Hello! I wanted to start this story off with an authors note. If you have read any of my other stories, you know I'm ADDICTED to LFD2. After a lot of writing, I decided to start another project. Please bare with me, as I am a senior in High School and will not have a set schedule. I currently have about three chapters done so far. So i'll continue writing, and post chapters when I feel you guys have waited long enough XD Please make sure and take a look at my other (finished!) LFD story.
IMPORTANT: This story is extremely graphic. Includes: Profanity, Sex, Drug Use, Gore, ect. You've been warned!
~Fudge.
"Woah."
The first voice she head in months, had to be such a lame word. Woah. Like, c'mon. It's not everyday that a zombie apocalypse takes over the whole Eastern Coast, and you find a lone survivor holed up in one of the government built safe houses. She looked up from her current task, which was wiping the blood and gore from her precious katana. Years working at a local dive bar for this beauty, which came in handy for this very scenario.
"This safe room's kinda occupied." She responded, looking down into the reflection of her sword. She looked like shit.
"Sweetheart, we've been traveling for days on end and this is the first room we've seen since we got in this shit hole. So kindly shut your trap and share, got it?" A seething voice blared behind the first, shoving his way into view.
He wore a bloody and all over destroyed white suit, with a blue undershirt that looked just as bad. He had black hair that now fell around his face messily, but she had a feeling he used to gel it back. His features were hard set into a sneer, rage burning in his eyes. She snorted. Why was he getting so worked up over a joke?
"I was kidding, take a joke sleaze bag. C'mon in, dinners almost ready!" She exclaimed with a fake sugar sweet voice.
The group piled in, giving her a perfect chance to look them all over. The man who first entered the room was the youngest, probably around her age or younger. He wore a mechanic's hat and matching coveralls, with a yellow-mustard shirt soaked in sweat and blood. The eldest, and unspoken leader was a burly African with a purple shirt and a bald head. Even though he was built like a tank, his eyes had a soft sparkle to them. He wouldn't be a problem. The only girl was a petite, lighter skinned yet still ethnic beauty. She had on a pink band tee with jeans and boots, and held her puny sub machine in a way that screamed "novice."
"I'm Ellis, you can call me that or El if you'd like. But people always tell me El sounds like a girls name." The mechanic hopped on the ratty mattress I was sitting on, slightly moving the rag across the katana and nearly slicing her finger open in the process.
"Pleasure." She murmured, getting back to it.
"Ya aren't gonna tell me your name?" Ellis said in such a sappy puppy dog voice, her eyes rolled at the sugary sweetness.
"My name's not relevant, not like we'll ever see each other again."
"Listen here, child." The eldest man boomed. "If we're gonna share this room for the night, treat us with at least some respect. We might be the only survivors you'll meet in this shithole. With that attitude.." He trailed off.
"You'd probably piss Nick off to the point of wanting to murder you." Rochelle laughed, ambling off to prepare a meal for the group. That reminded me of the growl her my stomach.
"If you so insist." She sighed, pushing a strand that snuck out of her messy pigtails. "Harley."
Ellis laughed, a throaty and bellowing noise. "Like Harley Quinn!"
"Which one is it, the name or the pigtails?" Harley snapped.
"Oh c'mon, just poking a little fun."
She heard the flick of metal on flint, which ignited into a thin flame. She looked over to see the suited man, Nick, lighting a slightly crumpled cigarette with shaking palms.
"Getting your fix there, ol' man?" Harley whistled, laughing to herself.
"Oh go to hell, dumb bitch." Nick retorted after exhaling deeply.
"I wouldn't piss Nick off, he flies off the wall a lot." Ellis whispered into Harley's ear, sending uncomfortable goose bumps up her neck.
"I noted that."
The time spent waiting for Rochelle to make them dinner was excruciatingly awkward. Harley kept to herself, finishing cleaning the Katana and resorting to flicking wads of lint into the corner off the accompanying ratty blanket. No way in hell someone would waltz in here and take this bed away from her, she had staked her claim and was sleeping on it. Yeah it was a queen and could easily fit another body, fuck that. Ellis kept a constant chatter, either to Coach or to Harley or just himself. Coach had the decency to nod every now and then, but Harley completely ignored him. Nick was still shadowed in the corner, but Harley could see over the burn of his cigarette butt his narrowed eyes watching her.
"Well, here's your guy's food. Harley, I made you some if you'd like, you look like you're in need of a well cooked meal." Rochelle handed out styrofoam bowls filled to the brim with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Harley nodded her thanks and dug in. Both the potatoes and gravy were out of a box, but it was the best meal ever. Harley relied on raiding stores and just eating whatever she could. That meant a lot of nights going to sleep hungry. But it was better than being dead, that's for sure. She devoured her meal and was finished before everyone else, getting a snicker from Nick. Harley sent a death glare in his direction which kept him quiet for the rest of the meal. After a while, Nick set his empty bowl down and pulled out a deck of worn cards from his breast pocket, absentmindedly shuffling them.
"You know how to play?" This was the first thing Nick had said to Harley since his outbursts.
"Lil bit, why?" Harley tried to put a defensive snarl on the end, but it came out sounding too nice.
"You were eyeing my cards, thought I might wanna show you a thing or two."He grinned, a lopsided, half smile.
"Let's start with a little Texas Hold 'Em, maybe transition into some Blackjack later on." Harley commanded, shuffling over to Nick's shady corner.
"Do not fall asleep on my bed, Ellis." Harley shot to him, who was beginning to doze asleep.
Nick chuckled and began to shuffle the cards. Harley eyed his hands carefully, making sure his suit sleeves didn't have any cards being put into the mix. He caught her watching and laughed again, this time a more genuine, throaty noise.
"What?" Harley snapped, her face slightly reddening. Did Nick think she was checking him out? Eww.
"You really do know how to play, surprising." He had a glint in his eye when he said that.
"Oh bite me. What are we gonna bet with" Harley looked around, finding nothing.
"Hmm. How about this princess. At the beginning of each round we'll set a wager. Example, i would start by saying 'If I win you have to go drink from that faucet." He pointed to a nasty looking spigot covered in mold and fungus. "Winner is the one who doesn't pussy out."
"First off, don't call me princess. Second of all, get ready to get whooped."
"Alright let's start things off easy. If I win, you have tell me something about your past." Nick raised an eyebrow, looking at me.
"Fine. If I win…. I want that chain of yours." Harley eyed the silver chain around his neck, hidden under his shirt.
"Fuck princess, you drive a hard bargain. Ex-wife got me this thing, let's hope the luck is in my favor!" He snorted, dealing the cards.
She laughed, eyeing him as he dealt out cards. He picked up his cards while keeping a look on her, obviously trying to read her. She peeked at her cards. Two 7's, which matched up with a seven of spades in the middle. That wasn't too bad, and she kept her face blank.
"Your call, cupcake." Nick mumbled, looking at his cards again. She watched him carefully. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and his lips were pursed.
"I'll call." Harley said, trying not to sound too arrogant.
"As do I." He responded, flipping over the fourth card. A jack of diamonds, nothing special.
"Check." Harley said quickly. Damn it, coming off as too eager.
They continued until the last card was flipped. A 7, two Jacks, a queen and a four. Harley was sure of her hand. He set his hand down, which made her snort. A measly King and 3. Harley responded by putting her hand down in a triumphant smirk, making Nick growl under his breath.
"Hand it over, suit!" Harley smirked, holding her palm out.
Nick pulled the chain off and placed it in her palm, his fingertips lightly brushing across her skin. They were cool, and still surprisingly soft. The sterling silver was heavy in her hand, and took her mind off of the sensation of being touched by Nick. He seemed unaffected by the simple gesture, but Harley hadn't had a human touch her since the outbreak started. She looked up with a blank face. They continued to play, and Ellis eventually snuck over and was dealt in. He was pretty good, but had no poker face whatsoever. He even let out a holler when he was dealt the only full house in the game. Both Nick and I shared a grimace, mainly because of his annoying noises. I ended up winning most of the games, but still lost some of the time. Nick agreed to letting me "pay up" after Ellis wandered off. Night quickly came, and Coach was the first one to doze off. Rochelle had explained that he sustained a pretty decent wound on his torso and was tired.
Harley returned to her bed, starring at the horseflies that were circling around the fluorescent light. She also noticed how quiet it had gotten outside, the only noise being chirps from crickets. It was surprising to her how much life had made it out unscathed. She had even seen a deer in her travels, something she swore would have been eaten by a commoner. But alas, it wandered around in the streets searching for something. Harley had noticed that while the infected did smell its life, they seemed to be disinterested in it. Almost like they had a preference for the taste of human flesh, picky bastards.
"So Harley." Nick broke into her thoughts. He was still in his corner, only he had pulled a sleeping bag out and was sitting on the top of it.
"Yes?" Harley turned to him, tucking her feet under herself. The wind coming in through the safe room bars was turning chilly.
"You have to pay up for your bets now." He said, looking right into her eyes.
Harley grimaced, turning to look around. Coach and Ellis were out like a light, while Rochelle was tossing and turning in her sleep.
"Yeah okay, what do you want to know?" She said defensively, already feeling uncomfortable. Talk wasn't something she was good at.
"About your past. What you did before shit hit the fan." He twiddled his thumb around his index finger.
"Why do you care?" Harley shot back.
"Honestly, cupcake, I don't care. Just sick and tired of hearing the same shit from Ellis. God knows Coach and Rochelle don't talk much." Nick said it with a bite in his voice.
"Fine then…" She sighed. "I'm from Toronto. I was born in New York so I have dual citizenship, but my Dad had to move for his job as an accounting manager for some prestigious bank. Never met my mom, she took off basically right after my birth and left me with my Dad. I have a picture of her but other than that, nothing really. I was studying at a University for Art. Apparently my drawings were pretty decent. My dorm mate and I were pretty close, so when my 21st came up she wanted to surprise me. We had to take different flights down, she made it and I didn't."
Nick said nothing for a while, and then sighed deeply. "y'know, my parents were never around. I left home when I was 17 to live with my girlfriend at the time. So you're lucky to at least have one person in your life to give a shit about you."
This made Harley laugh, a bitter laugh. "You honestly think my Dad gave a shit about me?"
"Enough to house you, feed you and send you to a college. So yeah." Nick sneered.
"Well, obviously I shouldn't of told you about my past seeing as though you're going to be an asshole regardless of what I say." Harley huffed, throwing her shoes on the ground and settling into the bed. She faced the wall, too pissed off to say anything to him. What a fucking asshole!
She seethed in bed thinking of all the ways to kill him in the morning, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Hope you liked! Make sure to leave comments and follow for quicker updates. Any questions or concerns? Contact me. I will be needing OC's in the future.
