Third chapters here. To be honest, I'm not really writing this for reviews or anything, I'm just writing it for fun, and FFn was the easiest way to upload. I know a lot of people on here say that to get sympathy reviews, but I'm honestly just writing this 'cause I can. Although I do have to admit, seeing a review does make me feel slightly happy inside. Anyway, this chapter's gonna be a bit Rahim heavy, a lot of interaction between him and Ardelis, and just a little bit of fluff. Including the airdrop mission. Let's get it started.
Also, I've decided that I'm splitting the story into three parts. Part one will run to leaving the sewers in Old Town. Part two from the start of Old Town to the end of the main story. And part three will be entirely focussed on The Following.
You know the drill, I don't own Dying Light blah blah.
"I'll go on your fucking mission, but don't expect me to stay after it's done." And I left the room.
Almost running, I left the Tower. Nadeau sent me a look as I ran past, but said nothing. I needed to clear me head, to get away from people for a while. I ran all the way to the north of the city, to one of the quarantine zones. No one ever came up here. It was too far away and too dangerous. Sitting on top of the building I stared out over the city again, watching fires burn in the distance. It was quiet, peaceful. And peace was hard to come by here. I sat for what seemed like hours, content, before a door opened behind me.
I jumped up and spun, hand reaching for my machete, only to realise it wasn't there. I swore and readied myself, only to see Rahim. He was holding my machete out to me.
"Thought you might need this, Little Sunflower. Lena asked me to get it back to you." I took it from him without saying a word, and sat back down on the edge. I heard him sit down beside me. "I could hear you yelling at Brecken from the floor below. What did he do this time?" I could feel tears running down my cheeks again.
"He said… He said my sister would be disappointed in me." I whispered.
"Piç kurusu! What gives him any kahrolası right to say that?!" I chuckled. Whenever Rahim got angry he always reverted back to Turkish. Even after speaking English for almost 23 years.
"It's not that big of a deal anymore." He looked like he was about to say something so I cut him off. "I might not be going back to the Tower, ever really." He grabbed hold of my chin and turned me to face him.
"Where would you go?" I looked at him strangely.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, where would you go when you leave the Tower?"
"I'd go stay in a safe-house."
"By yourself?"
"I can take care of myself."
"What would you eat?"
"I'd go to Spike."
"What about medical help?"
"I know enough."
"What about this?" He pointed to my leg.
"That was one time."
"And what if it happens again?"
"I'll be sure it doesn't." He stopped for a while, just staring at me.
"What about me? Jade? All the people in the Tower who rely on you for supplies?"
"Well… I'm sure… There's more than one runner."
"We have four." No.
"What about…" I stopped, trying to think of who there was. Rahim beat me to it.
"Jade, Brecken, me, and you." I looked away from him. That made me rethink my whole plan. If I left, there would only be those three. Brecken had to run the Tower. He could only go out on important missions. Jade could handle herself, she was tough. Not enough to handle every job the people had though. Then there was Rahim. I only met him at the start of the outbreak, but in those few months we'd become closer than anyone else in the Tower. If he got hurt because of a mission I was supposed to take… I sigh heavily.
"Damn it Rahim, how do you always do that?" He laughed slightly.
"I know you Ardelis," he didn't use my nickname for once. It made me stop and look at him. He was staring at a half completed skyscraper. The only known Volatile nest. We'd only sent one team in there, they'd never come back. Rahim's father was on that team.
"We'll get it one day, I promise you that." He looked at me, and smiled.
"So," he jumped track. "What's this I hear about a mission tonight?"
Rahim's watch beeped. 19:00. The airdrops would be here soon. I'd explained the mission to him already. Two drops, each containing Antizin. We had to get one, or the Tower would run out before the next. A distant rumble signed the approach of the first drop. I watched it cross the sky, the crates dropping unusually close to the Tower. The parachute deployed. Cranes body flashed through my mind. I shook my head to clear the image.
"You okay?" I looked at Rahim, concern written on his face. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, I'm good." Red smoke filled the sky. The flare had popped. "Let's do this." We ran from the door, and down into the front courtyard. Weaving through an alley, and dodging around a pack of biters, I managed to keep pace with Rahim. He was several years older than me, 28 to my 19, but I was already almost as good a runner as he was. The red smoke got thicker, it was just around the corner. I was about to run around when Rahim grabbed my shirt and pulled me back. I was about to yell at him when he put a finger to my lips. I lowered my voice.
"Why have we stopped?"
"Listen," was all he said. So I did. I listened, trying to tune out the ambient sounds. Then I heard laughter. The infected don't laugh. I leaned around the corner, trying to see who was there. Rais' men. Three of them. Their voices carried over.
"Yo, what the fuck are we doing this close to the Tower?"
"We're stealing this drop from right under their nose. Can you imagine their faces?"
"I still don't like it, it's too close to the nest." I felt Rahim tense at the mention of the building.
"Don't worry about it. It's not even fucking night time yet." The third bandit spoke up.
"Hey, you guys wanna shut the fuck up? You'll draw every Viral in the city to us."
"Calm down man, we'll be fine. There's three of us." Something crashed at the other end of the street.
"What was that?"
"Oh shit, Screamer!" We didn't look back as we ran. We had to get away, the area would soon be crawling with Virals and Biters. If the bandits managed to get out alive, I'd willingly give myself up to Rais. A few blocks from the drop, and on top of a three story house, we stopped running. I looked at Rahim, we started laughing. It was the first real laugh I'd let out in days.
"Was that a rush or what?" I jumped over to him and wrapped him in a hug. I missed the adoring look on his face, it was gone before I could see. Something about the bandits struck me as odd. I voiced my concerns. "Why were they that close to the Tower? They never patrol that close." Rahim looked back at where we ran from.
"I honestly have no idea." He paused. "Let's just wait for that second drop. You bring that pack of cards with you?"
"Got any threes?" I needed two more to get another point. And Rahim had to have at least one,
"Go fish." Damn. I picked up another five. Just one more.
"Any fives?" Shit. I threw the three fives at him. "Go on, brag about it. I know you want to." He gave me a sly look.
"I won't brag yet." He put down four fives. "But I'll brag about this. Now," he didn't give me a chance to complain. "How about… Threes?"
"I give up." I threw my whole hand at him. "How do you keep doing that?" He laughed.
"Talent, luck, and the huge mirror behind you." I turned, and saw myself staring back. I scowled at Rahim's reflection. He smiled and put his thumbs up. I flicked a card out of my sleeve. An ace of hearts. In one motion, I spun at the waist, and flicked. It sailed through the air, striking him in the forehead. He reeled back, a hand up as if fainting from shock. I scooted over to him, laying down and resting my head on his chest. His breathing was steady. In, pause, out. In, pause, out. I twisted my head, looking up at him. The corners of his mouth seemed to be turned upwards, as if he was sharing a joke with himself. I was about to ask, when I found out what he was smiling about. He sat up suddenly, my head dropping into his lap.
"Hey!" I sounded indignant, and I had every right to.
"What's the matter Little Sunflower?" He smirked at me. "Upset that you didn't win? You should be used to it by now." I stuck my tongue out at him.
"I'll have you know that I'm upset at your blatant cheating. And I am not used to losing, isn't the score-"
"25 to 3?" He cut me off. "Indeed it is." I flicked another card at him, he caught it mid-flight. I scoffed.
"Show off."
"You love it."
"You wish."
"Don't I just."
"Ha, in your dreams."
"Every night."
"Gross."
"What did I say before? You love it." Our faces were centimetres away. My breathing hitched. I couldn't. Could I? What would Jade think? I took too long deciding. As soon as our lips met, the rational side of my brain switched off. My arms slid around his neck as his arms went around my waist, pulling me up so I was sitting. I know it sounds cliché to say that everything else faded away, but in that moment I could swear it was true. After an indescribable amount of time, the windows of the room vibrated. Rahim pulled away, eliciting a small moan from me. He rested his chin on the top of my head as the vibrations got worse. I felt his arm move from around me, drawing out a disappointed sigh.
"8:32. Over half hour late." He sighed and rested his arm back around me. "We'll just have to go for it tomorrow." I was the one who pulled back this time.
"Who are you and what have you done with Rahim?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Rahim I know would never back down from a challenge. What have you done with him?" He gave a mirthless chuckle.
"The question isn't what I've done to him, it's what you have." I stared at him incredulously.
"Do you even realise what you just said?"
"Yeah…"
"And?"
"It was terrible, you're right, and let's go get that airdrop."
"We really should turn back."
"But we're so close. Look," I pointed at a small cliff, the smoke from the flare rising up over the edge. "It's right there, we can do this." Without waiting for a reply, I ran forward and over the edge, spinning in mid-air, I grabbed onto seam where the stones rested together. Dropping down further onto a wooden platform, I rolled off the edge landing on the ground in a crouch. Standing up and brushing myself off, I turned in time to see Rahim leap off the edge. He was too far away to grab on. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away. There was a muffled thud, followed by laughter. Turning around slowly, I saw him lying on a mountain of trash bags. I let out a shaky breath and stalked forwards. I met him at the bottom.
"Holy shit. Did you see that Sunflower? That was-" I collapsed into him. He stumbled under the unexpected weight.
"Don't ever do that again. If I'd lost you too…" He sighed quietly and wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. It's all so new to me."
"You're not the only one." We stood like that for a few moments before the mission came back into mind. "We should get that airdrop now. Who knows how long it is 'til the night beasts come out." I remembered a book I had read when I was young.
"And he came to a place where the wild things are." We pulled apart and walked over to the crate. Popping the latches, I lifted the lid, and was greeted with the sight of almost three dozen vials of Antizin. We shared a look and opened up our packs. As we split them between us, I asked the biggest question on my mind.
"Rahim, what are we now?"
"Survivors."
"Not that, I mean us two. Together. What are we?" He paused and looked at me.
"A couple, if you want to be."
"Good." I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. And we went pack to splitting the vials. As I zipped my bag up, the phone inside vibrated. Rahim gave me a look as I pulled it out and answered.
"Ms. Rosier, we are going to have to ask you to destroy those vials of Antizin you just recovered." I was stunned. A government corporation dedicated to helping those in need, asking me to destroy the thing that would help those in need.
"I'm sorry what?"
"We are going to need you to destroy the vials of Antizin. You must be forced into dealing with Rais, we have need to confirm his identity. We believe him to be Kadir-"
"Who the fuck do you think you are to be ordering me around like that?" I could feel my anger rising, it was only the presence of Rahim that kept me from exploding. "How did you even know I had the vials? Is there a camera or something." She said something back to me but I was too busy examining the crate. Sure enough, right below the latch on the inside of the lid, was a small lens hooked up to a hidden antenna inside the lid. "Oh I see you now. Well, considering that you can see everything I'm doing, watch me do this." I turned towards the barrel behind me, set it alight, and chucked the phone in. Looking back at the crate, I flipped my middle fingers at the camera, and slammed the lid. It was now that I became aware of the sky. Black. Night time. Shit. I crouched low to Rahim's side.
"Uhh… R… Rahim. We need to go…"
"Yeah… I was kinda hoping you'd say that." He stood up slowly, careful not to make any noise. As we backed off, his foot kicked a rock. It skittered across the paving, striking a barrel behind us. We waited, when nothing happened, we thought we were in the clear.
Then a screech cut through the air. I could hear footsteps thudding closer. We turned and ran, but not before I saw one of the largest Volatiles I'd ever seen leap clear over a 15 foot high fence. We ducked through alleys, working our way back up the hill, towards the Tower. I could hear the Volatile thundering after us, never once giving up the chase. We scrambled up throw a building, climbing onto the roof. It was easier to get from A to B up high. The Volatile didn't even bother with climbing, choosing to jump straight up behind us. Rahim leaped over a wide alley in front of me. I jumped after him. My foot slipped on the edge, my head slamming into the tiles. I fell backwards, I saw the Volatile leap straight across. I crashed into something, and it all went black.
I woke as the morning was just breaking. Weak sunlight streamed through the hole in the cloth awning above, my backpack swung off a broken support. I brought a hand up to my head, wiping away sweat or blood. I wasn't sure which. I pushed myself up slowly, leaning on my elbows. I looked around at where I was. A small balcony, a few stories above the ground. Had I fallen any further… I shook my head, trying to clear away the fuzz and remember why had happened. I reached up and swiped my backpack off the pole, and searched through the contents. Pulling out several vials of Antizin, the previous night came rushing back to me. The Volatile chasing us, the evil government corporation, me kissing Rahim… My hands flew over my mouth in surprise. I'd kissed Rahim. How could I forget that? We were a couple. I smiled giddily at the thought. Picking myself up, I brushed myself down and started to make my way back to the Tower. The streets were quiet today, there were no Virals to be seen, no Biters to be heard. It was as peaceful as it could get. I scavenged what I could along the way. Several bottles of whiskey made their way into my pack. When I reached the Tower, I was exhausted. I barely had enough strength to pull myself up over the edge. This time, instead of a rifle, I was greeted by the sight of Rahim, pacing impatiently in front of the elevators. He glanced my direction, not really paying attention to who I was. I cleared my throat, making him stop.
"What is-" Whatever he was going to say died in his mouth. He raced forwards, picked me up and swung me around, laughing happily. When he put me down, we started at each other for a moment before we kissed. It was a heavy kiss, long and filled with joy.
"And just what are you doing to my little brother?" I jumped back with a yelp, staring fearfully at Jade.
"Uhh… Sorry?"