"Congratulations!"
Selene gushes, legs threatening to push her towards the three baby kittens, but manages to rein herself in. Veronica squeals in glee as the giant feline licks her babies, pride and amusement twinkling in its eyes.
Thunder booms overhead as a lightning bolt strikes the ground near them. Henrick starts feeling woozy, his body still weak from the earlier excitement.
"We should rest here. I can't hold...on..." Henrick says as he wobbles, hand grasping the side of his head and eyes rolling backwards. The soldier then collapses with Father David and Alex trying to catch him.
Selene rushes, but is careful not to shake Elly, and places a hand in his neck to check for a pulse. "Henrick!" she shouts as his body goes slack in unconsciousness, drained completely from the battle with the monstrous Eric.
The cat mother tilts her head as she sniffs Henrick, a thoughtful look on her face, before she decides to step aside. Selene smiles thankfully, helping in the laborious task of transporting a limp 150 kg muscular man.
After spending a few minutes, they put Henrick down at a corner of the room, careful not to jostle him too much. "That fight with Eric must have took more out of him than he let on." Father David says, annoyance creeping into his tone.
Selene sighs, "Men", while Veronica chuckles softly. Leo comes over and licks Henrick's face, but whimpers in confusion when his healing aura doesn't appear. The canine tries a few more times but lays down in sadness when it doesn't work.
Father David places a hand on the good boy's head and explains. "I don't think it's his physical injuries, boy. He's mentally exhausted. Can't heal those with a lick." Leo sighs at those words and decides to curl up next to Henrick instead.
Selene smiles and places Elly next to the soldier, on top of Leo's fur. The good boy shifts to make sure that the little girl is comfortable.
"What's our next move?" Alex asks as he keeps an eye out for any of the corrupted. "We wait and rest for now. Maybe we should take turns to stay on the roof, would be easier to spot those things." is the priest's reply.
"And after that?" Alex asks once more, his brows furrowed in concern. "I...I don't know. Let's wait for Henrick to wake up before making decisions." Father David says with a weary sigh, and heads upstairs for the first watch.
Alex sighs and settles on his own spot, along with Selene and Veronica. "So...what's up with the ears, Selene?" he awkwardly asks, recieving a withering glare in return from the elf-like woman. Veronica stifles a laugh, doing her best to play it off as a cough.
"I'm human. I became like this when everything started." she says, annoyed by the question. Alex nods quickly and stays silent for a little while when he perks up once more.
"How long have you known Henrick? How is he as a person?" Selene sighs at the questions, remembering the brutal hunt that she was subjected to. "He cares. A lot more than he lets on sometimes. And I've only known him for as long as this apocalypse started."
Alex and Veronica nod but notice the way that Selene is rubbing her legs, almost as if in pain. "Are you injured? Maybe you can let the dog heal you." Alex says, earning another annoyed glance from Selene.
"Mind your own business, and his name is Leo. I'm fine." Selene says sharply, laying down and facing a wall in order to ignore Alex better. The fire user just scratches his head and turns to Veronica. "Was it something I said?"
Veronica just gives him a smile as she sends a small orb of water at his face. "You're too annoying sometimes. She's clearly remembering something stressful." she says, chuckling as the water orb sizzles and disappears.
Father David makes it to the roof and sees that there's a foldable chair leaning against the roof entrance. He grabs it and brings himself near the edge of the building to sit.
The priest looks out into the distance at the dark purple skies and ominously black clouds, and clutches his cross. "Lord, forgive us our sins." he whispers, hopefully that God is listening.
A commotion in the distance catches his attention. He sees a Goliath battling a giant reptilian creature, similar to the one that attacked them before.
Hurrican force winds almost blow him off the roof, and he decides that it was stupid to sit near the edge during a thunderstorm. He walks back down to the group and raises a brow at the awkwardness in the air.
He decides to ignore it and check up on Elly, thankful that her breathing has become steadier and her face has regained some colour.
The ground suddenly shudders, another earthquake brewing underneath the earth. Elly gasps and wakes up with a start. "NO!! DONT EAT ME!!" she screams, holding on to Henrick's arm as she closes her eyes in fear.
Her outburst makes Henrick burst up from his position and look around for any hostiles. "Elly?" he asks after calming down, successfully capturing the little girl's attention. She stares at his face and recognition instantly dawns.
"Mister? You're here!!" she shouts as she hugs his arm even tighter, almost as if to anchor herself. The soldier pats her head and tries his best to soothe her. "It's ok, he can't hurt you anymore. I made sure of it."
Elly just sobs as she remembers what Eric did to those people. Flashes of entrails, bloody meat, and horrified faces, force the little girl to cower even more. Her little body trembles at the memories, and Henrick immediately recognises what it is.
Father David moves to say something but is silenced when the soldier just shakes his head. "You're not there anymore. Elly, you're safe here. You're not there anymore." Henrick softly speaks, his voice cutting through the memories.
Elly opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. The soldier smiles and opens his palm, conjuring a tiny bolt of electricity that bounces around his fingers. He makes it expand and contract, successfully bringing the girl out of her episode.
Veronica moves next to Selene, her voice a soft whisper. "He's good with kids." Selene smiles sadly, guilt in her eyes as she recalls what she did, or almost did to Elly. "Yeah." she mutters, too ashamed to look at the heartwarming scene.
The giant feline looks at the electric bolt bouncing around Henrick's fingers and perks up. Its eyes follow the tiny electric arc with glee, clearly amused.
Elly rubs her eyes, sleepiness overtaking her as she winds down from the intense emotional turmoil. Henrick smiles and, with a flourish of his hand, the bolt disappears.
"Alright, let's all get some rest. Maybe a few hours of not fighting will do us some good." Henrick says, placing Elly down after making a makeshift bed for her. The little girl curls up and goes into an uneasy sleep.
The rest of the group make themselves as comfortable as they can, making sure to give the momma cat her space. Selene, however, scoots closer to the giant feline. Her eyes sparkle as she observes it licking its progeny, content to simply watch.
Noticing Selene's fascination, or simply because of trust, the feline stands up and melts into the shadows. Seeing the opportunity, Selene squeals silently and takes a seat next to the poodle sized baby kittens.
"You're all so beautiful!!" she whispers loudly as she makes herself comfortable, content to watch the little ones. One particular cat, the runt of the litter, meows softly as it approaches her, instinctively seeking warmth from Selene's body.
It's a tiny thing, smaller than her poodle sized siblings by half. Yet she's no less beautiful. A coat of midnight black, contrasted by streaks of silver along her face and body.
The earth groans once more, shifting and rearranging, though much more tame compared to other earthquakes recently. "Looks like things are calming down on mother nature's side." Alex says, only now laying down.
"Regardless, we've still got a crap load of infected to worry about." He finishes with a little chuckle, drawing strained sighs from the rest of the group.
Henrick closes his eyes while Leo repositions to lay down in between him and Elly. "Whatever happens, we'll pull through." is the soldier's confident reply, feeling a newfound strength in his body that he hasn't yet tested.
The others try their best to sleep, but Henrick has too many things on his mind. The decision of whether or not to make the journey towards the camp just outside of New York, if it still exists. Or if they should find another defensible building.
"Second option's a no go. These...corrupted are getting stronger too. Concrete won't hold those special mutated things back." the soldier mutters to himself. "A vehicle. We'll need a vehicle to travel that whole way, but that'll only work if the roads are clear." he concludes, already trying to recall if they passed a large van or truck.
"We'll have to try. The city's getting too dangerous." Father David says, overhearing Henrick's mutterings. "We've tried staying in the city, we've tried going underground. None of it worked." the priest finishes gravely.
Henrick stares at the ceiling for a little longer before he grunts in acknowledgement. Selene just chuckles at the soldiers gruff demeanour, whilst still playing with the baby kittens.
"Get some rest, you guys. We'll need the energy for the journey."
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END