Matthew could have sworn he'd heard voices when he was coming up the stairs, and that had given him pause. Was he sure he wanted to fight for this house with someone else? It was too late to turn back now, he figured, already halfway up the shadowy staircase. There was a sort of eerie silence now, no further noises to be heard, and Kumajiro was on high alert. Someone was here, he was almost certain, but whoever it was he was sure he could handle them. Or at least that was what he was telling himself.
Matthew had to be careful. Going down the hardwood hall, the floors creaked easily, and that was a dead giveaway. He scanned the area, steadying his silent footfall. Everything in the hall was coated with a fine layer of dust. Pictures of the family that had lived here before still hung up on the walls, broken glass and stray articles of fabric littered the floor. It was still really cold inside, it wasn't like there was heat in here or anything. His quiet breath left a cloud of vapour suspended in the air in front of him. Matthew brought his pistol up, keeping calm. No need to panic, he could handle this. Whatever this was, anyway. Kumajiro was prowling along behind him, head bent low and wary.
In the room at the end of the hall, a soft whimpering could be heard, feminine and childlike, and rough, hushed whispering. Both were muffled by the door they were hidden behind, shut tight. Matthew grimaced as the floor creaked under his foot. The sound of the voices ceased immediately. Matthew stopped where he was when the door cracked open, heart hammering away in his chest. Now he was panicking. Should he back out now? Was this house really worth losing his life over?
He didn't have a chance to decide.
The door flew open and the next thing he knew he was on his back with a very angry blonde man standing over him screaming in German and pointing a rifle in his face. Matthew quickly dropped his pistol and put both his hands up, staring terrified into the barrel. Kumajiro was going nuts behind them, barking and growling, but making no moves towards the threat to his master.
The man with the gun stood there screaming for a while, Matthew screaming back and pleading in French until he finally got it.
"Get out of here," The blonde man snarled, switching to French as well. Matthew got over the brief surprise of the collapsed language barrier and his gaze drifted from the angry man to the little girl standing wide-eyed in the doorway behind him. She looked utterly terrified, and her mouth was moving as if she were trying to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Matthew frowned at her, but the man commanded his attention once more with a sharp jab of his gun to Matthew's chest.
"Can we talk this over? You don t really want to kill me in front of her, do you?" Matthew nodded at the little girl. He felt much calmer now that he knew she was there. Unless this guy with the gun was heartless, he wouldn't blow the brains out of an innocent man in front of her, would he? The girl started saying something in German until the man cut her off. Matthew desperately wished he could understand.
"Does she want to see you kill me? Go ahead then. Shoot me," Matthew said quietly. The man tightened the grip on his gun, hissing.
The little girl came forward, brushing past her companion who started protesting. She ignored him and bent low, holding out her hand to Matthew and smiling. "Lili," she said, pointing at herself. Her accent was heavy, and Matthew doubted she spoke any English at all. This may cause a bit of a problem. No matter.
He nodded and pointed at himself. "Matthew."
She pointed at the man, who began protesting again. she ignored him once more. "Basch. Mein bruder."
Matthew nodded, but that last part had him lost. The man started saying things in German again, but Lili just went over to Kumajiro, who was cowering near the stairs. She pointed at the dog, looking over at Matthew curiously. "...Who?"
"Kumajiro," Matthew said quietly, looking back at Basch, whose gun was lowered now. "I'm not a raider or anything, I'm not here to hurt you, I just need a place to stay."
"And I'm supposed to trust you on that?" Basch snarled.
"You could try, I guess... It's safer in a group anyway, eh? I'll do my own thing and you can do yours, you won't even know I'm here. Lock me in a room if you have to just... please. I don't have anywhere else to go..."
Lili looked at Basch hopefully, her emerald green eyes wide in the darkness, pleading. Basch dropped his gun, sighing. "One wrong move and I'll blow your head off, understand?" He straightened his white beret and turned. "One wrong move..." Basch stalked back into the room, leaving Lili, Matthew and Kumajirou in the hallway.
"He is nice," Lili said quietly in English, so preoccupied with the dog that Matthew wasn't sure if she meant Kumajiro or Basch. He figured Basch.
"Yeah? I think so too. Or maybe he could be. If he hadn't pointing a gun at my face." Matthew stood up, brushing dust off his coat, looking over at the girl who had not understood a single word he had just spoken.
"He is nice, just sad," Lili said, half smiling, looking over at Matthew. She motioned for Kumajiro to follow her, gripping Matthew's arm as she led him into the room that Basch was in, closing the door behind them, putting Matthew on edge.
"Oh, relax," Basch muttered under his breath. He was sitting on the end of a double bed, scowling at Matthew. "I moved the only other bed in this house in here for myself but if you're here, you can have it. But you'll have to take the floor, I'm afraid."
Matthew looked at the mattress on the floor, hesitant. He looked back at Basch, about to protest, that he was perfectly fine sleeping on the floor.
"It's fine. I'm staying up to keep watch anyway. And it's not as if I could kill you anyway. Lili would not believe me if I said you walked away. So you may as well get some sleep."
Matthew nodded slowly, a bit dazed from the strange man's kindness. He beckoned Kumajiro over as he sat on his lovely new bed. Matthew slipped off his backpack and pulled out the blankets he had packed, arranging them around him and Kumajiro.
Lili has already pulled off her coat and kicked off her shoes, burrowed down under the covers in the other bed. She yawned and gave a happy sigh, closing her eyes.
"Gute nacht, Bruder," she said sleepily. "Gute nacht Matthew."
Basch kissed her forehead, standing up, and Matthew smiled, pulling the blankets over his shoulders. He was far too nervous to sleep, and didn't feel entirely comfortable doing so. He hadn't actually spent this much time with real people since before the riot, and it was a really weird feeling to suddenly have people around him.
"Why are you staring at me, eh?" He asked Basch, a bit irritated. The other man smirked. He was barely visible in the dark, but Matthew could feel his stare. That was something he definitely did not miss about having people around.
"I'm trying to figure out what it is you want from us exactly. Why would you want to stick around?" Basch slumped to the floor by the door, leaning his back against it, leaning his chin on the butt of his gun.
"It's nice to be in the company of humans again, I suppose," Matthew said quietly. "I've been alone since the riot. And before that I really didn't have anyone to survive the end of the world with. You'd think I was invisible, I swear..."
"...Hm." Basch let that settle, looking up at the ceiling.
"Why? Do you think I'm some sort of psycho maniac ax killer or something?" The Canadian raised an eyebrow, amused.
"I think everyone has killed at least someone at this point," Basch replied grimly, serious as ever. Matthew figured he meant himself, but he decided not to ask. It seemed too personal a question to ask a complete stranger. Instead, he sprawled out on the mattress, closing his eyes.
"Eh. Bon nuit, Basch..."
The other man just mumbled something gruffly, and was silent until Matthew had drifted off.