Searching {Delilah / Love}

[nathan]

Nathan slid down the bank of the stream, his feet sliding against rocks and grit, his weight carrying him forward on the soft ground. His shoulders were slouched, his eyes hooded, his mouth locked into a tight frown. His eyebrows were knitted together, as if he were glaring at everything he came across. He was, admittedly tired, shattered, ready to drop from his feet and sleep for weeks. But he couldn't do that yet. No, not yet. He had to drink, get some fluid down him. Then he could start looking for a place to spend the night.

He'd been walking for what seemed like forever, and guilt pressed hard on his shoulders. In the past two days, he'd met two survivors, and as much as he'd tried to help them, watched both die. He'd lost two people, despite his best efforts, and while there was nothing he could have realistically done to save them, he took their deaths personally. He blamed himself for not doing more. What was the point in being a survivor, wandering the wastes to help others, if you couldn't even when you wanted to.

He reached the side of the shallow, crystal clear stream with a grunt, his skid coming to an abrupt halt, his thick boots kicking up shingle and dusk. He'd spent the few hour journey to this area, the only place he knew he could get unlimited amounts of free, clean water, analysing every move he'd made, criticizing every step he took, every shot he'd taken. Yet no matter how many times he played them back, trying to mentally right his wrongs, he couldn't bring those people back, and he wouldn't get another chance. “Fuck” he muttered to himself, raising his hand to his forehead, finally accepting that he couldn't change things.

Crushed. That was the only word to describe the mechanic-turned soldier-turned hero. He stood there for a moment, unmoving, his breaths coming quickly and heavily, head in his hand. He fought back tears of regret and failure, lost for a moment in silence, in the soothing sound of slow moving water. When he lowered his hands, his eyes were full of unshed tears, but his face was firm. He was not going to cry. It wasn't in his nature. He couldn't let himself feel defeated. Not yet. He was still alive, and there were still other survivors. He had to remain strong, had to remain positive so he could help them.

Dropping to his knees, he bent low to the water, and using his hands like a saucer, scooped the cold water into his palms, raising it slowly to his lips, drinking deeply. Refreshing. He did this a few times over, and then used the last handful on his hair, running it through the matted brown mess, brushing it out of his face. He knew he looked a mess, skin dirty from weeks on the road, ripped jeans and wife beater shirt making him look scruffy, the old, tatty mechanics belt around his waist, full of oil-greased tools probably giving him the appearance of some uneducated grease monkey. He guessed the leather jacket and cuts on his cheeks didn't help. But hey, that's what his life entailed right now. That's how he had to live. He had to wander nothingness in order to find those who were lost, in able to return them to their rightful homes and repent for his own foolish mistakes. That was his life.

About to take one more scoop of water, a sound off to Nathan's left alerted him to the presence of another. Whether it was human or zombie, he had no clue. He wasn't about to react to them, not yet. If it was one of those scavenger types, thinking they'd got the drop on him, they'd be sorely disappointed. Busying himself in looking to clean his jeans, he slipped his right hand under his coat, down to his waist, and unclipped the heavy revolver that was holstered among his tools. Pulling it silently from where he rested, he thumbed the hammer, rested his finger on the trigger. The sound got louder and louder, but seemed to get no closer.

What the hell was it? Intrigued, he stood slowly, pulling his gun into the open, holding it in both hands, barrel pointed at the floor. Squinting off into the distance, he took a step toward the noise.

[Delilah Rose]

It would be night soon. The grey sky was already beginning to blacken, and soon the world would be blanketed in darkness. Not even the brightest stars would be visible, hidden by the smoke and ash clouds that infected the atmosphere. There would be no moon either, no distant airplane lights. There would just be blackness, nothing but blackness.

Somewhere deep in the woods, underneath the branches of a dying oak tree, there was a woman. She was dressed rather professionally, or at least compared to most people in this day, wearing grey business attire. Her usually neat blonde hair was a disaster, twigs and leaves sticking out of her messy bun, making it look a bit like a bird had made a nest in her hair. Her clothes were torn in a few places, and there were splotches of dirt staining her tightly fitting skirt. She hugged her arms around her body, whimpering softly, a quiet sound, one of fear. She could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she kept blinking them back, refusing to cry. She had to be strong. The moment she gave in to weakness she would lose. She would give up and be forever lost among the trees.

She didn’t want to die. Not yet. She hadn’t been able to do all that she had wanted in life yet. She still had so many hopes, so many unfinished wishes. She still hadn’t found a cure for that horrible disease. She hadn’t met the man of her dreams. She hadn’t gotten to see what the ocean looked like. She hadn’t made it into the book of world records. She hadn’t gotten to meet a famous musician. Everything, all the dreams she had once had, they would be forgotten. She couldn’t die...she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready. She doubted that anyone were to miss her if she were to die, as she was pretty sure most people thought she was a nuisance and just put up with her because of her position as a scientist. If it wasn’t for that...she would just be some nobody.

Stop this, Delilah. You’re being such a pessimist, she told herself silently. She was usually a firm believer in faith. She was always telling other people there was no such thing as a lost cause, to never give up no matter what. Why was she being such a hypocrite right now? She needed to get a hold of herself... She couldn’t just sit here until she died, until she bled out. That would be stupid, a waste. She needed to get up. She needed to get back to the department. If she could only do that...

The blonde tried to push herself to her feet. She was unable to stand though, lacking the strength, and she just slumped back down. No...no no no! Why had she even gone out today? Why had she been so stupid? God, she was such a fool, a complete idiot. If she had only listened! If she had only stayed indoors like they’d told her. She’d just...wanted to be useful. She hated feeling so useless. She was smarter than they thought. Just because she laughed at weird things and made stupid jokes didn’t mean she was a moron. She was one of the best researchers on the team. Why couldn’t they just see that? Why...?

A quiet sob escaped the woman’s lips and she leaned her head forward. A single tear slid down her cheek, hitting the dirt beneath her, mixing with the blood on the ground.

[/blockquote]

[nathan]

Nathan approached the noise slowly, gun at the ready, not having any idea what it was he was going to find. What started as a rustling of leaves and a cracking of branches had become a soft sniffing, as if someone were crying. If such a thing were true, he doubted he would need the revolver in his hands, but living in the wastes for so long had taught him it was better to be safe than sorry. What could look to be a weeping, innocent boy could be a scavengers trap, luring him in, lowering his defences, and then as soon as he got close enough the attackers would appear, jumping him before he could react. He had good, if not great response time, but there was no way he'd put bullets in three people at close range before they got to him. He wasn't taking any risks. Risks were for fools.

As he moved, his sharp eyes scanned his surroundings, and other than the edge of the thick forest, lying only a few feet away, there was very little in the way of cover. Where was the noise coming from? The only thing in the direction he was going in was an old oak tree. Maybe it was there the person was hiding. Stepping up his pace, he headed to the destination a little more quickly, not out of fear, but wanting to see what the source was. For all he knew, it could be a pretty young damsel in distress, and that would certainly be worth the extra pace.

However, even moving faster, he stepped cautiously, making sure his footfalls were close to silent, making sure he was ready to come to a quick halt should it be necessary. Ever few steps he'd check both to his sides and behind him. He wasn't about to be sprung up on; that had happened before, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen again. Especially not after the day he'd had, at any rate.

As the tree loomed up before him, the sound of quiet crying got only louder, and when he could almost reach out and touch the bark, he heard a quiet sob, almost choked back, as if someone were trying to stop themselves weeping. Crouching a little, he started to circle the trunk of the oak, the shadow of the branches hiding him somewhat, though any under the tree would see him almost instantly.

Soon there came into view a length of blonde hair, and as he came closer, he came to deduce the huddled up figure belonged to a girl, one who'd clearly experienced a rough time. Her hair was messy, her...business suit...was ditched, and she didn't look particularly like she belong in the world Nathan had come to make his home. Pointing the gun at her, he stepped forwards, clearing his throat with a sharp cough to get her attention.

“Hey! You...” he started, his voice deep, gravelly, but he was cut off when he noticed an odd colored liquid on the floor, welling just before his boots. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at it more closely. Shit, blood. He'd recognize it anywhere. Looking at the woman again, startled, he threw himself down beside her, gun now held in one hand away from her, the other trying to poke and prod at her body, fingers searching for the cause of the bleed. “You're hurt? Where?”

[Delilah Rose]

Someone was coming. Delilah could hear the footsteps, the crunching of twigs beneath another’s feet. Her heart skipped a beat fearfully, and she nearly choked on one of her sobs. Oh god. What was that? Had one of those horrible things followed her here? It had to be. No real person would be way out here in the forest at night. Unlike the walking dead, humans actually had functioning brains, and they’d know better than to put themselves in such peril. Then again, she was out here and she was a living human... Hm, maybe there was something wrong with her brain.

The footsteps got closer, and Delilah braced herself. She didn’t really have form of defense except for pepper spray, and that did absolutely no good when it came to the corpses. They didn’t feel pain in the same way that humans did, and at the most, spraying the stuff just made them angrier. The scientist didn’t even have time to remove it from her pocket though, because only a second later there was a boy standing right in front of her. And he had a gun. Delilah let out a quiet gasp, shrinking back. Her eyes widened in fright, terror reflected in her blue irises. “P-Please,” she pleaded in a whisper. “Please don’t hurt me.” She wasn’t sure what good that would do. If the boy was going to hurt her, she doubted pathetic whimpers would stop him. But the words just rolled from her mouth, her last pleas for life.

“Hey! You...”

Delilah jumped a little at the sound of his voice. She stared at him with wide eyes, back pressed against the tree as she tried to move away from him. He wasn’t one of the walking dead, that much was clear. She had figured that the moment she’d seen him though because zombies couldn’t carry guns. If they’d learned how to do that then the world was more screwed than she’d previously thought. “W-What do you want?” she asked. She tried to make her weak voice stop shaking, but she failed. “What are you doing?” The boy had suddenly dropped to his knees before her, eyes travelling over her body. He poked at her, prodding in random places, and she tried to flinch away from him, an alarmed look in her eyes.

“You're hurt? Where?”

How did he know…? Delilah looked down in the direction of her wound, and her eyes widened as she saw the blood pooling on the ground. Maybe the injury was more serious than she’d previously thought, as she had not realized she’d lost that much blood. In a reflex reaction, she grasped at her side, trying to make the bleeding stop, or at least slow. “Stay away,” she managed to say. She tried to sound threatening, but her voice came out just as weakly as before. She scrambled back a few inches, moving around the base of the tree, dragging her body over the dirt. She was uncertain if this boy was an ally or enemy, and it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. He was human, that much was clear, but even Delilah knew that not all humans were good. War and zombie invasions could do that to a person.

[/blockquote]

[nathan]

“P-please, don't hurt me.”

Nathan rolled his eyes as he girl spoke, her pathetic words some sort of please, as if she expected them to be her last. Who the hell did she think he was?! If he was going to have hurt her, he would have done so already. He had a gun, and if he'd wanted to cause her any pain, it would be been easier to shoot her from a good distance away in the shoulder. That'd make her squeal. Shooting her at this range would just kill her, she'd already lost a lot of blood, and he sure as hell didn't hit women. He really wished people would be more trusting some of the time. Not that he could blame her in this world, and he'd do the same in her position, but...still!

As he continued to prod her, he noticed her tense up, as if shocked by something. Didn't she know she was hurt? It appeared not, as moments later she dropped her hands to her side, gasping, as if the fact she was bleeding was new information to her. His eyes followed the route her hands had taken, and he watched as she clasped them to herself, making some makeshift bandage. That would never work. Was she insane? Reaching out for her hands, ready to take them off and inspect the wound, he was thwarted as she shuffled away from him, moving around the base of the tree, telling him agitatedly to 'Stay away!'

Sighing, Nathan rolled his eyes. What the hell was she playing at? Did she want to die? He got why she was being all secretive and touchy and defensive, but she was in no condition to start trying to protect herself against people who could actually help her. Raising his hands either side of his head, letting his gun fall lip, he looked for a moment like he'd surrendered to her, like she was the one with the gun.
“Okay, fine. There. I'm staying away. But you are hurt, and bad, and you need someone to look at it.”

Shrugging a little, he took a small step towards her. “I know what I'm doing alright. I promise I won't hurt you. Hell, if I was going to do that I would have done it already, you hear me? I had the drop on you, and if I wanted to see you in pain I wouldn't be this close to you. See the gun? I could have shot you from back there. I'm not your enemy. I want to help.” Another step closer. Then another. Soon he was nearly on her again, and slowly, he lowered his hands, holstering his gun amongst the tools in his mechanic belt, and then ripped off a long strip of his wife beater, tearing it from his body. Taking a deep breath, he smiled, showing her the fabric he'd pulled from himself.

“See this? This is going to be your bandage if you let me near you. Alright? I won't put it on unless you let me, but I need to stop you bleeding and your clothes are already too soaked and wet to be of any use. Can I come closer and take a look at your injury?” He crouched again, this time anticipating a yes. “C'mon, you can trust me, I swear. I'm one of the good guys, you get me? Let me help you. It might just save your life.”

He smiled, looking her in the eyes. She was quite pretty, now he got to see her a little closer, even if a little old for him. Blonde, blue eyes. Nice. He would wager she made someone a really happy guy. “Please? I don't want to see someone else die when I could have prevented it, especially not someone as attractive as you. It'd be a waste.” When all else failed, try flattery. And flattery was exactly what he attempted.

[theo]

Doctor love was on the prowl. His beloved Delilah had been acting a little funny today, and so he had kept a closer eye on her than usual. You know, just to make sure she hadn’t gotten into any trouble. She had been wanting to help some of the higher ranking scientists with data gathering and analysis, but they’d just laughed and rejected her. It had taken Theo all his strength not to burst from the closet he was hiding in and throttle them. How dare they look down upon his beautiful Delilah! She was smarter than all of them! If only they would just give her a chance! Alas, Theo had bit down on the inside of his cheek and contained any foul words that he could have spouted off at the other researchers. They would be sorry for this, he would make sure of that. And so, as he waited in the darkness of the closet, he had plotted all of their demise.

When Theo had finally managed to escape the closet, when no one was looking of course, he found Delilah arguing with some of the guards. Apparently, she wanted to venture into the horrible outside world and help gather samples. What on earth was she thinking?! Was she mad?! Theo watched from behind a corner, mouth gaping. It seemed that the ‘samples’ that the other researchers and scientists needed were zombies. Live ones. Theo wasn’t sure how exactly Delilah thought she was going to capture a live zombie for them, but she kept saying that she wanted to help, and when they hadn’t let her she stormed off in a huff. Theo had followed her, as usual. He was about to approach her, give her a shoulder to cry on, but then the woman had gotten a crazy idea and snuck out one of the back exits.

Theo, being the loving and protective one-day-to-be husband he was, had heroically dashed after Delilah, only to lose her a few minutes later. The outside world was a scary place, one that he usually avoided. He would brave it for Delilah though. If she wanted to do something as stupid and crazy as hunt zombies, he would be behind her every step of the way!

Well, this had sounded great in theory anyway.

The moment that zombies appeared, Theo had went shrieking like a girl in the opposite direction, leaving Delilah to fend for herself. He dove into a garbage can, shaking, hiding there and praying they wouldn’t find him. It had taken him a few long minutes, but then he suddenly realized something. Oh my god. Delilah was out there alone! The zombies might have eaten her alive by now! NOOOOO!!! Theo burst from the garbage can, shouting out his undying love for Delilah, claiming that he would come to her rescue, but by the time he had freed himself, she was gone…and so were the zombies.

Theo had spent a good ten minutes sulking around, sobbing, convinced that Delilah was dead. It was only when he saw the trail of blood that hope sparked in him. It must be Delilah’s blood! If he followed it he just knew it would lead him to her! This was perfect. He could still be the dashing hero that came to her rescue! Hah. That would show that bastard of a doctor. Theo had seen the way they’d been rolling on the floor together a few days ago, and he was still plotting his revenge for the annoying glasses-wearing man. He had no idea what Delilah saw in the grumpy man, but that didn’t matter…because today it would be him, Theodore Michael Love, that she saw. It would be him and only him. She would see him in a new light. He’d be her knight in shining armor. Delilah would soon forget all about that lecherous doctor and fall head over heels madly in love with him!

This brought us to the current moment, as Theo plowed through the forest like a hound dog tracking a fox. He was beginning to lose hope that he’d be able to find Delilah, but just as he thought this, he heard a familiar voice ring out through the air, beautiful, feminine, like a goddess in any way. That was her! He would know that sweet voice anywhere.

And so, Theo crept up behind a tree, peeking out from behind a branch. Just as he had expected, on the other side of the large trunk he saw Delilah. He was about to pounce in and sweep her off her feet, but then he noticed that she wasn’t alone, and there was, in fact, another man with her. Theo’s mouth dropped and he nearly fell to his knees. Who…who was THAT?!?! And what was he doing with his shirt?! Was he…stripping for her? The fact that this younger man was trying to help Delilah never crossed his mind, and his imagination began to think up rape scenes and other horrifying images. He took a deep breath, getting ready to burst in. He could do this… After all, he was Doctor Love.

[Delilah Rose]

Delilah relaxed a little as the boy dropped his gun down, letting it fall from his hands and hang from the strap on his shoulder. He said that he wasn’t going to hurt her, and if he was, he’d have already done it. The blonde supposed that made sense. He had a gun, and if he’d been planning on hurting her, he would have shot her the second he saw her. She stared up at him nervously, trying to trust him. She was wary though, remembering past experiences. Sometimes she could be a little too trusting, and that often got her in trouble. However, as she studied the boy, she began to relax ever so slightly. He didn’t seem like he was going to do anything bad to her, and usually she was a good judge of character.

The boy slowly started walking closer, one step, and then another, until he was standing right in front of her. She flinched a little as his hand moved down, but then, to her relief, he just tore a piece from his shirt. Delilah was a little confused at first, but then as he smiled and held it out to her, she understood. “See this? This is going to be your bandage if you let me near you. Alright?” The boy was speaking to her as if she were some scared animal, which Delilah wasn’t sure what to make of. She wasn’t a child for god’s sake! She was a grown woman, and older than him if she was guessing right. Then again, ages had always been difficult for her.

“Can I come closer and take a look at your injury?” he asked her, sounding a little pleading now. “C'mon, you can trust me, I swear. I'm one of the good guys, you get me?”

Delilah watched as the boy crouched down in front of her. Very slowly, she nodded her head. She doubted that she would be able to make it out of this forest alone, so really, this kid was her only hope. If she didn’t try to trust him, who knows when another person would come along to help. No one had even known she’d left the department. That had probably been a stupid move on her part. She should have at least told someone that she was going out. She had acted in a moment of weakness though, ignoring the logical side of her brain and letting her emotions rule her decisions. Delilah took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and then she carefully pried her hand away from the wound. Delilah could tell that he wasn’t experienced in the medical field, but she supposed that he might be able to stop the bleeding at least, and that way she wouldn’t die from blood loss. Or, well, she hoped not anyway.

“Please? I don't want to see someone else die when I could have prevented it, especially not someone as attractive as you. It'd be a waste.”

“Okay,” the scientist told him at last, voice hushed, weak. “But if you try anything, I’ll be forced to use this…” She dug into one of her pockets, pulling out the can of pepper spray she often carried around. She waved it in his face and then stuffed it back into her pocket protectively, as if warning him. While he might not be interested in killing her, Delilah knew that there were other things that men wanted, especially from women, and she was still slightly wary of this stranger being so close. “J-Just remember that!” She was trying to sound threatening, but her voice didn’t have much strength to it, so the words came out a bit shaky and pathetic.

It was as Delilah said this that she heard something. The snap of a branch. She froze, blue eyes stretching wide as she stared at the boy in front of her. “Did you hear that…?” she whispered. The noise had sounded like it’d come right behind her, but she was too afraid to look over her shoulder and see, paralyzed by fear. Oh, she was regretting coming out here. All she wanted was to be back in the comfort of her house, or at least back at the department. Anywhere but here.

[/blockquote]

[nathan]

“But if you try anything, I'll be forced to use this...”

This happened to be a can of pepper spray, drawn from deep in one of her pockets. His eyes widened on seeing it, and he smirked as she waved it in his face, her blue eyes doing their utmost to look threatening. She failed, and as she thrust it back into her pocket, he wondered if she actually even know how to use the MACE. He highly doubted it, and momentarily imagined her squirting it into her own face by accident. It only made his smirk widen, and it remained on his face even as he approached her. “That's...well...that's a really terrifying notion” he grunted, slightly more sarcastically than he meant to.

Stopping close to her, pausing by her injured side, he lowered his head to the wound, ready to inspect it a little more thoroughly. Where her hand had been, there was a gash, long, although not too deep, one that cut into flesh but looked to have done no permanent damage. She would live, so long as he could halt the bleeding anyway. The wound would certainly scar though. Putting his hands on her shirt, he readied himself to tear it and her jacket in order to make room for the makeshift bandage he hoped to apply, but something stopped him before he got chance. The crack of a twig, and close by. His head shot up, ears straining to hear for any other sounds, eyes searching the area about the tree, looking for any signs of intruders, or worse, undead.

“Did you hear that...?” The woman piped up, only confirming his suspicions. Something had moved, something had broken a branch, and it was something that was trying to remain hidden from the pair. Dropping the ragged shirt across the injured other's thighs, Nathan dropped his hand to his waist, and he unholstered his pistol from where it lay in his belt. He thumbed the hammer, and stood slowly, his body tense and alert. As he rose, he whispered his short, simple response. “Yeah, I did.”

He held the revolver out before him, aiming it whenever he turned, ready to shoot any unwelcome visitors. Nathan took a deep breath, trying to lower his heart rate. He couldn't get jumpy, not now. He had to ready himself for whatever came, he had to stay sharp. He was not just responsible for his life now, but for the life of the woman on the ground as well. He wouldn't forgive himself if he lost her too, if he saw another life snuffed out. It'd be such a waste, a pretty thing like her.

Taking a step away from where the injured lay beside the tree, he turned about on himself, finally coming to search the area behind the pair. Narrowing his eyes, he waited, ready. No matter what came at him, he'd kill it if he had to. He'd kill it and save their lives, or die trying. “Hey. Anyone there?” His call was slow, deliberate, and pronounced perfectly clearly. He wouldn't have his words mumbled at a time like this. It could be talking that saved them.

Casting a quick glance at the girl, he showed her a smile, one that was warm and full of hope. “It's okay. I got this one. I promise, you're safe.” Nodding, he looked back down the sights of the pistol, tracking any and every movement. “And once we've got this sorted, I'll make sure I stem that bleeding. You'll live, and then we'll get you back to your loving husband, or kids...or whatever else you have.” he tested, if not a little obviously. Keep her talking, make whoever was out there think they hadn't noticed them, and they might still get out of this alive.

What the hell was stalking them? What the hell was prowling amongst these trees?

[theo]

Uh oh! He’d been spotted! Theo quickly ducked down behind the tree, head knocking against a branch on the way down. He let out a little grunt, trying to hide himself in the bushes, but obviously he was not fast enough because a moment later the younger male had rose to his feet and was pointing a gun in his direction. EEP! Theo gulped, swallowing hard. He had a gun?! He wanted to dash out there bravely, come to Delilah’s rescue, be there hero, but he found that fear was stopping him. He closed his eyes, playing out the possible scenarios.

In the first, he suddenly had all his hair back, and he was springing from the bushes like a tiger, colliding with the other man viciously and tackling him to the floor, snatching the gun from his hands. After this he’d grab Delilah and sweep her off her feet, maybe give her a kiss, and then she’d fall madly in love with him for being her savior. In the other, however, Theo saw himself jumping from the undergrowth only to get shot in the chest, a bullet striking him right in the heart. He supposed it would be an epic way to die, die for the woman he loved. Maybe then, maybe if he gave up his life for her, she would fall in love with him, and as he lay dying, bleeding out every last ounce of blood, she would confess to him, confess her undying love. Theo didn’t really want to die though, so he stayed hidden, shuddering at the thought. Even if Delilah did love him, he’d be dead, so a hell of a lot of good that’d do him.

“Hey. Anyone there?”

“No one is here!”

Oh, wait! CRAP! He hadn’t meant to say that out loud! Shit shit shit shit shit. Theo quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening. Him and his big mouth. It seemed that even when his life depended on it he just couldn’t keep it shut. Theo stayed there for a few moments longer, but alas he knew he had given himself away, so, with a heavy sigh, he slowly rose from where he’d previously been crouching, thrusting his hands up above his hand in surrender. “Don’t hurt me!” he squeaked pathetically, voice breaking a little at the end. “A-And give me back my woman!” He pointed at Delilah, narrowing his eyes.