Safe Haven

ठिक छैन

tik chaina (not okay)
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~ Kaira Harris ~

"Mr. Hannoway, you must think I'm touched in the head." Kaira stood, one hand placed on her hip, the other rested on the baseball bat stowed beneath the counter. "This ain't up for negotiation."

"This is ridiculous!" The man growled in response, his tone growing more hostile with each syllable. "It was half as much last time!"

"You know full well my supply has dwindled since then. Stock goes down, prices go up. It's basic supply-and-demand."

"Well ain't that a fancy excuse, Kai." He spat back. "You gonna come down there and explain it to my family when they complaining they ain't got nothin' to eat? Your uncle'd be ashamed of you."

"Sir, I've known you my whole life." Kaira sighed sympathetically, giving a small shake of her head. "You know it ain't my intention for your family to go hungry. But what am I supposed to do? If I start giving stuff away for less than it's worth this place won't last a week. And then what? Now that would have my uncle rolling in his grave for sure, ain't ya think?"

There was a long pause, as the two stared each other down. Mr. Hannoway was tall and imposing, with a mean face, but Kaira knew he wasn't any real threat. It seemed ever since her uncle died everyone had been trying to intimidate her into committing financial suicide and he was no different. This had become their usual means of bartering, but in the end, he always backed down.

"Fine, take it all." Mr. Hannoway finally broke the silence, shoving a bag of vegetables up onto the counter.

"Thanks so much, sir." Kaira smiled and moved the vegetables out of his reach, before sliding a small package wrapped in paper and twine across the counter to him. "You know I always appreciate your business. Hope to see you again soon."

She waited - smile still plastered on her face, hand resting on the baseball bat - as the man grabbed the package and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him.

- - -

~ Ezra ~

By the time the sun had risen into the sky, Ezra had already been awake for hours. Never a fan of sitting around doing nothing, he'd kept himself as busy as he could with the limited visibility available - watering his garden and attending to yet another flaw in his shelter.

An old structure on the edge of town, some might argue the place he'd come to call home more closely resembled a shack than the garage it'd once been used as. It seemed every other week he had yet another hole or leak to patch up. Luckily for him, though, he'd always had a bit of a knack for fixing things up. Besides, for all its faults, he liked the place.

Now, with enough light to work by, he was sorting through the results of his last scavenge. It had been a largely uneventful and, unfortunately for him, unfruitful trip. A dented can of food he hoped was safe to eat, a few scraps of metal he thought he might find a use for, and a mostly destroyed magazine was all he'd thought valuable enough to bring back with him.

The magazine, in particular, had most strongly grabbed his interest. It was likely some of its pages would soon end up on his walls, taped up alongside the other scraps of the world before the war he'd found in his travels. After storing his other finds away in a makeshift root cellar of sorts he'd dug over the years, he shoved the magazine into his backpack. He'd had the pack since before he came to Junkroad, and while it was an old, torn-up affair, it was reliable.

He stood and slung the pack over his shoulder, making his way outside. After taking the time to chain and lock the door, Ezra headed off towards the more heavily populated area of town.
 
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Royce Trida was doing her usual work, well not quite usual, people usually wanted to hand crafted bullets she made that were almost half as good as the real thing, a skill that would likely feed her for the rest of her life in the world they lived in... Or a box of her extremely limited supply of machined rounds.
Someone always wanted more bullets.
But this time she was selling one of her dwindling collection of firearms to a self styled militia man, the town's guard was a volunteer force that kept trying and failing to get Royce to let them use the police station, she refused so they used the fire station instead.

"This is a 22. Rifle, custom made, old reports say it belonged to some big shot assassin... Silencer is missing though, can't sell you that or the mayor gets pissed... This can take the head off anyone stupid enough to need it".
She told the slightly confused man from behind the bullet proof glass of the front desk, a precaution in case of anyone feeling like testing their new guns to get a refund...
"Uhh... Why is there only two clips?..."
The man questioned her, earning an exasperated sigh.
"Well I can't give you my whole stock can I? That kinda gun won't fire my handmade rounds and I've only got a small supply of machined 22. Rounds, besides... If you need more than one round to put down the target... You shouldn't have that gun..."
She suddenly switched tactics to keep him confused.
"But I'm sure such a... Handsome, skilled man like yourself doesn't need many bullets... And you would look oh so badass with that gun in your hands~"
This seemed to do it and the man handed over payment without further question, leaving her alone.

"Heh... Sucker..."
She mumbled once he was gone, double checking her own gun before heading out to buy some food and materials.


Akane Midori wiped a little sweat from her brow as she dug through another pile of trash... The town was literally on a road through a junkyard, which while ugly and kinda smelly, ensured an abundance of usable materials... The old world was just so wasteful!
Spotting one of several things she had been looking for, the young woman dashed over to the pile it was in and pulled it out... And engine head in decent condition... One of the mechanically minded guys was trying to fix up a truck and she had overheard him speaking about trying to find an engine head...
So she had put it on the list of things to look out for, she didn't know much about how to fix one but this barely needed a touch up...

With her treasure held in both arms and a couple other things in a sturdy bag hanging on her arm she headed into town, ignoring the looks some people gave her, they could think what they liked... As long as they didn't say anything to her face she didn't care.

Finally she reached her objective.
"Hey! Mr mechanic... Look what I found..."
She showed him her find and noted the brief glimmer of interest as he saw it, before a neutral look took over his face.
"Ehh... I guess I could use it for scrap... I guess I can give you some carrots or something..."
She took immediate offense to that.
"Hey! I know you need this... I heard you talking about it, there can't be many of these left, especially not in such good condition... It's worth way more!"
She argued, seemingly pissing the man off.
"Oh? You been sneaking about and listening in BOY?...".
He taunted her.
"I'm not a boy... Look you clearly don't want this... I'll just go see to someone else... Gurk!"
She was interrupted by the large man physically picking her up.
"Listen here runt... I'm taking this part... And you can run along and play dress up by yourself... Got it?!"
 
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~ Kaira ~

Kaira waited until Mr. Hannoway was out of sight before she headed back behind the counter. The grocery store was small and the shelves were mostly empty. Aside from a few items of little worth, most of the inventory was kept locked up in the office, which could be accessed from behind the counter. Old metal security gates, such as those commonly found at pharmacies, had been installed by the family for added security years before the war; They were generally left open during the day, however, leaving the only security the locked office door.

Reaching through the collar of her shirt, Kaira fished around until she pulled out a key on a metal chain. She wore it as a necklace, keeping it hidden under her shirt. She grabbed the veggies and headed back to store them away, before relocking the door and returning to the main room of the store. Grabbing a notebook from under the counter, she went to scribbling the change in inventory while she waited for more customers.

~ Ezra ~

Ezra kept his head down and his shoulders slumped forward as he walked towards town, tightly gripping the straps of his backpack. As always, he moved quickly, as if he had somewhere to be.

He heard the confrontation before he saw it.

"I'm taking this part... and you can run along and play dress up by yourself... Got it?!"

He didn't raise his head, glancing at the source of the noise out of the corner of his eyes. A large, very scary, very strong, very intimidating, very 'don't mess with me' looking man had grabbed ahold of a girl he'd seen around town a few times. It seemed best not to get involved. He was tall, but he wasn't exactly strong... or brave... or just about anything that would be helpful in a situation like this.

He began to walk faster, hoping to get away before he was noticed, but... Even he wasn't that big a piece of shit, right? Besides, he'd never been particularly smart, either.

With a sigh, he slowed to a stop, slipping his backpack off his shoulders and dropping it down onto the ground.

"Hey!" He spoke up, finally raising his head to look at the other two. "I've heard bad things tend to happen to bullies around here. Not to get involved, or anything, but you never know when you might cross the wrong person and end up with a bullet in your head. That'd be a real tragedy."
 
Royce enjoyed the occasional look she got when out and about, living in what amounted to a fortress and sitting on a pile of guns earned a type of respect from most people, and envy from others... Still, she was just as human as anyone and needed to eat...
Once she was at the right place Royce turned to enter the store, she felt like treating herself with something somewhat fresh, maybe even meat if possible.

Of course she knew that was unlikely, anyone who kept chickens or God forbid, a cow, needed them for their other products, no one kept animals purely for meat and hunting rarely brought anything good...
"Hey Kaira! I'm in a good mood... Got anything fresh?"
Royce asked as she walked into the store, casual and confident as always, her parents taught her that attitude and it fit her well.


The Old mechanic looked over to the source of the interruption, and grinned at who he saw.
"You scavengers are like rats around here... You must be friends with this freak to risk threatening me like that..."
He growled, not letting go as his free hand reached for a greedy wrench at his belt.
"After I've shown this boy how to behave you can...".
He was cut off as Akane landed a hard kick in the crotch, causing him to drop her and bend over in pain... Plenty enough time for Akane to grab the engine head... And swing into his head! The mechanic crumpled in a heap.

"Don't call me a boy..."
She growled before seeming to calm down.
"Now who am I supposed to sell this to?! Hahh..."
She didn't drop it as she walked over to her saviour.
"Hey umm... Thanks... For standing up for me and distracting him... I've seen you around outside of town haven't I?"
 
~ Kaira ~

"Ah, my favorite customer." Kaira glanced up from her notebook, smiling in Royce's direction. It was no secret she said this to just about everyone, but in her case there was at least a bit of truth in it. Anyone who had as valuable assets as Royce did was a welcome visitor in Kaira's book. Besides, it was always nice to talk to people around her own age.

"You're in luck, just got a bag of fresh veggies. Picked this morning. A few eggs, too, if you're interested. What you got in exchange?"

~ Ezra ~

Ezra tensed at the mechanic's reply. Apparently his 'sound scary and hope it turns out for the best' strategy wasn't going to work. Which could be a problem... since he didn't have another one.

"I-" Before he could finish, the girl kicked him in the crotch. He took a step towards them, but it wasn't needed. A few moments later, the mechanic was on the ground. "Huh, guess you really do need to be careful who you cross around here..." He thought.

"Uh, I don't know." He responded to the girl's query, grabbing his backpack off the ground and throwing it back over his shoulder. "I mean, I've seen you around... so it would make sense you'd have seen me around too... I live out there, so..." He cracked a halfhearted grin.

"Uh, good work, by the way." He motioned towards the mechanic, taking a few steps back. "Don't think you needed me."
 
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"You say that to everyone Kaira... But thanks anyway, how's business?"
She asked, so few of her own customers wanted to talk about anything other than guns, like, yeah, guns are awesome, she understood that, but it was possible to have too much of a good thing, and she liked making small talk!
"Fresh veggies AND eggs? I swear you're some sort of miracle worker... As for trade... I've got a few things... My last customer gave me a load of batteries and some full lighters, and you know I've got bullets... What do you price the food at?".
Royce knew how to see guns, but wasn't great with the value of other things and mostly relied on people not screwing her over... Even if she could afford it anyway.


"Heh... My house is right on the edge of town, sorry, I mean my 'brother's' house... Not sure why everyone thinks I have a brother..."
She declared, before smiling a little bashfully.
"Ehh... I'm not usually this good at fighting, but he insisted on pissing me off... And no way I totally needed you, he was guarding his crotch till you showed up..."
She explained, looking over a new dent in her prize, that need to be fixed or the value might go down...

"Hey, believe it or not you did kinda save me... So the least I can do is offer lunch? I have soup... No idea why there were so many cans in a pharmacy... But they're all good".
Akane was known for exploring pharmacies that had already been looted of their valuable drugs, what she was searching for was anyone's guess, but she did recover a lot of loot people overlooked...
 
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~ Kaira ~

"About as good as it's been, I suppose." Kaira shrugged, not sounding particularly enthusiastic. "Could always be better, though."

She glanced back down at her notebook, flipping through the pages. "Well, I suppose that depends. How much you want? And of what? Eggs are always going to cost more than veggies. Good protein can be hard to come by these days."

- - -

~ Ezra ~

Ezra gave the girl a skeptical look as she insisted he'd been of use. He wasn't so sure if he bought that. But who was he to argue?

"Lunch, huh?" He asked. He wasn't much of one to get involved with others, but he never turned down a meal. Honestly, if the mechanic were to rise up right then and offer him a sandwich he'd be tempted to accept. "I don't ever turn down food."

He smiled again, more genuinely this time. "What kind of soup? Not that it matters. I'll eat literally anything."
 
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"That bad huh?"
Royce asked, noting her lack of enthusiasm, she remembered when the place had always been well stocked and busy, back when she was a kid and went shopping with her parents, honestly though the whole town was falling apart, bit by bit they were bleeding people and supplies and like a wounded beast, the town was just waiting for something to finish it off...
"Hmm... Two eggs, and enough veggies to steam up and feed me for a couple nights? Not entirely sure how much that would be honestly..."
She admitted, Royce wasn't a great cook... She could handle boiling or steaming, and maybe soup.


"Well, I've got a lot of vegetable soup, a few beef and a lot of chicken... Also two cans of something very spicy... All in all I've got like twenty cans".
The soup haul was both disappointing and impressive, it was sad that the pharmacy she was so sure of didn't have what she needed... But great that she had been able to eat so long from the cans she found instead.
"Well come on... I doubt you're gonna do anything if I show you my house..."
She led him to her home, it had probably once been a nice house, but the second floor was caved in and ruined, as well as most of the first floor.
"I'm set up in the basement... It's easy to warm up or cool down".
She explained, opening the lock with a key hidden down her nonexistent chest.
 
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~ Kaira ~

"Dickheads in this town can't seem to understand I ain't able to give things away for free." Kaira mumbled, scribbling something in her notebook. "Not that I'd speak bad of my customers, of course."

"Alright, so let's see... two eggs and a healthy helping of veggies. Give me a handful of bullets, four batteries, and a lighter and we'll call it even." It was steep, but Kaira always started at a high price. Her uncle had taught her it made any other offer seem more reasonable. Besides, she liked seeing what she could get away with; It was part of what made the job bearable.

~ Ezra ~

"Twenty cans..." Ezra echoed back. "I need to start looking where you is. I haven't found that much at once in years, maybe ever."

He shook his head, before quickly adding, "Not that I'm bad at my job, or something."

He followed after her to her house, staying a few steps behind. "That's smart." He said, staring at the house. "Probably safer down there, anyhow."
The place was kind of a dump, but he didn't mention it. Who was he to talk? He didn't even live in an actual house. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a danger of the place caving in on her at some point; At least he didn't have to worry about that.
 
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"Oh of course... You can't be talking about customers because they pay money and people who demand free shit don't want to pay".
She agreed.
"That lazy ass of a 'mayor' actually demanded I equip and supply his little militia... For free of course..."
She complained, for someone who elected himself and didn't do anything, the ass in the big house sure was full of himself.

Any reasonable person would have haggled, but Royce... Wasn't as smart as she seemed, she went off of a price list left by her parents for weapons and was terrible at haggling with things she didn't understand, so simply handed over the requested payment, though the rounds were handcrafted rather than machined.


"Heh... Almost ended up mauled by a pissed off dog thing for my trouble... And soup was not what I was trying to find... Still, it is tasty... And easier than trying to sell scrap... Ehem, if you hadnt noticed I'm not the most respected around here..."
She seemed down for a moment before perking back up.
"Yup! Someone tried to break in once but this basement is like a small fortress! Now what kinda soup do you want?"
She asked as she uncovered and set up her treasure, a portable gas stove.
 
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~ Kaira ~

"Exactly." Kaira laughed and pointed her pencil at Royce. "See, you get it. Now, if only everyone else could be that smart. Honestly, people in this town are batty. Ain't nothin' free nowadays, don't matter who you is."

She shook her head, going back to scribbling in her notebook. "Sounds good, two eggs and a bag of veggies coming right up. Give me the goods and I'll have 'em out for you in just a minute."

She almost felt bad, taking advantage of the girl like that. But hey, she could afford it. Besides, she had to make a living somehow, didn't she? It's not like she were giving her nothing in exchange.

~ Ezra ~

"Yeah, I noticed." Ezra nodded. "What's up with that? Not that people exactly friendly nowadays..."

He trailed off, noticing her less-than-happy expression.

"Not that it matters." He fidgeted, scratching at his arm. "Spicy? It's been awhile since I had anything spicy."
 
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Royce let out an uncharacteristically down sigh, shaking her head slightly.
"All the smart ones are gone..."
She wasn't kidding, many people had died to disease, old wounds or straight up left for greener pastures, only those unable to leave or with something to cling to stayed.

Royce waited for the goods and held them with the care developed from years working with complex weapons and dangerous ammunition components, she was not going to break a treat as rare as eggs!
"Thanks... Guess I'll see you again, no one else sells good food around here..."
With that said she waved goodbye and headed home to cook as best she could.


The question seemed to make Akane a little awkward and she avoided his gaze.
"Ehh... If you don't know it's probably for the best, doesn't matter much anyway".
She declared, digging out two cans, both advertising Mega Spice! And poured them in a pot to heat up as the faint smell of burning gas filled the basement.


Unknown to any of the people in the town, a group was readying weapons to take the town... The mayor had agreed to throw open the gates for a bit of loot, he would die last.
 
~ Kaira ~

"Amen to that." Kaira agreed, before she headed off to grab her the supplies.

"No, thank you." She said afterwards, with a wave. "Hope to see you again soon."

It wasn't a lie. It was nice having a pleasant customer who didn't try to push her around. She busied herself with the store.

~ Ezra ~

"Sorry. None of my business." Ezra glanced down at the ground. He'd overstepped his bounds. This was why he normally didn't attempt small-talk.
 
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Royce was about halfway home when it started, the first thing she heard was a gunshot... Normal enough in the town, then she heard many more, and an explosion... And saw strange men rushing in through the open gate, killing on sight! The police station had already been breached...
Not entirely sure what to do, she drew her weapon and ran back towards the store.


"Hey... It's nothing too serious... So don't feel down okay? It's just kinda embarrassing..."
She admitted, and was about to say something else when the shooting started.
"W...what the hell was that?!"
 
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~ Kaira ~

"What the hell...?"

Kaira's first thought was that some stupid fight had broken out in town. That is, until the gunshots continued and an explosion wracked the area. No, whatever this was, it wasn't normal. And anytime something went down, it wasn't fun to be the person with a stash of supplies in their possesion.

Knowing she needed to be ready for anything, she grabbed a backpack she kept stashed under the counter and slung it over her shoulder. She took the bat for good measure and headed over to the window to survey the situation.

~ Ezra ~

Gunshots. And not just a few gunshots, either... whatever this was, it was serious.

"I don't know..." Ezra whispered, clutching tightly at the straps of his backpack. "But whatever it is... it ain't good, and I got a feeling lunch is gonna have to wait..." He glanced down at the soup, still cooking in the pot. "If you got anything you don't wanna part with, I'd grab it now. Sticking around might not be a good idea."
 
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Royce ducked down behind some trash as a rifle toting man walked past, laughing as he fired a few rounds into a corpse.
Once he passed she walked up to the store, banging on the door to be let in and turning to face the Street in case anyone came from behind, she could already tell this town was done...


"Shit... Good idea..."
She got up and started loading things into her own bag, including as many cans as possible.
"Hey, grab food, I can't carry all of it so you might as well!"
She was clearly halfway to panicked as she stuck a sharp looking knife into a pocket, and then... Someone started banging on the basement door... They were clearly trying to open it!
 
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~ Kaira ~

Kaira took a step back, surprised by the sudden banging upon the door. She started to raise her bat in front of herself defensively before she realized who it was. Moving quickly, she yanked the door open and ushered Royce inside.

"Hurry, hurry!" She urged, keeping her voice low. "What the hell is going on out there?"

~ Ezra ~

Ezra nodded in response and set to work shoving as much food as he could fit into his bag.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by banging on the door. "Shit!" He hissed, casting a desperate wide-eyed look at the girl as he began fishing around in his backpack for something. "What do we do? There ain't another way out of here, is there?"
 
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Royce quickly entered, making sure the door was closed properly, she was clearly alert and a little panicked, her usual coolness barely holding together.
"I'm not sure... There are a lot of men I don't recognise... They're killing everyone! The militia are nowhere to be seen and someone opened the gate..."


Akane drew her knife and moved to take cover out of sight of the door.
"Hide! We'll have to ambush them... That's the only way in or out..."
She whispered frantically as the door started opening, the lock having been broken, he likely had mere seconds to hide, there was the are a little under stairs where Akane was, some stacked boxes, or under the bed.
 
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~ Kaira ~

Kaira groaned, pressing her hand against her forehead and closing her eyes. "Okay... Okay... That's not good..." She mumbled, clearly distressed. This was worse than she thought.

"What are we gonna do? I can't leave my shop! But... Crap! What else is there? This place has a big target on it. I don't think we have a choice..."

She cast a glance around the store, seeming hesitant. This place was more than just a livelihood, it was a family heirloom, and the last thing she wanted to do was abandon it. But what use was the place If she was dead?

"Fine!" She exclaimed suddenly, seemingly having come to her decision. "We can go out back, cut through the alley towards the edge of town? If we keep low we might make it."

As she spoke, she moved to close the security gates to the store room, not seeming to care that it was noisy and took more time than they really had. The least she could do, she figured, was make it harder for them to rob her.

~ Ezra ~

Of course there was no secret escape route out of a basement, of all places. Why would there be? Ezra had known it was stupid even to ask, but his heart still sunk a bit when the girl pointed out they'd have to ambush them.

Without a second to think, he quickly bolted behind the boxes, ducking down to avoid being seen. It was hard to hide when you were tall. At the same time, he found what he was looking for and quietly slipped a crowbar out of his bag. His free hand hovered near his side, where his hunting knife was sheathed.
 
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"There's nothing we can do but leave... My home is already gone, whoever these people are they Are heavily armed, and have a ready supply of explosives".
As she said that an explosion rocked the store from the Street over.
"I suggest grabbing anything usable... If you leave it those bastards will loot it..."
She clenched her fist at the thought of all of her weapons and supplies now in the hands of killers, raiders...
Royce seemed like she would follow Kaira, despite her calm demeanor she was too inwardly panicked to operate by herself.

Moments after he hid a large man in torn up, bloodied military fatigues came down the stairs, a shotgun held in one hand, which he fired at the stove.
"Hah! Where are you hiding little rats? Is it... Here?"
He fired into the bed.
"No?... How about..."
He turned to the boxes... And Akane jumped out, plunging her knife into his arm, causing him to drop the gun and pull his own knife, slashing her in the chest, though she didn't release him.