It was dangerous outside of the pod. But Daron couldn't take it anymore, 'So what if the fucking world is ending! We all got to go one-way or another and this is no kind of way!' he thought bitterly watching the same routine around him. He studied their emotions and patterns. It was all the same sitting around reading a book, eating, sleeping. Everyone's face was emotionless and Daron was getting sick of it. It had been several weeks since the military took in survivors from the nuclear bomb. The ones that refused the offer would be killed by the war that had broken out between Americans and the survivors of other countries fighting for land and life itself. As fare, as anyone knew America was the last country livable even after the bomb. Everyone was fighting for owner's rite; what made it so sad was everyone brought this living hell upon themselves. There was also no way of telling what deformed creatures crawled out of some of the wreck as well.
Daron sighed heavily sitting on his bed starring at the white floor. Everything was white. All his life he knew the crackpot theories about the end of the world were somewhat off.
But damn, he never imagined it being like this. Even though alive he was suffering. He rather be dead then in this pod with these brain dead people who couldn't quite grasp the fact of what had happened. "Stupid mother fuckers," he mumbled lowly. He thought long and hard on what to do next because once he walked out the door . . . that's it there is no second chance on getting back in but he couldn't take it anymore. He knew he wouldn't last long but anything was better then starring at the white walls all day wondering what's happening on the outside. It was like prison there and he wanted out. Well he couldn't agree on that he'd been in prison before but this was fare worse.
Without any more thought to it he slipped his black Nikes on, threw his black T-shirt over his head and trailed his arms through the sleeves. He stood up and jogged to the doors each one he opened clicked behind him. Click . . . He pushed past the last door and was in the underground tunnel that would lead to the real world what was left of it anyway. He walked slowly up the sloped hill and into the light. The sun bore down on him and almost blinded him. He took a minute to take in how much everything had changed. No buildings just rubble and rancid smell of decaying bodies buried somewhere deep under the wood, metal, and glass. Well you can't go back now a voice within him mumbled. He looked around quickly for anything or anyone. His eyes caught a Ford truck that was still intact but the real question was did it still work? With hope pouring through him like adrenaline he ran to the car. He slipped his shirt off quickly and wrapped it around his fist and drew back and punched the window out and broke away small particles of glass. While replacing his shirt he unlatched the lock and got in. No keys. Oh well not a problem just touch those two little wires under the dash. The engine revved to life and spit out smoke from the tail pipe in a dragon like stream.
As he rode down what was left of the roads a thought smacked him in the face like a slap. 'What the hell am I going to do now?' He didn't have time to come up with an answer with a loud popping noise the tires shredded and the truck started flipping on its side at least fifteen times. His body was jerked around violently as the car was. He held the steering wheel with a death grip until it landed upside down and his head hit the roof with a hard thump. His vision blurred with blood and fuzziness. He crawled out slowly, cutting his legs and hands deeply with shards of broken glass. With pain pulling him down he gave in and laid on the broken pavement on his back and took in a deep breath. 'Damn' he thought, 'I thought I at least make it an hour. Oh well.' He smiled and laughed at the thought closing his eyes. He heard insane screams calling from all directions and minutes later he opened his eyes to people surrounding him. One stepped forward and hit him with the stock of his gun. Still awake he winced at the pain and slowly everything went darker. Tires squealed to a screeching halt, a short distance and the crowd screamed, "Devil's Rejects! Devil's Rejects shoot! Shoot!" The crowd scattered away and people stepped out of the car firing with machine guns. Daron struggled to keep his eyes open but he felt like he was lifted up and then blackness.
He woke up shaking like a leaf with a terrible headache, he wasn't quite all the way there but he knew he was alive. He studied the well-wrapped bandages on his arms, head, and legs. He sat up slowly and took in the new environment it was a house of some kind and he was in a soft bed with silky red sheets. His T-shirt was gone and replaced with band-aids. The room was dark with one florescent light hanging from the ceiling but the dark cheery wood covering the floors, walls, and ceiling could have gave that effect. There were framed drawings and paintings covering the walls. The floor was nearly covered by one huge velvet rug. By the size of the room he guessed he was in a huge house. Slowly but firmly he threw his legs out of the covers and to the floor. He took his time getting up on his unsteady legs. He limped down a huge hallway passing several rooms. He stopped at an opened door and peered in to a group of four people on one large black leather couch. The walls were covered in music and car posters, guns, and knifes. The group sat contently cleaning their guns and bloody knifes. He studied the group for a minute before announcing his presence.
There were two males and two females. A large man with a light even skin tone, wearing all camo sat cleaning a shotgun, his orange cornrows contrasted deeply with his soft yet mischievous face and green eyes. His sleeves were ripped of and revealed a tattoo of a snake and his large muscles. Daron would come to know him as Mike.
The other male looked shorter then Mike with long blonde curly hair and almost closed dark eyes or either the blue bandana he wore gave that effect. His skin was light. He wore black with a long gold chain hanging from his neck. His shirt was ripped down the middle showing off his abs he also had a tattoo of the same snake but with fangs dripping with blood. His face was hard from years of god knows what. A cigarette hung loosely from his mouth while he cleaned a bloody knife. He hard large muscles and he looked like the type to beat the shit out of someone for the pleasure. His name was J-J and he and Mike were almost twice the size of Daron. As he studied him his nostrils were filled with a marijuana smoke and beer scent. Now he saw why J-J's eyes were almost closed.
Jade was the woman sitting with her legs crossed and looked almost asleep but her eyes were slightly open. Through the slits he could she had an unusual dark blue color of eyes and long black hair that hung all around her that almost looked alive. She was a pretty girl with a perfect hourglass figure. Her face looked soft and caring. She had on a tight black V-neck shirt that showed off half of her breasts, her skin was perfectly tanned. She had on tight blue jeans cut off just above her knees and knee high, black high-heeled boots covered her lower legs. She also had the snake tattoo but it was in red and had wings.
Now out of all of them the last female caught his attention the most maybe because she looked the most unusual. She stuck out like a swore thumb even the way she moved was odd. She was very short as she leaned against the wall cleaning a knife with no interest in the situation. She had pale skin, almost white. She couldn't be any taller then 4'11 and Daron himself stood at 5'8. Her eyes were a purple- reddish velvet color with a great amount of pain and misery behind them and coated with eyeliner and mascara. Her face was hard and cold vibrating with pain it seemed. He could sense no emotion anywhere on her. She had long black and white dreads that went an inch past her waist. Her breasts were the perfect size and looked pushed up in a tight black leather zip up vest. She had on baggy black cargo pants with chains hanging of each side that were tucked in a pair of black combat boots splattered with dry blood. What stuck out possibly the most were her tattoos covering every inch of skin on both her arms from wrist to shoulder and her piercings. Her name was Angel and she was also the leader of the group. She didn't mind blowing your brains out either.
Daron gulped down the lump in his throat and spoke lowly, "Where am I at?"
"Oh hey look guys sleeping beauty is up," Mike joked loudly. The whole time Angel didn't look away from her knife. J-J walked over to Daron and held a razor sharp blade to his throat. That got Angel's attention. She motioned and pointed for him to take the knife away calmly. "Man . . . Angel we don't need anybody else gobbling down our food. Just let me kill him, Cher," he protested. Still with a calm face and one quick flick of her wrist the knife whizzed by like a bullet and landed only a hairline away from J-J's head. With eyes full of fear and anger he sleeved his knife and took a seat by Mike. "Dumb ass you almost got killed. You no better then to argue with her," Mike said and looked in Daron's direction, "You're in a safe house under ground . . . Angel saved your life . . . Say thank you." He smiled and kicked his feet up on the table.
"Umm . . . thanks for saving my ass." His breath caught for a second as Angel was suddenly by him pulling the knife out of the wall. It sent fear down his spine she was just over there and then right by him. She used the back of the blade under his chin to lift his face into the light.
She studied him like a book. He was skinny but had generously gifted muscles added to his arms and stomach. His chest had almost no hair. His huge brown eyes looked innocent but with her ability she looked past the puppy dog eyes and saw the real emotions inside them. The emotion of most humans in this situation would have fear, anxiety, happiness, and some innocence along with many others. He had short dark brown hair that curled at the ends and reached his shoulders. A double goatee along with sideburns creeping across the ending point of his face. It was a good look to go along with his soft facial features. She took in his smell and learned a lot more about him. His scent was sweet and his blood smelt like cinnamon.
He felt an electric shock run through his body to hers as her finger caressed the side of his face. She stammered back into the wall with a hard blow, like she had been pushed. Her hand flew to her heart and she actually gasped. She felt it harder then he did. She stayed against the wall for support. " Damn it!" she breathed heavily with a soft and exotic voice. Everyone besides Daron gasped in the room and he shot his head to them for an explanation. "What?" he asked confused.
"That's the first damn time she's spoken in five years since . . ." Jade exclaimed in shock. Her words cut short by Angel's shocking, narrowed eyes. Jade knew she already said too much. Daron looked back at Angel and her eyes turned a deep red then blue for a moment. She took a long breath and her eyes changed to her normal color and she retreated out the room. "What the hell did you do, man?" J-J asked in shock and fear.
"I didn't do anything! She shocked the hell out of me . . . I guess she felt it too."
"Something's wrong I gotta find out," Mike countered and left the room in almost a run. The others sat there dumbstruck.
"Probably not a good time but I'll ask anyway. What's your name midget?" J-J asked throwing his knife and catching it with two fingers.
"Daron. What 'bout you?"
"Well Angel is the girl with the dreads. This is Jade," he pointed to Jade and then looked back to him, " and the other guy is Mike. I'm J-J."
"I only asked your name."
"Ok be a smart ass that'll get you somewhere . . . look if it weren't for Angel you'd be drowning in your own blood right now shrimp!" J-J snarled and his nostrils flared like a bull's. His veins popped out and his eyes widened.
"Look Hulk I'm not looking for a fight," Daron went on while Jade laughed softly. "Well seriously how else would his shirt get ripped like that." Their laughter pierced J-J's ears. J-J stormed over to Daron and lifted him by his belt buckle.
"Look yaw sonavabitch . . . As soon as Angel doesn't want you anymore I'll be the first one to cut your throat. Watch your back, killing you would be worth it even when Angel sinks her claws into me." He dropped Daron and stormed out.
"Ok I think I'm safe now Godzilla is gone . . . You aren't going to go all Billy bad ass on me and rip my nuts or something off are you?"
"No. . . I try not to resort to violence. I hope Angel keeps you around it's fun seeing J-J get pissed off."
"Speaking of her. If I may ask . . . how did she well umm . . . do that whole moving thing where she was there and here so quick?" He pointed to where she stood earlier then right beside himself.
"Ask her yourself. You got her to talk and that's very hard to do maybe she'll talk to you. I don't know. You look tired why don't you go lay back down for a while?"
"Ok sounds good. Later." He walked back down the hallway and into the room he had been in but Angel was hanging from one of the ceiling rafters with her legs hanging over the sides. She saw him and threw herself down to the floor. It was almost a fifteen-foot drop but she landed perfectly. She walked over to him. Something made him anchored to the spot and he couldn't look away from her and also because he didn't want to.
She walked in a circle around him taking his senses in. She carefully traced a finger across where his heart was but there was no shock this time. A question bubbled in both their heads at once. Daron was not hesitant to ask his though. "Who are you really and why did you save my life?"
She took in a deep breath and mouthed the words then spoke them aloud. "I'm me. Who are you?"
"I'm Daron but why did you help me?"
"Why shouldn't I have?" This girl was crafty he could tell. Something was odd about her. It made him shudder but not in fear. Just as he was about to push the issue she appeared on his bed.
"Well how the hell do you do that?"
"What you mean this?" Just like that she was behind him and it sent a chill up his spine. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "You remind me of him . . . that is why I helped you."
"W-w-who?" He had a hard time talking with her touching him. Her breath was tickling his neck, her face was so close. She bit down into his neck with fangs and it was clear but didn't seem possible. "You're a fucking vampire!" he yelled. Yet he made no attempt to move.
She released her hold and in a split second she was back on the rafter. "Not quite . . . but you're close. I'd be dead if I was a vamp; they're a pathetic race. Going around killing humans to survive. It's sad really they probably all died out considering most of them lived in France and shit like that."
"Well what the hell are you then? You're not human."
"I've been called many things but the correct term would be a Swastika Raptor. Technically I am human though I just have more abilities. To top it I'm also immortal. It's sad really I watch people I come to love die of old age as I stay the same. Every once in a while the elders may allow me to make a human into one but it's not often and they usually end up trying to kill me and I can't stand that."
"Ok let's start over who do I remind you of?"
She sighed heavily before replying. "Does it matter he's been dead so long I really can't even remember his name. It's old news . . ." She whipped a tear away from her eyes and stood in front of him. "But you have a choice you can stay here or go back out there. Which do you prefer? If you do stay here you will have to help though."
"Of course I want to stay here. Only a fucking moron would leave even with you around . . . Not that's there's anything wrong with you."
"Well what is right with me? You just met me."
"Well umm you're pretty and well there's a long list."
She laughed softly and walked over to the bed and sat down. "You're not very good at lieing but you do have to do something if you're going to stay here."
"And that would be?"
"Sometimes I like drinking blood it heightens my senses but everyone around here tastes like rust or dirt but you . . . Well you taste sweet a mix of fruit and cinnamon. All I ask is to get a taste every once in a while and you may stay as long as you like."
"Ok . . . Kind of weird but if that's all I have to do."
She cut him off short. "There's more but that will come in time. Get some rest those wounds will heal faster when you sleep." The next second smoke trailed up from her spot and she was gone. He laid down but it took a long time to go to sleep. He felt like he had known her from somewhere before but the whole thing gave him chills. For some odd reason he wanted her back in the room with him, then he was scared of her coming back. Finally his thoughts disappeared and his mind went into bliss as his body relaxed.