A Dangerous Accident

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth’s body trembled as it tried to recover from the attack her subconscious went through. It was the perfect storm, metaphorically speaking at least. The past nightmares, the horrors they had been through only through over the past couple days. How many times would they have to escape death? The usually cheery, and happy Beth was overtaken, likely just from the general soreness and how weak she felt.

[member="Cleru"] pulled her into his arms, and she did not resist. There were few other places she’d ever want to be at. She leaned her head against his, her body finally ending its trembles. “I… I’m sorry,” she said quietly as her breathing returned normal. “I love you. If we don’t make it through this, I want you to know I love you so much,” she said in a whisper as she relaxed more against him.

The storm outside ended, only leaving the smell of rain and wet grass.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"We're gonna make it through this, okay?" He whispered gently, his grip around her tightening. Like hell he would loose her here. Not if he had anything to say about it. "I love you too." Cleru really did. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead, his hand still running through her hair as soothingly as he could. [member="Beth Cadera"] was the only thing that mattered to him. If he couldn't protect her, he'd never let himself leave this planet.

"Come on, lets get you back to sleep. We're gonna have to sleep in shifts so nothing sneaks up on us."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth finally let herself truly relax for the first time in days in his arms. She enjoyed the tightening of his arms around her, the safety it entailed. She wasn’t sure if she believed that they’d make it through. But… She had to stay strong, right? Life was never fair, and they had a chance to get off the planet. Somehow. She only hoped he knew how much he mattered to her, how much he had her heart. How much love she had for @Cleru. How she’d do anything for him.

“I’m… Not sure if I can go back asleep. You want to get some rest?” She admitted softly. After that… There was no way she could go back to sleep. It’d be impossible at this point. Mostly because she was just too scared to go back to sleep at this point. At least she knew what she was facing awake, she didn’t have that luxury in her dreams.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"No, I can't sleep either. After the other day spent sleeping I'm just.. Wide awake." He chuckled a bit, trying to make light of their situation. If they couldn't smile and laugh, this would be that much harder for them. "So, we could talk. Think. Plan. Or just distract ourselves." He whispered to [member="Beth Cadera"] , still running a hand through her hair. No, thinking. Planning. They needed a break from that. He lifted her chin up with a hand. They needed a distraction. Without another word he leaned down, brushing his lips to hers.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth woke the next morning sore but happy. Things were bad, but. Things would get better. They were already in a better position than they were and she actually got some sleep. Did [member="Cleru"] get any, though? After the nightmares, and their distraction... She had slept almost all night, at least after the nightmare. Ugh, she needed to pull more of her weight. It wasn't fair.

Beth sat up on the bed quickly at the realization. Her body cramped some, although she mostly felt okay. Stretch, breath, and move. She ran her hand through her hair. Ugh... They really needed to get to that lake so they could get a bath. And so she could hopefully reach someone.

"Cleru?" She asked quietly as she put her boots back on, creeping out of the bedroom and towards the living room. She glanced at the bruise on her arm from where the creature tried to bite her. She took a breath as she she paused infront of a mirror in the hallway. She looked... Terrible. One hand went up to her eye, which was black. Gods help.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"I'm here." Cleru called out from the kitchen where he was trying to make something out of the cans of food they had gotten. He hadn't slept at all, choosing to stay awake after their distraction. Someone needed to keep watch, and he couldn't bring himself to rouse [member="Beth Cadera"] after she finally was able to sleep after her nightmare. He glanced up from the pot where he was simmering down the tomato sauce to something more edible.

"Got some breakfast. We're should be able to get to the lake by the end of the day, but we gotta keep up our strength, y'know?" He seemed in relatively good cheer, and for obvious reasons. Their distraction was exactly what he needed.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

The irrational anxiety subsided after she heard [member="Cleru"] call back. He was in the kitchen. She cracked a smile as she walked into the kitchen, her arms crossed. Of course he was in the kitchen. Beth walked over and wrapped her arms around his chest - similar to that night in Csilla. She leaned her head against his back. "Did you get any sleep?" She asked gently as she began to smell the tomato things.

"It's something... Has to be better than how it was before," she confessed after a moment of thought. Really, she hoped it was just bad food and it just wasn't what the species actually ate prior to their destruction. "Let's hope we can... I really would like a bath. And try to finally connected with someone," she confessed although she still hadn't really thought about who or how she could.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"Cleaning in the lake would be nice. As nice as the dirt coat as become, I'd like to be blue again." He chuckled as he poured the sauce back into their cans and handed one to [member="Beth Cadera"] . It was.. Something, yeah. Might be better. He started eating his own, leaning against the counter as he shook his head. "No, no sleep. I was trained for that sort of thing. So it's nothin' to worry about." He gave her a warm smile before turning fully to the food. He wanted to get on moving as soon as he possibly could.

"It'll be good when you can connect with someone. That's really gonna be our only way out of this."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth gave a nod as she rested on his back. "I just don't want to smell," she said sheepishly with a sigh as she left go of [member="Cleru"] as she took the can of saucey tomato. It definitely smelled better. Beth plopped herself up on the counter as she poured some of the sauce into her mouth. Her eyes drifted ahead of her as she stared at the wall for a moment. "I... You're sleeping tonight," she said firmly. "I'm trained for this too.. I-I'm sorry I was weak last night," she said quietly.

She had let it get to her, when she shouldn't had. She had no excuse. She took a breath as she nodded, giving him a weak smile. "Yeah... And the sooner, the better. I don't exactly know how it'd work, either," she admitted with a sigh. She could only hope they'd someone be able to pinpoint her through some magic? It was risking a lot but... They had no other choice.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"You weren't weak. You needed the sleep." He gave [member="Beth Cadera"] an encouraging smile. It was his own choice to let her sleep, and he didn't regret it. He continued to spoon the sauce into his mouth, quickly downing what was left. It wasn't terrible at least. He set the can on the counter, moving to where Beth was sitting to wrap his arms around her. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it. You're pretty strong." If last night had shown anything at least. Her strength could warp the weather on a whim. Imagine if she could control it.

He gently kissed her forehead before pulling back, checking his gun. He didn't have much left, that was clear. It was likely he'd use up the remaining charges before they made it to the lake. Hopefully there wouldn't be a need for it after that. Once she was finished eating Cleru offer a hand to help her down from the counter, smiling. "We got this."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth gave a 'yeah, right' look to @Cleru. She hadn't meant it in a disrespectful way. She was just disappointed in herself. The nightmare, the longn sleep when he had to stay awake doing... Nothing fun, that's for sure. Terrified by himself? But Beth couldn't mope, no. She had to get herself into the game. Shee smiled as he came over and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace.

She took his hand as she jumped down. She quickly finished her sauce as she went and grabbed their pack of supplies. She searched the house once more for anything they may have missed. She gave him a nod as she squeezed his hand.

The walk was long, still. And it felt like the sun was bearing down on them for their walk. The only good thing was that as they predicted the creepy mutated people seemed to fade away as they made it closer to the spot.

Regrettably for them, they also ran into a horde - but also, what looked like survivors. Beth practically pushed Cleru off the street and into the dense brush that was beside them. "Look," she said with a somewhat parched throat. "Is it... Them? Look at how many of those running ones are chasing them. It's almost like a pack." she said with a frown. The survivors were running towards them, which made Beth nervous but they finally got to see what the alien race looked like. And... Goddess, they weren't going to make it. The runners were closing in, fast.

She gripped Cleru's arms with her eyes wide. "They don't have a chance.."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

I don't know why it keeps doing this >_< duplicate

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

Finding less and less gave Cleru hope that the lake might be free of the zombielike figures that they continually began evading as they wandered through the city. What he had learned proved incredibly useful for conserving ammo, he hardly ever needed to fire a shot. Instead, he snuck up on their foes that got in the way and executed them with a well placed knife stab.

But all was not well. It wasn't that they were running into less and less. It was the zombies had formed into a horde, and were hunting. Hunting a group of survivors. [member="Beth Cadera"] didn't need to tell him twice. He ducked into the bushes alongside her, sweat already dripping down his brow. They might be able to outrun the horde if they had to, but that would only lead them to the lake. And if they were caught..

He put a finger to Beth's lips, his eyes focusing on hers for a brief moment. They needed to be quiet. Slowly the finger came down as he stared back out at the survivors. They.. Weren't fast enough. Within moments of making it to the bush the first scream could be heard. The first, blood curling scream of a woman being torn to pieces in pure agony. Was this what Melisa had gone through? The Chiss tightened his hands on his gun. They couldn't get away, not without being seen by the runners.

They had to wait till they were all eating.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth had never felt her stomach dropped so fast as when she saw the group. They had tried to escape and... They hid. There was too many, there was no way they could help. Was there? These people risked extinction and here... They were going to watch them die.

She heard the first scream from the small group of survivors. She put a hand over her mouth, a small scream escaping her own lips, as the screams radiated across the land. Their ears could hear the flesh being ripped, torn, and thrown about. The crying whimpers of life being smothered out as they hid in their bushes.

Beth eyes burned with tears as she kept her hand over her mouth, not trusting herself. The next scream came from a younger voice. "Mom, no, remember me, mom," he whimpered out before what Beth could only assume was a mother killing her son. A piercing, heart wrenching scream.

It was a few minutes later as Beth stared towards the street as the runners seemed to continue to bite on the deceased, although it seemed as though they had perhaps gotten bored. There was no way to transmit the parasite now? The peoples lifeless bodies on the ground, ripped into a million pieces. They were barely recognizable...

This... This was a nightmare they couldn't wake up from. Beth held onto her pistol that she took from the store, her hands visibly shaking. "I..." She whispered, unable to complete her sentence.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

As soon as [member="Beth Cadera"] let out her own scream Cleru wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his own hand atop hers. She needed to be quiet if they were going to survive. Hearing the screams.. It reminded him of the Vong. Of the experiments. He watched in horror as the monsters began tearing apart every single person they got their hands on. Not a single one survived.

He felt her tears wash over his hand, and there was nothing he could say. Or do. This was.. So wrong. Once they began.. Eating, Cleru lowered his hand from her mouth. Without a word he took her hand in his and began leading her away. They needed to get away. Fast. Now.

Silently he led her away, continuing to the lake. The Horde had all of the infected in the area with them, so they didn't run into anything more. It was.. The only good thing about what happened. Cleru squeezed Beth's hand. Hard. He didn't know what to say.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth felt his hand over hers, his other arm wrapped around her. But, it didn't help. The soft, quiet sobs as she watched them die would be baked into her mind. And his. They'd have to live with that... Sight, for the rest of their lives. This place would be a harsh, never ending memory for them. Beth hardly noticed as he moved his hand away and took hers in his.

For a second, Beth found she couldn't move. She felt paralyzed. After a few seconds of him tugging, her legs finally functioned. She stood and walked, albeit numbly behind him. He said nothing and she said nothing. She gripped his hand hard back. Focus on [member="Cleru"], Beth, just focus on keeping him alive.

Beth could see the pond in the distance. Just a few more minutes, and a little more after that to get to the house they had spotted. They could bunker up, bath, and maybe find a way to get off the planet. Beth froze, though, as she stared at the pond and lake. "I'm sorry we're stuck out here," she said quietly as they came up to it. "Stupid Hapes idea... I'm so sorry."

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

He still said nothing, even as they stood by the water. Even as [member="Beth Cadera"] apologized. Cleru just squeezed her hand, hard, and pulled her into a hug. He just needed to forget the moment for a while. Just hold her. They seemed to be safe for the moment, so he let his guard down and just buried his face in her shoulder. He needed a minute, that much was clear. Finally, he pulled away.

"It's not your fault." He whispered, pressing his forehead against Beth's. "I love you." Cleru tried to smile, but he couldn't. Not now. Instead he took her hand back in his own to lead her to the house. They needed to at least bunker down before they could really decompress. He lifted his gun as he neared the building and went through it quickly to clear it. Nothing. The horde really had gathered them in the city.

"Clear. Come on."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth couldn't believe what they had witnessed. She knew [member="Cleru"] was suffering more than her. She kept hearing those screams. And the kid. That poor kid. She stared for a moment at the water before she looked to Cleru's red eyes. He may not want to admit it but they would never be in this situation if she hadn't encouraged the trip.

[member="Cleru"] pulled her into a hug. Beth obliged, wrapping her arms around his chest tightly but carefully. He buried his head on her shoulder. Beth simply held him close to her. A gentle rub of his back as she tried to think of what to say to make it better. But nothing would, would it? They would have to live with this...

She gave the weakest smile she ever had as their foreheads touched. "I love you, too," she whispered as she followed behind him into the abandoned home. It was empty. Dirty, with floral life growing all around but at least it was manageable. They could barricade part of the stairs to the upstairs, or at least make it hard to get too. Beth placed the cargo bag at the top of the stairs. "I'm going to try to find a bucket to get some water out of the lake to rinse off with. I think once I do that I can try." she stated after she stared at the house for a few seconds.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"Sounds like a plan." There was an odd cheeriness in Cleru's voice. He was forcing himself to look at the positive. He needed to. They had a place they could bunker down and more importantly a source of fresh water. He began finding things to barricade the upper portion of the house, anything to prepare for a possible attack by the fungal creatures. But hopefully that wouldn't become a problem.

Eventually he just found himself sitting by the window, staring out at the lake. He didn't know what to do anymore.

[member="Beth Cadera"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth squeezed his upper arm gently along with a weak smile. She could only assume he was trying to stay optimistic. [member="Cleru"] was doing a better job than Beth could do, and people often described her as the optimistic one. She hated that this was going to be something that plagued them, probably for the rest of their lives. At least they had each other, though. They could at least get through it together.

Beth left him in the home as she found a relatively clean bucket. A window overlooked the lake, where Beth used the bucket and water to finally scrub away the dirt, grime, and blood. There were no soaps or shampoo so it wasn't grand but... At least she got the yuck off. She used a piece of cloth to tie her hair into a loose, wet bun.

Then, she sat down on the porch as she stared at the lake. She let herself feel through the Force into the air around her. She didn't know who to focus on so she just tried to send some kind of message, some kind of sos to someone who could help. She didn't know who to reach but... Perhaps someone would. Someone could find them, somehow through her connection to the Force. She let herself reach out, despite it adding more and more fatigue to her. Having rarely done any type of mentalism, it was... Tiring, to say the least.

She wasn't sure how long it was but... She stopped trying, stood up, and reentered the house. She walked up to Cleru as he looked out the window with another smile. "You okay?" Of course he wasn't okay, and Beth's cheeks turned pink at the dumbness of the question. Why would he be okay? He couldn't be, kark she wasn't even remotely okay. "Sorry," she said quietly once more as she leaned against the wall next to the window.