forum Alien Apocalypse // Private

Started July 15, 2019 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Jay sat up, looking over at Delia. He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "Delia." He said softly, shaking her shoulder lightly. Nightmare. I know what that's like.

She trembled harder and dipped her head down closer to her body, unable to wake herself from the ever worsening nightmare. They weren’t something she got frequently but when she did get them, they got bad. Fast.

Jay gently shook her again. "Delia." He said again, louder. "Wake up, it's just a nightmare."

She shook harder before her eyes snapped open and she gasped, immediately looking around worriedly. “Shoot…” She mumbled softly when she saw Jay, looking away and sitting up. Delia pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees, letting her mind calm down.

Jay kept his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, hand shifting to rub her upper back gently.

“No,” She responded, close to tears though she wouldn’t let them flow, “I’m really not alright, though no one is anymore.” Leo whined and padded over again, nudging her legs and pawing at her.

Jay nodded. "Okay." He sighed softly. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, biting his lip for a moment. "I…" Leo whined softly, looking up at her with big, sad eyes.

Delia shook her head, glancing at him momentarily with clearly watery eyes before resting her head back on her knees, "Just…don't apologize Jay..you've done nothing wrong right now that you need to apologize for." Her mind didn't process what she was doing fully as she scooted closer to him and leaned her head against him. At the moment she just needed something comforting. Gently she picked up Leo as well and placed him in her lap for extra comfort.

He put an arm around her, holding her gently. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, he was just trying to comfort her a bit. Leo snuggled up to her, looking up at her with big eyes.

“I’m an absolute mess,” She mumbled, mostly to herself, wiping her eyes and shaking her head, “Stupid nightmares, they make me realize how not normal I am.” Delia reached down and pet Leo while she talked, taking comfort in just leaning against another person.

Jay sighed softly, keeping his arm around her. How not normal you are? He thought, almost bitterly. What I wouldn't give to be the same not normal that you are.

She leaned against him for a moment longer before scooting away, her brain finally processing what she had done. “Sorry,” She said softly, getting over the nightmare slowly even though it still scared her.

He shook his head. "It's alright." He said, dropping his arm down to the bed. Leo was quiet.

“Do you get nightmares?” She asked suddenly, picking at the hem of her shirt where it was fraying. Her other hand just pet Leo, keeping the puppy quiet and happy.

He bit his lip. "All the time." He replied softly, looking at his hands.

Delia seemed to relax slightly, glancing over at him, “They’re terrible..especially when they get right to the things you’re trying not to remember.”

Jay huffed a breath of air. "I know." He said softly. "You have no idea how well I know that."

She laid back on the bed and closed her eyes, letting Leo do what he wanted. “So…where’d you go on your walk?”

He shrugged. "Just around. I don't know." He replied, still looking at his hands. "I just needed to calm down." Leo closed his eyes, snuggling up to her.

She reached out and started petting Leo again, glancing over at him momentarily before looking away, “Makes sense.” There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to sleep after her nightmare and she sighed, pulling the little dog trinket out of her pocket from the monopoly game and just holding it in her hand.

Jay nodded. "I'm sorry about Vince." He said softly. "That he…ruined the day." He looked down at his hands.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t tell him we were here, he found us on his own.” She looked at the trinket and sighed, “The day was bound to be messed with anyway, but I don’t think he completely ruined it.”

Jay shrugged. "My presence ead what drew him, though. The programmed…we can feel if another is close. Like an itch in your brain that you can't quite scratch." He admitted softly.

Delia frowned slightly, “The aliens really did think of everything…didn’t they.” It sparred the question in her mind of just how close two programmed had to be to feel that the other was near. Based on Vice and Jay, the range seemed to be quite far.

Jay nodded. "Once they're within a mile, we can feel it." He replied quietly, still looking at his hands.

She sighed and shook her head, eyes closing once again, “Can I ask you a favor? If your mind tells you that one of them is close…can you tell me?” Delia hated knowing that jay knew where all of the others were, but she had no clue. It made her nervous and even more jumpy, and she knew that the next time they came across someone, she wouldn’t trust them at all.

Jay nodded. "Yeah…" He said softly. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I didn't know he would seek me out…i thought he would just keep moving." He clasped and unclasped his hands, biting his lower lip slightly. Leo nuzzled her hands slightly, wanting to be petted.

“Hey,” Delia said gently, rolling onto her side to face him and opening her eyes. She started petting Leo absentmindedly while she talked, “Like you said, you didn’t know he would come find you, it’s ok that you didn’t tell me.”

Jay shrugged slightly. "Okay." He said slowly. "Okay." He reached over to pet Leo. "Do you still want to keep moving in the morning, or do you want to stay here another night?" He asked, glancing over at her.

She thought for a moment before sighing, “With Vince somewhere, I don’t feel safe staying another night after tonight. Sleeping on the ground again after finally getting a bed is going to suck though.” Her gaze flicked to Leo as she continued to pet the pup and she only looked up at him momentarily to answer.