Dark Inside: The Apocalypse [[Teen/survival]]

[I'm so sorry D: I didnt realize it was my turn xD
<-----Blonde

He's wonderful Polo me gusta o.o

Um. I'm sorry. I can only make good posts if I'm on a legit computer, so you guys can continue if you want to xD I can figure some way to tie myself back in. If you guys move on, just pretend that Tundra went off on his own and then I'll catch up later^^]

[[Dude, you drew him?? *is slow* he looks amazing! And you thought I was more talented than you... pshh. Whatever
*jealousy* He's just how I pictured him... Except a bit more tanned, and a lot musclier, and topless... O.o Haha! He has moobs. :3 Moobs remind me of that english class when I found that picture of an overly photoshop'd guy's moob, and it had a nice saying on it about love and I couldn't read it. So I was there, squinting at a picture of a guy's moob, and the teacher saw me. I looked like such a pervert. XD
Random little story, there. What was my point? Oh yeah. He's brilliant, Polo.

But Kira... Tundra has to carry the luggage... Haha! No worries I know thismakes it my turn, but I don't know what to write either... O.o]]

((On the computer, yeah. Had a reference, though.
Dude. Don't even go there. I used photoshop and a tablet... Did you not SEE your horse digi?! XD No, wait, don't answer that - because if you tell me you did it with your eyes closed, I'm going to cry. :3

LMAO!!!! Oh, nice! I do love a good moob story. Dude, at least your mother didn't see you drawing a moob... *Shakes head*

Since you're being lame, I'll just post again. XD
Just kidding...

Kira, Dude, get your head in the game! O.o WE NEED YOUR AWESOMENESS!!!!! *Wails dramatically* ))


While Mitch and Daniel continued their pointless squabbling, Tundra wandered away – presumably to fetch the bags, as instructed – and Shae stood by, lost in a world of her own.
Until, that is, her voice broke through Mitch’s argumentative grumbling, and his attention left Daniel to focus on her instead.
“Hey, Mitch, I have a quick question.”
Her voice was steady – too steady. As though it was daring him to search for the slightest quiver.
Mitch didn’t come across as the intuitive type – but he knew that something was going down.
Raising an eyebrow questioningly, he nodded to Shae to go on.
He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but one thing was certain: He had not been expecting what came next.
”Do I look familiar? I just feel like I might, considering your gang raped and murdered my identical twin. Might’ve even been you, since her body had a few burn marks too.”
At this, both of Mitch’s eyebrows shot up, and for a while he just stared at Shae in surprised silence. Surprised, but not shocked.
She didn’t look upset, not in the slightest. She looked focused, attentive, analytical…
Funny, considering the topic of conversation, that would have been the last look he expected to see on the speaker’s face.
Funnier still, because it was Shae, that was the only look he expected to see.
Once again, a corner of Mitch’s mouth turned up in grudging respect. This chick had more balls than most of the “badass” douchebags in his ex-gang put together.
He was half tempted to mess with her… To lie, to tell the story of how he had ripped the girl’s clothes off with his teeth – and enjoyed every blissful moment of forceful sex… Fed off every scream, until finally she could scream no more… Oh yes, he had the story all made up – but that was just the thing… It was made up.
Shae was not the type he’d find fun to mess with. She wouldn’t scream and cry. She wouldn’t launch herself at him like a furious beast… She would accept his story quietly – and most likely slip a knife between his ribs while he slept.
It was not that he feared for his life, oh no, it was simply that – without a fun reaction – there was no point in messing with the girl’s head.

“No.” He answered, at long last. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the gang f**ked up plenty of girls. Hell, I killed a pretty handful myself during our hostage phase – but if there was rape involved, it wasn’t me.
I ain’t the only guy who likes to play with fire, Princess.”
He smirked at the irony of the nickname.
“I don’t do rape. It ain’t my style. I don’t feel a need to prove my dominance.” He shrugged, “I’m f**king dominant already. As for the sex…” He paused, a bark of laughter leaping from his smiling lips, “Hell, I don’t needa be no rapist. Just take a good look at me, Princess. This right here…” He gestured to himself with his Daniel-free hand. “This gets me all the tail I want.”
((Dude, Mitch, conceited much? XD
Of course, thinking about it, he didn’t look as good now as he once had. He was scarred and dirty, and his goatee was not as stylishly shaven as it had once been – not that any of it mattered now. It wasn’t like he could kill infected chicks by seducing them. Although, come to think of it, he hadn’t tried that yet…
((This guy… -_- ))

[GUESS WHO HAS THEIR OWN LAPTOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, guess you guys won't be getting rid of me that easily soo um i'll try to think of a response. My writing esteem is low atm.]

[[Not me !!!
Three cheers for Kira-kins!!! Woot woot! And dude, I'll get my charries for our RP tomorrow probably ^^]]

[okay. Time to torture poor Tundra
Man. Poor kid xDDD
YAY WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE:D whew. I have an idea that i'm fairly excited about, but I needed them to get a move on first XD
*twitches* I just realized something. Tundra is like my quiet side....e.e]

The kid shook hair out of his eyes, swiping it away. He glared at Mitch and Daniel, then finally walked away to get the bags as instructed. It was easiest just to do as he was told. Besides, he had nothing to contribute to their conversation. He sighed and bent over to pick up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder carelessly. He sauntered on back over to them, his gaze never leaving his feet. He took his sweet time because frankly, he could've cared less what they had to talk about. Honestly, he was only sticking with this group because he needed the added protection. Soon enough they'd all be gone, the girl probably having killed the other two and ditching, or the other two killing eachother.
He looked up, and blinked. Well, maybe not the latter. Daniel and Mitch were looking friendly. Well, from the way they had been talking they were at least something more than enemies. If they were enemies he was sure that the pyromaniac((Mitch/Matches of course XD)) would have sent Daniel up in flames long ago.

As he stood beside beside their little posse, he glanced around nervously. The birds had just...disappeared. It was so odd. But then again, nothing nowadays was normal. He shivered a bit and turned his attention back to Shae and Mitch, not having heard the beginning of their conversation. He'd been to zoned out, lost in his own world. He did that often, but in a sense it made him notice everything other than what was right in front of him.
They were talking about....rape? What an odd subject. Whatever, wasn't his conversation. He began to look around again, not wanting anything to do with this. Rape was....no good. It was a touchy subject for him. Not that he was raped or anything, no. His sister had been. He remembered it well. When he got home, he'd caught her crying in the bathroom, blood everywhere. Part of it was from her....down there part where it had been torn, part was from her wrists which she'd slit with a razor. This was long before the world started going screwy. At least before it was screwy for everyone else. He'd just sat there with her for ages as she bawled her eyes out. He hadn't understood at the time, but he would sit there with her as she cried every once in a while.
The guy who had raped her hadn't been out for blood, he was just a horny bastard, and he didn't want a kid. So she'd been lucky as far as rape victims go. But h'ed never forgotten the vow he'd made...he wanted to protect people. Honestly he did. But, what good was a 12 year old? He'd never amount to anything. He'd die before he did. And...what can you amount to in a world of nothing?

He looked back at them, blinking a few times for the glassy haze to leave his eyes. He took a shuddering breath, and glanced at the three of them.
"Alright, so I don't see a problem here. Or, I guess I wouldn't know. I didn't hear your conversation. But, we have somewhere to go and 'drama'," He stuck air quotes around this, "isn't going to do anything to help us stay alive. So lets just go." He shot at the three older people, which clearly said 'shut up or I'll throw a freaking tantrum'. Well, maybe not quite in those words, but the idea was clear.

((Oh yeah, sure, I did it with my eyes closed. No, my eyes were open, alright. They were staring at the screen until they went dry. XD
It looked like I'd done half of it with my eyes closed though

Haha! Classic. XD Yes, admittedly, I haven't been caught drawing a moob. Just staring at one,is all.

Dude, Kira, you're alive!! *wails dramatically * And you have a new laptop, too! That makes two of us.
Aww, poor charries. Danny really has had quite a good life compared to some of them, hasn't he? XD))

I'd not even noticed the girl's silence, nor had I really cared much. I was too busy concentrating on keeping my limp leg off the ground, wincing when it hurt instead of grunting or yelping like a child because noise would be no good for anyone. In a world where human predators ruled over all.
But at the girl's bitter comment, I could only raise my eyebrows. Where the hell had that come from?
I glanced at Mitch for a moment, my eyebrows scrunching together slowly. Was the man that was holding me up really a brutal killer and rapist? Did he have it in him? Of course I knew the guy was a douchebag, and evidently his skills have to have come from somewhere. But he certainly didn't sound or act like a rapist. Having said that, I'd never met a rapist – besides the odd monster, since they were getting lower and lower by the day – so I couldn't really tell what a human rapist was supposed to be like. But really, would Mitch really sink that low?
I glanced momentarily down at his bag I had rather clumsily caught which he'd tossed to me from his foot. What the hell had he got in it? Bricks?
“I don’t do rape. It ain’t my style. I don’t feel a need to prove my dominance. I’m f**king dominant already. As for the sex… Hell, I don’t needa be no rapist. Just take a good look at me, Princess. This right here…” He gestured to himself, as if he were a tour guide showing a group of tourists an ancient temple made of gold or something stupid. “This gets me all the tail I want.”
He reminded me – in that sense – a lot of me, probably around two years back when I was in school. I worked out then, adored my body because I knew a number of girls did. If there was ever a chance for me to remove my shirt during a PE session during mixed gender lessons I certainly would. I also played plenty of rugby, which helped me with my figure. I don't really know how it stayed so muscular now, although not as broad as Ii once was, the abs were vaguely there. Don't know how I managed it.
Snorting, I shook my head in amusement and let my gaze slip away to the trees around us. It was amazingly quiet out nowadays, something people used to have killed for at times.
I smirked at the choice of words.
Now, though, silence was both comforting and unnerving at the same time. It meant you were on edge, the faintest noise made you jump out of your skin, even if it was the wind or a loner pigeon. You could never be too careful in times like these.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed through gritted teeth. “Geez, you sound like me back when I was at school.” The fact that I had anything in common with this lunatic scared me somewhat.
I was surprised when Tundra appeared, my heart warming at the sight of my bag in his juvenile hand. Well, what d'you know? The little tyke really did have a purpose. ((Meany. -_-))
And what's more, the guy had guts. Perhaps he wasn't as aware as he should have been, especially being younger, but hey, he could learn. Or die. Whichever came first.
I decided it was time I gave Mitch a bit of a breather after my torturous punishment of forcing him to sniff my toxic breath, so I cocked my head to him, gesturing for him to come over. My tongue pressed against my teeth as I whistled quietly, sharply, a noise that could have easily been mistaken for a bird had anyone or anything else been in a fifteen meter radius with us. “Hey, Tyke, come here.”
I turned my head to Mitch, my eyes sparkling. “That's your cue, ass. Giddy up. H'up too.” I made a faint clicking noise in the back of my throat, then bit my tongue to keep from saying anything else that may get my throat slit.
“So, Kid...” I began, limping a few steps as quick and as confident as I could, then continued. “How long've you been out here, then? You been on your own all this time?” I asked him, my voice casual, simply trying to make conversation. We could have been talking about the weather, according to my tone. It was simply not worth wasting emotions on strangers, or anyone, really.

Shae frowned at Mitch’s response. It hadn’t been what she’d been hoping for, but the answer would do. Sighing, she watched the little kid come back with the other guy’s backpack. Daniel was irritating her to say the least. Everything he did bugged her. It was just like high school all over again with the rival clique. Everything their leader Quincy did bugged her. The way she didn’t eat, the way she walked around, flaunting her butt and breasts, how she could wink at guys and make them forget about everything else.
Except Daniel was a guy. But it was still the same basic idea. Everything he was doing now was getting on her nerves, and it was really bugging her. She decided that she would “take care” of him before he made her lose her temper and violently attack him in front of the others. Either that or she could play around with him and then kill him.
That made her chuckle with sinister anticipation. Oh, that would be fun. Bringing back her high school ways…

Shae shot an angry glance at Tundra. “In case you couldn’t tell by my tone of voice, pee-wee, I’m not all that affected by it. I’ve let it go. It’s not a big deal. She huffed and set out to walking faster, leaving the group behind her. She hoped that some women had lived in that abandoned house. She really needed some good clothes and a shower and some perfume and a brush. Oh, she would kill for a brush. And some make-up would be nice to.
And while you’re dreaming, why not ask for a unicorn too?
Shut up, she thought back.
Climbing to the top of a brown, lifeless hill, Shae surveyed the surroundings. Her legs weren’t burning yet, she found with surprise. That was a testimony to the fact that she was getting stronger every day. That was good too. She needed the strength.
A huge lake sat on the ground to the left of what looked like a small village, but something was wrong. It was completely dry.
“Shit.” She muttered, jogging down to examine the scene more closely.
The bodies of dead fish lay scattered around the parched soil. It was cracked in various places, signifying that it had been dry for a while. Instantly, she thought back to the heat wave a couple weeks ago and wondered if this happened everywhere. If so, humanity was screwed.
But weren’t they already?
Chuckling at her dark thoughts, Shae walked around what used to be the bottom of a lake and looked for anything interesting. A pair of sunglasses lay dusty and abandoned on the ground.
“Nice.” She murmured, picking them up and sticking one of the sides down her shirt so that they hung in the front. Never knew when they would come in handy. She walked a couple more yards and grinned as she picked up a kitchen knife, crusted over with various water organisms – dead of course – and rust.
It was still usable. Carefully, she placed it on the leather cord around her belt loop next to the other one, thankful it had a hole punched into its handle. It was like it was made for her.

“That's your cue, ass. Giddy up. H'up too.”
Mitch heard these words from close beside his ear, and he felt his shoulders stiffen automatically. He had been very patient so far… But in his eyes, there was a fine line between joking, and disrespect.
Daniel had just crossed that line, and if there was one thing Mitch simply refused to tolerate, it was disrespect.
He stayed deadly silent, and walked obediently forward as Daniel limped toward Tundra – supporting the boy, and acting exactly like the ass Daniel accused him of being. ((‘Ass’ being the donkey, not the posterior… ))
His lips tightened, and he slowly turned his head, dark gaze falling upon Daniel. He was not that much taller than the boy – but somehow he was looking down on him as though he stood atop a platform.
Still, he said nothing. No angry shouts, no snappish insults – just dead silence. It might have been peaceful, but coming from Mitch it was more threatening than a knife at the throat.
“You seem happy.” He said at last, speaking in an uncharacteristically polite fashion, and smiling warmly.
He took in Daniel’s sparkling eyes, his confident stance, and imagined what he’d look like bruised, broken and covered in blood – fallen to his knees, and begging for his pathetic life. Automatically, his fingers twitched toward his belt.
“Are you having fun?” Mitch asked, still smiling that strange, friendly smile, “Are you quite… Comfortable?”
His arm holding Daniel up tightened, pulling the boy slightly closer to him.
So close, in fact, that Daniel’s side rested feather-lightly against the protruding tip of the knife that Mitch had subtly picked up with his other hand, and held hidden just above his hip.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Mitch went on, smiling sweetly, “A glass of champagne, perhaps, or a hot towel?”
He was pronouncing each word with the careful elegance of a British butler – in complete contrast to his usual manner of speaking.
“Or have you…” Mitch’s eyes narrowed, “Had enough?” The last words came out as a growl, and he raised one eyebrow, finally returning to normal.
He licked his lips as he walked onwards, knife pressing softly against Daniel’s side. His focus was such that he did not notice the dried up lake, nor the new weapon that the girl – whose name he still did not know – had procured.
He watched Tundra out of the corner of his eye, aware that he was in the midst of a conversation with Daniel, but for the most part – his focus was on his victim.
He saw something of himself in this boy… And he had taken it upon himself to see that he came to no harm.
But he would not stand for such disrespect… If this lousy low-life thought that, after all Mitch had done for him, he could still treat him that way – he had another thing coming.
Mitch would go from protector to prosecutor in an instant, if provoked. He was predictably unpredictable – always.

((Got to start shortening my posts after this, or I won’t be able to keep up. Matric is going to be an unholy biatch. ))

Tundra rolled his eyes at Shae as she made some angry remark towards him, but he chose to ignore. No use in feeding the flame. It was a good philosophy to live by for dealing with people like her. He could tell she had a fire in her, which was a blessing and a curse for all of them. It would be easy for her to slaughter them all, but whatever. He was fast so he'd be able to get away in no time...it'd be simple. At least, if she didn't ambush him at night or something. Then he'd be dead in seconds, no doubt. He frowned at the trail his thoughts had led to, and quickly cleared his head.
He was again stirred from his sinister thoughts by the shrill, bird-like whistle of Daniel. He turned towards him to see the injured boy limping towards him. What was he doing? Instinctively, Tundra shrunk away. It was rare for anyone to actually approach him, let alone speak to him. Then he asked him a question. An actual, legit question with no threat behind it. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, then just shrugged and decided he should answer.
"Um. Well, I dunno how long I've been out here....I've had a few allies I suppose. They always leave though." He shrugged nonchalantly again, not really sure what brought this on. He didn't really talk all that much, but this group seemed to make him want to. It was simple enough to speak....but to have someone speak back was something else all it's own. An actual conversation was a rare treat for Tundra, like a piece of chocolate cake. You know it's there, but due to rules or consequences you know you can't have it.

((Don't mind me, I didn't really plan this at all. They'll shorten later for me, too, but I tried to involve everyone. Even though Danny'll probably get himself killed soon...))

I didn't recognise Mitch's silence as anything out of the ordinary at first, although I should have done. Since this guy appeared out of nowhere he'd been trying to take over, prove his dominance by shoving the rest of us all under his nose. The guy was a psycho, through and through. He's burnt my bloody leg, for goodness' sake! Yet despite the fact that I'd mocked him, I had no idea that his silence meant anything other than he couldn't be bothered to reply to me. But I was wrong.
“You seem happy.”
I shrugged. To be honest, I wasn't. But I wasn't prepared to be expected to tremble in fear just because I was the weaker one of the group. My mind was the only weapon I could use, being lame an' all. But I wasn't happy. If the world wasn't I such a f**ked up state, if there weren't constant earthquakes in places where they shouldn't exist, if people weren't going around killing each other for no reason, then maybe I'd be happy. But wishing for the impossible was just pointless.
“Are you having fun? Are you quite… Comfortable?”
The words made no sense to me because they couldn't have been more wrong. It was the look on his face that immediately brought me to a standstill. So polite... So freakishly polite. Even his accent changed.
What had happened to him?
I'd expected a grunt, perhaps an angry warning that he could kill me slowly and painfully if he wished – and believe me, I don't doubt it – but instead, he gave me this?
I inhaled a sharp, hissing breath through my teeth as he pulled me further towards him, my face slipping dangerously close to his. I didn't look at him, kept my eyes forward – or as forward as they could go, which was closer to the ground, really. But I could feel the tension in his grip, the threat in his pleasant tone, the hinted bitterness. The smile in my eyes vanished, replaced by a blank, cautious stare.
There was something horribly cold pricking my bare torso, and I felt my stomach tighten against it's gentle touch. My nostrils flared, like a stallion pathetically trying to persuade a newcomer so stay away because it was in charge, when it clearly wasn't.
I didn't fear death. I didn't fear the monsters. But for some reason, facing an agonising death at the hands of this guy made the colour drain from my pale cheeks.
“Is there anything else I can do for you? A glass of champagne, perhaps, or a hot towel?”
Idiot. He was starting to sound like me, but with a bit more 'class' and he was pronouncing his 't's more than I did, too. I feared there was a point coming soon, one that I didn't really want to know about. Mitch was pissed, I knew that much. He just had a funny way of showing it.
“Or have you... Had enough?” He growled, his usual, badass American accent slipping back into place.
I swallowed, not quite scared of him, but aware of the hole I'd dug myself into. Right. That was my first lesson learnt.
Rule number 1: Never call Mitch a donkey.
The knife wasn't removed from my side as we limped forward,I noticed, which told me he was waiting for an apology. Or a beg, or another sort of reply that would probably get me killed. But he'd get none of which from me.
“Message received.” I muttered to him, still keeping my eyes forward. I tried to keep limping forward as quickly as I could, but beads of sweat were forming on my brow and upper lip, lining the grey stubble that had grown there in the past week. Again,this wasn't from fear, but from pain. And it was literally shooting through me like a hundred tiny arrows rushing through my veins. I didn't know how long I'd last without a break, but after that reaction from Mitch I probably wouldn't get one.
“Now, could you kindly remove the blade from my side? It's kinda distracting.”
I shot him a look, a serious one, twitching my eyebrows upwards questioningly. That probably wouldn't get me anywhere either, but it was better than nothing. I was careful not to look too much more like a prick, although I had been told I didn't really need to try to give that impression. I'd not said it to sound cocky, I was serious. Walking with a blade resting on your bare side when you were wounded enough was certainly not easy.
I turned back to the boy, hoping I had done enough to let myself off with a warning. My eyes kept flickering back to his dark, scruffy face every now and then, but I told myself ti was not anxiety. That as long as I held my tone,but reminded him that I wasn't afraid of him, I'd be alright.
“Same.” I replied simply, nodding at him. “I met a couple of hikers along the way. Nice people. But the bloke ran off, and I didn't realise why until the woman told me she had diabetes.”
I clenched my jaw at the memory. Poor Rachel. That woman had only been in her twenties. All she'd needed was insulin. But they'd never been able to find any. Eventually, she told me she wouldn't be able to go any further, so I took her to an abandoned house, locked the door, closed the curtains,and she told me stories. Stories of her and the bloke – Gary, he'd been called. How they'd been friends ever since either of them could remember, how he'd told here many times that he cared about her, but to not see it as any more than that. Turned out he'd loved her, after all, and he couldn't stand to watch her die. He'd left me with the job, instead.
I'd sat there for hours, holding her weak body in my arms. She'd gone into a coma later and died that morning.
Infuriating, really, to think that something that was once so simple to control back when everything was normal. Back before all this, barely anyone died from such a treatable illness, except maybe in the poorer countries. And I'd never met such a cheerful young woman in my life. She kept smiling right until the end.
My eyes darkening I looked away, trying to hide away my anger. If I so much as twitched on Mitch's shoulder he'd probably want to hurt me.
I caught sight of the dried up river that the girl was examining,and felt positively relieved I still had two bottles of water in my bag.
Oh well.
We'd just have to top of at the next stop.
“We should keep moving.” I told her as she examined a rusty knife with a flicker of interest. “I don't know about you guys, but I, for one, am starving. The sooner we get to the sh*thole, the better.”
I glanced at Mitch, raising an eyebrow cheekily. “You'll just have to put up with my 'piss and cowardice' until we get there, Mitchy-boy.”
I smirked slightly to myself, rather enjoying using the new nickname. It was quite amusing to say, too. Mitchy-boy. Mitcy-boy. Mitchy-boy...
I coughed awkwardly, wiping the stupid expression from my face. Too much lip, he'd kill me. Literally.
It was that simple.

((Sorry guys, I'm struggling to interact with 3 characters at once... o_0 I always fail at group RPs... So basically I'm going to try focus on one at a time. XD I'm not ignoring you, I swear! I really am trying. I'm just kinda a failure... *Cough cough* ))

”Message received.” Daniel muttered softly, and Mitch nodded in satisfaction. That was good enough for him.
When Daniel asked him to remove the knife, he shot him a sharp glare, but grudgingly did as he was told, anyway. Daniel was right, of course – it was difficult, not to mention dangerous, to limp along with a knife pressing into your side.
He huffed an irritable sigh – made moody by the lack of blood to spill – and trudged on in sulky silence while Mitch chatted to Tundra.
He considered throwing in his two cents’ worth, but eventually he decided against it. Everybody’s story was much the same since the apocalypse struck – no use him telling his. Distance and time were warped in his mind. He had no idea how far he’d come since what he liked to refer to as ‘the genocide’ – when the Sons of Saints had been wiped out – and he had no idea how many days, weeks or months it had taken him to get here.
He knew one thing, though: He was living his dream – standing alone against the world, with all the blood he could ever wish for to spill, and nobody to crucify him for it. He couldn’t imagine a better life!
At least… That was what he kept telling himself. He supposed everybody had their own means of getting by – and just as well. Nobody in their right mind could survive this sort of life with their humanity and sanity still in tact. Some forsook their emotions, some their morals… Some gave up, and threw away their humanity altogether. Those were the monsters, he supposed… Well, to some extent. He had seen true humans acting exactly like them – but he had known they weren’t monsters, because their eyes were still lit with colour.
The world truly was a f**ked up place nowadays… Denial was the safest means of survival, in his opinion.
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice when they paused beside the river, waiting for the girl. Finally, Daniel’s voice jerked him back to the present, and he mentally berated himself for letting his focus slip. That could have cost him his life!
He ignored Daniel’s comments about moving on – and instead let his eyes flicker over the rusty knife that the girl was examining.
She thought like him… You could never have too many weapons.
He smirked slightly at her, until Daniel grabbed his attention once more.
“You'll just have to put up with my 'piss and cowardice' until we get there, Mitchy-boy.”
Mitchy-boy.
Mitchy-boy…?
Was he serious?
Mitch stared at Daniel a long while, one eyebrow slightly raised, and an expression that challenged ‘do you really want to go there?’
For a long time he stared at Daniel with deadly intensity, and the other boy stared back, smirking stupidly, and clearly pleased with himself.
But after a while, he coughed awkwardly and looked away – and now it was Mitch’s turn to smirk.
He, too, glanced away, and a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
“Goddammit.” He snorted in amusement, “Now I’m too proud of ya to be pissed.” Laughing and shaking his head, he sighed, and pulled Daniel’s arm more securely over his shoulder – supporting most of the boy’s weight.
He liked this kid. ((Again, Mitch? XD )) He couldn’t help it – Daniel reminded him of himself. That spunky attitude, the fact that he still insisted on maintaining his pride, even when he was forced to rely on others… The way he refused to suck up, refused to be intimidated…
Sure, it was annoying as Hell – and Mitch loathed that the boy did not seem to fear him appropriately, but he respected him for it – and respect went a long way in Mitch’s books.
He had found himself a good group, here…
“C’mon, then, Danny. Let’s get a move on.”
He braced his shoulder against Danny, and prepared to walk forward again – but then something occurred to him, and he glanced back at Shae.
“Oi, Chick.” He called her, making a ‘come’ gesture with his hand. “Talk to me. I’ve been forced to listen to two boring life stories already.” He nodded to indicate Daniel and Tundra. “Might as well make it three. I like to know who I’m travelling with…” He raised one eyebrow, “Care to introduce yourself?”
Naturally, Mitch didn’t give a f**k about her life story. He didn’t care about anyone’s – but he wanted to keep her close.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer…
He didn’t know which she was yet – friend or enemy – but either way, he wanted to keep an eye on her. It wouldn’t do to take a knife in the back…

[[*nom nom* Thank sha Polo ^^]]

Shae stood and stared at the lake, mostly evaluating it how it would be of use to her. She could try and look for some other things, but the stench of the dead and rotting fish was really overpowering here. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she saw all the silver sun baked bodies glinting in the daylight.
Sighing, she looked up to the little block of flats that couldn’t have been more than a half mile away. It looked like there were three levels, which meant that there should be plenty of rooms for them to choose from. She wanted her own room; she was not going to spend the night with some guy unless she wanted to. Well, maybe the little kid would do. He was too young to go around noticing things yet.
She sighed and determined what she would do once she got there. Take a nice long shower – if they still worked – grab a nice bottle of water from a vending machine, and head upstairs to go to sleep. Of course she would wire both the door and the windows with a sort of booby trap so anyone that came in to her room in the middle of the night took some sort of weapon in their body. She would warn the group once, which was enough in her book. They should remember.
The rusty knife would do for that job. If it didn’t kill them, it would certainly give them tetanus or some other infection that would. That thought made her chuckle darkly.
“Oi, chick.”
So they didn’t know her name yet. Fantastic. She considered giving them another name, a false identity in case she needed to get away, but decided there was no point. It wasn’t like there was a news team to find out where she was and broadcast it to the world. And besides, it would be pretty hard for her to go around and act like “Catherine was her name. That was what she would have used.
It was sick, but rational.
Shae headed over to the three boys, but warily kept her distance, laving about five yards between the closest and her right side. She didn’t want to have to trust them, but knew they would probably try and demand it. That would be a mistake.
“Talk to me. I’ve been forced to listen to two boring life stories already.”
She arched an eyebrow. He really wanted her entire life story? She wouldn’t give the entire thing to him, oh no, no. He would need to work for it, and she wanted him to know that. She narrowed her eyes as he explained, hair whipping around her face.
“Might as well make it three. I like to know who I’m traveling with… Care to introduce yourself?”
Shae snorted loudly in sarcasm. This guy was a work of art. Whatever good feelings she’d had towards him because of her hate of Daniel were disappearing rapidly. She wondered why she’d even bothered to get him more drugs. Oh yeah, because Daniel didn’t.
“You should know who you’re associating yourself with before you do. Never know what kind of person you’ll end up with. You never know if they’re good or bad until they sneak up behind you as you’re sleeping, slowly slip out a pocketknife and stab you in the back, relishing in the joy of the red hot blood spurting between their fingers that used to be your life force.” She chuckled darkly at the end of her brief introduction. Now that she’d set the appropriate mood, she could continue.
“I learned that the hard way. I could say that’s why I am the way I am now, but that would be a lie. Truth is, I was born like this and I will die like this.” She was referring to her lack of morals now, but they didn’t know that. If they did, well, that was okay. They would be even more terrified of her. And besides, she wasn’t the sleeping one in that anecdote. She was the silent one, the sleek killer, sneaking up to murder her snoring roommate and disappear without a trace. That was her first kill. It was a Tuesday night at her fancy boarding high school. They never caught her.
Smiling wickedly, she finally said, “Shae.” The good thing about that name was that it would be hard to shorten it or do anything to change it irritatingly. That helped keep people alive, although usually it was the annoying ones and they’d end up dead later. So it really didn’t make a huge difference.
Stalking forward in that gracefully way of hers, she continued heading towards the houses when she noticed Tundra. She thought about actually being pleasant to him because the other two were destined for failure. But Tundra wasn’t. She could teach him not to be irritating, teach him how to live life without regret. The thought made her smile as she turned back to the kid and walked lithely over to him.
“Tundra, I like you better than them.” She whispered as she bent over to talk to him in his ear.

[*attempts to think of replies* I'm sorry guys, you'll have to wait for my reply D: Driving class fried my brain. I have 0 muse.]

[[I feel like I'm the only one in my school who does not know how to drive a friggin' car. *hates August birthday with a passion*]]

[my parents were going to make me wait until i was 16 to get it. I convinced them otherwise >;3]

((Dude, Batty!!! My birthday's also in August. Also, I'm 17, and I have yet to take driving lessons. But that's because I don't trust transportation that can't think for itself... I've driven around on Private roads occasionally, but it's some scray socks, let me tell you. O.o

Speaking of scary socks, Dreameh needs to post. So that I can post. -_- ))

[if any of you guys ever watch Once Upon a Time, Tundra sort of acts like Henry ]
[short response is short.]

Tundra listened halfway as the girl explained her past. She mentioned her name, which he gladly caught and stored into his memory. Names were always good to remember. He remembered everyone's name, which came in handy. When this was over, which he now firmly believed it eventually would be, he planned to make his own memorial of all those he'd known who hadn't gotten through it. If he even got through it, that is.
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he hadn't even realized that the girl had finished her story. Suddenly her mouth was by his ear, sending shivers down his spine.
"I like you better than them."
He turned and arched an eyebrow at her. She liked him? He had trouble believing that. This was probably some little scam of hers, to gain his trust. Then as soon as he wasn't useful to her, she'd kill him. Simple as that.
"You know, Shae, I don't think you do." He said quietly so the other two didn't hear them. He glanced over at them, but they were just continuing to be themselves. He shook his head and sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. His finger went through a hole at the bottom of his pocket. He messed with it for a moment, a look of concentration furrowing his eyebrows together. Then he decided to pull his hands out of his pockets, and just crossed his arms. It was easier that way, rather than depress himself with clothes that were falling apart.
He shut his eyes tightly, biting his lip for a moment. Then he opened them and resumed his look of...what did he look like? He didn't know.
He just then realized they were at a dried up...lake? River? Whatever it was, it reaked. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. They were still going to those abandoned....what had he called them? Flats? Yeah. That sounded about right. Those abandoned flats. He looked at Daniel, then to Mitch. They seemed...chummy. He smiled almost sadly. He wished he made it easier for people to talk to him. But for as long as he'd been living this nightmare, he was the only person under the age of at least 15 he'd seen. Which, in a way, made him strong in itself.
Tundra was strong, honestly he was. Not in brute strength, maybe. He was smart though, lithe, agile. He could do things that older people couldn't. His youth made it easier for him to run. He even had the start of abs on his stomach, which made him smile if only for a moment. In another time, maybe he'd have his own 'girlfriend.' But now that wasn't possible. Perhaps someday he'd meet a girl close to his age who appreciated his abs. [[baha hormones xD]]
He looked back at Shae, who was still there. Depsite the amount of thinking he did, it was all within a matter of moments. It definitely put time into perspective for him. In a matter of seconds, they could all be dead. In a matter of seconds the world could be over. In a matter of seconds, everything could be gone.

“Goddammit. Now I’m too proud of ya to be pissed.”
My heart warmed slightly at the feeling of being officially accepted by the violent-minded Mitch, and my eyes lit up. I didn't know what it was with him, because guys with his attitude usually did my head in. I despised leaders usually, believed in everyone having their own frame of mind. You couldn't have a leader without followers, right?
And yet, I had already found a fairly good place high up with him, maybe even level, just because I didn't fear him.
I didn't fear anything, really, except getting tortured y sane people. Especially Mitch.
As if replying to my thoughts, my wound throbbed violently, causing me to stumble. But thankfully, Mitch's grip was firm, and he easily puled me back up onto his shoulder. He was hardly a human air freshener himself, with his sweat stains and his breath stinking of all sorts of crap, but he had his uses.
I found it amusing how much he'd hurt me if I'd spoken those words outloud.
“Don't get your hopes up, matey. Those pain killers have done something to my head, right now you're a fawn, shrimpy over here's a leprechaun and Shae...” I trailed off, her dark words sinking in,and decided not to tell her personally what I could see her as, with a bit of imagination.
I turned my lips towards Mitch's ear, and muttered. “Well, I won't say what she is. Let's just say, according to my contaminated head, she's wearing something very revealing.” I winked pointedly at him, a perverted smirk forming on my lips.
The drugs were beginning to be a good excuse to say everything that crossed my mind, then deny it all later. It's probably what Mitch did earlier, claiming he could see double therefore couldn't shoot me in case he missed.
The guy'd managed to shoot a glass bottle he'd thrown in the air with a single shot. Of course he was bloody sober.
“Oh yeah, and the sky is a very gay shade of purple.”
I glanced upwards, pulling a very stupid look of fascination. Of course, I couldn't see those things. My leg was aching probably as bad as it would had I not taken the pain killers, and I had such a headache from being sick, not to mention my empty stomach. If anything, I was drunk from pain, if that makes any sense.
I turned to Shae and Tundra, my eyebrows creasing together, although they didn't have to move far. They were like that naturally now, anyway.
“What's with you two, anyway? Do I smell that bad?” I nodded pointedly to the large gap between us all, then shook my head.
“On second thoughts, don't even bother answering that.”

((Sorry Polo And guys, I did read the posts, I promise. I'm just too lazy to quote everything. ))

Mitch gave an appreciative chuckle at Shae’s introduction. She knew how the world worked, he’d give her that…
She was clearly a killer – cold blood in her veins – but she had made one deadly miscalculation… She had let herself grow complacent. It was clear to him, because he had done the same, once – and he had paid for it. He still had the scars to remind him…
Confidence was all well and good, but Shae believed herself to be invincible, and through that belief she could very well bring about her own downfall.
He could see it in her eyes – she was alone. She was not a part of the group, but an outsider looking in, out of nobody’s choice but her own. She was using them. Him, Daniel… Tundra.
And knowing her type, once she had taken what she needed, she would dispose of them.
But he would not push her away, oh no, because for the same reason she stayed, he wanted to keep her. She had her uses – many of them. In fact, besides himself, she was perhaps the only able fighter in the group at this stage. Tundra was young, Daniel injured…
Shae’s backup would aid his survival.
But she was underestimating him… It was true that he tended to play the fool, but if Shae thought she could slip a knife between his ribs, she had another thing coming.
He had no master plan for anybody’s destruction. He would kill on a whim, as he saw fit. It didn’t matter who they were, or what they’d done… It was just a means of fulfilling a need.
His eyes followed Shae as she walked away to join Tundra, and he chuckled again. She was an interesting sort, this Shae. Perhaps he would get to know her better at some stage…

Just then, a voice at his shoulder broke through his thoughts, and Mitch returned his attention to Daniel.
” Those pain killers have done something to my head.” He was babbling, and Mitch slowly raised an eyebrow.
This would be interesting…
Smirking to himself, he nodded, and silently listened to Daniel as he spewed out all sorts of crazy.
“Right now you're a fawn, shrimpy over here's a leprechaun and Shae...”
He trailed off, and Mitch glanced at him curiously, at which Daniel leaned over to whisper in his ear.
“Well, I won't say what she is. Let's just say, according to my contaminated head, she's wearing something very revealing.”
He smiled sweetly in response to Daniel’s perverted smirk, trying very hard not to laugh, and bit the inside of his cheek to keep the impulse under control.
“Oh yeah, and the sky is a very gay shade of purple.”
When it appeared Daniel was now too busy staring at the sky to say any more, Mitch finally allowed himself to respond.
“You know, that’s very interesting.” He said, smiling in a friendly, if somewhat patronising fashion, “Though mostly because I only gave you one over the recommended dosage of those painkillers…” He paused, shooting Daniel a meaningful glance, and smirking in smug amusement. “Take it from someone who knows, Mate… You ain’t high. You’re f**king crazy.”
His elbow jabbed the boy tauntingly in the ribs.
“Congrats.
And for the record, yeah, you stink like sh*t, so quit the perverted fantasies and hurry your ass up!”
Mitch jerked him momentarily off his feet to emphasise his point, then pressed on slightly faster than before.
He altered his path a little, and narrowed the gap between himself and the others – because as Daniel had pointed out, the group was drifting apart – and it was safer to be tightly packed

((Let me know if I must edit this out – but I’m getting bored, so I figured I’d time skip. ))

A short while later, they arrived safely at the flats. Mitch kicked down a boarded-up door, then went inside and dragged Daniel up several flights of stairs. By the end he was panting, and dripping sweat – but he finally found a storey where the water still worked. It was cold – but at least it was there.
He dumped Daniel unceremoniously onto the motheaten, prison-style bed, then flopped down beside him, glancing around the room as he caught his breath.
It really was a crummy place. The ceiling was cracked, the wallpaper peeling, and mould was growing lusciously on all the walls. The carpet was threadbare, and horrible, sinister scuttling sounds declared the presence of rats, and probably a fairly large infestation of cockroaches too, he’d guess.
“Well.” He grunted when he’d finally caught his breath, “There’s a shower there.” He nodded toward the tiny bathroom just off from the main room, which looked like it had once served as bedroom and kitchen in one – though all the appliances had long since been stolen, and the broken bed no longer folded up into the wall as it once had.
“You gonna be able to stand on your own?” He asked, heaving himself to his feet and walking to the door, then glancing back to see if Daniel would want help.
He doubted it. And frankly, he wanted to start searching for a liveable room for himself, and he was sure the others felt the same.
They all needed a jolly good shower, even if it was cold.

Shae snorted at Tundra. Did he really just call her a liar? Smart of him, because although she really did like him more than the others, she wasn’t fond of him. She just really really hated Mitch and Daniel. Well, not really Mitch, he was okay. But Daniel, he was the real problem. He was still walking around like king of the world. And when he started spewing off about what he saw everyone as? The fact that he was crazy made him forget how whisper. Either that or she was just really interested in hearing what she was because he didn’t want to tell her to her face made her pay attention and listen closer.
And oh did she want to hit him when he said that.
Snorting, she looked back at Tundra. “I never said I liked you. I just really don’t like them. You haven’t pissed me off yet. And you’re smart. Stupid people irritate me.” She chuckled and flashed him a wink before jogging ahead, the flats now closer than ever.
***
Shae let Mitch push open the boards and climbed in after him. She didn’t really feel like wasting her energy on something someone else would do anyway. She chuckled at herself and rolled her eyes, watching as Mitch sweated under the weight of Daniel. They should have just left him. He’d be more of a hindrance than an asset in 99% of the situations they’d face, and that was way too many for her.
Why help someone if they couldn’t help you?
She knew that there was probably and explanation for it that the human conscience could come up with – certainly Catherine knew it – but she couldn’t figure it out. It just didn’t make sense to her. Why do something you wouldn’t benefit from? Especially if it could get you killed?
Sighing, Shae followed the two older boys and found her own room a couple doors down the dirty hallway. The knob for the door was grimy and covered in a thick layer of dust and germs. Wrinkling her nose, she opened it and stepped in, glancing warily around the two-bed room.
The sheets were all perfectly made, as if the housekeepers had just left it like that. The room was filthy, though. Grime covered all surfaces and the toilet in the bathroom off to the side had mold growing in it. Frowning, she walked over and glanced in the shower. Mold in there too.
Swearing, Shae left the room and went to select one farther down the hall and away from the boys. Peeking in all of them, she realized the majority had some sort of problem with them, either the water didn’t work, or there was fungus growing in the water fixtures, or cockroaches had hung a “home sweet home” sign there.
Frowning, she padded back down the hallway and next to the room Daniel and Mitch were in, looking in the room next door. It was still dirty, but the shower actually worked and didn’t have anything living in it. Or dead. One of the rooms had a dead cat in it, rotting and smelling horribly. She had left the room gagging.
Sighing, she decided to settle for it – even if it meant sleeping next to one of the people she hated most in the world. Again she told herself she was only there to place herself in a better position above everyone else in the world.
Chuckling, she rummaged through the drawers and found a couple of shirts and a pair of yoga pants to her delight. The pants had holes in the knees and were worn down around the edges where feet had obviously treaded on them, so she could see why they had been left there. But they were better than the tattered army pants she’d stolen from a dead military man. Ah, he’d been fun to play with.
She snickered and padded into the hallway.
“I’m taking a shower!” She yelled out to no one in particular. “Don’t come in unless you want a knife through your brain.”
She wasn’t kidding. As she stripped and walked into the stall, she brought her knife and began cutting off the rough edges of her hair, the split ends that looked terrible. There was no shampoo, which was kind of a bummer, but this would have to do.
As the freezing water pounded on her bare back, she closed her eyes and let her hearing make sure no one was coming. Absently, she reflected on the people she was with for what seemed the billionth time.
Mitch would be useful to her. Maybe if she actually tried to be nice to him he would be of some help to her. Maybe she’d even keep him around. He was handy with weapons and definitely knew of the harsh world.
Tundra was a resourceful kid. She’d probably use him to get something she needed that she didn’t know how to get and then get rid of him when she didn’t need him anymore. And getting rid of him meant the knife in the back.
Last but not least, there was Daniel, Mr. Drama Queen. “Give me this, get me that, take me there!” She didn’t know how much more whining she’d be able to take before she took his gun and shot him herself.
The water abruptly shut off and she let out a stream of explicit curses at it, letting out all of her anger. It was better than going and hitting something. That would probably injure her and put her at more of a risk of getting killed. She didn’t think Daniel or Tundra would think like her and use it as an opportunity to kill her, but Mitch might. He knew that she was ruthless, and he’d seen enough of her likes to know what she was about.
That wasn’t comforting.
Sighing, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. She noticed her clothes on the ground, but decided they weren’t good enough for her. Besides, she wanted to give the boys a show.
Smirking, she headed out into the hallway with just the towel that cut off just under her hips, covering everything that was strictly necessary, but just barely. Her shapely legs poked out, showing off her slim, wiry muscle and feminine curves. Absently, she wondered if they were even into girls. It’d be awkward if they weren’t.
Sighing, she opened the door to the first room she went in and began looking through the drawers, finding nothing.

[[Sorry for the delay. Wanted to make it good xD Shae, you're such a slut, stop it.]]

[I'll respond you know, some other time. When I'm like...not completely and morbidly upset.]

((Naww Kira I hope it's all okay over there. *hugs ))

I glared at Mitch as he declared how sober I really was, evidently just saying it to shatter my cunning plan.
Asshole.
“Alright, alright. I'm hurrying.” I grumbled, hobbling awkwardly along beside him. Mitch was a sound guy when he wanted to be, but he didn't half destroy my hopes sometimes.
The walk to the crappy hideout was a painful one, the terrain was shattered with glass, blood, limbs or other obstacles I had to use my walking stick to shove out of the way.
Walking stick. I sounded like a bloody Grandpa.
Eventually, we arrived. The rooms were in worse of a condition than any dungeon I'd visited, mould crawled over the ceilings, moss had formed in some corners and the place stank of something that I doubted I wanted to meet. But hey, it was shelter, it was quiet, and is even had running water.
I grunted as Mitch dumped me on the bed, coughed as dust and grime flew in my face and rolled myself over onto my front, brushing off what I could with my sleeve.
“Ta, Mitch.” I muttered sarcastically, but I don't think he heard me. Good thing, really.
“And thanks, but no thanks. I probably won't be able to stand for long, but I'll make do.” I cast him a meaningful wink. “I may be irritating, but I'm not mean enough to force you to wash my arse for me.”
I knew I needed a shower and that I stank like a dead pig in August, but I had to let the lady of the house wash first. I wished I could be there to see her strip, even if she probably did mean what she said about stabbing me in the head, but I kept my thoughts to myself.
I decided then that I'd been deprived of a decent woman for so long, that it was causing me to act like a real jerk and I couldn't control it.
So I sat pointlessly on the bed for I-don't-know-how-long, changing positions every now and then when my blood circulation was affected, and staring blindly at the wall opposite.
After what could have been minutes or even hours later – it seemed that way – a female body appeared, hidden under naught but a short towel.
My eyes immediately strayed to her long, slender legs, that seemed to go on for days. They were the sort of legs girls all around used to kill for – not literally then, of course – thin, but curvy. They were every guy's dream once, too.
Despite myself, and even after everything, I began to smile. A perverted, content little smirk.
I prayed she didn't see it.
A quiet bark of laughter escaped my mouth before I could stop it, and I quickly hid it by clearing my throat and fumbling over on the bed until I was staring up at the ceiling.
“Right, that's my call.” I said gruffly, grabbing my walking stick and hauling myself to my feet. “Don't come in or I'll...” I paused, knowing full well I probably wouldn't do anything but shout a mouthful of foul language until the intruder left the room. “...give you nightmares.” I finished, then hobbled into the shower room, wincing at every shaky step.

The shower room was small, couldn't have been any bigger than a large cup board, but it served it's purpose.
I'd given up with standing,after the amount of times my entire body had flinched and tensed at the violent throbbing of the burn wound on my leg, forcing me to sit down. The ground felt slimy to sit on, but Shae's shower had obviously washed away a lot of the grime and mould that had been growing on the floor.
I washed myself as best I could, but when it came to my leg, I could no longer keep silent.
The icy cold water caused my entire leg to sting, and this made me groan and swear. I even cursed Mitch a few times for getting so carried away with the burning because now, I had a wound the size of a tennis ball, pink and raw, which I doubted would ever completely heal. And by God, did it hurt.
I screamed through gritted teeth as I reached up and picked up the shower head and pointed the harsh gush on my blistered wound, rocking back and forth just to keep myself from curling up and sitting in the corner like a troubled child.
Once I was sure I had bared enough, I turned off the shower which squeaked in protest, then shifted around until I could reach my dirty underpants and slipped those back on. I stared at my ripped, lob-sided jeans in distaste, at the missing leg that Mitch had cut off right before he'd 'treated' my wound. As if I didn't look like a prick already.
I shook my head and kicked them to one side, hauled myself wobbly to my feet then wandered unselfconsciously out of the bathroom, walking stick in hand, then went in search for some usable trousers for myself.
Shae had raided a couple of the wardrobes and had found nothing, but I'd managed to find a pair of navy tracksuit bottoms, ripped and muddy by the foot and extremely dusty, but all-in-all wearable thrown at the side of the room, and quickly put those on.
Aware of the absence of my shirt, I waddled over to the wardrobe Shae was rummaging through and nodded to her coolly, using the open drawer to lean on as well as the stick. “Found any guy tops in there, or do you prefer me topless?”
My words were soft, barely audible to anyone else out of the 2 foot radius of the two of us, but I knew she heard me.
I couldn't help it. I was a guy, she was a girl. Better, a girl without decent clothes on. Do the math!
She wasn't armed, as far as I knew. She wouldn't hurt me.
Hopefully...

((Cannot... Make... Shorter... Posts... *Twitch twitch* o_0

Kira, hope you're feeling better now, Dude. *Offers cookies* :3

And sorry about Mitch... He has issues. *Shakes head* ))

When Shae walked in clad in nothing but a towel, Mitch’s eyes darted automatically to Daniel – curious to catch the younger- (Oh, sorry, Danny-Boy, slightly younger) boy’s reaction.
It was just a brief glance, but it was enough to draw a silent laugh to his lips. That gawking, Neanderthal-type expression on his face reminded Mitch of a monkey he’d seen at the zoo once – on an orphanage field trip. The little bugger had just sat there playing with itself for hours – and its face had looked exactly the same as Daniel’s did at that moment.
Instincts were instincts, he supposed… In monkeys and in humans.
Unfortunately, Daniel ruined it for him then by letting his expression shift into a perverted smirk – and Mitch took the opportunity to return his gaze to Shae’s slim, curvy legs.
Predictably far more shameless than Daniel, he uttered a loud wolf whistle – looking her up and down with exaggerated interest, and finally letting his eyes rise up to meet hers. His eyebrows arched suggestively, and one corner of his mouth lifted into the sort of smirk that could only have been described as flirtatious – though the expression in his eyes seemed more amused, for some reason.
He’d bet he could have Shae if he wanted her… He was sure he could get her into bed, if he really tried – but he had no interest in that, now.

Still, he enjoyed the show – still staring openly and shamelessly, even when Daniel left for his shower.
“I dig the new look.” He commented with a wink, “You should make it permanent…”
He stood and walked over to her, hovering just behind – and standing uncomfortably close, that same strange expression still on his face. He flirted openly – yet he didn’t seem serious at all. It was as if it was all a joke to him…
“Although, you’d best be careful. Lord your femininity over us too much, and some guys will…” He paused, since he had heard Daniel’s approach – and he had a feeling the boy’s presence might help his point.
Sure enough, a smirk crossed Mitch’s face as he caught Daniel’s whispered comment, and he finished softly,
“Forget just who they’re dealing with…”
Yes. They’d forget to respect- No, screw that. ‘Respect’ hardly existed any more. They’d forget to fear her.
After all, just ten minutes ago, Daniel would not have dared stand so close to Shae, and make such a careless comment. And that being said, he doubted Daniel’s attitude toward him would change that much if he was naked.
In fact, judging by past experiences, poor old Danny-Boy would probably fear him all the more.
He chuckled at the thought, then stepped away from Shae – recognizing it as his turn for the shower.
“Keep it in your pants, eh, Danny-Boy.” Mitch advised cheerfully as he walked past Danny, slapping him on the shoulder as he went. “Last thing we need is another useless member of this group.” He threw a teasing smirk in Shae’s direction – almost challenging.
Naturally, she’d be useless if she got knocked up. She knew it as well as he did… So in fact, his comment was not a personal shot against her – but the underlying sexism in it was obvious, and intentional.
He flashed her a brief wink before he exited the room – then left the pair with the awkward situation left in his wake.

He had to admit, he liked this group. They were… Entertaining. Daniel, with his quirky, unreasonably bold attitude… Shae, and this twisted game of ‘kill or be killed’ that was forever boiling just under the surface between him and her. He felt it, and he knew she did, too – but still, he could not see her as a threat. She was a danger, sure… But it was all fun and games to him. No matter how real the danger was – it was naught but a joke.
Then there was Tundra.
He didn’t know the kid very well yet – and frankly, he couldn’t see a reason to. It was a kid – kids were barely even human, in his eyes. It couldn’t have developed any sort of personality – it was just a robot slave to him, nothing more.
Maybe some day it would prove to be more – but until then, he would consider it little more than part of the scenery.
Mitch was set in his ways – and he was not a fan of kids. When he thought of kids, he thought of the orphanage – and that was a bad thought track to go down.

With these thoughts in mind, he departed for the shower, and returned not long later – clean, and clothed in his same dirty, tattered jeans, and a ripped but fresh T-shirt from his pack.
When he left the bathroom, he was without his usual beanie for once, and his long, stylishly messy hair shone with damp – cleaner than before, but honestly not helped all that much by the cold water.

He returned back to the room where he had left Shae and Danny, and barged right in – curious to see what had taken place in his absence.
If Danny had gotten her knocked up, he’d kill both of them. Literally. The game wasn’t fun any more if nobody played by his rules…

[d'aw:3 you guys are the best ^^
Yeah, everything's nifty. But...I still have no muse for my inner Tundra...*pokes belly* TUNDRA! WAKE UP!
*hides*
Dreameh, I love your avatar xD But. It'd be better if it was Peeta....*just remembered I have a Peeta Poster saved on computer* WHEW AVVIE CHANGE!]