Last One Out

Chapter Fourteen

"I swear! I know I saw something!" The Splicer shouted as he searched through the deli aisles. "Are you sure that Adam's just not gettin' to ya, mate? That was the biggest score we had in a while." His deformed companion replied, searching with much less enthusiasm. "I know what I saw, you scrub! A little fish ducked in here as soon as we got close." The more skeptical of the two eyed the rows of shelves for a moment before heading back towards the entrance.

"We don't have time for this, we were supposed to meet up with Eliza's lot an hour ago, and you know she's a cold-hearted bitch!" The man yelled as he strolled out of the decaying deli, brandishing a pipe and knocking over a magazine stand in frustration.

The Splicer at the entrance took one more lingering glare into the dark abandoned business. "Ah, sod it..." He sighed before jogging out of the store to catch up to his companion, shouts and bickering being carried farther away with each passing second.

The stillness remained even after there voices did not. Seconds ticked on in complete silence with the exception of the constant moaning of the abused undersea structure. After a while though, a shadow in one of the aisles began to warp and move. A grunt of discomfort followed by the words "That was too close," announcing that the deli was not as abandoned as it had seamed.

Jason pulled himself out from one of the shelves, pushing a bag of flour out of his way which promptly fell to the floor, ripping open and creating a fog of white powder in the surrounding air. Jason followed suit with an unflattering "oomph", misjudging how much of his mass was hanging off the shelf as he attempted to pull his foot free from a piece of warped metal that it had found itself tucked under. A few whispered profanities were heard in the unmoving air, followed by the rustling of fabric as Jason patted down his clothes and struggling to his feet. "Today is really not my day," the teen sighed as he went to retrieve his bag from under the nearby counter. He had stashed it there as he heard the approaching voices.

"At least I found something good," Jason continued to say to no one but himself. Some would say that his monologues would get him killed one day but when you spend so much time on your own, it's a habit he just kind of picked up. "It's too rare to find a working refrigerator with unspoiled produce. Emily will love to have a home-cooked meal." His words were true, the assorted vegetables and meats he had found were like a god-send. That, and after who knows how long of eating canned foods with varying expiration dates, it would be nice to have an actual meal, however bad his cooking may be.

The trek back the apartment building was rather uneventful, besides dodging the occasional Splicer band. As the survivor neared the lobby, his nagging paranoia got the better of him. The throbbing in his leg was making him pay for his caution as he circled the area a few times, so that if somebody was following him, there would be a better chance of him losing his tail before heading into the building.

"I'm back." Jason announced as he opened the door into the candlelit apartment, jumping slightly as he was all but tackled by the small child in his care.

"Big Brother! Are you okay? You were gone for a long time." The girl nearly shouted while looking up at him with her big harlequin eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up with something while getting dinner," her savior explained, stepping into the apartment and closing the door, "So how's our guest been while I was away? Still mad?" He said loud enough so that the Big Sister past the kitchen could hear him.

"She's still a bit grumpy about something, but she hasn't growled in a while." The girl said with a smile as Jason put his bag down on the counter. Then he walked into the living area to see how the older girl was doing.

"Hey." The teen said simply, sitting in the chair in front of the Big Sister. She responded by releasing a low growl from her throat and turning away from Jason.

He sighed, a bit frustrated. "You alright? The ropes aren't bothering you are they?" He questioned in a more friendly tone of voice, internally slapping himself upon realizing how silly a question that was. The survivor hoped that if he was understanding enough she would start warming to them, and she wouldn't try to escape again; her claws had already left a number of marks across his skin and he'd prefer not to add to the amount.

The snow-haired girl seemed to ignore him, continuing to admire the fabric of the couch. Jason let out an exasperated sigh before an idea popped into his head. Rooting around in his pockets for a moment, he produced a nail clipper and slid the chair closer to the wounded sister. "God help me."

Why wouldn't this guy leave her alone!

She scowled as the man moved closer to her. She didn't know what he was going to do, but if he tried anything she'd tear him to shreds, bound or otherwise. But any thought of aggression was replaced confusion and even a little embarrassment as the man wrapped his hand around hers, tied to the left side of her body. She was about to question what he was doing in what ever way she could before a sharp clip noise came from where he was holding her hand.

The Big Sister glanced over her shoulder to see him leaning over her middle, brow creased in concentration.

He felt like he was defusing a bomb. Jason felt those eyes on him, as if to ask "What the hell are you doing?" so without pause he replied, "I'm all for a little rough housing, but you really did a number on me last time. Besides, it looks like you haven't cut them in ages. That's not healthy."

That seemed to answer the girl's unspoken question, but still she watched him carefully as he clipped the last of her left digits. "Okay, that one's done. Mind...rolling over?" He asked.

The Big Sister hesitated for a moment before letting out agitated huff and rolling onto her left side and exposing her right hand.

"You know, being all dramatic only makes it cute." Jason let out without really thinking, but as soon as it left his mouth he realized his error and quickly got to work, focusing on all his attention on the task at hand. Even so, he could still feel the hole being burned into the side of his head. "Smooth."