City of the Dead.
Day Three - Inside The Castle
~
"Quinn?" There was a hand at his shoulder. And he was startled awake to the face of Jared. He shifted slightly, only to feel a weight on his other shoulder, turning to see little Madeline curled inside his under his reslung arm, her head on his chest, sleeping soundly.
"There's someone at the gate." Jared stood back as Quinn began to sit up, cringing before settling back down. "Tell them to go away."
"But-"
"You're in charge. Tell them that there's an army in here that doesn't like to be disturbed." Quinn said, turning back over and nuzzling his head back down to where it was comfortable, kissing the top of Madi's hair gently on his way.
There was a moment of silence, maybe he had gone.
"But Quinn." Nope.
"What Jared?" Quinn just wanted to sleep.
"There's only one person. And she's alone."
~
Inside The Castle
~
"Hello?!" Lemoni looked all around at the ruins, not seeing a soul. "Is anyone here?!"
"What do you want?" There was a voice softly from above her, it was hiding behind the hardness of its tone. Shading her eyes, she looked up towards it, seeing a bandaged man standing there, carrying a little black haired girl against his shoulder and a boy about sixteen standing next to him with a rifle.
"Uh, I was just passing through and um, my horse is dead, and I have no where to go. Please. I was wondering if I could maybe have some food? I don't know how I'd pay you." She looked down at herself, reluctantly reaching for her favorite and only gun. "I guess you can have my gun, but you probably have a whole arsenal back there, huh?" She smiled up at the people, but they only looked down at her with cold eyes, making her feel smaller than she already felt.
She felt like a fool.
"Alright, so I'll be off then." She said to herself, then back up at them with all the courtesy possible. "Thanks for your help." With a nod of her head, she turned and began to walk away.
"Wait." Came the hard voice, making her stop and turn back up to them once again. "Stay there, we'll bring food to you." She watched the boy turn to the man and break into a conversation that no doubt concerned her and her situation.
"Thank you." With that, they left from view.
Within minutes there was a sound at her right. "Come over here." Lemoni looked around the wall that sided the walk to the entrance, seeing the boy with the rifle standing behind the man addled gate. She jumped over the wall, noticing that the boy had his finger itchy on the trigger of the rifle, the barrel resting on one of the cross bars of the entrance, pointed at her. Smiling gently, she raised her hands in the air, walking slowly towards him.
The boy was handsome for his age, his brown hair shorn short with dark-rimmed pale eyes glinting even in shadow. He was tall and thin, about her height and persona, carrying an aura of dominance that seemed to ooze from his every pore.
He pushed the bowl with the spoon through one of the slots towards her, Lemoni nodding thanks.
"Much obliged." She said gently, reaching forward and taking the bowl, walking away slowly with her back turned to him. "I'll just be over here." She pointed back to where she had come from, before turning back towards the boy, who panicked and replaced the gun in the crossbars. She held her hands up again, laughing slightly. "It's alright boy, I was just gonna ask you if I should slide the bowl under the door when I'm done?"
The boy's eyes were distraught as they flicked back and forth; obviously, conversations with strangers were a problem. "Sure." He said finally, getting a rise of the spoon from Lemoni before she walked away. She would have laughed, but her stomach was too empty to allow that to happen right now.
The food had tasted good going down, but the sudden abundance of food in her seven-day long shriveling stomach was causing some problems for her. After returning the bowl to the gate, she came back and sat down, feeling the chill of the wind sweep across her skin. She buried her arms beneath her vest, folding them together to try and keep out the cold. She let her long hair fall around her as she balled up, creating sort of a tent with matted and muddy walls.
~
Day Five - Inside The Castle
~
It was late in the day, the glowing warmth of the sun having passed beneath the rolling hills, filling the air with the misty cool of night.
"You should be inside." Serena came up behind him, putting a hand gently on his shoulder so as not to startle him. "How long has she been down there?"
Quinn looked at her, then turned back down to where the girl was curled, as she was cutting the skin from her half horse which was now rotting so much they could smell the stench from way up here.
"Two days." Quinn watched as the girl curled her body up tight for warmth, but continued cutting. She had pulled off the horse's skin from his head and broken a piece of its jawbone, striking it with a large rock until she had fashioned it into a knife, then biding her time to carve things into it. After words, she had cut away some strips of hide from her horse's thigh and tied them together with its tail hairs to make a usable thigh sling for her new knife, which she strapped around her inner left thigh. And Quinn had watched her do it all, because for the past two days he had been up here, watching her.
"How long will it be until you let her in?" Quinn turned an eye to her, his gaze questioning. "Well look at her." Serena threw a hand down in the girl's direction, defending both herself and the girl. "She's not exactly dangerous."
"That's what I thought about Van Zan." His death was too fresh in his mind to say it without whispering.
"That man had billions of dollars worth of American armory riding' between his legs when he rode up here. She's got nothing." Quinn looked back down to her, seeing that she had stopped cutting and was now bundled up tight against herself, trying to lock out the prying fingers of the nightly chill. "She'll die down there in this weather and without food, Quinn. She'll die anyway."
He turned to watch Serena walk away, evaluating her thoughts.
*
Lemoni lifted her head to the sound of shuffling feet in the dirt, somewhere in the darkness, someone was coming. Smoothly, she reached for her gun, loading a bullet into the barrel with her thumb and keeping it concealed against her side.
The footsteps stopped, but no one could be seen around her. She could hear them though, their breath was somewhat labored, they were nervous.
"Who's there?" Lemoni spoke quietly, beginning to rise from the ground, keeping a flat hand against the wall as she stood, her palms recently wrapped in horse hide in a vain effort to keep them warm.
"Quinn told me to-" began the voice, but thought the better of it. "He said you can come inside."
"Really?" Lemoni smiled into the darkness, uncocking the gun and putting it carefully back into the crotch pocket.
"Yeah. Come with me." Then there was the sound of footsteps leaving. Quickly, Lemoni gathered up what little she had and ran to catch up.
Day Three - Inside The Castle
~
"Quinn?" There was a hand at his shoulder. And he was startled awake to the face of Jared. He shifted slightly, only to feel a weight on his other shoulder, turning to see little Madeline curled inside his under his reslung arm, her head on his chest, sleeping soundly.
"There's someone at the gate." Jared stood back as Quinn began to sit up, cringing before settling back down. "Tell them to go away."
"But-"
"You're in charge. Tell them that there's an army in here that doesn't like to be disturbed." Quinn said, turning back over and nuzzling his head back down to where it was comfortable, kissing the top of Madi's hair gently on his way.
There was a moment of silence, maybe he had gone.
"But Quinn." Nope.
"What Jared?" Quinn just wanted to sleep.
"There's only one person. And she's alone."
~
Inside The Castle
~
"Hello?!" Lemoni looked all around at the ruins, not seeing a soul. "Is anyone here?!"
"What do you want?" There was a voice softly from above her, it was hiding behind the hardness of its tone. Shading her eyes, she looked up towards it, seeing a bandaged man standing there, carrying a little black haired girl against his shoulder and a boy about sixteen standing next to him with a rifle.
"Uh, I was just passing through and um, my horse is dead, and I have no where to go. Please. I was wondering if I could maybe have some food? I don't know how I'd pay you." She looked down at herself, reluctantly reaching for her favorite and only gun. "I guess you can have my gun, but you probably have a whole arsenal back there, huh?" She smiled up at the people, but they only looked down at her with cold eyes, making her feel smaller than she already felt.
She felt like a fool.
"Alright, so I'll be off then." She said to herself, then back up at them with all the courtesy possible. "Thanks for your help." With a nod of her head, she turned and began to walk away.
"Wait." Came the hard voice, making her stop and turn back up to them once again. "Stay there, we'll bring food to you." She watched the boy turn to the man and break into a conversation that no doubt concerned her and her situation.
"Thank you." With that, they left from view.
Within minutes there was a sound at her right. "Come over here." Lemoni looked around the wall that sided the walk to the entrance, seeing the boy with the rifle standing behind the man addled gate. She jumped over the wall, noticing that the boy had his finger itchy on the trigger of the rifle, the barrel resting on one of the cross bars of the entrance, pointed at her. Smiling gently, she raised her hands in the air, walking slowly towards him.
The boy was handsome for his age, his brown hair shorn short with dark-rimmed pale eyes glinting even in shadow. He was tall and thin, about her height and persona, carrying an aura of dominance that seemed to ooze from his every pore.
He pushed the bowl with the spoon through one of the slots towards her, Lemoni nodding thanks.
"Much obliged." She said gently, reaching forward and taking the bowl, walking away slowly with her back turned to him. "I'll just be over here." She pointed back to where she had come from, before turning back towards the boy, who panicked and replaced the gun in the crossbars. She held her hands up again, laughing slightly. "It's alright boy, I was just gonna ask you if I should slide the bowl under the door when I'm done?"
The boy's eyes were distraught as they flicked back and forth; obviously, conversations with strangers were a problem. "Sure." He said finally, getting a rise of the spoon from Lemoni before she walked away. She would have laughed, but her stomach was too empty to allow that to happen right now.
The food had tasted good going down, but the sudden abundance of food in her seven-day long shriveling stomach was causing some problems for her. After returning the bowl to the gate, she came back and sat down, feeling the chill of the wind sweep across her skin. She buried her arms beneath her vest, folding them together to try and keep out the cold. She let her long hair fall around her as she balled up, creating sort of a tent with matted and muddy walls.
~
Day Five - Inside The Castle
~
It was late in the day, the glowing warmth of the sun having passed beneath the rolling hills, filling the air with the misty cool of night.
"You should be inside." Serena came up behind him, putting a hand gently on his shoulder so as not to startle him. "How long has she been down there?"
Quinn looked at her, then turned back down to where the girl was curled, as she was cutting the skin from her half horse which was now rotting so much they could smell the stench from way up here.
"Two days." Quinn watched as the girl curled her body up tight for warmth, but continued cutting. She had pulled off the horse's skin from his head and broken a piece of its jawbone, striking it with a large rock until she had fashioned it into a knife, then biding her time to carve things into it. After words, she had cut away some strips of hide from her horse's thigh and tied them together with its tail hairs to make a usable thigh sling for her new knife, which she strapped around her inner left thigh. And Quinn had watched her do it all, because for the past two days he had been up here, watching her.
"How long will it be until you let her in?" Quinn turned an eye to her, his gaze questioning. "Well look at her." Serena threw a hand down in the girl's direction, defending both herself and the girl. "She's not exactly dangerous."
"That's what I thought about Van Zan." His death was too fresh in his mind to say it without whispering.
"That man had billions of dollars worth of American armory riding' between his legs when he rode up here. She's got nothing." Quinn looked back down to her, seeing that she had stopped cutting and was now bundled up tight against herself, trying to lock out the prying fingers of the nightly chill. "She'll die down there in this weather and without food, Quinn. She'll die anyway."
He turned to watch Serena walk away, evaluating her thoughts.
*
Lemoni lifted her head to the sound of shuffling feet in the dirt, somewhere in the darkness, someone was coming. Smoothly, she reached for her gun, loading a bullet into the barrel with her thumb and keeping it concealed against her side.
The footsteps stopped, but no one could be seen around her. She could hear them though, their breath was somewhat labored, they were nervous.
"Who's there?" Lemoni spoke quietly, beginning to rise from the ground, keeping a flat hand against the wall as she stood, her palms recently wrapped in horse hide in a vain effort to keep them warm.
"Quinn told me to-" began the voice, but thought the better of it. "He said you can come inside."
"Really?" Lemoni smiled into the darkness, uncocking the gun and putting it carefully back into the crotch pocket.
"Yeah. Come with me." Then there was the sound of footsteps leaving. Quickly, Lemoni gathered up what little she had and ran to catch up.