Shadows and Dust
Chapter 3
Of course, needless to say that the small town they were in was not completely uninhabited, as was shown when the two stumbled upon a man trying to pack up in order to leave.
The man's tiny truck seemed ready to collapse under all the stress it was being put under, as it was filled up to the brim with so much stuff that it even amazed Reaper and Widowmaker. They saw as the unnamed civilian packed house and home, all while sweating hard and muttering a few curses in French.
"Bah!" the man gasped when he finally saw the two watching him, then started to yell in French.
Reaper growled and looked at Widowmaker, who nodded and responded accordingly.
The man was relieved, but still in shock as he asked the woman why they were dressed so abnormally, emphasizing Reaper's outfit with several points with his fingers.
"What is he saying?" Reaper grumbled and locked on to the man, "If he's saying anything about me, tell him to keep his trap shut, or I'll give it gaping." he clenched his shotgun.
"Relax, he's just oddly curious by our outfits." Widowmaker scoffed and waved the man off, wanting no trouble for now, "Now... He says the general store is literally picked clean, but he'll give us some wares we may be happy with." she informed.
"What exactly could this man have?" Reaper crossed his arms, not impressed in the slightest, "Pray tell."
"He basically has basic food and..." Widowmaker turned to ask a question, only to have the man respond to her with a nod, "And... ammunition."
Reaper nodded, finally interested in such arrangement.
For now, he thought, he could abstain from violence... though he knew this little truce with his Deathly side would not last long at all.
The man walked to the front of his truck and pulled out a shotgun, then revealed some cartridges to the two.
"What size are those?" Reaper asked Widowmaker, his faithful translator.
"12 gauge." Widowmaker responded after asking the man, "He's willing to offer the gun and the cartridges for 2000 Euros." she told him, then saw the man take out four whole boxes of shotgun cartridges.
Reaper rubbed his chin and pondered.
Maybe he can disregard the money and just slug the man in the chest... all free of charge.
However, Widowmaker was two steps ahead and pulled him aside with a forceful grasp, "Listen here... you brute." she growled and whispered into his ear, "Think real long and hard about what you have brewing up there... You can slug the man, I don't care, but I want you to think before you do. Give him the Euros, the damn government has collapsed, those notes are not even worth the paper they're written on."
Reaper opened his eyes in surprise, "Damn... you're right." he bobbed his head, "We're basically giving him crap." he chuckled and the two broke away, "Got yourself a deal." he pulled out his wallet and administered 2000 Euros, half of the original amount he had.
The man chuckled and handed the bargain to him, then walked back into his house as he shook his head.
Reaper looked at the shotgun, then nodded a bit, "It's fine." he said and gave it to Widowmaker.
"What? Why would I need this?" Widowmaker asked, "You know I hate these loud... rough weapons." she growled.
"Just because you couldn't shoot mine doesn't mean you can't shoot that one." Reaper taunted, "That's a kiddie gun, it won't do much than bruise your shoulder at the worst." he said.
Widowmaker grunted and slung it over her shoulder, "Fine.. but if my youthful skin is hurt, you're paying for it." she smirked and saw the man come out.
"You'll get payed, alright." Reaper chuckled and waved at the man, who felt disturbed.
"Come on, before you scare him." Widowmaker led him away, then gasped when they saw two men breaking into their cab.
"OH HELL NO!" Reaper yelled and sprinted towards the cab, pulling out his two shotguns all while gaining a hellish black and purple aura.
The two men were too busy in their looting to notice Reaper approaching them, chuckling and not believing their luck. One of them popped out of the car and saw the black figure, "Ahhh!"
That man was instantly blasted by buckshot, causing his partner in crime to come out and yell. That man pulled out a small revolver and aimed it at their attacker.
"You thieves." Reaper growled and spun around, only to have Widowmaker beat him to the punch with her rifle.
At the distance, the woman looked away from her scope and waved.
Reaper chuckled and started to pick up what the men tried to steal, "Damn thieves..." he growled and kicked the burglar he had taken out, "If I had been here earlier... I would have stolen your souls while you lived..." he muttered and gained whatever essence was left.
"Happy now?" Widowmaker finally arrived, "I sure am." she muttered and rubbed her rifle.
"Could have been better." Reaper shrugged his shoulders and turned to her, "Now... Where to?" he asked as he finally realized their time in this small town was done, "Perhaps we should head west into Germany?"
"I hate Allemagne." Widowmaker grumbled and stepped inside the cab.
0000000
The ride out of the small town was very solemn, neither one of the two spoke to each other up to the 4th Kilometer, which at that distance Reaper was extremely annoyed by the elephant in the room and growled.
"Can you at least say something!?" he clenched the steering wheel tightly.
Widowmaker grunted as she saw the landscape once again become charred and inhospitable, "I told you we should stay in France..." she growled as they headed due East, "If France is in terrible state, "Allemagne will be the very pits of hell."
"Ah... so you're afraid of a little sixth circle of hell?" Reaper chuckled, "I thought you were braver than that..." he smirked behind his mask.
Widowmaker looked at him, "Inferno..." she muttered.
"What's that?" Reaper asked, not quite hearing her.
"L'enfer de Dante." Widowmaker spoke as she looked back at him, "That book... I loved it." she muttered and started to recollect when she had received it as a young girl, "My parents never let me buy it because they thought it was too gruesome... Yet I still went to the store behind their back to get myself a copy."
Reaper bobbed his head, "So you were a little troublemaker from the start, huh?" he chuckled, "Well I'm glad to say I'm pleased it didn't go away." he commented and then sighed.
"Buying that book was a change..." Widowmaker looked up, "But in other news." she shook her head, "I am still very up- GAH!" she yelped when Reaper did a tight turn that nearly overturned the car, "What the!? Are you trying to kill us?" she growled in anger.
Reaper grunted and pointed to the distance, where a large mass of dust was building up.
Widowmaker gasped in shock as the storm started to build up, "Sacre Bleu..."
"Now unless you want to suffocate or die of radiation poisoning, that's on you... But right now I'm also with the idea of not going to Alemania." Reaper shifted gears and went back to whence they came.
"Wait." Widowmaker spoke as the man drove, "Strong winds... a gale that blows fiercely.. Just like the 2nd Circle."
"Santo Dios." Reaper grunted, "Just drop the book already, I only mentioned it as a passing comment, no need to get all horny on it." he grumbled as he kept taking glances at the dust storm behind them.
"I don't think you understand." Widowmaker spoke, "And take this with a grain of salt if you'd like... But this should be definitive that we live in hell-"
"Shut up.." Reaper growled, "We're still in the real world, if we actually get to hell I'll be the first one to let you know, ok?" he grunted, "If you're burning and I'm burning, I think we could be rest assured it's where we are."
"No." Widowmaker said, "Now the Earth has become that place... and if it has become that place... what's stopping us from doing what we want?" she smirked.
Reaper's thought on the matter did a full 180.
For once in his life he wanted to feel that he owed no one anything, and that he had no due to justice. Perhaps this was his time, perhaps he should think as if it was now Hell on Earth. It was absolutely no downside to that plan, and most of all, they could do what they pleased.
Order was gone with the wind, and with everything so weak and distraught, who was going to stop them? For once in his life the Reaper actually felt as if someone understood his thinking.
Of course, Widowmaker's intention wasn't to go Whole Hog on the situation, she at least wanted some order to this philosophy. However, she knew Reaper was also not a complete maniac to commit acts like senseless slaughter and genocide- from what she knew of him, he was quite pragmatic, efficient, coordinated, and in some sense, quite elegant in his mode of destruction. She need not worry that Reaper would go on a rampage, though she still had her doubts, and of course she considered the fact that the man- if angered- would nearly be impossible to calm down.
But it took a woman to know it.
And as cold and calculated as Widowmaker was, she always was two steps ahead. Now that she saw that she could influence the man in a manner not even their Talon superiors could achieve, maybe she did have her foot in the door, maybe even two.
Reaper looked back at Widowmaker, he knew she was analyzing him, but with his shady exterior and low internal exposure, he was safe to think that she wouldn't get very far in whatever she was searching. But that didn't stop him from respecting her, even to the point of small admiration- though it was in his best interest not to let her know this.
"Santo Dios. Speak already." Reaper grunted, since he too was staring back at her and thus trying to avoid any further exposure, "What is it? You like the mask?"
"Actually I do." Widowmaker said, "Reminds me of the time I went to the Catacombes de Paris." she commented.
"Geez, you're even creeping me out.." Reaper muttered uneasily and shuffled in his seat, then noticed he was still being stared at.
"Oh, am I?" Widowmaker smirked and glared deeply.
Reaper took a deep breath and then gave a quick glance over his left shoulder and saw those two cold, unfeeling yellow irises trying to dig into his soul- if he even had one.
"Ya para!" Reaper growled and punched Widowmaker's armed, "Damn! I'm trying to drive here!" he growled.
Widowmaker decided not to continue pushing his buttons and stood down, then gasped when she looked in the mirror.
"Oh crap!" Reaper growled when he saw the cloud was now hot on their heels, "See!? Now this thing's right on our ass!" he shifted gears as he sped up rapidly, trying to reach the small town or at least outrun the mass of dust.
"Hurry up!" Widowmaker saw as the storm get over so close, "It's gaining on us."
"DAMN!" Reaper yelled as the vehicle roared but did not go any faster, "Stupid piece of- Rah!" he tried shifting gears, but was at the last option available.
"Why do-"
"It's a top speed, dammit!" Reaper growled as the car would not go faster and was in a losing battle against the storm, "Vale mierda." the man shook his head and took off his mask, then rammed it into Widowmaker's face, "Hope you like sand!" he quickly slowed down the vehicle as fast as he could and did a completely U-Turn.
It was now one on one as Reaper drove straight into the storm.
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