Don't You Come Crying When They're Rippin' Out Your Throats (Sequel to AsHollow)

10 - How It Sickens My Heart So To Recall

Rose and I had decided to go out to the city to try and get more food for everyone a few hours after Laurence had declared that we were going to be at war with The Cardinal and his army of lunatics. The food she'd gotten this morning for everyone lasted for breakfast and for lunch and there wasn't very much after that. We needed to get some more, and now that I was awake at the same time she was, I was more than happy to assist her to the market for some supplies. Kier had given us a little shopping list of other things beside food to get as well - mostly bits and pieces of medical equipment and a few bits of metal here and there that Barrone wanted in order to build some more guns and weapons. He didn't seem to care that we more or less had a whole shed of ammunition out the back, he insisted on building more - and no one was really up for arguing with him.

I have to say, despite everything it was quite a nice and ever so slightly peaceful afternoon... Might have made it a little better at the fact I was walking around holding Rose's hand and being a rather good couple type...thing. You suck at describing things Luke, my inner voice said and I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little at this.

Rose had on her other arm a wicker basket that she was planning to stock full of food - but we had both been joking the whole way into the city that for feeding seven people we weren't sure if the basket would be able to manage.

She suddenly tugged on my hand and ran off going over to a market stall that had a bunch of fresh fruit lying over it, and I could see the smile spreading over her face.

"Get anything you want here," I saw her face light up as I said it and she turned, kissing my cheek gently, "Just remember to get something for the rest of us too."

A giggle escaped her lips and she went back to the stall, putting various tubs and bags in her basket as she stocked up on anything and everything she thought that we might need. While she was doing this, the stall owner and her were talking and chatting away like old school friends and even though I didn't make any comment about anything that was being discussed, I was more than happy to just sit and listen to the pair of them. It was nice for me to just see her being happy and not looking like she was going to throw up all over again.

"Rose! Rose!"  The smile dropped from her face and she spun round to where the voice was coming from. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!"

Her face was unreadable but she stepped away from him, "I don't know you... Please leave me alone. I-I can't speak to you."

"Rose?" His voice was totally innocent, nothing but confusing lacing through it.

He was a young boy, late teens early twenties and he was dressed from head to toe in black, a silver belt buckle going round his waist and big black boots. He had floppy black and red hair and two piercings in his lip... His eyes were heavily lined with eyeliner and it had been smudged all round his eyes and a few bits were running down his cheeks in black streaks - whether he'd been crying or just been running around in the heat and that'd had some effect on him, I wasn't sure. He almost reminded me of-

"Please leave me alone." Her words brought me out of my little day dream about my little friend and my attention flickered between the two of them.

He looked genuinely hurt at her outburst and just stepped forward to try and speak to her more, "Rose - it's me. We've been friends and colleagues for years... Why are you acting like this?" He lifted his hand to reach out to her but she swatted it back down.

"I don't know you... I'm sorry if you think otherwise but it's the truth so I'm sorry about this."

"Then how do I know your name and why did I run up to you? You do know me, or at least remember some of the times we spent together - y'know like-"