shots in the dark
II: Kai
you want your independence
Kai isn't quite sure what to make of Jinora, as they walk alongside in silence. They're almost at the edge of the town, and then it'll just be open road until they reach the next one. He remembers seeing her at the Sanctuary. She had always seemed fragile. Smart, but sheltered, striving for independence under an understandably protective father, Tenzin. Her younger siblings had been more noticeable: loud and excited and, quite frankly, annoying. But Jinora had always faded into the background... and now she's here.
She's pretty. Loose hair curls on the nape of her neck, her jacket hugging her lithe frame, her slender wrists flaring into thin fingers. She's tiny; he's a good head taller than her. Unless she changes, unless she copes, she won't make it: life out here is survival of the fittest.
He respects that, knows that; it's the foundation of his life. Being a Hunter, going out into the world to get supplies, killing zombies, is no easy job. Slaying zombies is easy: that's the primary training goal. How to find food or water was less important; the school probably figures that there's a pretty good chance of them never coming back, and why waste time when you could waste lives...
"I think we should stop for the night," Jinora says, snapping him out of his stupor. "We won't get far into the open land before nightfall; if we keep going it'll leave us vulnerable."
Still, he knows their alliance is only temporary; if he has to choose between his life and hers, it isn't even a question. You don't get far in this world by helpful. He's learned that the hard another pair of eyes around will be useful, as will having someone who knows more about things like collecting food or water than he does. While he was off learning how to kill, she was off learning how to do it in theory, and what herbs were useful, which ones weren't, stuff like that.
"Good idea," Kai agrees, letting his backpack slide off his shoulders and drop on the dirt. Open, dusty roads and abandoned farming area stretches out ahead of them. "We should collect firewood, I have a lighter. First things first though, do you know how to kill a zombie?"
"In theory," Jinora says, and her fingers tap out a nervous pattern on the hilt of her knife. "Push the blade through the ribcage through the heart, or better yet just crush it. A bullet or stab in the head will only temporarily stun one for a few hours."
Kai nods. "Looks like you know your stuff. Okay, I'll go this way," he points to the left, near some trees. There should be plenty of twigs for tinder to help the fire light. "If you need help, call out."
Jinora narrows her eyes. "Don't bank on it."
He's right: she's tough, independent. Kai doesn't bother to say anything back and goes over to the trees. Jinora doesn't call out, and when he gets back she's collected even more firewood than he has. His pride takes a bit of a hit. They get a fire going easily thanks to his lighter and as the sun goes down, Kai's grateful for the warmth.
"So," he lets the word sit in his mouth while he tries to find something to say. "You're Tenzin's daughter, right?" Tenzin, tall, aged, with a pointy beard and a stern look in his eyes.
"Mmhmm," she confirms with a slight nod of her head. Her eyes are usually bright in the firelight. Thinking about her family must be painful. "My father is..." was? " good friends with Lin BeiFong, one of the BeiFong Sanctuary leaders."
Kai raises an eyebrow. Interesting. "Really?" He offers her a small smile. "That's pretty cool," he admits.
"Won't matter if we don't get there," Jinora says glumly. He wonders if she knows that her survival odds aren't the best either. That takes naivety off a list of problems. "You're lucky you got training. My father was trying to keep me safe, but... in hindsight it wasn't the wise choice... What about your parents?"
"Dead," Kai says indifferently - he's so used to it now, to the mechanical way his mouth forms the word, how it closes the conversation, it almost isn't hard. Almost. "Since I was a kid."
And Jinora doesn't press it, another thing he's grateful for. "You have younger siblings, right? Ikki and Meelo?"
"And another little brother, Rohan. He's only seven." Jinora blinks rapidly and Kai looks away respectfully to give her time to wipe her eyes. "Speaking of which, how old are you? We shared some classes, but they always grouped all of us together even if we were four years apart."
"I'm twenty," Kai glances at her, trying to figure out her age. She's definitely not older than him. "You?"
"Nineteen," she answers. He studies her, fitting the pieces together - the curves of her body, her height, the shape of her face: she fits her age. Again, it strikes him how pretty she is.
Too bad this world destroys anything beautiful.
They eat some of the food they brought, careful not to consume too much. Besides the crumpling of wrappers or boxes snapping open, the only noise is the crackling fire between them.
"I'll take the first watch," Kai offers. Jinora eyes him warily, frowning.
"And I'm supposed to assume that you're not going to rob me in the night and slit my throat?" she says coolly.
"Well, first of all," Kai holds up one finger, "I can be cold but I'm not that cold, and it'll be good to have another pair of eyes around. You're useful, and human. I'm not a monster, you know. And second of all," he holds up another finger, "you're the one with the knife as your only weapon, but a gun is quicker." He pats the weapon strapped to his sloping belt. "So it'd be a bullet in the head, Jin."
Jinora sighs. "Fine. And don't call me that."
"What, you don't like the nickname Jin?" he asks.
"No," she says shortly, "I don't." She rolls over onto her side, curling into herself, and if she cries herself to sleep, well maybe Kai chooses not to say anything about it. Or wake her up for her watch shift, either.
Being helpful never helped you survive, but it helped you hold onto your humanity.
He's four, and it's the good old days, before the outbreak, before the Turning, before he grew up. He's standing on the edge of a town like this one, but alive, bustling, full of people and not stinking of death. His mother and father are beside him. "Do we hafta move?" he whines. He likes his neighbourhood. He likes his friends and the little girl who plays with him in the sandbox at the park whenever she isn't reading.
"I'm afraid so sport," his dad replies, ruffling his hair. Kai hurries to fix it, but it's still messy just like his daddy's. "Dad needs to be closer to work, in the big city. Give Omashu a chance, okay?"
"Okay," Kai grumbles, but he smiles when his mother presses a kiss to his forehead. Her eyes are just like his, wide and green and hopeful, but a little sad too. A brand new city, a brand new life, but it also erases the old.
It's a year before the outbreak, a year before the beginning of the end.
They encounter their first zombie a mile out into the open road. It pops out of the wilting farm stalks, its mottled, bloodstained hands reaching for them, to bite, to eat or to Turn, a Common. Kai's finger pulls the trigger faster than Jinora can stifle a scream. It falls to its knees, black blood spurting out of its chest wound, finally laid to rest and crumples. Some of the blood gets onto Jinora's shoes. Kai knows the stain will never come out.
She's still staring at the dead zombie. "C'mon Jin," he says as gently as he can, "we have to keep going."
It's been years but he can still remember seeing his first zombie, killing his first. Far too soon, far too young. He wraps his fingers around her hand, giving it a soft tug, ignoring the way it sends shivers up his arm. "C'mon Jin," he repeats, more quietly this time.
Jinora tears her eyes away from the zombie, swallowing hard and shaking. But she follows. A better reaction than most Hunters had their first time. Maybe she has better survival odds than he thought.
They walk the rest of the way until nightfall in silence. She doesn't let go of his hand, and he doesn't really mind.
A/N: Thanks for all the feedback. This chapter was a little on the short side, but I think it did its job. Lemme know what you think