#crookedrun

But now, everything is just... quiet. He hears his footsteps loud as drumbeats as he comes to an ominous door at the end of the tunnel, accompanied by the faint hum of his cybernetics as he lights his way with his palm stretched in front of him. Thing is, he need not have, because just as he comes to a halt, he sees a sliver of white suddenly glowing from underneath the door.

“Hello?”

As he inches forward, his left foot scuffs against something: a rugged rectangle with a faded pattern on it. It’s a unicorn, prancing over the words “WIPE YOUR HOOVES” in a blocky, cartoonish font.  This just went from creepy to bonkers.

Breath catching, he steps back; then a silent accusation seems to echo from the tiny disc protected (and restrained) in a slim case tucked into his breast pocket. You promised, he imagines it saying. A plea, a reminder, a warning. Still...

“I promised,” Rhys mumbles to himself, and knocks a cautious rhythm on the door.

                       ❛      what  am  i  ,  wood  ?      ❜  she  saunters  into  the  room  as  if  she  owns  the  place  ,  twin  sai  tucked  neatly  behind  her  back  ,  ❛    i  would  have  thought  that  you’d  at  least  be  willing  to  share  !      ❜    

Liv barely made it back into the truck when a grenade from behind the wall hit the ground not far away from it, its ear-splitting explosion causing the truck to keel over and crash into one of their others, catapulting the brunette through the hot midsummer air and onto the torn, undulating concrete road, head first. Dazed from the whiplash and ears ringing, she soon realised warm wet trickling from her temple and a hot, sharp pain throbbing in her left thigh. Shards of various sizes and undefinable nature had torn through her jeans and into her skin and muscle, making the slightest move torture. And apparently, as she realised after what seemed like a momentary blackout, Liv was alone too. No sounds from behind the village’s walls, no one left of her group either. Fantastic. Not even biters, as far as she could perceive for now, which was the only good thing apart from being alive, she reckoned. A tentative hand felt up her hip to find her resting gun and knife, much to her relief, so even when these assholes had left her behind, she still had her weapons to defend herself with. Liv panted against the overwhelming pain, pondering over her next move. But there wasn´t much time - she had to get awaay from here and find shelter, somewhere as their camp was too far to reach on foot. Grunting in anguish, she hoisted herself off the ground and fled off the street, hobbling, and into the nearby clearing, deciding that staying in the thinning edges of the woods with an eye on the highway would be her best bet. 

The sun was on its way to set when Liv noticed a batch of walkers staggering in a relatively safe distance from her, across a field, and lucky as she was, it also directed her eyes to a small building she could only assume was a gas station. She still had enough strength in her to schlepp her exhausted and dehydrated body in direction of it, the bleeding wound on her thigh firmly covered by some old dirty plastic bag she´d found close to a cold fireplace by the clearing – she wouldn´t make the mistake of luring the walkers by leaving a trail of fresh warm blood behind her. The glass door of the small service station was found intact and squeaked open under the pressing body weight she moved against it, causing the brunette to sigh with utter relief. Once inside but under physical duress from pain and fatigue she still managed to shove an empty rack in front of it and limped a round to rule out other ways for the undead to get in until she finally collapsed behind the counter, unable to look for something, anything to drink or eat as she had initially planned before passing out. 

Liv woke from the crashing thunder outside or the heavy rain pelting against the ducked building or the askew signboard grating against the corrugated iron roof but she knew there was something else that was far more alarming than these natural sounds. There was… someone. Against to what her parched throat allowed her she tried swallowing, heart pounding, and adrenaline flushing her system despite her inability to move, and as quietly as she ever managed she reached down for the gun on her hip, cocking it and knowing for certain that if there was another person, they´d know what was up, by that sound alone. Damn. This really wasn´t her day, at all.

                           he was showing up UNINVITED — something they hadn’t quite gotten around to covering yet — he knew that. but in the aftermath of the billionth fight with sue, this time about the very man who owned the doorstep he stood upon, johnny had stormed out, needing to stomp off the frustration and mess of emotions that churned within his stomach rather than burn through it quick and fast as flying would do for him. a bag slung over his shoulder, he tries not to look NERVOUS. because he is. valentine’s day had been... upsetting? it’s what had led to the fight to begin with when sue had discovered her brother had spent the night in. alone. accompanied by dying flowers and chocolates in neatly packaged rows. johnny couldn’t blame him, really. work called, and he knew how some things just... couldn’t be put off. like payroll every thursday or a world-ending mission. fingers grip at backpack strap, and he kicks a shoe at the ground with a shuddered sigh that ends in a clenched jaw, holding back further emotion until he was either turned away or ushered inside. 

                     it was a day he’d always remembered without even trying — something kept in the back of his mind for as long as he could recall. numerous birthdays before the war spent out in the dance hall, shrugged over a table with a basket of fries being picked at, or maybe just in steve or bucky’s home with some unidentifiable yet familiar song playing in the background while the smell of some baked cake or pie wafted through the air. it was always one of the better days — no matter how sickly or moody he’d been upon waking, bucky had managed to turn it around even if the roles were meant to be reversed. somehow or another, his best friend always ended up bringing the darkest and deepest of frowns to at least an amused smile. because bucky barnes deserved to be in the best of company.                      now, it almost seemed that the roles really HAD reversed. weeks turned to a few months spent in each other’s company in his new apartment. it hadn’t been without trials or worries or even FIST FIGHTS ( with the occasional knife thrown into the mix ), but things had... found a place to settle. somewhere between the sudden coziness of what had simply been a place to sleep to a HOME, and the reassurance that they’d really always find their way right back to each other.                      a peek around the doorway to the bedroom and then a few easy paces inside reveal the sleeping form with a blanket strewn haphazardly across torso and legs. a metal arm that glinted when the sunlight streaming from white curtains hit it just so. at some point, the worry in his chest had been replaced with something far more sentimental, and he could only smile as he leaned against the dresser.                      “   you have any plans of getting up today, or do you plan on sleeping your whole BIRTHDAY away? c’mon, lazy bones. i’ve already got breakfast made up in the kitchen and it’s gettin’ colder by the second.   ”                     and just as the icing on the metaphorical cake, he can’t help the near devious grin as he shuffles towards the bed, pulling the warm, fluffy comforter off completely to reveal the form beneath it.   “   do i need to kiss sleeping beauty awake?   ”

           it felt as though it had been happening everywhere. whoever this person was, their aura was strong. their emotions were intense and absolutely wild, often times making rachel feel sick to her stomach. it was from feeling like the coldest of winters to the most intense of wars within seconds, nothing like she’d ever encountered before. sure, she’d encountered some intense emotions before, it was new york, after all... but nothing had quite the effect like this one had. originally, she thought it may have been the emotions of a group. soon enough she realised it was just one. she’d figured it out when she went back to the “hotspots” day in and day out. at first it was casual, just an extra added block onto her morning walk, but soon it turned into going out of her way. taking a four-block detour to the corner store, things like that. it was almost as if it was addictive. this bizarre mixture of pain and misery, the way it went thump in rachel’s stomach... she couldn’t shake it. 

     at first, she thought it was the energy of someone dead, long past their expiry date and well into the afterlife. but it wasn’t right. the feelings still felt too strong, different to the ones of the dead she had gotten so used to when working with the police. whoever these emotions belonged to, they’d been through it. but who hadn’t been through it these days? going through it these days seemed to be nothing short of a vital part of life. rachel had well and truly had her been through it moment. 

    after the first few months, she was about to give up. force herself to not go to those places and just keep on with her life. not once had she come across anyone that was a match, she was starting to feel like some sort of fucked up prince charming looking for an even more fucked up cinderella. but then it happened. on a day not unlike any other, the weather was normal, people were normal... but that had to be him. she could feel the energy damn near pulsating off of him. she kept her distance at first, hood over her head and hands in her pockets. it was him. she was positive of it now. before she knew it, rachel had drifted dangerously close and was nothing but a meter or two away. it was now or never. she needed to meet the body behind this tortured soul. figure out what kinda shit had gone down. shit, shit.  

      “sir!   ---  uh  sir...” this was always the awkward part. but fuck, she couldn’t stop now. she was so close, she felt cold. she felt sick. she was so close. “you know how to get to the subway from here?” 

       ‘                     ’      it’s been two weeks.    two weeks in a row.   like clockwork.    she’d sit herself across him,   eyes straight,   and lips tight.     but only for an hour;   whether he gave any information or she walked away with nothing,   always an hour.    everyday,    though.    like a curse,   like a promise.         /     from maria for @crookedrun !