Setting
He did not look like any of the insane people that had roamed the streets. He sported a pair of blue jeans, brown combat boots and a pair of sapphire blue eyes. His hood was up so not all of his face could be seen. He didn't sound like anyone from around the neightborhood, nor did he even seem like he was crazy. Ether just stood there looking at her.
"If you change your mind, come find me at these towers close by."
Virtus had a bottle of napalm in one hand, a rag sticking out of it, a makeshift Molotov cocktail. His face was obscured by a hand-made mask, all white with black lips and eyes sockets. He wasn't sure where the night would lead, but without a second thought, the young man strode up to the locked door, handing the make-shift grenade to the boy in a white hoodie.
"You'd best back up cheri," The masked youth planted a boot on the chain-locked door, knocking the chain from it's tiny fastening place, and sending the door sprawling open. "Did you know the end of times is called the Eschaton? I happen to be an Eschatologist, and I'm here to study humanity." He stepped into the small ruined house, grinning underneath his emotionless mask. "Nice place you got here, dearie. Shame your dad won't live to come back to it. Got any food left?" His stomach growled, he had food stashed somewhere, but he was unwilling to eat it. Not as long as he could find food elsewhere, only God knew when he'd come across more.
She decided it would be foolish not to obey this man. It was likely he would kill her without hesitation. "Um... yes, we have some, but not much. My father, he went out to get more... did you... did you kill my father?" she asked, this last part with a bit of eagerness in her voice.
After eating most of the box of crackers, Virtus made his way to the kitchen and took a long swig of water from the sink. "'Sides, if your father wasn't immolated, he was might've been caught up in the shooting that followed. Gangs these days, am i right?" He barked out a laugh, as it was his gang that had mugged the survivors leaving the store. "What'd Hoodie guy give you? I saw him slip you something? It wasn't valuable, was it?" He cracked his neck by rotating his head a bit before re-adjusting his mask to cover his visage.
There wasn't anyone outside, of course he didn't mind bluffing. If she ran, he could probably catch up regardless. "How about we play a game? It's called Truth or Dare. I'll go first. I pick Truth." He produced a piece of white paper with some names on it. "The truth is, white hoodie is on a very short list, and I have that list. Now it's your turn Gothie, Truth or Dare?"
With a kick, his boot-heel connected with the girl's stomach. They rolled for a moment, in a confused mass of fighting, before he disconnected with the girl. The knife had hit bone, but knives were ill-suited to pierce bone, and he pulled it free with an angry shrug. "Hey! Do you know how rare Novocaine spray is nowadays!?" He grumbled some more, feeling the knife and its weight. It was ill-suited as a weapon, and he tossed it behind him.
Blood seeped from his shoulder, staining his nice jacket. "You're really starting to irk me, you know that? Do you have any idea how painful it is to stitch up a knife wound!?" He spat on the ground, moving towards the girl. "Now listen up, I'm not here to hurt you, but stab me again and we'll see where the evening takes us! I've asked very little of you, the least you could do is oblige." He fumbled a can of anesthetic spray out of his pocket, spraying his shoulder down thoroughly.
"Now.... I'm going to ask nicely, one more time. Then you get to be reunited with your father. What did Hoodie give you?" Virtus pulled a small Zip-Gun out of his jacket. A gun made of improvised material, but by no means any less lethal. It was small, a simple .22, but he had a feeling Jennifer had never been shot before, and the shock was more than most people could take.
"Damn things are just as likely to blow up in your hand as actually shoot." He took out three pieces of pipe, screwing them together into a shotgun in a short five seconds while keeping an eye on the girl. "Well, it's YOUR invitation, you'd best attend it. Lead the way, ma cheri." He gestured towards the door with the shotgun, "It'd be rude of me to show up uninvited, so let's just say im you're plus one, yeah?" He rolled his shoulders, bleeding a little from the knife-wound. "Jesus girl, you've got spunk, you know that? Play your cards right and you might survive the night."
"I don't want to hurt you, I just want the Hoodie guy. I'm not the bad guy here, he is. Last person who stabbed me ended up flayed alive. I don't want to do that to you, I'm not that guy. The guy who flays people is at the store..." He walked behind her, a few feet between Jennifer and himself, hand ready to unload the shell. It was a single shot weapon, but at this range, with a shotgun shell, it was hard to miss.
There were two loud thumps at the door, and then it was knocked all the way down the hallway as a giant man. He was like a cold mountain, standing over seven feet tall with a grizzled beard and a permanent scowl etched into his face. He carried a hunting rifle, a metal bat, and two large backpacks that had the look of being overstuffed.
"Jenniffer?!" Father boomed. "Why did you bar the door on me?! Are you asking for a beating, wench?!"
He came in and stopped when he saw Virtus there behind Jenniffer. "Who are you? Get away from my daughter!" He raised the hunting rifle, ready to fire.
"Get away from my daughter!"
The man, Jennifer's father, The girl's name was Jen...? Besides the point, the guy had a gun, a real gun. Virtus felt like a kid at Christmas. He loped forward, throwing the free arm around Jen's throat, using her as a human shield. and leveling the makeshift shot-gun at the father's chest.
"Ehhh??? You survived the Chaos at the store? Such a shame, looks like you're full of goodies. If you want your daughter to live, the-" The shotgun erupted into a spray of pellets, it was better to catch people off-guard when it came to Mexican stand-offs. Besides, Virtus knew one of the best underground surgeons in the tri-county area. He could afford a few rounds from a hunting rifle, as long as it didn't hit anything immediately lethal.
With that, he shoved Jennifer at her father, sprinting out the back and circling back around to the front. In the rush of adrenaline, he couldn't even tell if he'd been shot. Hidden near the front of the house were a variety of hand-made grenades. Chlorine bombs, moltovs, tear-gas, anything Virtus could throw together when the Anarchy hit.
He put his index and middle finger of both hands into his mouth, letting loose a piercing whistle, then... he waited. Reinforcements would be coming, and people who were shot tended to make a lot of noise before dying. He had to be sure the father wasn't armed and waiting for him before he went back in.
"Look, Jen, I killed your father just like you wanted. Or... about to have killed.... In the process of killing? Semantics, really. No father should call their daughter a wench. I did the dirty work for you! You're welcome." He grinned madly while shouting, truly the world was more fun now that Chaos had hit.
She stared up at this strange man. He seemed oddly happy. She wasn't sure whether she should thank him or run away. So she just stared at him like a deer in the headlights. Her thoughts were a bit muddled. Why am I-
Then she saw it. The bullet hole, near her abdomen. Her father had tried to shoot right through her. She mustered up all the hatred she could for the man, considering she was partially in shock from the wound and partially from the action.
She tried to speak, but found she felt too dazed to do so. So she knelt down on the floor, staring at the body of her father.
"Ah, yeah, he's dead?" He probed the body, kicking the corpse. It didn't move much, and Virtus gingerly took the dad's hunting rifle and slung it around his shoulder. "Right, glad that's over wi-" Jennifer was bleeding, a rifle round in her abdomen.
"UGH! Your good for nothing father shot you. Talk about crap parenting. Come on...." People usually go into shock when shot, Jennifer seemed to be taking it all in stride. Virtus grabbed her, throwing her free arm around his shoulder, holding her hand on that arm to keep her upright. "Come on now, you need to see a surgeon. Lotta guts right there, chance it hit something fatal. Rifle rounds are gnarly, not like getting pegged with a hand-gun."
Members of the gang were arriving, ready for war. There was no need, however, and Virtus directed two of them to support Jennifer. "Take her to a nice bed, I'll call Hachet, she's been shot." Hoodie guy would have to wait, how he had to be loving this. Of course Hachet was in the middle of something, it took Virtus's constant nagging to get him to drive down to see Jennifer, but he was good at his job.
Jennifer would be fine, just in a little pain, maybe a small scar. She'd be fine. Virtus could've done the surgery himself... but people in distress made him uncomfortable, especially girls with open wounds.
Soon, Ether... Soon. The masked man bit his lip, blood seeping through the wound, but obscured by the mask. "Soon...." He growled.
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