#dmcvitale

When I was sure that everyone else was asleep, I picked up my combat boots and slowly made my way to the back of the van. I did not want to go out through the main door because Lady was sleeping on the couch that was far to close to the door and it felt too risky to escape from there. Instead, I decide that escaping through the sunroof at the back of the van. I climbed onto of Nico’s work table, careful not to step on anything that would cause a noise. Whilst doing so, I kept my eyes at the front to ensure that Nero, Nico, and Lady stayed asleep.

     After successfully escaping through the sunroof, I jumped down onto the ground. Now, I was more ready to find my father again. I tightened my combat boots and the straps of my gun belt. When I was done, I walked away from the van leaving my 3 comrades behind. The sky was dark yet covered with clouds of red shining through by the light of the moon up in the sky. To be frank, it was eerie and I don’t know if this was the right time to escape from the squad but I pressed on. Rubbles and debris of collapsed buildings, tattered roads, and fallen infrastructures were so terrible I could not believe that Red Grave could be destroyed in less than a month.

     Walking for quite some time got me parched somehow, that is until I spotted a telephone booth by the curb of a street under some five-foot walkway. I walked towards it as I needed a place to sit and rest for a moment before I continued my journey to find my father. Sitting myself in the booth, I made sure I closed the door so that no one a nothing would come and attack me in the midst of me resting. I don’t know how long I passed out in the booth afterwards but when my eyes reopened, I saw a familiar tattooed figure wearing a clad leather jacket leaning against the door of the phone booth. A black panther lazily slept by his feet with it facing towards you. When I locked eyes with it, it growled and looked up to its master, as if to tell him that I was awake.

      When the man turned around to face me, he opened the door of the phone booth startling me a little before he spoke,

      “Little Wanderer, wandering out at night like this is not really the best idea you know?”

He bent forward as he said that, his face closing into mine but not near enough to make contact. I was speechless and shook at his actions but he moved back and offered a hand to help me get up.

      “Where did you come from, V?” I asked.

      “I merely followed you. I saw you sneaking out of the van. Though I must say, you’re not so careful about your surroundings when you did your little… escape,” he said.

      “I need to find my father. That’s all that matters.” I pushed the poet out of my way only to have him push me against the phone booth as he pinned both his hands beside head leaving me no place to escape. The closeness between us was absurd but not close enough for me to consider him assaulting me.

      “Tell me, Little Wanderer,” the poet said seductively. “Do you think, it’s a wise idea to walk the streets like this alone at night with demons festering around freely ready to feast on any living thing they see moving about?”

     “N-n-no,” I stuttered feeling his hot breath by my cheeks. I shut my eyes close and tried to distract my thoughts onto other things to calm myself down. Yes, I did find the poet attractive but I never crushed on him so hard like a high school teen and yet this is happening to me.

     “What is this? Is my Little Wanderer blushing?” he suddenly says.

What the hell am I really blushing right now. I thought as a placed my hand onto my cheeks, my eyes widened at the statement as I refuse to believe I was reacting in such a way towards the poet.

     “V, just let me go, please.” I said.

     “Beg me.” He says. Suddenly I felt him lick the nape of my neck. My breath became ragged and I may have even hitched a little. Just as I was about to comply, he lets me go. I was so confused at the point.

     “Frustrated, little wanderer?” he asks as he pushes a strand of my hair behind my ears. He leant in again and this time he whispered something so morally questionable and mind-blowing to me, I swear I could have passed out again,

     “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.”