Snippet #2488654

"I am attempting to protect you," said the soldier. "What he is doing with you - such is the reason for my presence." Though the words were measured and strong, Terrence sensed a fleeting feeling of exasperation. 'Pretty young to be tired of it all, this one.'

"That would be my Dimitri. Unorthodox, crazed, and cannibalistic in nature, but the only man who truly fights, lives, and breathes for me." Almost like a thunderclap punctuating a dramatic moment in some old-world comic book, that beast's howl carried itself across the sands to both terrify and accuse. 'I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it, I knew it. This bitch is nuts.

"I doubt he'll follow. He knows better. He's on a mission. And if he does come this way, I'll tell him to spare you. For the most part, he doesn't just kill humans. He only kills those who pose a threat to my health." Bandit looked at the soldier when she said that, giving Terrence a sense of unease. 'Gain the trust of the stronger, turn him against the weaker? Stab the victorious in the back when he expects a crown, I would not imagine.' Terrence scanned the surroundings once more, paranoid at the thought of this… Dimitri somehow emulating the speed of the creatures that he reminded Terrence of.

"So you're attempting to protect me from this guy? Pretty sure he's the fellow who saved my life." Terrence kept his silence, throwing a look at the soldier that simply said 'I told you so.' As Bandit began to pat herself down, Terrence noticed that something was missing. 'The canteen!'

"Attempting to ascertain the truth of that," said the soldier. 'Far as I am concerned, you're a soldier who fled from duty and she is a conspirator with a feral cannibal. It should be me who does not trust either of you. A sour look accompanied the thought, the Numinu not having a care as to who saw it.

"Damn it all," he muttered under his breath. Maybe it fell off when I put her down? Scanning the ground, Terrence found the water tote lying in the dirt by his own foot. Cursing his own idiocy, he debated whether or not to stoop low and pick it up while still at gunpoint. After a few moments, he decided. 'If he was going to shoot, he would have done it already.' Slowly reaching low, he grabbed the strap in his empty hand and gingerly returned it to the bottle holder on the bag hanging on his shoulder. 'Empty, but not for long.'

"Don't suppose we passed water. I'm bone dry and Slash, erm Dimitri, has my canteen." 'Slash? A nickname? Well that certainly isn't foreboding.'

"Overton City isn't too far from here. Maybe a two-day walk. Or we can go back where we came from. We could investigate what happened to the people there." Terrence immediately began to feel unease at the thought of going back. The image of that creature plunging it's hands unto Terrence's stomach and reveling in the blood while Bandit cheered him on nearly caused him to vomit. He'd rather face the two-day walk to Overton without water than go back to that beast.

"I'm so rude. I'm Jessica, but the wasteland likes to call me Bandit. And that's my Dimitri." She help up some kind of photograph, a rarity since film was so hard to come by. The image only confirmed that Dimitri was indeed that thing from back in the village. Here, he almost seemed human alongside the smiling woman.

"Nonetheless, we should shelter for the night. Continue to Overton tomorrow. Safety in numbers in these parts, after all; easier if there's someone to keep watch. The man who carried you claims he has shelter nearby. Do you trust him?" 'This soldier seems as tired of these shenanigans as I am. Maybe he is not a robot after all… wait, did I just get volunteered for something.'

"I have got a gun pointed at me and this woman is friends with a man who tears into people for laughs. Seems like someone should be asking me that question." Exasperated and tired, Terrence relaxed his body and returned to a normal stance. 'Like hell I will die with my hands up.'

"Overton was next on my tour. I can add an extra gun to the group, I guess. Shack is just north of here… I think."