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Post by B on Jun 29, 2010 19:22:12 GMT -5
Vincent shook his head. "He's inhuman." That's all he could get out as Amanda helped him up. "I'll be okay..." He had blood all over his mouth, it'll take about 10-20 minutes to recover from the wounds in his chest. He was also having trouble breathing but it was okay, technically he didn't have to breath at all. When Amanda went to Zomboss the man only groaned, then she kicked him, didn't phase him none, all that it did was make a clunk noise. As Amanda walked off with Vincent following, Zomboss slowly picked himself up. "That asshole almost.. penetrated me... And without a dinna and a movie." He grunted and stumbled awkwardly towards Amanda. "That's like rape, aint it? Damn." Vincent look at Amanda then at Zomboss. How could she put up with his weird attitude? It didn't matter. Zomboss tapped Amanda on the shoulder. "What about that girl? You didn't get your data but she may still be here."
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Post by D on Jun 29, 2010 19:51:54 GMT -5
Amanda took some things from the safes and placed it in her case of goods. Once she was done, she turned to Zomboss’ dented hulk. “Right…” She looked to Vincent. “Did you see Emily?” True concern revealed itself among her expressions. “Is she here? Alive?” Maybe she didn’t get the data she had come for, but she could still retrieve something from her past, something important.
Her daughter wasn’t biologically her’s. Amanda had adopted the little girl and in truth, the little girl was Alecs’ daughter. Her birth had happened before Amanda had met him and the girl’s birth caused the death of her blood related mother, but despite the facts, Amanda treated her and loved her like her own. Eventually the little girl came to know Amanda as her mother and Amanda was glad. She would do anything for the girl.
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Post by B on Jun 29, 2010 20:34:23 GMT -5
"Uh..." Vincent looked at her then at Zomboss. He thought a second, remembering back to when they had implanted him. He was standing among the ranks, a helicopter lifted off with a girl, he was almost sure it was Emily. "Yeah... It was... A couple days ago. I was with the ranks and... She was lifted off in a helicopter. I think they mentions Zone 793." Vincent didn't sound so sure, but that was the best he could tell her. "I don't know why they took her." Zomboss laughed. "Oooooh! On the road again! I can't wait to get on the road again!" He sung and then grabbed his stomach. "Ow, no more Willie Nelson."
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Post by D on Jun 29, 2010 21:45:15 GMT -5
“That’s good. Very good.” Amanda nodded and walked out of the room. Using the conveniently created holes in the wall, she easily got outside of the facility and noticed the body parts littered on the ground. “You…had lots of fun, didn’t you?” She asked Zomboss as she walked over pieces and was careful not to slip on blood. “It’s like hell ran through here” She made her way to the HQ’s garage.
She picked up a key card off the ground and cleaned the blood from it before inserting it into the keyslot. A door opened for her and she entered. Finding a vehicle she liked, she entered the driver’s seat and inserted the keycard. “Kyle Landers, welcome.” The vehicle’s computer said and Amanda raised her brow. “One of the newer systems…” She sighed and opened the garage doors. The armored vehicle drove out and stopped before the two men, if you could call Vincent a man, he was still in a boy’s body…
Amanda opened the doors for the boys and allowed Vincent the seat in the front. From there he would be able to control the vehicle’s cannon and frontal guns. Zomboss, on the other hand, would have to get in the back because of his size. The man would have access to well whatever he could find back there. Amanda never rode in the back with the soldiers before so she didn’t know what the back could do, but even if the man had access to nothing, she knew that Zomboss would come up with something to please him.
As soon as the two got in, she drove toward the zone Vincent told her about, using a ‘home-made’ mapping system, developed by ARC way back when. It took a few hours, but when the camp came into sight, Amanda didn’t stop. Her expression kept calm, but her driving became a hazard to anyone outside of the car. The armored car drove through a fence and ran through tents marked for the soldiers. The car didn’t stop even when she ran over and crushed the bodies of people. Allowing the boys an easier shot, she skillfully skidded to a stop at the center of the camp.
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Post by B on Jun 29, 2010 22:20:59 GMT -5
When they got to the camp, Vincent noticed that Amanda wasn't going to slow. Quickly, he buckled himself into the seat and the vehicle began shaking violently, Zomboss held onto some bars and moved with the flow so he wouldn't lose balance. The cannon and guns fired, a tower collapsed from a well placed shot with the cannon. People were getting mowed down and when Zomboss felt it was time, he opened the back and jumped out. Wounded or not, he will deal with what he has to. Luckily for them, this camp was only half the size of exec. Zomboss ran off to crack some heads while Vincent took down the second and final tower. Now all they had to deal with is a few ground troops, there were only 3 left at the camp. A helicopter sat in a small helipad in the corner. Emily was definitely taken here. Probably in the only real building that wasn't a tent.
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Post by D on Jun 29, 2010 23:26:46 GMT -5
“Zero two three seven…” The little girl read from a guard’s key card. “Is that your name?” Sitting in a chair obediently, the girl was bored, but when surrounded by men with guns, she learned that it was best not to annoy them too much. “I like your name…They have my favorite numbers in them…” Zero was her favorite because that meant there would be no more monsters. Two was her favorite because that was her mommy and daddy. Three was a favorite because it meant mommy, daddy and her. Seven was her favorite because she had been told that it was a lucky number. Of course, something terrible had happened to her daddy so now it meant the two meant mommy and her, but it didn’t change three. One day, she believed that she would see daddy again. “Did you know my daddy?” She asked, but she didn’t receive an answer. Emily wasn’t surprised though. The guards didn’t talk much anymore. She missed their humanity.
Amanda hopped out of the car and waited for Vincent. “Vincent, come on. She might like seeing a familiar face.” She waved him over and hoped that he had followed after her. She entered the building and after opening most doors, there was one left unopened. “Ok …This should be the last one.”
Emily swung her legs back in forth in the chair, trying to amuse herself. It wasn’t working, but still she continued. For two years she had waited for the return for her mommy and now in this situation, she really hoped that her mommy would return. The little girl began to softly hum. She hoped that the noises outside were good and weren’t anything that would make her sad. If the Vespertine infected were hurt she would be sad. In her eyes, she still believed them to be much like VinVin. VinVin was her best friend, but when her mommy left, so did VinVin.
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Post by B on Jun 29, 2010 23:59:47 GMT -5
Vincent followed her with just a nod. They ran into the building and approached the final door, Vincent stopped her. "If there's guards in there... Use the orby thingy..." She seemed to not be okay with the idea. "I'll be... okay. It's better than getting Em hurt." Vincent's hand moved nervously. When it came time for it, they both rushed through the door. sure enough there were guards and Amanda did as Vincent said, the orb wen out and in the instant the three guards fell dead. Vincent screamed and went to his knees. "RRRRGH!" He clutched his head then lost his balance and fell face first. A second later and the pain was over, he laid there a few second panting. "I'm not dead.... Em... And neither... Are they... They're just sleeping...." He said quietly, trying to reassure the little girl. In body age, she was technically older now. The child host was 6 years old when he got infected. The only reason he doesn't speak like Em does with such a childish manner, is because the worm was able to learn the language quick enough. The mind, however, still has childish moments, moments where he wont understand something or moments where he'll feel intense emotion of either rage or sadness, even happiness. With Amanda's help, Vincent was seated in a metal folding chair. While panting, he glanced a smile at Emily. He did miss her, even though he doesn't remember much. He was put into a long sleep for most of the two years. She changed quite a bit, he must not have changed at all. Why wasn't he changing? Will he ever be able to grow and become cuter like Emily?
Zomboss looked around at the ruins of yet another ARC base. He put a hand to his chest, it was hurting quite a bit. "Well... I did my job." He looked over at the building. "Well sweet cheeks, guess I'll see you again soon." He put his hand to the mask where his mouth would be and made a kissing noise before putting his hand out and making a blowing noise. With that, he walked off, normally he would blast off like rocket man, but the landing would not do well on his ribs.
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Post by D on Jun 30, 2010 0:45:15 GMT -5
She heard Vincent’s suggestion and shook her head, knowing the consequences of using an orb, but he brought up a valid point. Immediately after the exchange, they rushed in and Amanda used an orb. The infected quickly fell and so did Vincent. She immediately turned to help him up and her little girl had ran toward them. “VinVin!” Emily jumped and tackled him back to the floor in a hug when she heard his voice. “VinVin, are you ok?” The little girl turned to her mother with a frown. “Mommy, you know you’re not supposed to use the orby thingys!” Amanda smiled at her daughter who waved her small finger at her. “And mommy. You’re covered in dirty!”
Amanda looked at her clothes, realizing that she was covered in blood. She knew that Emily knew what the red was and the little girl also knew what Vincent was. Amanda had sheltered the girl in some aspects but other things she revealed to the girl. Emily would learn about them eventually so she figured that it was only right. “Yes…Mommy and VinVin went through a lot.” She felt her small hand touch her broken arm. “Don’t worry…It will heal…” The next thing the little girl did was check Amanda’s pockets. At first, Amanda wasn’t sure what the girl was doing, but when the girl smiled, she realized it. “I don’t have one…Don’t worry.”
“That’s good…Daddy told me smoking is bad.” She nodded her head and looked at Vincent. “VinVin…I still have the bracelet you gave me…” She opened a small pouch on her vest and revealed a beaded bracelet. “I kept it cause we’re best friends and I never forgot about you” She smiled and then blinked, knowing that she forgot something. Emily turned around quickly and collected things from the dead guards. She collected their keycards and then took a handgun and ammo. Then she went to the guard nearest to the door and picked up a taser gun. “I’m preparing myself…”
“What are you doing? Those things are dangerous, Em.” Amanda got up and was going to take them back. Who taught her this? It certainly wasn’t her… “Where did you learn this?”
The little girl smiled and put the handgun’s safety on. “VinVin told me about this gun…” Before the guards had been infected, sometimes the guards would fight and whoever would lose the fight would usually get their keycards and other useful items stripped. Emily wasn’t sure why they did it, but the guards who won and had the items usually looked happier. Somehow happiness connected to a better state than before for her, so she was simply copying what she had seen. “The guards used to do it!”
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Post by B on Jun 30, 2010 0:57:36 GMT -5
Vincent slowly stopped panting, he watched the two exchange words, as of that moment he was too weak to want to speak back until she said she never forgot about him. He let out a weak laugh. "You're all I dreamed about, Em." He whispered and then watched her collect the weapons. She spoke on what the guards used to do, luckily he didn't see her pick up the taser, he had a tendency to freak out and scream. It brought back memories of what that horrid face used to do to him. "Em... 'Manda won... She has to get the weapons, not you." He said, slowly beginning to regain strength. He sat up in the chair from his previous slump. "G-Give them to Amanda before the guns hurt you, okay?"
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Post by D on Jun 30, 2010 1:27:42 GMT -5
Emily pouted before handing Amanda the weapons. “Ok…but I learned from the guards. I know how to aim it.” She said, trying to convince Amanda to let her hold the handgun, but her mommy wouldn’t let her. “Mommy, are we going to leave ARC now…something bad happened…” The little girl walked over to Vincent and grabbed his hand. “We’re going to take VinVin too, right?” She squeezed his hand, hoping that Amanda would say yes.
“Of course.” Amanda walked over to the two. She looked at Vincent and wiped some grime off of his forehead. “I’ve missed you two…” She pulled them into a hug, fighting back her tears so they wouldn’t know. “I’ve missed you so very much.” She felt the little girl hug her back and noticed the little sniffing sounds. It seemed that her little girl was already crying, but then again, she expected that. Her little trooper tried being strong in front of family, but everyone knew that she was still a little girl.
Amanda’s guess was right. Emily was crying, but they were happy tears. VinVin and her mommy came to save her at the same time. It was like a dream come true. Now they could run away and live together again. She embraced both her mother and best friend tightly, so tightly it was as if she would never let go. “Thanks, VinVin. You saved the day again.”
As soon as the moment passed, Amanda led them back to the armored vehicle. She planned to drive them far away from here to a safer place. Having completed what she had come here to do, she decided that it was time to leave ARC. Her work was gone and she had ruined ARC NA. Starting from the ground up again would be too troublesome for her, and she figured that Vincent and Emily were much more important than lab experiments. Deciding this, she got into the armored vehicle and drove away from the ruins. “Vincent, you can play navigator.”
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Post by B on Jun 30, 2010 1:53:06 GMT -5
Vincent cocked an eyebrow in the other seat. "I will?" He looked at Anna and stuck out his tongue. "Haha! I'm Naviga.. Wait what's a navigator? Is it like the people who knows where to go?" He scratched his little head. "Cus I don't know where to go." He pushed himself up. "I can't see where we're going." He pouted and looked at the targeting computer. The cameras on top was enough to see with the turret but he didn't know where they were going. All he sees is grass and trees the occasional building. Hour passed, Vincent inevitably fell asleep. The worm was living, too, it needed rest and sometimes even food, not as often as humans, though. His head leaned close to one of the firing mechanisms, luckily the safety locked the system. There was a small camp up ahead, smoke signaled they had a fire going. A small makeshift tower stood with a gentlemen inside it. He pointed at them and began speaking with a loud speaker. People seemed to get ready in case they were dangerous. A woman left the fence with a flag to flag Amanda down. Amanda awoke Vincent who lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. One hand stayed rubbing the right eye, must've been bothering him again. "What's going on?"
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Post by D on Jun 30, 2010 3:16:20 GMT -5
"You tell me where you feel like going." Amanda explained with a smile, but of course, that wasn't enough of an explanation and Amanda found herself without a navigator. For hours, Amanda drove without sleep, quietly listening to Emily or Vincent talk. Somewhere along the ride Emily fell into a deep sleep in the back and had found blankets just before. The little girl gave some to Vincent and kept some for herself and created a small little room for herself so she could fall asleep.
Now in the company of silence, Amanda drove, taking in the views. They were driving through green zones so the area was pretty clean. Zombies and Plagas were barely around, making these areas the closest to when times weren't so hard. As soon as they changed, Amanda would go and seek safer places and no matter what, she couldn't stop for the kids.
Somewhere along the ride, Amanda spotted a black collumn of smoke in the air. On the horizon, she spotted what seemed to be a human settlement of some sorts. Having been a field researcher for so long, she decided to be safe than sorry. Amanda switched on the rocket shields and the outdoor moniters switched on. For a moment the inside of the van was pitch black but dim lights switched on and so did the screens. Using the screens to help with her navigate, the rolling death dealer slowly approached the settlement.
As they got close, Amanda noticed a woman with a white flag walking toward the van. Not in the mood to run over someone again, Amanda slowed the van to a stop. She woke Vincent. "Vincent, if anything happens I want you to be brave and get out of here. Watch Em, ok?" She hugged him and opened the door. Amanda jumped down and gave the heavily armored door a nice push. Unsure if the woman was friend or foe, she kept her free hand near her holster. Although her arm was still in a sling, Amanda kept up the intimidating aura she liked to use. "What do you want? What's that flag?"
Victoria looked at Amanda, a bit surprised tha the other woman didn't know what a white flag meant. "Oh, we were just trying to get you to stop." She gave a friendly smile and saw that the other woman nodded slowly. Seeing that the other woman was dressed in an ARC uniform and had bloodstains on her shirt, Victoria couldn't exactly say that the woman looked friendly, but what she did know was that the woman had gone through some sort of hell.
"Well you've stopped me... Now what?"
Damn, the ARC lady was as mean as they got, but the attitude told Victoria that this one was still human and if she hadn't shot her yet then she had to be remotely friendly, right? Victoria was going to take a chance. She extended her hand for Amanda. "My name is Victoria Lopez. You look like you need a hand." She saw the weird look the woman gave to her and realized what she had said. "Sorry, I mean."
Amanda lightly chuckled and shook the woman's hand. "I know what you mean. Amanda Masters." She decided to drop the title of Doctor because she no longer worked for them. "I thought you were hostiles." She admitted and shook the other woman's hand. Amanda looked back at the armored vehicle and then back at the woman. "Is it alright..." She paused, unsure of how to put it. "... if I take a rest stop here? I have kids inside and we've been through a lot.."
Victoria nodded and smiled. "You can drive up, but you'll need to check in with the head." After hearing Amanda's thanks and watching the other woman get back into the armored vehicle, she turned toward the camp and put a thumbs up.As soon as Victoria was done, Amanda began to slowly approach the camp once again, but still she kept the rocket shields up just in case.
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Post by B on Jun 30, 2010 14:07:11 GMT -5
Vincent watched Em in the back. He couldn't really tell what was going on outside. Muffled words came out but that was about it. Amanda walked back in and Vincent sat back down in his seat. "What's going on?" Amanda said that they were going inside and going to stay the day. Vincent nodded. "Okay." The vehicle began moving, the shields were kept on so Vincent still couldn't tell much and he was too afraid to check with the cannon because they will get scared. Once inside, Amanda stopped the vehicle. There were people huddled around the car now, curious and interested, some of them with friendly faces, some of them not as welcoming. Amanda stepped out first, then when she figured it would be okay, she called the others out. Most people gasped, two children? "They're so cute." Someone from the crowd said, obviously a female. Vincent looked up at Amanda, a little nervous. He turned back to Emily and grabbed her hand and held it. Suddenly another gasp and one of the people raised his gun. "That kid's got glowing eyes! Like the ones who destroyed the nearby settlement!" Vincent's eyes widened, who had glowing eyes? Why were they aiming guns at them? Vincent looked back at Emily, her eyes were shining, he pulled her behind him in case they did end up shooting. Amanda seemed to quickly get into attack mode, too, faster than the people could expect, she growled warning and a few of them growled back while a few of them protested because they're children. Many of the group began arguing amongst themselves but only one of them had a gun trained on the kids and Amanda. "Look at them! They're wearing ARC uniforms! They're probably sleeper agents! Gonna slit our throats in our sleep!" Vincent took a step back and a woman from the crowd answered, it seemed to be Victoria. "Look stupido! He's scared, the others didn't show emotion!" "It's an act, Vick!" "You do this with everyone! Put your gun down and I'm sure she will." A figure walked out of one of the wooden buildings, everyone quieted when they saw him. "Everybody calm down." He said calmly and they just stared. He began walking down some small steps then walking through the crowd as they broke rank to let him by. When he got to the man with the gun, he put a hand on it and lowered it. He then gestured for Jillian to lower her weapon, when she eventually did. He looked at Vincent, who was obviously scared beyond anything. His hand shook in Em's. What was he more afraid of, getting killed? No He was afraid of Em and Amanda getting killed. He wont die. "Welcome. Please, follow me into my house and we can talk about this." He said to Amanda and walked back towards the building he protruded from. The three followed. When they were inside it looked like any other home. Some chairs sitting wherever with two beds in the corner of the room. A small "kitchen" if that's what you'd call it. "Please, have a seat." He was in his mid thirties, dark brown hair, gray eyes. The dog tags around his neck made it obvious that he was once a US marine. He grabbed himself a chair and looked at the three. "My name is Marcus. I help keep this place sane and loving." He said and gave a soft smile. "It's amazing to find children, but, it seems that some of the others may disagree that he's a child." Before Amanda could get defensive he put a hand up. "Don't worry, I wont let anything happen to him. I would like to know more about him, though. After what happened to the last settlement and ARC monsters being involved, I'm a little cautious myself."
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Post by D on Jun 30, 2010 14:56:26 GMT -5
“We’re going to stay for a day…” Amanda stopped the vehicle once inside the settlement and looked at their faces. Their expressions were just as she expected but she didn’t see too much of a problem, so she got the kids down. With her free arm she carried Vincent down and then Emily down, making sure that they got to the ground safely. The seats were a little higher off the ground and she didn’t want to have them worry about falling or getting hurt. “Are you alright?” Amanda asked the two before turning to face the others. She kept her kids behind her.
Emily yawned when Amanda carried her down, but it didn’t take her long to become awake. Now awake, she looked around a little frightened. These people weren’t people from ARC and they weren’t wearing coats. Who were they? The little girl held Vincent’s hand, nervous. “VinVin, are we safe?” She asked quietly. Emily heard comments from the crowd some good and some bad, but suddenly she heard a person shout. Vincent pushed her behind him and began to protect her. What was happening? She saw the guns and buried her face in Vincent’s back. She was scared.
Amanda, with her one good hand, drew her gun and aimed it at the man who had raised his gun. “If you do anything, I swear to god I will shoot.” She growled at them and of course they responded back with similar threats. Her trigger finger started to pull back, ready to shoot the man. She was going to shoot that bastard and break something else of his if he continued to talk. Just as she was to pull the trigger any farther, Victoria spoke up. There was an exchange between the asshole and Victoria, but suddenly everything quieted down when a man approached.
Given how the others were acting, Amanda guessed that he was the leader. The man managed to get the asshole to stop and so Amanda followed suit. He invited her to his home and Amanda took hold of Vincent’s hand after putting away her weapon. She saw that Emily was still holding Vincent’s hand. “It’s ok, Vincent…I’m here.” She gently squeezed his hand hoping to comfort him.
When they entered the home she found it to be very much like the ones from back when the infection hadn’t spread. It was amazing, but she said nothing and simply took a seat. Emily took a seat nearest to Vincent and swung her legs, signaling her peepee dance. The girl hadn’t gone yet but she was so scared that she would have gone if they hadn’t left the whole scene outside. Still, she held Vincent’s hand and said nothing about it. Sometimes, Vincent would laugh at her when she made the peepee dance, but she figured that it was ok because it did look silly sometimes.
“Amanda Masters. This is Emily and Vincent.” She nodded her head, still not offering her own smile. Amanda was still in the defensive mode. “He is a child. My child, but he isn’t a monster. Please don’t use that term and ARC is done for now. ” Amanda looked out the window. For now, ARC wouldn’t be acting as a big group in North America. With their headquarters down, they wouldn’t be able too. The camps were disconnected and like the land, the people were becoming tainted. Even Amanda knew that some of her acts were unforgivable. “
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Post by B on Jul 1, 2010 1:25:33 GMT -5
Marcus rubbed his beard as Amanda asked him not to use the word monster and then introduced herself and the kids. He nodded. "I'm sorry, I meant no offense." He apologized and then smiled at Em and Vincent before turning back to Amanda. "I'm sorry to have to ask you this and please understand that I am in charge for the well being of everyone in the camp. Will he ever pose a threat to anyone here? Is he infected?" Amanda went on to explain that Vincent was not dangerous and was just like an average child, maybe a little smarter. She then went on explaining the difference between him and the soldiers who attacked the other settlement, making it clear that Vincent was the first and was raised differently than the factory made husks that attacked the base, making it clear that they were under control by a computer. "And can he suddenly get controlled and attack anybody?" Amanda's tone turned defensive, saying that he was taken out of the system and that he couldn't be controlled anymore. "Calm down, Ms. Masters... May I call you Amanda? As I said, I'm in charge for the safety of this settlement. Even if he was a danger, the worst I'd do is ask you to leave. You have my solemn promise that none of you will be harmed here." He said with clear sincerity. He looked at Vincent and gave him a warm smile. "Marcus? What's going on? Is it safe?" "Yes, dear. Come on down. My wife, Elenore." A woman protruded from a small staircase in the back, she was holding her belly which was rather big, she wasn't fat, she was pregnant. "Oh, new company? Oh!" She said with a gasp. "Children!" Vincent turned around, she took a step back when she saw his eyes but then her fear immediately went away and she smiled. If Vincent was dangerous then Marcus would not have told her to come down, she trusted that man above all else in the universe. "Hello!" She said with a smile and walked up to the children. "What's your names?" Cautiously, Vincent turned to Amanda who told the woman their names. "So cute!" The woman was latino, like Victoria outside, in fact, she looked a lot alike, maybe siblings. Marcus stood up. "I've decided to trust you, Amanda. I don't see anymore threat in this child than an uninfected bunny rabbit. I'll go speak with the crowd, you all make yourselves comfortable here with Elenore." With that he left, he could be heard speaking, trying to convince the crowd that the boy would not pose a threat. There wasn't very many people opposing the idea but a few spoke up, wanting answers, the man told them as much as he knew. "Well, you all must be so hungry! Let me get you guys something to eat. Make yourselves comfortable." She said and smiled at the kids. When she left the room into the kitchen and disappearing behind the doorless frame, Vincent turned to Amanda. "Why do they hate me?" He whispered to Amanda, giving her a hurt look. Did he do something wrong? Does he really have glowing eyes? He squeezed Emily's hand, any harder and he might have hurt her, but it had to have been uncomfortable.
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