The Bunker

[JustABadBoy]

The Bunker
A post-societal collapse role play.
If interested, click on the OOC Link below.​

The OOC Thread​

Kip Davis was been lying in the middle of Broadway Boulevard. Wearing a ghillie suit that camouflaged him to look like just more of the rubble filling the street, his eye had been pressed to the 9-power scope on his Winchester 700 for six hours, watching a particular window in the building at the far end of the street.

Suddenly, his target was there, another sniper -- a killer, a murderer of women and children. Kip squeezed the trigger, and the rifle jumped in his hands. The otherwise quiet city erupted with the echo of the shot, and then a few seconds later was quiet again.

After he'd taken his shot, Kip remained still for another six hours, knowing that just because this man was dead, that didn't mean the streets were any safer. Finally, the early evening shadows began to darken Broadway. Once he began moving, it took him another four hours to reach cover.

But he wasn't heading home, to the Bunker; he was crawling into the former Hartman Drugs. He'd heard rumors that the building hadn't been totally scavenged, and Kip had a birthday gift to pick up. He found what he was looking for and more, and headed for home.

It was almost dawn when before he'd navigated the sewers, underground access tunnels, and safe zones to reach the Bunker again. He'd been gone for three days; the boy watching the hidden entrance leaped from his concealment to throw his arms around his hero, the man who always brought him presents from the outside.

"I'm sorry, Javier," Kip apologized, patting him on the shoulder as he passed. "There wasn't anything good out there today." That wasn't true, of course, but Kip doubted that what he had found would have excited the eight year old boy.

He was greeted with hugs and waves by many of the two dozen people residing in the sub-basement of the collapsed Montana Corporation Building. Those who knew why he'd been gone for three days simply asked if he'd been successful; they weren't interested in details, only results.

He continued through the basement, until he reached the back and a small area concealed by a heavy blanket draped from the overhead pipes. Kip tapped on a pipe, asking, "Bubbles, you in there?"

Kip smiled as he heard first a light growl, then a giggle. She'd hated the nickname when he'd first started using it. She tolerated it now, because she knew he couldn't properly pronounce her full name, no matter how much he practiced. She had a proper nickname, of course ... but he liked Bubbles.

The blanket pulled back and she peaked out at him, smiling playfully.

Kip returned her smile and held out a raggedy shopping bag. He was a little conflicted about the gift of blushes and mascaras and eye liners and skin products, honestly, some things that he couldn't even identify. She had no need for make up; she was perfect as she was, he thought. But, girls -- women -- loved this stuff, so...

"Happy birthday, Bubbles."

He didn't tell her that the reason he'd hunted the man outside was specifically to gain access to the drug store. She really didn't need to know that the cost of her birthday gift had been a man's life.

 

[Ruelle]

She moved like a zombie, or so, that’s what everyone referenced her lack of movement and brain usage. Ever since Kip had disappeared, Krzysztof Eistir had felt abandoned. He usually told her when he was leaving. But this time, he had vanished and no one was telling her anything. Letting out a frustrated sight she moved around the Bunker, muttering promises to hurt the older man. Her hands moved to her hair as she sat down on a nearby chair. Today was her birthday, and the person she wanted to spend it with most wasn’t here.

It would be safe to say, she was entering a black depression. A young girl crawled next to her and gave her a small hug. “It’s otay Kis-Kis,” she said softly, her soft blonde hair framing her cherubic face. Big blue eyes stared innocently at her. “Kip Kip will be back soon. He pwomise, wight?”

Krzysztof nodded, wrapping her arms around the girl. “’Course he did. If he doesn’t come back today, I’ll personally go ki- find him myself. After all, Kip wouldn’t miss today,” she said with a slight smile, placing a kiss on the girl’s forehead. Kris closed her eyes, remembering seeing the poor little girl hungry and crying out for her mother. Somehow, she had now taken on the role, not that the teen minded.

“Kis-Kis,” the little one spoke again, wrapping her small arms around Kris’s neck, “Did you get your presents yet?”

“No, sweetie. I don’t want any,” she ruffled the girl’s hair. “I just want everyone happy, Emma.”

“Even me?”

“Yes, Emma, even you.”

A few hours past and Emma was finally asleep. Kris carefully pulled away from the six year old and managed to leave the bed undisturbed. Looking around, she found a blanket and covered the little one. “Sweet dreams, little Emma,” she whispered and kissed her temple. Stretching her arms, she left the girl alone and went to her bed. She was sleepy all of sudden and decided a nice nap would do her a world of good.

At least… it would make time move quicker. Falling onto the bed, she took the covers and pulled them over the pipes. She then used a towel to use a sheet to sleep on before curling into a ball. It wasn’t even ten minutes later she heard a small commotion. Maybe Javier had pulled one of his famous pranks again. Or someone was getting into a fight… again. Curled further into herself, trying to ignore the sounds. But familiar footsteps came closer to her.

Someone dared to tap on a pipe, asking, "Bubbles, you in there?"

‘Bubbles’ growled loudly, but giggled as she couldn’t hold back her excitement. She knew that voice anywhere! Kip was back! Kip was back! Kris had never liked the nickname Bubbles. In fact, she had no idea where he got it from, but he always called her that. She pulled back the blanket and peeked out, a grin on her face.

He smiled back, which only made her smile more. But her eyes moved to the shopping back, tilting her head to the side. She was pretty sure it wasn’t a gift. She had explicated said for two weeks straight, no gifts. Taking the gift, she carefully opened it her eyes widening. Holy- where the hell did he get this?!

“Happy birthday, Bubbles.”

She jumped at Kip, her arms wrapping around his chest as she thanked him over and over. “Thanks Kip,” she smiled, snuggling against him. Kris had never had make up before, that didn’t mean she never wanted to wear it. Quite the opposite really. She had always had an interest in it. Now she could experiment. But first she’d have to sort things out. Some… of the contents in the back were… questionable. “Welcome back,” she stated then paused, released him and frowned. “Where were you for three days?! I was sick with worry. I thought… I thought you left me.” She looked up at him, her hands on her shorts.

 

[JustABadBoy]

Kip enjoyed the feel of the girl -- no, woman now, he reminded himself -- against him. They'd never embraced like this before; although no one had ever openly forbade physical contact between them, Kip knew there would have been hell to pay if he'd initiated -- or even allowed Kis to initiate -- any such contact between them.

It was ironic to him that in this time of near-total collapse of society -- or, more specifically, near-total collapse of society's legal system -- that the Bunker remained a bastion of right and wrong. The two dozen people here were from seven different nations and nine distinct cultures, and between them they spoke eleven different languages. And yet, they were able to function as a society of sorts because they maintained a sense of right and wrong, and enforced it.

And until this day, this -- this embrace between Kip, the foreign warrior, and Kis, the beautiful young refugee -- would have been so wrong. Even so, he felt a bit uncomfortable about it. They were in the very back of the bunker, away from the Common Area where the group ate and socialized, and yet he felt like there were eyes on him from every direction.

And with good reason, too: Krzysztof Eistir was the most beautiful woman in the Bunker, now the youngest adult, and the most desired female as well -- for Kip was not the only man here with eyes for her! At least three other males in the Bunker had made it clear to him that he was an outsider, implying -- but not outright saying -- that he should keep that in mind when interacting with the other residents. Kip knew what that meant, of course: Hands off the cute chick!

The fact that Kip was the Bunker's contact with the outside world, and the fact that he was the only person with access to high powered weapons and a supply of ammo gave him a bit of respect. But ... he was still an outsider!

Kis pulled back and lectured him about being away, adding, "I thought you left me."

He smiled broadly, taking her hands into his for the first time. "Bubbles ... Kis... I won't ever leave you."

He smiled, then blushed. His words had come out a bit stronger than they'd sounded in his head. Ironically, though ... he meant it.

 

[Ruelle]

“Bubbles… Kis… I won’t ever leave you.”

She tilted her head, her eyes showing a bit of confusion before accepting what he said and took on a superior look on her face. “You better not! Or I’ll raise a pack of helllwhales and send them after you. Wait… hellwhales… that doesn’t sound right… hellMoby? No… oh, right, right, hellhounds!” She laughed softly at herself before shaking her head and leaning toward Kip again. “Why so tense Kippy? You look as though you’re about to be attacked!”

Kis was completely dense when it came to others sometimes. Then again, the girl really didn’t have an interest in sex. At least, not after hearing the women talking about pregnancy and child birth… especially after it took one time. The women had no idea that she was playing under the table. Kis had been seven at the time, and it had taken them, the women, about two years to actually get her to talk to the opposite sex. Needless to say, it had mostly been the reason why the young female had been utterly oblivious to any advances made toward her. Heck, she couldn’t tell when anyone was flirting with her. Apparently, the men decided to test the theory out.

When Kis found out… well, she had kitchen duty that day. All the females had decidedly refused to eat that night. The men… were not so lucky. They had suffered bad stomach pains and no pain killers were to be. To this day, no one had any idea where they were. Kis had not been responsible for their disappearance. It had been Emma’s. Emma had been four and had had completely forgotten where hse put it. It was lucky that Kip always knew where to go.

Going on tip toe, she kissed the man on the cheek, a smile still on her face. “That’s for not leaving me,” Kis added, before taking a step back from him. “You know, you were always my favorite person in the whole wide world. After Emmy of course.” And it was true. For Kis, her heart beat faster whenever he was close to her. Her blood rushed through her veins while her mind sometimes appeared to… well, enter a lovable zombie comatose.

She had noticed that some of the residents hadn’t taken a great liking to Kip… mainly, as far as she could tell, three of them. At first she thought it was because they lusted after him. Then she figured out that they weren’t gay. (Kis Kis had tested out that theory… several times.) After that, she figured they were jealous of him. But of what, she didn’t know. Kip was Kip. No one could be Kip.

A contented sigh escape her lips. “It was awfully boring here without you. Can you take me out with yu next time? Please? I’m eighteen now! I’m an adult… well mostly one. Plleeeeeaaassseee? I promise to be good and listen to every order… almost ever order. I refuse to play decoy! I played cops and robbers and all the kiddes made me a decoy. It’s not cool.”

Walking toward the front of the Bunker, she grabbed his hand, tugging on it slightly. “C’mon, let’s go join everyone else. I wanna hear what you did. But skip over the dead parts. I won’t want to hear about anything boring,” she pouted slightly. Kis hoped he wasn’t going to talk about killing anyone. At least, not in front of her. She couldn’t stand anything dying. Lest it was nasty, nasty bugs. Then she was all the merry to be the executor. Hell, the last bug that was in here was hacked into pieces. With a butt of a gun.

The gun also went off and planted itself neatly into the wall. Someone had, when everyone was a sleep, turned it into a memorial. The handwriting was so sloppy, no one could read what it said.

 

[JustABadBoy]

"Why so tense Kippy?" she asked, sensing the nervousness he was feeling about his statement. "You look as though you’re about to be attacked!"

He felt it, too. He wanted Kis to know he liked her, wanted it desperately. He wanted her to know he would never abandon her -- or the others, but mostly her -- and leave her to fend for herself.

When he'd first arrived, the Bunker's residents -- they often called themselves The Family, despite their differing genealogies -- were on the edge of starvation. Without fire arms, they were unable to safely search the devastated city for food; and when they did, they risked capture, mistreatment, rape, torture, death. The local bandits and warriors regularly came to the bunker to exchange food for sexual service from some of the older women and -- in a couple of cases -- men.

Kip, with the help of three other men and a woman familiar with weapons put a stop to that in a late night hail of gun fire. It had been a gruesome ambush, which Kip had initiated without the approval of the five elder residents who constituted the Family's Elder Council. It had taken weeks for most of them to accept his actions, but accept them they had.

Secretly, Kip had done it for one reason: Kis! One of the visiting animals had taken notice of the still young girl, and Kip knew it was only a matter of time before the fighter had her. Kip wasn't going to let that happen.

As she grasped his hand to lead him out to the Common area, Kip pulled back, saying, "No. I ... I want to talk to you first. Will you give me ... let's say twenty minutes. I need to clean up. Then meet me at the west entrance." He pointed a finger at her. "Don't go outside!"

He began backing away from her, finger still pointed. "Twenty minutes."

 

[Ruelle]

As a small child, Kris had been taking in by the people of the Bunker. As a child, she used to go out and scavenge for food. But there was always the threat of bandits, so the Elder forbade her to ever go outside. No, she was not allowed to go by herself. She was too young at the time. But as she grew, the outside was still barred from her, so she had taken up whatever she could see, read, get her hands on.

But every time the bandits came, the adults made sure the children were out of sight. Or at least, they did their best. But curious minds were a dangerous thing. And soon, it was common to see Kis around when the bandits came. She remembered when she first saw Kip. He looked like a superhero from all the books she read. The elders hadn’t like him one bit, but there wasn’t anything they could do. He hadn’t threatened them. Instead, he had led an ambush, secretly. But it freed them from the awful bandits.

Kis had been the first to hug him with a smile. She had thanked him and asked if he wanted a cookie. Weeks went by, and slowly they had agreed with his actions. It had been logical, and he hadn’t attacked alone. But that was years ago. She had grown, but the admiration and trust still stayed.

He pulled back, and her face fell for a minute. Did she do something wrong? "No. I ... I want to talk to you first. Will you give me ... let's say twenty minutes. I need to clean up. Then meet me at the west entrance." He pointed a finger at her.

“Alright, I’ll for you out-“

"Don't go outside!"

“… yes sir,” she muttered, pouting while cross her arms across her chest. He backed away from her, his finger still pointed. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Twenty minutes.”

“Fine. I’ll just grab a drink and wait for you,” she replied, giving him a salute. “Until we meet again, my liege!” She scampered off into the common area, smiling as she passed by The Family. She went ot the container that held all the beverages and selected a bottle of water. Sugary goodness was only allowed when the one in charge okayed it. And he never okayed it for her. Originally, it had been her but… she had ‘abused’ her position.

Rarely anyone went to the West Entrance. It had been when… exchanges and payments were made to the Bandits. No one wanted to recall those memories. But Kis had none to bear, so for her, it was just an entrance. She leaned against the wall, moving down as her arms wrapped around her legs. “Hurry it up Kippy,” she shivered slightly.

Kis hated to be left alone.

 

[JustABadBoy]

(OOC -- I used another one of your character's pics because it fell in perfectly with her sitting down, waiting for him. The hair's different, but what the hell, it's just a representation, right?)


Kip ran his hands over the skin of his arms and thighs, annoyed at the feeling. Washing with cold water never removed all of the soap, leaving him itching. He could have skipped the soap, but he had spent three days slithering through the dust and mud of the Topside, first trying to reach a shooting position without being detected, and then -- after making his shot -- trying to get away from it without getting shot himself; he stunk all over, and even now after two scrubbings, he still thought he could smell the world on him.

He changed into a shirt and over-sized pair of slacks he'd scrounged from an apartment building weeks earlier and stored away for a special occasion. And they didn't come more special than this. He suited up as usual, slinging his sniper rifle over one shoulder, the AK-47 over another, and latching his utility belt -- with its knives, baton, and his last grenade -- around his waist. He drew and released a deep, nervous breath, then chuckled; he was on his way to meet a girl ... looking like GI Joe heading to the Front.

He found Kis sitting on her haunches near the West Entrance. The rumbling of a Freedom Movement tank moving through the rubble of First Street covered his approach, and he took a long moment simply to stare at her. She was so beautiful, so desirable; unfortunately, he wasn't the only who felt so, and he worried about the ramifications within the family -- particularly among the boys and other adult men -- of what he was about to talk to her about.

She caught sight of him and, before she could react, he looked away, trying to cover the fact that he'd been studying her. He feigned checking the area for dangers or concerns, then looked to her, smiled, and waved. He moved over to her, removed and set aside the rifles, and sat the on a dusty crate to face her.

He was afraid he would lose his nerve, so he just said it. "Kis, will you be my girlfriend...?"

 

[Ruelle]

(OOC;; Right!]

Kis let out another sigh, rocking back and forth on her haunches. He was taking so long. What took him so long? Did he—a strange noise sounded above her, causing the female to said up and look up curiously. Was this another tank? If so, she wanted to see one. Kippy talked about them all the time! He said that they were big, metal and dangerous. But he wouldn’t give her details. Kis had developed her sketching skills over the years. She had done a few portraits, but had taken a more fantasy style, creating make believe scenery.

She pulled her arms into herself, listening it to past. For a moment, she felt eyes on her. Thinking it was one of the other men—Kip was allowed to stare at her all he wanted—she quickly looked in a random direction. Her eyes locked on to him and he looked as though he was checking the area. There shouldn’t be any dangers. He just checked it out four days ago. Unless he was lying to her. Then she’d have to give him an Indian burn. Javier showed her how.

Then he smiled and waved to her, she waved back not sure if she should move to him. He put down his rifles, her eyes looking worried, not liking the fact he was so heavily armed. Surely no one was going to hurt him now, right? She sat back down, pulling her knees to her chest. The dusty crate had room from one more, and there wasn’t anyone else in the room. To Kis, his face looked all too serious, like there was something important he had to tell her. He was he going to tell her he was going away and might not come back?
What he said instead, she could not have imagined.

"Kis, will you be my girlfriend...?"

Well, actually yes, now that she thought about it. But she had imagined it differently. Still, she wasn’t going to complain. Instead, she smiled back at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek lightly, before tilting his head to the side. “’course I will,” she nodded. “No need to ask, Kippy.” A light tint of red graced her face as she hid against his chest. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it. If this was a dream… she damn better be in a damn coma. ‘cause, there was no way she was going to wake up!

“So, yer gonna take me with you now, right?” She asked, wanting to go outside. With him. “You won’t keep me in the Bunker with everyone else. If not, I can always go with Jimmy… but he says, for a price and gets this weird look on his face. Eh, oh well. Maybe he’s hungry!” Kis had an awful sense about people. She trusted everyone in the Family. But it was not out of choice. They were the only thing she had. But, now she had Kippy. And she put him ahead of everyone else. “What we gonna do now though? Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?” When nervous, Kis chatted about anything and everything.

 

[JustABadBoy]

(OOC -- Sorry, I totally missed why you said "right". Duh. )


"’course I will,” Kis answered. "No need to ask, Kippy."

She looked tickled, which tickled Kip every which way.

"So, yer gonna take me with you now, right?" she continued, pressing the subject of wanting to see Topside. Kip wasn't sure how much she actually knew about the world outside the Bunker. At one time or another, each of the Family Members had, of course, lived out there. Some of them stood guard at the entries or occasionally accompanied Kip on scrounging missions. But most of them -- and all but one of the females -- had been in the sub-basement for years, the closest they ever got to Topside being sitting in the shafts of warm light in Level 1 where the small vegetable patch was kept during the warm months.

Kip wasn't too excited about taking Kis -- his girlfriend -- Topside, but he knew that eventually, one day, she would go up with someone less dependable than he ... and possibly never come back. He also knew that going Topside was the only way for him to get her to his new hideaway.

"What we gonna do now though?" she asked as he sat there silent. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Talk...?" No, he didn't want to talk. He wanted to explain what he meant by will you be my girlfriend. He stood and offered out his hand. "I'll take you Topside ... but you have to do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it ... and nothing more!"

 

[Ruelle]

(OOC;; Tis otays. Happens to me too. :3 ]

"Talk...?" Kip spoke, not answering right away. Then he said the words, she hoped he would keep. "I'll take you Topside ... but you have to do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it ... and nothing more!"

“Seriously you will?” Kis smiled and jumped from the crate, only to jump up and down for joy. “Yipee! I finally get to see what the sun looks likes with my own eyes!” She took his hand and nodded. “I won’t say a word, promise!” She made a zipping motion with her hand and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to tell Emma!”

Kis only knew of the Topside from the vague memories her mind stored and from what the others were willing to tell her. Which wasn’t much. Apparently, as she found out later on, the Elders had decided all the younger females would not be allowed to venture past the Level 1,unless accompanied by an ‘approved’ adult. Kis had never received permission. Or if she had, she had been asleep at the time. It bugged her to know end. The more they denied it from her, the more she wanted it.

It was logical, right?

And then they sent her to Level one to take care of the veggies. Sometimes she put her arms out to feel the head. It only made the desire to go out more... of a desire. A goal really. Besides, she didn't want to deal with their icky veggies.

Still holding onto him, she sighed contentedly, liking the feel of how strong he felt. “I promise I won’t disobey you, Kippy,” Kis promised as a stupid smile took over her face. “You’re warmer than I thought. It’s a good thing though. Wait, does it mean, because I’m your girlfriend, I can use you as a pillow as Emma uses me as a pillow when she can’t sleep?” Not waiting for an answer she took his hand and attempted to make him follow her. “When are we going up? I don’t wanna go today ‘cause you came back from three days of fightin’. You need your rest!”

 

[JustABadBoy]

The girl was practically jumping out of her clothes at the news, which -- as far as Kip was concerned -- wasn't a bad idea anyway.

"When are we going up?" she asked excitedly, then looking a bit concerned, said, "I don’t wanna go today, ‘cause you came back from three days of fightin’. You need your rest!"

If she'd known that for 99% of that time outside, he'd been laying in the dirt absolutely motionless, she probably would have demanded they went out immediately. All the same, he was a bit fatigued, but not physically; it was mental fatigue that caught up with a sniper at the end of the day. Tragically, it was often what got a sniper killed, too.

"We're going outside now," he told her. "It's the only way to get to--"

He hesitated. How was he supposed to phrase this...? It's the only way to get to where I want to begin the quest for your virginity without witnesses. No, that didn't seem quite the way to put it.

"I have something to show you," he said instead, "And it's Topside."

 

[JustABadBoy]

Posted a duplicate, apparently.

 

[Ruelle]

"We're going outside now," he told her. "It's the only way to get to--"


She frowned as he paused. “The only way to what? I want you to get some sleep so you can show me everything!” she threw her hands up in the air, saddening slightly at the look on his face. “Not… a good idea then? H


"I have something to show you," he said instead, "And it's Topside."

“Oh. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?!” she exclaimed, taking his hand. “Show me then! Show me, show me, show me, show me! I wanna see, I wanna see! C’mon, c’mon!” Kis was now too excite to stand still or do anything calmly. She still knew better than to scream it at the top of her lungs. She wasn’t that stupid… yet. It was only going to be just the two of them.

Kis stopped and thought about something. How many times had they actually been alone together? She held out her hand and started to count. Not really all that long. Or all that much. There had been at least one other person there. She wondered why. It wasn’t like she was the only female able to make babies. They filled out papers and a stork gave it to them, right?

Obviously she knew better than that.

Walking back to his chest, she wrapped her arms around him once more, nuzzling her face against him. “Is is far from here? Is it comfy? Can I eat it? What’s it called?” she already started to ask the question about what he wanted to show her. She hoped it was warm and she could eat it. Kis liked eating food. It was yummy.

 

[JustABadBoy]

Kip sat her back down on the crate and told his with the most serious tone he could muster, "Listen close. Listen well. You have to follow my every instruction, precisely. Kis--" He drew a deep breath, exhaled, and added, "I don't want you to be scared ... but people are dying Topside. If you do what I say, nothing will happen to you. If you don't ... well, we could both get hurt."

He could tell my her expression and the way she answered him that she understood the dangers of Topside. While the Family consisted of two dozen people now, it had once been nearly twice that large. Half of those no longer here had either left to find greener pastures or died of natural causes advanced by poor diet and bad conditions.

But the other half -- eleven people since Kip had come to the Family -- had been killed Topside by snipers, bandits, or explosives. Kip was confident he could keep Kis safe; no one had ever died topside with him!

He drew a map in the dust of where they'd be traveling, then laid out the rules for remaining undetected: no talking, soft steps, slow movements, move when I move, where I move, and more.

When he finished, he asked ready and she just nodded. Kip wasn't sure whether she was still as excited as before he began spelling out the dangers, but there was no doubt that she still wanted to go. He led her to the West Entrance door way and removed the barricade he'd put in place after the firefight a year early that had changed life in the Bunker for everyone, but especially for the women. He laid a hand on the 9mm on his hip and considered giving it to her. He didn't; she'd be safer without it, he knew.

"The path is totally concealed," he reminded her. "No one will be able to see us, so long as you drop to your knees when I do, crawl where I do, avoid the windows and opened portions of walls ... exactly like I do."

And with that, he opened the door and took her out into the hidden alcove that was the Western Entrance, and into her first, direct, warm rays of a beautiful, mid-morning sun.

 

[Ruelle]

"Listen close. Listen well. You have to follow my every instruction, precisely. Kis--" He drew a deep breath, exhaled, and added, "I don't want you to be scared ... but people are dying Topside. If you do what I say, nothing will happen to you. If you don't ... well, we could both get hurt."

Kis nodded. "Okay, I'll listen only to you," she replied, sitting down next to him, her eyes focused completely. She knew there were some dangers, those that come here from else where talked about their adventures sometimes. They described what they saw, what they had to do so survive... it sometimes scared the girl. But that didn't make the outside any less tempting.

As he asked if she was ready, she stood up and nodded, but didn't have her previous hyped up attitude. This was serious. Kis followed behind him, not sure if he wanted help to remove the barricade. His hand moved to his gun, and she got a little uncomfortable. The girl had never used one- except that one time when she tried to kill that nasty, nasty bug.

"The path is totally concealed," he reminded her. "No one will be able to see us, so long as you drop to your knees when I do, crawl where I do, avoid the windows and opened portions of walls ... exactly like I do."


Kis saluted him. "Rodger Kippy," she smiled and moved exactly as he did. He helped out of the Western Entrance and her eyes squeezed shut,not used to the natural light. After a minute or so, her eyes cracked opened once more and excitement. The heat of the sun warmed her skin as she tried to look at it. But it was too bright and she started to see colors. She scanned the area around her, the emptiness of the vast land...

well, it wasn't happy.

Kis leaned against Kip. "Thanks for taking me outside," she smiled widely.

 

[JustABadBoy]

Kis leaned into Kip, saying, "Thanks for taking me outside."

His eyes were set on a distant point -- the only place that Topsiders might be able to spot them from -- but he pulled them away to look into her face. She looked ... happy, truly happy. He smiled back to her. "Thank me when I get you there safely, Bubbles."

His smiles broadly at her reaction to his pet name for here. He wasn't sure whether it was the name itself, or the fact that she had no idea why he called her that that bugged her the most.

"We have to move," he said, seeing her squinted eyes widening a bit, adjusting to what she must have deemed harsh sunlight. He secured the West Entrance again, hiding it behind a muddy old pallet that looked like it hadn't been moved in a decade. He pulled an empty glass bottle from his pack and set it on a nearby wall of concrete, then ran the nearly-invisible piece of thread from its neck back to the pallet and tied it. When they returned, he'd know if anyone had been there before he ever allowed Kis near the entrance.

He took her hand, reminded her of the move like I move rules, adjusted the rifles on his back, and led her away. They spent nearly an hour, weaving at a snail's pace through alleys, storm drains, and empty buildings. Often he looked to her and found her wearing a questioning expression. It likely seemed they'd been traveling all day, and yet they were only two blocks -- as the crow flies -- from the West Entrance.

They'd traveled in total silence until finally, he gestured her into a hiding spot under a toppled concrete wall and mouthed Don't move! When she nodded, he pulled his 9mm, checked to ensure it was loaded, took the safety off, offered it out, and whispered, "Anyone but me ... just pull the trigger. Understand?"

 

[Ruelle]

"Thank me when I get you there safely, Bubbles.” She puffed out her cheeks, clearly irriated. She never knew why he called her that. She was not a bubble, let alone multiple ones! She shook her head, knowing it was probably something he’s never stop calling her. But, the female didn’t mind. It was… endearing, so to speak. He didn’t call anyone else that. A smile broke out on her face. As long as he one day told her why he picked out that name for her… she wouldn’t be as bugged. Just a little less.

“We have to move,” he spoke, while she observed around her again. The Topside was so different and she wondered why it was so dangerous to be out here. There was not a single person as far as the eye could see. It was empty, like those deserts she read in books. She moved like he did, wanting to explore everything. It was hard keeping this particular promise, but she would. They moved extremely slow… she counted three small snails moving ahead of them. Really, they probably hadn’t even gotten all that far.

But Kis understood why he moved so slow. He wanted to make sure she was safe. At least, that’s what she could pick up from him. Then again, there were bandits and warriors around. And they were the very dangerous sort. She hoped they were all sleeping right now. In deep sleep… just like a dragon! Yeah, that would nice then she could raid their—oh wait, that the story book talking!

The whole time they travelled, it was in utter quiet. He didn’t say anything to her, she didn’t try to make conversation. Instead, he mostly gestured toward her. Like stop, go… and the ever famous, stay behind me. Yawning, she felt the heat lull her body to move slower than fore. Oh, how nice it must be to sleep under the sun…

She nearly collided into him, as he gestured her to hide under a toppled concrete wall. Don’t move, he mouthed at her. Kis nodded, knowing better than to actually speak when he wasn’t. "Anyone but me ... just pull the trigger. Understand?" he whispered and she nodded, not exactly sure what he meant by that. She took it but didn’t really hold it. What was going on? Were they bandits? Zombies? She gave Kip a questioning look.

“Are we under attack?

 

[JustABadBoy]

He left her question unanswered, turning, peeking over a toppled statue, then heading aroubd it and away from Kis...


Miles away, a jet fighter was buzzing the city, occasionally shot at by small arms. But other than that, and a trio of rats digging through the rubble a few yards away, Kis was alone ... very alone ..

After twenty minutes, Kip still hadn't returned.

 

[Ruelle]

Kis was left all alone. When his form disappeared, she began to worry, wondering if whether or not he would come back. Closing her eyes, drifted off into a light sleep, her mind still on him. It was perhaps lucky that she didn’t dream in that short ten minute nap. The gun fell from her hands landing at which forced her away from the soft darkness and brought her back to reality. She picked up the gun, staring at, waiting for him to come back.

Ten minutes later, he was still away. She didn’t want happened, but she wasn’t going to hit there and do nothing. Moving slightly, she got a better view in her hiding spot and saw no strange shadow or heard anything out of the ordinary. Remembering that sometimes, bandits, warriors and snipers would hide and not move for hours, she decided to test out her theory. Taking a small stone from beside her, she threw it in her crouched position into the sunlight.

Moments past when she waited for a sound. Anything. Even at this point, a bird calling out. But there was nothing. And that caused some fear to swell up in her. It was too quiet now, much too quiet and she couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. That maybe Kip was hurt. Or lost.

 

[JustABadBoy]

The small round object, the size of a child's marble, rolled across the concrete in near silence, slowing as it passed between pieces of rubble. Hitting a splinter of wood, bouncing up just enough to clear it and stop, two feet later, near Kis's foot.

When she looked in the direction from which it had come, Kip was sitting in a patch of sunlight looking at her, a finger pressed vertically against his lips. As soon as she'd seen him, he gave her three quick signals -- quiet, crawl, and hurry -- then whipped the AK-47 off his shoulder and stretched his body a bit higher to watch a distant point.

Kip had been gone far longer than he'd planned, and after a bit he'd begun to panic concerning Kis. She didn't understand Topside. She only knew of it from the stories -- some true, some false -- told by the members of the Family; and, as with second hand information, sometimes people either didn't believe things they were told or simple needed to see them for themselves.

In today's case, if Kis hadn't heeded his warnings, she would likely be dead already.

In the twenty minutes he'd been gone, Kip had only traveled fifteen feet to another access point, similar to the Bunker's West Entrance. This one got him into another basement, this one under what he thought had been an apartment building, maybe for retired people. He'd discovered the steel ladder descending two floors to a fire escape hatch on one of his scrounging treks. He began using it on many of his missions away from home, and began referring to it as The Hilton, even though it lacked many of the hotel chain's famous amenities.

He'd ensure that his glass bottle alarm system, like the one back at the Bunker was still in place, used a cord to lower the Winchester sniping rifle and pack to the bottom of the ladder, then turned to go back for Kis -- only to find a patrol approaching from between him and his return back to Kis.

He'd nearly panicked, whipping the Czech-made assault rifle off his shoulder and leveling at the five men, ready to unload it's clip. But he was deep in the shadows, and they weren't expecting to find anyone out here in the No Man's Land; they stopped and chatted in whispers, eating from ancient looking cans of Army rations, before finally moving onward -- to Kip's relief, away from Kis's direction.

He'd waited another ten minutes, until he thought it was safe to return, and found Kis where he'd left her with an anxious look on her face. He was so relieved that his eyes instantly filled with tears and he had to stifle a sob. He was actually surprised at his response to seeing her safe and sound; he cared for the girl, and was in lust with the woman, but he hadn't realized how much he truly cared for her safety until just this moment.

He'd spent two or three minutes in the shadows, scanning the area for dangers, then rolled the marble-like piece of myrtle wood -- a bead from the necklace of a woman Kip had found stripped, raped, and abandoned in the street -- across the concrete toward his girl friend.

 

[Ruelle]

Kis looked down and picked up the small round marble with her fingers. She studied it a moment and looked at the direction it came from. Her worried expression left her face and she smiled once more. Kip was back! Kip was back! Watching the signals, she nodded, slowly moving out of her hiding place and crawling quickly across the open space. The moment she was next to him, her body lunged behind him, her body trembling. She hid her face against his back, her hands loosely clinging to the back of his shirt.

“I thought you were in trouble,” she whispered softly. “Can we go somewhere safe now?”

The stories that were once told her about this world… she didn’t know what to believe. Maybe it wasn’t as adventurous as they made her believe. At least she was experiencing a little bit and could make her own decisions. Once the Topside was safe, she would have to bring Emma. Of course, that may not happen, but it was still a lovely thought.

Taking a soft breath, she waited for Kip’s orders to move on. Kis decided that it would be best if she didn’t tell him how scared she was when he didn’t return quickly. After all, she was a woman now! She was supposed to be brave and do things on her own. Opening one of her hands, the small bead rested in her palm. “I like the bead, it’s pretty,” she commented softly, careful not to make her voice sound too loud. She wondered where he found such a thing. Maybe she could go looking for some later. Even make him something as a thank you present.

She remembered, when the Bandits used to come, there were sometimes the ones who didn’t want sex, and instead just a place to sleep. Those were the ones who told tales of their travels and the sights they saw. They were the ones who only stayed the night and were never seen again. For some reason, she easily recalled a tale. It didn’t have a happy ending, but she had learned her lesson.

Don’t ever leave yourself wide open.

Now Kis knew what he meant. Although, she knew she was lucky to have Kip next to her. Another smile took over her face, as she released him and turned around, and pushed herself against the wall. He said he wanted to show her something. And well, she wasn’t going to complain. In fact, she was rather curious what it was. At the same time, she knew she had to get back to The Family soon.

But she didn’t want too. She didn’t staying at the Bunker, kept inside with all the other women her age. The only reason she’d ever go back, she told herself, was for Emma. Shaking her head, clearing her mind completely, blew her bangs from her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself loosely. She moved to look at Kip then remembered the gun that was on the ground next to her. She reached down to pick it up before holding it out to him.

“I think you might want this back,” she smiled. “I didn’t have to use it Kippy. But call me Bubbles again, and I just might.” Of course she really didn’t mean it. No. If he was gone, life wouldn’t be have as fun. Cuddly, yes. But absolutely boring. Kis waited for his next set of orders. He knew where to go, what to do. She didn’t. For now at least. The moment she did, she would be going out alone, just to make a point.

 

[JustABadBoy]

"I thought you were in trouble,” Kis whispered. “Can we go somewhere safe now?”

He mouthed yes, peeking over her again to see if the area still appeared clear. Appeared, of course, was how things usually were. Were was a totally different state of being, and Kip had learned that very few things were as they appeared.

"I like the bead," she said, showing him the small round piece of wood. "It’s pretty."

Again, Kip considered appeared with were, or in this case was. He'd planned on taking the bead back, of course; it had come off a dead woman, after all. She liked it, and she didn't know the story behind it; could he see it in the future and not think of the beaten, stiff figure lying face down in the mud?

He chose to leave it in her hand. What she didn't know wouldn't kill her. At least ... this time.

"I think you might want this back,” she said, offering back the semi-automatic hand gun. "I didn’t have to use it Kippy. But call me Bubbles again, and I just might."

He smiled broadly, then looked away. He was tempted to tell her, but since she'd be horribly embarrassed -- and this was not the time or place for her to slap the shit out of him, he chose not to.

"Follow me," he whispered, almost so low that he'd worried that she didn't hear.

He led her slowly, quietly, back to the access to the Hilton, then explained how to use the ladder without making noise. She was hesitant; he'd expected that. She was climbing down into a thirty foot deep hole, and unlike the Bunker -- which was lit in the lower level by candles and lanterns and upper level by the indirect sunlight sneaking in through cracks in the structure -- the fire escape tube slipped slowly into total darkness.

He heard what sounded like a surprised exclamation, and he knew she'd touch bottom. He whispered, "It's okay, Kis. Step to the side, I'm right over you ... coming down."

Once he'd also set foot on the floor, he reassured her that all was well, telling her not to be afraid of the black. "I'm crossing the room, but I'm not leaving you. I'm going to turn on the lights."

He began shuffling across what he knew to be empty floor when a thought his him: Does she know what "turn on the lights" means...? There was no electricity back in the Bunker, never had been. They had a handful of flashlights, the kinetic energy types that charged when you shook them back and forth. (The old joke between the men of the Bunker had been giving the flashlights to the younger men and telling them, "It's just like beating off, and we know you know how to do that.") And once upon a time, they'd had a stationary bicycle hooked up to a small generator, but it had quit working even before Kip had joined the Family.

"Well to the Hilton, young lady," he said to her at a clear volume, no longer worried about others hearing them. He flipped a switch, and light filled the room. He smiled, proud of what he'd created, and told her, "I hope you enjoy your stay."

 

[JustABadBoy]

(OOC -- This character is being created simply to add back story. He will not be much of the story, except to explain things without my using boring old exposition.)


The Officer entered the secured Communications Room and spotted a lone man at a far Monitoring Station, face in his hands, sound asleep. In any other situation, he would have startled the Controller awake, chastised him, then wrote him up for dereliction of duty.

But Donald Prin had been at his station for nearly 48 hours, leaving only to pee and fill his coffee mug.

The officer sat softly in a nearby chair, the squeaking springs awakening Prin with a jolt.

"Sorry, sir," Prin mumbled apologetically.

"Don't be sorry, Prin," the Officer told him. Then, leaning in closer added, "At the same time, don't be letting the Colonel see you napping. He doesn't have the same concern for your man Davis."

Prin laughed. "Yeah ... don't know why."

The Officer laughed aloud, then quickly turned to see if any of the other Controllers were eavesdropping. He leaned in close, saying, "Might have something to with the fact that he was bedding the Colonel's wife and niece, who was under age at the time!"

"he didn't know she was underage!" The Controller quickly countered.

The Officer leaned in and in a growling whisper informed the Controller, "He should have asked!"

The Controller went silent, looking back to his monitors without really looking at anything in particular.

"How long's he been in the Restricted Zone?" The man asked, his tone revealing his concern.

"Three years," the Controller answered.

"And how much of that in his ... current situation?"

The Controller noticed that the man didn't remind him outright that Kip was off task, essentially absent without leave, in a war zone, fabricating his own orders; it was some how reminiscent of Marlon Brando's character in "Apocalypse Now", conducting his own little war deep inside South East Asia.

"About half of it, I guess."

The Officer stood, smiled, and said with a chuckle, Probably found some under age babe to shine his knobber in between fire fights."

The man departed, leaving the controller sitting there thinking, Probably at least one. He looked to the often-folded, worn-out photo taped to his station of two boys -- he and Kip when they were just 13 and 14 respectively -- with an older blond woman whose face was filled with happiness. There mother had died three months earlier, and he still hadn't told his half-brother the news.

 

[Ruelle]

She raised her eyebrow as he turned his face away, but still basked from his smile. “Follow me,” he whispered so low, that she almost didn’t catch it. Nodding, she walked behind him, doing her best to not make a sound and pay careful attention to her surroundings.

They entered through his entrance and then stopped in front of the ladder. After a few minutes of explanations and demonstrations, Kip taught her how to go down the ladder without making a single sound. With each step down, she descended into the darkness. Her body started to shake slightly, her mind inventing terrible monsters that waited to consume their flesh.


Kis was afraid of the dark. For obvious reasons. She always slept with a flashlight on,
Emma curled around her.


When her feet touched the bottom, a gasp escaped her lips. She had not expected it to end so soon. Then again, it felt like forever since she was on the ladder. Kip whispered, "It's okay, Kis. Step to the side, I'm right over you ... coming down."

She moved the side, a hand still holding firmly onto the object… the only escape route she knew of in this room. She looked up to see his form move down, quicker than her but much more careful. The moment he touched the ground, Kip reassured that there was nothing to fear in the dark. Or at least, this dark. “I’m crossing the room, but I’m not leaving you. I’m going to turn on the lights.”

… turn on… the lights?

She frowned. That was a funny way of saying he was going to get the flashlights. Why would he say it light. Looking around, she tried to piercing into the darkness with her eyes. At least they were safe. That mattered a lot to her. A small yawn escaped her lips. Oh, she could go for a nice little makeshift bed.

"Well to the Hilton, young lady," he said to her at a clear volume

“What’s the Hilton-“ the lights came on. Her eyes widened as she looked around, a pleased giggle “I hope you enjoy your stay.”

The room was about the same size as the Bunker. There were no walls, no dividers made out of things found around. She turned her head and found an actual bed, that had an actual mattress. There were wooden boxes underneath to support it. Kis walked over and touched the mattress with her hand. It was sorta bouncy. Another childish grin spread over her face.

Looking up, Kis found the source of the light. It was a strange sort of thing. Something she never saw in her life. Or if she had, her mind could not recall. She went on tip toe and tried to touch it, but she was too short. It was like a string of light, some parts of the string dangled down like ribbons. Not pretty ribbons, but the point

Turning around again, her eyes fell onto a small table. The dinnerware was mismatched, but it looked cute. She could see some of the ware was meant for a fancy dinner, others for casual. Even plastic wasn’t spared. No matter. But in the middle, there was a green bottle, the top wrapped in some gold material.

Kis moved back to Kip standing in front of him. “Kippy, did you do all of this? When did you find the time?” she asked curiously. And wasn’t there supposed to be a second bed? She looked slightly confused. The Family said that only the same gendered person could sleep next to each other. Unless they were little kids. Why was there only one bed?

 

[JustABadBoy]

A smile filled his face as he watched her trying to reach the ice sickle Christmas lights. He'd expected a playful reaction, but her joy was absolutely joyful to him, as well.

"Kippy, did you do all of this?" she asked. "When did you find the time?"

He wanted to say, In between hunting down bad guys, but didn't. There was so much about his mission here in the Restricted Zone that she and the others didn't -- couldn't, and shouldn't -- know about, and while he often wanted to tell them more about himself, he simply couldn't do it. He was already far, far outside of his original orders; exposing his true -- his original -- mission to The Family would be suicidal for one of the Members, still unknown to him, was the person he'd been sent in to find ... and eliminate.

"I get here from time to time," he said instead, moving to the wall full of box crates and removing a plastic bag that was closed with a paper clip stuck through the plastic and bent closed.

"This is for you," he said, his face blushing. "It's ... well, it's another birthday present. You know, since you're going to be my girl friend."

He felt a little awkward using the term girl friend. He was 32 years old; 32 year old men didn't use the term girl friend. They just said friend ... until they started sleeping with their friend, and then they used lover. Of course, Maria was 18, and only barely so. And, until an hour or so ago, she wasn't even his girl friend.

And, Kip had to remind himself, she might not even realize that he was asking her to sleep with him. As he watched her take the additional gift, he tried to remember, Would I have thought sex was a'comin' if a girl asked me to be her boyfriend when I was 18...?

The answer, of course, was hell yeah! Kip had lost his virginity at 15 and was dating someone with whom he'd been sexually active on almost a constant basis from the time he turned 16. Apples and oranges, he told himself. You are not Kis, and Kis is not you. Take it slow.

(OOC -- Don't open this link!! This is what Kip is handing her, but I don't want you to look at it until you are ready to write her response to getting yet another gift. It will have a little bit of a wear spot, but otherwise will look practically brand new; I will let you decide what is wrong with it. )