𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 ▷ 𝑵𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏

• Southern Courtship ; 1 •

|| Three Months Ago ||

My hands delicately grazed the windshield of  the worn down Mustang, clearing it of the layers of dirt that must've collected after the months that have gone by; maybe years.

"I wonder if it still works," my brother piped after closing the hood, trying his best to make as less noise as possible.

"The pipes don't look so bad. Oils there, but it's dried out so the engine might need some repairing-"

"If it gets us anywhere other than here, let's just go," I interrupted, not wanting to stay any longer in the place where we use to make memories; family memories. Although it would pain me to do so, this little town would never be the same again if we stayed here.

"We can't just leave without them," He muttered, frowning at me and dusting off his hands on his army cargo pants.

"Didn't they teach you in the Army how to protect yourself? How you have to do whatever it is to keep yourself safe, right?" I wondered, giving him the look I always gave him nowadays; pressing my lips shut and furrowing my eyebrows. I was always frustrated with him, but not just as if we were in a simple sister brother disagreement. Unfortunately, this was a more pressing matter. Definitely too important to be considered as a simple one.

"Yeah, but they also taught us to care for thou fellow man. So if it means going back to save our family, then yes. We're going back. End of discussion," he said firmly before he walked over to the driver door to check if it was unlocked.

"It's locked, I already tried," I stated, rolling my eyes.

"Don't you know how to pick locks?" He questioned, furrowing his dark eyebrows at me. Knowing and being able to, were two different things.

"Yeah, but I don't have the things I need to do it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

"Thought it was just a bobby pin," he joked, making me roll my eyes at him once again. Just as a smile graced his face, the familiar rustling sound of trees nearby alerted us that a threat was approaching. The two of us quickly scanned our surroundings, noting that a dead man with blood and skin in his teeth was headed our way, stumbling over his own feet in an attempt to reach us both. The stench of death was unforgivingly familiar to my nose.

"Looks like that's our cue," I sighed, before pulling my mask over my face, preparing myself for what I already know my brother would tell me to do.

"The goal is to learn your strengths and weaknesses."

He liked to refer to it as a game of Deliana versus Terrance. It was his attempt to distracting me from the loss of our family.  I wasn't sad or afraid, but I knew he was. I assumed that whatever be the case, it happened for a reason. I had no choice but to accept it.

"Your cue, you mean, but go ahead. Show me what you've learned," he said just as I stepped forward, waiting on the snapping man to approach me rather than approaching him. It would be best to avoid moving around a lot while doing this sort of thing. If my brother hadn't taught me such a reliable technique, I would still be tripping over myself. Maybe even get myself killed on accident.

After taking my second deep breath, the duel blades that were strapped to my back had been removed in a swift movement, as well as the beheading of the thing that now lay limply on the ground, head still snapping urgently. "Don't forget-"

"I know, I know. Put it out of it's misery," I mocked, feeling the glare that he had sent to the back of my head. After glancing down into its dead grey eyes, I found it quite easy to send the blade through it's skull. I watched as it's eyes finally faded. All sights of any motor functions gone. He was finally dead. This thing was the reason this place was no longer a home to us; to any of us that use to live here. Now it's just a graveyard of those we use to know.