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Flicker of Hope (APL part 2)
Forum-Index → Roleplay → Flicker of Hope (APL part 2)The cars drove away from the burial ground where Maddy and given her life to take out MT, they were on the way to Colorado, the rumored last safe place for themselves.
Despite Faith looking forward, the mind reeled as she tried to handle Maddy's death. MT had come and killed numerous of their men. Maddy then fought MT on her own, eventually the latter drug the former to a broken three and slammed her on it. Several broken pieces had gone into her, one into her heart which almost killed her immediately.
"I'm not going. Just moving on. Keep everyone safe, I'll be waiting on the other side." She had then looked up at the sky, a look of relief crossed her face "So this is what it feels like." Maddy took one last breath and didn't breathe again.
Despite the protest of Lucy's living allies to keep moving, Faith had insisted they bury the fallen, including Maddy. Each fallen ally had been put in a somewhat rushed shallow grave with a wooden cross marking their spot. Maddy's was on a hill overlooking the cliff, Faith figured she'd like it. Hope grew some flowers and decorated Maddy's cross. The remaining survivors then left the spot and silently mourned the lost.
Hope still had the gun, she stared at it wishing she'd pulled the trigger sooner, Maddy would still be alive then.
Seven-year-old Hope's sobs jerked Faith from her daze, Faith gently held onto her as Hope sobbed. Her gaze went from her daughter to Lucy, was just as crushed as them.
Meanwhile, in Colorado's safe zone, Noel opened her eyes to find that her black cat, was perched on her chest again. She huffed and pulled herself up in a sitting position and out of bed with Midnight on her heels. She had a routine, check the scanners and make sure that none of Money or Benton's men found her. Heck, best if no one found her, not after her parents helped this virus become a reality. . .unintentialy of course. Noel carefully scooped up her pentant in her hand and looked at it for a moment before letting it fall against her chest and checked the scanners. Nothing. Good. Noel trudged up towards the roof and harvested some of the growing plants to make her and Midnight breakfast, which was a salad for herself and tuna for Midnight.
Back at Benton's place, Eve was sleeping in a smallish room filled with plushies and a large bed. Very kiddish and clearly she had been well taken care of.
The call of the earth had always been present even in the early hours of the morning, a yearning to return to what he had been created out of and the desire to nurture it. Tilling the soil had come naturally to him, gently coaxing life out from dead grounds and letting life flourish where it had once been barren. It was a repetitive sort of comfort that Hyde found himself lulled under, gently patting the earth as he planted a seed within it, moving on to the next plot to do the same. One by one, the earth cradled life as Hyde facilitated the process, bloodied hands kindly pressing down on the damp ground. Once the seeds had been planted, he moved on the shower the saplings with a sprinkle of water, letting the springy leaves bounce as droplets rolled off their green blades.
Behind him, the door to the rooftop garden creaked open but Hyde didn't lift his head and was content to make himself unobtrusive as Noel wandered around picking the vegetation that he had been caring for. His eyes tracked the younger's movements, taking note of what she took and keeping a mental catalogue of what needed to be planted, eaten, and restocked. Shuffling to put down the makeshift watering can, Hyde wiped his wet hands on the helm of his shorts before reaching down to twist a head of cabbage from the ground, placing it into a basket for later. Just like that, he went down the row of freshly grown produce, harvesting what was ripe for the day ahead.
"Don't go worrying your pretty little head over it, ma'am. We've got enough for a looong while yet. Just let the earth do her thing and we won't go hungry." He chuckled, patting the basket of cabbages. Grabbing a rake, Hyde began to unearth the roots and stored them away in a separate container. "And if not... well it's nothing a little bit of magic can't fix." Shrugging, Hyde ran a hand over a head of cabbage whose leaves had evidently been the snack of a passing insect. With a moment of silence, the cabbage slowly knit up the chewed holes before it looked like it was brand new with no traces of a midnight snack to be found on the vegetable. "Just doesn't taste as good, y'know. Mother always did grow the best food. I couldn't hope to match her in that regard." Patting the earth almost fondly, Hyde put the cabbage back into the basket and twisted his slightly stiff neck. "No trouble on the outside I hope? Wouldn't do to have misfortune on our doorstep."
Midnight sat in Noel's arms, flicking her tail, the green eyes glinted as the feline seemed to be guarding her.
Midnight jumped out of Noel's arms and trotted to Xavier, nuzzling his legs and purring loudly.
"It's all good, daring." Hyde chuckled, gathering up the basket of cabbage in his arms. slinging over his shoulder the rest of the freshly harvested produce, he shifted for a second to get everything nice and balanced. "I'll be heading down to the kitchens to drop these off anyways, so we were pretty much done." Using the clips on his suspenders to secure everything in place, Hyde made his way towards the rooftop door. It was difficult as the piles of produce blocked most of his vision yet he safely meandered into the kitchen with only a few new bruises.
*Inside the Colorado base, Ripley began to wake up. She stretched her wings as she sat up and looked around her room. It was mostly empty, with the exception of her clothes that she lazily threw to the ground the night before. She stood up and left her room, still half asleep, towards the bathroom to take a shower. The one thing that after many years of having wings, she still couldn't do properly*
Noel walked past Ripley's room as she made her way down to the kitchen, Midnight still in tow.
*Somewhere, far from Faith and Lucy, there lied a mostly underground laboratory, crawling with soldiers and scientists alike. Inside one office however, two men could be heard arguing about something. But suddenly, a gunshot sounded a deadly shriek and blood splattered all over the windows. As the door opened, Benton walked out holding a 44-Magnum. His white shirt was covered in red speckles and several guards rushed to him, asking what happened as he walked down the hallway. He didn't answer their questions but he instead muttered orders* Sweep the base, I want the girl found
Eve woke a the gunshot, her eyes flew open as she clung to the worn Tabby plushie. "Daddy?"
Noel hopped onto the computers again to check for any movement nearby. So far, nothing. Midnight hopped onto the desk as well and curled up on a pillow Noel had for her and fell asleep.