fandomtownies | Near the park, Thursday evening

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Near the park, Thursday evening

Another night of dark and fog.

Another night of keeping watch near the camp to make sure nothing too dangerous came near.

Her recent memories weren't too bad, but anything that happened more then a month or so in the past was hazy at best.

Allie remembered enough, impressions mostly - a laugh, the wind in her face as she drove down a highway - It was enough to remind her things hadn't always been so bleak.

And that she hadn't always been so hungry.

But that seemed like a lifetime ago.

[She's hungry. But harmless if you're a human or friendly sort]

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Peter had never been great at sleeping through the night; call it habit. And when he was on alert - which was always these days - Allie's signature stood out against the backdrop of the island's currents like a beacon.

Sword on his back and gun and magic ready to hand, he strode out to her quietly. "Allie. How is it?"

"Quiet. For now at least," she replied.

"There's more life than there was," Peter said, keeping his voice low. "Dimensions converged. Now there's more people. Not hollow, I don't think. They feel...normal." He snorted. "As much as I remember what normal was anymore."

"Normal? What's that?"

For a second she had a flash of memory. A beer bottle, sliding across a bar top to a dark-haired man with a quiet smile. Maybe that was normal.

"Poor bastards. They probably don't have a clue what they're in for."

Edited 2016-12-08 21:45 (UTC)

"Probably not." Peter sighed. "I feel like I should find as many as I can and bring them back here. But then there's a part of me that says 'look out for your own coven first'." He glanced back toward the village.

Stupid as it was, he still always wanted to save everyone.

"But if some of them were strong to help keep watch and defend, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Or they could be helpless and a drain on what limited resources they were able to scrounge up. They had to play the odds.

"They'd still need more food and water," Peter said, grimacing.

Which wasn't a no. It really wasn't. But how much longer could any of them last when the resources ran out?

"We're supposed to be the good guys."

Weren't they?

"I know." Peter sighed and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "You'd think I'd be used to no easy answers by now."

"It's a way of life at this point. You should," Allie said.

"Yeah. But I'm stubborn." He gave her a wry smile. "Speaking of stubborn and food, how're you doing?"

Allie almost smiled at that. "Pot meet kettle. We're both nice shades of grubby."

"I'm fine. I can last another day or two."

Peter looked her over skeptically, then nodded. "Okay. Just don't let it go too long, though."

He might not feel it now, but he remembered what the hunger was like.

"I'm as good as it gets these days, so whenever." He sighed. "Unless I get myself killed hunting down the newbies."

Which yeah, okay, he was going to do it. He couldn't just let them get killed, after all.

"No. I know what'll happen if I do. And we have enough problems to deal with."

Allie would follow right along behind him, sword swinging. The perils of being a white hat.

"No getting killed. Who else would keep me company at night?"

There were a few answers to that, but none were exactly polite, and at least one would be downright mean, if truthful, so Peter just nodded. "No getting killed."

He caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, and knew Allie probably wouldn't be following after all. "I'll see you later."

She'd heard the shuffle of feet (http://fandomtownies.livejournal.com/7954645.html?thread=289676501#t289676501) and turned. "Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't get to close. I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah." Peter gave her a sad smile. "Take care."

It was evening. And when darkness came, that was the time that certain hollows wandered. It was his old patrol route, muscle memory pulling him along the path that he'd walked every night since he'd returned to the island, years and years ago. He looked worse for the wear, of course. Ages of wandering the same path had worn his boots down, and his leather duster was in tatters around him. His goggles remained, though. Before his memories had fled him entirely, he'd made damn sure his goggles would remain, and there were the scars on his face from desperately clawing at them later to prove it. There was a silver star on his chest as well, though he would've been the first to say that he didn't deserve it.

Or, well, he might have been, if he was even vaguely aware that it was there.

Allie looked up and sighed. Honestly, she'd been expecting him. But expecting didn't make it any easier.

She froze in place, grateful for that particular vampire skill that let her blend unobtrusively into the shadows until she chose to be noticed.

The Gorgon continued his patrol, continued his walk, ever vigilant, ever hungry. He hadn't shuttered his goggles in years, hadn't tasted the strength of another flowing into him since his mind started to go, but that didn't stop his patrol.

He had places to be. One foot in front of the other. Over and over and over again.

This was his forever. Until his body stopped wandering and found its new purpose, this was where he would be.

Walking.

Patrolling.

The thing of it was, Allie had walked those patrols with him countless times. She still walked those same paths some nights, but it was different doing it alone.

He was getting a little to close to the village for comfort, Allie realized. It would be better for everyone if she led him away.

"Hey Nick," she called quietly. "Up for a game of tag?"

Nikolai paused in his step, his head turning toward the sound that was made, toward the voice. There was something in that voice that always grabbed him, more thoroughly than most others. Something that always had him pausing, forgetting the patrol was only half through.

He crouched down faintly, all the better to give himself a running start.

Of course he would play tag.

One of these days, maybe he would even catch her.

Not as long as those goggles stayed on. Allie double checked them every time she crossed paths with him. The fact that he stayed powerless was the only reason she hadn't put the hollow that had once been the man she loved down for good.

The only reason.

Allie was pretty good at lying to herself.

"Catch me if you can," she called. Just ignore that break in her voice.

The Gorgon howled, a sound coming from his throat that was hungry and not altogether human, and he started to run. He didn't know the words that were called to him, no, but he knew that somebody saying them meant meat, and that thought alone was enough to push him forward.

This was so, so much worse than the things he'd left behind in L.A.

He wouldn't have wanted to become one of those, either.

Allie took off at a run, leading the Gorgon away from the vulnerable residents of the village, and into the ruined streets of town. She'd paused every few blocks, just to make sure he was still following her.

So long as he had sight of her, he'd follow her. It was the game they played, after all. Tag, since as long back as they'd known one another. Not that he remembered, of course. She ran, he gave chase. And if he could catch her, he'd savor his victory with teeth and blood and...

Of course it wouldn't work out that way. But what he didn't remember wouldn't hurt anybody, preferably.

Some nights Allie wondered why she tortured herself like this. Why she didn't just finish it for him. Deep in her heart she knew Nick wouldn't want to be like this. But she was afraid. She remembered him because she saw him almost daily. It helped her remember when he wasn't like this. When he'd been Nick and she'd been Allie and things had been hard, but still good. Until the night it all went to hell (http://allie-in-the-au.livejournal.com/521.html).

They were in the preserve now, safely away from town and any potential victims there. Allie scrambled through the trees, before finding one that was climbable. She clambered up and went still in the branches.

The Gorgon ran until he was at the base of the tree himself, coming to a stop, barely getting his hands up in time to catch himself before he would have gone careening into the trunk. He stood there for a moment, indulging in a moment of pure annoyance at the tree for daring to be in the way. And then he looked up.

His lips curled back into something not unlike a snarl. Come down, little mouse...

If Allie could hear his inner monologue she'd point out that she was a little bird, not a little mouse. At least according to the lunatic vampire that once tried to kill her and end the world.

"You won't just walk away will you?" she muttered. After a quick glance to judge the space between Nick and the tree, Allie jumped down and punched him straight in the jaw the instant her feet hit the ground.

Sorry Nick.

Yeah, Nick hadn't seen that one coming. He made another noise, something angry and distressed and pained, as he stumbled backward. His teeth cracked together hard with the contact, and then clacked hard again when he hit the ground.

One of these days, she was going to knock a molar out.

Allie would feel really bad about it if she did.

On guard, Allie approached him slowly.

Out cold or playing chicken?

Dazed, mostly. He lay there for a few moments more before stirring, groaning in pain and trying to roll over so that he could stand up again.

A smarter man would know to stay down, Nick.

He was stubborn, Allie would give him that.

Knowing she only had a few seconds, she zipped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling them tight enough to cut off his airway just long enough to knock him out.

"Can you just not be stubborn for once?"

Fat chance of that one, Allie. Stubborn was kind of Nick's thing. He put up a struggle, though he might as well have been a kitten in her arms between her strength and the smack she'd given him a moment before. And struggling didn't exactly help with the oxygen situation, either.

It wasn't long at all before he was going limp in her arms. And this time, it wasn't just because he was dazed.

The instant he went limp, Allie released her hold and carefully checked over the goggles Nick had fixed in place once he'd realized he was losing himself to whatever it was that caused this horror.

She couldn't help but winch at the sight of the scratches on his face, but fortunately the goggles were still secure. She could put off the inevitable one more day.

Running her fingers over the sheriff's star, she checked that it was securely fastened. It was as much a part of Nick as the goggles, and she didn't want to see it get lost somewhere in the ruins of town.

"I miss you," Allie said quietly. "And I was wrong that night. I should have let you make that big gesture that night. Say the words. I thought if you didn't, maybe it wouldn't hurt as much. I was wrong. I'm sorry about that." She pressed a gentle kiss to Nick's forehead before getting to her feet. He'd be waking up soon and it was better for them both if she was long gone.

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Near the park, Thursday evening

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