Jinx watched the people below them shuffle about, their faces reflecting agony. She could tell who was alive and still fighting. She noticed a person being lifted onto a board and stood up. Jerry ran his hand down her back and took her hand.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I'll be right back" Jinx said and slipped out of his grasp. She ran down the steps to where the woman was being taken away.
"Hey, what's going on?" Jinx asked. The men holding the board ignored her. She pretended to know the woman.
"What are you doing to Mrs. Finch?" Jinx demanded. One of the guys took notice of her and pulled her aside. The men carried her away.
"MSDD" The man said as if Jinx should know what it meant.
"What?"
"Mental shut down. When they've lost everything and just give up, they don't wake up" He explained "It's been hard keeping people's spirits up. No one wants to carry out the dead, it hard for people to see let alone do"
"My fiancé and myself would like to earn our keep" Jinx shrugged. The man thought to himself for a moment, his hands on his hips and he looked over toward the crowds shuffling toward soup and bread.
"I would say, morally, no" He said softly "But we're shorthanded. We need someone to go around asking if people are okay and checking on those who are sleeping"
"I can do that, my fiancé Jerry would be fine with helping move them" Jinx said. She looked up towards Jerry and waved at him to join her. He reluctantly jogged down the stairs.
"Jerry this man might have some work for us. The two shook hands and Jinx was asked to start right away. She walked down the isle of people and patted people on the shoulder. The job was long but for two days Jinx labored through it. She knew if she found a warm body with no vitals Jerry could feed on them. No one would get hurt that wasn't already dead in their mind.
"Excuse me?" She asked an elderly woman who was wrapped up in a blanket laying across three seats.
"Sydney?" The woman muttered.
"No, Ma'am, are you alright?" Jinx asked "I'm not Sydney"
"Sydney is my daughter, have you seen her?" She asked, sitting up.
"No, I haven't. I'm sure she is just getting some soup" Jinx told her and moved on. But the woman grabbed her arm. Jinx tried to pull free.
"You killed her!" the woman screamed and held a pair of knitting needles at Jinx, a firm grasp on her wrist. Jinx tried to rip her hand free. The woman screamed like she was being attacked and stabbed at Jinx. One of the needles getting imbedded in Jinx's arm. Jinx screamed and pushed the woman over the next row of seats where she hit her head off the concrete and went silent. Jinx stumbled backwards until she hit a seat and slumped down. She held her arm out straight, staring at the knitting needle. She couldn't believe a wooden knitting needle could be so sharp. It wasn't deep, but it was deep enough she would have to pull it out. She tried to touch it but pain shot up her arm. People were starting to gather around the old woman.
"Are you alright?" A boy asked Jinx, he touched her shoulder and she flinched.
"I don't think so" She chuckled nervously. She desperately looked around for Jerry but he must have been out dumping a body. Two different men came by to help. One with short ginger hair and deep green eyes knelt by Jinx's side. He tied a piece of cloth around her arm just above her elbow.
"My name is Harvey, what's yours?" He asked. He was in his twenties, Jinx thought for sure. Closer to her age anyways.
"Jane" Jinx whimpered.
"What happened?" He asked. He was looking through his little medic pack.
"The woman asked for her daughter and I told her I hadn't seen her" Jinx explained "Next thing I know she is accusing me of killing her daughter and stabbed me with kni-" Jinx's explanation was cut short by a pain welling up inside her and bursting out in an angry scream. The man had pulled it from her arm and tightly wrapped gauze around the wound before she could protest its removal. He grinned and patted her on the shoulder.
"You've got to be careful, some people have lost their minds. We've all been through a lot, some of us can't handle it very well and lash out" he glanced over his shoulder as his partner moved the old woman onto a board. He released a painful sigh "Some of us can't survive this world alone"
"I sure am thankful I have Jerry" Jinx said defensively as Harvey rested his hand on Jinx's lap, his fingers holding her inner thigh.
"I'm sure glad I have you too" Jerry growled from behind her. He jumped over the seats and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm over her shoulder protectively. Harvey stood up quickly and grabbed his pack.
"You two take care" Harvey said before turning his attention to Jerry. Jinx could tell Harvey was sizing him up "You best take care of your, uh, dau-?"
"Girlfriend" Jerry smiled, his eyes were darkening to a black.
"Right, it's dangerous even in here. People losing their minds left and right without MSDD" Harvey warned. Jerry grinned when Harvey puffed out his chest unknowingly "Keep her close"
"Who's that bimbo?" Jerry asked after he left.
"A medic. An old woman attacked me with a pair of fucking knitting needles" Jinx growled "She went crazy"
"He doesn't seem to understand you're off the menu" Jerry snarled. Jinx rested her head on his shoulder.
"I can take care of myself" Jinx whispered and Jerry sneered. He felt uneasy with Jinx being independent of him. With his usual human company they only remained after he placed a spell of obedience on them, he never had to trust them to do anything, he knew they would. With Jinx he couldn't anchor her down, he couldn't even be sure she wouldn't run off. Jerry knew it would be foolish to try putting a spell on Jinx, he needed her knowledge of people. Without her he wouldn't have gotten the job of moving the fresh dead outside and given the chances to feed he desperately needed.
Jinx got up to leave. Jerry stood and caught her arm, she led him along with her as she petted people on the shoulders to make sure they were awake.
"You should go eat" Jerry told her. She brushed him off her arm.
"I'm not that hungry" Jinx shrugged. Jerry didn't budge.
"You haven't gotten anything to eat today" Jerry said "You need your strength"
"Fine" Jinx growled. She tried to rush down the stairs but Jerry caught her again. She was getting annoyed by his clingy nature since they reached the stadium. Jerry pressed his lips against hers and she felt her anger melt away. She gave his hair a tug and he growled. She kissed his shoulder and rested her shin on his chest for a moment before rushing down the stairs to get into line. Jerry watched her leave, he didn't like being trapped in the giant sardine can with so many people. He liked having control, the thing no one had.
That night he wanted to get out, he decided he would take Jinx with him for a short scouting run. He waited for her near one of the stadium exits that had been barricaded and chain locked.