עָדָה
(Adah, Day 2: Evening) The younger of the the two brothers was tending to her wounds while the older of the two continued to vet her-- his confident demeanor was now starting to show a few cracks. He spoke to Adah a bit about his past-- apparently the three men were mercs who had been stationed nearby. They'd clashed with both the dead and the army a few times. Their company had fallen apart pretty soon after shit hit the fan, with Pardo, his brother, and their giant of a friend branching off on their own. She'd managed to get him speaking about his plans-- go as south as possible. His family owned an island off the coast of Mexico-- he planned on stocking up on anything he could get his hands on and heading there ASAP.
Lucky for her, right? She'd run into a rich boy who wanted to quit playing soldier and just get high. The started off rocky, but she could get out of this, she was in the perfect position to. She just needed to keep them talking, keep them distracted, keep them charmed. She didn't need acid to do that. Yet.
The little brother, Angelo was his name, dabbed the cut wounds around her eye with peroxide. It stung like a motherfucker, but she could already feel the swelling going down-- and that was something! She smiled at the younger man and he blushed back as their eyes met.
Christ, what a virgin. What the only thought going through her head as she stifled her laughter. Sex appeal was good though-- she could use that to get out of this.
Apparently Angelo was the only one of the three jolly former-private armymen with actual army experience. He had joined the reserves straight out of highschool and got trained as a medic, he'd even seen some time in Afghanistan. Adah glanced from her chair to the blushing boy as he wrapped bandage around her now bruised midsection. She wondered if there was a way to get him to take a look at Levi?
"
So," Pardo transitioned the conversation, "
What were you up to before... you know... all this shit?"
Adah shrugged, "
Molly ball."
"
What the fuck is a mollba--" Adah saw the man first-- Declan-- he had seen something and he was angry at
her in particular. The energy with which he entered the gas station convenience store was enough to cut Pardo off, and shock Angelo in quitting his work.
"
You BITCH!" Declan stormed in,
fuck, "
YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING BITCH!"
"
Declan, what is it?" Pardo asked, any amusement previously held on his face shot out fast, Angelo went to the door.
"
I'll tell you what it is," Declan pushed past Pardo to Adah, "
This bitch right here..." He wrapped his hands around her neck and slowly lifted her out of the chair, "
Somehow..." Adah couldn't even get enough air into her lungs to gasp as he tightened his grip, merely mutely claw at the man's arms as she was lifted off the ground, "
Someway..." He held her a foot off the ground now, water welled in her eyes as her kicks and punches did nothing to break the veneer of sheer brutality beset up on the man, "
Called up her pissy little friends for company."
If he was losing joy before-- now Pardo held the exact antithesis of it on his face, the expression he made shocked Adah. It seemed like an extreme mixture of disgust and betrayal. She slapped at Declan's arms-- If she could just speak she could explain this away! Levi wasn't in any condition to be walking, and Darius was too much of a softie to leave him-- as far as they knew, she was alone! She just needed to speak; she didn't know these people! "
I thought you said you were alone?" Pardo spoke to Adah.
She tried nodding her head no. She didn't know these people! She tried as hard as she could without breaking her neck herself. Adah unconsciously stopped clawing at Declan's arms, stopped kicking, it all was taking too much energy for her oxygen deprived brain.
Thinking is all you're good for, idiot! Get out of this! She couldn't do anything. Her vision was fading and blurry-- she could barely make out Declan's face, let alone Pardo's as he continued to say things, laughing... or something. It didn't matter.Her very feeling was leaving her as the blood trying desperately to pump sounded in her ears.
Why?
Everything was going
dark.Why was everything going? She didn't like the darkness,
so why was it happening?Why...?
She wanted the darkness
to stop.Was there fighting going on?
Why was this surrounding her??
Was this a
lightness sea of her tears?
She could make that fighting stop if she could just get out this heavy blackness,
this all consuming syrup she was drowning in?Why?
Was she crying?
I can't think of the words to say to that, Adah.
Why, huh?
Why was she crying these
T e a r s ?
Why could she not
feel her tears?
She was crying and in an unending umbra. She was presently being chocked to death
t o d e a t h t o d e a t h. . .She didn't want to come back from death though.
. . .
Why could she hear his voice?
"
Hope you e n j o y e d . . . t h e m o l l y
b a l l."
Adah passed out as she was slammed against the ground.
(Adah + ??? + ???, Day 2: Later...)
She didn't remember the exact moment she hit the floor-- but she remembered getting up. Practically hacking up her lungs and hiding behind a counter as her brain rebooted. She could barely make it all out-- but apparently an absolute savage of a woman and her boy scout had come to rescue her. Adah stood mouth slightly agape as the woman wasted no time in giving a sales pitch-- not even giving her name-- offering to take her, Levi, and Darius in. Adah took a moment before she spoke, to let herself process all her thoughts,
and to let her trachea recover.
"
Sorry for spacing out..." She began, shaking her head too and fro, as if to pull her back in the situation. "
Well..." Adah hacked out, still adjusting to being able to breath again, "
I kind of had it under control until the big guy saw y'all walking up..." Hands on her knees, she spat out mucus and blood onto the gas station floor before recovering enough to that, and actually get a proper look, at her
'saviors.' The man was definitely handsome,
for a man, but getting a good look at the lean woman before her caused Adah to perk up a bit. Her demeanor shifted to the positive, and almost immediately she recanted on her grumpiness. "
I-I mean...! I was trying to talk some sense into them, but honestly they needed a good beating." Adah's eyes met the lady's and without thinking, she answered her questions without thinking, "
I've got two friends a few blocks over, hanging out on a roof. One of 'em's beat up pretty bad and the other one's stronger than Declan here minus the roid rage-- we can pick them up if you're seriously offering to take us in!" Adah gave a characteristic smirk, "
I wouldn't just feel safe with someone like you around..." Adah winked, possibly due to her better judgement not being 100% since all the blood hadn't yet returned to her brain, but she winked at the woman she just met who saved her from the mercs who were literally going to kill her as the dead walked outside.
Adah not only prided herself on her impeccable priorities, but also her insanely cunning charm.
"
... But I'd be honored to go with a woman as beautiful as the one before me." Adah finally broke her gaze away from the woman and looked to both of her saviors. "
I'm Adah-- charmed."
