Chapter 35: Growing Intimacy

Layla hissed in frustration. Their only mode of transport completely out of fuel. They had all failed to notice the small leak in the fuel tank. A vechile in perfect condition was really only a pipe dream after all. There was nothing they could do. They had to continue on foot hoping they didn't run into any Apocrypha.

Thankfully, it was just about to hit dawn. The sun creeping up over the horizon ready to meet their gaze. Apocrypha numbers were sure to decrease.

The only real issue was that they were still in Georgia. An extremely small town known as Edgehill. There were very few houses which were all made mostly of wood. A small police station and medical clinic were also present but they were obviously abandoned.

"Well, let's go." prompted Layla to the others.

The entire group slowly climbed out of the ambulance. Each of them munching on some type of snack while carrying limited equipment in small pouches they had happened to find in the ambulance. Hunger was sabotaging their intestines. It was almost unbelievable the amount of events that had occured in a single night.

Ashley and Anastasia watched Zane as they walked. They were thankful for the way he defended them despite not knowing anything about them. They both wanted to thank him properly, but Layla was stuck by his side. They were slightly intimidated by Layla seeing just how defensive she could be.

Anastasia then felt a sudden tug on her arm. She looked to her right to see Serenity offering her a bite of her crackers and cheese.

"I realized you weren't eating anything, so I was wondering if you were hungry. Do you eat human food?" inquired Serenity thoughtfully.

"Human food? Well I have never really tried it before..."

Serenity carefully pushed the cracker towards Anastasia. Anastasia took the cracker and sniffed it trying to discern what it was made of. As an Apocrypha, she was never exposed to any sort of junk food. The Apocrypha valued their intelligence way too much to waste their bodies on such food. The only thing she was familiar with was the so called 'Brain Food' by the Apocrypha.

Anastasia carefully took a small bite of the cracker. She didn't know what to expect. To her surprise, it was extremely delicious. The cracker dissolved in her mouth as the sweet sensation caused her to suckle her tongue.

"Wow! This is surprisingly good!" she squealed joyously. It was a good change from the food she was use to.

"Great then! I was kinda worried you Apocrypha couldn't really eat anything but flesh..."

Anastasia smiled as she took another bite of the cracker feeling delighted by its exquisite taste. Zane glanced back at them noticing their little bonding moment. He slowly stepped back to meet them by his side.

"Hey, everything okay here?"

Anastasia smiled, "Yeah, Serenity here is just introducing me to human food."

"How is it?"

"It's pretty good honestly. It's a shame we don't have stuff like this back home."

Zane gave a humored laugh, "That's good to know."

Ashley then came shoulder-to-shoulder with him in a slightly bashful manner. Zane noticed this as she really did seem like the shy type.

"Hey Zane... I just wanted to thank you for earlier... Not only did you save us but you defended us even though you didn't even know us. Thank you..."

Zane pondered for a short moment as he thought about it. Now that Ashley mentioned it, he didn't really look on the fact that he didn't know them. He placed his life on the line to help two completely random strangers.

"Anytime, I'm told I follow my heart a bit too much but I couldn't just watch you two get hurt. Not to mention for once I made the right call instead of completely messing up..."

"What do you mean?" inquired Anastasia taking notice to their conversation.

Before Zane could respond, Layla stepped back and took his hand pulling him forward. Her face was slighlty red as if she was upset about something.

"No talking to him if I'm not watching!" she declared in a half-friendly tone.

It was obvious she was trying to act aggressive but it really only came out as the opposite. She looked more adorable than anything else. It was almost as if she was a little jealous.

Zane cursed himself for thinking about Layla's jealousy. Why would she be jealous in the first place anyway?

A sudden thought then smashed into Zane as he stared at her. Layla always teased him, so wouldn't this be the perfect time for some good payback?

He tightened his grip around Layla's hand. She noticed this and gave a slight squeal.

"Are you jealous?" inquired Zane boldly.

Blood ran into Layla's face as she froze for a short moment, "What?? Of course not idiot! Why would I be jealous of something like you?"

Zane felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Did she really just refer to him as 'something'?

Anastasia stepped forward noticing the intimacy between the two.

"Pardon me for asking, but are you two a couple?"

Layla quickly released Zane's hand as if he was a disgusting germ containing a very viral disease.

"Ew, gross... Never!"

Once again Zane felt his heart become a little more damaged from Layla's cold words.

"Oh... you two seemed extremely close. I thought you two were a couple too, unless it's some kind of platonic relationship. That's really rare..." added Ashley.

Layla smiled with confidence as she once again tried to assert her dominance, "He's lucky to even be considered platonic!"

Zane's heart once again crushed by her brutal words.

"I thought maybe they had a thing for each other too... They'd kinda be like the dream couple!" squealed Serenity losing herself in her imagination.

"There's no dream in a nightmare like Zane hunnie." added Layla savagely.

Zane had enough, his heart was basically bleeding at this point. "Could you all drop this conversation! Does no one care about how I feel!"

"Hey guys, hold up!" suddenly cautioned Nick.

The group froze like they were playing a game of freeze tag.

"What is it?" asked Layla in worry.

"There seems to be a small store up ahead. I think it's worth checking out." proclaimed Elio.

The group averted their eyes to a small toy store ahead of them. The windows were all broken and the door was smashed in.

"A toy store? I don't see how that can help us out..." muttered Serenity.

"True, but you never know. One might find treasure in a pile of trash." said Elio prudently.

Layla looked over to Zane ensuring he wasn't giving off any worrysome vibes. She nudged him and looked him in the eyes

"What's your intuition say?"

Zane sighed, "You depend way too much on my intuition..."

"Just answer me idiot."

"Fine... I really don't sense any eerie vibes coming from it. I think we should check it out and see what it has though."

Layla nodded to Nick and Elio implying for them to move forward. The group carefully huddled themselves together; everyone's eyes scanning a different area. They quietly stepped over the broken down door entering the store. Their eyes catching onto dozens of toys laying on the floor as well as broken down shelves.

"Okay, so far so good... Everyone be on guard." cautioned Layla.

"Okay, while you guys look around I'll keep watch for any Apocrypha." volunteered Anastasia.

Layla glanced back at her. The distrust obviously evident in her eyes.

"No, I'm not about to trust an Apocrypha to keep guard. Elio and Serenity, you two do it instead."

"How ironic, okies!" accepted Elio. Serenity standing beside him just the same.

Zane looked over at Anastasia who was obviously hurt by Layla's words. She slowly eased herself against the counter beside Ashley.

"Zane come on, you're with me." ordered Layla as she took his hand pulling him along.

As they searched through the fallen items, Zane couldn't help but feel sorry for Anastasia. He knew too well how it felt to be wronged when all he wanted to do was help. Anastasia was in a similar position. She seemed to really want to help humans but being an Apocrypha must have made her feel horrible. Knowing that her kind was out there slaughtering humans for fun leaving a bad impression on her own self.

"Blood stains..." muttered Layla interrupting Zane from his thoughts.

Zane looked to the floor to realize there were blood stains. It seemed as if someone had been seriously injured and were dragged across the floor by the Apocrypha.

"Oh look at this!" squealed Layla with a hint of joy in her voice.

Zane watched as she picked up a small handgun with a silencer attached at the end. Layla checked the ammunition to see how many bullets were left. It was a total of five.

"Alright, now this can come in real handy!"

She carefully placed the gun in her waist and gave Zane the extra she had.

"You can take that one until you get some ammo for yourself. Don't lose it, it might come in handy."

"Right..."

Layla continued to search the pile of fallen objects. Despite all of this, Zane still felt the need to talk to Layla about Anastasia. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to speak;

"Layla... are you still suspicious about Anastasia?"

Layla came to a sudden stop upon hearing Zane's question. She released a shallow sigh, "Zane, she's an Apocrypha, so of course I'll be on guard. Stereotypical or not that's just how it is."

Zane didn't like how Layla was acting towards them. She was so serious and even though he knew she was like this because she wanted to ensure their safety, it was still harsh.

"I haven't known you for very long but I can tell that you're changing little by little..."

Layla raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, "What do you mean by that?"

"When I first met you, you seemed like defintely a factual person but you at least had this kinda free spirited vibe to you. Lately that's been gone... Why?"

Layla's heart thumped against her chest as she didn't expect Zane to pick up on something as minor as that. His words brought back the harsh and truthful words of Commander Frost;

"Do you think this is some f@%king game Layla?! Remember your life doesn't belong to just you anymore!"

His words echoed through her head. She was reminded that her life didn't belong to her anymore. She was carrying a massive burden on her shoulders that she couldn't take lightly.

"I have to be this way Zane... To protect us... Our lives no longer belong to just us anymore... I have to be strict even if everyone ends up hating me for it..."

Zane felt disgusted by Layla's words. He instantly realized it had to do something with what Commander Frost had said to her back at the military base. At the time he didn't take it very seriously as he thought it was just an average scolding for making a bad move. Now he realized the impact it had upon Layla.

He grabbed onto her shoulders and turned her to face him. He stared into her eyes intensely to the point where Layla became a bit flustered.

"Layla, listen to me. Your life belongs to you and you only. Just because you have a burden to carry doesn't mean you have to change who you are. Yes we are the only hope for humanity but we have each other to depend on for that. I share your burden and you share mine. Don't forget that."

Layla averted her eyes to the floor in a slightly bashful manner. She felt slightly inferior to Zane due to the way he was holding onto her.

"But don't you think it's a little weird..? A girl who enjoys danger and epic fights..? A girl who likes guns and weaponry who can do things a female shouldn't do..? Don't you think I'm at least a little weird..?"

Zane placed his hand underneath her chin and turned her face towards his. His eyes still burning with an intensity to help her. Layla's face instantly turning red.

"If you're weird then the definition of weird has to be perfect. Being and staying true to yourself makes you who you are. If you're different from other girls then that just means you're simply unique. You're the most badass and intelligent girl I've ever come across Layla. Be yourself because that's who I've come to appreciate."

Layla stared into his sea blue eyes. Her lips trembling as they were extremely close. Somehow, she had become comfortable. It felt natural being up so close to Zane. His words has soothed her. It reminded her that she wasn't alone and that she could count on Zane too.

Zane had failed to realize the position he had put himself into. He was face-to-face with a beautiful girl with an amazing personality. He was holding onto her like some player and had even indirectly called her 'perfect'. Layla was subdued by Zane's gaze ready to admit to his will. She was ready for him to assert his dominace.

Zane noticed the timid and submissive look across Layla's face. Suddenly it hit him. He had gotten into Layla's emotions and healed a part of her with his words all while looking at her with such intensity. It was the perfect way to subdue any maiden in distress.

Zane feared to move. He knew one move could lead to another. A part of him wanted to go along with it but another wanted to prevent things from escalating any further. However, if he were to bail out it would make it seem as if he was simply trying to lead her on for no reason. He had to avoid that option at all costs.

Instinctively, he moved his face closer to Layla's. His arms slithering slowly across her back. Their breath entangling with one another divinely. Their hearts pounding to a rhythmic beat. Their lips close enough for a harmonical kiss.

Layla slowly began to close her eyes. Zane staring at her soft lips which were ready to lose their virginity. He went in closer; they were face-to-face. Their lips ready to become locked in with one another.

"Don't move!" A sudden male voice filled with desperation interrupting the two.

Zane and Layla releasing one another in fright. They gave each other a worried look as they ran towards the front of the store. Three figures standing before them pointing guns; One male, one female and a little boy looking around the same age as Serenity.

"No one move! We don't wanna hurt anyone!" screamed the male.

Elio smiled, "Well, another interesting turn of events..."