"I found a pinecone!" Clopin sang and ran over to a tree, picking it up. "So did I!" Quasi caught up with him and knelt down to grab another. "Hey Sadie! Heads up!"
Still with the judge's hand in hers, Sadie slipped it out as the hunchback tossed one over to her. "I got it!" Sadie reached for it and jumped to grab it. The pinecone flew over her head and landed at Frollo's feet. 'Unfortunately not close enough.' She blinked and hurried over to retrieve it. "Thanks Quasi!" She waved. "No problem!"
The judge groaned as Sadie took it. "What is it now?" The girl looked up and the boys ran back over. "Am I trespassing in your invisible forcefield?" Frollo gritted his teeth, snatching the item out of her hand. "You three are not children. End this immaturity." "Man!" She scoffed. "You really are just a boatload of fun aren't you? The icing on the cake. The.."
Esmeralda placed a hand on her shoulder. Her voice dropped.
"Oh no gypsy. Let her talk. Everyone deserves a voice." He shot Sadie a cold glare. "Oh no. My words are meaningless compared to the sacred monologues that you so humbly speak. Please. Continue." She half smiled and bowed on her right leg, motioning a flat hand to him. Sadie noticed the left side of his mouth twitch and walked off with Esmeralda down the road, giving a soft smile of her own.
"Sadie?" "Yeah?" "Why are you continuing to pester him? I know far well that Clopin and I have told you many times before to think before you act." "Yeah I know. But in this case, words do speak louder than actions." The girl shrugged and walked off to practice her aim. Esmeralda stopped in front of her and brought her aside. "Sadie. Please listen to us. You'll find yourself in serious trouble."
The girl opened her mouth. "And no. Don't say that you already have." "But I did! It's as if time is repeating itself. I'm trapped in the life that you once were. Frollo had failed to see my own nervousness at the pyre and he assumed that I was terrified of dying.." She looked away. "..which I am." She met her eyes again. "My life now lies in his grimy hands. It's not like I can convince him or anything!"
"Oh? You wish to negotiate with me I see. Then whatever you desire, please. Explain in a minimum of twenty words." Sadie groaned. "What is this? School?" "No you imbecile. It is not." He blinked. "Even if I was your teacher, I would give you the permanent grade of an F." "Of course you would." Sadie stood in front of him with a glare. She slightly shivered at what the letter grade really stood for. 'Of course that wasn't what he intended. He wouldn't know that. The most vulgar word in his vocabulary is probably..science.' "Ask me a question then." The girl folded her arms.
"Come on guys! Break it up!" Quasi placed his hands over his ears, tired of hearing them argue.
"What are the four nitrogen bases of DNA?" Sadie quickly shook her head. 'How is that relevant to anything? Well we wouldn't be alive then. Fine.' "The four bases for Deoxyribo-Nucleic Acid are Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine. And if mRNA, Messenger Ribonucleic Acid forms instead, it's Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Uracil." "How many planets are there in our solar system?" "Eight." "And how do you rate the speed of a tornado?" "By the Fujita scale. The Richter scale rates earthquakes and the Saffir-Simpson scale determines the speed of hurricanes." Sadie smirked, awaiting his next question.
Frollo slowly nodded. "It appears that I have underestimated you." "Well of course. I may be snarky but I'm not stupid." She skipped down the road to shoot a crowd of zombies.
The judge rubbed his temple with a groan. "May I ask whether or not you three have a roll of duct tape?" "Nope. Sadie's responsible for all of the supplies. I only have less than a fraction of.." Clopin answered with a smile just to escalate his frustration. Frollo shot him a glare, which caused him to stop talking. "Then again, you did ask a question and therefore you got a reply." Quasimodo added, trying to juggle all three of the pinecones.
Sadie walked back with her eyes half opened. "They're so eager. As if they are just waiting to die." She shrugged. "Moving on."
"The proper phrase is carry on." Frollo lightly sighed as the girl let out a huff and turned around, walking backwards. "I'm sorry. Would you like to lead this expedition instead?" She held out both of her arms. "As gratifying as that sounds, I can not. I am defenseless." "Well that's for damn sure isn't it? As if zombies speak English. Unless you count.." Sadie moaned like one of the creatures for a minute. "..a word."
"Guys! For the last time, stop arguing!" Clopin almost shouted. "It's getting dark out and we don't want to end up as zombie bait!" "I don't want to hear any more okay? Bicker to each other on your own time!" Esmeralda snapped.
Sadie sighed and silently nodded. 'The real question is, will he?' Frollo cleared his throat and pressed his robe. 'That's a start anyway.'
"Thank you!" Quasi spoke up, staying quiet after the gypsy king politely motioned him to. Esmeralda led everyone through the road surrounded by trees. Sadie quietly followed behind Frollo in a hope to startle him later on. 'Don't talk unless you are given permission to.'
The gypsy woman closed her eyes with a sigh as she released her annoyance. "Alright. Not another word from either one of you. Sadie, you guard Clopin and Quasimodo." The girl nodded at her command and saluted with two fingers and a straight face.
'Those spears aren't going to hold up for much longer.' Sadie thought and adjusted the grip on her rifle. 'I suppose that means Frollo is just going to keep being the silent pervert that he is. I will kill him if I have to. The only good quality that he has is a nice, deep voice.' Sadie rose her gun as three creatures emerged from the bushes alongside the road. Without thinking, she pulled the trigger and mentally shouted a 'Hell yes!'
Everyone else didn't seem to be so in static considering that she was the best fighter of the group, let alone the most fearless. 'Well it is my job.' She sighed.
The boys turned on their flashlights. "Did I ever tell you guys about the time I led these creatures to their deaths in the Cathedral by using the light from the stained glass windows?" Clopin hummed. "Wow! That's impressive. Can you hold that story for later Quasi? Once we put a mile or so behind us?" "Alright. Good idea." He smiled.
Esmeralda suddenly stopped walking once she heard a snapping sound coming from behind a group of trees. "Uh. What was that?" She backed up into Clopin's arms. A little gray bunny hopped out and passed by them.
"Aw! A bunny!" Sadie hurried after it as it made its way down the road. Frollo grabbed the back of her hoodie, nearly chocking her. She panted for a quick second then smacked his hand away. "We can't let the poor thing get eaten!" A tear appeared in her right eye as she looked at the gypsy king.
"I understand that Sadie. But how will we be able to provide for it though? There's hardly enough food to supplement us. Rabbits don't eat meat remember?" She sighed and wiped her eyes. "Okay." Frollo went to say something but chose not to. 'It appears that she enjoys the presence of animals more than people. And quite frankly I don't blame her.'
Quasimodo went to toss the pinecones into a lake of water. "Quasi." Esmeralda took his arm with a whisper. "Just set them on the side of the road." "Oh okay. Sorry. I wasn't thinking straight." He hid them in the tall grass and brushed off his hands. "That's alright." She smiled. "Why are we whispering?" Clopin blinked with a soft yawn. "So that we don't attract any unwanted attention." Esmeralda said. "Oh! Okay then." They continued down the street. Sadie began to tiptoe in order to quiet her footsteps behind the judge. She smirked as he didn't notice nor hear her and opened her mouth, speaking in her normal tone. "So."
Frollo tightened his eyes and deeply sighed with his mouth closed. "Such a nice night out dare I critique." Sadie joked with a straight face, hoping to get him to smile. 'I might not succeed but it's worth a try.' "Why I do believe that's a full moon." She looked up and took the spare ammunition from her bag as she continued walking. "I myself tend to favor when the sun sets instead of rises. The.." Frollo sighed and set a hand in front of her mouth. Sadie allowed him to do so without spitting on him. 'Ahah! I see that look in his eye explains all. Mission accomplished.'
"Please don't speak heathen. You are interrupting my thoughts." She silently nodded. 'Don't question. Sickly enough, I believe he's thinking about me.' "Thank you." He removed his hand and Sadie went back to keeping a look out for any zombies.
As five crawled towards them from twenty feet, the girl narrowed her eyes and adjusted the scope on her weapon. With only four bullets, consisting of killing two with one, they fell down.
Frollo turned his head and briefly widened his eyes. "My goodness Sadie." She lightly coughed as she accidentally inhaled a small cloud of gunpowder. "Are you alright?" The girl quickly nodded as she continued to cough. 'Very well.' He ignored his intended action of placing a hand on her back. Sadie heavily sighed. 'Why do my lungs have to be so sensitive anyway?'
"Hey guys?" Sadie lifted her head from looking at the ground. She listened to the gypsy woman's words. "I hate to be called a quitter, but I'm having second thoughts about this whole thing." 'Understandably so. I would be scarred for life too, which I still am, if I was strapped to a pole with a flaming torch in my face. Not to mention at night.'
Sadie scratched her forehead for a minute and took off her backpack. She knelt down to the ground as Clopin shined the flashlight onto each page of the map book. With a courteous smile, the girl traced her finger along a page with the same road that they were traveling on. "Hm. I don't really see anything." "Not to mention that the key legend has been faded out." Quasimodo pointed.
"Then again this book is nearly five years old based on its copyright. We might be able to find some form of shelter. It might not be glamorous but hopefully it'll be in shape." She closed the book. "Let's keep going then." "Almost half a mile it said." The gypsy king nodded. Esmeralda quietly yawned and waited for Sadie to put the book back into her bag. "Great. I'm really sorry about this guys."
"Ah don't worry about it. A little inconveni.." Frollo placed at hand at her waist and she gasped. "..ence isn't the end of the world."
"How long is half of a mile again?" The hunchback asked as he walked beside Clopin. "A half mile is eight hundred and eighty yards Quasimodo." Frollo answered with his hand still on Sadie's waist. "Now how far would a full mile be?" "Uh..I can't do it without a piece of paper." Quasi scratched the back of his head.
The girl silently cleared her throat. "Let's break this down." She smiled. "We're adding eight hundred and eighty twice. So what is eight plus eight?" Because it was growing dark, Sadie didn't have to worry about being seen and placed a hand on the judge's. Frollo sighed and slowly blinked.
"Sixteen." He smiled. "Yep. And then you carry the one to the other pair of eights." "Eight plus eight is sixteen and one more is seventeen. The answer is one thousand seven hundred and sixty yards." "Nicely done Quasi!" Sadie hummed.
"He could have figured it out on his own." Frollo muttered. "Unfortunately that principle doesn't apply to you." Sadie muttered back. She groaned as Frollo held her by the neck. "I'm sorry." The girl whispered with her eyes shut. "Clever girl." He whispered back in her right ear. "I strongly advise that you think before you speak."
The judge placed a soft kiss on her temple and let go of her throat. Sadie fluttered her eyes and turned to him. "Whatever it is, the answer is no." "I was just going to say that I apologize. That's the biggest flaw that I have sadly. My mouth getting ahead of my brain." The judge silenced her with a flat hand as he heard the snap of a tree branch. "We will discuss this later."
Esmeralda quickly grabbed Clopin's hand. "Th..Was that another rabbit?" "I..I don't know." He quietly cleared his throat. "But I'd rather not wait around to find out. Come on Quasi." He motioned with his head. "Got it." The hunchback caught up with him.
Frollo squinted his eyes as he saw a dark shade of blue near another bush and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Huh?" "Over there, near the bush." He pointed. Sadie followed his finger and fluttered her eyes. "Wow. Good eye. Thank you." She peered through the scope of her weapon then stopped. "Wait. What if the shot attracts more of them?" "Then we will simply run."
'What? He must have been reading way to many fighting sequences in the bible or something. If you're trying to fit in, you are trying way too hard.' "Run to where?" Frollo pointed to a dimmed light post with a small shed fifty feet away. Sadie shook her head in a thought that she was dreaming. "What are the odds that you have all the luck?" "One in a million my dear." He replied tiredly. "Now are you going to handle this or shall I?"
She widened her eyes. "Y..you? Shoot with my gun?" "Do not argue with me. Yes. I meant myself." She shrugged and handed it to him. "It's low on ammunition." He cleared his throat and shot a single bullet. The girl's mouth dropped as it pierced through the zombie's head, not even feeling the gun being placed back in her hand. "I am without credit." He passed by her. Sadie felt the back of his robe brush against her arm. "Holy shit!" She whispered and caught up with him.
Quasimodo jumped. "Jeez Sadie! Warn me next time before you do that!" "Sorry." She blinked. "I think I found shelter." "You d..did?" Esmeralda shivered in Clopin's arms. "Yes. It's nothing luxurious but it should hold up for tonight." She ran off and the rest of them followed. The judge casually walked behind.
"A shed?" The woman blinked. Sadie rolled her eyes. 'The more you complain, the more likely I am going to abandon you guys.' She sighed. 'I wish it was just me and Claude.' "Yeah. But hey, we have a place to sleep." "You're right." She nodded. 'Of course I'm right!'
The girl slowly undid the latch and cautiously opened the door. Clopin shined his flashlight around the inside of it. The only remains of it were five piles of hay, two shelves with only a single pail of opened yellow paint, and a broken rake. "Well there isn't anyone else here. Good. It's settled then. Night guys."
"Hey!" Quasimodo smiled and turned on a lantern on another shelf to its dimmest light. "Cool."
Frollo untied his robe and neatly folded it. He removed his hat with a discouraged look. 'I've had it with that gypsy girl disrupting my thoughts. I have absolutely no desire for her now. Just for the one who claims herself to be human.' Sadie sat on the cement floor and removed her backpack. Her hoodie was removed and was bundled up to be used as a pillow. The judge looked around as he refused to use his attire as such. Sadie nudged her hoodie to him.
He blinked as the hunchback and gypsies shut their eyes. Frollo reluctantly lay his head on it and Sadie lay on his left arm. "Are you cold?" The judge whispered, hoping to not create a scene. "I'm not. Thanks." He placed a hand on Sadie's waist. "Cold hearted though? Yes." She closed her eyes with a light smile. "Shh..I don't want to hear anymore tonight." Sadie nodded as he held her tighter. 'All in a day's work.' "Can you loosen your grip a bit please? My side still hurts a little." "Then perhaps I should monitor your recovery." He smirked and lifted his hand off of her. She turned her head with a scowl. "Not a chance. You caused the harm so what makes you think that I'll trust you with healing?"
He sighed, causing her to open her eyes. "Your eyes are beautiful Sandra." "Stop!" She hissed then smiled. "You enjoy my commentary. Don't lie." 'Th..that's true. But I can't admit it.' "Why would I? Your words are just used as a bribe for you to see myself shirtless." Frollo lifted his head. "Sadie! You know far well that that isn't true! I will never ask that unless you are comfortable with such a thing." She wiped her eyes and shakily sighed. "I'm sorry. Flashbacks from years ago came to me." The judge lay back down and blinked. "I understand. May I touch you or no?" "N..not tonight. I apologize." "Alright. Good night." He turned away from her. Sadie huffed. 'I should have asked him to hypnotize me with his soothing voice. Drat.'