The Collapse (Joseph Seed X Deputy)

Chapter 2

'I really need to get this fucking thing off of me...' You thought to yourself as you looked down at the blisters forming around your wrist.
"What is that man up to anyway?" You mutter to yourself as you tried to move around the bed and look out of the doorway.

You heard footsteps and quickly sat back and looked down at your hand again. "Are you still doing okay, Deputy?" Joseph said, looking into the doorway. "Yeah, I guess...my wrist is hurting pretty bad though." You said.
Joseph walked over and knelt down by the bed.

"Hmm...you're right, that doesn't look too good. Give me a minute." Joseph stood up and left the room.
'what is he doing' You thought. Joseph came back into the room with a first aid kit in hand. He pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

"I trust that you're not going to try anything." He said as he removed the handcuffs. "I won't do anything, I promise." You replied with a smile.
You hissed in pain as he poured a bit of peroxide on to one of the busted blisters. "Sorry..." Joseph whispered.
"It's okay, I just didn't expect it to sting that bad..."

You watched him as he tended to your wrist and took in the look of his still bruised features. You couldn't help but notice how blue Joseph's eyes are.
'you shouldn't be thinking like that...'
You thought. You looked down at your wrist as he finished wrapping the bandage around it.

"I'm gonna leave the handcuffs off of you, okay?" Joseph said as he stood up. You raised an eyebrow. "You mean I can walk around and go wherever...?" You said.
Joseph nodded his head.
You started to stand up but your legs were weak from not being able to walk freely. You stumbled forward.

You reached out and caught yourself on the wall. You let out a small laugh.
"Didn't think that would happen." You  whispered as you stepped away from the wall. You walked over to the doorway and paused for a moment to remember the layout of the bunker from when Dutch had first brought you here.

'it feels like it's been forever since than...'. You sighed to yourself and then your thoughts turned to the image of Dutch's body on the ground when Joseph first brought you down here. "What's wrong?" Joseph said, pulling you from the image. "It's nothing...just thinking about something..." You said as you continued walking down the hallway.

You made your way to the living room. The blue light of the fish tank made you feel somewhat calm. You slowly approached the fish tank and picked up a little thing of fish food that sat next to it. You turned around and looked at Joseph. "Have you fed them at all?" You asked. Joseph leaned against the doorway.

"Maybe once or twice...I never had a pet fish or anything like that, so I don't really know how to take care of them." He said. You nodded and poured some flakes into the tank and watched the fish swim to the top of the water. You heard Joseph move from the door and walk away.

You sighed to yourself and looked around the room. You noticed something and walked over to it.
'This could be fun...' you thought.

***

Joseph was sitting on one of the lower bunk beds and looking down at his hands when he heard music.

'the moment I wake up,
before I put on my makeup.'

Joseph stood up and walked back to the living room and saw you clearing
the table, he leaned on the doorway.

'I say a little prayer for you...'

You looked up and saw Joseph standing in the doorway. "I hope you don't mind. I saw the record sitting on the shelf and thought it would be nice to hear something other than my thoughts." You smiled. Joseph shook his head. "It's fine...I don't mind hearing it." He said.

You threw away some paper plates that were sitting on the table. You reached over, grabbing a rag and wiped the table. "What do you want to eat tonight?" You asked him. Joseph shrugged. "I'm not really sure. But I'll be fine with anything.' he said. You nodded your head and walked to the fridge. "Hmm..." You murmured.

You closed the fridge and opened a cabinet. "How do you feel about red potatoes and green beans..."
You asked. Joseph thought for a moment. "Sounds good to me." He answered. You smiled and got to work.

***

You say the two plates down and placed a candle in the middle of the table. You walked over and unplugged the hanging Christmas lights. You walked down the hallway, looking into each room trying to find Joseph.
You found yourself in the doorway of the room that held two bunk beds.

You found Joseph asleep on one of the bottom bunks. You smiled to yourself and walked over, you leaned over and gently shook his shoulder. He jolted awake and grabbed onto your injured wrist. You hissed in pain. "Joseph blinked a few times and quickly let go. "I'm sorry..." He said, breathing heavily. He sat up.
You looked down at the bandage on your wrist, red slowly appeared on the surface of the white cloth.

"I-it's okay..." You moved away from him and went to the doorway. "I just wanted you to know that food was ready..." You said. You walked back to the living room and sat down at the table. You heard Joseph walk in and sit across from you.
You could hear him whispering to himself. You slowly looked up at him and realized that he was praying.

'I wonder what he's praying for...'

You thought to yourself. You picked up your fork and took another bite.
"Thank you for making this."
Joseph said. You looked at him and did your best to smile. "You're welcome..." You said. "So...why are the lights off." Joseph asked, trying to make small talk. "I just figured that we should save some power...so I found a candle." You shrugged.

Joseph nodded his head and continued to eat. You looked down at your wrist and sighed. "I'm really sorry about doing that..." Joseph said.
You looked up at him, the flame making the blue of his eyes extremely bright. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to do it." You replied.

For the rest of the meal you and Joseph were silent. You took the plates and cleaned them off. Joseph stood up from the table. "If you don't mind... I'm gonna go lay down for a bit..." He said. You turned around and looked at him. "That's fine, Go on." You said.
You watch him as he walked away.
You blew out the candle and walked over to the couch. You sat down and looked over at the fish.

'shit...how long is all this gonna last..."