Chapter 10
Cardin Winchester.
The last person Jaune ever wanted to see in his life. In fact he would rather have to run into the undead bodies of his family than him.
Glancing at Yang, he could see her tensing up as she drew her fist back and he instantly was hugging her from behind in order to prevent her from decking the other teen.
"LET ME AT HIM!" Yang roared in rage as Jaune lifted and carried her away as she struggled to break out of his grip. Qrow immediately took their place and gave a cold glare at the teen whose sneer he had been wearing the entire time died away.
"What do you want?" Qrow deadpanned and Cardin held up a stack of papers.
"I saw the old man certifying these so I decided to take a look and imagine my surprise to see little Jauney here leading this group so I thought I'd stop by to deliver the good news." Qrow frowned.
"Old man? What's your name kid?" Cardin's sneer returned as he crossed his arms.
"Cardin Winchester." Qrow nodded slowly then began to close the door when Cardin stuck his hand out to stop the door, Qrow glared at him and he retracted his hand.
"Don't close the door on me unless you know what's good for you." Cardin said but Qrow just snorted.
"Whatever." Then slammed the door closed before Cardin could react.
"Fucking cunt!" Cardin yelled from the other side of the door but Qrow ignored him as he took a look at the papers. Glancing up he could see that Jaune was still holding onto his furious niece.
"Let me go Jaune!" Yang yelled again but Jaune didn't release his grip.
"Yang calm down." Jaune tried to say but she just screamed in frustration and elbowed him in the cheek. Jaune let go of her as he stumbled back, Pyrrha and Mina moved in to block Yang in his place. It took a few more moment before the blonde girl finally calmed down.
"Jesus Yang what the hell was that all about?" Sun asked as she sat down.
"Cardin is a fucking bastard he deserves to get punched. If you guys don't remember he stabbed Yatsuhashi, he needs to get his ass kicked!" Yang said furiously.
"Yea I'm not sure that would be a good idea." Qrow said as he handed the stack of papers over to Jaune who was rubbing his cheek. Jaune began to read it and realized what Qrow meant.
"What does it say?" Ruby asked as she moved next to him to read it.
"Well the good news is, we're now officially recognized as the 1st Auxiliary Combat Squad, though I'll need to go in to verbally confirm that we understand this contract as for what Qrow meant is seems we should be careful around Cardin."
"Why?" Ren asked and Jaune held up the paper for him to see.
"Signed by Senator Arthur Winchester?" Ren met Jaune's eyes and he nodded.
"Well shit."
"So what does that mean?" Ruby asked, Blake sighed as she sat down next to Yang on the couch.
"I think it means that Cardin's dad is a Valean Senator."
"So he's the senator that has taken the role as leader of the city with the Mayor's death." Jaune supplied.
"Wait, what does that have to do with Cardin?"
"I think what's being insinuated is if we're not careful with Cardin we might end up on the Senator's bad side which could prove to be a very dangerous thing for our safety." Karen spoke up.
"So you're suggesting that Cardin might influence his father to have us arrested or punished in some way?" Helena asked but no one said anything at that.
"What's going on?" Everyone turned to see Weiss standing at the doorway of the room she had been in. None of them mentioned how puffy and red her eyes were.
"Cardin's alive and his father it seems is the Senator your sister mentioned." Jaune was the first to speak up, her eyes widened in surprised then she looked at Yang.
"You didn't punch him did you?" Yang snorted.
"I wish but Jaune stopped me." Weiss nodded.
"That's good he might have used that as an excuse to have his dad kick us out of the city." Jaune stood up and held up the stack of papers.
"Wanna go over this Weiss? It appears to be a contract of sorts and I rather not read it alone since I'm not smart enough to understand the lingo." Weiss rolled her eyes a small smile on her face, the two of them sat at the kitchen table to go over it.
"Do you think we should have someone stand guard tonight?" Ren asked.
"What for? Even I don't think Cardin would try again so soon, it would be too obvious." Nora pointed out.
"She's right; I think Cardin just wanted us to know that he was here and that he has someone powerful at his back." Blake said.
"Actually we don't know that, all we know is that the two of them are supposedly related but how can we know that Mr. Winchester will be like his son?" Pyrrha spoke up.
"Well he is a politician and they're generally scum." Blake replied.
"Well isn't that's kind of narrow minded? He's generally trying to look out for the city isn't he? Otherwise why would he assume authority?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby you're young so you might not understand that a person can have more than one focus in their agenda. Not an altruistic motive, if most of the Senate and high ranking officials are for instance, dead, and then if or when we take back the country people are going to look at who has done the most for the people in this time of crisis. If then Senator Winchester it brought up on how he maintained one of the biggest cities in Vale and helped recover the surrounding lands from the hands of the Undead then he'll get almost certainly a large amount of votes or support." Karen said and the younger girl shrugged.
"What do I know, I'm still in high school, and I don't even have my learning permit to drive." Yang grimaced.
"Ooooh yeah, we definitely need to teach you how to drive." Ruby crossed her arms.
"I know how to drive." Qrow snorted.
"If you learned from Yang then you don't know how to drive."
"Hey! That's rude." Yang said with mock hurt.
"The only thing that hurts is my head whenever I let you drive me places." Qrow said simply as he ran a hand through his hair causing most of the room's occupants to laugh.
"So what's the deal with the paper? Anything we need to know?" Sun asked looking over at Jaune and Weiss.
"Yes, well it seems that everything is in order. We'll need to inform them who we'll have to make up our Auxiliary squad; we can have up to twelve people in the squad with a minimum of six people at any time." No one said anything until Ren spoke up.
"So who wants to go?" He asked looking around.
"Well I'm already on the list so only five of you have to join." Jaune said as Pyrrha frowned.
"You don't have to go if you don't want too." Jaune smiled and held up one of the papers.
"I'm afraid I have no choice, however with that being said it does stipulate that we don't have to have the same people at all times so we can switch it out when necessary."
"What else does it say?" Mina asked and Weiss handed Jaune another paper.
"Let's see, well aside from squad composition there's a section detailing that as long as we are Auxiliaries anything we find must be turned for inventory, things like food, fuel, medical supplies, ammunition, and vehicles. Though it does stipulate that the needs of the individual can be met prior to inventory however hoarding any supplies can be punishable by seizure of corresponding supplies, imprisonment or exiled from the city."
"Exile?!" Yang said as she sat up.
"That seems a little harsh." Pyrrha added to which the others nodded, Jaune sighed.
"I suppose it is but's the rule besides there's more stuff in here about the requisition for weekly supplies. They're willing to give free lodging, food, weapons and medical supplies. There's also a section that details vehicles in which we can get a military Humvee if we build up credit with them." Weiss chimed in.
"A Humvee?" Ren asked.
"So just the Humvee or do we get a heavy machine gun as well? Also if we get that does that mean we get our own maintenance supplies with it or do we have to go to their motor pool and have them fix it?" Karen asked Weiss looked down at the papers again before responding.
"We will indeed get a, Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, along with five thousand rounds and a weapon maintenance kit for it. Additional supplies or ammunition has to be ordered by us while we get an additional five hundred rounds a week for free." Karen snorted.
"Wow a whole five hundred rounds? We'll burn through that in less than five minutes." Jaune tossed the paper he was holding onto the table and rubbed his eyes.
"Alright that's enough we can sort this out later." Jaune said as he stood up and walked over to the sink. Turning on the facet he was glad to see that water came out immediately before he splashed his face.
"Jaune's right we can solve this after dinner." Pyrrha chimed in.
"Dinner?" Jaune lifted his head to look back at the others.
"Yea, we voted for you to make dinner tonight." Sun proclaimed.
"Voted? Who got the second most votes?"
"I did." Ren called out and Jaune crossed his arms.
"Nora?" He asked and Ren nodded.
"Hey breakfast for dinner sounds like a great idea to me." Nora complained.
"Yea but the kitchen doesn't have any pancake ingredients." Helena pointed out much to Nora's dismay.
"Then what was the point of you guys going to a market if you weren't going to get pancake mix!?" Jaune shrugged as he stood up. He walked over to the small kitchen area and began to go through it. Most of the items that he could see were in disarray from whoever lived here before.
Over the next twenty minutes Jaune pulled everything that an actual food item. Soon he had a pile of three bags of white rice each weighing ten or more pounds. Aside from that Jaune also was able to find two packets of chicken thighs, mushrooms, broccoli, eggs, milk, and spinach.
"So what's the plan?" Pyrrha asked as she moved to stand next to him. Even though neither of them had taken shower in the last few days Jaune couldn't help but catch the smell of cinnamon in her scent. He gulped slightly before clearing his throat to buy himself time to think.
"I'm thinking maybe chicken stir fry." Pyrrha nodded in approval.
"I think it's safe to say that we're all ready for some actual food." Jaune chuckled.
"Definitely can't blame you on that, the packaged food is great in keeping us alive but it does lack in the taste department." Pyrrha smiled as well before nodding towards the many open kitchen cabinets.
"Got everything you need for it?"
"Oh yea, I've got the chicken, rice, mushrooms and broccoli. Though I'll need to double check to see if we've got some soy sauce and ginger but other than that I think I'm set." Pyrrha gestured towards the cabinets.
"Need a hand?" She asked and Jaune smiled.
"I would love it."
Later That Night…
Neo slowly drew up the blinds of the bedroom she was staying in. Down the street the lights of the motel were on as the noncombatants of Roman's group bunkered down for the night.
For her though the night brought more work to deal with. The marauders from earlier were slowly moving towards the motel. Her M110 rifle was propped against the wall next to her; she reached over and grabbed it.
Kneeling down she opened the window slowly then set the rifle's bipod down on the window sill. Looking through the scope she could see that most of the buildings were dark as no one was in them anymore, the previous occupants leaving them abandoned.
The only lights that worked still were the street lights and sensor based ones on the buildings. She spotted two dozen figures moving low and slowly on the sidewalks towards the motel.
Just as she suspected all of them were armed and armored. They also looked very aware that there could be an ambush waiting as many of them were aiming their weapons towards the buildings surrounding them.
"Ma'am we're in position and have eyes on the targets. I count twenty four bandits advancing with another dozen guarding a group of motor vehicles to the east about three miles out from our position. We're ready to engage on your signal." One of the other soldiers whispered over the radio, Neo felt a smile grow on her face as she was about to prove the marauders right in their caution.
Zeroing in on the lead figure she tracked them as they moved for a few feet before firing. Even with a sound suppressor on the rifle, the shot sounded incredibly loud.
The lead figure however tumbled to the ground as she switched to the next person who stood still in surprise. Firing again she watched as the person was snatched off their feet before gunfire exploded from the buildings.
Bright muzzle flash lingered in Neo's vision as the soldiers of Roman's group rinsed the approaching marauder group with small arms fire.
A testament to their willingness to fight the remaining seven that were still alive began to return fire. A few shots even struck near Neo, glass shattered above her as the window was struck by bullets. Neo covered her head with one arm as the glass rained down on her.
However the superior position of Roman's people was able to cut down the marauders. All seemed quiet save for the sporadic crackle of gunfire in the distance as another team tracked down the vehicles. Neo could also hear radio chatter between the members of the team that accompanied her, one of them seemed to be hit but everything seemed fine.
So she ignored it as she looked out the window again. For some reason she couldn't help but feel something was off about this, she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Contact! Enemies to the south! Counting several squads of enemy combatants heavily armed." A new voice came over the radio.
"It was a diversion, they're inside the perimeter!" Another voice called out before gunfire crackled across the street, barely muffled by the walls.
Neo however had a different problem as she could hear movement outside the room she was in. Slinging her rifle around her torso, she pulled her sidearm out just as the door to the room exploded inward.
She dove behind the bed as gunfire ripped into the room from the doorway. Wood and glass fragments rained down on her as the bullets ripped up the room, a few rounds passed so close that she swore she could feel the shift in air pressure as they barely missed her.
A few more seconds of gunfire pass by before everything went silent or sort of silent as her ears were ringing loudly while more gunfire echoed outside. She held her breath as she held her pistol up, there was a crunch of glass and she sprang up.
In front of her were two figures, not wasting any time she put two quick rounds into each of them. The first falling down without a sound, the second yelled in pain while writhing on the floor in pain. Neo jumped up and moved towards the door with her handgun aimed incase another person appeared.
She quickly put another round in the head of the man that was writhing in pain. Then peeked out the door but she couldn't see anyone else in the dimly lighted hallway.
Neo patted herself down quickly to make sure she didn't have any injuries then proceeded down the hallway towards the main stairs. As she reached the ground floor Neo looked around quickly, four pillars led up towards the front door while to the left was the receptionist desk. On the right there was a bar, with a few tables and chairs in front of it.
What caught her attention however were the two bandits standing in the middle, raising her pistol she fired several more times at the nearest one as they turned towards her.
The second bandit fired from the hip as the first one fell to the ground dead, Neo vaulted over the railing of the stairs as the bullets ripped into the staircase and wall by her. Quickly changing her handgun's magazine and in a low crouch she ran towards the receptionist desk.
More gunfire cracked towards her, a few rounds broke through the wood sending wood fragments into her face. Standing up she fired twice, missing both times as the bandit took cover behind a wooden pillar.
Neo moved back towards the stairs as the bandit fired blindly behind the pillar. Bullet ripping into the wall as they passed through the desk she had been using for cover.
There was a click and Neo made her move vaulting the railing of the stairs once more she moved to the pillar towards the right. Turning it she could see the bandit slamming in a new magazine into his weapon but before he could fire it, Neo put two rounds into his torso.
A gruff voice cried out in pain and she slowly moved forward with her handgun still raised up in case another person showed up.
"P-Please don't." The bandit said as she got close to him, she looked him over. He wore a red sweatshirt with black motorcycle armor however she could see that he had two bleeding holes in his torso, one in his shoulder while the other was in his stomach.
Motorcycle gear was most effective for its intended use though it also wasn't so bad against human's wielding knives and blunt objects but it would never be able to stop a bullet.
"Mercy!" He cried out but Neo ignored him as she shot him in the skull then patted him down for anything useful. Other than a bloody picture of a young girl, a few magazines for an MP5 and a butterfly knife he had nothing.
Sighing she tossed the items aside before heading out the front doors, the pop and crackle of small arms fire could be hard going off vigorously in the distance.
She unslung her rifle and moved towards the street. It was littered with bodies and even a few discarded sport bikes. Down the street Neo could see a few cars alight with fires while a small apartment building was also starting to go up in flames.
"Over here!" A voice called out and Neo turned to see six soldiers waiting up the street by an intersection. They had set out with eleven people including her but it seems the surprise reversal on their ambush has taken a toll.
"Lorn's team has yet to return and Roman's directing the southern defense line with the civvies and Jacobson, Cromley, and Bernard's squads along with most of the civvies. Ashkelon's has her squad covering the west and northern flank. A few of the marauders on sports bikes tried to fire bomb the motel but Ashkelon had the other Humvee sacred them off after taking two of them out." A squat man reported as Neo got close.
"Roman also wants us to stay here to cover the main street but he also had a message for you, and I quoting him here, come at your earliest fucking convenience." The man said before coughing into his fist awkwardly, Neo however just snorted as she turned in the direction of the fighting.
It was a short trip; she only had to get to the other side of the row of buildings she had been holed up. Hopping the back fence of said buildings, Neo could see the flashes of muzzles that accompanied small arms fire.
The fighting was mainly taking place on and around the highway's overpass. Roman had the civvies and a few soldiers remain on the motel side of it laying down a general suppressive fire. Most of the soldiers with him were advancing slowly behind one of the Humvee's on the overpass heading away from Neo.
Opposing them seemed to be a relatively large group, all of whom must have been well armed as she the Humvee's fifty wasn't able to put them into rout instantly. Looking through her rifle's scope she could see the dark figures of bandits lining the other side of the overpass and road.
Roman was taking a gamble in pushing with a lot of soldiers if they get killed or cut off then the civvies would probably break and run. If that happened Neo doubt she'd be able to rein them in as her people skills were lacking to say at least.
With them gone there would only be a few soldiers left to try and rescue them, which would end badly for all of them.
"Incoming!" Someone shouted nearby and Neo looked to see a bright light streaking overhead. Within seconds there a loud explosion pierced her ears and a wave of pressure sent Neo stumbling forward into a low brick wall. Turning around she was surprised to see one of the building alight with fire and a large chunk of wall missing.
"Holy shit was that an RPG?" Someone called out from nearby.
"Can one you PLEASE kill that man?" Roman's voice came over the radio. Neo climbed over the bricks and headed towards the Highway. She looked at the overpass again and could see that the Humvee was close to the other side as more small arms fire was directed towards them by the marauders.
Looking through the scope of her rifle, Neo calmly started to find targets to fire at. Someone nearby set alight a road flare and threw it to the other side, more followed and soon the pale red glow of road flares betrayed the enemy's positions.
Neo could see dozens of figures more clearly, a few began to cover the flares with dirt or throw them away. She began to fire at them; the civilians began to focus their fire more clearly now as well since they were able to see the bandits.
Within moments the renewed fire in front and above the bandits finally broke them as more than a dozen were riddled by rifle fire while the M2 cut through bodies with ease.
She could see most of them fleeing further into the fields away from the highway while a few hopped onto parked sports bikes and tried to speed down the empty highway. Most of those didn't get away as gunfire ripped them apart.
A cheer went up from the civilians that surrounded Neo but she could see that the few soldiers amongst them were still taking the situation very serious. Across the highway the soldiers with the Humvee jumped down to the side of the road to check for anyone still alive.
Standing up straight Neo turned to look back at the building. If people were getting their hands on heavier ordnance then life was about to get a lot harder.
Neo yawned as she turned back towards the motel and walked towards it. In the end it didn't matter for her as long as she had a target to kill she was happy.
The Next Day…
Jaune was sitting at the kitchen table going over the Auxiliary documents again; he'd already turned in the contract for their group. They had all agreed that he should list himself, Qrow, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Karen, Mina, Yang, and Sun as active or rotating members of their Auxiliary squad.
With the reasoning being that Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Helena were noncombatant add-ons or supporting members of their squad. This should keep the four from having to go out on missions with them, while still being considered a part of the squad in the eyes of the Government.
Though when he had thought he had finished with the paper work, the attendant had simply given him another stack of papers. Thankfully most of them were superfluous it seemed, going into more detail about what would be counted in the point system, weapons, food, medical, living quarters.
Along with procedures in adding additional squads which Jaune found interesting as there was also information on the building that they had been housed in.
Apparently they were the only ones to be placed in it but there would most likely be additional occupants of other Auxiliary squads. Which if he understood right then if they all joined together to form a platoon then they may get boosted in the list of priorities for the Auxiliaries.
Which was interesting but what it really made him think about was the fact there could be a number of other supplies in the building they could take. Which might be a little messed up as it would deprive other squads; he didn't know how well they would react to each other.
So having leverage or a gift would definitely smooth things over with his squad and any others that would arrive here. Jaune cupped his chin in thought as he spun a paper on the table absentmindedly,
"What's on your mind?" Helena asked as she sat down next to him.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how to break into the other apartments and go about stealing whatever I can in them." Jaune said casually and Helena laughed softly but it fell away as she realized that he was seriously thinking about that.
"Are we really the only ones here?" She asked and Jaune nodded.
"Apparently as that's what they told me when I went to go turn in the paper work." Helena grinned.
"Sweet." Jaune nodded as Mina walked over and joined them.
"What are ya'll smiling about?" She asked and Helena told her.
"So are you suggesting that we should go and take the supplies out of them?" Jaune shrugged.
"I'm not sure but I think it's an idea we should consider." Mina grimaced.
"It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure that it's a good one." Jaune tilted his head.
"Why not?" Mina sighed.
"I don't know, I guess stripping the supplies or anything useful from the other apartments then using them as leverage would just put us at odds with anyone else that would come here. Though I'm not saying that we can't go through them but I don't think we should take too much." Jaune rubbed his nose with a finger as he thought about it again then nodded.
"Yea I suppose you're right then." Jaune ran a hand through his hair, his eyes felt heavy.
"Jaune you should really get some sleep. You look exhausted." Helena said as she leaned forward to get a closer look at him.
"I'm fine, just a little tired." He tried to reason but Mina clicked her tongue.
"Yea, okay, you're getting some sleep now." She pulled the papers towards her then jerked her thumb over her shoulder towards the bedroom doors.
"If you come out of those in less than an hour I'm having Yang and Pyrrha tying you up." Jaune grimaced.
"Yea let's not get those two involved." Helena grinned.
"Speaking of which, what's up with you and Pyrrha? Have ya'll done anything yet?" Jaune immediately thought about the kiss she gave him and what he had said. He could feel the heat touching his face and the phantom sensation of her lips on his.
"Something did happen; I can see it in your eyes." Mina said as a smile grew on her face, she leaned forward.
"So I'm guessing you two had a passionate kiss or two." Jaune narrowed his eyes and looked down at the table.
"What makes you think that?" He asked but Helena snorted.
"Because when we asked you what the two of you had done you immediately touched your lip." Jaune could feel his face warming up and both of his sisters laughed.
"So?" Mina asked and Jaune tilted his head a little in confusion.
"So?" He echoed and she sighed in irritation.
"So, give us the details, how was she? I'm betting that it was messy since you're both really inexperienced." Mina said as Helena nodded along with her.
"I'm betting that you said something stupid afterwards." Jaune rubbed one eye.
"I'm just gonna go to sleep." Mina chortled as she pointed towards one of the bedroom doors.
"Take our room; we'll make sure to get things done while you're asleep." Jaune stood up and stretched his back before heading inside leaving the two women there to sit.
"You think he's pushing himself too hard, don't you?" Mina asked as she turned to face her younger sister, Helena pursed her lips in thought then nodded.
"I know what you mean, Jaune's dedicated to this but he's been running on empty. I can see it and I know he won't admit it." The two sisters sat in silence for a bit.
"Do you think he should continue in this position?" Mina asked Helena tilted her head a little.
"What do you mean?" Mina looked towards the living room then back at her.
"I'm saying that I don't think Jaune should stay the group leader for much longer." Helena frowned.
"But he's already recognized as the leader by the Government and we all trust him." Mina held up a hand.
"True he is technically the leader of us in the eyes of the Government when it comes to the Auxiliary squad but I mean outside of that."
"You're not making any sense Mina." Helena said as she crossed her arms.
"Look, don't you want to find Sepherina and Katherine?" Helena's frowned softened a little and she nodded.
"Well if we stick to what Jaune's thinks is best then we'll never find them. If we head north then find a ride to Atlas we'll have a better chance of finding them. I know the two of them would have found each other when it became clear that they can't contact us remotely."
"This is crazy, you know that right?" Helena remarked much to Mina's frustration.
"Look, I know it sounds crazy but it needs to be done sooner or later. Jaune's just not fit to stay leader forever, he's going to slip up and get someone killed."
"Why are you doing this Mina? He's our brother; we should have faith that he'll do what's right." Mina shook her head.
"I'm not saying that he won't do his best but just because he's trying doesn't mean he should stay as group leader."
"So what? Should we just make you group leader then? Is that what you want?" Helena leaned in and asked furiously.
"You're not listening to me Helena, that's not what I want, I'm just saying that Jaune shouldn't be responsible for all of this, his accountably will break him." Mina replied rubbing one eye.
"Look all I'm asking is; if Jaune ever shows signs of getting burned out from this don't coddle him tell him the truth that he needs to stop." Mina put her hand on Helena's hand which was balled into a fist on the table, Helena exhaled.
"Fine if that ever happens I'll say something." Helena finally said and Mina nodded.
"I knew you'd make the right choice." Mina said as she stood up and went looking for Qrow. Helena continued to sit there and stared at the table. Unbeknownst to the two Arc sisters, Weiss had been listening to the tail end of their conversation.
Twenty Minutes Later…
Qrow, Sun and Karen stood outside an apartment door across the hallway from where they were staying. Karen watched the staircase as lookout for anyone coming up while Sun watched Qrow checking the door knob out.
"So, you think you can open it?" Sun asked but the older man grunted in response.
"Maybe but I'll need some hair or paper clips if not that a credit card might work."
"Are you even sure it's locked?" Karen asked but Qrow snorted.
"Obviously it's locked, why wouldn't it be?" Karen walked over to stand next to Sun.
"I don't know maybe the previous tenants left it unlocked when they fled the city?"
"That's…" Qrow didn't finish as Karen stepped forward and turned the door knob. The door swung open with a small creek from the hinges.
"Well, shall we?" Karen asked as she looked at Qrow who could hear Sun trying not to laugh behind him.
"Yea, yea, yea." Qrow grunted as he walked past her. The apartment looked roughly the same as the one they were already in though the personal touches and furnishings looked much more worn out. Clothes and bags were littered on the floor along with shattered glassware.
"Man I'd hate to be whoever ends up in here." Sun remarked as he picked up a broken picture frame, loose glass falling to the floor with a crunch.
"Well try not to mess it up anymore, just look for anything good then bring it back." Qrow said as he headed towards the kitchen area. Karen and Sun split off into the rooms to check what was in them. It was long till they came out with nothing in their hands, Sun headed over to Qrow while Karen went into the bathroom.
"Anything good?" Sun asked as he walked closer to Qrow as he rummaged through the cabinets.
"Some pasta, a few cans of tomato meat sauce, Spam, and even a few eggs actually. Wow there's a lot of stuff in here actually. Why the hell is there so much left over?" Qrow wondered aloud.
"I think I have that answer." Karen called out and the two of them could she her holding up a dark stained towel.
"I think whoever lived here got robbed then was shot by whoever was robbing them. They must have left most of the stuff however when they shot the person so it would explain why there's a bunch of stuff left." Karen said as she tossed the towel back into the bathroom.
"Find anything else in there?" Sun asked and she held up a packet of toothpaste along with a bottle of ibuprofen.
"Nothing much, I see ya'll are having some luck." She noted and Sun nodded.
"Hello?" A new but familiar voice called out, Sun snapped his head towards the door. Standing there was none other than Neptune.
"Neptune?! What the fuck?" Sun asked as he walked over, the blue hair teen looked at the floor.
"Sup?" He asked before Sun socked him in the jaw, the blue hair teen fell backwards rubbing his chin.
"What the fuck was that for!?" Neptune called out but Sun grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
"For fucking going off to fuck some girl behind your girlfriend's back, you fucking moron." Sun growled as he held up another fist to strike but Karen restrained his arm.
"That's enough Sun, back off." She said tersely, Sun reluctantly let go of Neptune's shirt and backed away.
"Thanks Karen." Neptune said with a breath of relief but Karen spat to the side.
"Yea don't thank me, I just don't want to have to carry a dead body." Neptune groaned as he got to his feet.
"Look I fucked up I know that, is Weiss inside? I want to talk to her." Sun snorted.
"I don't know but I know Yang's in there and she's itching to see you again."
"Is she in there or not Sun?" Neptune asked again.
"Yes but you can't see her." Another voice spoke up from behind; they looked over to see Blake and Pyrrha standing at the door of their apartment.
"Why not?" Neptune asked but Blake crossed her arms.
"That's because she doesn't want to see you, not really surprising if you ask me."
"Come on Blake, can't I at least apologize for what I did?"
"What's the point? She doesn't want to see you and neither do I for that matter, hell I don't think there's anyone here save for maybe Sun that wants you in the group anymore." Neptune looked at Sun and Karen.
"So what? You guys are kicking me out? Pyrrha come on, talk some sense into them." Neptune asked turning towards the redhead.
"It was a majority vote. I'm sorry." She said not meeting his eyes.
"Did anyone vote against me getting kicked out besides you Pyrrha?" Neptune asked.
"Actually, Pyrrha didn't vote in your favor either." Blake said as a sneer grew on her face.
"Then who voted for me?" Neptune asked looking at Pyrrha again.
"Ren and Jaune." She said but Neptune didn't respond at first.
"Jaune?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yes." Neptune didn't say anything again as he looked at the floor, Pyrrha could see that he was clenching his fists.
"Fine." He said softly.
"Fine?" Sun echoed and Neptune turned to look at him dispassionately.
"I'll leave."
"Neptune wait, Jaune suggested that if you do leave that you can at least take some stuff for yourself. We don't want to leave you with nothing." Pyrrha called out but Neptune didn't respond as he headed down the stairs ignoring her.
"Well, good riddance." Karen said as she headed back inside the other apartment leaving Sun, Blake and Pyrrha in the hallway.
"I don't think he's coming back." Sun was the first to speak up.
"I've known Neptune for a long time but I can tell when he's serious about something and what I saw was pure contempt."
"I still don't understand how this all happened." Pyrrha mused aloud.
"It's because of Jaune." Blake said quietly.
"What about Jaune? What does he have to do with anything?" Pyrrha asked looking at the raven hair girl.
"You already know about the history between Jaune and Weiss right?" Blake asked looking at her, Pyrrha nodded.
"I heard that Jaune tried to ask Weiss out a lot but she always rejected him."
"Which is all true but as of late Jaune and her reconciled their differences. Along with that Jaune has changed physically over the last year from the lanky awkward guy he was before. I say the only one with a better looking body is Sun but that's just personal taste." Blake said gesturing to a grinning Sun who gave two thumbs up and started to flex.
"I swear if you say anything about bringing your guns out I'm throwing you down the stairs." Blake said making Sun pause in his flexing then he stood up straight and rubbed his nose with one finger.
"You know you like it."
"I'll show you how much you like it now go back inside and help Karen." Blake said waving him away, Sun chuckled as he left the two girls in the hallway.
"See? You should try that with Jaune, I reckon it would be awesome to see his reaction." Blake said as she turned to face Pyrrha, her cheeks turning pink at the thought but she shook her head.
"What do you think Neptune's gonna do now? Will he come back later?" She asked but Blake shrugged.
"I'm not sure; Sun's the only person that knows him best even more so than Weiss despite the two of them dating. So when he says that he's not coming back I would take that seriously then." Pyrrha hummed a little.
"So when do you think you'll head out on a mission?" Blake asked but Pyrrha shrugged.
"I have no idea; I suppose the Government has enough on their plate in securing the city before having any of us do anything for them." Blake nodded.
"Fair enough but I can't help but feel a little apprehensive about you guys heading out." Pyrrha frowned and tilted her head a little.
"Well since we won't have to go with you that would be the first time the group's been split up like this. Even when Sun, Jaune, and Yang left to scout out Palmwood it was a onetime thing but now it'll be frequent which just maximize the amount of danger you'll face out there." Pyrrha put a hand on Blake's shoulder.
"Don't worry Blake we're all capable of taking care ourselves plus we're not supposed to spearhead any movement, we're more like a cleanup crew."
"That's true I suppose but I can't help but feel a little worried." Blake said as she toyed with a lock of her hair, Pyrrha nodded as well.
"I understand, I'm kind of scared as well but I trust everyone here to have my back as much as I would have theirs." Pyrrha said smiling at Blake who nodded.
"What are y'all talking about?" Nora's voice chimed in and they turned to see the orange hair girl.
"Oh we're just talking about what it'll be like on the Auxiliary missions." Pyrrha said as Nora stood next to her.
"I can't wait to get out there." Nora said.
"Why?" Blake asked leaning forward to look at her.
"I don't know I sort of hate being cooped up in here, like I find it hard to sleep or just relax." Nora said rubbing her chin.
"Really? I remember I slept like a baby our first night here." Blake remarked.
"Don't babies wake up crying at night a lot?" Pyrrha pointed out, Blake gave her a deadpanned stare while Nora snickered.
"That's not the point, anyways, what's up with you Nora? Why are you so anxious?" Blake asked turning back towards Nora who just shrugged.
"I don't know I just am." Pyrrha put on hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Don't worry I'm sure you'll get used to it someday."
Elsewhere…
The mauled face of a woman loomed into view briefly before shattering into a cloud of blood and bone fragments. The body slumped to the floor as he passed over it holding his Bootleg Model 1887 in one hand as he pushed forward into the dark hallway of the house.
The floor boards above him creaked and he could hear the rapid thuds of something running, sweat beaded his neck as he stood his ground and held the shotgun in both hands. He was glad that he taped a small flashlight to the side of the weapon otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see in the dark house.
In the small circle of illumination the figure of a man appeared barreling at him in a full sprint. The guttural moans that echoed down the hallways sent shivers of fear down his back but he pulled the trigger.
The flash and boom of the shotgun lingered in his senses but panning the flashlight down he could see the zombie writhing on the floor. Working the lever he fired another shell into it before pressing forward.
The air was stuffy from the fired ammunition and stench of blood. Turning the corner he could see the faint light that seeped out from under what he assumed was the back door.
Spotting the vague silhouette of a vase nearby, he picked it up with his left hand and went towards the back door. Pushing aside the blinds that covered it, he could see that the backyard was completely empty. Tucking the shotgun under his left arm he opened the door then faced inwards again.
Gripping his weapon with his right hand he threw the vase he was holding down onto the floor, it shattered loudly. If anything else was still in the house he would at least have an exit to his back if it became too difficult to manage.
Luckily for him nothing responded in or outside of the house. Though he wasn't really surprised, it was a fairly spread out town he found himself in that was nearly a full day's ride from Laredas which was the last large city before he reached the Glenn Mountain Range. It should have meant that it was easy to avoid some of the undead but it seemed that as luck would have it he would still encounter a few of them.
How the undead managed to get here in the first he had no idea. As he stepped into the backyard and pulled down the scarf that covered half of his face it occurred to him that it there was no reason to try and ponder that as he still didn't know how they came about in the first place.
When everything went to shit in Vale he ended up getting stuck in his workplace. It wasn't until a day later when he made some makeshift weapons that he was able to fight his way to his bike and head home.
There he had waited another day for his family in case they were still in the city. As the undead started to get more aggressive around where he lived, he knew that the time to leave was upon him.
Writing a note for his family in case they came home, he packed up everything he would need, food, water, some left over medical supplies, along with two changes of clothes and weapons. He finally left on his Honda Gold Wing and drove eastward. He wasn't sure why he wanted to go east but he reckoned that it would be better than staying still.
Three days into his journey he could already tell that things were even worse than he feared. As he came upon a town that had been put to the torch, literally as he could see the glow of fires at night as he travelled.
In the following morning when he went to investigate he found that with the absence of normal society, people had already regressed to barbaric bandits that killed each other.
In particular was the small clearing amidst a cluster of buildings where a line of people had apparently stood. Most of them must have been killed since there were more bodies than gaps between them.
Not wanting to dwell anymore amongst the dead he continued on his travels. At first he had wanted to go after whoever killed those people but it became distressingly clear that he should in fact stay clear of them.
If he headed down that road of vengeance and his own personal justice then he would probably never return from it.
Shaking his head he looked around the backyard to see a hose. Peeling off his scarf, his travel backpack, along with his black Condor Modular Chest Set that he picked up at a friend's shop, he finally was able to get down to his bare torso.
Turning on the faucet he was glad to see that water started to pour out. Not wanting to waste any time he quickly douse himself with the cold water, the refreshing feeling was better than nothing as he had gone a few days without shower in his sweaty gear.
Once he tended to his equipment, the sun overhead slowly dried and warmed him up again under its gaze. As the wind started to kick up, a certain scent traveled with it.
It was the scent of smoke.
Quickly putting his clothes and gear back on he looked towards the south. In the distance he could see a small trail of smoke rising to the sky.
Looking down he double checked his Model 1887 along with his thigh holstered Kahr CW40 that he picked up after losing his M1911 earlier. He made his way back to the front of the house and onto the street where his Gold Wing was sitting.
As he hopped then slipped his gold colored helmet on he looked down the street and fear passed down his spine. A group of figures were running towards him, switching the bike on he spun it around and headed in the opposite direction.
However there were more people in front of him. Pulling the Model 1887 from his side he held it up with one hand and fired at the closest figure.
It was a man in a torn, bloody track suit with a missing arm and a mauled face. The shotgun blast however snatched him off his feet but he didn't see what happened next as he already zoomed past him. Spinning the weapon in one hand, working the lever action, he aimed to his left and fired again at a woman who was coming into his path.
More figures started to appear and he cursed silently to himself. Tucking the shotgun away, he gripped the handlebars with both hands and leaned forward as he swerved back and forth between the oncoming mass of undead.
As he cleared the initial crowd he had to swerve right in a tight turn as he nearly crashed into a two cars that had been left abandoned on the street. Looking behind him he could see dozens of undead creatures sprinting after him.
It was a chilling sight, the flayed and mutilated bodies of people running after him. An affront to everything he knew about the world and nature.
It made him wonder what else was in store for Humanity; shaking his head he turned his attention back to the road. He needed to find one of the larger cities; there he may be able to get a better idea of what was going on.
After what seemed like forever he looked over his shoulder again, the horde of undead was nowhere to be seen but he still didn't feel safe. So he continued driving out of the town, he didn't even remember the name of it now as he put as much distance as he could between him and it.
It wasn't much longer till he finally pulled over to the side of the road. Looking around him he couldn't see anything save for grass and trees in the distance.
Stepping off the bike he checked again for any signs of movement or life then looked towards the sky again trying to find the column of smoke from before but he had lost it.
With a heavy sigh he sat down on the warm asphalt of the road. Taking his helmet off he ran a hand through his hair, he needed to find his daughters but he had no idea where they were. For all he knew they could still be in Vale.
With a groan of frustration he clenched his fist and pressed it against his forehead. He took a deep breath then released it slowly, there was no use in getting anger but he hated himself for not going to them as soon as he realized something was off.
He sighed again as he reached into his pants and pulled out his wallet. While it served no real practical purpose for him, he couldn't leave it behind as it held something important.
Opening it, he pulled out a small picture of a woman with shoulder length black hair that ended in red tips. She stood smiling at the camera with her hands behind her back wearing a white summer dress that he had bought her a few months into their relationship.
"I'll find them Summer, I promise you I will."
Later That Night
Neo sat on the low brick wall by the highway in the darkness of night watching the stars. It was peaceful that much she had to admit, the lack of city lights and noise made it feel like she was almost alone in the world.
However it was not the suffocating loneliness that one might expect from such a concept. No, this silence she felt was that of a mind and spirit cleansing experience.
To think and explore the inner feelings that a person might have feel about what they're in.
She couldn't help but snicker a little at these thoughts she was having, at how silly they sounded. Leaning back she stretched her arms over her head.
Nearby the sound of people talking could be heard and she looked over to see Roman walking with half a dozen people come into view as they headed towards the overpass.
She wasn't sure what he was talking about but whatever it was it must have been important. As each of those people was writing stuff down on paper or notepads as they walked behind him.
With a little hope she got off the wall and started to walk over to him with her hands behind her back. Looking to her left she could see the building where the rocket had struck a night ago, it felt strange that had that rocket been aimed a little lower then it could have easily killed her.
In fact she felt that it was sort of funny how easily people could get killed. There were so many things that can kill them yet the population of the planet had been in the billions. Though now it could be much less, she wasn't sure since the dead started to rise and attack the living.
She had serious doubts though that less than a billion hadn't already been killed either by the undead or other humans.
Civilization and its rules meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. As when push comes to shove for any person, they'll kill each other just as soldiers on the battlefield.
On a side note she did overhear some radio chatter that apparently Mountain Glenn was becoming a new staging area along with Beacon for the Army. Along with that even Atlas was finally throwing its weight around.
About time she figured that Atlas had finally gotten off its fat, rich, arrogant ass and done something useful for a change. As Neo got closer to Roman who was holding a lantern out over the highway, she could hear the frustration in his voice.
"I want scouts to start mapping the road ahead of us by at least a day's worth of driving. While that's going on we'll need to adjust the guard shifts as those marauders know where we are and we can't leave yet with our injured. Along with that we'll need to rig some strategic points on the main avenues of approach to the motel. Those Molotov's from the bikers did a number on the motel's front entrance; it was just by a stroke of luck that the entire fucking place didn't go up in flames. I also want a new inventory stock on how much supplies we have left." Roman said as he turned to face the assembled group but no one made a move or said again.
"GO!" He shouted and the group scattered leaving Perry and Neo standing there.
"Ah, Neo I see you decided to join us." Roman said sardonically as he turned to lean against the railings of the overpass, she just shrugged.
"Fair enough." Roman said as he looked at Perry.
"Anything you wanna tell me?" Roma asked.
"Yes sir, Ashkelon returned earlier with a report saying that she was able to track down some of the survivors of the attack. They fled to the north east, she said it seemed like they were meeting up with a much larger group."
"Did she get any numbers?" Roman asked.
"Yes sir, she said that there was at least several dozen maybe more but it was difficult to tell as they were had vehicles coming and going." Roman nodded as he rubbed his chin.
"Weapons?" Perry nodded as he opened a small notebook.
"She said that they were well equipped on firepower, I'll compile a detailed list of what she told me and have it delivered to you in a few hours." Roman nodded.
"Good job Perry, pass my compliments onto Ashkelon when you see her." Perry left leaving Roman and Neo on the overpass.
"God this is so fucking tiresome, but I suppose the show must go on." Roman said as he lighted up a cigar.
"I know what you're thinking but no we can't head to one of the cities yet. If anything we'll need to go to ground or bunker down here for a while before we make another move." Roman said as he puffed on his cigar then turned to Neo.
"Actually there's something I need you to help me with tonight." Neo folded her arms causing Roman to laugh.
"No, not that though if you want that can be happen as well." He said as he laughed but Neo didn't show any signs of amusement so he coughed awkwardly into his fist.
"Anyways, I do have something that I know you enjoy as much as a good fuck." Neo rolled her eyes as she followed him back to the motel. The building had suffered a bit of damage in the fighting.
Most of the front side was riddled with pocket marks, black scorching and all the windows were shattered. Soldiers and civilians worked under filling random sacks and pillowcases with dirt to be used as makeshift sandbags.
Once inside the main lobby Neo could see a few foldable racks set up with the wounded laying on them. People with medical training were milling around them while a few soldiers stood as guards nearby in case someone was infected.
Roman continued to lead Neo through a staff only door till they reached the kitchen. Once there she could see four soldiers standing outside two meat lockers.
She realized what he meant now.
"Malsky, how are our guests?" Roman asked and a burly man with a thick beard turned to look at them.
"They're just cooling off sir; it was pretty warm outside today." The other three chuckled at that and Neo could feel a smile growing on her face.
"Good on you for taking care of them Malsky, are they awake? I would like to have a quick, chat, with them." Roman asked and Malsky gestured for one of the others to open the closest meat locker.
Neo followed Roman and Malsky inside. She could see her breath steaming in front of her face inside as a shiver of cold air touched her bare neck.
Roman and Malsky stepped to the side for her. Neo's smile took on a whole new direction as she saw shirtless battered man chained to a chair.
"Hello, friend, having fun? I hope you find your room to be your liking but if you want to switch you can but only after you have a nice little chat with me about some stuff I want to know." Roman asked as he stepped towards the man, gripping his jaw and forcing him to look up.
"Fuck…off…" The man groaned and Roman smiled before grabbing a handful of the man's hair then hit him in the face with a fist.
"Now that wasn't very nice, I play host to your friends, even giving them some of our supplies then you come back and try to kill us. I think we're owed something, don't you?" Roman asked before hitting the man in the sternum with his fist.
"D-d-do what you…want…scum." The man wheezed out, Roman held a hand to his chest in mock pain.
"Scum? We're scum? I don't think you're listening to me, I never wanted to fight you, and I wasn't the one to come crawling at night with guns and firebombs to where you were sleeping. I think you've got your priorities mixed up." Roman said before back handing the man.
"You…betrayed…your oaths." The man said after a moment of groaning.
"Oh come on, this can't be about us deserting the Army?! If that was what it was really about you wouldn't be slaughtering other people as well, don't think I don't know about you people slaughtering that town in the north. So don't say that high horse morale bullshit to me anymore." Roman sneered as he punched in him the jaw again.
"Now tell me what I want to you or I'm going to hand you over to my friend here." Roman snarled grabbing a handful of the man's hair and forcing him to look at Neo who just smiled as she waved at him.
"Now tell me, how many people do you have, what kind of weapons and what do you plan on doing?" Roman asked again but the man said nothing, Roman sighed as he stood up straight and looked at Neo.
"Time to shine my dear." Roman said as he stepped back and did a small bow. Neo felt elation pass down her spine as she pulled a knife from her boot. The man paled as she stepped close and lightly trailed the flat side of the blade down his cheek and torso. Then she grabbed his index finger on his left hand and looked at Roman.
"Last chance." He said but the man shut his eyes, he trembled violently breathing rapidly through his nose. Roman nodded towards Neo and she slowly dug the tip of the knife under the man's finger nail. With a twist and pull the nail broke off completely from his finger, he started to shake even more and barely managed to keep his mouth closed as he yelled in pain.
"She's going to keep doing that if you don't tell me something." Roman said but the man didn't reply, Neo looked at him again and he nodded again. She began to slowly remove each nail on his left hand, this time the man screamed openly in pain.
Roman did his best to avoid watching, Malsky had already left the meat locker to stand outside again. Soon Neo stepped away, wiping the blood stained tip of her knife against her pants.
"I'm going to go have a smoke break, so I'll leave you here with my friend. If you have anything you want to say just give out a shout and we'll talk." Roman said as he clenched his cigar in his mouth, leaving Neo alone with the chained up man.
She circled him again, trailing the tip of her knife against his torso lightly enough to avoid cutting him but enough that he knew it was there.
As she stood in front of him again, she could see that he was shutting his eyes in pain no doubt. A wicked smile grew on her face as she leaned in close and reached out to grab an eyelid. The man tried to pull his head away but there was no escaping her.
Lifting the eyelid up, she could see his frantic, dilated eye watched her, the sheer terror in it making heat blossom in her stomach as she soon began to rub her legs together. Raising the knife high, she slowly pressed the tip again the eyelid she held.
The man started to panic again as she put more and more pressure till the tip of the knife broke through the eye lid. He started to screaming again as she pulled the knife down, slicing the eyelid in two.
"NOOO! I'LL TALK, FOR FUCK SAKES I'LL TALK!" He started to scream loudly and Neo pouted as Roman entered again, a wide smile on his face.
"Ah! I see my friend has convinced you, I know, I know, she's a talker this one." Roman said as he stood next to the man.
"Now friend, what have you got to tell me?" The man panted as he looked up at him.
"There are a few hundred of us but the main group is a gang called the Tribe, I don't know who the leader is but I know it's a woman. We got a lot of our weapons from raiding abandoned police stations and an abandoned military base; I think it was near Bridgeport. That's all I know, I swear." Roman hummed as he rubbed his chin in thought then nodded.
"Alright then, thank you for the information." The man laughed in relief.
"Does this mean you'll let me go?" He asked and Roman seemed to think about it then nodded.
"Yea why not, I'll release you from my custody." The man smiled but Roman looked at Neo.
"Neo, he's all yours." Neo's smile returned as the man paled visibly.
"Wait!? I told you what you wanted to know! COME BACK!" The man started to scream as Roman walked out of the meat locker leaving alone Neo with him.
His screaming would only last for an hour.
I guess Neo has been having a pretty good time as of late, nothing like some good ol' fashion torture.
And what's this? A stranger has appeared, I wonder who it could be?
As for our main group has Neptune left them for good and what might happen with Cardin?
Sorry for taking so long to get a chapter out, I was in Canada for a few weeks and I couldn't think of what to write then school started again so that's just been impeding my work.
Though I do try to keep an update progress on how the chapters are coming along on my profile in case you're ever curious.
On a side note the next Lost Son Chapter should be out in a day or two so be on the look out for that.
As always please feel free to leave your thoughts or opinions on this chapter as I always enjoy reading them and I do try to take what you tell me to heart in order to help improve my work. If you don't want to to post on the story then feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to have a conversation with you about whatever it is you have on your mind.
Till Next Time!