Macxcheese
Jane ran her nails on her leg nervously. She would honestly rather be going with Malina after seeing Rashad in action during the last run in they’d had, but since the younger sisiter probably didn’t know how to siphon gas, it didn’t seem she had a choice.
She also really didn’t like leaving Malina alone with Jonathan, and for a moment became aggressive. Taking a step towards the boy, she hissed, “Touch a hair on my friend’s head and you won’t have a hand to touch with.” For added effect, she turned on her heel and started walking to a nearby door, still unsure of the plan.
CandyLeptic
Malina stopped dead when Jane hissed at the kid- that was so cool!!! "Thanks Jane! I got a gun though, I'll be fine!" She called back and started to make her way up the stairs, before something occurred to her and she came back. She walked to Rashad and looked to the ground for a moment before lightly tugging at his sleeve. "Don't die," she said, not looking at him before turning and leaving.
Touched, he stopped her and lightly patted her shoulder, "You neither! We'll be fine, they shouldn't notice us with the sound, Malina." He eyed Jonathan to, but didn't say anything. He actually believed him to be a pretty good kid, so he gave him a small smile and a nod.
He followed Jane to the door, and, carefully, got it open as quietly as possible. It was far colder outside and the wind hit his face hard, but he wouldn't let it take his breath! He could see a walker, not too far away near their car, and slowly, he motioned for Jane to follow him outside. He crept behind the church dumpster behind Jane, and then made a quick run to the church v
an a little ways away. Once close, he carefully (and silently!) removed the church van keys from his pocket- he wouldn't tell Jonathan, but he had snatched them while looking for coats last night. He felt something awful stealing in a church, but if someone...else had been around last night and got their hands on one of the girls, they were sure as heck going to be stuck there...
Malina watched them solemnly- she was worried now that they were gone. But she knew she had to do what she could, so she slung her rifle into its position and ran up the stairs behind Jonathan! "So who's going to ring it?" she asked between pants.
kryssJonathan backed up as Jane threatened him. He would wonder when they would start to trust him, but they'd only known him for one day, and they already trusted him enough to let him travel with them! That was a huge improvement from tying him up. "I swear I won't," he said, trying to sound reassuring.
Once they'd left, he led Malina to the room he usually slept in. He popped the latches on the windows and forced it upwards. The plastic and metal protested at its first movement in two years, screeching. He shivered harshly in the wind, goosebumps immediately springing up and down his arms. He glanced back at Malina. "I don't know. Either of us could, I guess. Getting there is going to be the hard part. He stuck his head out. A group of walkers were already gathering below, reacting to the window;s noises. He swallowed hard, then scooted out, sitting on the sill. If Malina really did want to hurt him as badly as she seemed to, well... now was her chance. He pushed that thought aside and looked upwards, judging how far away the roof was.
The roof immediately above his head was too far away, but it sloped downwards, and the eave was near the window. He levered himself further, heart pounding. He reached as far as he could, straining his arm, and he managed to grasp the support beam. It felt thin, far too thin to support his weight, but he used it as leverage to grab the edge of the roof. He almost slipped off immediately, his numb fingers trying to find a grip, but he held on and, with a lot of work, made his way up and onto the slope. "Alright," he called back down, "I can help you!" He braced himself as well as he could and stretched his arm down, ready to grab Malina's hand. Slowly more and more walkers were gathering below them, and he felt his stomach roll. He swallowed hard and ignored them, praying quickly.
CandyLeptic
Malina flashed harsh eyes at him. Bedrooms were always, always a bad sign. Her mind went to her uncle and his bedroom, and then to Volkav. Had he? Had he taken her to- Jon answered her though, and although she didn't hear him it was enough to shake her from her thoughts. She watched him crawl out and her own heart nearly stopped when he almost slipped. She felt a ping of guilt for him; she was so willing to hurt him and he was willing to hurt himself for them- but sympathy is how women- kids really- can get so easily hurt, so she let the feeling fade into pure focus. She wouldn't slip nor fall, she decided, and as she stood outside and the wind took her breath, she decided she didn't need h is help either, and after a great deal of struggle, she made it up there on her own too.
Macxcheese
Jane sucked in a breath as the wind slapped her and suddenly wished for her old bandana. She ran after Rashad, trying to keep up as best she could. She gasped for breath when they stopped at the garbage bin and didn’t notice Rashad running away until he was a few good yards! Her blood rushed to her ears and she sprinted after him. Luckily she caught up without much trouble. The stopping was harder though, and her head swirled in dizzying confusion. She leaned against the car while calming down, and became stable enough that she could provide an okay look out.
CandyLeptic
Rashad stood to his back to the car and caught his breath for a moment. "Jane, are you all ri-" From a distance away, muttering and groans cut him off, and two walkers started to turn towards the two. Rashad's heart beat in his chest rapidly, and he took his gun out so quick he almost dropped it. He had two bullets left though, two, and he wasn't sure enough they both would hit. He cursed for using so many on the ones earlier, but he was stuck and the bell still had yet to rung. He quickly opened the passenger door, not thinking, and lightly pushed Jane in before running to his own side and getting in himself. He locked the doors and sunk down low and asked Jane to do the same. He closed his eyes for a moment- they would stay until they heard the bell, at least, and then lose them, hopefully!
Kryss
He watched her, terrified that she was going to fall one or two times, but eventually she made it
up next to him without ever once taking his hand. He nodded and began crawling slowly across the roof. The hardest part was over, but getting to the bell still wasn't easy. It was inside the steeple, at the top of the roof, near the front of the church. He finally reached it, his fingers gripping the cold outer edge of the housing. He pulled himself up into a standing position, one of his feet braced on the very peak of the roof. He looked out, pausing for a moment. He hadn't seen his city like this in... ever, perhaps? He'd been to the top of Suicide Hill (only referred to as that by the skaters in town) but that was outside the city. The view was fascinating - and incredibly depressing. Even though they were only two stories up, he could see car crashes all around, places where people blind with panic had run into mailboxes and power poles. He could see forms moving in the distance, most of the nearby ones already making their way towar
ds the church. He shook himself out of his reverie, glancing up at the grey sky before wiping his hair out of his eyes, where the wind had blown it, and looking back down to Malina to see if she needed any help. "There's no knocker inside it," he called, "But I suppose you could hit it with something?"
CandyLeptic
Malina's bangs whirled around her face and her pony tail whipped here and there, but her eyes didn't stop searching for Jane and Rashad. She didn't see them running or waiting, and it created a storm of anxiety in her. She did managed to see the church van and zombies coming towards it, so she hoped- she prayed, actually- that they were okay. Outside didn't feel as closed in as the church did, and the wind almost served as a sort of proof of God's presence in a way. It seemed to never stop blowing, but it also caused a chill to run up her spine!
She looked to Jonathan and nodded. She didn't know what a "knocker" was but she did know how to hit something!! She took her rifle strap off and clicked the safety on (what kind of pansy leaves it on, anyway??) and crawled under the bell itself before calling out; "You should really cover your ears!!" She took her rifle and smacked the butt against the bell, and it rang out loudly. Not happy with her work, she did it again, and again, and kept going. "Yell at them!!" She called back to Jon between rings, "Show them we're up here!!!"
Macxcheese
It took longer to see what Rashad was so panicky about, but she quickly mimicked his expression once she heard the groaning. She felt herself be pushed in the car, which was good since she had froze the moment before. Following Rashad’s directions, she slid low into the seat. Her eyes stayed wide open and aimed at the passenger door window, waiting for something to arrive.
Before it could though, the bell rang. Jane gasped out in relief and looked over at Rashad for direction.
Kryss
Jonathan clamped his hands over his ears as she began ringing the bell. He had no idea it would be so resonant! As soon as he could stand it, he followed her directions as best he could. He stood carefully, wobbling from his precarious footing. He grabbed one beam of the steeple firmly, and waved the other hand in the air. "Hey!" he shouted, having no idea what to say to attract zombies. "Up here! Look, don't you see us?" What else could he do? Seeing a sole zombie still milling near the van, he screamed as loud as he could, "HEY!! Um, LOOK OVER HERE! WE ARE VERY INTERESTING!! LOOK! LOOK!" He kept waving, almost losing his footing at one point. He began losing feeling in his extremities, and his nose was running, but he did his best to continue.
At the sight of the collection of rotting corpses waiting for them below, he tasted bile in his mouth. He swallowed it down, and continued. There couldn't be that many more to attract, could there? There were already ten or fifteen gathered below.
CandyLeptic
The bell rand and kept ringing, and thankfully, the two walkers, before they even made it to the car, were torn between the two. Rashad popped the keys in and the van flew away. The car caused some walkers to follow, but for the most part they were concerned with the ringing, and migrated toward it! "It's working," Rashad breathed and he drove around before slowing the car.
"I can't even believe it. If that's not divine intervention," he said as the car slowed to a stop, "I don't know what is." He noticed the van had a half tank- not bad at all!!! He got the Jeep's keys ready, and slowly parked and got out of the van. He made sure Jane was out all right and slowly opened the back of their own car. The chickens were fine- they were probably hungry but they were alive thankfully. He got the siphon tube out (it was his least favorite, to be honest..) And opened both car's hub caps. The parking lot was amazingly empty- most of the walkers were on the other side of the church were they had a better view of the bell.
"It's amazing," Rashad started as he got the tube in the church van (the Jeep just had so much better mileage, really!), "That we found this church, and this kid all alone and well, had enough food to eat, and are now leaving better off than we came, you know?" He knelt down to siphon but his gun poked his ribs. He stood up again, and after considering, handed it to Jane. "Careful with it! I pray we don't need to use it, but you know..." He cupped his hands around the siphon tube before laughing, "Don't make fun of me for sucking, okay?" He managed to suck enough gas take it to the car twice before needing to catch his breath. "Jane, I know it's really hard to trust him. But we can really be there for him." He started around for the other side of the car, leaving her out of view for a moment. He was looking around to get a better idea of how to pick up the kids now, and realized he could see Jonathan, screaming from the top of his lungs!
He smiled, and as he walked around the front side of the van, he started to explain to Jane, "We were actually talking about the Bible last night. It reminds me of a verse from Hebrews I remember, it's something...something like '...Do not forget to do good and share with others, for by such sacrifices God is pleased.'" He realized, with the wind, that his hair was down and all over his face, so he started to push it back as he smiled through Jane, "It's a nice verse, isn't it? Jane? Jane...what are you doing....?"
Macxcheese
Even when the van purred to life, Jane kept low in her seat. She saw the the church move through the van’s front window, and her adrenaline peaked as soon as they stopped. What Rashad said made Jane purse her lips in thought, and she got out of the car with her head in the clouds. While Rashad pondered out loud, Jane did so inside, absentmindedly taking the gun from Rashad.
It really was lucky how they’d found this church, so readily available. And Jon had food. A lot of it. Which was pretty good for how long he’d been there. Her thoughts started moving faster as the smell of gasoline wafted nearby. There were awfully a lot of /them/ around- Jon seemed pretty religious- maybe, maybe he wasn’t as docile as he seemed. Maybe he had been working with Volkov. The cave wasn’t too far from here and- did he know? Did he know about her old group? Had he judged her like Volkov did? The bells sounded so loud in her ears.
Was he going to kill them?
The world swirled around her and she saw Jon come around the front of the van. What had he done with Rashad? She suddenly felt the gun in her hand and drew it, pointing at the boy. Where was Malina? He’d killed them, and now he was coming for her.
She pulled the trigger. It clicked and nothing happened. He came closer. The bells stopped. She swore and pulled down the hammer and tried again. This time she heard the bang. He fell. She walked over and repeated the action. Nothing happened. How many bullets were inside? She pulled the hammer again. And then she saw who she’d shot.
frightonachristmasnight.tumblr.com/post/119827318907/would-you-believe-this-wasnt-even-the-weirdestCandyLeptic
Malina actually started to laugh at Jonathan- he was trying his best but it was a good effort!! She beat the hell out of the bell (rhyme intended!) for a good couple of solid minutes before her arms were so numb it hurt! She was scared of her gun too- it had taken quite a beating before but she didn't want it to break either. She was unsure it could but still.... Malina let crawled out from the bell and the momentum kept it ringing for a few seconds more. She watched Jonathan calm down and kept really cold herself, and with a few giggles she rubbed her face too. It was really kinda nice, being up here, and it being so calm too...
The ringing stopped and the gurgles could be heard beneath, and as she started to make her way to the ledge. She squinted as she looked for Rashad and Jane, but the sound of a gunshot made her face fell flat. The scream that followed- the very human scream, the very familiar one- tore her heart into pieces.
CandyLeptic
He screamed. In all of his life he had never felt such a sharp, physical pain. He was in shock at first, so much blood flowed from his thigh, his left one, he noted, but it was so painful. His eyes opened after a great deal of effort and the gun- his gun- Tunman's gun- was pointed at him again. "Please," was all he could mutter before it clicked again. But there wasn't anymore pain.
Rashad thought he had died should it not be for the sharp wind that blew. After a moment he weakly called out for Jane. He had two bullets. Why wasn't there two bullets? It occurred to him that she didn't know how to fire a revolver- you couldn't just press the trigger, but the hammer too, or else it skipped to the next bullet. "Jane" He said again. Rashad tried to get up but the world seemed to fall around him.
Kryss
As Malina let up on the bell, considering they couldn't see any more walkers coming from anywhere, Jon settled down. His throat was raw and painful after his screaming, and he looked down at the gathered group, unsure of what to do next. Suddenly he heard a sharp crack that echoed throughout the entire lot, and a scream of pain. His first instinct was to look to Malina, but she was holding her gun at ease, and zombies don't scream. He whipped his head around, looking back, and saw Rashad on the ground, and it looked like he was holding his leg. Jane was near him, but he couldn't see her clearly. He slipped in his shock, landing hard on the roof. His hand shot out and grabbed the peak - it was the only thing that kept him from falling to his death. He struggled back up, yelling over to Malina, "What do we do? How do we get to them??" There wasn't a way off the roof, except for the way they came. Jon was fairly certain he couldn't walk away from a two story drop.
Macxcheese
“Oh god.” The gun was dropped with a clatter and Jane took the last few steps over to Rashad. She fell on her knees and covered her mouth in shock. She’d been so sure, she’d /known/ in her heart that it was Jon. But it wasn’t. She’d shot her friend.
Choking back tears, Jane breathed, “What can I do?” She started taking off the hoodie she had on, in case she need to wrap his leg. “I’m so sorry, Rashad, oh god,” she repeated. She saw a form off a ways and remembered why she had the gun in the first place. She scrambled back and snatched it, stuffing it halfway in her pocket and returning to Rashad’s side.
CandyLeptic
Malina didn't even see Jon fall. She would cared had she seen it, but for now she couldn't even register it. She wasn't going to go down the way they came- that took too long. She wouldn't accept Rashad might not be okay. She had to know. She had to know right fucking now. She swallowed hard and tried to climb down before realizing she couldn't- the church really wasn't made to be scaled. She cussed and felt tears forming, but she shook her head and just fumed for a moment. She'd jump if there wasn't a pit underneath- it was a pit, really. Just like Volkav's.
And that lit a fuse somewhere, and soon her rifle was out and the lazer was on and shots were fired. Her teeth were so grit together it hurt. And she shot again, and again and again until all the snow was painted red underneath. And when something moved she shot more. And she had to flip her magazines over to reload faster and shot more. And finally after a moment she stopped and breathed.
"They're all dead." She said out loud before looking. And nothing under her moved. And she looked back to her brother, he was moving now, and without thinking, she ran off the ledge.
CandyLeptic
Rashad breathed in pain and looked up to the sky before looking back at Jane, "Jane, Jane look at me. It's okay. We'll fix it. I need you to help me up." He knew one was coming. Probably more. He tried to lift himself up but the pain shot up and he was down in a second. Then, with Jane's added help, he managed to hop a moment. "We have to get in the car. I can't drive but we'll figure...
" His voice trailed off though, and he started for the car. It
was hard to focus on anything. "Talk to me Jane,"
he begged. He needed something to focus on. But even as she started to speak, everything started to fade in and out. And world would start to fall again, if just for a moment.
Physical pain, he decided, was the greatest enemy of all mankind. Kryss
Malina was like a figure from a fable, and Jon didn't dare approach her. She crouched, immovable, emptying round after round into the monsters below, tears in her eyes. Finally she stopped and stood, delivered her pronouncement, and then stepped off the roof. For a moment Jon half expected her to fly to her brother - but of course she didn't. "Malina?!" he cried, scrambling to the edge as fast as he could. He tried to see if she was alright, but he couldn't tell.
Breathing hard and steeling his courage, he wiggled around until he could lower his legs off slowly. He let himself down, finally dangling by his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but before he could prepare himself, his numb fingers finally lost their grip. He fell to the ground, and a sharp pain shot up his ankle. He groaned loudly, grabbing it, before choking back the pain and looking around. He raised himself, leaning against the church and looking for Malina, hoping she was alright.
Macxcheese
Jane nodded, flicking a few tears off her face before grabbing under Rashad’s left arm and helping him up. She took as much weight as she could (which was honestly not a lot) and started towards the car. The whole time she kept whispering “I’m so sorry” in different variations. She stopped immediately to do as Rashad asked, and searched her mind for something. “You know Jason Baber? The singer/rapper? I dated him for a while, but he was a total asshat, just like the tabloids said. Worst decision of my- whoa!” She stumbled a little, barely keeping her hold on the half conscious Rashad. He seemed to wake up enough for them to start moving again, which was a good thing. In the distance Jane could see a few of /them/, making her speed up their journey.
Once they got to the jeep, Jane leaned Rashad up against it and yanked the back door open. She helped him get inside as best she could, then slammed it shut and jumped in the passenger side herself. She hoped Malina would arrive soon. Then again, considering that she’d shot her brother… No, she really did hope Malina would arrive soon!
CandyLeptic
Malina opened her eyes. They broke her fall. The zombies. She fell on their bodies, but she was okay. She sat up immediately, knocking zombie parts away, and started for Rashad, gun in hand, until she heard Jon hit the ground. She stopped and turned. He was hurt. Really hurt. Why didn't he land on the zombies like a normal person??
"AaaAHRKRHGGGH!" She screamed at him, but turned around for him. With strong arms she grabbed his waist, and started to pull. She had been here before. When the explosion went off. When Rashad needed his scarf...When Rashad... She dragged Jonathan, pretty much literally dragging him. She honestly didn't prioritize him not getting hurt anymore, he just had to make it out. Just like Rashad had to. And Jane too! She finally caught them- they were getting into the car!!
Malina made her way there with Jon as fast as she could, but stopped when the walkers- the ones that had followed Jane and Rashad- made it to the car first. They beat the sides furiously, gurgling into the windows. Malina set Jon down, but also let him fall a bit. She felt nothing but rage at this point. Pure rage. She screamed at the two walkers and shot one so close it's head exploded on Jane's window. The next one was a bit further from her, but she was feeling particularly far from mercy. She swung her gun around to the butt and beat the figure, first just to slow it but then again, and again and more. It fell onto the side of the car and she realized she couldn't shoot it- the bullet would pass and break the window- and after a moment of clarity she realized she had to go back to beating it again, until it was nothing but a raw mess of figure. Tears were down her face that she promptly shoved away with a bloodied hand, smearing it across her face. She tiredly grabbed the figure's shoulders and threw it to the side, letting it fall on the ground before getting a glimpse of Rashad, bleeding in the backseat. She froze in place.
CandyLeptic
Rashad didn't hear much of what Jane said, but he nodded and fell into the seat of the car.
Everything was so fuzzy and painful. He could feel his blood soak the seat and felt a ping of guilt.
He heard knocking on the car sides, but didn't register them as danger- just background noise. He rested his head on the window anyway.
He could have sworn he heard a buzzing, but after a moment realized that was Malina screaming.
His pain was so strong though, he just willed himself to pass out, but he kept an eye on Malina anyways. Kryss
Jon tried to keep up with her as Malina ran, but every step sent a new stab of pain. He could feel it in his eye. Was that weird? He wasn't sure. Eventually she just let him go, and he fell to the ground. He didn't blame her, he was especially useless right now.
When he saw her beating the zombie, he felt half frozen - was she an Amazon or something? He hadn't dared to leave his church in two years for fear of the creatures, and she was beating one to death with her bare hands. Technically not, but close enough. But mostly he wanted to stop her. This kind of rage wasn't good for a person, and she needed to be helped. But he was afraid to approach her, at least until she stopped moving.
He limped up slowly and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to make sure she could see him, so he didn't surprise her. "We need to get him somewhere safe," he said, catching sight of Rashad in the car. He looked away quickly, but still saw the growing patch of blood on his pants. "I... I don't know anything about medicine, except some basic first aid. But he's a doctor, right? If we can just get him somewhere and bring him back to consciousness, maybe he could walk us through helping him. Or maybe..." He swallowed hard at the idea of dealing directly with Rashad's wound. And his own pain made it hard to focus. "Is there anyone else? Do you know anyone - anywhere? - that we could take him?"
Macxcheese
Jane turned around to try and help Rashad get more comfortable. A thump to her right distracted her and she came face to face with one of them. She screamed and pushed herself across the cars console. Warm tears ran down her face and all she could think was they were going to die and it was all her fault. Something nudged her stomach and she slapped it, though quickly realizing it was the gun from earlier. She took it out and pulled the hammer back- yet before she could pull the trigger, she heard a gunshot. The thing’s head splattered on the window in front of her before sliding down the glass. Jane felt vomit rise in her throat and only kept it down through sheer will.
Another scream sounded outside, though this one sounded a lot more angry than scared. Jane heard random bangs and thumps outside, and noticed Malina through Rashad’s window. She shrunk down in fear while watching the younger girl talk to Jonathan. She glanced at Rashad and, remembering the injured person, asked if he needed anything.
CandyLeptic
Malina stood still and listened to Jonathan's words carefully. Watching Rashad like that... She didn't want him to be conscious, as weird as if sounded. He was in so much pain. Her face started to show how vulnerable and young she was, and she could fell her tears start to fall again before she slowly nodded them away. "I think I know a place," she said slowly.
She slowly opened the back seat door, scared of what she would see. Rashad looked so different, and it was so hard to take it, but she made herself do it. First and foremost, she untied the keffiyeh he had given her and tied in around the wound hard. She breathed hard at it, but realized it hurt really hard to breathe. Putting bloodied hand on her chest, She saw Jane with the gun and held out her hand.
CandyLeptic
Rashad took a deep breath and tried to count heads. "Jonathan," he said, "See if he can drive." He slowly let his head fall on the window, "Jane, it's not... it's not your fault Jane." He said, with great struggle.
It was getting hard to concentrate on voices and who they belonged to, he noted. Macxcheese
Jane could breathe a little easier once everyone was in the car. She shoved the gun at Malina, wanting it a million miles away from her. She took another look at Rashad before turning towards the front window, rubbing the wetness from her eyes. Another sob broke through when Rashad assured her it wasn’t her fault, because it really was her fault. She was so useless- worse even. She rubbed her nose, trying to keep everything in. Maybe if she held it in, it would turn out okay.
CandyLeptic
Malina took the gun and looked at it- he only had one bullet left?
Had he forgot how to shoot it? She clicked through the hammer, about to check it out when she realized Jonathan was still outside. Malina looked between the two before an idea formed in her head. She got out of the car for a moment and went to help Jonathan. She tried to sound as innocent as possible. "I'm really sorry," she sniffed and helped him in the car, but brought him to the driver's seat. She closed his door abruptly before taking a seat in the back. She sniffed for a moment in the confusion before looking and Rashad and Jane.
She picked his gun up and rose it to the back of Jon's head. She clicked the hammer twice- she wasn't actually going to shoot him, but she could use that momentum she had to scare him. "Drive." She motioned towards Jane, "Whereever she says. Jane," she said, teary eyed again, "Can we go back to your place?"
Kryss
Jon didn't realize he was being led until he found himself in the driver's seat. It made sense, though, it was the only place left open. He watched the scene unfolding with increasing discomfort. What could he do? He prayed, quickly and intensely. Please, God, take care of him. Do not take him to you yet, he has things to do. Keep him with us, please. Other than that, though, he wasn't sure. Until he heard a click behind him.
He turned just enough to see the gun aimed at his head. Although his veins turned icy at the sight, he tried not to take offense. She was desperate, she was terrified. Her brother might die. And he would have helped them anyway. He looked down at the steering wheel. "Where?" he asked the question in a general manner. "Where do we need to go?" He never did get his license. He hadn't driven in two years. But that didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was getting these people to some form of safety.
Macxcheese
Jane watched Malina point the gun at Jon in shock. She stared as the younger girl motioned to her and heard her ask the question that she didn’t have the answer to. She looked between Malina, the gun, Jonathan, and finally Rashad, and stated, “We can try.” Turning forward, she pointed to the road and began spilling the directions.
CandyLeptic
As the car started to move, Rashad started to moan. He tried so hard not to but he couldn't help it anymore.
He was fading in and out of consciousness and just didn't want to take it anymore. "Malina," he muttered and grabbed for her. "In my pack there's a bottle," he got in between breaths, "Labled 'chloroform.' It's in the box of Whales. The cracker ones. Get it for me." She stared at him for a minute weakly before doing what she was told. She knew what if was, sorta, but didn't know what to do with it exactly. Rashad couldn't think of any material do use it with, so he untied his own scarf.
With trembling hands he tried to steady, he dunked the bottle over his scarf, quickly, just enough to make it wet. He handed it back to her and without waiting pressed it to his face.
Malina watched him start to fall and quickly grabbed both his scarf and him, and tried to get him in a seat position. She managed to, but held onto him. She took a deep breath again but it was painful. It reminded her of her company though, too, and she looked up to them. "A-are you guys all right?"
Kryss
Jonathan drove, his limbs tingling in fear at the thought of the gun at his head. His heart was pounding, but he focused on Jane's words, He struggled, terrified to drive too quickly in this weather, but terrified of going too slow, especially as Rashad's groans faded entirely. He didn't answer Malina's question, his hands gripping the wheel so tightly they turned white at the knuckles, his jaw clenched in fear and pain and more fear. He thanked God continuously that it was his left ankle that had been injured, not his right. It was still difficult to concentrate.
The cars heating system turned out to be a mixed blessing. He almost cried as he regained feeling in his hands and feet and nose, but he hadn't realized the cold had also numbed his rope burns. Now they began to hurt again, growing worse and worse as the heat continued. But he didn't have the nerve to ask to turn it down. Instead he drove. He was as careful as he could be, but he still took a few turns too fast, feeling the momentum smush him into the side, he fishtailed a few times on icy patches, and he took a curb pretty hard once. He mumbled apologies each time, but didn't have the mental power to spare to really make sure everyone was alright. All he could do was drive, and drive.
Macxcheese
She heard someone call her name and realized she’d trailed off. Jane pointed to this tree, then that building, telling Jon to turn right or left or continue straight. She was seized by the fear that the directions were wrong at one point- it was too late to turn back now though.
Jane wished Jonathan would speed up, and at the same time never wanted to arrive. Every time she thought about their destination, her heart quickened. She didn’t believe Lorna would turn Rashad away, yet would they want her back? She wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.
They pulled in front of the house and Jane turned behind her. “Leave your gun here for now Malina, they won’t like it.” She jumped out and waited for the other girl to help Rashad out. While she did, she stared at home, at the window that used to be her room and might be again. She took part of Rashad’s weight as they started towards the fence and stared hard at the front door. Time to flip the coin.