The Deathlock virus

Chapter 7

The rest of the trip was relatively easy, just a few straggling Seekers that were easy to take care of across the walkway. Nessie was clearly shaken up and maybe a little traumatized from the whole incident with the Climbers, but honestly who wouldn't be traumatized if a huge mass of claw, teeth, and rotting flesh had chased after them and almost killed them.

Ryker pushed a shelf in front of the door that opened up into the safe house. Nessie and Valerie were sitting by the fire that Valerie had made. Nessie had been sad that one of the Climbers had sliced some of her hair off so Valerie offered to cut it. Ryker had dug around in the bathroom and managed to find a pair of scissors. Whether hair cutting scissors or not, they couldn't tell. Nor did any of them care.

Nessie sat in front of Valerie who gently cuts at Nessie's hair, making it shoulder length while it was wet. It was quite easy to cut and didn't necessarily look bad because her hair was curly and the curls were easy to make look amazing. And her hair was super super curly and it was going to get shorter when it dried. Those were Valerie's words when Nessie voiced her concern of the outcome haircut.

"There." Valerie says with a warm smile, one that made Ryker's heart swell from across the room.

"All done?" Nessie asks, reaching around to feel how short her hair had become.

"All done. Your curls just need to dry." Valerie begins to clean up all the hair she had cut off and tosses it in a garage bin. "Now I think you should get some sleep, Nessie. You can go sleep in the bedroom if you'd like. Just bring your sleeping bag."

Nessie nods and picks her sleeping bag up as she walks into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her flashlight, illuminating the small crack beneath the door, turned off a second after they heard the soft creaking of the bed.

Valerie sighs and leans back against the couch, letting her eyes close and all the tension from earlier today attempts to leave her.

"You okay, Val?" Ryker asks as he cocks an eyebrow, his worries etched into his face. She opens her eyes and looks over at him.

"I'm just...tired. Tired and worried about Nessie...And you..." She admits quietly, noticing how his face seemed to soften as she spoke. He stands up and walks over to her, putting an arm over her shoulder as he sat down.

"You don't need to worry about me, Val. I can take care of myself..." He mumbles as she leans into him.

"I know you can I just..." She sighs, "You can get to be very reckless."

Ryker rolls his eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, "Come on, when is one time that I have ever been reckless?"

"Earlier today when you almost died on that metal beam." She looks up at him, a worried expression still on her face.

"Oh come on, that wasn't me being reckless. That was just me making a mistake," He pulls her closer, "I know I worry you sometimes and I'm sorry. But you have to just trust that I'll be okay."

Valerie closes her eyes as she tries to calm herself down, biting back the tears of anxiety that threatened to rise. Ryker knew Valerie had horrible anxiety, he had always been there to help her with it. He kisses her temple, pulling her closer to him. She leans her head against his shoulder and he notices her shaking hands gripping the hem of her shirt.

He takes one of her hands in his own, his thumb rubbing across the lines on her palm. "Just take a few deep breathes, Valerie. I'm right here." He whispers, leaning his head against hers. She seems to calm down in the comfort of his arms. The shaking of her hands dies down to a light tremble, that was always there and never seemed to leave, as she begins to doze off.

There was just something about Ryker that just made her feel safe and comfortable. Something she couldn't quite place but knew that she loved the feeling already.

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When Ryker woke up the next morning, they were both laying on the ground besides the couch. Valerie was laying beside him and was fast asleep. His arm was under her head, her head resting on his bicep, and she had an arm wrapped around his waist. He smiles down at her, his heart skipping a beat at the sleeping Valerie that was leaning against him. He didn't dare move an inch, not wanting to wake her as soon as she got some much needed rest.

A hour or so later, Nessie walked out of the bedroom. Her hair was a frizzy mess and she seemed still half-asleep. "Ryker?"

"Yeah?" He looks up, being careful not to move too much. "You need something, Nessie?"

"Is Valerie awake?"

"No, kiddo. She's still asleep. And good because she needs it."

Nessie walks over and sits down next to them, looking between him and Valerie. "She wouldn't admit it to me but I can tell that she likes you. And you like her too, right?"

Ryker stutters a bit, taken aback by how she just asking him upright about it. "Yeah um...I guess I do like her."

"Do you plan on telling her anytime soon?" Nessie grabs a hair tie off of her wrist and ties her frizzy hair back, some pieces hanging out in the front after being too short to tie back.

Ryker sighs and stares down at Valerie for a few seconds. "I don't want to confess and ruin what we have, even though I know that she probably feels the same way I just want to take it at her own pace," He pauses, "How do you even know that she likes me? You sound so sure of yourself."

"Ryker, if you could see the way that she looks at you when you're not paying attention to her then you'd know that she likes you. She cares about in a way that she doesn't care about anyone else and that much is plainly obvious. She's terrified of losing you, like we saw on the bridge yesterday. She puts your safety over her own, Ryker."

Ryker's eyes widen, "She told you about this...?"

"Well," Nessie smiles, "She might have ranted to me about you a few times."

"What else did she say?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, Ryker. I can't tell you everything because it's sort of...Personal. You'd have to ask her yourself." Nessie shrugs. Ryker sighs and looks back down at Valerie who was beginning to stir. She yawns and stretches, still half asleep which gives Ryker the chance to get up without her realizing he'd been trying to stay still enough not to wake her.

"Ry?" She sits up, rubbing her eyes.

"Hm?" He hums, looking down at her.

"What time is it?"

"I have no idea. The sun is rising though."

Valerie stood up and stretches again, her bones popping softly.

"So where are we going now?" Nessie asks, putting on her shoes which were a pair of purple beat up converse. They were duct taped together around a few parts of the soles, clearly falling apart.

Ryker took a mental note of her shoes and glances over at Valerie who was busy putting her hair back in a braid. He looks back over to Nessie, knowing that he was gonna check every where they went to try and find her new shoes.

"We're going across downtown to the forest. There should be another one of Raven's safe houses there and we can stock up there before we go off to wherever we need to be. Which might be out of city or state depending on what happens."

"What do you have planned that'll drive us out of state, Val?" Ryker cocks an eyebrow.

"It was a 'just-in-case' warning. Don't get your panties in a twist." She grabs her bag and makes sure her knife was in her pocket. She turns to look at Nessie and gently grabs the girl's attention. "I don't want to scare you, Nessie. But there are a lot of bad people in the city. You need to listen to us carefully and make sure that you don't talk or look at anyone other than us."

Nessie gulps but nods. "Alright..."