The City (Merome AU)

36

~*Craft*~

Siting quietly, I watch the sun rise over the horizon and stretch out my arms. My elbows popped from being stuck in the same position for a long time. It's one of the unfortunate things about keeping watch during the night time; you can't exactly move anywhere.
Stifling a yawn, I stand up and run a hand through my hair. Just a few more minutes, Lachy. Then the Sniper guy will take my position and I can go take a long, well deserved, nap. I crack a smile at that thought. What is Star doing ri-

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud howl. Wait, no; there's more than just one howl. It's multiple different dogs howling at the same time. Kaydee.

"Wolf!" I call out to the veteran wastelander who was keeping watch nearby, "Crazy Kaydee is going to ambush us!"

"Who?" Lone Wolf looks over at me with confusion, clearly shocked by the howls as well.

"Crazy Kaydee. She catches coyotes and trains them to do her bidding," I yell back, already running to sound the warning.

Lone Wolf's voice was quiet and questioning as I ran off. "Coyotes? Who would tame those?"

As I run into the building it seemed like everyone was already prepared. Star and Frags had their knives ready, Woofless was reloading his gun, and Sniper was reclining in a chair with his bow in hand. Everyone but Sniper is taking this seriously. I guess he doesn't know what the howls mean.

"It's Kaydee isn't it?" Star asks as I race over to his side. Breathless, I just give him a nod. Star nods before turning to Frags.

"Try to get the attention of a few dogs and drag them away from the pack. It'll be easier to thin out the numbers," Star says before running to go tell Woofless what to do.

Sniper watches how frantic everyone is acting and stands up before walking over to me, "Who's this Kaydee person, and why should I be worried about them?"

"She tames coyotes and-"

Sniper raises his hand to silence me. "That's all I needed to hear." He takes a deep breath and throws his quiver over his shoulder. "Does she know who Benja is?"

"Yeah, but they were never really close." Sniper nods for a second time before turning toward the main door, "Why do you ask?"

Sniper shrugs before looking over his shoulder at me, "Just curious. But before I leave, I have one request for you blondie."

"What?"

"Make sure the coyotes don't wake up my son."

~*Jerome*~

I lay in bed with my eyes closed, but I'm wide awake. Usually I would've gotten out of bed by now, but it's as if my body is forcing me to stay with the man sleeping peacefully beside me. His soft, steady breathing is music to my ears. I want to stay here forever.

But sadly the thought was short lived, due to the sound of a howl making me open my eyes. Coyotes? Out here? Star said coyotes tend to stay in the northern parts. Why are they out here? Did someone bring them here?

My attention turns to Mitch who started to move in his sleep. The howl almost woke him up. Carefully, I lean over and kiss his forehead before whispering softly, "I'll protect you. Just like you did for me." A small smile grows on my face as I recall the memory of him saving me from Kaydee's dog. Does he have a scar from that day?

Careful not to disturb him, I inspect both of his arms for any sign of the bite the dog made. But to my confusion, there wasn't a mark to be seen. That's weird. If I remember correctly, he was bleeding badly from the bite. How could he have healed so much that he doesn't even get a scar? Shaking my head in confusion, I pull the blanket over his arms again. I probably just remembered it all wrong. Maybe the bleeding wasn't as bad as I thought...

My train of thought was interrupted by a soft knock and creek of the door being opened, "City brat, are you awake?" It was clear Craft was trying his best to stay quiet.

"What did I say about you calling me that?" I mutter quietly as the tall blonde pokes his head through the crack in the door he made.

Craft rolls his eyes before speaking again, "What ever. I just wanted to warn you not to leave this room by any means."

"Why?"

"Crazy Kaydee is attacking." Craft's words were serious. "And if you leave this room, I'm fairly certain Benja will try to come after you."

"Alright." I close my eyes and sigh. "I won't leave, but that's on the condition you don't wake him up with the commotion."

"Deal." With that, Craft closes the door. Taking a deep breath, I look over at Mitch's sleeping form. He's stopped moving, but from the way he scrunched up his face I can tell he's in pain. The pain will go away soon. I promise.
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Welp. Sry for the late update...
I recently joined my school's track+field team...

If it's ok with all of you, I think I might change my update day to Saturday until track season is over.

I also keep on forgetting to thank all of you for how many reads we've gotten...

Thank you all so much for 4K! <3

Anyways,

Much Luv,
Mickey-Kenzie