Bad news. [Open]

[Tawny Ambrose]

“Hey! You don't want that stuff. It's all crap! Vegetables and...and sprouts and stuff. I already got the good food. I could fix you some hotdawgs?”

Having no idea why he put such emphasis on the last word, Tawny lifted her head, pausing her food gathering, and stared at the boy across the room. Her jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?!” she hissed frantically, being careful to keep her voice down. They couldn’t make too much noise or they might attract the horde of zombies that Lahad had seen. Then again, it was probably too late for that now, judging by how loudly (and horribly) Jun had been singing. Man, that boy really was stupid. Seriously. What an idiot. Food was food. It didn’t matter what kind it was, whether it was vegetables or hotdogs. It kept you alive! “It isn’t crap,” Tawny muttered as she stuffed a few more cans into her pack. “It’s what keeps you alive. Besides…hotdogs are gross.”

“Tawny! Sweetie! You're hur-”

Sweetie? Wait, what? Jun started to shout something, but just as he spoke, Lahad leaned down and asked her a question.

“What you think we do now?”

“Take some of this,” Tawny answered, shoving a food can up at Lahad. She didn’t understand why he wasn’t as excited as her over this discovery. Food was a rarity in society nowadays, and this was an amazing find. How in the world had Jun managed to come across this? Sigh. Lucky bastard. “Don’t worry about that guy,” she added, gesturing to Jun as she shoved one last can into her bag, so it was now packed to the brim. “I’ve met him before. He’s harmless.” She slowly stood up, swaying a little under the weight of her torn up backpack. She wasn’t used to it being so heavy!

“How about you point that gun somewhere else eh?!”

This time it was Jun's voice. Tawny looked up just in time to see Jun hurling a can toward her again. No, wait, it was directed at Lahad. What was his problem! He needed to stop throwing these things! Tawny reached up her hand again, catching the can easily. She held it tightly, turning to glare at Jun. “Hey!” She squinted her eyes, suddenly blinded as he shone a flashlight at her and Lahad. “Would you stop shining that thing in my eyes?” She looked at the floor, muttering.

“I ran into him in the front of the store. We’re trying to find a way out of here.” Seriously. What was his problem? Why was he talking such nonsense? And why was he calling her his future wife? Tawny just stared at the boy in the fluffy hooded jacket incredulously, not even able to make sense of half the things he was spouting from his big mouth. It was then, as she stood there, mind filled with his meaningless babble, that she began to feel a little dizzy. Ow… Why did her head hurt? She lifted a hand to her forehead, touching it lightly and flinched. Oh. That’s right. The idiot had thrown a can at her, hadn’t he? She removed her fingers, biting her lip as she saw a crimson substance on her finger tips. Oh man, that jerk was going to pay for this.

“Are you okay? Did he do this to you? I swear I'll-”

Suddenly, Tawny’s head was being grabbed. She let out a startled grasp, realizing that Jun had somehow appeared in front of her and taken hold of it. She felt his palms resting on either side of her cheeks, warm against her skin. “L-Let go of me,” she told him, trying to pull away. “He didn’t do anything to me. You did. You’re the one who threw the damn can.”

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

He was tense, keeping the rifle's barrel lowered, not exactly pointing at this fellow, but still in his general direction. They definitely knew each other, though this fellow seemed more interested in Tawny than what he was previously digging in the box for. Lahad kept his eyes trained on the fellow, and when he noticed Lahad's presence, instantly resented him, or so his actions and expressions would lead him to believe. The young man seemed to care for Tawny, as he came up and caller her his 'sweetie', much to Tawny's disdain, as she didn't even respond rather she told Lahad to take some of the food she was collecting. He did so, keeping one hand on the pistol grip of his rifle and pointed at the young man as he reached and collected the can from Tawny's hand, pocketing it for now. Lahad had no pack, where else was he going to put it? His pockets were big, and many of them, fatigue coats were good like that. Though food was the last thing really on Lahad's mind, his Khat high kept him from being hungry, at least until he came down, and what was really bugging him was the amount of noise being made. She had added that this young man was of little concern, or should be, and that she had met him before and he was harmless.

Watching her stand up, she seemed to sway, probably under the weight of all that canned food. Lahad's eyes weren't on the young man with the box, which was probably not a good idea, because he heard him say something to the effect of pointing his gun somewhere else. Lahad not paying attention nearly backfired, luckily for him Tawny was on the ball, catching the can hurled at him. Lahad turned his attention to the young man and gave him a grimace, letting go of the pistol grip of his rifle and having it drop to his hip allowing it to hang by its sling. The young man had picked up his flashlight and pointed it at them, causing Lahad's eyes to burn, and for him to bring up a hand to shield his face, though his mouth clearly formed a into a grim looking frown. He shared sentiments with Tawny, not wanting the flashlight to be shone in his eyes either.

Lahad wasn't really listening to their conversation, his attention was grabbed by a somewhat distant sound that echoed through the building. Low, and almost quiet by the time it had reverberated to where they were in this back room, but probably very loud out in the main area. A thudding, just loud enough for Lahad to pick up over their banter. His heart rate started to raise, and his attention was brought back to the Tawny, and now this fellow who was touching her, exclaiming that she was hurt and that if Lahad had done anything that he would- well, his sentence was cut off by Tawny explaining to him that it was his fault in the first place that she was hurt, and for him to get away from her. Lahad felt obliged to grasp his rifle again, and use it's butt-end to force them apart. He lifted the rifle up and lowered the folding stock between their faces, hoping to grab their attention.

"Enough... Boy, you need to learn some respect, Tawny."

Lahad paused for a moment, inspecting in the light her head-wound. It was a bump which was bleeding, unfortunate that he was not a medic, but he did know enough to realize that this was a bad position for her to be in.

"You will be able to continue? I hear in distance something which omens as bad, we need move, even with fool-boy following. Maybe get him to carry pack, it look heavy."

Lahad lifted the rifle back up from between the two and let it hang on it's sling at his hip again. They needed to move, it seemed, though he was not positive, that the horde he had thought he evaded, maybe followed him to this location; they needed to escape to either roof-level or outside in the back fast. Though he felt that the outside would be far too dangerous to move about with Tawny's head injury.

"Boy, you have name? Tell me fast, I am Mujahid Lahad, we need move you know way to roof?"

Lahad spoke quickly, reaching first into his fatigue coat and digging into an inside pocket, pulling out one of the few leaves of Khat he still had. He quickly shoved it in his mouth and began chewing, and talked with his hands, making the shape of a box in the air before him, and then moving his hand over the top of the box.

"Roof, roof, you understand, yes? Roof, we need get roof."

Lahad was feeling a bit frantic now, he only had fifteen rounds in his assault rifle and an explosive warhead that would kill them all if he used it indoors. What a predicament, his mind was racing from both the adrenaline of his heart pumping, and the Khat's stimulating effects. The sound getting ever louder as it would seem more and more were piling up at the door.

[Jun Matsumoto]

Jun's hands fell away from Tawny's face slowly, and he took a tentative step back from her. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape, and he sucked in a quick breath. He placed his palm lightly on his chest. What Tawny implied was awful! Worse than awful! His world seem to mist up, and everything became slightly blurry. Sounds were distant, as if he were trapped underwater, and time itself seemed to slow. ”You did. You’re the one who threw the damn can.”

Had he really done this to his angel? Had he really cut her forehead open with a badly thrown can? He hadn't meant to do such a thing! He could never hurt her. He felt as if his every breath was meant to be hers, his life was hers. He couldn't hurt his Goddess. Gulping a little, he tried to speak, but his throat was dry. Words didn't form like they should, and he ended up wheezing gently, as if he had a terrible cough. It was the only sound he could make. His mind began to race. He had to find a way to make it up to her!

So lost in shock he was that he barely noticed as the tall, slightly muscled other thrust his gun between he and Tawny, lifting a piece of it to grab their attention. All he could do was stare pathetically at the blonde girl, hoping to find an answer to make up for his mistake in her eyes. Those big...brown...eyes.

“Enough...boy, you need to learn some respect, Tawny.” Off to one side, Jun heard the heavily accented voice sound, but he did not fully know what it was he was saying. Something about telling Tawny to learn respect. But why and who did she need to respect? She was perfect as she was, and treated her future husband with a meanness that showed hidden love. He knew that. Could this giant not see that?! Perhaps he was stupid...or didn't understand American customs.

As the armed man paused to look at the wound on Tawny's head, Jun fell to his knees, unsure of what to do to make things better. What had he done! He had failed in protecting his princess, and had instead hurt her! He had to show he was wrong, show her that he was sorry. There was only one way to do that; do the same to himself. Falling to his knees, Jun began to pound methodically at his chest in an attempt to punch himself. The constant 'thump' began sounding through the room. He then started attempting to pull at his hair, dragging his head around, and then down to the floor, where he smashed it a few times against the concrete (gently though, so as not to ruin his good looks.)

This continued for a few minutes, his self-abuse ranging from him pinching and scratching at himself to biting his arms and bashing his anatomy on random objects surrounding him. As he did so, he began uttering hushed sentences to himself every few breaths, hoping that Tawny would see how sorry he was. As he slapped his face a few times, he uttered “Fool Jun...what have you done?!” followed by him saying, a little louder as he rolled on the ground to contort his body into painful positions “I'm sorry Tawny! I didn't mean it!” He was most likely being ignored, but he ended his show by hitting his carry bag hard against his forehead, saying “I love you! Please forgive me!”

However, he stopped as soon as he heard a sentence that gave him a better way to redeem himself. “"You will be able to continue? I hear in distance something which omens as bad, we need move, even with fool-boy following. Maybe get him to carry pack, it look heavy." Springing back to his feet, he stepped towards Tawny, and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Allow me?!” He said, gesturing to her back pack with a nod of his head, now wild hair falling about his face at odd angles. “Please? If you loved me you'd let me make this up to you...” he whispered, looking slightly shiftily at Lahad, not wanting him to offer, not wanting him to steal his glory.

However, before Tawny could answer, the other man continued talking, telling him his name, asking him his and telling him they needed to get to a roof. Glaring at the other man, this La...had, Jun took a deep breath, puffing out his chest. “Well, being as I guess we're stuck with you...Ma...Mujai...La...Larry, I'm Jun. Real easy to say. J-u-n. And luckily for you, I know the way to the roof.” With that, he pointed at himself with his thumb, and winked at Tawny.

It was his time to shine.

“Follow me eh? I'll lead you two to safety. When I came in there was a ladder going up. I'm pretty sure that gets us there.” Bending over, he placed his hands on the straps of Tawny's backpack, and got ready to heave it onto his back. Looking up at the girl he was crouched bent next to, he puckered his lips and blew a kiss in her general direction. “I got this one, baby.”

[Tawny Ambrose]

Something was shoved in front of her face, and Tawny drew back with a scowl. She glanced up to see Lahad. “Enough... Boy, you need to learn some respect, Tawny.” The blonde girl muttered something under her breath, just managing to hold back a few fiery comments. How dare he tell her to be respectful. Did he even know who they were dealing with? If you wasted time being respectful to this fluffy-jacketed boy he’d try to take control, and that would most likely get all of them killed. Luckily, Tawny didn’t say anything, instead just sighing and closing her eyes.

When she opened them again, Lahad had leaned toward her. It took Tawny a moment to realize what he was doing.

“You will be able to continue? I hear in distance something which omens as bad, we need move, even with fool-boy following. Maybe get him to carry pack, it look heavy.”

His voice got Tawny’s attention. Wait. He’d heard something? She silently cursed at herself for allowing Jun to distract her. She listened now too, straining her ears. At first she didn’t hear anything, but then there was a quiet thud, the sound slowly echoing through the hallway. Was that what he’d heard before? That wasn’t good. Ugh. “Yeah,” Tawny said, a little dismissively, waving her hand as if to shoo away the subject. “It’s just a little bump. I’m perfectly fine.” It was a lie, and she knew it, but it couldn’t be that serious, could it? It was just from a can. She’d suffered worse than that before. She wasn’t much concerned for herself right now, but for the welfare of the small group. Her head was bleeding, and blood was what attracted the rotting corpses. Crap. For once it was going to be her that dragged people down. That thought was a strange one, a new one, and she found it hard to even think about. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by Jun, who had now fallen to the floor.

“Fool Jun...what have you done?!” he cried out loudly. “I'm sorry Tawny! I didn't mean it! I love you! Please forgive me!”

By this point Jun had started hitting himself, pounding himself with his hands, scratching himself, even biting himself. As he rolled around on the ground, squirming, all Tawny could think was; What the hell was he doing? She stared down at Jun with a a very odd look on her face, baffled by his behavior. She supposed she shouldn’t be so shocked. This was Jun after all. She glanced briefly over at Lahad, wondering what he was making of this childish display, and then turned back to the boy who was writhing on the ground. “Stop acting like a rabid monkey,” Tawny said to him bluntly, rolling her eyes. Yes, Lahad had told her to be more respectful, however, she was an honest person, and sometimes the truth hurt. No one could deny that Jun was acting like a rabid monkey, or some other kind of deranged animal.

And then the next moment, Jun was on his feet again, offering to take Tawny’s bag from her. She moved back from him, clutching at her torn up pack protectively. “Please? If you loved me you'd let me make this up to you...” He pleaded, reaching out for her bag. No way was she going to give it to him. Yeah, sure, she knew he wouldn’t steal it, but there were a bunch of other things that could go wrong, like he could drop it or something. And, what was up with all this ‘I love you’ stuff anyway? This was only the second time they had met for god’s sake. Tawny sighed, wiping away some of the blood that had ran down her nose, staining the sleeve of her shirt. “I’ve got it.” Luckily, there was not much time to dwell on that subject.

“Roof, roof, you understand, yes? Roof, we need get roof.”

Lahad’s voice drew Tawny back to their current situation. Right. She had bigger things to worry about than Jun right now. They needed to get out of here.

“Follow me eh? I'll lead you two to safety. When I came in there was a ladder going up. I'm pretty sure that gets us there. I got this one, baby.”

Wait. Jun knew the way to the roof? She gave him a wary look, not quite sure if this was a good idea, but then she just shrugged. She didn’t know the way out, Lahad didn’t know the way out, but maybe Jun did. Their lives were in his hands right now, and that was a terrifying thought. Ignoring the kiss that was blown to her, Tawny reached down, grabbing Jun by the collar of his shirt and pulling him to his feet, or trying to. “Then get up and lead the way.” Another thud followed her words. “We need to hurry.” She got a good grip on her pistol again, tightening her fingers around the weapon reflexively.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Eyes widened, Lahad watched the events that he could only describe as insanity on this young man's part. So strange, the people of this world had become, or maybe that was the way it always was. Lahad wasn't one to judge, but this was unbelievable, even to him. He kept a straight face, trying not to portray any emotion; mostly disappointment. Tawny and he exchanged looks at him while he rolled around inflicting wounds upon himself. The young man took a few moments to begin bashing on his chest and scorning himself for what he had done to Tawny, attempting to make up for it by groveling at her feet. Tawny merely told him to stop acting like an animal, it seems she took his advice, at least somewhat. So strange it was, the way the young man had pulled out of his bout of insane behavior, as if it was just some kind of display. Lahad shook his head from side to side in disappointment, so strange. If all humans had degraded to this point, Lahad felt they were beyond saving, though luckily his opinion of the entire human race would not be so easily swayed by a single member. The young man had finally chosen to respond to Lahad's queries now, after attempting to offer help to Tawny and her rejecting it outright. She had said she was alright to continue, and if she thought so then he was not going to argue.

"Well, being as I guess we're stuck with you...Ma...Mujai...La...Larry, I'm Jun. Real easy to say. J-u-n. And luckily for you, I know the way to the roof.”

'Larry? La ree?' Lahad thought, almost dumbfounded that he had mispronounced his name. He thought he had spoken clearly enough, but it was apparently not enough when it came to his name. He shook his head and found it close enough, there wasn't another La-ree anywhere close, so he would take it as he was talking to him if he ever referred to him with that name. Jun was easy enough to pronounce, sure, but Lahad felt it would be worth the passive-aggressive payback by mispronouncing his name was well.

"“Follow me eh? I'll lead you two to safety. When I came in there was a ladder going up. I'm pretty sure that gets us there.”

Lahad merely stood back and allowed the dialog to continue, chewing on his Khat and wanting to cut in, but in a respectful manner. They needed to get moving; if it was the horde that he had outrun, they were sure to break through the piece of board he had used as a makeshift lock on the front double-doors. Tawny knew this better than the young man, and grabbed him by the collar to pull him to his feet. "Then get up and lead the way. We need to hurry” another thud echoing through the building.

"Yes, Yhun, we need move, you lead way, I will take... how you say... rear guard?"

Lahad grasped the pistol grip of his rifle and lifted it with the single hand so that the barrel aimed at the roof, and with his free hand, pressed a button near where the stock and receiver met making a quiet clicking sound. He folded the stock around the side of the weapon, opposite of the charging handle. Now with a much more compact assault rifle, Lahad turned and aimed it down the hallway opposite of where they would be heading, stabilizing the rifle with his other hand now at the front grip. He would take up rear guard in case any of the undead broke through and were tailing them, waiting for footsteps to that he would signal he should start following them. Hopefully this fellow, who made himself to be much of a jester than a survivor, knew at least where he was going and would lead them to some sort of salvation.

[Jun Matsumoto]

Jun let out a gargled and somewhat muted squawk as his collar tightened around his neck and his slim body was dragged unceremoniously to its feet. He waved his arms helplessly as he was tugged, his cheeks turning red from his lack of breath. The sensation as a whole lasted no more than five seconds, but because he'd been exhaling when he'd been pulled at, it seemed like forever, and when Tawny released her grip on his clothing, he drew in a long, ragged breath, gagging a little as oxygen flowed into his lungs. What the hell? That was the second time in a few weeks he'd almost been strangulated. His girlfriend had to be more careful or she'd accidentally wind up asphyxiating him! He didn't understand her problem sometimes. Was it still that time of the month?! How long did they last?!

However, her actions were soon explained. Her head came in close to his, and for a moment he forgot all about the little incident, wondering if she was coming to kiss him better. Alas, she was not. Rather, her voice lowered and filled with an odd determination and authority, one that made Jun both a little hot for her, and a little scared of her. He noted the second emotion more however, as he tended to constantly experience the first. When wasn't he hot for Tawny? “Then get up and lead the way. We need to hurry.” There it was, her explanation. She needed him to be a hero. She needed him to step up to the plate and save her now. Tawny needed her pseudo-fiancé, the great, handsome and powerful Jun Matsumoto, to pull through for her.

Turning to her, eyes both wide and hurt, he massaged his neck a little. He was still all too aware that she'd hurt him (even if unintentionally) and the fact she was refusing to let him carry her bag just added insult to injury. Did she not trust him with it?! Nothing could be safer than entrusting it to him! He wouldn't lose something of his precious love's, even if it was just full of crappy foods that would make his skin pale and him spend all night puking his guts out. However, the puppy dog eyes lasted only momentarily, as he was forced to get over his upset. He couldn't stand around pained. Not now. He'd never shine then. He had to act like the saviour, he had to act like Superman, and then she'd apologize later when she'd had time to think over her mistakes. She'd repay him with cuddles and kisses and love, and all would be good.

Grinning a little, Jun was about to bend and kiss Tawny's hand like a chivalrous knight (his Mom said girls liked them) when Larry cut in, agreeing with the girl's sentiment, urging him to hurry. Dropping his hands to his side, letting his head loll back, mouth open a little, Jun let out an exhasperated “Ugh!” Turning to point at the foreigner, eyes narrowed, finger directed at his face, he readied himself for verbal combat. “Just who do you think you are telling me what to do pal? Listen here...'Yhun'...being as you're so stupid you can't pronounce JUN...doesn't take orders from Larry, capiche?! And what the hell do you mean 'rear guard'?! No one guard's Tawny's rear but me, you gots it? ME! Her lover. I get her rear...you get none of her. GOD. Just...GOD!”

Taking a breath, he was about to rant about how the guy should get lost if he didn't like the pace they were moving at but his flow was interrupted by a crashing from the room close to them, and that made him rethink continuing his argument with the big man. Casting a glare at Larry, and then at Tawny's bag, Jun started muttering to himself but turned on his heel and dashed into the surrounding darkness, shouting a quick “Follow me!” over his shoulder.

He made directly for the door, ignoring the tempting Oreo boxes that lined the shelves, vaulting a few low lying structures that had fallen in endless bombings, heading to where he knew he'd entered the building. This was it. Jun Matsumoto would get to be the one that saved everyone's lives. He took a few turns, shone his flash-light over the walls, and then found it. He skidded to a halt before the large green security door, turned, and grinned proudly. “Booya! Jun saves the day. Just beyond this door...is the way to roof. You like that Larry? I even said it in your accent. The way to roof.” Ready to prove himself, he put his hand on the handle and pushed down...

Nothing happened. He tried again. The door didn't budge. He tried a third, fourth and fifth time, becoming ever more frantic, desperately yanking at the piece of metal, but he got nowhere. The way out remained shut. Slowly, mortified, Jun released his grip. Looking around quickly, he noticed a sign on the wall close by, his flash-light beam catching it. It read simply 'auto-lock- when shut, only a manager can unlock this door. It is not a fire exit.' Oh God...what had he done? It had been open when he'd sneaked in through it, and he'd shut it thinking he'd keep out meat sacks. How was he to know it was one of those security type doors?!

Gulping, he turned to where he hoped both Tawny and Lahad were gathered, and smiled sheepishly. Running a hand through his hair, he noted both of them had guns, and he really hated being infont of two people who were both armed and about to be angry. “Well...the good news is...this is the door! And just outside it...is...the fire escape going up!” He gestured at it like a Realtor, arms in a wide, sideways V. “The bad news is...it appears locked. And WHO knows how that happened eh?” Jun grinned, and then pointed innocently at Lahad's rocket launcher, eyes squinted so as to make him look uninjurable. “Say...you got any rockets left for that baby Big L?”

[Tawny Ambrose]

“Yes, Yhun, we need move, you lead way, I will take... how you say... rear guard?”

Hah. Nice. Tawny liked the way that Lahad messed up Jun’s name, obviously on purpose, payback for the rudeness Jun had shown toward him earlier. She understood that Lahad’s name might be a little difficult to pronounce… but Larry? Seriously? Even she could do a better job than that! In fact, most of the remaining population probably could. This wasn’t important right now though. They didn’t have time for this. They needed to get moving. So, when the group was finally off down the hallway, led by Jun, who was babbling about something (as usual), Tawny was relieved. Well, kind of. As relieved as she could be with Jun in the lead. God knows where he was taking them. Probably to their deaths.

“Shush,” Tawny said, swatting Jun in the back of his head as he went on and on, seeming unable to shut up about ‘rear-guarding’ and whatnot. He needed to be quiet. There was something else in the building with them, and his loud voice was going to lead it right to them. Didn’t he get that? Tawny would never understand how this dimwitted boy had managed to survive for so long out here. Luck. That must be it. That’s the only way such a miracle could take place.

As the group fled from the storage unit, traveling quickly down the dark hallway, there was a crash from a room nearby, which made Tawny jump a little. Jun had better know what he was doing. If he led them to some dead end she would kill him before any of the zombies did, that was a fact.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a large door, and Jun announced childishly, “Booya! Jun saves the day. Just beyond this door...is the way to roof. You like that Larry? I even said it in your accent. The way to roof.”

Tawny rolled her eyes and was about to tell Jun to be more mature, but before she could get any words out, he spoke again, this time with less certainty. “Well...the good news is...this is the door! And just outside it...is...the fire escape going up! The bad news is...it appears locked. And WHO knows how that happened eh?”

The blonde could do nothing but stare in shock as Jun shone his flashlight up at the sign and then announced the bad news to her and Lahad, acting as if it was no big deal at all. Did he realize the danger they were in?! “You fool…” Tawny muttered, tilting her head back and letting out a long sigh. Not that she had been expecting anything more. This was Jun after all. Great… What now? They were trapped in a building with a bunch of zombies, lost in a dark hallway, probably cornered, and trapped with an insane person… Tawny had to stop herself before her negativity progressed any farther. She turned to Lahad, brown eyes a little wider now, nervous. “What do we do?” she asked him quietly. She trusted his judgement more than Jun's.

As she waited for an answer, she started feeling a little light-headed. Ugh… It must have been from that can that’d hit her earlier. It had been easy to ignore at first, but now it was starting to hurt more, starting to swell. The wound wasn’t bleeding an insane amount, but there was a good deal of it running down her face now. She reached up a hand, trying to wipe it away, suddenly realizing something. The corpses. They would smell it, they would smell the blood…her blood. Tawny swayed a little at the thought, taking a step back, and the ripped up backpack that was slung over her shoulder shifted. There was a loud clatter as a few food cans fell to the floor, sending loud echoes down the hallway. No! She needed those! She took a step, as if to chase after the stray cans, but then she stumbled and fell against the wall. She leaned against the hard surface for a few moments, using it for support. She watched as the cans rolled away into the darkness. She…needed those…

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Lahad waited for the sounds of footsteps to begin before looking over his shoulder and following slowly the two. He didn't bother to respond to the silly accusations and innuendo that Jun was prodding in Lahad's direction. The last things on his mind was trying to get with someone he had just met, let alone checking her out. A crashing sound in a room nearby was the signal for them to move, and move fast. Hearing him shout for them to follow, Lahad kept pace, walking sideways with his rifle pointed behind them. Vaulting over fallen columns as he brought up the rear of the little group. He thought he heard shuffling in the darkness they had left behind, but it could very well have been the echos of their hustling footfalls. It almost seemed like he was leading them through a labyrinth as they turned corners, Lahad kept with them by sight of the light from the odd glance over his shoulder, and the footfalls that dictated their direction. Finally they had come to a halt, it seemed they were led to a large steel door, painted in faded green. Jun seemed triumphant about it, stating that he had saved the day, or something to that effect. Lahad wasn't particularly listening, he was a little too high on Khat, and far too worried about what the crashing sound could have been. The horde? Or... something else? His mind raced as he kept his weapon pointed to the darkness. He listened as someone tried to open the door, struggling more like. It seemed it wouldn't open, and Jun was playing it off as if he didn't know, though, if he knew where the door was in the first place it was probably him. He heard some banter as his ears began to ring, the world almost seemed to fade away to him as he thought about what could be following them. A horde that would end them, surely, if they were to stay here. A loud clanking sound pulled him away from his thoughts suddenly, he felt something hit the back of his foot. Lahad looked down and saw a can, and turned on that heel. He saw Tawny had collapsed, shaking his head he dropped his assault rifle to let is hang in it's sling, going to Tawny's side and looking her over in the dim light provided by the flashlight.

Her forehead wasn't bleeding as much anymore, but it was turning into a bump, a goose egg. He looked into her eyes and noticed she was fixated on the cans which had rolled away, probably giving them away to the undead. Lahad had to take charge, this was getting out of hand. High as hell on Khat, and his heart now racing, he shouted at Jun while grabbing onto Tawny's arm.

"Here, you use this!"

Lahad, with one arm free, dropped his shoulder so that the RPG on his back would slide off on it's sling, and let the tube drop to the ground. With the same free hand, he twisted the double-triangle-shaped grenade out of the tube, reading the Cyrillic markings on it, designating the rocket as a PG-7VL H.E.A.T. in Russian. Lahad lifted the freed grenade from the tube, the two and a half pound explosive being nothing to him in the heat of the moment. He gestured it at Jun, wanting him to take it from him.

"This is no time for more of your argument! There is pin in tip of grenade, like kind you throw, but this pin will start fuse as soon as you pull. Do not drop grenade, either! You drop it, we all die! Let it sit on ground infront of door, pull pin, we run! You understand? We run after pull pin!"

Lahad tried to make it as clear as possible, letting the young man take the grenade from his hand, and standing to try and lift Tawny up. They needed to at least get around the corner from the door. The PG-7VL H.E.A.T. grenade from his RPG would make a serious explosion, more than enough to blow open those doors, but also, enough that in a contained area like this, it would probably burn, scald, or even kill them via pressure wave if they were too close or in direct line of it. They had to take cover, get around a corner, or something that would allow them to be safe from the direct punch of the explosion.

[Jun Matsumoto]

Jun watched in horror as Tawny collapsed against the wall, more weak now than she had been before, and his horror only worsened when Lahad took a step towards her, hands instantly going to her arm as if to support her. What was he doing?! He couldn't touch Tawny! No one could but him! His eyes narrowed, and he took a few steps toward where the two where having some sort of hushed discussion, about ready to butt in. Who the hell did this guy think he was? What the hell was he doing? Jun would show him...

“Erm, hey pal! Didn't know if you'd noticed, but my future wife is feelin' a little sick. Not quite sure if you're being a good Samaritan or just bein' a douche, but for future reference, NO TOUCHY-” Jun's rant was bought swiftly to an end, as Lahand dropped the large launcher-thing on his back to the floor, and started unscrewing the rocket part of it. He could only watch in amazement as Larry removed it from the thin tube, took it in his hand and held it out for Jun to take, gesturing to it with a nod of his head. "Here, you use this! This is no time for more of your argument! There is pin in tip of grenade, like kind you throw, but this pin will start fuse as soon as you pull. Do not drop grenade, either! You drop it, we all die! Let it sit on ground infront of door, pull pin, we run! You understand? We run after pull pin!"

Jun took in very little of what Larry had said to him. Rather, he stared in awe at the apple sized ball that was being held out to him. The big guy's words replayed over and over again in his mind, a constant repetition of the word 'grenade'. Slowly, a grin started to form on Jun's face. It spread from a slight curve of the lip, from a toothy smile reaching ear to ear, bunching his cheeks up like a young child's who just unwrapped the most wanted toy for Christmas. All of Big L's wrongs were forgotten (well, almost, if he carried on touching Tawny there would be serious problems.)

Making what could only be described as a 'squee' sound, Jun reached forward and took the grenade in his hands, stroking it's smooth, cold surface. In all his time as a scavenger, Jun had wanted only two things, a gun and an explosive. One of his dreams had come true. Hugging it to himself, he uttered the words “Boomboom”, before looking at it once again. He would finally get to make an explosion, he would finally get to be...destructive! Chuckling to himself, he turned to the door, and waved at it, a metaphorical 'good bye obstruction.' Once again, it was his time to shine!

A clang from behind them, that could have been either oncoming zombies or Tawny's falling cans, made Jun start, and he fumbled the grenade, nearly dropping it. Larry's words soon came back to him, 'you drop it, we all die', and Jun gulped, not wanting to be the reason he and his lover and their...human pet?...were burnt alive. “Uh ohs!” he managed, as he batted it from hand to hand, keeping it from the floor in a rather impressive juggling act. However, no matter how skilled of a juggler he was, it was getting away from him. He cast a quick glance to Tawny (well, to her pretty face, full boobs and shapely thighs anyway), and then determination set in. He wouldn't see her die! Not on his watch.

As the green explosive began to fall away from him, racing toward the ground, Jun through himself forward in what can only be described as a diving tackle. He plummeted faster than the grenade, and managed, somehow, to get his hands beneath it. He closed his eyes and began to pray. When it landed in his out stretched palm, it took a moment for him to actually realize what had happened. Squinting at it tentatively, he gulped, but then sighed, relieved. Oh yeah, he was awesome.

Further luck had it that he had landed right in front of the door, sprawled on his tummy, and with a gentle motion he placed the explosive down and, with a rather caution tug, removed the pin. As soon as that was done, he sprung up, turned to Larry and Tawny and ran at them full pelt. He got to use a boom boom, now he was going to be the hero. He was going to be Super Jun, a superman like no other, better than all the crazy sword wielding X-Men he'd seen so far. He would be revered by Lahad and loved by Tawny. He was going to kick ass!

On reaching the pair, he laid an outstretched palm on Larry's chest, and shoved him with all his might away from Tawny, pushing him back behind a set of shelves. “Duck Big L!” He still didn't slow. Rather, his momentum carried him full on into Tawny, tackling her from her standing spot, dragging her into mid air along with him. They fell together around the nearby corner, and, so as to stop her getting hurt, Jun did his best to twist in the air, so that she would land atop him. He whispered lovingly into her ear as they flew “It's okay baby, I got you.”

He landed atop her as the grenade went off, the pair skidding across the floor a little, Jun's face cushioned in Tawny's huge chest. His attempted matrix twist had failed, but they were alive.

[Tawny Ambrose]

Lahad helped Tawny stand a little better, and for once she didn’t protest. This wasn’t the time to act like a bitch. That could come later. She tried to get a better grip on her bag, pulling the pack higher up onto her shoulder.

Tawny watched in horror as Lahad handed Jun, yes Jun, a grenade. What the hell was he thinking?! Why was he giving Jun something as dangerous and powerful as that? He should just do it himself! Oh god, this was bad. This was really bad. Maybe she should just let herself pass out now. That way she wouldn’t be conscience when they all got blown up. Because, let’s face it, that’s what was going to happen now that Jun was holding an explosive. He had all three of their precious lives in his hands, and that was a terrifying thought.

As Tawny watched, Jun nearly dropped the grenade, juggling it frantically as he tried not to drop it. Her face paled a little. They were going to die. She knew it. Right here in this dark room… How sad. She hadn’t even gotten to eat the food she had found yet. She wondered what heaven was like, if it was really as great as everyone said it was. Then again, why was she thinking that? Heaven? Psh, yeah right. If such religions were true, that isn’t where she’d be going. Nope. Her spirit would be headed downward on the dark elevator to Hell. Great. That wasn’t comforting at all.

Agh… Her head was pounding now. Why hadn’t it hurt before? Why had it waited until now to start aching so badly? She didn’t say anything though. She wouldn’t. That was the only way you survived in this messed up world. The second you showed weakness, the second you started to give in to the pain, you’d be gone, you’d go out just like a light bulb. She wasn’t going to let that happen to her though. No way. She’d stay standing until the end, even if this was it. Until Jun dropped the grenade, she would be strong.

“Duck Big L!”

Jun’s voice snapped Tawny out of her thoughts, and she looked up just in time to see Jun running at her, just in time to brace herself. “It's okay baby, I got you.” With those words, his body collided with hers, slamming into her chest so hard that it knocked the breath from her. She hit the ground hard, biting her inner cheek to keep from crying out. Not that it would have mattered, as the boom that followed was much too deafening to allow any other sound to be heard. Tawny felt like her eardrums were going to explode, and it was hard to breathe, though that was probably because Jun was lying atop her, pinning her to the cold ground. She waited, half expecting to feel nothing, to be dead, but that wasn’t the case. The pain in her head was still there, and she could feel the warmth from Jun’s body radiating atop her. “W-We’re alive…?” she choked out in disbelief. For once, she didn’t try and shove Jun off of her, and instead, let herself go limp with relief. She didn't have strength to waste on that idiot right now.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Helping Tawny to stand a little, and she seemed able to stand; and still fixated on her bag of food. If they didn't survive this, her food gathering would be in vain anyway. They needed to stay alive above all else. Though, looking at Tawny, Lahad noticed a look of sheer terror on her face. He turned to look in the direction she was, looking at Jun.

Lahad instantly regretted his decision, but what was done was done. Jun seemed infatuated with the rocket-grenade he had handed him, and stroked it, calling it "Boomboom". A kicked can down the hall caught the attention of Lahad's ears, but his eyes were fixated on the fool who got startled by it, Jun, and decided it would be a good idea to not have a good grip on the volatile explosive. Lahad regretted his decision even more, watching just as horrified as Tawny, as he juggled the explosive from hand to hand. He was surprised at the agility of the young man, but would it be enough? From his past foolery, Lahad was convinced that it would not be; that from a careless mistake of letting this young fool take the grenade from him, his sacred mission would end. He wrenched his eyes shut when he saw the grenade fall from Jun's hands, this was it, they were done, this was the end. A moment passed, and no explosion, no feeling of intense heat, or lack of feeling in general. He opened his eyes slowly to see Jun, who by some stroke of luck, had caught the explosive before it hit the ground. Thank Allah they were safe, and Lahad offered a silent prayer in thanks to god for allowing his mission and these two's lives to continue, even though one in their group was hardly worthy of the life he led.

Lahad turned his attention back to Tawny, she was silent, seemingly in her own world, thinking or perhaps in pain from her head. Lahad was about to say something when he heard Jun shout "Duck Big L!" Being unfamiliar with the term duck as in a manner of 'getting down' and knowing duck as only a water fowl, Lahad was utterly confused as he looked up to see Jun racing toward him. Duck? What was he talking about? There were no birds here. Though, getting pushed out of the way and away from Tawny, he realized what Jun was talking about, or at least, he figured it out. Lahad was pushed into a small space, he couldn't tell where, it all happened so fast. The explosion deafened Lahad for a moment, but it cast light for an instant on the dark hallway. Lahad blinked with the moment of light the PG-7VL had given them, and far down the hall, he saw only one, but surely there was more. His ears rung, but he knew that they, the undead, would be closing on them soon.

Lahad mustered what strength he could, he felt the pressure wave of the explosion, and his muscles hurt from it. No amount of high from the Khat he chewed would keep this pain away. But, necessity called for him to lift his assault rifle, both hands gripping it tightly. From the single flash of light, he had oriented himself in the hallway, he knew that he was behind a self of some sort, and he took a few steps into the center of the hallway, his final step sliding a little, and feeling a body on the floor, most likely Tawny's or Jun's. Lahad's ears still rung, he could barely hear, but he could shout just fine.

"Go! Go! Go! Get up! They are here!"

Lahad shouted at the top of his lungs, letting the Assault Rifle hang by his hip from it's sling, but holding it so that the barrel aimed down the hallway. He pulled the trigger at least six times, firing as fast as he could, super-hot brass casings probably bouncing off the hallway wall nearby and either onto the pair on the floor or near them. Lahad barely heard the loud report of his rifle in this enclosed space, but he caught glimpses of the undead he was shooting with every muzzle flash. One was there, he took another shot, seeing blood splatter in the muzzle flash of his second shot, and seeing one more behind it, another shot, and the one behind the first undead fell, but two more behind it. Lahad kept firing, taking a few steps back and shouting over his gunfire, feeling every shot's recoil tenfold, and becoming more and more inaccurate as his muscles became more fatigued from both the pain of the explosion's pressure wave, and now from steadying his rifle to shoot. He shouted over his gunfire.

"Come on! Move Move, I cover you, Just move! We need to get through door!"

[Jun Matsumoto]

The sound of the blast echoed about Jun for what seemed like forever, but in reality, he had been prone on top of Tawny for no more than two minutes, his head buried between her breasts. It was the second time in his life he'd been so lucky. Oh, how he loved her, every single last bit of her, even the parts he couldn't snuggle into. He wished that, there and then, there weren't zombies coming after them, that there wasn't a horde of raging undead following at their heels, that there wasn't a huge foreign guy dragging himself to his feet, no doubt to make his way over to them. That way, he could extend the moment for a little longer, be atop Tawny until she pushed him off.

He noticed, with a grin, that she hadn't done that yet. Rather, she'd muttered something about being alive, and then let herself go limp. So, Jun just pushed his head deeper, kissing one softly, quickly as he went, making sure she knew her head rest was appreciated. However, it was as soon as he had reached a more comfortable position, closing his eyes and taking in Tawny's scent, that Big L had to go and ruin his fun. As soon as the guy was on his feet, had his senses back, he started screaming stuff and firing his gun, making more racket than a low-flying air jet. What the hell was he doing? Couldn't he see Jun was in dream land?!

"Go! Go! Go! Get up! They are here!"

Jun raised his head slowly, using a hand to push down on Tawny's breast, lifting himself up to see what all the commotion was about. He gave her a sly squeeze too, feeling the contours of her soft skin and bra through the thin fabric of her shirt. Perfect. Just...perfect. “Hey, dude, can't to see a brother is trying to work his magic here? What the hell is your pro-” The gun fired again, cutting him off, and it was in the muzzle flash of the weapon that he saw the advancing corpses, most untroubled by the rattle of the machine gun. Oh, shit!

"Come on! Move Move, I cover you, Just move! We need to get through door!"

Larry didn't need to tell him to go a third time, springing to his feet, straddling Tawny's prone body, he realized he had to do something an fast. He had to move, he had to get him and his angel out of there ASAP. Thinking fast, or at least thinking fast for Jun, he bent down, wrapped his arms around Tawny's waist, and lifted her up to his shoulder, throwing her over his back as gently as he could. She didn't seem in the mood to run, as she'd already sustained an injury (that hadn't been his fault), and was struggling to stand straight earlier (and he still didn't appreciate the other guy grabbing onto her.) So, with her firmly seated, he grabbed a hold of her upper thighs, and ran towards the door, as fast as he could, Tawny bouncing on his back.

“Great plan Big L! Good on ya!” he said as he ran, as he did think the plan was a good one. He and Tawny would escape, and Larry would remain behind, shooting at dead things. He would die saving them, and slow the zombies down as they devoured his corpse, giving him and Tawny ample time to get to the roof, and ample time for her to repay him for his heroic deeds. It would just be those two. There would be no 'third wheel.' Epic.

As he reached the door, Jun turned, and burst into the open air, slowing as he crossed the rubble, not wanting to fall on his lover. However, as he slowed, his thoughts also slowed, and he suddenly realized where his hands were resting. They were on Tawny's upper thigh, under her skirt, toughing her butt cheeks. He gulped. Now was not the time Jun! Then there was the way she moved as he ran, her boobs bouncing and rubbing against his back, squishing them and...oh god. No! Alas, as Jun ran, he couldn't stop what was happening to his body. With his eyes wide, head turning to find the escape route, he felt himself BOIOIOING! This would be embarassing if Big L survived.

Then he saw it, the stairs leading up, two flights rising high into the air, leading to the start of a fire escape. Moving towards it, he squeezed and patted Tawny's butt, and grinned broadly. “Hey baby! I found the escape route. I'm gonna save you!” He was so proud of himself. Saved the day, rescued the girl, got Big L possibly killed. All these things were a bonus in his eyes.

[Tawny Ambrose]

“If you’re alive, then get off me,” Tawny muttered to Jun, who was acting like his usual self. She’d been a little worried for him at first, wondering if the reason he’d remained on top of her for so long was because he’d been injured by the blast as he shoved her out of the way. He kissed her though, in an inappropriate area, and she instantly knew he was okay.

"Go! Go! Go! Get up! They are here! Come on! Move Move, I cover you, Just move! We need to get through door!"

Tawny heard Lahad’s voice, which was good, because she hadn’t been sure if he’d survived or not, and the next thing she knew, Jun was grabbing her and sweeping her off the ground. She felt herself be tossed over his shoulder, a little carelessly if she might add, and then all of a sudden he was running. Wait…what?! He wasn’t staying to help fight? He was just going to run away? Just like that?

“H-Hey!” Tawny shouted, though her voice was hard to hear above the gunshots, which echoed loudly behind them. “You can’t just leave him there!” What the hell was Jun doing?! He was just running away like a coward! Tawny couldn’t believe it, and if she hadn’t been slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes she might have done something about it. She couldn’t though. She was stuck, and other than squirm around, which didn’t do much good because Jun had a pretty good hold on her, there wasn’t anything she could do.

Then again, Tawny wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much that Jun was just leaving the other man. She did stuff like that all the time. After all, it was survival of the fittest out here. If you stopped to help people you’d die. So, realistically, if anyone was going to die today it would be Lahad, as he had just stayed behind and risked his life for them. Fool…He should have ran too. Maybe that’s why it upset Tawny. Because he was acting different from the other people she had come across. Instead of trying to kill her, he was trying to help her, and in doing so he was endangering his own life.

Tawny began to feel dizzy again as Jun ran, and she found her hands gripping tightly to the back of his jacket, trying to hang on so as not to go falling over his shoulder and flat on her face. Things started to blur and for a moment she thought she would lose consciousness. At the last moment, however, right before darkness set in, she felt a warm hand squeeze her ass. Instantly, she was wide awake again. That…that ass!

“Hey baby! I found the escape route. I'm gonna save you!”

Tawny started thrashing around a bit, kicking her legs, trying to somehow smash Jun in the face with her foot. It was an impossible angle though, the way he was holding her, and she was unable to achieve this goal. “That’s great,” she told him as she struggled. “N-Now put me down!” She slammed her fists against his back, though her blows weren’t as hard as they could have been, as she was lacking her full strength due to her head injury. That was probably a good thing for Jun though, otherwise he might have some pretty bad bruises the next day. “And stop being such a perv and get your hand out from under my skirt!” she added in a hiss.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

This was good, out of the peripherals of his vision, Lahad saw Jun had actually listened to him and picked up Tawny, tossing her over his shoulder and running off into the darkness through the blown open steel security doors. Lahad heard Tawny shout out her concerns over leaving him there through the echoes in the hallway, and over the report of his own rifle. But they were in vain, Lahad would have stayed despite her protests, this was his fight, a holy fight against the most unholy undead. His only comfort was his rifle and a serious buzz from the khat he had chewn. The muzzle flashes were the only visual aid he had now, Jun had obviously either gotten the flashlight blown up with the grenade and the door, or he had taken it with him. Either way, it was dark now, and it was only Lahad, a dwindling magazine of ammunition, and a slowly massing horde of undead. The fear was ripe in Lahad's mind, he took many steps backward as he shot, but with every muzzle flash, he could see one of the dead fall, and two take its place. Their groans got louder with every shot, until Lahad heard a sound that made his spine crawl. 'click' His magazine was empty. Thirty rounds already? This was no good, no good at all. He let the assault rifle drop from his hands, and rest on his sling. Turning and running as fast as he could, adrenaline and khat fueling an almost inhuman pace.

Lahad ran a hand along the wall to make sure he was going the right way, and sure enough, he burst through a door which led to the outside. He was in open air now, no time for him to take in the details. He pushed the door behind him shut, and looked around quickly for some kind of barricade. None? Shabby deal. Lahad would have to improvise. He bolted over rubble, the assault rifle bouncing and smacking against him, the cold steel probably leaving bruises underneath his clothing. This wasn't the time to think about this now, he needed to find that fire escape that Jun was talking about. As he dashed, his eyes darted from the left and to the right, trying to find the stairs leading up, and sure enough, there they were in all their steel glory. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. Looking behind him, it seemed the undead hadn't quite caught up, the door was still slammed shut, but he needed to take out these stairs behind him somehow. That would be the only way to assure their safety for the time being. He ran up the stairs, bounding and taking two steps up at a time, until he got to the first landing. Looking down at the beginning of the fire escape, he saw a pair of securing bolts, rusted in after years of disuse and lack of maintenance. He needed to get rid of those bolts, Lahad once again grasped his rifle and unfolded the stock. This was time to get serious. He reached over the side of the fire escape, and began to smash at the rusted bolts. It took a minute or two, but eventually the one he was smashing at lost it's head, and was free. From the other side of the bolt he used the stock of his rifle somewhat like a hammer once again, pushing the remainder of the bolt to the outside of the fire escape and then pulling on it, twisting until it came loose. That was one. Lahad repeated the process, painstakingly again on the other side. From fatigue and adrenaline dump, he was much slower at it, taking at least five to ten minutes bashing the head off the rusted bolt, and then hamming the bolt and twisting it out.

Finally, while Lahad rested on the landing, he undid the bolt from its hole, and kicked at the staircase until it came loose from the landing and fell to the ground with a loud metallic thud. The building didn't shake, but there was a hell storm of debris and dust kicked up from it. And just in time, Lahad heard a loud thumping at the door he had shut tightly. Hell, they were coming, but at least he had ensure they would not make it to the roof. Lahad slowly made his way to the roof now, taking his sweet time, victorious in his efforts. Looking unbelievably tired, he pushed open the door at the top of the staircase, and shouted out.

"Thank Allah, we are safe! Allah Ackbar!"

Lahad then dropped to his knees at the doorway, letting the rifle on it's sling fall to his side off of his shoulder. He looked up at the sky, not noticing the two on the roof, and offering silent prayers as he brought his hands up, and then slowly bowed down, touching his head onto the ground which was the roof, along with both palms of his hands. He did this for only a moment before sitting up straight, and issuing a sigh of relief.

"We are safe..."

[Jun Matsumoto]

“N-Now put me down!” Jun felt Tawny's hands hammer against his back, her blows a little weak, and she thrashed her legs, only making his hand go further up her skirt, now resting completely on her ass. He gave it another squeeze, for good measure, as he looked about them, examining the fire escape, wondering how the hell he'd get it down, stopping the horde of undead from following them. They'd done the first part, climb the stairs, but now they had to get to the roof, and prevent the horde from chasing them. He guessed they didn't have long. If they'd eaten the gunman, which was possible since the sound of gun fire had abruptly come to a halt, he doubted it'd be too long before they stripped his body and came after the pair left alive. “Sorry babe, no can do. I'm saving you remember? I might let you down when I've found a way to lessen the risk of getting us eaten alive, but until then, you have to stay put. Don't want you getting hurt!”

“And stop being such a perv and get your hand out from under my skirt!” The girl hissed, sounding indignant. Jun could only laugh, stroking her thigh, patting and squeezing her butt for the third and final time. Tawny could be so funny some times, making jokes about him being a pervert and stuff. “Oh shush baby. You know love it. I've seen the glint in your eye when your boyfriend i.e. me, starts getting a little pervy around you!” He spoke so matter of factly, putting so much emphasis on some of his words that the banter between them seemed almost natural, as if the young boy really did believe Tawny and he were long time lovers, not just meeting for the second time. “Now shush sweetie. I need to get back to pondering how to knock this old piece of metal down.”

However, Jun didn't have much time left to contemplate, as just as he'd spoken, Big L appeared, sprinting up the steps like the devil was at his heels. Rats, he'd survived. Glaring at the sprinting foreigner, Jun watched with wide eyes as he skidded to a halt, took his gun from his back and started bashing wildly away at the fire escape. It took him a good few minutes, but soon the metal stairs below them creaked and went crashing to the ground, crumpling up as the did so. Woah...Larry was strong.

As soon as he'd finished that, the Asian pushed past them, pulled himself onto the roof, and opened a door, shouting something in a foreign language that Jun just...well..couldn't understand or repeat if he tried. It sounded like a load of gibberish. Something about Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars. God that guy was weird. He'd also stolen Jun's glory, as it was going to have been his job to knock down the fire escape, thus saving Tawny completely. Now he had some idiots help, which wasn't cool. Big L had stolen his thunder. “I was totally gonna do that!” Jun shouted after him, putting a little. He hated it when people made him look bad in front of his lady.

Sighing, admittedly sulking, Jun walked forward, yet felt something tug on him, holding him back. Holding Tawny tighter, he just continued to pull forward, and then there was a resounding RIP. Whut?! Gulping, turning slowly around, Jun looked for what had caused the sound. When he saw what it was, his eyes widened. Oh shit. It appeared as though Tawny's old backpack had managed to wrap itself around the railing of the fire escape. When he'd pulled forward, it had split her bag, and all the food she'd collected, the tens of cans, had gone collapsing to the floor, most rolling over the fire escape, spiralling to the ground below. Oops...Now she'd be pissed.

Quickly lowering Tawny to her feet, Jun could think of only one thing to do in order to keep his future wife happy. He had to go and get her food. That's right. He had to risk his life for gross brussell sprouts and sickening corn soups. But, it would make Tawny smile. Dropping his own bag to the floor beside her, Jun stepped forward and placed a finger on her lips. “Say nothing! Nothing at all! I'm going to go and get your precious food. I promise. Then I'll return it to you!” With that, he removed his finger, wrapped his hands around her head, and pushed her into a long kiss.

That done, grinning, he took two steps backward, spun, and vaulted the fire escape railing, dropping ten or so feet to the ground, landing in a roll. When he hit the floor he let out a grunt of pain. Holy shit! That had hurt! How the hell did they do that in movies all the time. I mean damn...OUCH! Rising to his feet, he looked around, and saw the door that held back the flesh eating monsters still held. GOOD! He had time. Rushing about him, he started trying to gather cans, pulling 'blech' faces each time he picked on up he didn't like. He had to keep reminding himself- THIS was for Tawny.