*~*~Chapter 10~*~*
(Three days later)
Meryl's mind was filled with the various errands she needed to do while she limped to town. Sometimes she cursed the long walk it took to get into town, but today she needed time to organize her thoughts.
When she reached the buildings, she absent-mindedly looked around her, her mind still occupied with her errands. She blinked and flinched, ripped out of her organized thoughts and placed rudely back into reality. She stopped and stood in the middle of the street.
There were no children playing ball in the alleyways, no visitors asking directions from friendly locals, and no merchants selling fresh bread or flowers out of their stores. The streets were empty and the shops were closed.
Meryl spun around in circles, searching for another human being… anywhere. She cocked an eyebrow in confusion and frustration and turned sharply on her heel. She began to march back home.
The afternoon sun beat mercilessly upon her uncovered head as she stomped through the desert. It wasn't easy to do, as each angry step sank in the loose sand, threatening to twist beneath her. Her cast was filling with sand and her foot burned with an almost unbearable intensity. It's hard to stomp with a sprained ankle, she thought irritably. She stared at her feet, limping through the sand. Each time she put a little too much pressure on her right foot, a bolt of pain shot through her leg. She gritted her teeth and slowed her pace.
She was actually glad she had left her Derringer cape at home, since all the extra weight would have caused lots of extra pain. The two Derringers in her pockets and the few spare bullets were slightly uncomfortable, but bearable, comparatively.
She looked up, searching for the house on the horizon. She squinted, and put a hand up to block the sun's glare from her eyes. Well that wasn't there before…
A dark smudge rose against the sky, changing shape and slowly growing larger as she strained to see what it was. Her uneven footfalls slowed, then stopped completely. Her eyes became wide.
"Smoke…" she whispered. "Smoke means… fire. The house… the house is on…"
She stared bleakly at the billowing black cloud that was now rising from where the house would have been.
Her hands flew to her hair and she snatched at it, yanking insanely at her raven locks. She raised her head to the sky and shrieked a string of obscenities that would have done Wolfwood proud.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IMBICILE BROOM-HEAD LET THE HOUSE BURN DOWN!! THAT MORON JUST CAN'T BE IN ONE PLACE FOR MORE THAN ONE (beep)ING WEEK BEFORE IT'S COMPLETELY RUINED!!! I SWEAR!! HOW COULD ANYONE BE SO UNLUCKY?!"
She pressed her hands to her eyes, fighting off the migraine she knew was coming. Her feet began to move again, her hands still covering her eyes. She shuffled toward the general direction of the house. She didn't need to see now; she could smell the smoke from here.
The palms of her hands dug painfully into her eyes and her head felt as if it would explode. Waves of nausea washed over her, threatening to tip her balance. How? How? Her mind asked it like a broken record. How could anyone burn down a house in two hours? I guess nothing's impossible for the Humanoid Typhoon…
A hand fell roughly on her shoulder and she seized, her arms flailing about in her surprise. She lost her balance and stumbled into someone.
"Are you okay? You were about to step on some debris. I kept trying to get your attention, but I guess you didn't hear me…"
Meryl looked up at Vash, who was trying to hold her up.
She regained her balance and spun around, her right fist flying up towards his eye. Her mouth twitched in psychotic satisfaction as the blow connected, snapping his head back and upsetting his balance.
"Hey, wait a minute! I didn't do it! It wasn't my fau-" He was interrupted as her hand delivered a stinging slap across his mouth. He wiped away the blood from his split lip and covered his left eye. He stepped back and stared at Meryl, whose hands were curled into tight fists at her sides. She was silent, choking on her fury and glaring at him with eyes that didn't seem to see him.
"Meryl…" he began again, flinching as he saw her right hand whiz up towards his face again with lightning speed.
Her outraged expression cracked as her wrist was caught in his hand, his grip firm as steel. She avoided looking at his face, fearing the rage that would undoubtedly be burning in his eyes. Oh, now I've really done it… He's going to kill me.
She slowly raised her eyes to his and tried to quell the terror that was strangling her. But the only thing she saw in his eyes was frustration and… apprehension. His left eye was swollen, and already beginning to bruise.
"Will you please…" he sounded a bit out of breath. "…Please just listen to me?"
He let go of her hand and she pulled it away from him, trying to hide the fact that it was still shaking with fear.
"W-well if it isn't your fault, whose fault is it?" she asked, trying to get her nerves under control again.
He shook his head slightly, his hand retuning to his blackening eye. "I don't know how it happened. I was just-" He turned as a beaten old truck came rattling up to them, driving over the scattered pieces of still-burning debris.
Four men with rifles jumped out of the truck and advanced on Vash and Meryl.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" Vash asked with a smile.
One man wordlessly raised his gun and shot at Vash's foot. Vash hopped out of the way, and the bullet struck the sand with a harmless pffsh.
Another man stepped forward. "Are you Vash the Stampede?" he demanded.
"No, I'm not," replied Vash, without skipping a beat.
"Liar!" screamed the man who had shot at him before, raising his rifle again, this time aiming at Vash's head.
"Knock it off, Carl!" barked the leader, swatting at his companion's gun. It went off, shooting into the sky. The leader turned back to Vash.
"Now look here, son. Carl here recognizes you. We knows yer lyin'."
"But I'm not, honestly, I-" Vash was cut off as a third man walked up to him, ramming the butt of his rifle into Vash's stomach. The man in red doubled over, coughing. Drops of liquid the same shade as his clothing spat from his gasping throat, splattering in the sand.
Meryl took a limping step forward, and the third man lunged for her, seizing her arm and wrenching it behind her back. She cried out in pain and surprise. He began pushing her toward the truck. Carl and the fourth man brutally hauled Vash to his feet and half pushed-half dragged him to the covered back of the truck, pushing him inside, then following. The fourth man pushed Meryl in with them, and then closed up the back. She heard two doors open and close, and the engine start.