Hola people! Me again!
Sooooo I didn't post this chapter this morning like I wanted to. My mom roped me into helping her clean the house, and not just 'a quick vacuum' either. There was some actual floor scrubbing involved. (Ow, my back and my knees)
Anyhoos, here's the next chappie! I'm glad to say tha...
Prowl: (tap tap tap) Is this thing on?
Me: Prowl, what the hell are you doing in my story?
Prowl: Reading the disclaimer?
Me: Wrong story. Get out, get out, GET OUT! (door slam)
Sorry about that.
Sunstreaker's Squishy:... Yes.
sweettea1: Great to know my work is being appreciated :3
As always, I do not own Transformers. If I did, I would have a Jazz mobile. B)
As always please RnR, and if I made any mistakes, please point them out. And also, I'm not Catholic, so I was thumbsucking there :P And a Beta would be nice :) Nudge nudge, wink wink, hey hey?
A brisk coolness hung in the air, gently moved by an almost non-existent breeze. Trees stood as tall guards in the dark, casting deep shadows and haunting shapes. The sharp moonlight was softened by the thin cloud layer that drifted hazily in the starry sky. Two even darker shapes flitted over the ground, barely making any sounds, leaving the disturbed air as the only evidence of their passing.
They were a half a mile from the town. They had abandoned the one truck they had come in, covering it with the thick tarpaulin, hiding it in the shadows. They panted softly as they ran.
"We found these babies standing all in the middle of nowhere and decided we could put them to good use."
"Can you remember what make they are?"
"Nope. I stopped caring too long ago to remember. I just refer to them as Big Blue and Red."
Red was the larger of the two trucks and was the one waiting in the forest for them to return. Will had gotten the night vision goggles to work, leaving them running through a brightly tinted green world. Not that he complained.
"How did you get them to be so quiet?"
"Let's say I knew a guy that owed me a favour. He was still alive and I made him see reason to help us."
"Shotgun?"
"Yep."
Will smiled softly at the naughty giggle Arabella had let out at the time as they were driving with no headlights through the dark forest. She was running in front of him with a backpack and her bow and quiver also strapped to her back. Her arms were extended behind her, her upper body leaning forward. Will copied her body stance as he ran and it felt like he was a bit more streamlined. It was either that, or he had watched way too much Naruto in the past.
Yip, way too much Naruto.
In the distance Will could make out the rectangular shapes of old buildings. Here and there were the jagged shapes of buildings that had collapsed, either from disuse or some war damage. It was a little hard to tell in the dark. Bella slowed down, walking quickly but still bent forward. They kept to the shadows as they slipped in between buildings. They came to the main road and Will got a glimpse at how small the place really was.
The town had a main road, what had once been a church, an old bar and a hotel with an old supermarket deteriorating in the corner. There was also a hardware store with broken windows. All the old buildings, save the church, had an extra floor for occupants. The church with its broken spire may at one point had had an area for the resident pastor to live. Here and there stood the wrecks of cars, covered in a thick layer of dust, or rather sludgy muck. Most of the buildings had the tell-tale signs of having basements.
Bella signalled for them to go around the back. They slunk through to the back of the hotel. Arabella seemed to pause and smiled.
"Whatever you do, shut up and let me do the talking." She whispered urgently to Will. Before he could react, she walked over to the door and spoke in a lowered tone.
"Forgive me Father, for it has been three years since my last confession." There was silence for a short while.
"Speak, my child, all will be forgiven." A man's voice responded. Arabella smiled.
"Father, in my private I have succumbed to thoughts of delusion. My delusions were chased away by an angel, who walks by my side." Will just stared.
"Indeed, he shall keep you safe and from harm in the foreseeable future, though your delusions are worrisome. You need to say five 'Hail Mary's' to be forgiven."
"Yes Father. To God be the Glory, Amen."
"Amen. Go in peace, my child."
"Thank you, Father." Arabella abruptly stood up and left. Will jolted out of his reverie, and jogged to catch up with the fading figure.
"Didn't know you were Catholic." Will whispered loudly.
"I'm not." She stopped talking, forcing them back into silence. They ran towards the hardware store, hiding around the back. Will could see the doors to the basement in the tall grass. Arabella, however, had other plans and hopped through the window into the backroom of the building. She helped Will in.
While he was still coughing at the amount of dust he had managed to disturb, she had gone over to what appeared to be a janitor's closet, and after removing the old trolley, shifted a panel in the floor. She waited for will to follow her before slipping down the short ladder.
They ended up in a dank, dark room with so little light coming in they needed a torch to see what they were doing. The goggles could only do so much.
In the large room barely taller than their heads, were various items that had over the years been collected and stored, but the majority of what was there were gas canisters and barrels of petrol. There were about 13 tall gas canisters, five medium and two small sized. On the other side of the room stood a total of seven full barrels of petrol with one half empty from previous use. Arabella fished out a small notebook and pencil and wrote down a few notes.
"So, if you aren't Catholic, do explain the priest." Will was rather suspicious of the arbitrary behaviour he had witnessed. She answered him without looking up.
"Eli has been living here since the… thing happened. He keeps a very low profile and an eye on everything that may or may not be going on around here. I basically asked if anything had happened since I last was here, and he asked if he could get five smoked deer shoulders again sometime. It's one of the ways I pay him to keep an eye on my stuff." Will 'ah'ed in understanding, and looked around a bit more. He noticed something on the wall and frowned.
"Why did you block the doorway to the basement?" He asked, leaning closer to inspect the masonry work. Arabella looked up, confused for a moment, but then remembered.
"Make it harder for anyone to come and steal anything. I'm rather paranoid about that." She tapped the pencil against her pursed lips before scribbling something down again.
"Where did you get all the gas from?" Arabella looked at him for a moment before returning to her notes.
"We would siphon it from the tanks of all the cars we came across. We found a petrol tanker once, but we didn't have enough barrels to get all of it. And the machinery was a bit complicated to use." Will ah'ed again. "Alright, we're done here. We have one more stop before we head back." She stashed her notes, resting against one of the large metal barrels. She turned to face Will, her face drawn in an emotionless mask.
"Will, right here we have enough fuel to make it to Smithers and back with no problems. And quite frankly, the only reason I'm doing this is for a bit of excitement. So that means, and I hope you get this quite clearly, that if at any time, and I mean ANY time, I feel it's not worth making the trip, we, are, not, going to do it." Will started sputtering a little. "Now, at the rate that we are going, we could be saddled up and out of here in less than a week, but then we are going to be working our beautiful behinds off to do so. Now, if I see any slackin' whatsoever, I will not only cancel the trip, but I will also kick you out of my caves so you can learn to take care of yourself, understood?"
He looked at her flabbergasted. There were no words tumbling out his mouth, only incoherent sounds.
"Now see, I like having you around, so don't give me any reason to kick you out, ya hear?" He nodded furiously. "Good! Now we're off to the supermarket! I hear they have some great specials on hygiene products this time of the year." Her suddenly chipper attitude was so contrasting of the sombre mood before, Will was started to question Arabella's sanity.
And it was not the first time he was doing so either.
xxxxxPCxxxxx
In the shadow of a passing cloud, the duo flitted across the street to the old supermarket standing on the corner. Arabella led them into a side alley and in through the back door. Will expected her to lift up another panel in the floor to reveal some secret passage to some secret stash of something that he was genuinely surprised she walked right into the front of the store, moving in between the near empty aisles in search of something. He had no idea, however, as to what it was that she was looking for. She really didn't tell him much.
He followed her around a corner and nearly winded himself against her back. She had, after all, stopped rather abruptly. When he finally took notice of what they were staring at, his jaw dropped at the femininity of the item and immediately blushed a bright tomato red.
There were sanitary towels everywhere. Ignoring Will's discomfort, Arabella grabbed one of the packs and tore it open, inspecting the contents, taking a deep sniff as she turned the small white pad over in her hands.
"Wha… what are you doing?" Will finally managed to sputter out. Arabella kept her focus on the soft object in her hands.
"I was thinking that if we go there and we find them, pads would make a nice… peace offering? Gift? And if there aren't any chicks there, the medic can use them as a way to stop bleeding in patients. They work brilliantly as big band aids. And besides, I don't use them or the tampons, so what am I going to do with something I'm not using?" She shrugged nonchalantly. "These are still good. I was kind of worried that they may have expired by now. Good to know they haven't." She tossed the open pads back on the shelf as she made to leave. Will fell in step behind her.
"What do you mean, 'you don't use them?'"
"When I was 14, my ovaries exploded. They had caused so much damage that the doctors had to remove my uterus as well. So, no periods for me!" She just kept on walking. Will stared at the back of her head as he walked.
"Well, that explains a lot!" He mumbled to himself as he fell into step behind her.
Outside the moon had passed its peak and was starting to descend. Arabella stared into the sky and took note of this. "Come on, we better get moving." She slid between the waist high bushes into the direction they had come from. Will followed her and soon they were running back the way they had come, leaving nothing but fading footsteps as evidence of any disturbance.
xxxxxPCxxxxx
Dear diary
We are starting to get ready to leave. Had a trip into town today and we still have a junk load of supplies. I told Will that if he screws up, I'm kicking him out of here. I hope he realizes I wasn't serious.
Checked on the pad supply as well. I think that will be a nice thing for any of the women stranded there. I think they're good quality. Or at least I hope they are.
It sucks not being able to have kids. I'll never admit it to anyone, but I really wanted to have a bunch of my own. I always wondered, will they have my hair? or Will they have my husband's eyes? or Will they have my mother's smile? I guess I'll never find out.
Well, we're shipping out of here soon. I'm still hoping this trip won't be a waste. Even if there's nothing there, it would have made for a nice bit of excitement, right?
Anyway, sleep tight. See you next time, ok?
Arabella