When they come across the third zombie, Jordan has stopped freezing up. Instead, he holds the bat in front of himself, staying steady and waiting for Sebastian to require assistance. He’s not going to go barging in unless he thinks he can actually help, unless he thinks Sebastian actually needs it, but he stays ready just in case. His breathing is labored, though, and his hands shake around the bat.
Still. He stays ready.
Sebastian is a vision when he fights zombies; he doesn’t hesitate, waiting until they’re close enough and then ruthlessly swings his bat. There are no unnecessary movements, no waste of energy. Everything has a purpose, every motion part of a plan. He is violent in the way he swings though, the force behind his blows striking the zombies harshly and almost always dropping them on the first try. Then he hits them over the head again, until they stop moving.
The violence leaves Jordan breathless, but he knows its necessary. Knows that he can’t protest this, that he needs to train himself out of seeing these corpses as humans. Because otherwise… how will he kill them without destroying himself?
”Are you okay?” Sebastian asks as the zombie finally falls silent. Jordan tears his gaze away from it and looks up at the other man. Sebastian is splattered with blood, his bat a mess and his clothes, too. As Jordan watches, Sebastian wipes his face with his forearm, spreading the blood on his chin wider, only succeeding at making him look more dangerous. More wild. More uncontrolled.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
”I’m okay,” Jordan reassures him, lowering his bat and taking a deep, steadying breath. He smiles, a little crookedly, at Sebastian and says, ”We can keep going.”
Sebastian nods seriously and says, ”We’re almost there,” his eyes severe and uncompromising as he looks at the thoroughly dead corpse. Jordan’s eyes can’t help but follow his, and he sees the brain bits lying around the corpse. Rising a hand to cover his mouth, his clenches his teeth together and hums. Sebastian looks at him, says, ”Let’s get going again,” and together they do.
They’re still in the midst of the labyrinth surrounding Sebastian’s house; an utter maze of houses squeezed into narrow areas. They’re all old, these houses. Brick walls and ancient windows cover the sky.
In the end, it doesn’t take them more then fifteen minutes to reach their destination, even with the zombies hindering their path.
Arriving at a door painted a bright pink, Sebastian leads the way up the steps. He knows with his fist, thumping on the wood three times, then stepping back to gaze down at Jordan. Eyeing Jordan’s tight grip on his bat, Sebastian frowns a little, then says, ”Don’t worry. Mrs. Jane is very kind.”
Jordan bobs his head, then stares at the stone below. It doesn’t take long after that for the door make noise as someone unlocks it, and at least now he knows it’s not a zombie on the other side. Sebastian hasn’t said anything about them being able to unlock things.
The door swings open inward. The woman who’s on the other side, blinking at them dazedly, is ancient. She must be at last eighty, if not older. Her hair is more white than gray, her face wrinkled with laugh-lines, but her eyes are clear as she looks at them. ”Sebastian?” she asks, tilting her head, glasses swinging around her throat. ”You’re back so soon,” she then notes. Then she grins, her face abruptly bright and happy, as she says, ”Come in, come in!”
Jordan is still blinking in confusion when he’s sitting down at a coffee table.
There are cakes and tea on the table, the couch comfortable and covered in quilts and pillows. The windows are wide and the curtains drawn back, so though no lamps are lit, there is plenty of light. The entire room smells vaguely of lavender, if he knows his flowers. The old lady across from him is still grinning, her fingers fiddling with the quilt in her lap. There’s a discarded paperback book next to her, still open on the couch.
”I hope you didn’t have any trouble after you left, Sebastian,” she says, fingers still fiddling. She looks at him searchingly, eyebrows furrowing.
”No trouble,” Sebastian assures her, shaking his head. He takes a cookie from the silver tray, popping the tiny thing in his mouth in one go. It makes his cheeks puff out slightly, and Jordan’s eyes can’t help but be drawn to it. As Sebastian chews and swallow, his throat bobs. Jordan forces his gaze away and sips at his tea.
”I’d glad…” Mrs. Jane mutters. She grabs a cookie, too, nibbling away at it slowly. Her eyebrow slowly furrow as she eats, and Jordan grabs a cookie, too, while he waits for her to say something else.
He doesn’t… really know what to do in this situation. Somehow it feels awkward, and like he’s forgotten the rules of human interaction. So he nibbles away at first one, then a second, then a third, cookie, interspersed with sips of tea. Lowering his gaze to the table, he stares at the thin, pink cover lying on it, then on the coasters with the pretty art of flowers.
”Have you been doing well, Mrs. Jane?” Sebastian asks after awhile.
The old woman nods, smiling softly. ”There’s been no trouble. And the supplies you dropped off have helped tremendously.”
”I’m glad,” Sebastian says, his eyes softening. He’s really too kind, Jordan is beginning to realize. He’s so kind that it’s dangerous to Jordan’s heart. Sebastian continues, head turning to face Jordan, ”I wanted to introduce you to Jordan, my roommate. In case something happens to me, I didn’t want you to be scared if he came by.”
”Hi,” Jordan squeaks out, suddenly lost.
Mrs. Jane smiles at him, her grin warm. ”Hello, Jordan. I’m Amelia Jane. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Sebastian has been so helpful, don’t hesitate if you need something from me. I’m happy to help!” She grins again, her fingers going back to fiddling with her quilt. Jordan blinks, then, hesitantly, grins back.
Thanks for the chapter~
Ира, наверное, поздоровалась бы =)
Ira would probably say hello=)
So sweet! Thanks for the chapter.