Markiplier x Reader | The Promised Land

Chapter 2: Friendly Neighbors

"Spice huh?" the man asked, "Well, pleasure to meet ya!" He extended his arm for a handshake, you hesitated, and [P/n] growled. You talked to her softly, letting her know it was okay for now, and she backed down without a second thought.

The man could read the uneasiness in your gaze, he wasn't exactly relaxed himself. He must've realized how weird it was for him to be so friendly. He put his hand down and put it in his dirty, torn jean pockets. The light glinted to a pin on his dark grey army jacket. It looked like a plain, golden colored ring, oddly clean compared to the rest of his outfit.

"Names Sean," he said blinking, "We don't get many visitors here in LA anymore due to the... well, y'know."

You nodded slowly. You were well aware of the dangerous journey it takes to travel from the smaller towns to LA without a group. Gangs, thugs, and robbers ruled the world anymore it seemed, and chased away anyone who thought of taking the journey. You considered yourself lucky to have made it this far.

You glanced behind him to the others he was previously talking with, and he tried to reassure you, "It's all right, when we do get visitors, we make sure they are well taken care of before moving further into LA territory. There's a lot of crime happening out there, so we might as well fill you in on everything and what to watch out for."

As you watched Sean ramble on about things, trying to assure you he and the others didn't mean any harm, you decided to give them a chance. After all, the likelihood of them being "bad" on the outskirts of LA was unlikely. You held up a hand to silence Sean and he stopped, looking at you with wonder.

"Look, I have been traveling a long time to get here," you said a little irritably. Your voice sounded gruff and aggressive from lack of use. It wasn't far from a dog growling angrily, "Do you have a place for me to rest?"

Sean stared for a moment, realizing you were actually staying. His blue eyes lit up and he skipped back to the others. Then he stopped, looked back, and then ran back to you realizing he hadn't said anything. He chuckled nervously and gestured for you to follow, "Sorry, we... don't get out much."

"I noticed." you said in a flat toned voice as you followed him.

The rest of the evening was relatively boring. You learned and unlearned the other peoples' names quickly as they sat around a fire and talked in quiet voices. At least they weren't loud. You weren't one for loud parties or outings of any sort. You didn't mind the company either, it was nice to talk to someone... anyone again. [P/n] may have been your closest companion, but nothing beat a civil conversation with humans who talked back. You leaned back in the camping chair as the others talked about random rumors and gossip that meant nothing to you. You tried to relax, staring up at the night sky... or at least, what you could see of the night sky.

Due to the pollution from the bombing and the poor air quality of LA, the sky was nothing but a blanket, hiding any stars and even the moon from view. It was like that everywhere actually. You couldn't remember the last time you saw a star, and if you'll ever see one again. You promised to wish your older sibling a safe trip to... wherever they wanted to go.

You sighed and closed your eyes. Your pet was laying beside the chair, snoring softly. You dropped your hand down to pet her. She felt safe, which was a good sign. [P/n] usually had a good sense of what was good or bad before you did.

Moments passed when suddenly your eyes shot open and you flinched away at the feeling of someone tapping on your shoulder. You looked up and relaxed a little to see Sean looking at you, an edge of concern on his face.

"You're pretty jumpy there... Spice," he said softly. He didn't believe you that your name was Spice, but he didn't seem to be the prying type, "You dozed off so I thought I'd show you where you can get a decent sleep."

You stood up, blinking. Realizing you had slept for some time, you cursed to yourself for allowing that to happen. The fire was nothing but coals, and everyone was gone. You put your guard up as you followed Sean towards one of the less-ruined houses.

He pointed up at it, "The power doesn't work, just like everywhere else, but you can at least have a good bed to stay in. My girlfriend looks after the places outside our own houses for guests and travelers like yourself." He walked you inside, turning on a battery-powered lantern, lighting up what looked like the living room.

It was a beautiful house, half ruined or not. There was an old chandelier dangling from the ceiling, completely encased in dust and debris. The once-white sofas, now tattered and yellowed sat unmoving like guardians to the room. The TV was gone, along with many other things.

"I'm surprised this place wasn't completely swept," you stated. Your voice echoing around the house. It made you feel uncomfortable to be in such a massive space. You longed for the shelter of anything similar to a blanket fort to sleep in, but you held your tongue. Showing any sign of weakness, as little as it may be, would be detrimental to your current standing in the neighborhood.

Sean nodded silently to you, only half listening. "It never gets old walking into one of these houses." he sighed and then started heading up the stairs to the left, "The bedrooms are up here, just take your pick."

As you followed him upstairs, you spotted a pistol strapped at his side. Your heart skipped a beat as the stairs creaked with each step you took, and you began to watch Sean more closely.

He definitely noticed the sudden change, because he gently patted his pistol and said, "If I was going to take you out, I already would have." He smiled, briefly gesturing at all the doors upstairs. He then turned and headed down stairs and out the door.

He came back a second later and added, "My house is directly across the street. Feel free to come over for breakfast in the morning when you get up." He smiled again and headed out the door, closing it behind him.

Waiting until he was gone for good, you dashed downstairs and grabbed the lantern and headed back up, slowing down. You whispered to [P/n] to go first, and she gladly did, tail raised high and padding around sniffing. She came back to look at you in a way that told you it was okay. You sighed and gladly entered one of the rooms that looked the least ruined and tossed your things on the floor.

Only after you scanned the room four times for intruders and checked to make sure the door lock worked did you feel safe enough to pull the hidden knife out of your boot, and unstrap your own pistol from your belt and toss them aside too.

You took off your [f/c] jacket, ripped jeans, and boots and leaped, landing face first onto the bed. You sighed as you rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. You didn't realize how tired you were, because you fell right to sleep. Slipping into strange, shadowy dreams.