order to protect them from the weather, or even being seen by any less than friendly survivors that may be in the area.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, James sat down in a folding camp-chair after having conjured up a small portable campfire, with a bag of charcoal he had found near the tent. The fire cracked and popped, but was not large enough to be spotted from a distance. It was just barely enough to create some warmth in the vicinity. He sat there and waited for her return, pulling out his wallet which didn't have any cash, but did contain photographs of his family. He looked upon his two 5 year old blonde haired twin nieces, his sister, and his raven haired wife with a saddened expression. Would he ever see them again? The crackling fire illuminated the photographs as the unfortunate man sat there in silence waiting for the Spanish woman's return. Perhaps she had a family too? She must be feeling the same pain and worry. There were undoubtedly many families ripped apart by the apocalyptic rampage of the creature.

As Maite arrived she sat besides James, shoulder to shoulder in the increasingly cold night, hiding herself under the warm coat. "Familia" she nodded, peeking at the pictures he was looking at, wondering if they were in the city with him, and even if they were alive. All she had in her to show she had someone of her own was a simple and delicate gold band on her ring finger, no pictures or Arturo or their families. Grabbing part of the loot she had collected on her trip, she offered one isotonic drink and a fistful of energy bars to James.

Maite herself unwrapped an energy bar, and started to munch on it because she knew that she needed it, more than feeling real hunger, as her stomach felt knotted. James seemed considerate and mindful, having covered their impromptu hiding post and used the campfire to light it and add some warmth. Maybe she could help him find his family, after all she didn't knew where to begin searching for Arturo. Maite knew that he would be looking for her, but she had no clue as where to begin with and as far as she knew their hotel was one of the first places to crumble into dust.

Sneakily, as those fears, those notions tend to creep in, the idea that Arturo may be dead settled in her mind. She didn't believe it, she didn't want to, and yet it was a feeling hard to root out of her brain. "Arturo..." she mumbled, taking her hands to her face, feeling hold back tears flow. Maite hid her face against James shoulder, burying her grief and shame in the folds of the tacky coat.

"Arturo?" James responded, wrapping his arm around his new friend, not necessarily for more warmth, but in a comforting way. This must be the name of someone she's searching for, he thought. Judging by the ring on her finger it's most likely her husband. Just then, James felt it was slightly awkward to have his arm around another man's wife, added to the fact that he was married himself. The thought of losing hope started to sink in, and he fought back the tears himself. The shear horrors the couple has faced so far are already mind-blowing to say the least. For all they knew, they could die tomorrow, or even tonight.

James thanked Maite for the scavenged makeshift dinner and ate it quickly. He wasn't exactly full after the meal, but it was better than going hungry. A few moments had gone by, and the fire had begun to die down. The eerie silence was only broken by the occasional pops and cracks of the devastated buildings in the surrounding area. There was no sound of midnight traffic, nor any outside voices. the man thought to himself for a moment, it's amazing how the things we take for granted can be so easily taken away from us at any point without there being anything we can do about it. The more James thought about it, he realized it would only drive him insane to dwell on it. He knew deep down that he just had to focus on surviving for the time being, and the last thing his companion needed was for him to go crazy and abandon her, too.

"It'll be alright." He gave her gave her shoulder a gentle pat, standing up. The shoulder of his fur-coat was soaked in tears, but he kept it on for warmth. He crawled inside the tent and lay down inside the sleeping bag, making sure to make plenty enough room for her once she decided to join him as he lay there staring at the ceiling, surprisingly not tired.

Maite found relief in the human touch, in the notion that even if they had trouble to understand each other, she wouldn't have to face the horrors of this new reality alone. She cried against James, embracing him tight as he was something real, something normal in that madness their world had turned into. She felt James tremble a bit, his breath pushing back unwanted tears, his body shuffling awkward, so Maite soon left him rest once she had calmed down.

They ate out of sheer need, more than a real appetite, meager food and drink gulped down to survive, to endure, to perhaps see the end of all that mayhem in a positive light someday. The next day they would have to move, to do something, but what? Maybe trying to get out of the city would be the best? It tortured her that she could be leaving Arturo behind, but she had to think logically, or at least try. There weren't many chances that she could just find him on a city that size on her own, and since Arturo knew English he would be able to communicate and sort things faster, so it was a safest bet to move away from the destruction and seek help.

Because it had to be help on the way, right?

Not wanting to think about the alternative, Maite didn't wait long before following James into the refuge. Laying down next to him, she turned to talk to him, struggling to find a way to convey what she thought. "Mañana buscamos ayuda fuera de la ciudad" she said, trying to find some English words so common than even she could know them. "Ciudad. Out. Buscar help. Mañana" she voiced with a horrible accent. Maybe she could find a map the next day and explain it better, for the time being there was little to do but rest and hope that it was all a bad dream.

James took a deep breath, listening to the words his companion spoke, and tried desperately to reason out what she may be trying to say. Buscar? Help? He was certain she had an idea to search for an un-damaged vehicle of some sort to escape the city in. Thinking to himself for a moment, he would tend to agree, although judging by the carnage and pure destruction that had ensued, finding an operational vehicle would be no simple task.

His muscles ached all over, and his stomach rumbled from hunger. At least thanks to Maite's efforts they would not starve for tonight. James started to feel the warmth of her body next to his but did not register it in his mind in a perverse manner as he normally may. This was solely for survival, and his sanity was already hanging by a thread. "Tomorrow. Out. Yes?" He said, catching the word 'Mañana' as spoken by Maite. "We will find a way." Without making eye contact with her, he looked back up to the ceiling, as if to be reassuring himself just as much as he was her.

Maybe this was all just a nightmare. One very livid, life-scarring nightmare. This was the last thought that crossed James' broken mind as his eyelids slowly shut and the overwhelming sound of the eerie silence crept in. "Sleep well, Maite." He whispered, before nodding off into a deep, quiet sleep, trusting that she would not end up being a criminal who would murder him in his slumber to take advantage of a now lawless environment.

Maite slept close to James, wanting to feel something warm, something real in all that nightmare. As her awareness started to dim, she could almost imagine that it was Arturo the one next to her, and not just the man she had rescued...

...

"Mphhh..." Maite grunted a bit, waking in the morning with her eyes still shut keeping the light out. She felt uncomfortable and weird, the horrors that had laid waste upon her life still on the edge of her mind. "Arturo, ¿qué hora es?" she asked, squirming around free until she bumped with James, "Es demasiado temprano para ir a-" then the events caught up with her, making her open the eyes wide realizing that it wasn't her husband the man there. "Ah... lo siento..." Maite said, "sorry" added afterwards, in that accent that made the 'r' roll wild.

"Tengo que ir al baño..." she doubted how to explain. "Baño... baño... bath, no, Toy-Let. Toilet" she nodded, getting away. Once she was done with the morning needs, almost couldn't recognize the woman in the mirror as she was making use of the sinks there. Of course it was her, but the scares, the worries, it made her look as a ghastly version of herself. Washing her face helped her with that look and the feeling of being still half asleep, getting an idea on the way back. Passing through a booth of tourist information of the mall, she found a map, that wouldn't be as useful as a guide since who knew how the city was now, not to mention that James seemed to know it well, but it would serve as a tool to convey ideas and decide where to go. On the same booth she noticed a leaflet for a crazy summer raffle, making her eyes go wide remembering its presence at the mall lobby.

Back to James, they would have to eat something before moving on, but first she wanted to show him her findings. "Out. Help. Necesitamos buscar ayuda" Maite indicated, pointing in the tourist map out of the city. She wanted to search for her husband Arturo with all her might, but she knew that it would be useless for her to search a city that size without knowing anything. They needed help, the army, something. Why weren't they already here by then? In the movies they always came swooping in to save the day. "Igual podemos usar este, tiene las llaves puestas para enseñar como suena" she added, taking out the other leaflet, the one about the raffle of a sports car that was parked at the mall lobby for people to see.

Waking up only a few minutes before Maite had, James was in deep thought before she rolled over and bumped into him. Like any healthy man, James also suffered an incredibly large case of morning wood as his manhood seemed to have a mind of its own and push up creating a large tent in his pants. The poor man didn't want Maite to get the wrong idea, so he hoped that maybe she wouldn't notice.

"I-it's okay. Don't worry..." He quickly said, standing up with haste and turning away in an attempt at hiding his erection, in hopes it would go away before she noticed.

James followed behind her, as she went off to find a place for her morning ritual. He did, however, give her the privacy she needed. As he waited for her, he managed to scrounge up some more un-looted energy bars and various non-perishables that he stuffed into a backpack along with several bottles of water. Now equipped with some basic survival gear, he tossed Maite an energy bar and a bottle of water and listened to her speak. Not entirely understanding her, he assumed that she was speaking of a way out. Possibly looking for a bus or some sort of vehicle to escape this hellish warzone.

There it was! The sportscar parked in the lobby seemed to be undamaged. "A bit of luck at last!" He said with a smile, hobbling over toward it. The keys were under the seat, and it had a small amount of fuel. "We should try and clear a path to get out in this thing... Maybe over there?" He pointed at a large hole blasted in the wall, next to the entrance to the main lobby. There were a few piles of rubble stuck in the way, but nothing they couldn't clear out in a couple of hours. "We should probably stock up on supplies and load the car down before we leave, too."

Though, James began to wonder... Where would they go?

After eating and drinking Maite felt better, as good as she could given the circumstances, and when they found the car in perfect state she couldn't help but to be caught on James' optimism and handsome smile. With a way to get out of there they could seek for help, reach the army, emergency services or whoever else had to be on their way to the city. But it wasn't going to be as easy as just taking the damned car and ride to the sunset. Maite couldn't understand half of what James said, but she could see him pointing to the hole in the wall and the rubble that blocked the path out.

"Esto va a llevar un rato..." Maite groaned, looking at the rubble. "Cuanto antes empiece, antes terminaré" she added with a sigh. Approaching the mess at the wall, Maite started to move rubble out of the way of the car, showing as the day before that she was stronger than it could seem at first sight. Maite noticed soon enough that her clothes weren't the best to move around, specially the skirt. Looking at James for a moment, Maite didn't take long to lean to the practical side, removing the beige skirt and the white blouse and tossing them to the car, standing there in her floral bikini. The context was a bit odd, but she wasn't as shy as give it much thought and thanks to that she could move with ease. Now covered with the bare minimum of decency, James could clearly see that the curvy woman had a bit of a sturdy physique. Sure, she was covered with small bruises and cuts everywhere, not to mention quite dirty since the last shower happened days ago, but her fit arms and broad shoulders made clear that she wasn't just soft and tempting.

It took quite a while, pausing to drink and rest from time to time, but eventually they managed to clear the way. Maite sat on the hood of the car, panting for air, cleaning her sweat with her discarded blouse that was no longer white. "Necesitamos ropa" she said, waving her blouse. "Ropa" repeated, leaning the fabric for a moment over her bust, trying to make James understand that they would need clothes out there. "Comida y bebida" she added next, the gesture of eating and drinking making things easier to understand. "Ah! Gasolina? Necesitaremos gasolina" she tried to explain, moving to the back of the car, making a gun like gesture to the gas deposit.