It's Your Turn (IC)

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Anastasia slightly giggled when Nicholas playfully ruffled her hair. It’s been a long time since someone did that to her. Her uncle used to do that, but as time goes by they seemed to drift apart. Of course her uncle loves her, cares for her and protects her, but after the war everything changed. Her uncle became even more protective and busy, providing her with the materialistic needs and ignoring her emotional needs.

"Alright then" she said and started to change his bandages "You should really take care of yourself" she murmured, wrapping his side with the bandages "Not everyone can be kind as me, you know. If my uncle was here, he probably would have chopped your head off" she stated, chuckling.

"Ana, are you there?"

She stood there frozen. Is she hearing things?

"Ana, I'm back!" loud footsteps can be heard, climbing up the stairs. Panicking, she quickly pulled Nicholas off of his chair and shoved him in the bathroom, muttering a quick "keep quiet" before locking it.

"Uncle Agni!" she whirled around and faced him, a smile on her face. He is a tall Indian man with dark, olive skin; slate-grey eyes; and short stark white hair that has two long locks adorned with beads. He dons a plain turban and dressed in a green sherwani with a yellow and white sash-over churidar.

"Are you alright, Ana? I thought I heard voices up here" he said, looking around the room. She quickly went over to the bloody bandages and hid it behind her back, her uncle watching her closely.

"What is that in your hand?" he asked in a stern voice, his eyes looming over her with suspicion.

"It's nothing!" she blurted out, holding the bandages even tighter.

Her uncle stared at her in a minute, and then started snooping around the room. "You ate a terribly huge amount of apples while I was gone. You're hungry that much?" he asked, pointing out the trashcan filled with peels. "I'm a growing girl with a growing appetite" she answered, moving close to him and stifled a yawn. "Wow, looks like I'm terribly tired today. Got to sleep, see ya later!" she said rushing and stumbling on her words.

"You're acting weird, are you sick?" he asked

"No! Of course not! Just tired! Goodbye!" she said and motioned for him to leave, the bandages still hiding on her hand.

"Alright then." her uncle finally answered and gave her a quick hug, surprising her and snatching the bandages off of her hands.

"What is this? Is this blood?!" he asked angrily "Anastasia Asman Kadar, where did you run off again? How many times did I tell you to never leave this house?!"

Shoot. I'm screwed. She thought to herself. Her uncle only uses her full name when he's incredibly mad. She cannot risk Nicholas being found out, she cannot risk telling him where she run off earlier. Thinking fast for a believable lie and cracking under pressure she shouted "I'M ON MY PERIOD!"

An awkward silence filled the air. His uncle looking at her and the bandages back and forth. Blushing, she gave her the bandages and quickly went out of the room without a word.

A huge sigh of relief came out of her and opened the bathroom door, glad that her uncle's gone. Motioning for Nicholas that it’s safe to come outside, she sat on the bed. "Sorry about that." she apologized, not knowing why "Looks like my uncle's back so...” she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She didn’t want him to leave, not at the state that he’s in. Also she never had someone saved her before so she really is in debt to him. She really doesn’t want him to leave but how can she say that? They barely knew each other and her uncle is downstairs! Not knowing what to do she just stared at him, waiting for his reaction.
 
Andrea nodded, standing and walking over towards the fridge. "So, um... Where are you from?" he asked, rummaging through the fridge to find the jug of water. Perhaps if they knew just a little bit more about each other, it would be more comfortable. He was just never any good at making friends, so he didn't particularly know what sort of conversations to start with. This was just a stab in the dark. Sitting the jug on the bench, he let the door close as he looked for a couple of clean glasses.
 
Will rubs the back of his head as he thinks about how to answer that question. He looked down and closes his eyes as he thinks hard about how much he should tell this guy. He seemed trustworthy so he didn't believe he had much to fear from him. However..you could never be too careful these days. After a few moments he sighs and then looks at him again "I live not too far from your cousins home here honestly it's about a half hours walk."
 
Gabby
Gabby stood up from where she sat and made her way to the small house that her parents left her so many years ago. She gripped the knife in her pocket as a guard walked buy, spitting daggers in his eyes. She scowled at him.

Bad idea.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Gabby didnt get time to respond before his fist landed home across her jaw. Pops of color exploded across her eyes as her small body staggered and hit the bricks of the building to her left. Shit, that hurt. As she lifted her head, her jaw seemed to snap back into its place, which made her groan. Cracking open her eyes, she saw thousands of the single guard walked torward her, a scowl muh like her own was scrawled across his face.
"Bitch."
He slammed his boot across her stomach, and she bit her tongue so hard that she felt the blood run across her teeth. Fuck, she was going to die if she didnt get out of here. He kept landing his boot across her torso as she struggled to pull out her knife. Black fog was starting to pull at the sides of her eyes when she flung out her arm, the blade hitting his knee cap. Blood showered over her as it sliced the part where his armor connected. Bingo. She coughed, blood painting the ground below her, and she ran.

The guard tried to grab the collar of her shirt, but to no luck. She wormed away from his beefy hand, holding her side. Her run was more like a fast stagger, but it was enough to leave the guard bleeding on the sidewalk. Shit, that was close.

As Gabby reached her home, she leaned one hand across her side and one against the door, supporting her. The breath seemed to be like blades, each time she breathed in, her throat felt as if it was being sliced open. Her heart ached, her legs burned.

Gabby opened the door, and collapsed onto the floor. The dirty rug smelled like dirt and animal. Before she could drag her body from the ground, she passed out, her body throbbing in pain.
 
Andrea nodded awkwardly, pulling out a couple glasses and deciding it would take less time just to clean them. "That's... Cool," he murmured. Now, where was he going with this? Probably nowhere, after all, he couldn't see any way to continue. Once the glasses were clean, he set them on the table and began to fill them with water. "Ice at all. I'm not sure if we have any but ah, it might be an option."​
 
Will shakes his head and stands up and walks over to him. He shakes his head "no thanks I don't need any ice I don't want to trouble you any further..I mean you already invited me in and had to clean the glasses and all that I don't want to be a bother. So seriously its ok. Thank you for the drink though" He carefully picked up the glass of water offered to him and sipped it. He gave a small smile and then rubbed the back of his head again "so uh..what kind of things are you interested in?"
 
"Hmm, very well," Andy murmured, taking his drink and sipping a bit of it. He turned and leant back against the bench, smiling at Will. "Well, uh, I quite like stories." In truth, he loved storied. Especially when it was about the world below. "I also like getting into trouble," he added. When he was little, he used to get bullied for liking stories, so he had a habit of added something better on to the end of it.
 
He smiles a bit and nods as he sips at his water again "that's nice. What kind of stories are you into? fantasy or do you like more modern stories or..realistic I should say." He then thought about it for a moment. He was going to take a stab in the dark here but he had a feeling he would be right about this "maybe you like stories about what the world below was like before everything happened?"
 
Andrea paused, not exactly expecting him to pick up on that. "Uh, well, yes. I find it interesting as to what was down there before the world died. I always wonder if one day we can go back. Find a way to get rid of the fog and perhaps regrow the lands," he murmured softly, glancing into the cup in his hands.
 
Will fell silent at his words. He looks down at his own glass and sighs a bit. He couldn't help but agree with him though. He wanted to some day be able to go to the world below but..he didn't know if that would ever be possible. From what he had heard their ancestors had all but destroyed it and that's why they were forced to live in the conditions they did now. "..I want to one day go down below as well and see what the world is like..but..it'll be a miracle if that ever happens."
 
Andrea paused for a second, thinking. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure Will would believe what he had to say. "So, um... Would you believe someone if they had a good idea on how to get rid of the smoke?" he asked, pretending to be casual about it. If it was possible, that is.
 
Nicholas sat a bit back as he raised his arms to allow Anastasia to have easier access to his side. It still hurt and it probably didn't help a lot that he had carried her from outside to up in her bedroom, but he felt it was necessary to not have a guard walk up to her and kill her. Sleeping was the worst thing that could happen in this world now, there were no way a group of people could sleep with each other without having one of them dying, at least. It didn't have to be someone within the group, but it would most likely be someone outside the group. Groups were the safest, but if they let their guard down then they were just a bunch of people that gave someone else a free kill. It was stupid, he knew that, but that was the logic that this world had let itself be engulfed in. You either played along, or died.

"I would if I could, but I can't so I won't," Nicholas answered as Anastasia said he should take care of himself. He knew how to take care of himself just fine, he'd been living on his own for quite some time now after all, but how could he tend to his own wounds without any sort of means of medical supplies? The pharmacies were either raided or a camp for a group of people, and the hospitals had been emptied a long time ago. "Trust me. I do know. Unless you think I throw people off the edge for fun," Nicholas joked as he knew firsthand how people had become. It was normal, survival instincts and all of that, but it was for the worst of humanity. "Really? I'd like to see him try," Nicholas joked a second time, but before he knew it he suddenly heard a male voice coming from downstairs. Wait, did he come home right now? Speak of the devil...

He was about to ask Anastasia if that was her uncle, but before he managed to utter a single word he found himself grabbed and dragged into the bathroom. Once more he was interrupted be a very strict and serious command of not speaking, which he just quickly nodded to and with that he was locked inside of the bathroom. This felt like an entire different situation, but thank God it wasn't that. Curiosity got the better of him as he pressed his ear up against the door to try and listen in on their conversation, his body had turned into stone and was barely moving, trying to not get caught, but listen in at the same time. What an overprotective uncle. In one way it was a good thing due to the fact that having someone to protect them was good, but on the other hand there was one thing to protect, and another thing to isolate.

What happened next was a huge surprise. It seemed as her uncle managed to see the bandages, and called it out. Her solution made Nicholas stifle a laugh with the use of his hand, and with that it seemed as if the problem was solved. At the very least it was solved for now, who knew what would happen later? He leaned away from the door to allow the door to open without the suspicion of him listening in on them, and reached out to ruffle through her hair. Why she didn't sell him out was beyond him, but he was grateful for it either way. "It's fine. I'll leave," Nicholas said with a smile. There were no reason to get Anastasia up in any sort of trouble, but how long he could survive if anyone attacked him would be an entirely different question. "And if you're on your period I don't think I'd want to stay around," Nicholas just joked, poking his tongue out playfully to her.
 
"S-shut up!" Anastasia blushed at the very mention of her period "Instead of teasing me, you should thank me, you idiot" she mumbled, removing his hand from her hair, pouting a bit. She didn't really know why she saved Nicholas from her uncle. Maybe to repay him? Perhaps. But it didn't matter what her reason is, all she wanted was for Nicholas to be safe. She knew the dangers of the outside world and she knew very well that it won't be long before he'll be chased by the guards and his wounds will open up again. With a frown, she asked "Are you sure you want to leave?" There was a tinge of hope in her voice. She never had anyone near her age to talk to. All her life she's been talking to adults or children, but never to teenagers.

"You can stay here if you want" she offered "You're wound isn't fully healed and I'm sure my uncle will eventually leave. He always does that." she said sadly but quickly laugh it off as she grabbed a bag under her bed "But if you really want to leave, here." She gave him the bag full of food and medical supplies “I think that will help you survive for two days.”
 
Will looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow. He couldn't be serious could he? But..at the same time he looked like he was. Will looked up as he thought about it for a second and then sighed "depends in the idea I suppose but anything better then nothing so in the end...yeah I would believe them or at least wish them luck"
 
Andrea nodded slightly. Was he telling the truth? Either way, he felt he could trust the other boy. Sighing, he glanced out of the window. "Well, I know someone who has an idea!" he claimed, smiling.



As they began back towards home, it seemed Adika had picked up another smell. Letting out a loud sigh, Kitiana once again followed the running canine. Why? Why did they need to run everywhere. "Adika! Slow down," Kiti cried, finally coming to a stop next to the puppy and trying to regain her breath. "Why, why he- hunh?" A bleeding child. Just great. "Adika, you have to stop finding these kids," she muttered, kneeling next to the girl. "Hey, hello? Can you hear me?" she asked softly.
 
Will tilts his head to the side "you do? Who? And what exactly is their plan? because I want to be sure that this is real and not just some...i don't know mad man's scheme to try and get famous. If this is the real deal I'll do whatever I can to help."
 
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Nicholas was still keeping his voice down as he laughed lightly to know that Anastasia was embarrassed by her own words. It wasn't as if he said it, but he did hear it loud clear. She did sort of announce it to the rest of the neighborhood too. "Well. Thank you then," He added to not tease her too much as he just gave her cheek one poke. He wasn't going to mention the evident redness in her cheeks, but he could point it out. Quite literally too. It seemed as it was time for him to keep moving. The last thing he wanted was to bring the girl that had saved him from bleeding to death any means of trouble, but how long would he survive with such a deep cut? Usually he'd be able to dodge such an easy attack, but since she was behind him he couldn't dodge without risking the knife traveling into Anastasia and most likely kill her. Nicholas was stronger and a bit bigger than Anastasia, so he held a better percentage of surviving with a bleeding wound without medical supplies.

However he was a bit surprised when Anastasia asked if he was sure if he wanted to leave. Wait, she wasn't going to throw him out? The main reason why he decided to leave was because it was easier to leave than to get thrown out. That and he wasn't tempted to have her uncle try and chop his head off. Nicholas could still move, but he wasn't sure if he could dodge an axe and a well-trained man. On the offer of staying he blinked a bit in surprise before he was suddenly given some supplies. "You're naive. Giving away this could be like giving away your life," Nicholas said before he walked over and sat down on the bed. "I can't move around for long, and I'm not planning on dying in the street like some cat that have gotten hit by a car. I guess I'll be staying," He said with a smile as he placed the bag back underneath the bed and leaned over to ruffle through Anastasia's hair once more. Maybe he was getting a bit more attached than he should, but he did hold a good reason. He'd survive one, maybe two, attacks in this state. Not good.

"You should get out too. I can bring you with me," He suggested as he looked at her with a very serious expression. He meant what he said. Surely it was deadly out there and that she might die, but like this he couldn't just leave her in this makeshift 'Wonderland' and let herself be driven away to believe that the world would sort itself out. "I have no destination, but... I want to make this world like it was again, and I'm pretty sure you want to make this a better place too. You can't do that within these four walls. Surely your uncle is going to get his panties in a twist, but I'll let him chop my head if he finds us," Nicholas whispered. He didn't want for her uncle to her the two of them talking, but he did want to bring Anastasia out. While the world was nothing to brag about, it was still a world. This house may be safe, but it was like a cage. Eyes staring out a certain landscape, but whatever laid in the shadows were taken away and the bars kept her from knowing the truth. He'd set the bird free, and let it fly to see the rest of the world.
 
"Well, you almost gave your life for my sake so it's only normal that I give mine for you" she answered back at his statement about her being naive. Anastasia may be naive, but only to him. She felt attached to him, as if he was a long lost brother or relative. She felt comfortable, relaxed and safe around him. Maybe it’s because he saved her life? Perhaps. Anastasia doesn't know, and for now she doesn't care.

Anastasia's gaze followed Nicholas as he sat down on the bed, telling her that he'll be staying. "
Really?" she asked, her mouth suddenly dry and her voice cracking slightly, utterly astonished that he's not leaving. She felt frozen, as if a cold bucket of water was splashed over her. She assumed that there was a slim chance of him staying, he's stubborn, or that's what she thought based on her observations. The ruffling of her hair pulled her out of trance and smiled, not bothering to remove his hand atop of her head. "I'm glad that you're staying. It will be a great burden if you left here and suddenly bled to death" she joked at his wounds, slightly giggling but quickly covered her mouth, realizing that her uncle is downstairs.

It felt like they were doing something wrong, hiding from her uncle and talking in hushed voices but she liked it. She liked the thrill and excitement of possibly getting caught and scolded. She felt like a little kid again, a kid that is always into trouble.

Nicholas looked at her with a very serious expression, saying that she should come with him, away from this place. "Leave?" she whispered, her emotions suddenly jumbled up.

She has always wanted to leave this place. To become independent and a girl on her own. She always has planned on leaving but she was never brave enough to leave. A part of her heart always twinges when she thought of leaving. What about my uncle? She always asks. He had gone through hell and back just to protect her, and yet she still want to leave.

"Yeah I would love that. The world becoming what it was once, even for just a moment. That would be wonderful" she whispered to herself. His offer was tempting but she can't help but worry about her uncle. "Will you excuse me for a moment?"
She stood up and went to the bathroom, locking herself and writing a heartfelt letter to her uncle. She wanted to leave, no. She needs to leave. She was cooped up inside this makeshift cage for years, sneaking out just to help others. She needed to be free, to see what's really out there, she needs to feel alive.

After a couple of minutes, she went out of the bathroom and grabbed a duffel bag underneath the bed, a smile adorning her face. "Alright, I'll come with you."
 
Gabby
Gabby groaned and woke up, her cheek pressed against the matted carpet of her small home. She hated this place, though she was greatful to even have it in the first place.

She stood up and walked over to the mirror, gasping as a bright purple and black bruise flowered on her jaw. Great. The last thing she needed was a shiner to walk around town with, showing that she got the shit beat out of her. Fantastic.

She lifted up her shirt, exposing her bra a tad, and groaned even more. Purple blossomed across her stomach and chest, along her waist and a little down her hip. Fuck. This was just great. Her body was a sore and tired, and now she had the proof. She slumped against the wall and hit the back of her head against the wall.

Great. She was probably going to die looking like a child painted on her with purple and black paint.
 
"The plan... Is actually something I can't tell you," Andrea admitted, "Although, my cousin has a plan. Or she claims she has a plan. I just can't get her to let me help. Something about me getting in the way. I probably do. Anywho, I do believe that I will be able to better understand the fog below with a little bit of a sample. I mean, if we study it, with care of course, we might be able to find a cure, right? Though, the government refuses to help. They say it's impossible."

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Kitiana frowned, sitting back as the girl stood and walked around the room, checking herself. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Um, excuse me!" she called, "Are you all right, love?" No answer. Was she deaf? Sighing, Kiti stood to leave. She didn't know sign, so there was no way she could help. As she went to leave, Adika walked towards the girl, barking. "Oi, come back here!"
 
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