3 Chapter 3: In the Rain, they Lurk

Tea would nod, placing a hand on her chin as the can of beans she was eating was slid over to her Ranger companion, that was indeed an issue, there were problems with who would take watch first, she wanted to say she'd take first watch, but she lacked faith in her abilities, so she'd let out a soft sigh, turning to window.

"I can take first watch." Her companion said, blankly staring at the orange flames, She'd turn towards him, she'd see the eerie glow of his eyes as, the top of his face hidden by the shadows, while the eyes reflected the light of the fire. . . But she'd shake her head.

"No, you lack sleep. . .as amazing as you are with that gun of yours." She gestured to the rifle leaning against the wall. "You can't just stay up too much. . . You can keep me safe during the day, and I'll keep you safe during tonight, okay?" She smiled.

Ranger looked like he was pondering for a moment, as he ate a spoon full of beans, he considered her offer, before he'd shake his head. "Sorry. . . Just wake me up when you feel sleepy. . ." He sighed.

Tea smiled a little. The can slid back to her, it was hardly a good meal, but somehow sharing it with someone. . . made her a bit happier, even if it was somewhat superficial.

That aside, She'd notice the that Ranger still hasn't cleaned up his face, so she'd sigh a bit annoyed due to this, so she'd place her hand on his, she expected him to jump, but ironically he just jerked a bit and turned toward her.

"Yeah?" He asked, she'd notice his eyes forcing themselves to stay awake, she made the right call to say she'd have first watch.

"Let's get you cleaned up. . . " She reached down onto her pack, and took one of her baby wipes, placing it on the table, sliding it his way. "Should I go up stairs?" She asked. Getting a nod from Ranger.

~Jun~

He'd watch Tea climb the stairs, accidentally leaving her shotgun, but that wasn't a problem, he didn't have any extra shotgun shells for her, so she just had a few shots remaining, he didn't count how much...so he'd stand up, taking his pistol out, and stare at it, remembering there was a spare pistol just outside their little abode, that in mind, he went outside, the sun still in the sky, albeit barely, the orange tint on everything was slowly fading into dark.

He'd stare up at the sky, seeing clouds forming up above. This was the first time he'd ever see Rain clouds forming ever since the fall happened, well at least ever since he was left alone, but he paid no mind to it, he'd walk over to the once raider that was next to the car, he'd pick up the pistol, surprisingly he had extra ammo there as well, he'd take two magazines off the body, and a flashlight from him, silently thanking the man he killed for his supplies.

They'ed be leaving in the morning, so there wasn't use in clearing the bodies. . . he thought to himself, before entering the house again, from the front door, dropping down the wooden beam to lock the door. He'd be met by the quizzing gaze from the dog. . .

"Really have to name you soon, alright? maybe we'll ask Tea later." He knelt down and placed a hand on it's head, between the dog's ears and smiled, he then sighed, eyeing the baby wipes. He'd have to clean himself up and the gun, so he'd take off his hoodie, then his shirt. He hasn't seen his own body in a few weeks now, seeing his bruised body somewhat scared him, but he had to start cleaning up regardless... he'd take out a sheet and start cleaning up, wiping away some of the dirt and grime off his skin, before taking out another wipe, wiping away the blood on his face, before going to put on his usual shirt, before he heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs.

Tea was half way down the steps.

"Hey, um I found some clothes up her-- oh...um" She'd head back after seeing him. . . he was sure he was nothing to look at, but maybe his wounds scared her a bit, but regardless he'd notice the clothes were slung on the railings, it was a plain black t-shirt, and a new jacket, a hoodie with a zipper this time, so he'd sigh and take them, putting the shirt on, it was a bit big for him, but that was alright, he'd then take a seat, packing his dirty clothes in his pack before eyeing the gun he took from the Raider. . . a springfield XDS, 8 round total capacity, and uses 9mm, pretty standard, but made for smaller hands. . . they can share an ammo pool and can be used by her effectively, he'd check for issues, cleaning the gun a little and reloading the magazine with the spare box of ammo he got from the body.

He'd let out a sigh. Should he really be trusting this person he just met a few hours ago? he shouldn't but he already was, this was bad, really bad.

But he shook his head. . . He'd take his rifle, her shotgun and the two pistols, up the stairs as the dog then followed.

Tea was already putting on her new clothes when he came up.

"Hey, so I thought of a position I could take up, maybe I could sit by the door leading to the stairs and keep watch that way?" She asked, placing her pack near the left end of the room, next to the door leading to the balcony he assumed.

That was a bad idea, so he'd look around, the second floor was bad to defend, they had no hiding spots should someone enter the house, but he can think of a plan. . .maybe?

"nah, that's a way to get yourself killed." He gestured over to the side where her pack was. "you're better off there, just sit down there and be ready, you have a good view of the door, and if we keep the fire lit, we'll have a good warning sign that people may be coming up, their shadows." He yawned. . . "But first, here." He'd hand her the freshly cleaned gun.

She'd tilt her head, almost confused. "You..got another gun?"

"Off the raiders. . . I cleaned it and checked, it should be fine, I loaded up the magazines so you should just..." He' pushed one in to the mag bay, and pulled on the slide, cocking the gun. "Do what I did, if you need to reload." He'd pull the trigger. . . but nothing fired. "Okay?"

She nodded, and took the gun, Jun handed her the three loaded magazines, and Tea swapped out the empty one. Nodding. "Okay... so... what time do I wake you up?" she asked.

"..four, five hours from no--"

"Not enough sleep. . . I'll wake you up at. . . "She checked her watch. . . "Twelve midnight, sound good?"

He sighed. "Okay..but I'm a relatively light sleeper. . . " he said, placing his pack and the rest of their weapons beside him, the Dog laying down on the floor next to the mattress he was now on.

~Tea~

She'd watch him lay down, his face towards her. . . She could tell he was still nervous around her. . .as in he didn't want to trust her, but he felt safe enough. . .she didn't blame him, she'd watch him close his eyes forcibly, as he feigned sleep, but she'd wait regardless, maybe two to three minutes before shaking his head.

"Hey . . Ranger." She called out softly.

"hmm...?" He replied. . .she'd hear an audible click of his tongue as she giggled. "Why don't you come here. . . " She pat on her lap. "Lay your head here, maybe a Pillow will help."

He turned to face her, it was written on his face, 'Absolutely not'. another chuckle came from her, as she wondered if it was due to distrust or was it due to him being flustered? possibly a mix of both?

"You can't sleep, if you're not comfortable...come on." She'd pat her lap again.

"You do realize we just met a few hours ago." He asked, sitting up.

"Yes, and you didn't shoot me, and you even saved my life, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it by now." She rationalize, she did indeed care for him... she felt responsible for getting him into this, for wasting his resources on her, and for trusting her enough with two guns.

To Tea, he wasn't just some random stranger anymore, he was a friend. One she desperately needed ever since this all happened, so she pat her lap again. "Please? if you aren't rested your aim will suffer." She said one more time.

Ranger relented, shaking his head. Before taking everything and placing it closer to her, the Dog followed, laying down on the floor parallel to the matress. . . Ranger soon followed, sitting down beside her.

". . . I'm a --"

"Light sleeper, yes now sleep." She gestured.

With an annoyed sigh, He'd lay down on her lap, his head facing the dog, and in turn the door. Tea placed her hand on his head, playing with his hair a little. "My little brother liked this." She began talking. "Every night he'd ask me to play with his hair a little before going to bed."

She heard Ranger mumble a reply, but she couldn't really understand it. . .she'd continue stroking his hair as he felt his breath on her lap, but it was fine she'd smile a little before leaning back and stared at the dog who was staring back at her.

"So ... where did he find you?" she asked, she'd notice the ears of the German shepherd perked up as he turned to her, whining, Tea reached over, and the dog would let her pat it's head before laying back down. She'd think to herself for a moment before sighing. . . thinking about the other things in her life that went array, and as she was, she'd hear the sound of thunder in the distance followed by the pitter patter of the rain on the roof above them, she'd feel a bit light headed, leaning her head on the wall behind her and she closed her eyes. . .

As she did, she'd find herself laying down on the soft grass, her face being kissed by the soft breeze of the summer air, she'd hear the voices, turning to her side, she'd see a small figure beside her, the male's red eyes looking back at him, a smile on his lips. They'ed then turn to the sky as they can see something in the distance, a fiery ball dropping from the sky, Tea began to panic, as she'd hear the calls of her mother, coming from their small trailer, She'd stand up grabbing her little brother's arm. But he wouldn't budge, she'd turn back and a scowl replaced his innocent smile, he opened his mouth, but only the sounds of the impact from far away could be heard.

The shock woke Tea up, she gasped a little. . . before noticing the young blonde male was still fast asleep on her lap, turning to the window she'd let out a soft sigh as the rain was still going strong, but she'd notice something odd. . . the dog was at alert, softly growling and was at the door, not at the one from the stairs, but the one right next to them. She'd shakily turn her head, and see a pair of feet beneath the door. . . she'd squint her eyes and she saw a pair of yellow eyes leering at her from the window, a long spindly arm pressed against the window. . . She'd reach for her gun. . . only to be stopped by her companion grabbing her hand and slowly shaking his head.

She moved her eyes down, as she noticed his scared expression, it seems he wasn't prepared for this as well. . . she'd begin to shudder a bit she heard the scratching at the door, the dog began snarling and the eyes shifted their focus from them, to the dog.

She'd attempt to shush it, but again was stopped by her companion, he now gestured to pick up her gun. . . As he did the same, in a second she grabbed her pistol, before leaning against the farthest wall from the door, followed by the ranger who went for his rifle, from her peripheral vision she'd notice him flicking the lever to his gun and a bullet casing flying off to her right. . . she'd gulp as she did as she was told, pulling on the sliding part of the gun, hearing a satisfying click as she aimed at the door. . . prepared for the things to burst in at any point. . .

She'd notice the eyes move to the right, her aim following those two shining orbs. . . the fingers splayed on the glass, she counted five. . .each ending in long sharpened claws, she couldn't see the thing's body clearly due to the rain drops on the glass window, but she'd make out skeletal features. . . it was like the things outside were extremely emaciated.

"Wh..what do we do?" she asked her companion, who's gaze was fixed on the window, his eyes darted left to right, his rifle following shortly after

"Tea...I need you to listen to me." He whispered. "I need you to keep an eye on the door next to me." He said, barely flinching she'd turn to her side, getting on her knees and crawling under her partner's rifle, she couldn't see what was happening, but she heard something hit the door, as if something was ramming against it, she'd yelp. . .

~Jun~

Tea was know to his right, the dog to his left, slightly in front of him, Jun would adjust his aim, his heart was beating fast, it was like his chest was about to break as his brain processed what they were looking at. . . maybe they were extremely hungry people? no why were their eyes glowing ? there was no light in their immediate vicinity, only dim light that came from the doorway, thinking it was bio luminescence, fear was rushing into his chest, and his heart started to beat heavier, there was an issue however, he'd smell something rotten that came from the door 's area...

He'd feel his stomach sink as it would envision things that would happen to her. . . things that would happen to Tea and the Dog. . . he'd take a deep breath, his finger on the trigger before the creatures relented. . . they walked away, and a audible thud would be heard as the creatures leapt from the balcony and onto the dirt driveway. . . he'd hear them run into the woods, before closing his eyes and sitting down...

"Tea?" He asked, tilting his head to the side to check on his companion as she let out a soft sigh, she lay flat on the ground before shaking her head in disbelief. . .

"Ranger...what were those things?" He could sense the fear in her voice...it was slightly filled with fear, albeit it wasn't that noticeable at first, but he could see it in her eyes. . . she was rather scared of this, and those two creatures didn't help. . . not one bit.

"I . . ." He paused for a second before groaning. "I don't know." he shook his head, he was just as confused as she was, but as of now, nothing could be done, the creatures were gone. . . so for now they could rest, well . . .as much rest as he would get after that spook.

Tea would sniffle a little. . . "I was so scared." She mentioned before Jun went to place a hand on her back.

"Hey. . . I was too." He says rubbing her back. He was...deathly afraid to be truthful, he was never in doubt of his ability to kill other humans... his heart has steeled since then, but this? he was unsure of how to handle it, he wasn't even sure his gun could do anything to those monsters. . .

But he couldn't let that show, his companion couldn't know that. "But if it was breathing, then we could take them...we did make a good team earlier right?"

"Team..? haha.." She chuckled. "Well if team counts as me getting carried, yes we did." She joked, a small smile formed on her lips as she then went to her pack. . . grabbing it and scurrying back to the farthest area of the room.

"Hey tomorrow. . . why don't I take the car? I can drive." She suggested.

That was a bad idea, unless the truck was armored..which they had to check, but it was incredibly unlikely, but he didn't want to upset her, so he nodded. "By the way . . . did you fall asleep?"

She winced. "Uh . . ."

"We aren't getting any sleep tonight, so it was better that you did." He says before sitting down on one of the mattresses, he'd ponder on what those things were, were they human? were they things that were created due to the fall? he didn't know. . . nor did he care to find out but they had to call it something. . .

He thought about it for a second before he had an idea, He'd nod and look at his companion who was clutching her pack, maybe now wasn't the best time to bring it up . . . maybe in the morning? but that was hours away. He'd sigh and then look out the window, content to keep watch for now.

The idea kept lingering in the back of his head however, those things . . . their pale flesh, the rotten smell, and the emaciated look. They perfectly reflected the look of the things he used to hear about in all those scary youtube videos.

"Hey. . . don't those things. . . look like wendigos?" he asked out of the blue, and he realized that right after, but to his surprise, Tea nodded.

"Yeah, yeah they do..." She nodded, sitting over next to him too. "They may not be wendigos though?" She asked.

He wondered why she was next to him now, did she feel safe? that was probably the case, but regardless, he nodded. "Yeah they definitely looked the part...and smelled the part too." He joked.

"so what do you think? should we call them that...?" He asked, a bit excited.

Tea pondered "Well they did come when it was raining..." She said "I've slept in the woods before. . . they never came then... " she placed a hand on her cheek and nodded "Sure, let's call them Wendigos." She smiled and lay her head against the wooden wall.

Jun nodded, and smiled. "Right, wendigos..." He'dpondered for a few seconds before closing his eyes and sighed. "This is very much a bad ide--"

He wasn't even able to finish his sentence before they'ed be interrupted by the sounds of flesh being, torn apart. . .

They aren't getting rest...at least until the rain is over.