In the days that followed, watching every monster that ever bumped in the night get beheaded or chopped to pieces savagely while simultaneously ducking, hiding, running for cover and screaming herself hoarse became a long, nightmarish blur for Rois. There was a darkness working at the corners of her sight, a deepening of shadows that seemed altogether more terrifying than any monster she had the displeasure of meeting yet. Rois questioned Benny about it during a moment of respite when she was giving herself a half-assed splashing of water at a dark stream.

"That means night is comin', darlin'. You don't want to see what happens in this place during the night, hopefully we get to the portal before then." Benny's genuine concern was scary.

"So, there is no normal day and night? Just this gloom and then some super nightmare darkness?"

"You could say that."

"I want a weapon."

"For starters sugar, you're more dangerous to yourself with a weapon than the monsters are. Second, weapons aren't common, I can't just find one. Third..." Benny trailed off, turning to glare at Rois as she stuck her head into the river and scrubbed away at her face and hair, literally drowning him out. Straightening up and wringing her hair out as best she could before tossing it back over her shoulders, Rois turned to look at Benny, all business. "Guess we better get moving, where to?"

"We follow the river, it's the fastest route. Wouldn't do it if I knew night wasn't coming, since it is more dangerous, but like I said... You do not want to see this place at night darlin'."

Rois had already made up her mind about a weapon, she wasn't going to cling to Benny and hope he didn't get beheaded all the time. It made no sense to be defenseless, whether he agreed or not. There was no point arguing about it though, so she trudged after him with a new determination.

For Rois, her opportunity to prove herself came sooner than later. Her and Benny were walking beside the river still, but just ahead 4 men in varying states of dress strolled out of the woods and spread across a shallow section of the river, facing them silently.

Fingering his blade thoughtfully, Benny gestured for Rois to hang back as he started to cautiously approach them. "Welcoming committee?"

Each man grinned at him in return and Rois saw a full row of needle-like teeth slide into place over their normal human teeth, that was a first.

"Consorting with humans again, Benny? The Old Man sends his regards." All of them snarled, including Benny, and battle was joined. They moved at a pace that Rois' eyes could barely keep up with and it was nerve-racking. Her jittery reflex to look around was the only thing that spared her head. A wiry man with another mouthful of needle teeth was grinning and taking a free swing with a weapon and she ducked reflexively, avoiding the deadly blow.

Fighting and killing were cathartic after dedicating himself to getting this girl out of Purgatory safe, especially lackeys of The Old Man. Benny was one with the flow of battle, dodging, parrying, pressing his own attack and whittling them down until only one remained. The blond stumbled back from Benny, looking at his now headless counterparts staining the river red, and tried to make a run for it. He did not get far.

Walking back through the treeline and across the river, it was a shock when he saw Rois standing over a headless corpse of her own with a crude blade, similar to what he had when he met Dean, clenched in her shaking hands. Her breath was coming in heaves and her limbs were shaking, with excitement or shock he had no idea, and her heart was going full blast, practically hammering into his brain with its thumping. As he approached, he held up a hand in a peaceful gesture like she was some kind of wounded animal, Rois glared.

Huffing from his own exertions, Benny retracted his fangs- she was bound to see them sometime or another anyway, too late to regret that. "Take it easy darlin', you did good. Sorry I wasn't there."

Rois stance was defensive and her voice wary "I earned this," she shook her new weapon slightly for emphasis "and you wont be taking it. Just so we are clear."

"Fair 'nuff. We need to get moving again though. Not too banged up?" He could smell her blood, sweet like some kind of dessert in comparison to all the vampire blood flowing through the river and stones around them, but nothing seemed serious.

"I'm fine, lets get moving." Rois grunted, mind attempting to process everything that had just happened. She knew Benny was a vampire of course, but the teeth were so far off from anything humanity had thought up it was a bit of a shocker. "So, they knew you. Vampires?"

"Yeah. Got a bit of a name for myself down here."

"Your teeth looked different than theirs."

"It's not polite to stare, darlin'."

"And it's dumb to not take note of everything you can when you are in the most messed up situation possible, Cujo."

"Cujo?"

"Well if I get all these cute endearing nicknames, I figure you should get a few of your own." Rois made a face as she stepped in a chunky meat pile, quickly giving her foot a swish in the river before catching up.

"Right, well they are just baby vampires. Everything gets a bit more pronounced as you get older I guess."

"Baby vampires?" Incredulous, she couldn't help but frown. "So I just committed infanticide? Not sure how I feel about that, even if he was going to eat me..."

"Sugar, monster babies are never defenseless or weak. They aren't real babies. For vampires, it is kind of like being reborn when you are made. You have all these new feelings, like the hunger, to deal with but you are stronger than you ever were when you lived. So don't feel bad about chopping off a head, not for a second- yours is worth more." It was a tidy end to their conversation and Rois saw no need to draw it out, they got back to being vigilant and keeping as fast a pace as was reasonable. Benny was also thinking over what happened, in his own way.

Benny set their pace, and when Rois was too tired they stopped so she could rest. He kept watch during this time, not needing sleep at all, and if he knew there was a safe place to hole up in the area he made sure they were there first. The portal was not far now but night wasn't either, it was a growing concern. At least the girl had proven capable of defending herself in a tight situation, though he had yet to ask her how she managed to kill the vampire- by all rights she should have been juiced.

Night was coming and both earthly and unearthly sounds started to chorus all around them, throughout all of Purgatory. Monsters hunting monsters, howling, snarling, screaming and every other terrible noise Rois could imagine and then some. They were sheltered under an earthy roof, the roots of an ancient behemoth of a tree holding it all together, with a river running thin and shallow beside them. It was not an ideal spot, but their backs were covered at least.

"Sit for a few minutes but then we're goin' again sugar. The portal is within a mile of here and full night is coming, might even be here before we reach it." Benny looked strained, Rois looked worse. Violence was escalating and spilling into their path continually, if there was ever a not safe time to rest in one place, this was it.

"Lets not stop then, I'm keen on leaving. To tell you the truth, Benny, I've always sucked at first person shooters." That got her a weird questioning look, and she smiled because he didn't get it, but he let it slide. Rois got up from her crouched position with a sore grunt and trudged after Benny, the sense of freedom and safety being so close giving her a second wind.

It was only a mile and they ran into 2 Rugaru who were tearing each other apart, what may have been a mummy and something that had to do with spider webs, Benny had to work to catch up with Rois after she had ran screaming from that one, but there seemed to be a calm over the area they entered. As if it was some kind of sacred space, the duo did not encounter any further monsters.

"I feel weird, like I've had a balloon rubbed all over my hair. You feel that?"

"No, but we should see the portal soon. Maybe it just has that effect on human souls."

When they cleared past some truly massive trees, were there any that weren't massive here?- Benny and Rois paused side-by-side to look at the rocky outcropping that presented itself. Rois' skin felt like there was electricity running through it and she was smiling with excitement.

"This is it, isn't it? What do we have to do?" Bouncing on the balls of her feet, it took a few seconds to register that Benny was not speaking and to actually look at him. An icy look, coupled with a decidedly upset frown, was what greeted her. He had turned slightly, entering that easy fighting pose that she had become familiar with seeing him in but not directed at her.

"Whats wrong?" Rois had the good grace to step backwards slightly, squeezing her own weapon for comfort in her confusion.

"It's not here. You played me, sugar." Benny was raising his weapon up and pointing at her with it, taking a threatening step forwards as she took one backwards "You ain't human."

Nervous laughter trickled out of Rois as she shook her head, stepping away from Benny quickly and walking towards the rocky wall, what the hell did it matter if he killed her if the portal wasn't there? "No, I'm a human and you know it. Played you? Have you lost your marbles? You're the one who found me! You knew damn well I was a human when you did!" Rois wasn't sure if Benny was following but she started to make her way around and up the outcropping, following the thrumming of energy she could feel. Only when she was huffing and puffing and stomping up to the peak was she stopped by a cold hand on her shoulder. Without so much as flinching Rois stopped and broke down, whispering "Where is it? I want to go home."

Squeezing threateningly, Benny turned Rois to face him roughly and snarled as his fangs came down, making sure she saw. "I kept my end of the deal and you didn't, I should drink you dry- that is the only thing you can give me." Dropping his weapon, Benny swatted hers out of hand when she tried to take a halfhearted swipe at him. As both his hands clasped her shoulders, squeezing too tight, Rois refrained from struggling and looked at him with teary eyes. "I can't survive here, I'm no monster, and if I can't get out then this will be a kindness. So, thanks."

Her heartbeat was wild, even if she was keeping herself physically in check, Benny was too angry to care. He'd been lied to after he tried his best to protect her and get her out of here. With a quick jerk she was pulled up against him and his mouth connected to the junction of skin where neck met shoulder and he bit down hard, more than enough to part her skin and the meaty flesh underneath. Shouting in pain, Rois hit at his chest and tried to kick him with her legs, but he held her too close for any good hits, not that they would have done anything either way.

Red hot pumping human blood, tinged with terror, was flowing into his mouth and it tasted like the finest meal he'd ever had, filling him with a raw power that he had not experienced since being in his old nest, before Andrea. Digging in harder and snarling in pleasure, Benny gorged himself as Rois' batting at his chest became erratic, slower from blood loss. As he was filled with warmth and strength and she was drained of it, Benny thought on how this might really be the tastiest human blood he'd ever had. A little part of him cried: Human blood. He stopped cold, blinking out of the haze of blood lust. She is human.

Rois was tired, cold and numb. When Benny bit down her will to live came rushing back and she fought, scratched rents through the front of his shirt and kneed at him for all she was worth, but it was too late. His teeth were in and he wasn't moving. This is still one of the nicer ways to die here, she thought. It felt like she was floating now, unpleasant dizziness making her head spin, but she was too tired to open her eyes. Was he done? Was she dying finally? Rois didn't know, she just slipped quietly into darkness.

Benny gathered Rois up into his arms, carrying her in one and brandishing his weapon with the other, he had no choice but to leave behind hers. You've made a mess out of this. He thought to himself accusingly. Of course she was human, something was wrong and they needed to find out what, but he had to go and blow his top over it. Standing where the portal should be with her in his arms, Benny watched night settle in with a sinking feeling in his gut. There was no other choice now, he couldn't fight off what was coming while trying to keep Rois alive, her heartbeat was weak enough without being jostled and possibly thrown around in a fight.

Mama, I've gone and made a mess. You helped me once before, now I'm askin' for your help again. I am sorry. Standing still and pressing an apologetic kiss to Rois' forehead, Benny waited and hoped.

It was too long. There would be no answer from her. Benny could see the multiple pairs of eyes and bodies of creatures creeping through the woods towards him and Rois. Between the smell of blood, her yelling in anger and then pain, it was more than enough to bring down the house. Looking down at the limp body in his arm, Benny sighed resignedly. He could leave her, but he was the one who took away any ability to defend herself that she had, so he wouldn't. Kneeling down, Rois was placed gently on the rocky soil where the portal would normally be if a human soul was in Purgatory. Picking up her weapon and brandishing them in both hands, scrabbling and panting from behind were his last warning before the battle was joined. Benny spun to meet his assailants and grinned, fangs and all. He was in better form than he'd been in many, many years, thanks to Rois' donation.- He'd make them all work for it.

Knee deep in twitching corpses, roaring and thrashing at any who dared climb up the cliff from behind or run up the path from the front, a voice invaded his mind like a punch to the gut. Fight. Win. Come if you survive. Heaving in a strained gasp, Benny almost lost his head from the shock before being filled with new resolve. She heard. His aggressor, some tree-like monster, was pressing him back towards Rois' prone form with its long reach and surprisingly sharp stick-like fingers.

Snarling, Benny carved one of its arms clean off and stepped into the now safe area closer to it. From there he drove both his blades into either side of its weird trunk as it let out a hollow shriek. With the blades wedged into its sides Benny heaved and flung it overhead, dislodging the blades at the height of the throw where it went crashing off the cliff to smash into woody pieces below. A tense silence filled the immediate area, his fight was over for now. Shrieks and howls still called out across the treetops though, night was in full swing and he had a body in delicate condition to haul. As he knelt beside Rois to gather her up in his arm again, Benny froze and let out a pained growl as her voice invaded his mind.

Mountains. Come. A sharp tugging sensation in his chest almost knocked him over onto Rois, but he caught himself and gathered her up as fast and carefully as he could. It was dangerous, but he put his weapon across her chest and used both his arms so he could cradle her tight and run without her body lolling around roughly. With the dull ache in his chest Benny made a run in the direction his guide had pulled him, keeping close track of Rois' heartbeat while the ragged wound he bit into her squished with each movement and fueled his guilt.

More times than he cared to count, Benny had to double back, circle around and avoid in general some big melees that had broken out. All while Rois' pulse continued to flicker weakly. Several times he had to hide her and kill creatures that had picked up their scent, namely hers, and clear the way.

Two days time passed with Rois' condition unchanged when Benny came upon another good hiding spot, a more dug out cave with a boulder to close the way. Laying her body down briefly, Benny shrugged off his shredded jacket and laid it out before moving her on top of it and wrapping her up. Unable to give her warmth above room temperature with his own dead body, he rubbed her arms and legs for friction heat until she had enough to be warm inside the jacket at least. Gathering her up, Benny sat against the cold rock wall of the cave and sat her in his lap, laying her legs over his and having her lean back on his body for some cushion.

Carefully, as if she was made of glass, Benny brushed the tangled hair out of her face in a tender gesture and mumbled. "I'm sorry girl. I'll do everything I can to fix this and get you out of here, you just gotta hold on for me darlin'. We're almost there, help ain't far." Pulling his coat back from her neck, Benny checked the state of the bite wound and felt a twinge of pride when it seemed to be healing, although slowly. Purgatory was not like Earth, she would not die so long as her heart kept going and there was no fear of infection.

Resting his chin on top of her head, Benny allowed himself to relax- at least for a few minutes. "You did what you could to survive in this hell, you aren't weak. I don't get your jokes, but you're alright in my book darlin'." He continued to make idle one-sided conversation with her while resting until a fierce, painful tug at his chest signaled it was time to go again. He let her keep the coat for now.