Solitude

Chapter Thirteen- Berserkers vs werewolves

Volney above, love him

Six hours and four movies later, Volney finally woke up. He didn't say much, only an apology to Carver and a gruff "What're we watching?". It was as if nothing had happened. And, for a change, it was a nice reprieve.

Carver sat on the floor leant against my legs, watching the cheesy "western" movie I picked out. The man on the cover was similarly dressed to Volney, the reason why?- he was a cowboy, a gunslinger, a ruffian and trouble maker. Someone else from outside. Speaking of the cowboy, he sat on the opposite side of the couch, staring at his cowboy friends with awe.

"Hey." I whispered to him, just realizing something.

"Yeah?" He ripped his eyes away from the screen hesitantly, flicking them back impatiently.

"Do you...know them?" I inquired, pointing to the men on screen. A laugh came from Volney's chest, a hearty, uncontrolled laugh that sounded like he'd just heard a funny joke.

"Sure," He drawled out. "We go out for drinks on Sunday and play pool together." He burst out into another laughing fit, doubling over himself. This time, I knew he was mocking me.

"I said something weird, didn't I?" I asked Carver. He was watching Volney with the meanest death glare he could muster up. The room chilled instantly.

"Cut it out Chambers." Carver demanded, pausing the movie. "It's a normal question Winnie. You didn't say anything weird." He reassured me, but Volney's laughing only got louder. And somehow, Carver's reassurance only made me feel worse.

"Little lady, these movies are far, far beyond my time. All these actors are either dead or crippled old men in nursing homes. Why would you even think that I would know them?" He finished with a chuckle, wiping the corners of his eyes.

"I-uh..." I stammered for words, feeling stupid. Somehow my hand made it's way to Carver's shoulder and was now gripping him until my knuckles turned white.

"It's just..." Volney stopped laughing, waiting for my response. "...you look like them so I-"

"Thought I knew them?" His voice hitched, like he was trying to contain yet another laugh. "What kind of logic is that?" Though his voice was light hearted, it confirmed my feelings of stupidity.

I didn't know anything about the outside world.

"That's enough, Chambers." The cowboy grew silent, finally noticing my obvious discomfort.

"Oh, darlin' no," He sympathized, "I didn't-" Volney didn't know. He was just trying to apologize but I was just so- so frustrated with how little I knew about their outside world.

"Anybody hungry? How about I go make some dinner?" I tried to sound normal, to try and convince them that I was. I don't think it worked though.

Standing up, I walked around Carver. Instead of letting me go past, he caught my hand and looked up at me with burning eyes. He knew.

"Need help?" He asked, sincerity lacing his words.

I thought about it. I knew I didn't need help with the actual cooking, that was the easy part. The hard part would be being alone with my marinated thoughts.

"Sure." I finally croaked, using the hand he was holding to help him off the floor.

"I'll help too." Volney piped up, standing up as well. But one look from Carver had him sitting back down. "On second thought, I'll just finish watching the movie." He gulped, pressing play.