Harmonia was quiet as they returned to the biting cold, loading the clothes into the back of the van and heading over to her car. She hoped the sudden change in weather didn't mess with it somehow... but it had only been a night so- it was probably fine.
She looked under the car and under the hood, a bit anxious about any creepy crawlies possibly hiding in it, but when she was certain it was fine she unlocked it and got in, quickly starting the car and turning up the heat to try and help defrost everything. She wanted to bring up how detached Claire seemed to be to the horrors around them but Harmonia was afraid of offending or upsetting her. Maybe it was a coping mechanism? Or maybe she did care, she just didn't show it well? She hadn't known her lover all that long but she didn't want to lose her. Not in a place like this.
Claire had deposited all her new clothes in her van, nervous about leaving Roxy alone in there for all the wrong reasons. She swiftly got in the car with Harmonia, letting out a soft sigh.
"Walmart now?" Claire asked with a smile, looking at Harmonia.
Harmonia nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this thing." She moved the car into drive, carefully trying to maneuver around any corpses, making sure Roxy was following as they drove to the Wal-Mart. She kept an eye out for anything suspicious, but soon they arrived without issue. She pulled the car to the door, parked it, and got out. "I should probably have one of the guns, right?"
"Probably!" Claire smiled as she got out and nervously watched Roxy park behind them. "I've got mine on me. Roxy's got some in the van if you need it."
"I um... I have to admit... I have no idea how to use it." Harmonia said, walking over to the van, opening the back, and looking for a handgun before taking one.
"I can teach you!" Claire exclaimed as she followed her closely, holding her hand.
Harmonia smiled at that. "Id like that... We'd just have to be careful that we don't attract anything to us. Maybe after we get supplies?"
"Sure!" Claire gave Harmonia a soft grin.
Harmonia grinned back, squeezing her hand as they entered the Wal-Mart. She looked around, holding the gun before heading into the food aisles, loading the cart with canned food and anything that would last a while.
Claire had to hold herself back from the clothes. She wondered for just a second, does Walmart sell wine?, but quickly brushed that thought away as she imagined the awful quality of Walmart wine. The lights flickered slightly.
Harmonia looked up. "What was that?" She asked, clearly on edge despite how small of a disturbance it was.
"I dunno," Claire muttered, taking some chocolates and marshmallows as she breathed heavily. She looked up to Harmonia. "I could really go for some smores when we get home..."
Harmonia smiled. "We could do them on the stove or microwave? I don't think trying to do a fire outside is a good idea right now... smoke signals and stuff. Do you know how to build a fire? I... I don't..."
"I do! I've had to build them before." Claire said softly as one of the overhead lights a few aisles away fell.
"Okay- we need to get some lighter fluid and stuff then too-" Harmonia said softly to herself as the cart started to fill. "Damn... we'll need another one.." She looked up, flinching when the light fell. "Fuck- that scared me..."
"I can gather some of that, yeah!" Claire smiled. "I'm sure finding wood to burn won't be an issue."
There was silence for a brief moment, aside from soft crunching a few aisles away that could be easily explained by an animal or just another person.
Harmonia froze, letting go of the cart. She grabbed her gun, holding the handle as tight as possible as she slowly creeped into the aisle, trying to see what it was, Claire following close behind.
There was something crouched down by the fallen light, facing away from the two. It looked like a person, although their skin was dark grey with red undertones and cracked all over. They had little bits of red crystals poking out of them every now and then, and some drops of a black liquid in some of the cracks on their body.
They had black hair, and what appeared to be cracked red horns. They wore a large jacket and seemed to be trying to use a lighter for... something. They were grumbling. Every flick of the lighter, pieces of their fingers would come off.
Harmonia tilted her head, watching it for a moment but not trying to disturb it. She figured this had to be a demon... and despite her fear, she was curious. What were they doing? She shifted a bit, only to accidentally bump into a shelf, something falling as a result. Fuck.
The demon turned to look at Harmonia, but just its head. She could see its face now. Vaguely reptilian, open on the left side, like a shattered geode. What would be exposed flesh looked like a beautiful red gemstone, but... it was pulsating. As though it was in pain, trying to heal. It only had one eye, on the uninjured side of its face and its mouth also looked reptilian, curled into a smile against its will. It was open, and it had white teeth that looked razor-sharp, much like an alligator's.
Its odd appearance mixed with its demeanor gave Harmonia an odd sense of dread as it looked over her in an oddly analytical fashion, mostly focusing on the gun. Its breathing slowed as a soft red mist formed around it, barely noticeable.
Harmonia's eyes widened in fear as she immediately turned around, grabbing Claire's hand, and starting to run. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck-" She muttered, shaking as she ran through the next aisle.
Claire managed to keep pace with Harmonia, seeming really not too perturbed. "We should probably find somewhere to hide.."
The demon slowly stood up, trembling slightly as it turned its full body. It let out a low growl, red mist exhaling from its mouth. Every movement it made was accompanied by a cracking sound and lights flickering. It started its pursuit slowly, but quickly picked up speed.
Harmonia turned into another aisle, hoping to stay out of its line of sight. "W-where? I don't want to corner us-"
"Maybe... the clothing area? That place is like a maze within a maze." Claire smiled softly, thinking about all the wonderful sales these days... as she did so, the two could hear the monster crashing into shelves, thrashing around. It's clearly registered the two of them as prey. One shelf soon crashed down a few aisles away.
Harmonia quickly nodded, trying to quiet her running as they headed into the clothing aisles, crouching down to try and blend in. Claire joined her in a different clothing rack so that they were not as obvious.
The noise continued for a few moments and then seemed to stop briefly.
Until a loud pop was heard. No, no a pop doesn't sound right, more of a booming noise. Harmonia and Claire both could see flames a few aisles away, ones rising to the top of the ceiling before swiftly dying down to a more manageable level.
The demon could be seen walking out of the flames, covered in a slick silver liquid, which seemed to hold it together better. It slowly turned its head to the clothing.
Claire, upon seeing the liquid, grabs Harmonia and starts booking it for the hardware aisle. "We need to move fast."
Harmonia followed, shaking as they ran, holding her hand close and praying to whoever would listen that they'd survive this.
The two quickly made it to the hardware aisle and Claire grabbed two respirators, quickly unboxing them and putting one on Harmonia and then the other on herself.
"Okay, okay, uhh... do you have your gun? It's okay if you don't, I have mine, uhh..." Claire stumbled over her words as shelves began crashing down and the flames seemed to move closer, the cracking of rocks and squelching of the liquid accompanying them.
Harmonia nodded, shaking as she turned, the demon now in view again as she took aim and tried to pull the trigger- but the safety was still on. Fuck. The demon ran toward them, inching closer as it appeared that death was imminent until-
Bang.
A shot rings out, echoing it's piercing sound throughout the large building. A bullet flies into the creature's head, the bullet coming from behind it, down at the other end of the aisle.
The head shattered into bits and pieces of rock, much like a geode, causing the thing to fall and break more. The flames had definitely died down, but the mercury continued to leak out as the heated rock failed to cool. In what remained of the head, now scattered across the floor of the aisle, there seemed to have been thin tissue inside, muscle, with blood vessels and the like. The blood poured out and mixed with the mercury, as well as a little bit of a third substance, a sticky black liquid that seemed to be viscous.
Claire breathed heavily in her respirator, not realizing how tight she'd been holding Harmonia's wrist. It didn't hurt too bad, not enough for Harmonia to notice in the rush of adrenaline, but it did definitely hurt.
"C-Claire- my wrist-" Harmonia said shakily, her breaths heavy as well. She stared at the corpse of the creature, both horrified and curious, starting to slowly lead them around the corpse, giving it a decent amount of space to avoid touching any of it and starting to walk toward their savior.
"H-hello?" She called out, trying to get a good look at them.
Claire loosened her grip as she followed, movements slightly stiff. She wasn't shaking, but she was definitely off. The whole situation seemed to scare her.
Behind the smoldering body stood the barrel of a gun, probably a hunting rifle. The person wielding it was an older man, hairline far receded and gray. There were wrinkles ever present on his face from long years of thick furrowed brows and focus. He saw the two women, and his aim hesitated, before dropping the gun down to his sides.
"What're you two doing out?" His voice was stern, almost as if accosting a child for breaking the rules.
"O-Oh..my god-" A young woman called out from behind the older man, carrying a crowbar as she couldn't help but stare down at the "corpse," not truly believing her eyes "Oh- it's dead, it's dead, oh- okay-" She took a small step back, still giving a sigh as she looked to the women. "Thank goodness you're alright..!!"
A third person followed though he seemed a fair bit grumpier. He looked to be college-aged, a mess of mid-length black hair obscured by a beanie. Square glasses perched on his nose, and he wore a surprisingly bright-colored shirt the crimson incredibly clear. There even seemed to be an unfamiliar insignia on his chest? He stomped forward with boots and a few knives strapped to his belt. He looked down at the body in indifference. “Yeah- you’re lucky it didn’t get you. These fuckers are always a pain-“
"Just trying to get supplies-" Harmonia said quickly, clearly nervous about the man with a gun. "Um- thank you by the way- we were almost goners for a second there..." She said with a shaky smile.
"I'm Harmonia by the way,," she extended her hand to whoever wanted to take it first.
Claire still seemed vaguely shaky, holding her respirator on tight. Her eyes darted between the three of them as the flames died down.
She said nothing.
The old man narrowed his eyes, keeping the gun up towards the two women. His stance is firm, and clearly practiced, with no shaking. He was prepared to kill these two if necessary. "My pleasure. Now I suggest you get out of here. For one, it's dangerous, and along with it, I don't quite fancy strangers wandering around when the world's gone to shit."
"Nonono, wait, please-" The young woman began to start.. she appeared similarly collage-aged, her hair being brown, tainted a faded pink from an old dye. She was shaky, unkempt, with dark circles under her eyes, as she quickly grabbed Harmonia's hand and shook it firmly. "M..my name is Tess. It's nice to meet you, Harmonia, it's so great to actually see more people!"
The younger man’s eyes ended up just darting all over, trying to take in every detail of Claire and Harmonia. One hand remained shoved in his pocket, the other lingering over the knife strapped to his side. He glared at Tess, “Well, we aren’t exactly trying to make a friendship club here. Yeah- I’d suggest you get on your way, run off to some other Walmart or whatever.”
"Seriously??" Harmonia responded, appalled by the way the men were acting. "The worlds gone to shit and you have no compassion for your fellow man? We're just getting supplies so, you know, we don't die??" Harmonia bit back. "Are you all family or something? What are you here for??" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the man fingering his knife. "Who knows how many people died yesterday, we shouldn't fucking fight each other when we all want to survive." She held Claire's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.
Claire was gently tugging at the straps of her respirator despite wanting to keep it on for her safety. She knew mercury fumes were bad, which is why she put it on in the first place, but it felt so, so bad to have one on again. Sacrilegious, almost.
The older man didn't take much credence to Harmonia, but when he saw Tess step up he sighed, before lowering his rifle. "Tess, we can't just pick up any strays we find. I swear, if they tag along, they're the last. And what are we here for? What are you here for? Can't be here for much." His voice was gruff and annoyed, but not angry.
Tess couldn't help but flinch, fiddling with her sleeves as the handshake broke apart and the others continued "Okay-.. okay, I promise! They're the last- if they're open to coming along, don't want to force them, of course-" The entire situation was stressful. Even if what Harmonia said wasn't directed at her, it was clear she still held some sort of guilt.
"We're not.. family though, we just really have each other's backs and everything.."
The younger man looked back at Harmonia, eyes narrowed. He didn’t stop holding onto the knife, “I never said I was gonna fight. You got to be prepared, I’m surprised you haven’t learned that-“
He looked back over to Tess and Charles, “You realize more people probably just means more problems?”
Harmonia crossed her arms. "We're just looking for supplies- Walmart was the first thing I thought of, okay?" She huffed a bit. "Are you all part of a group then? Right now it's just me, Claire," She motioned to her, "And Roxy, who's waiting outside." She paused. "And my cat."
Claire stood rather stiffly, still not saying anything and just tugging at the straps of her respirator.
...She was silent until uttering a soft, "Can we leave?" She pointed to the mercury leaking out of the monster's carcass.
The older man glared at the younger one "I'm dragging you along, aren't I?" He looked down towards the leaking corpse and nodded. "Let's get out of here, yeah. Safer to talk outside."
Tess made no comment, clearly nervous and sticking to the sidelines now, not wanting to put up any protest to further increase the tensions... "Right- yes. we should make our way out.." She nods, starting to head for the exit herself.
The younger man raised his eyebrow at the elder's comment but didn’t respond. He followed the rest of them out, “Sure, why not. No need to be staring at a corpse-“
Harmonia sighed, taking the lead as they headed back to her cart, grabbing it and moving out of the building. She shivered as she entered the cold winter air, though she was glad for it since she had been sweating from the chase.
"So- how'd you guys meet?" She asked with a tilt of her head, taking off her respirator.
As they left the building, Claire finally took off her respirator, rushing to her van and tossing it in the back. A slight yelp could be heard as she did so, but it was overall ignored as Claire returned to the group.
The older man stepped out, clicking the safety on his rifle and slinging it over his shoulder, before offering a rough, worn hand to Harmonia.
“I'm Charles. Nice to meet you. We three met while I was doing rounds of the city to assess the situation, and we took shelter on the local campus for the night.”
“Adrian-“ said the younger man, not offering out his own hand. He wasn’t really adding to the conversation, more so just sulking like a loser.
Harmonia takes Charles's hand, shaking it. "I see- Is there a lot of people there or just you guys?" She asked a bit curiously. If it was a bigger group she didn't mind taking shelter with them a bit... it would likely be easier than being alone.
Claire stayed silent, debating on whether or not it was her turn to talk. She briefly opened her mouth, intending to say something, before realizing Harmonia had just asked Charles a question, so she just said nothing, holding Harmonia's free hand and gently leaning on her.
Charles's eyes wandered some, generally just keeping a strong watch of their surroundings,
"We've got a larger group back at the college, it's where most survivors in the city are holed up, I think. It's not at all organized, not yet at least."
"Have you had any issues with intruders?" Claire asked, vaguely attempting to cover her mouth as she spoke. Not enough to muffle her, just enough to hide her fairly obvious fangs.
Tess shook her head lightly, messing with her hair just a bit as she loosely follows the conversation
"Not really-... Not that I heard of."
After what Charles said, Adrian muttered, “Yeah, it’s kind of a clusterfuck.” He listened for a bit saying after Tess, “Not yet- just figuring shit out. Let’s hope it’ll stay that way.”
Harmonia nodded, listening carefully. "I see... um... we could try and help? As much as I love my house I think living with a group is probably more sustainable for the future..." She admitted softly. "I can bring what I can from home? We'd have to be careful though... to avoid more demons." She explained softly, holding Claire's hand.
“There’s certainly enough room there, so that's no issue. And as long as you bring your own rations, that’s better. We don’t have an organized supply chain, and won’t for a bit.”
There was a slight raise of an eyebrow, amused by what Harmonia called the creature he shot.
Tess nodded along, staying where she was. "Yeah! We need all the people- and resources- and stuff-... we can get!"
Adrian didn’t seem that excited- but in general it was hard to tell if he could even BE excited. Ever. “As long as you’re not dragging us down, do whatever I guess. It’s your life.”
Harmonia nodded, listening. "I can bring my cat, right? I'm not leaving him behind... but yeah, I tried cooking and preparing the perishable foods while the ovens are still working- but I have some basic ideas for stuff? Like maybe a cafeteria set up for rations? And maybe we could get power through solar panels... but wed need an electrician or something." Harmonia admitted, thinking about it. "You're just at the community college?"
“Slow down there slugger. I like your ambition but let's find you a room first, introduce you to some people, get you acquainted with the space. And yes, the community college, really not too far from here. I assume you both drove?” Charles's eyes wouldn't stop drifting, checking surroundings, shadows, and corners, eyeing it all with suspicion rather than straight vigilance.
“You said you had a cat?” Adrian redirected with a raised eyebrow, “If you deal with the food and stuff… that wouldn’t be bad to have around.”
Harmonia nodded. "Yeah- I can feed him,," she said quietly. "So uh... do we wanna drive over or should we get our stuff to move over there or?" She wasn't exactly sure what to do. She didn't want to leave her house but... it would be safer with others. She could go back to her house to tidy things up too... it'd be fine.
"I think we should go back and get some things, yeah. We already cooked some food, that would be useful to have..." Claire sighed, tapping her foot.
Charles nodded, "I assume you both know where to go to find the college. If so, we're gonna be off. Not a good idea to linger around here."
Tess gave a small nod in agreement.
“Yeah- I don’t want to deal with this shit,” Adrian said bluntly, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder and making sure his knife was sheathed well, “Let’s go.”
Harmonia nodded. "Alright. Well go home and get our stuff then meet you there." It probably wouldn't be her only trip home... honestly, she felt terrified to leave it- to move in with strangers but... it would be safer. Much safer than living in her house... but her heart ached at the thought of it laying empty. She got into her car, took a deep breath, and tried to focus. She'd tell Roxy about the situation once they got home... then they'd deal with it from there.
Claire got into the car as well, shaking softly. "Bwuh. I kind of hated that." She looked at Harmonia. "We're really gonna go with them?"
Harmonia sighed. "I... I think its a better idea then being alone?"
"I guess, yeah." Claire huffed softly. She didn't seem very upset, despite her tone. She kind of always sounded like that whenever she wasn't in an actively joyful mood. Resting bitch voice, maybe...
Harmonia took her hand, squeezing it before it returned back to the wheel. "We'll get through this... I promise.."
Claire sighed softly, looking at the rear view mirror and watching as Roxy turned on the van behind them.
Getting home and packing the important items and supplies took some time. It would be a couple hours before Harmonia finally loaded Jello into a carrier and into her car, looking solemnly at the house she grew up in.
"I'll be back... I promise..." She said softly, holding that promise close to her heart. It would be her home again, once it was safe. She glanced at Claire and Roxy, before getting into the driver's seat, looking at Claire. "I guess this is it, huh? This is the apocalypse?"
"Well, I wouldn't say this is it. Ever read the bible? It's gonna come in stages." Claire looked out the window at the cloudy red sky. "May take a bit. But that does give us a chance to do something about it."
Harmonia sighed, her hands shaking as she gripped the wheel, following Claire's gaze. "Do you think we can actually stop it somehow?:
"Probably. It's happened before. It'll happen again." Claire looked back to Harmonia. "It's not that hard to stop. Shouldn't be, at least. I mean, can't say I didn't see it coming. The signs were all there. War. Plague. Global warming. Too blinded by distractions to see the planet dying, too worried about the wrong things... humanity never changes."
Harmonia stares at the horizon, her breath shaky. "You said it's happened before? When?" She wondered how Claire knew all this... and if she was right. She didn't want to doubt her but- she had no idea how this woman would know all this information that most people wouldn't. Still, she put her faith in the one person she hoped she could trust.
"A long, long time ago." Claire sighed, tapping her knees with her index fingers. "Do you believe the book of Revelation is a retelling of events or a prediction of what's to come?"
"Uh..." Harmonia looked at Claire, confused. "I guess neither? I never thought about it before... or really read the Bible, honestly..."
"It's both." Claire gazed out the window. It had started to lightly snow again. The cloudy, red sky fell into an ashy pink haze.
"Oh..." Harmonia frowned. "But someone stopped it once... so we just have to do it again?"
"It's not that they stopped it. They cut it short. Delayed it. Adapted to the changes.." Claire huffed. "Seems like those on the other side of the coin did the same. Adapted, I mean."
"Oh." Harmonia swallowed, shaking a bit as she gripped the steering wheel, as if it could save her from the truth. "So... just got to do what's never been done before and save the world." She took a shaky breath in, the frigid air stinging her throat. "Sounds simple enough," she commented bitterly.
"It's complicated. There's a lot of moving parts. I want to figure things out first before making any moves." Claire looked up to the sky as the college came closer into view. "I wonder who's at the front."
"The Devil?" Harmonia half-guessed, half-joked. "I mean.. who else?"
Claire smirked and looked at Harmonia. "So they really don't teach demonology in schools?"
Harmonia glanced at her, blushing and looking away. "If they do, I didn't take that class..."
"It's okay!" Claire gently tapped Harmonia's nose. "I've got time to teach you."
Harmonia blushed harder, giggling a little. "Alright, missy... I'll be waiting."
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