Freud stared at Phantom, concern evident in his eyes, as the blond straightened up and wiped his mouth, shuddering out of revulsion. His hand tightened on his cane.
"Talk to me, Phantom," Freud said gently, tugging at the other's sleeve like a little child demanding attention.
"Don't ask," Phantom muttered grimly. He held up the car keys, resisting the urge to drop the damned things, to show Freud, and then marched with the air of a dying man towards the cars parked out front. He pressed the 'unlock' button and listened for which car beeped.
His eyes widened. It was a car in fairly good condition; it was a white Impala with gold trimming. The traumatic experience from earlier placed in the back of his mind, he hurried towards it, a wide grin on his face.
"I'm calling her," Phantom announced proudly with one hand resting on the trunk of the car, "the Lumiere."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Freud arched an eyebrow.
"Nope."
Admiringly, Phantom opened the door and settled into the passenger seat, feeling the soft, deep red fabric of them. He flashed a smug look towards Freud. "You coming?"
Freud sat down in the driver's seat, and the blond tossed him the keys, which he deftly caught.
"She's my baby," Phantom declared cheerfully, "but you can drive her. For now."
The redhead shot the other man a fondly exasperated glance and then they were off, the car backing from the driveway.
"Where to?"
Phantom tapped his lip ponderingly for a minute or so. After a short while, he spoke. "...The town of Henesys."
"Any reason why?"
"Let's just say I have a feeling about Henesys."
Phantom glanced around and immediately thought Ew. Mushrooms. At least there was plenty of other edible vegetation; they wouldn't have too hard of a time finding food here, unlike the convenience stores in Kerning that had already been pillaged by passing survivors.
Somehow, the town was even more eery than Kerning City. In a slum like that, it seemed almost natural to barely see any passersby. But in a bright, cheerful little place like this, there should have been children playing in the sunlight and teenage friends licking at dripping ice cream while sitting on park benches. There should have been little old ladies peering out their doors and telling their kids to come inside and wash up for supper. That was the kind of place Henesys was.
Instead, the quaint houses with their orange-tiled roofs were deserted, their lights dim and with no more smoke puffing up from the chimneys.
No people passed as the two men drove through the paved streets. Phantom watched out of the corner of his eye as the gate to the boringly named Henesys Park swung open with the wind, letting out a soft, creepy crreeak. The words 'ghost town' popped into mind.
"Where to next?"
Before the blond could answer the experiment's question, his stomach grumbled loudly in a comical fashion. He laughed awkwardly.
"Right," Freud remarked dryly. He glanced around. "Looks like we're having mushroom stew for dinner."
Phantom grimaced. "I hate mushrooms."
"Deal with it."
"Jerk."
"Bitch," Freud shot back easily.
Lunch was disgusting. For a little bit, Phantom had been confused as to why Freud hadn't eaten, and then he remembered and internally chided himself for nearly asking. The redhead smiled knowingly.
Be that as it may, the two continued on, into the surrounding area of Henesys outside the actual town. They came upon a rural farm and shared a glance.
"There could be survivors," Phantom murmured.
"There could be Rotters," Freud shot back apprehensively.
"I don't care," Phantom did his best to dramatically get out of the car and march towards the farm. He really did. Yet his getaway was ruined by the fact that he stumbled, just barely catching himself. He stared at his own feet, traitors as they were, in a disgruntled manner.
Freud sighed and stepped out of the Lumiere. Together, the two trekked towards the house, walking up the path to it.
And that was when they heard it.
"Aaahh!" The shrill scream pierced the silence suddenly and violently. Phantom's breath froze in his throat as memories of Aria haunted him, but he hurried on anyways.
Freud fumbled with the doorknob, turning it hastily, but it wouldn't budge. With a frustrated huff, he stepped back and kicked the door down, running inside. Phantom, despite the burning ache in his shoulder as it was jostled, ran after him.
A second scream, more desperate than the first. It was coming from the door to what seemed to be an upstairs bedroom. The door, this time, wasn't locked, and the man and experiment busted in.
A Rotter was hunched over a terrified, trembling child, sniffing disturbingly. Phantom reacted before he could even think.
He grabbed the nearest chair one-handedly and bashed it over the thing's head. It flinched and in the blink of an eye, it was on him, tearing at his skin with grungy nails and trying to get its sickly mouth on him. He cried out in agony as his shoulder slammed back into the floorboards
Freud was quick. He hooked an arm around its neck and pulled backwards.
A sickening snap and it fell backwards, twitching in its death throes. Phantom, panting for breath and backed up to the wall, turned his attention towards the kid.
"Hey. Where are your parents?"
"It ate them..." Through the little boy's hysterical sobbing, neither Phantom nor Freud could hardly understand him.
"Come on," Freud said quickly, "We need to get out of here. Are there more?" The redhead asked as he gathered the boy into his arms protectively and offered Phantom a hand up.
"D-don't know," The kid hiccuped, going limp in the man's grip.
Phantom stood unsteadily, eyes unfocused as he tried not to concentrate on how much his gunshot wound hurt right then.
They raced out the door, not waiting to listen for more Rotters. The things often gathered together when there was blood spilt. And if there were more?
They would follow them.
Freud settled into the car, hurriedly fishing out the key and turning it. He passed Evan to Phantom, letting the blond find himself with a head of fluffy brown hair under his chin. The child, who appeared to be somewhere from six to seven years old, was shaking violently, his breath coming in harsh, shocked pants, nearing hyperventilation.
"Breathe, kid."
The car started, backing out of the driveway. Freud drove aimlessly; as long as they were on the move, it was unlikely the Rotters could get them.
"What's your name?"
"E-Evan."
"Well, Evan..." Phantom sighed, wishing he could honestly believe what he was saying. "It's going to be okay."