Kannatama - M - (Pyro & Shani)

[Pyro]

Will sighed, staring down at the worn brown canvas duffel bag he always carried outdoors. Inside was $500 in cash and enough food for four days. He was staring down at it with such despair for one reason: he had needed to steal everything in the bag.
Will had a difficult life, living on the brink of just about everything. He had lived this way since he ran away from home at sixteen after being left for dead by the gang he had been forced to join. He knew the Rippers were still in operation so he had to keep a low profile, move constantly. Some might consider this paranoid but to Will it was the closest thing to safety he had ever known.
And now, thirteen years later at age twenty-nine, Will was staring down at his worn brown canvas duffel bag and wondering, When am I going to be able to stop this?

[Shani]

5:40am, Nellie awoke and got dressed. Then she went down stairs to prepare breakfast. Nothing new she was always up before Nancy even started to stir. This morning She decided to make eggs with cheese, french toast and bacon, Nancy's favorites. Once breakfast was made and the table set, she heard Nancy up and moving around. She began washing some of the empty dishes. Nancy made her way down the stairs at 7:00am. The both said good morning and sat down to their meal. It was always there fastest meal since they both had to be at work. Nellie finished first and began to finish the dishes. "Nance, I'm leaving early today, were short handed." Nellie stated.
Nancy nodded her head and as Nellie was walking to the door she said, "Have a good day at work, I'll see you when you come home." Nellie said goodbye and went out the door. She workes a few miles down the block so she haedly ever drive to work. As she walked she took in the sencery around her, the sun was shining and the birds were chirpping. Taking a deep breathe she continued onward. She entered The resturant, went straight back to the kitchen and put on her apron, and began setting the tables and perparing the kitchen.

[Pyro]

Will shrugged on his duffel bag and began to make his way home. From a thief's standpoint, today was productive. From a law-abiding citizen's standpoint, Will needed to stop being paranoid and get a real job. But the fear would never go away. Not until every member of the Rippers (or Will himself) was dead. Neither seemed likely, the way things were going. Will had been stuck in this rut for years, moving, stealing, hiding...It was too much for him.
Around noon Will was beginning to feel a bit tired so he found the nearest bus stop and sat down. The duffel bag blended nicely in a city crowd, especially near bus stops, so he really had nothing to worry about. That is until he noticed a few juveniles, maybe around fifteen or sixteen, seemingly trying to sneak into the front door of a restaurant across the street. Normally this would not have bothered Will but something in their back pockets caught his eye. Each of the boys had a red cloth with a picture of a knife on it hanging out of their back left pockets. Will's blood ran cold: Ripper recruits.
You could always tell between a recruit and a long time member. Recruits were typically younger and had the cloths in their back pockets. Full members always had a tattoo and a branding scar on their left shoulders. Will himself had these marks but he swore when he had enough money he would get the tattoo removed. But the brand was made in the exact same place as the ink so once you were marked with both, the knife symbol would remain on your skin forever, tattoo removal or not.
Will stood and crossed the street, not really knowing what he would do but hoping to spare at least one person's life.
(long one XP)

[Shani]

(Thats alright.)
Most of the staff had arrived by now, and people started coming in. Nellie had a few objects cooking on the stove, when the head chef walked in. Nellie began waiting tables. She was taking orders and delivering them back to the costumers. "Hey Nell," Becky called. 'Could you take care of the kids outside we don't want them frightening the costumers.'
"Sure Beck, I got it how much trouble could they be?" She questioned and smiled as she headed to the door. She never minded talking to people, but she never really liked sending people away. Nellie opened the door and walked out. "Hey guys, I'm going to have to ask you to leave unless your going to buy something."
( Sorry mine is rather short.)

[Pyro]

Will hung around outside the front door of the restaurant for a good few minutes, his survival instincts holding him back from going inside. He paced back and forth, nibbling nervously at his thumbnail and constantly glancing inside. He always kept a gun in the back of his shirt in case something like this happened but for all he knew, these kids could be unarmed. Recruits of the Rippers usually didn't carry weapons while being initiated. But there was always the off chance...
"Oh no." One of the kids closest to the door pulled a standard 9mm handgun, almost exactly like Will's, from the inside of his jacket. The others followed suit and though the glass muted it Will could tell they were shouting orders at the restaurant staff, most likely demanding money. Will froze for a moment, panicked. What should I do? he wondered wildly.

[Shani]

Nellie looked at the kids and their guns as though she was a deer in the head lights. She was extremely frightened. One of the boys came up behind her and put the gun in her back. 'Don't scream or you will be shot, now move to the cash register.' he said and she hastened over to it. Once Nellie unlocked it the boy pushed her out of the way to another boy. She looked around the room at all of the frightend faces, and a thought went through her head. I'm going to die today, I will be content as long as no one else is hurt. Tears filled her eyes as she silently muddered a prayer.

[Pyro]

"Drop it! I know your game. Drop it or she dies!"

Will blinked. What was he doing again? Oh right, he was holding a woman in a headlock with his gun aimed at her head, shouting at the juveniles with a ferocity he never knew he had. He remembered in a second just how he had gotten here.

In that brief moment of panic outside the restaurant he acted on a newly formed instinct, an instinct of selflessness. Or was it stupidity? He couldn't tell. He charged inside, drawing his gun, everything a blur around him. He aimed it at the boy ordering one of the employees around and demanded he back off. And instead of chasing the kids out (he knew the guns weren't loaded) he grabbed the woman and threatened them he would kill her if they didn't back off. What Will knew about the inside of the gang that scarcely anyone did was that they always take one hostage (always female), rape her back at their current base, then kill her in the worst way imaginable. That's why new recruits almost never have weapons and if they do they're unloaded. The higher ups don't want them to kill anyone on their first day. They steal, kidnap, rape, then kill. Then they earn their marks. Then they are full members. The last thing they want is a dead marked hostage. Will was in a blind instinct but he knew what he had to do to save this poor woman.
"I said back off!" he spat, backing away towards the kitchen and the back exit, "You go back and tell them you failed and when you do get the hell out of there. Got it?" He didn't wait for a response. When he was far enough away he picked up speed, turning around and pulling the girl behind him by her wrist. He would have to explain all this to her later. Sorry, he thought as he burst through the door.

(woo, catalyst!)

[Shani]

(Wow)
Nellie was now shaking as a grown man entered and grabbed her away from the other boys. Her breathing became heavier and her tears became rivers flowing from her eyes. Fear was another factor in her eyes, as she watched the costumers, and employees stay away not one thinking of a way to help her. All they did was stare in disbeilf. At first Nellie was confused she couldn't tell if the man was helping her or taking her hostage. Nellie heard sirens while she was being draged away, I'm saved, she thought. The next thing she knew, was that she was being draged out the door away from the parking lot. Or maybe not.

[Pyro]

Now that Will had gotten out of the tensest part of the spontaneous operation he was able to concentrate on what he was doing. He picked the least traceable car in the parking lot (a beige Saturn sedan) and let go of the girl to pick the lock.
"Run and you'll get killed," he told her shortly, tucking his gun into the pocket of his tan coat. He didn't want to scare her but that's exactly what would happen if she went back. The lock was easy enough to pop and Will opened the door, tossing his duffel bag into the back seat.
"Get in," he said to the girl, "We don't have time. I'll explain when it's safe."

[Shani]

As soon as the man let go she looked around and thought about running off, until the man warned her that if she ran she would die. So Nellie decided to stay put, still in shock that all of this was happening to her. It's one thing to hear it on the news but when your apart of it, it's a whole other story. She watched the man put the gun away, which made her terremble less. Safe whose form of safe? She wondered once he was done talking. She looked at him with fear and tears in her eyes, then she went over to the passenger side and climbed in the car.

[Pyro]

Will climbed in and started the car. He backed out of the spot and pulled into the street, going fast but not suspiciously fast. Realizing he wasn't breathing he reminded himself to, nervous sweat beginning to trickle down the back of his neck.
"I can't believe I just did that," he said, "You're incredibly lucky, you know that?" He shook his head and loosened his grip on the steering wheel slightly. "If you knew what those punks were going to do..." He let out a short, half sarcastic half nervous laugh. "I can't believe this."

[Shani]

She looked at the man in disbelief, Lucky? She thought. "Lucky Sir, how so? I mean, my place of work was just terrorized, and robbed. People could have been hurt or killed, and now I am in a car with a man that I have never seen before in my life going lord knows where." she said practically yelling. What they were going to do? What were they going to do, I wonder. She thought, "I hope Nancy is alright." Nellie whispered.

[Pyro]

Will glanced at her, the driving calming him down.
"Your friends are fine," he said, "The guns weren't loaded and even if they were those were freshies. They can't kill anyone until after their first successful robbery and kidnapping. That's how their machine works. The older ones pick out a place and a girl in that place and send in the freshies to do the dirty work. I won't give you the details but if you hadn't gotten out of there with me you'd be dead in twenty-four hours. You're lucky I was around."

[Shani]

"Oh, Thank heavens there alright." Her breath began to steady. Wait, he said something about a machine. "When you say machine, you mean system, right?" Nellie asked. "How do you know so much about them?" She asked looking up at him with curious eyes. "Why are you 'helping' me anyway?" Besides the questions that filled her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about her sister, Nancy.

[Pyro]

Will felt his eye twitch and he refrained from yelling at the girl with most of his concentration.
"I know you're really confused right now but one question at a time, okay? I still have to focus on where I'm going." He sighed before continuing, scratching the side of his head in irritation. "Yes, it is a system and no, I won't tell you how I know about them. I just do, okay? As for why I'm helping you, I honestly don't know. And anyway you shouldn't have bothered asking that and just be grateful that you won't be dead tomorrow." After much consideration, Will decided to bring this girl to the closest place outside the city he knew was relatively safe: an old friend's house that happened to have a loft over the garage that was only accessible from a hidden pull-down staircase similar to that of an attic. I'm gonna have one hell of a time explaining to him what's going on, he thought.

[Shani]

Nellie contemplating what he said, she looked down at her lap while figgeting with her hands. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean...." She sighed and stopped there, she is just frightend and confused and so unsure of what to do. Now it's time to keep our mouth shut, and to play by his rules. I wonder how long this man intends to keep me alive for. Oh Nancy, she'll be fine, she's a big girl now. I hope she doesn't hear what happened today. Nellie thought have several conversations in her head.

OOC: I'm sorry for my small post.

[Pyro]

Will forced himself to relax slightly.
"Don't apologize," he muttered then spoke more clearly, "You'd better get comfortable; we're in for a long ride." It was about forty-five minutes from here to Will's friend's house and Will wasn't totally used to driving there. He tried to avoid people he trusted even a little bit, just in case the Rippers found out he was still alive and went after his loved ones. But now that he was sure they knew he could only go to those places. Stay safe...Stay safe...If his sister saw him now she would have an aneurysm.

[Shani]

Nellie sat back and adjusted her sitting position. She stared out the window trying to catch her breath and calm herself down. Most of her thoughts were now blanked out of her head, she was now a little uneasy and her thoughts scatered. Is this man helping or kidnapping me? If he is helping why, and where are we going? If not..... She didn't want to think about the not part. Is he my friend or my foe? I hope Nance is alright, She is the least of my worries right now. She thought, as she stared out the window into space.

[Pyro]

(I'm gonna go ahead and skip to 45 mins later)

Will made absolute certain no one had followed him before pulling into the wide driveway. He pulled the keys out of the ignition before getting out, pausing only to say,
"Stay here. I'll be out in a moment." He locked the doors once he was out so no one could get in the car as opposed to the girl escaping. His blue eyes darted around nervously as he approached the door and knocked. The fear grew when he was alone...
"Will?" Will snapped out of his thoughts when his friend opened the door.
"Hey, Tom," he said softly.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Come inside." Will shook his head.
"I can't." He gestured towards the car. Tom looked where he pointed at the girl in the car.
"Oh no, what is it?" Will told him the whole story with a hint of sadness; it was clear he desperately did not want to impose but he had no other choice. Tom listened carefully until the end and agreed without further question to hide the two in the loft.
"Anything for a friend," he said. Will thanked him and returned to the car to get his new 'friend.'

[Shani]

(Thats completely okay with me. :-))
Nellie realized that they had stopped and pulled into someones drive way. She snapped out of her gaze when he told her to stay put and that he'd be back in a moment. All she was able to do was nod her head yes, once he had closed the door she noticed it was locked. This man is foolish, he is locking the door when we're in a driveway lord only knows where. I can easily just open the door and run. She thought about this for a couple of minutes, Never mind that idea hE still has a gun, damn he's comeing back. Nellie went back to the way she was.

[Pyro]

Will opened the passenger door to let the girl out.
"Come on," he said, "We're going inside." He led her inside the house, the only way to get to the loft. To the right, past a door there was a pull-down ladder similar to ones leading to an attic. Tom showed the fugitives how to pull it down from below and from inside the loft.
"So, uh, make yourselves comfortable and I'll be down here if you need me." It was obvious he was uncomfortable but Will silently thanked him and let him leave. Will went up the stairs, gently nudging the girl along with him, and looked around the loft. It was like an entire apartment complete with a miniature kitchen (the appliances were unplugged but usable) and a small bed. There was no bathroom but there was one just below them in the house.
"Well," Will said dropping his duffel bag on the floor next the bed, "This is your temporary home so get used to it. I'll be back in about an hour." And with that he left to dispose of the car he had stolen to escape in.

[Shani]

Nellie willingly went along with him, she nodded to the man who owns the house and continued inside. She just stared at the man she could think of how to form words. All she did was stare at him then looked away. Nellie was still completely afraid of him. As soon as he left she sat in the corner and cried. Great I'm in nowhere land my sister is home or somewhere safe I hope, I'm stuck here for lord only knows how long. And now I'm alone this keeps getting better and better. she thought as she continued to cry.

[Pyro]

Will drove about halfway back to the city to get rid of the car. He pulled it into a gas station and parked it. He went to the station's pay phone and called Tom to pick him up at the bus stop two blocks away. Tom was good with Will's situations. He never asked too many questions and always did his best to help, no matter what happened. He even gave Will advice sometimes. He wasn't fond of Will's living habits but he understood the need. Many times he offered to board him in the loft but Will always declined.
"I don't ever want to impose," he would always say. But Tom firmly declared his doors were infinitely open to his friend. And for that Will was eternally grateful.

Tom picked Will up at the rendezvous point about twenty minutes later, as promised. Neither spoke the entire drive back to Tom's house, both leaving the emergency situation as calm as they could manage. When they arrived at the house, Will sincerely thanked his friend once again before climbing up into the loft to speak to his unwilling and unwanted hostage.

(sorry for mini-hiatus ^^; )

[Shani]

Nellie began to calm herself down. He'll be back any minute. So calm down and hopefully he'll leave you alone. She thought. When she stopped crying she stood up and walked around a bit. Then went over to where the mini kitchen was. She opened the little fridge and saw a few unopened water bottles, they were warm because it wasn't plugged in, but that was alright. She was thirsty and needed something to drink, water also normally calmed her down. She was right, he had returned. Nellie heard him coming back up, so she quickly went back over to the corner.

(OOC; That's alright sorry for my short reply.)