~defy~
But you led 'em to our hideout
Forced their way inside, now
They want us to surrender, to surrender
But I could go all night right here
Even in the middle of the pier with people flooding around them like water around a stone in a riverbed, everything went surprisingly silent in Sam's ears. All he was focused on was the small boy standing in front of the ever intimidating figure of David, arms thrown out to the sides and nearly flinching back into himself trying to protect the gypsy girl; the only mother figure he knew. David's arm was still held in the air, frozen for a moment in almost shock at the audacity of the boy that he had kept after his moment of error. Horror raced through Sam as the man pulled his hand back a little further, feeling his feet move under him as he tried to get to the boy first.
Those ice filled eyes narrowed as Sam threw himself in front of the boy, glaring up at the man. The hand stopped half way through the swing again, David once again thrown off kilter by someone getting in his way for the second time. Sam kept his stance even as he felt two small hands grip the back of his shirt, burying their face into his back. One of his hands reached around his back to hold the boy closer as best he could as he still held a hand up in defense against David. There was a low growling to his left and when he glanced to the side, Dwayne was snarling at the leather clad man.
By the answering growl from David, Sam was sure that he had just formed a rift between the two. "Don't undermine me Dwayne." David said so lowly, it was a wonder that Sam caught it. Behind David, Michael looked to Sam with a dazed look; as if he was waking from a dream and he just now remembered everything that happened. His eyes were wide, almost wild, as he tried to melt through the railing. It was as if everything about their situation suddenly clicked and he was losing it. Of course, Sam knew that at some point he would have figured it out; though he didn't expect it to be so soon. Extreme circumstances meant heart wrenching realizations.
Once more, this time without David's notice, Michael ran into the crowd without looking back. Sam frowned as his heart wretched, hoping that he and Paul would be able to talk some sense into him before it was too late. "I haven't...but he is my mate, is still human. You have no authority over him and I will protect him." Looking away from the crowd, he found Dwayne blocking him from David; unable to see over his shoulders. With a sigh he leaned into the mans back, as Laddie shifted closer to him as well. The answering growl from David sent shivers up his spine and he felt Dwayne tense in response.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Marko stood in front of Paul with a set look of indecision on his face. Paul answered his glance with what was supposed to be a comforting smile promising that everything would be alright, but Sam could tell that he wasn't sure. Marko seemed to be torn on whether he should intervene between David and Dwayne or whether he should just leave them be; it was like he couldn't decide if they would really tear into each other or not. Finally he seemed to come to a decision and stepped forward a little, though Paul still kept a firm grip on one of his hands. "Look guys, this isn't worth fighting over. Dwayne, just stand down man."
After a moment, finally the man relaxed and nodded to Marko. Sam watched as a clawed hand gripped over Dwayne's shoulder and with a blink the two were gone. Confusion slammed into him until he heard wind whistling above them and looked into the sky. He couldn't see it in the darkness, but he knew that David was flying away with Dwayne; away from the crowds to handle this the only way they knew how. Worry wracked through him as Marko followed quickly and Paul stepped over to him. "They'll be find Sam. This is just something that has been hovering about since they found the two of you. There's been this overwhelming need to establish dominance between the two of them like their in a heat." He paused for a moment with a sigh, "Like dogs."
Paul watched the horizon for another few minutes before finally turning away and Sam knew that they had left his sight. Turning slightly he pulled Laddie against his front as he glanced around the boardwalk. He found that the gypsy girl had escaped during the confusion and Sam frowned. He knew that she had to resent the fact that she was kept around to care for the boy, but surely she had developed some matron feelings for the child. "Where did she go?" Anger coursed through him as Paul sniffed the air discreetly. As he cocked his head this way and that, Sam knew that she was gone.
"There's her scent, but then it mixes with diesel fuel at the center of town." White flashed at the corners of his eyes as he saw the gypsy girl like a motion picture. She picked a wallet from someone's pocket as she rushed through the crowd towards main street. She stopped at a red light as she flagged down a truck that was heading up the coast and asked for a ride. The strange men in the front of the car gave her an glance up and down before offering their services to take her to the next town.
Everything flashed forward as the car sped up the road and turned off onto a back road, driving for a few hundred feet until it was out of sight from any passing cars. The car began heaving around as screams echoed through the surrounding trees and Sam shook his head violently as he was forced out of the vision by Laddie tightening his grasp.
Paul was holding him steady with a worried look and Sam just shook his head. "She won't be coming back will she?" The boy melded further into him at the words, body shaking almost fitfully, and finally Sam had enough. He turned and lifted the boy into his arms, holding him close as Laddie burrowed his face into Sam's neck.
Without a word, Sam walked away from the scene. Disappointment coupled with confusion clouded his mind as he walked down the boardwalk until the familiar game booths came into his line of sight. He found a bench near a booth with fluffy duck toys hanging from the tent and sat down with Laddie in his lap. The boy leaned back a bit to adjust himself before laying back against Sam's chest.
For a long time the two just sat on that bench with Sam rubbing the boys back comfortingly. Finally after what seemed no less than an hour, Dwayne appeared out of the crowd. Sam looked up at the man with a sigh; unsure of what to say to him. At the brush of air passed his cheek, Laddie looked back at Dwayne before giving the man a small smile. "Hey Dwayne." Laddie's voice shook with the nervousness that still flittered through him and Sam tightened his grip on the boy. With a small smile at the boy, Dwayne walked forward and sat beside them on the bench.
"Hey there little man." Dwayne sighed as his hazel eyes met with Sam's. They watched each other for a few moments before Sam looked back into the crowd and watched the people go by. "I apologize for before Sam. David would have struck you if I didn't step forward. I couldn't let him hurt you." Tears burnt the back of Sam's eyes as everything hit him at once. He wasn't sure of everything that had happened but he knew that it hadn't been good at all. From what he had seen, Michael had sought out the gypsy girl and David had reacted quite violently.
He had to wonder if Dwayne would have ever reacted the same way if Sam decided that he just wasn't cut out for this. It was like all of the information was suddenly piling up against him and suddenly Sam felt as though he couldn't breathe. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted the boy in his lap. Laddie sat up from his position and looked up into Sam's eyes with wide eyes far from innocent. Pain gripped Sam at the fact that while the boy was still a child, he had seen far to much in his short life to be innocent. "Star left me didn't she?"
The question had his breath catching in his throat and after watching Sam fluster about for an answer, Dwayne spoke up quietly making Laddie look to him instead, "Laddie, it was just time for Star to move on. To go out on her own..." Sam swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat, his former vision flashing to the front of his memory. "We'll take care of you Laddie, just like always." A shout down the boardwalk caught their attention for a moment, and thankfully to Sam, Laddie's attention was diverted. He wasn't sure how he felt about any of this and while he felt a strange protective sense for the boy, he didn't want to make promises that he didn't know if he could keep.
All around them lights from the stores, games, rides, and booths began to go out as they closed for the night. It felt like everything was coming to an end, even though he knew that this was just the beginning. Everything was about to move into overdrive and Sam could just feel that all that they knew was about to hit rock bottom. Michael finally realized that the things David told him were a reality and he wasn't handling it well. Though Sam was sure that it was no worse than the way he reacted; accepting it as if he'd expected it.
From their very first moments in Santa Carla, Sam had acted recklessly. Walking around as if there were no evil in the world. He invested all of his attentions in Dwayne and that was even before he knew that the man was a vampire; that he was his mate. The man could have easily been impatient and horrible. Now looking back, he felt foolish in feeling like nothing could go wrong. He was almost ashamed of his behavior.
To be honest, he didn't know where they were going to go from this point. He knew that he still enjoyed Dwayne's company and that he would still give it a chance. That wouldn't stop him from thinking everything out properly however. With a small sigh, the Rolling Thunder's lights flickered out and except for the occasional street lamp, darkness surrounded them.
Between their crossfire
We'll send them up a message
I'll send the message
We're saying "give it up, give it up"
~defy~