Chapter 10: All the Scars Are On the Inside
Somewhere in Oklahoma- several days later
"Couldn't we have, like, stocked up on blood back in Gastown?" Shaggy asked as he, Scooby, Sibella, and Daphne approached a nearby farmhouse.
"It wouldn't have been worth it- all those petrochemical byproducts spoil the taste." came the reply.
"Okay…I think that might be a little too much information." Daphne said.
"Sorry about that- just a slip of the tongue."
"Come to think of it, do you really even need to drink blood? I mean, you went through a can of those peaches we got in Ballardsville in less than 30 seconds!"
"Let's just say that 'normal' food and drink falls under the category of 'tastes great, less filling' for us vampires."
Daphne blinked.
"Huh. And here I thought you were just a regular mutant."
She then turned to Shaggy and Scooby.
"So, how long were you two planning on keeping the whole 'our old friend is a vampire' thing a secret?"
"Like, you never asked."
Daphne muttered a string of curses under her breath as the quartet continued onward, now noticing that the farmhouse had seen better days even by the standards of the post-war world. The front garden looked as though it'd been trampled through, the cow shed, chicken coops, and pig and goat pens looked as though they'd been smashed, and the cornfield had been stripped utterly bare. A further scan of the area revealed that the nearby peach and apple orchards been similarly plundered.
"Looks like the local raiders've beaten us here." she said.
Just then, Scooby pointed towards a pair of steel doors embedded in an embankment along the side of the house.
"Like, what's your nose picked up in there?"
"Rells rike roast rat!"
Shaggy and Daphne turned to each other.
"I'll take point." the latter said.
"Are you s-" Sibella began.
"Considering I have the plasma gun and all you have is a 10mm, yes."
"Yeah, but I have a shotgun." Shaggy piped up.
"…point conceded." Daphne replied.
The quartet proceeded to approach the doors, Daphne taking advantage of the walk to toggle the fire selector on her weapon from "safe" to "burst fire". A few minutes later, the four were gathered around the embankment, ready to enter into what lay behind.
"Sibella, you have the honors." Daphne said.
The vampiress nodded before proceeding to fling open the doors in a burst of superhuman strength, whereupon Shaggy rushed down the staircase while Daphne followed close behind. As the adrenaline raced through her veins, the latter raised her weapon and pulled the trigger, sending three staccato blasts of high-energy ionized gas soaring through the air, prompting a terrified "Eeep!" from somewhere in the darkness.
What the hell? Daphne thought.
As the sound reached Shaggy's ears, he came to a sudden stop and turned on his weapon's underbarrel flashlight- and then his jaw dropped at what he saw.
Pinned against the wall by his light like a butterfly on a mounting pin was a tiny, terrified figure- a little girl, no older than ten, wearing the tattered remains of a homespun shirt and pants. Filthy and staring, she cowered away from the intruders. In one hand, she held a half-gnawed food packet, the words "POTATOES-FREEZE DRIED" still visible. In the other, she clutched a well-loved rag doll.
From where she was standing, Daphne cringed as she saw the waif. At even at a distance, she could plainly see that the latter's body was emaciated and dirty, the skin taut around her face, which in turn was framed by a tangled and matted mop of greasy black hair.
"It's all right," she said soothingly. "It's all right. There's nothing to be afraid of here." She then extended an open hand towards the child.
The girl retreated from the extending fingers, backing away and visibly trembling, her expression reminiscent of a deer in the headlights. A split second later, she rabbited off towards a far corner. From his position, Shaggy turned off the underbarrel flashlight and put the gun away, taking a moment to remove a smaller handheld model from his hip bag before pivoting in the girl's direction.
At the edges of the cone of light, in a far corner of the storm cellar, was a mass of wadded-up blankets and pillows with a skinning knife and a small pile of empty preserving jars at the edge. Nearby were the remains of a cooking fire, the remains of small scraps and strips of cloth littered among the charred remnants of twigs and slivers of firewood. Rounding out the scene was a small pile of rat bones a few yards away.
Directly in front of the duo was the girl, rocking herself back and forth with her back against the wall.
"There's no way we're leaving her here." Daphne whispered.
"Like, my thoughts exactly." Shaggy replied.
There was a pregnant pause between the two.
"How do you want to handle this?" Shaggy whispered.
"You watch over me while I get the girl."
Shaggy nodded as Daphne walked over to the child.
"Hey, little girl." the latter said as she got closer.
"Ain't gonna dream no more, no more. Ain't gonna dream no more. All night long I sing this song. Ain't gonna dream no more." the child quietly sang.
"Can you tell me what your name is?"
The girl raised her head, a wild look of terror in her eyes.
"S-S-Stay away from me!" she exclaimed before making another break for it.
"Oh no you don't!" Daphne exclaimed before lunging on an intercept course. Within the space of a split second, she managed to get her arms around the child, locking her into a bear hug. And like all trapped animals, the girl lashed out in a frenzy with hands and feet and teeth, desperately flailing to break free of her captor's grasp. Eventually, however, the trashing and flailing came to an end as the girl's strength ran out, and she went limp in Daphne's arms and going into an almost catatonic state, allowing Daphne to rock her back and forth.
"Ante up, ladies and gents." Dusk said, anteing up a scrap of paper. "Dishes."
"Dishes. Could do with less of them." Jonah said as he anted up.
"Garbage." Thorn said as she did the same.
Dusk completed the deal, and the three studied their cards.
"I'll take two." Jonah said.
"Speaking of garbage…" Thorn said, pausing a moment. "Gimme three."
"And one for the dealer." Dusk piped up before handing out the cards.
"What do s'pose Daphne and the others are doing now?" Jonah asked before proceeding to make his bet. "Black water tank flush."
"Probably chatting it up with some determined homesteaders, eating a nice homemade dinner. I fold." Thorn said.
"Me too." Dusk added.
"Take it, cowboy."
"Thank you, ladies. That's a nice pile of things off my plate." Jonah said.
Thorn shuffled.
"Meal's probably something good- beef stew, baked potatoes, pi-" Dusk began.
Just then, there was the sound of the bus door opening, followed shortly thereafter by the door to the front lounge being thrown open.
"What the he-" Jonah began as Daphne and the rest of the scavenging party entered.
It was at that moment that he saw just what Daphne was carrying in her arms, and a stunned silence settled over the lounge.
"Get that sawbones we picked up in Scrapheap- the Oriental one."
"You mean Dana-"
"Yeah, that's the one. Now, did you find anything in that farmhouse besides another mouth to feed?"
"Going by what we saw, there's ration packs and preserves in the storm cellar."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Jonah, Dusk, and Thorn's little poker game is a reference to the Firefly episode "Shindig". As for the identity of the little girl…well, that'll be revealed next chapter.
