The Ruins

Chapter 4

Walking helped Mal breeze through the city, letting nature take it course, giving her peace and quiet. It was more of the same, really, all woodland flowing over manmade, but it was oddly peaceful all the same. She walked, admired the buildings, seeing the sunset starting to come, resting in comfortable silence.

With the exception of a few times like this where she just needed some fresh air and time to herself. Mal hadn't been out much lately, at least not on her own and away from the Tradepost. She'd taken up a shooting ranger outside the walls a few times, but never wandered far, and in a setting like that she didn't feel very free to roam. It wasn't so much that she missed being out here that she was worried about no freedom- the last thing she needed was to get complacent and forget about the very real dignity looming outside the gates.

She pulled up to the front of a row of stores, and rumbled to a stop to the place she is suppose to stop by. It wasn't much, just a small strip of run-down buildings- a gas station connected to a chain fast food restaurant and a drugstore. The front windows of the drugstore were shattered from the outside, but other than that, the places looked somewhat intact. She approached cautiously, Mal with her gun raised, poised threateningly, ready to shoot if necessary. She made her way into the drugstore, stepping around the shards of broken glass and surveying the picked-over remains of the store.

She ducked to the right, sweeping up and down the aisles and grabbing anything left that could be remotely useful. There wasn't a lot left, unfortunately, but a lot of times people only took what they needed, so not everything had been stripped from the shelves. Sure it's been twenty seven years later; some stuff is complete gone, yet others there's a few supplies, hidden supplies. She found three bottles of peroxide, to which she breathed a silent thank you, because if anything happens, it might be needed. She threw just about every kind of bandage she could find into her pack- regardless of the fact that some were too small to be of any real help. Better safe than sorry, right?

In a instance as a sound of a creaking of a wood panel, Mal poised, drawing herself to the door, open. She always came out slow, watched every direction in a quick yet search every detail around her.

Hand came upon the metal door, a gentle push, she's halts before the door began to make sound. Opening up, the front is a open, rotten desk filled with cabinets around it. It looks empty, Mal poised her gun even longer.

Suddenly, a heavy boot contacted her right hand and her left fingers, causing a rush of pain as it let the gun drop to the left. She insistently threw the first punch where her opponent was. The other ducked, Mal knew to use her other hand and it connect a left hook directly to its temple, which rocked her a little bit before the person regained its footing and she didn't take a breath. Practicing training and experience it, when a opponent is taking a breath, never stop. You take it down until its beaten to a blood pulp and/or dead.

She gets to a uppercut to its jaw when a foot kicked her shin, clocking another kick that it swung, hitting hard in chest, falling against her back. She gasped for air, eyes bulging in despair as they landed on the Colt. With no hesitation, she grabs it and aims it to meet the opponent. Mal aiming at a familiar face, a beauty of a face that's been carved by angels. "Well, Mal. Does this remind you of anything?"

"Vix!" She said. Vix smiled in I'm-in-trouble face but showing an innocence with her apple cheeks. She grabs Mal, lifting her off the dusty floor. "You were suppose to be in the apartment where we meet up together."

"Sorry but in your words, you said you will be there in time, and, if you are not there by sundown, it means you're dead and we leave you. It's kind of close to sunset so I got worried and scouted for you." She said, flicking her wavy raven hair and a pretty smile.

Mal couldn't get angry with her. Vix was the first - after Lucius war - teenage girl she ever met, the prettiest girl and when smiling, those round cheeks glowed and that smiled brought delight. She sighed, putting the gun back. "Fine. Lets get back."

They met in the same situation, only different. Mal been on her own for a few weeks, wandering off to find a community to spend a day and leave again; had trouble to trust people before her. She came across a place and just like today, found but only Vix on the ground, surrendering herself voluntarily, tied her, gaze her threats as they talk. Vix used to be in a small camp, had a family who survived the Black Night. Came from Mexico but moved to The Ruins before the Black Night; probably should've stayed in Mexico,

Never once join in the Flyer Frontier -for reasons - and die quickly. Camp after camp, she found herself with good people, trying to find a decent place and maybe, humane survivors. Her desiring complexion can taunt any men although her voice is reasoning, honest, and flirty.

Mal began to ally Vix then as weeks came by, telling each other more about themselves, they became best friends. Vix was the one to convince Mal to find that people can have remorse, have humanity still in them.

"So, where are the boys?" She asked.

"Up north. Scouting along and doing boy stuff." Vix replied.

Vix wasn't alone when Mal first met her; two boys, Lugh and Lalon, were there. They all stayed together when greeting each other. Lugh and Lalon did what boys do, joke at each other, making her and Vix laugh at their idiotic humour.

Since it's nine minutes away till sunset, they went outside and split up in scouting different stores, seeing if there's any luck.

By the time she and Vix meet up again, she'd gotten a decent haul. "Anything good?" She asked, eyeing the bottles in Mal's hands.

"Yeah. Most of the meds are gone, but there were a few things left. Vitamins, some painkillers. Better than nothing."

"I figure, worst comes to worst, it's better than nothing. Not like two-year-old cans of creamed corn are the best things to be living off of." Vix smirked.

Mal smiled and shrugged. "Let's go back."