Closed / To be Deleted

[Dradogo]

Joke looked down at Mortimer worriedly, wondering why he had gone still. "Mortimer? What's wrong?" He asked quietly, trying to hear whatever Mortimer was hearing.

[*-Insano-*]

Alex looked at all the food. She knew that she wouldn't be eating it all.

((Writer's block...sorry...

[Iilyda]

Mortimer put a finger to his lips, hoping to keep Joke quiet while he listened. He was sure of it now. The voices of men drawing closer, and dry branches snapping under heavy feet. Mortimer dove to the ground, moving over to the fire to protect its light from being seen. He motioned for Joke to do the same, feeling the fear of being found dry his throat. It was still light outside, the sun only just beginning to sink down in the late afternoon, but Mortimer still worried for the daylight revealing their hiding place, or for the fire being seen through the windows and cracks in the mill. He held his breath and waited for the voices to come closer, listening for the dreaded moment they might happen upon the textile mill.

Ezra put the two food trays down on Alex's bedside table, still beaming at her. "Gummy bears?" he suggested, snatching up a bag and ripping it open. He offered the opened bag to Alex.

[Dradogo]

Joke whimpered softly, picking the dog up before moving over to Mortimer. He was terrified at the thought of being found; of having to go back, or hurt more people escaping. He held the dog tightly, stroking it's ear to try and keep it quiet. Worried, Joke looked at Mortimer, hoping he had some idea of what to do.

[Iilyda]

Mortimer laid perfectly still, his eyes never moving from the single crack in the rotted floor. The voices drew nearer and nearer, too far away to be properly heard, but too close to be comforting. Eventually, Mortimer could make out the words they said. "Aught to be somewhere in here," some man was grumbling. "Took down old Biddy not even a mile south of 'ere. And they took 'er with 'em too. That would slow 'em down, that would." The sound of shuffling feet through dry leaves stopped what sounded to Mortimer only fifty paces away from their hiding place. But maybe they hadn't seen the textile mill yet. "What do you think they'll be doing with her?" the man's companion asked, sounding the more nervous of the two. "How should I know? They're blooming nuts! Maybe they'll carve old Biddy up and smoke her meat into jerky. You can't reckon with these looney folks, Joe. They're downright irrpredictable."

"Unpredictable," his companion corrected. "Yeah, whatever. But they're in here somewhere. Once we get the sniffers over, they'll be sure to find their scent. Won't that doctor lady be pissed when we find 'em." The first man snickered. Mortimer felt dizzingly sick, overhearing this conversation. Right about now, there wasn't anything he wouldn't give to fall into the Darkness. But Mortimer put a hand into the Doberman's fur and waited with frozen breath.

[Dradogo]

Joke listened worriedly, his breath catching at the thought of seeing more dogs. He shook his head in disagreement with the guards; he and Mortimer weren't crazy, and he wouldn't even dream of hurting the dog in his arms. Worried about being spotted, Joke stepped back towards the fire a little, not bothered about the heat of the flames. He glanced back at the spool of water, tapping Mortimer's arm urgently. The water was boiling and almost spilling over the rim of the spool.

[Iilyda]

Mortimer jerked compulsively when he was tapped, his eyes going wide before he saw it was Joke - and then saw the boiling water. If Mortimer had been inclined to talk as much as he used to before he died, he would of sworn obscenely at the moment. This was exactly the bad luck they didn't need. He unwound his fingers from the Doberman's fur and scooted as noiselessly as possible over to the spool, lifting it off it's frame. Even dead, the heat burnt the skin of his fingers terribly, and in addtion to the enormous weight of the make-shift pot, bubbles on the water's surface burst and splashed drops of scalding water onto Mortimer's bare skin. It was through perserverance and growing fear that Mortimer managed to get the spool away from the fire, and by the time he'd done it, he'd missed a lot of what the two guards were saying.

"...heard it, I guess they want us back at HQ now. dammit if Keith'll ever make up his mind about where it is he wants us and when. Nothin' in this quad anyhow, let's just hike it back and tell 'em we had no luck." There was a great rustle of leaves as the two men started away from the hidden textile mill, and Mortimer could feel his chest heaving with the relief of pressure. But then the Doberman whined in Joke's arms, a low sound that could only be due from it's sustained injuries and Mortimer heard one of the men freeze. "Did you hear that?" the nervous man asked. "What?" his fellow quipped. "That sound. I thought it was an animal or something."

"Prob'ly one of those rooks or whatever birds haunt these woods. C'mon, Joe, there ain't nothing to see around here except tree after damn tree." To make his point, Mortimer heard Joe's companion kick the trunk of a tree before starting off again, the two men's footsteps and voices continuously fading until Mortimer was convinced it was safe to breathe again.

[Dradogo]

As soon as the guards left, Joke put the dog down quickly, turning to face Mortimer. "You're hurt." He said in a sad voice, looking at the burns that had been caused by the boiling water. Unsure of what to do, Joke took one of the large bows off his waist, offering it to Mortimer. "You can use it as a bandage." He explained, trying not to panic.

((FFFFF. I feel so bad making such a short post. D: ))

[Iilyda]

Mortimer looked down at his fingers detatchedly, as if noticing them for the first time. He didn't take the proffered bandage from Joke immediately, instead staring down at the swelling red marks on his fingers, fore arms, and even some splattered across his bare chest. How curious. If he was dead, was this possible? But no. This had to be something entirely different. Mortimer just couldn't wrap his mind around what. His eyes moved to the bow Joke was extending to him, taking it tenderly in his own hand. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure what to do with it.

{Lol, don't worry about it.}

[Dradogo]

"Does it hurt?" Joke asked quietly, wondering what Mortimer was thinking about. He smiled as a thought popped into his head. "At least now the guards won't come looking this way again." He said happily, before frowning. "Why do the guards have to keep everyone there anyway? Everyone seems fine to Joke..." He muttered, thinking. In his opinion, it was the staff that were the insane ones. He didn't like how him and the others were treated like animals.