7 Wanderlust

Micajah stood there in the kitchen, a bit stunned by the encounter as he listened to Cara's footsteps running quickly up the stairs. He was surprised to see her still looking so distraught. Shouldn't her concerns have been put to rest hours ago? He shifted his eyes back toward the center of the room where a few humans were finishing up eating dinner at the table. They stiffened under his gaze, which only increased his bitterness.

He left the room at a careful pace, wanting to speed out of there but choosing not to for their sakes. He ran into Liam when he reached the porch.

"You care entirely too much what they think of you," Liam tsk tsk him after he shut the front door. Micajah would have shrugged, but there was no point since Liam hadn't turned to look. The vamp stood there with his hands in his pockets and his eyes to the night sky. Micajah settled next to him at the rail and likewise stared out into the darkness.

"Aren't you supposed to be on watch?" He asked the deceased marine.

"I can see just fine from here." Liam responded smugly. Micajah could see fine too, but that wasn't the point.

"I thought night-ops was your thing."

"Some nights." Liam affirmed.

"And tonight?" Micajah prodded. Liam exhaled heavily.

"Tonight included." He nodded. "Caught a case of wanderlust after running into that ripe tomato that Judith let roll right off her plate. Could go for a little stroll in the woods, never know when I might find my own fresh fruit."

Micajah straightened his back and starred at Liam like he suddenly grew devils horns to match his elongated teeth. He didn't say anything for a long pause, but when he did, it came out stilted. "And why are we referring to her as a ripe tomato?"

Liam turned from the rails to face Micajah and began gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "Because of the color of her hair and her cherub little cheeks." Micajah conjured the image of Cara in his mind, first sound asleep with her vibrant red hair tussled across her face and neck as he carried her to the house; then wide awake with that stern look on her face, sizing him up in the hallway like she thought she could take him.

Liam continued. "I bet the blood squirted out of her just like popping a bright red- "

"Tomato. I get the picture," Micajah cut him off. Liam clasped him on his shoulder twice then jumped off the porch. Turning around he gave a lazy salute before taking off into the woods. Micajah watched him go until he was well out of sight. If Liam did find a human out there, he was just as likely to prey on them as he was to bring them in. He was the lawful evil type, and Micajah wasn't sure if it was dying in World War II that made him that way, or something else entirely.

Micajah trusted Liam, he was the first vampire to back Micajah up when he took Ethans deal, but the way Liam talked about Cara made Micajah uneasy. Everyone had his own interpretation of the rules... Liam included... and Micajah hated to think a day might come when the two of them no longer saw eye to eye.

He needed to find a way to limit the amount of time Cara was available where any of the other vampires could come in contact with her, but that would be difficult with everyone living together. Micajah had a crazy idea that might help, but first he had to find Ethan and see what he thought about it.

---

The next morning Cara woke up to find her own clothing washed and laying at the end of her bed. She got dressed quickly, impressed by how much of the blood washed out, and left the other outfit on the bed for lack of a better place to put it. Before doing anything else, she stopped in the bathroom to fix her hair and brush her teeth. She took her time, not knowing when she'd have another opportunity since she wasn't sure where she'd be by this time tomorrow.

"Anywhere but here," She hoped. The toothpaste she left behind because it wasn't hers to take, but the toothbrush she kept, tucking it into her back pocket and covering it with the back of her cardigan.

Her stomach growled when she passed by the kitchen. She had been in such a hurry to get upstairs the night before that she'd skipped dinner. She hadn't had anything for lunch either, or breakfast come to think of it. The was no denying it, she was absolutely famished, and didn't know if she'd have the strength to keep running without at least grabbing something to eat on her way out.

Cara felt strange rummaging through their pantry, unsure whether it was a free for all, or if everyone was responsible for providing their own 'groceries' so-to-speak. Nothing was labeled as far as she could tell, but she still felt guilty taking a box of cereal out and poking around in the fridge for some milk.

"There you are," She heard someone say from behind the fridge door. She shut it without taking any milk out. It was Ethan on the other side, smiling at her like the apocalypse hadn't happened and they were just two jolly roommates having breakfast before driving off to God knows where to do God knows what mundane, structured, day-to-day routine.

"Uh, hi. I hope it's ok if I-"she stumbled over her words in embarrassment.

"Oh, help yourself!" Ethan quickly reassured her. "Though you wont find any milk, sadly, it's expired everywhere by now, and no ones found a live cow in... well... ages." Cara looked at the box of rice crispy's like it was suddenly a box of sand. What was the point in keeping this then?

"We just add water. I know it's not ideal but we've got to make do with what we've got, you know?" He filled a cup with water and passed it to her along with a bowl and spoon, leaving it up to her whether or not to use them. 'Beggars can't be choosers, Cara' she thought to herself, and sat down at the table with her breakfast.

Ethan sat down with her, but rather than reach for some food, he reached for the notepad in his jacket pocket and flipped through it with practiced hands. He landed on the page he wanted and laid it flat on the table where both he and Cara could see.

"I wanted to talk to you about your rotation." He started conversationally. Cara almost choked on her food. Had she just made a pact with these devils, all for a bowl of soggy cereal?

"My, what, now?" Cara could barely ask between coughing and sputtering.