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Fable was back seated and snuggled into her blanket by the time they came back through the door. Kiefer sat on the complete other side of the greenhouse….she felt so guilty about what had happened….the fact that he was willing to leave to make her more comfortable showed that he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her….She just couldn’t help the nerves that made her hyper alert right now. Mark was talking to himself….or at least she assumed he was. Something about MREs…..and sodas. The thought of food was tempting….when had she last ate anyway? Last night? Kiefer’s beef jerky still sat on the floor not far from her. She looked at it, wondering if maybe she should give it back to him. Any kind of meat was a luxury nowadays….
Hesitantly she stood, keeping her blanket firmly around her with one hand. She grabbed the jerky and then shuffled over to Kiefer. Still several feet away from him when she stopped….it would be rude to throw it….instead she crouched down and slid it as best she could towards him. Standing back up she rolled her lips between her teeth. Pale eyes nervous as she wondered how she could explain her extreme reaction. “Sorry about...earlier….” A pause, she looked at her toes. Scuffing one on the rough roof material. “....I’ve had a long day…..I guess it just got to me.”
There wasn’t much else she felt comfortable saying. She forced a small smile on her lips, eyes briefly glancing up to his green eyes before back to the floor.
Kiefer heard the sound of plastic on concrete and let his attention shift from the dead city outside to the floor to see the bag of beef jerky he had offered earlier was slid back to him. He gently took it up and put it in his pack before he got up and took just a step forward, his green eyes on Fable before he spoke. "I don't blame you for how you acted...I know you had a rough day, and you've every right to be afraid. I just want ya to know that I don't mean you any harm. That said...could I come closer?", he asked her, pointing to the space just a couple feet from her, not too terribly close but just enough to hold a conversation. He felt a strange desire to help her, perhaps because her circumstances were the same as what had happened to his sister and girlfriend, only they paid the price for it. Until she answered, or in case she said "no", he kept his distance from her. He was determined to break the mold, break the ice between him and Fable, but he wasn't going to push it, not unless she pushed it as well.
Fable stared at her toes when he spoke, pushing one shoe into the rooftop until she could hear the crunch of grit. She was about to turn back to her little corner of the greenhouse when something Kiefer said made her take notice. Her eyes shot up to his face, her breathing quickening just a bit. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, giving just the slightest nod. Her pale eyes not missing a twitch he made. She turned her head slightly when Mark stepped out, swallowing down the worry that bubbled in her chest....she was ok....everything was ok. Her gaze quickly shifted back to Kiefer, hands clutching her blanket even tighter around her thin frame.
Kiefer slowly moved to sit beside Fable, and visibly kept his arms however he could in his lap before he started to speak, his green eyes on her from the side before he looked back up towards the sky again, knowing that Mark had stepped out left plenty of time for him and Fable to talk, possibly to get along. "Thanks. So, Fable...tell me, what is your hobby? Do you have a favorite type of music?", he asked her softly, keeping his side to her and stayed where he was so she would find he wasn't trying to move towards her, not trying to bust her comfort level to 0. He cast a light glance to her and saw a tad bit of skin of her shoulders from the blanket, but she was clutching it plenty tight enough that he just knew she was trying to preserve her dignity and because she was scared. He let out a small sigh and lifted his arms while clutching his shirt after taking his bloodied jacket off to take his light charcoal shirt so he only had on an underarmor undershirt on in its place before he held it to her. Unlike his jacket, there wasn't a speck of blood or stench on it, in fact all it had was his warmth and scent; if she could get over the latter, it just might be comfortable for her. "Here. You must be cold with nothing but a blanket on.."
For a moment Mark just paced around outside. After a few moments he pushed his way back into the greenhouse grabbing his swords and his gun. "I need to go downstairs for a minute. I'm going to lock the door on my way down, gonna chain it up and lock the padlock on your side of the door too. There is a spare key sitting in my jacket up there." Mark pointed towards the jacket he hung up over Fables shirt, still not knowing she didn't have one on. After he spoke he made his way out of the house as he strapped the belt on. It took him a few moment to get the chain secure and lock the pad lock on his way out. He had to lock it when he was on the other side of the door of course else he would still be on the roof.
He let his feet drag him down the stairs, flight after flight till he pushed his way into the lobby quickly passing till he was outside. He made his way over towards a trash can that sat on the sidewalk next to the building, riffling through the trash till he found a blow horn he had stashed there. Pulling out his gun he started unscrewing the silencer sliding it into his back pocket. For a moment he looked around to see if there were any walkers around... none. He pulled out his Ipod and slipped in an earbud putting on 'My Demons' by Starset. He let the song get past the intro before holding the airhorn in the air and blowing it. After a moment he looked around seeing a few walkers making their way out of buildings and around corners towards him.
Mark smiled and blew the horn again as more and more walkers poured their way towards him. Slowly he slipped his second earbud in as he stashed the airhorn back into the can. He let the walkers get a bit closer before he began popping their heads off, one at a time as gunshots filled the air. He wasn't going to kill all that were coming, a horde was coming but he was going to take as many out as he could before he had to retreat upstairs. He did this almost every night, it made the walkers linger around his building for a few days, and he could still get out safely through the under ground parking lot that the stairs also led too. It worked out, he usually had to deal with a few extra walkers down there but it was never anything unreasonable.
After unloading his clip he holstered his weapons as he drew both of his swords, twirling them in both hands. "Come on you stupid fuck." He said with a smirk as he pointed his sword to the closet walker. After letting it get a bit closer Mark did a small spin swinging the sword out towards the walkers head, easily cutting its head right in half. Blood spattered all over his sword and a bit on his face as he did a quick turn to stab the front of his sword into the eye of an approaching walker. Mark backed into the lobby a bit, letting a few walkers pour through the door after him, stabbing his sword through the stomach of one, using it as leverage to push the walker back into a few behind him, the sword easily sliding through the stomach of three of them. Letting the sword go for a moment as the walkers struggled to move around as they were now stuck together with a sword. It was funny to Mark to see how stupid these things were and how dumb they looked trying to move around this way. "Come on now, come get me." He taunted the one in front before shaking his head and walking to the side of the three easily cutting their heads in two. As more blood spattered over his face.
Mark knew he wouldn't be able to stay much longer, more and more walkers were pouring onto the street around the building. He let himself take a moment to recover his sword before pushing into the staircase, locking the door behind him. For a moment he entertained the thought of letting the walkers funnel into the door way allowing him to cut them down one by one, but he knew it was probably a bad idea so he just started up the staircase. He allowed himself to wipe the blood and pieces of flesh off his swords onto his pants. After passing door after door leading out to each unexplored floor in the building Mark had an idea that Keifer and Fable may be able to help him clear one or two of the floors before they left, if they were going to leave. He still hadn't decided if they were going to be allowed to stay long.
After a long trek up the stairs Mark finally reached the roof, first unlocking the door and pushing it open enough so he could unlock the padlock. He knew that they were to high up for the pair still in the greenhouse to hear the blow horn, and it was unlikely they heard the gunshots over the wind but it was possible.
After letting himself back onto the roof he locked the door up again with the chain and the padlock. The door was always locked from the inside coming out anyways but the chain was extra precaution.
Before heading back inside Mark took a moment to really clean off the blades before sliding them back into their sheaths and taking out his earbuds. He turned off his ipod and made his way back to the greenhouse not realizing quite yet that he had blood on his face. He had been to into the moment with his blood pumping and Adrenalin running he hadn't realized it. As he pushed open the door to the greenhouse he grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a pile of clothing before heading outside and slipping them on, throwing the now bloodied dress pants into a pile of laundry outside. Once again he entered the greenhouse giving both the man and the woman a nod as he sat on his bed.
Kiefer moved a bit closer, she watched him from the corner of her eye. Trying to control her breathing and not panic....but his questions almost made her laugh...it was something to be ask before the outbreak.....but maybe sarcasm had been part of the questions? She smiled, a slight chuckle before she answered.... "Well....I enjoy staying alive as a hobby I guess....and I haven't really heard music in ages....save for that bit Mark let me listen to." Speaking of which.... She listened to see if Mark was coming back, only hearing a slight popping sound that could have been the wind rattling something on the roof. She looked out at the near darkness that blanketed the roof. Noticing suddenly that Kiefer was undressing. The skin along her neck pulled tight around her collar bone. Her muscles clenching as she fought against the urge to run...Why? Why was he doing that?.... And then he held the shirt out to her....
She looked at the shirt, not taking it from his hand. Her eyes shifting back to Kiefer's face....it was a kind gesture.....no one was exactly manufacturing clothes anymore...but....She felt like she could smell it even from here. Not stink mind you...but just a scent that was definitely man. Her brow furrowed. Not wanting to offend him again...but she just couldn't wear it...not right now....even if she was stuck in a blanket.
She shook her head, biting her lip when she looked away. "Thank you...but...I can't." She swallowed hard, hoping to force all those nerves down into her stomach. "Umm....so....you live near here?" Distraction....that was a good tactic right? Maybe she wouldn't offend him if she didn't linger on the topic....while she appreciated the offer she just couldn't accept it. With almost perfect timing Mark strode inside, grabbed pants and went back out only to appear minutes later and sit....with blood all over his face.
"....Mark?" She said cautiously....was that his blood? Had he been hurt? She looked over at Kiefer, maybe he could see something she didn't? Clutching her blanket she turned a bit so that she could see Mark better. "Your face.....are you hurt?"
Unfortunately for Fable, Kiefer was a smart man and rather perceptive as he noticed that Fable rejected his offer to wear his shirt for comfort. Though, even though he felt a bit sad she rejected him again, he took comfort in the fact she didn't freak out, instead kept herself stable. He simply nodded his head and put his shirt back on and even scooted back a bit so he was a bit further from her. "Sorry, I just wanted to help you be more comfortable..", he said before he heard her reply to his questions and ask her own to him, to which he chuckled, before he replied. "No, I'm from Oregon. Lincoln City, actually, a coastal town way to the west of here. And I still have my taste in music as well. I just don't know how to sing worth a shit.", he explained before he heard the door open again and saw a bloody Mark stroll back onto the roof, and stood up...wondering what was wrong with him. Was that his blood, or did he pull a Kiefer-style gorefest on himself?
As he entered he sat silently on his bed taking his gun out and dropping the clip on the bed. He pulled a small clear baggie out from under it full of bullets and began reloading the clip. As Fable spoke about his face he blinked a moment setting down the clip seemingly annoyed. Was he hurt? The scar maybe? What? For a moment he glared at her, then looked to Keifer seeing that he had taken some of his cloths off. He ignored Fables question for a moment and looked him over. "Look, if were going to sleep together make sure you keep your cloths on, you need to take me to dinner before we get to sleep together naked. Okay? Okay." Mark gave him a sarcastic smile as he finished loading the clip and looked to Fable.
For a moment he was silence as he watched her. "I'm quite alright. Having a great time." He took a long annoyed blink before pushing the clip back into his gun and holstering it. He slid his belt off and set the weapons to the side before laying back on the bed looking out of the glass. It took him a moment to notice the blood on his face in the reflection. So that is what she was talking about. I see. Mark sat back up with a sigh giving Fable a somewhat apologetic look which was mostly sarcastic before stepping outside to clean his face.
Kiefer seemed to take her refusal well, she gave him a small apologetic smile. But his comment about not being able to sing made her laugh...just a tiny bit. But it was there. Mark responded...but no the way she hoped. She stiffened, her breath catching in her throat. Without a word she turned her back to him, not willing him to dish out any more cruel comments. Fable clenched her jaw, blinking to force back the embarrassed and pained tears that threatened to flow. But her rapid blinking kept them as only a sheen in her eyes. She didn't want to look at Kiefer...didn't want him to see that she was about to lose her grip on her emotions. So instead she gave him a tiny nod, a sort of bye. Shifting she moved back to her tiny little corner of the greenhouse. Not meeting anyone's gaze. She heard the door to the greenhouse open and close again but said nothing. Sinking down into her blanket, wishing it could swallow her whole.
Maybe it was just the events of the day that made her so sensitive...maybe it was that she and Kiefer had been innocent...not even touching. But his barb hurt. She leaned forward. Willing her hair to fall across her face to hide her cheeks....she could feel the heat in them already.
Kiefer literally glared daggers at Mark for what he said. Did he not just tell him a bit ago that Fable was almost raped earlier that day? Was he so insensitive that he'd bring up her being naked or them sleeping together right after that? He didn't need to be looking at Fable to know she was embarrassed or even angry...all he could do to show he cared and that what Mark said held no water was a simple reach around and lightly rubbed his hair with a soft sigh, whispering to Fable, holding in the urge to just pat her shoulder, knowing that would make her feel worse and even more jumpy; he was trying to touch her less, unless she wanted him to touch her, to hug her or whatever! "I don't like what he said, either, especially with what he told me earlier...that was a dick move. Listen, if you want the bed, you can have it. I don't mind sleeping on the floor, plus I know you'd probably want to keep the blanket.", he said, casting a glance behind him over his shoulder at Fable, not blaming her for turning away from him like she did.
(The naked comment was directed at kiefer becausehe had dressed down to his under armor. Mark doesn't know fable is shirtless atm. I should have made it more clear in my post, but confusion in character and what not so its good xD they can think he knows all they want xDDD Go head and skip me this roud.
Fable was quiet, not making a sound. Mark has said nothing else, but what had she expected? 'oh my bad your not a whore?' She sniffed, not because she was crying.....but because she almost had. Taking on an almost numb feeling....just a few hours until morning....and then she could slip out and go back to her life of solitude.....As if that was something to look forward to. But at least there no one was making snide comments. When Kiefer spoke she lifted her head slightly to avoid having to talk through the blanket... "No....I'm fine here...but thank you." Whoever had the bed was going to have to spoon with Mark.....and she wasn't planning on doing that.
A shaking hand moved to her mouth where she proceeded to bite down on her already painfully short nails. She watched Kiefer from behind her veil of hair. She felt a little bad....they had just began to talk....having a conversation about his lack of singing skills and where he called home. And here she was running to the corner.....But she just couldn't stand there under the scrutiny of Mark....as kind as he had been up til now almost made his barb hurt more. A emotional betrayal. She moved to another nail, her pale blue eyes carrying streaks of pink. So across the room from Kiefer, huddled in her blanket. She tried to distract herself. "....what do you try to sing?.....country?" She wasn't sure why, but she just could see him singing a country song about a dirt road.
Kiefer couldn't help but pass off a concerned, or rather sad, expression as he saw how Fable was just writhing under her embarrassment, and watched as she scooted off to the corner to writhe more. He adjusted to lay on his side near the wall, somewhat close to her but not enough to alarm her to his proximity, his eyes closed for a bit with his head rested on his forearm with his other, his right arm, rested carefully on the floor. He was about to go to sleep before he heard Fable's question to him, causing him to open his green eyes to half-way and look about at the ground in thought before he gave a light laugh, only to reply right after. "Me? Sing? I try to sing stuff like 'Truly Madly Deeply' by Savage Garden and I end up going too high or too low a note. It's like Barry White trying to sing it, y'know? I also tried to sing 'Hollow Life' by K0rn, but that falsetto of the singer's is quite..hard to nail down. Especially with how husky my voice is. I suck at singing, as you can tell."
After washing his face Mark spent a little time outside thinking about what to do with the two people inside. Well sleep obviously but what after that. Was he going to let them stay? He wasn't sure, Keifer was under the impression Mark had already decided but that had been a lie. Mark was leaning towards letting them stay in exchange for labor. He had a few ideas for the roof that might make it easier to survive. Maybe even build a little shack for each of them if they prove useful. Yeah that was a sound idea.
After a few moments Mark was back in the building with the pair sitting on his bed. For a moment he just let himself fall back onto his pillow as he let some thoughts run through his head. Nothing to important, just a few thoughts about killing some walkers, others about shooting some walkers, a few about cutting some walkers heads off, a couple about blowing up some walkers, and a few about shooting some other people who crossed him. 'Good times.' he thought to himself as he reminisced on the past. For a moment he allowed himself to listen to the end of what Keifer had said. "Fable, there is a laptop next to you, if you like there is more music than I can count on there. You can put something on, but please god don't put something on that will make me want to throw myself off the roof. Also stay away from my games. I have some saves on there and if they get fucked up I will cry. I wont just cry, I will make it rain and cry in the rain. I've done it before, I promise I will do it again. Its easy, all I got to do is throw a bunch of open water bottles in the air and fall to my knees in the middle of them crying as it 'rains' all around me. Then I'll probably jump off the roof." Everything he said seemed serious, each word, until the end when he spoke about jumping off the roof, the rest though had seemed like he wasn't joking.
Huddled in her blanket she tried to smile when Kiefer spoke about his voice, she had heard K0rn before...wasn't really her thing but it was tolerable. Twisted transistor had been a fun party anthem. Not that she had ever been able to attend said parties......but sound travels. When he said he sucked at singing she gave him a small shake of her head meaning no. "...a husky voice doesn't mean your a bad singer....you just have a smaller range...." Soft rock was her go to genre...a low husky voice was a desirable trait. But it had been a long time since she had listened to a good song. Mark chimed in, offering up his laptop with the condition that it wasn't something that made him throw himself off the roof....and that she didn't touch his games.
She looked at him, hesitant. Then leaned over and grabbed the laptop. She straightened her jean legs out in front of her...wondering just which songs Mark would assume were.....throw himself off a roof-y. Scrolling through the music filed she came across a song that had been one of her favorites before the world went to hell. The Wrong Side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch began to play softly. She hadn't been willing to turn the volume up much just in case either of them hated it. While the band itself wasn't soft, this song was a bit more than their usual songs. And she always loved it when a band would slow down for a song or two. She looked back up to the men, giving each of their faces a glance in turn. "This ok?....Either of you want me to change it?..."
She didn't even nose when her hand moved to her thigh, tiny fingers beginning to drum the beat against her leg. She closed her eyes, just enjoying having music again. Sometimes the silence was deafening.
Kiefer closed his eyes a second as if to get a feel for the song, to hear its rhythm in tandem with the type of sound the band made for it before he chuckled a bit and actually started to air guitar gently to the song, keeping his gesturing with his hands and fingers in perfect tempo to the song itself, almost as if he was the guitarist himself, before he spoke up to answer Fable with a slight nod to his head. "Nah, this song's good. Think I should try to be the drummer or guitarist, Fable?". he asked, cocking his head up with one of his green eyes looking up at her now as if to see what she thought. Was his gestures amusing? If anything, he did want to see her laugh.
As the music filled the air it took a moment for Mark to place it. With a nod he let his eyes fall shut. "Good choice." He whispered as he kicked his shoes and socks off, covering himself in the blanket on the bed, staying to the left side. He could feel the anxiety he got before going to bed starting to kick in, it was much worse because people were with him. He wasn't sure what the product of the anxiety was but it was there and soemtimes it got horrible if he didn't take the pills he had for it. Silently he reached under his bed pulling out the pill bottle which he kept there for ease of access. When he popped the lid of the pills rattled around. He quickly took one out and popped it in his mouth capping the bottle and sliding it back under the bed. He searched the room for a water bottle, grabbing the closest one and taking a drink of it to wash the pill down. Slowly he lay back down, resting his head against his pillow. "Don't kill me in my sleep our I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." He whispered to them in a sleepy voice before he drifted into snoozevill.
Fable opened her eyes, neither of them were bleeding from their ears. And after a short comment she knew Mark was ok with it. She gave a tiny nod, smiling a bit. She turned to Kiefer when she saw a lot of movement in her peripheral vision. Realizing he was playing an air guitar. "....I think drummers taken." She said grinning. The sound of pills rattling made her turn back to Mark. He took one..or a few she couldn't really tell. And then settled down for sleep. Having to throw one last comment out at them. She smiled.....but seeing him nestled down into the bed made her realize how sleepy she was. She sat the laptop off to her side, a thorough stretch almost making her lose her blanket which she scrambled to hang on to. She looked over an Kiefer "You can take the bed....I'm just not comfortable with that yet." She shut the laptops screen so that it would go to sleep and save energy. Sliding it further down the wall so that she wouldn't kick it in her sleep.
She made herself into a human burrito, laying on her side. Despite the day and being in a strange place she found it oddly easy to drift to sleep....feeling safe where she was with the two fellows around.
Kiefer chuckled and shook his head, a clear "damn it" moment from him as if he wouldn't have minded playing drums either before he heard Mark say his little comment about killing him in his sleep...wait, sleep? He was going to bed already? Oh well, he couldn't deny that he was somewhat sleepy himself, and he realized such when he saw that Fable was getting ready to power down as well, laptop and all, as she moved to lay on her side. Nodding a bit, he got up and made his way back to the stairwell door, however this time he sat back against the wall next to its threshold and closed his eyes. It seemed he was trying to get some shut-eye but also was listening for any danger, like he was trying to protect who he wanted to save. Maybe, just maybe, Mark was becoming a friend of his, and he cared deeply for Fable despite having just met her. Whether it was because of his past, or if he just found her attractive and didn't want her hurt, it was its own thing for him. "G'night, Fable, Mark. Sleep well."
Shauna Kelly: That helped, thank you
Oct 4, 2021 14:40:44 GMT -5
Ayita Hunt: dang, January was my last post.. Jeez it's been a hot minute. o7 guys, sorry for the complete disappearance, life got.. a little interesting this year.
Oct 18, 2021 22:34:19 GMT -5