Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters or its ideas.
Chapter 2: Arrival From Both Sides
We arrived at our destination; a place of unknown, or just an Unknown. Small towns or lesser cities, turned desolate due to the Vampires, and eventually became sanctuary for Survivors, but never stay too long, otherwise the Vamps may kidnap you, or kill you. What makes it truly Unknown, is that the name of the town or city has been forgotten. This Unknown has row houses; those houses that sit side by side each other-almost looking connected,-and most had a small staircase that lead to the entrance, while being made of red or brown brick. It was also extremely dirty; trash littered everywhere and I think I just saw a blood stain on a door of a row house we passed.
Me and Kakashi were walking down a very messed up sidewalk, passing other Survivors along the way. Some of them had traveling packs, others with shopping carts and crates, to carry supplies; we used the traveling pack. It was army green and sturdy, filled with necessities, such as food, blankets, toilet paper, etcetera. While Kakashi is casually calm in his stride, I was tense. Occasionally a passing Survivor would eye the pack at my back; a lot them in groups of four or three, sometimes pairs.
Thievery was common in the Survivor world, as common as death, but so was self defense; Kakashi taught me how to fight. I don't think there was anybody else in the world that was like my mentor. We turned left. Strangely enough, there aren't that many Survivors in this part, as if it had the plague. In fact, Survivors were heading in the opposite direction of us, all skittish like.
Suddenly, a very plain boy-nineteen, I think-wearing a black vest, stepped in our path. He looks nervous and kept on darting his eyes from side to side. "Kakashi Hatake?" His voice was a little shaky. "And, Sakura Haruno?" I was shocked to hear him say our names. I look at Kakashi sharply, but he didn't seem in the least bit alarmed.
"Yes." Was all Kakashi said. "Good, follow me please and quickly," the boy said. "We must hurry before sundown." This guy was the one we're supposed to meet, and I have to say, I'm disappointed. We were supposed to meeting up with the rebellion, simply known as The Raiders; they were badasses, with firepower and skills in combat. This guy looked scared out of his wits.
We follow him to a dark alleyway; our strides quick and silent. Kakashi was calm-as usual,-I was strangely calm, and the boy was steadily getting worse and worse, as the sun became lower and lower. In the alleyway, we stopped in front of a metal door, with dents here and there. The boy pulled out a ring of keys; fumbling with them in his clammy hands. "What is with you?" I hissed, annoyed and nervous now.
Out of instinct, I turn around. The sun was barely showing itself, so there were shadows everywhere, or were all of them shadows? Far back, across the street to another alleyway, I saw a figure or was it just another shadow? The human mind can play tricks on you, but I swore I saw some movement. "K-Kakashi?" I whisper, looking back at him, while pulling out my knife.
Kakashi swiftly snatches the keys out of the young man's hands, easily found the right keys, and unlocked the door. The man went in first, then me, and last was Kakashi, who closed the door quietly, but quickly, then smartly locking it. The interior was that of a antique shop; dusty and filled with boxes, shelves, and foreign objects and trinkets. The walls seem to match the color of clotted dust, and the ceiling has black specks and yellow stains everywhere. I was panting slightly; the air stuffy and tinged with a strange, yet familiar stench.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" I ask angrily. The boy looks at me sheepishly. "S-Sorry," he said softly. "It's just that, there have been rumors." "What rumors?" Kakashi asked, sounding expectant. "That…there are Vampires hanging around," his voice dropped down to a whisper. "Its why so many Survivors are leaving."
Annoyance fills me. "That would have been nice to know awhile ago." My tone was sharp like a knife. Vampires in are designated area, and we had been-pretty much-in plain sight. What had the raiders been thinking? Not to mention sending us a whelp of an escort.
"Easy Sakura." Kakashi said calmly. "I'm truly sorry." The boy looks so apologetic, my anger evaporates. It's not his fault Vampires suddenly show up here, unless…"Kakashi, do you think that they know we were meeting Raiders here?" It was hard not to be suspicious. Vampires rarely appear in unknown places, even though there the best places to feast at; it doesn't make sense I know, but my guess is, they already have so many humans captive, Survivors aren't needed . "It is possible." Was all he said.
"There is no way that the Vampires could know," the boy said defensively. "We Raiders would never allow our operations to be leaked, and besides, its just rumors." So, he didn't even know if these rumors were true? Great, just great. I had seen the figure. It wasn't just rumors; there here, or at least outside, watching and waiting, for the right movement to kill, like true predators.
"Why did you bring us here?" I shove the knife back in my pocket reluctantly. "To prepare, to grab anything useful," the boy replied. "I have another associate here also, and me, as well as him are supposed to escort you to the helicopter, outside the exit of the Unknown." I perk up at the thought of a helicopter. So it was true, the Raiders do have some technology. Since Vampires have taken over, technology was hard to find; transportation especially, yet the Raiders have a freaking helicopter.
"Well, lets suit up then, and hurry," Kakashi, striding ahead. "Sakura, go find some weapons." He stops momentarily, giving the boy a firm glance. "You stay with Sakura." He then disappeared, or that's how it appeared to be; there was so much junk, it created a maze. I'm not even sure which direction he went. I decide to go straight, wary of the stacks of boxes I'm passing by.
The boy was following close behind; I could hear his shaky breathing. "Where is this associate?" I ask, mainly to fill the eerie silence. Choosing boxes at random, I look inside each one. Much to my dismay, I found nothing useful. "He's up front," replied the boy, checking boxes with me. "He's at the counter."
"Well, lets head up front then." I attempt at sounding cheerful, but I think I might of came off more wary, then I realized something. "What's your name?" I can't believe I hadn't asked that in the beginning; how rude am I? I'm also surprised that Kakashi hadn't either. We were now walking side by side; my shoulder accidentally brushes his shoulder. His face brightens as he looks at me, and the smile appearing on his face made him rather cute.
He seems to be the type that enjoys acknowledgment of any kind. His smile was ear to ear wide. "My name is K-," he never finished, and I never learned his name. Something had grabbed him from behind; quickly, easily, and roughly. I heard his cry, then the sickening crunch.