Chapter 10

Darius’s eyes twitched as the sun filtered through the leaves of the tree he was sleeping under. While the others had tents, Darius declined to room with them. He had a hard time falling asleep with others around him. He had finally gone to sleep after talking with Zane and Sir the night before. While only managing four hours of sleep, it was enough for him to go on for the rest of the day. As he slowly opened his eyes he could make out the silhouette of a person. Small and with long hair. His eyes watered a bit and he began rubbing them to help ease away the blur that seemed to always haunt him after awakening.
“Wiola?” Darius asked out still in a sleep filled stupor.
“Who the fuck is Wiola? Did you have a wet dream?” Elizabeth asked as she took a drink from a bottle she was holding.
“What?… No…” Darius said as he lowered his hands and looked up again.
She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and denim jeans. She was again wearing her signature aviator sunglasses. He could only guess that was not water in that bottle.
“Wake up… I don’t have all day.” She said and kicked him lightly.
“Ow, stop it.” Darius said as he sat up and yawned.
“Get your ass up.” She said kicking him again and then walking away towards the rest of the group.
Darius rubbed his thigh where she had kicked him and sighed. He got to his feet and stretched, popping his back in the process. He looked over at Elizabeth who seemed to be getting a report from Zane about anything that had happened. She seemed to be more interested in savoring whatever she was drinking and he could swear she just gargled the clear liquid before swallowing it. That woman had a hell of a tolerance for alcohol, especially if it was same stuff she was drinking yesterday. He had taken a gulp of it before he had his bone in his hand reset. He thought it was going to burn a hole in his throat. He sighed and walked over to them.
“Hey.” Darius said to them.
“Oi!” Zane said.
“About time.” Elizabeth said.
“Where is everyone else?” Darius asked.
“In the tent getting ready.” Zane told him.
“Getting ready?” He asked.
“A truck will be here soon, I have a van waiting right now.” Elizabeth said.
“Oh… What?” He asked.
“You're moving today… Do you not remember?” She said with a sigh.
“Oh. You picked out a building?” He asked waking up a bit.
Elizabeth took a drink and held it in her mouth and nodded.
“What kind of building is it?” He asked.
She swallowed and looked at him.
“Don’t worry… I decided to be generous. It’s seven stories with a bomb shelter for a basement. The first two floors acted as lobbies, wide open spaces. The next three are offices, I guess they can double as storage or you can make them bedrooms, whatever… Next floor is vacant, no walls or anything. The top floor was a penthouse. The previous owner lived there before I bought it. It has a kitchen. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms… And to top it off it has a water tower on top. Shut off the valve to the city line and fill it up yourself and boom can probably last you a week before needing a refill. Happy?” She asked taking another drink.
Darius stared at her in disbelief. That was way more than he thought they would get. He was guessing a two-story burned out restaurant at most.
“Thank you, Miss Abell! I’m not worthy of your kindness!” She said trying to mimic his voice.
“Ah! S-Sorry… Thank you! Thank you so much!” He said to her.
She narrowed her eyes at him as she expected some sarcastic quip and not a sincere thank you.
“Okay… Anyway, get your stuff. Zane will stay here and make sure everything is loaded up and moved over.” She said as she pointed towards the van.
“Don’t worry, I already talked with Sir about everything.” Zane said to him and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Ah, Okay. I guess I’ll leave it to you! Thanks, you’ve been a big help to all of us.” Darius said to him.
“Don’t mention it! Thanks to you I basically got the night off to have a barbeque!” He said to him and they both laughed.
“I’ll be sure to tell Thomas the reason you agreed to protect them without a moment’s thought.” Elizabeth said.
“O-Oi… You don’t have to go and do that…” Zane said to her with a slight begging in his voice.
“Then next time you have a barbeque you tell me!” She said to him with a menacing look in her eye.
“Seriously, the UHA’s cafeteria is little more than a glorified microwave. I don’t care how much or a technical marvel Whitley and Darabont say it is.”She said with a grumble.
“What’s wrong with the UHA’s cafeteria?” Darius asked, his curiosity now piqued a little.
“It’s just a room with a screen. You say what you want and it does science shit and gives it to you…” She said waving her hand.
Darius looked at her weakly then turned to Zane.
“Believe it or not that is kind of an accurate description. It’s like a 3D food printer.” He said to him.
“Really? That sounds pretty cool!” Darius said wanting to see that in action.
“It is, but… Well…” Zane said trying to put into words.
“You ask for a steak and you get something that looks like a steak, smells like a steak, tastes like a steak… but as soon and you cut into it…” She said shivering.
“What?” Darius asked.
“It’s all a mimicry of what it’s supposed to be. You immediately know something is off about it… so in the back of your mind, while you’re eating…” Zane said.
“Okay?” Darius said not sure what they were talking about.
“Let’s just say that there is still room for improvement.” Zane said and left it at that.
“Anyway, the rest of your friends should probably be ready by now.” She said looking at her wrist.
“You’re not wearing a watch.” Darius informed her.
“Shut up…” She said as she realized that.
“I’m tired, I stayed up all night going through my records and referencing them with an updated map of the city to see what buildings I had that were still viable to use.” She said.
“So even an immortal has to sleep huh?” Darius asked.
“Yeah, I also have to eat, drink and shit. I’m still pretty much a human you dumbass.” She said to him.
“Okay, okay!” Darius said raising his hands.
Elizabeth sighed and took another drink from her bottle and then nodded to Zane and began to walk away.
“Well, Guess we will see you later.” Darius said to Zane.
“Sure… Oh, and remember. No mention of what we talked about last night.” Zane said to him in a hushed tone.
Darius nodded and waved as he walked after Elizabeth. As he caught up he could see both of Charity talking loudly to a large group of people.
“I know some of you are upset, but the Trading Post is moving to Reeves St. We have a building there now and will be opening up later today. I know this is an inconvenience to some of you but it’s only three more blocks away.” She both said in perfect unison, her doubled voice having an amplified effect.
“Are you still taking cash?” Someone near the front asked.
“Yes, we are! And we are still welcoming other trades as well. With our new storefront, we will be far more organized as well.” She said as she looked over the crowd and at Trevor who was motioning to her left.
She looked over to see Darius and Elizabeth walking up to the rest of the group.
“We at the Caster Trading Company hope to see you all soon!” She said as she stepped down and walked around the crowd and to the rest of the group.
“Yo! About time you woke up.” Trevor said to Darius as he approached.
“You could have woke me up earlier.” Darius said.
“Zane told me you had only just got to sleep, so we thought we would let you sleep as long as you could.” He said.
“Uh… Thanks.” He said scratching his head.
“Let’s get this show on the road already… I don’t have all day.” Elizabeth said as she took another drink and pointed at a van.
“Alright! Fine! Let’s go!” Darius said rolling his eyes as he turned to her only to get a swift kick to his shin.
“Ow! What the hell?!” Darius let out.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me!” She said to him.
“Fine! Dammit…” He said limping towards the van she was pointing at.
They all began to file into the van. One of Charity’s bodies sat in her others lap to save space as a water cooler was already in a seat. The rest found a seat with Elizabeth getting into the driver’s seat. Darius looked forward at her.
“Wait, you’re driving?” He asked her.
“Yeah? It’s my van.” She said as she pressed a button and the air conditioner came on and the instrument panel came alive.
Darius now noticed that her seat was higher than the passenger seat and although he could not see her feet, he guessed that the pedals were raised up to meet her short legs.
“Are you sure you’re alright to drive?” Darius asked.
She looked back at Darius and glared.
“You know I drove one of the first Model T’s off of the assembly line? I was the third owner of James Dean’s Little Bastard. I have a garage in Glendale where my extensive car collection is. I’m going to guess I’m a better driver than you.” She said to him.
“I was talking more about you drinking…” He said.
“Oh… I’m fine. This is like a single shot of cheap tequila to me.” She said shaking her bottle that had to be at least one litter big but was almost half empty.
“Ah… okay…” Darius said as he buckled his seatbelt, as well did everyone else.
Darius wanted to ask why she was driving them at all. He would have thought that someone else would have been acting as an escort but he figured it was probably some dumb reason like her not wanting to be supervised by the UHA. Darius thought for a moment, then said screw it.
“Why are you driving us there yourself?” He asked.
“To get away from the UHA.” She said.
“I knew it…” He said back.
Elizabeth looked at him via the rearview mirror.
“You know… If we were all involved in a fiery crash, I would walk away just fine.” She said.
Everyone looked at her, then glared at Darius.
“…S-Sorry… “ He said even though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be sorry for.
Elizabeth looked forward again and began to drive slowly through the main walkway, past all the tents and out of the park. They all drove in silence until they had finally arrived. It was only three blocks away so the awkward silence was thankfully brief. They got out and looked around. The surrounding buildings looked vacant. A couple had been damaged during the invasion. Then they feasted their eyes on their new home.
“Huh…” Darius let out.
“It’s… A fixer-upper!” Charity said looking at the broken windows and graffiti on the walls.
“Say Elizabeth… When did you buy this building?” Darius asked.
“I don’t know… the late 80’s?” She said taking a swig from her bottle.
“Late 80’s… This place have asbestos?” Darius asked.
“Nah… well, probably not.” She said.
They all looked over at her, but they couldn’t tell if she was joking or not with her sunglasses on.
“Well, I think it’s nice! Let’s find some brooms and start cleaning!” Mary said with a clap and a smile.
“I have some cleaning supplies in the back of the van.” Elizabeth said and pressed a button on her key fob.
The door popped open and Mary happily walked to the back. Sir followed and began to the heavier things like buckets and mops. Todd took whatever Mary had tried to carry and brought it into the building even with her protesting that she could handle it.
“Thanks.” Darius said to her.
She looked at him and then walked up into the building. The smell of mold was apparent and noticeably visible next to any of the broken windows. Other than the dust, water damage, peeling paint and the occasional dead animal, the place was nice. As they swept the floors they could see the marble tiles in vibrant detail. They knocked the rest of the glass shards free from the broken windows and planned to board them up later. Todd got started on cleaning the remaining windows that were still fine.
The building looked like it had been built in the late 60’s so it didn’t have the modern all-glass aesthetic. It was mostly brick and had several large windows on the front that started at waist height. Everyone swept all the filth to the front door and then out into the street. With the floors uncluttered. Sir, Trevor, and Darius began any knock out any wood and drywall that had visible mold on it. After that, they piled it all in an empty lot down the street. They made their way back and could see Elizabeth walking down the stairs back into the first-floor lobby.
“Darius! Can you lend a hand?” Mary asked as she put some lemony fresh cleaner into a bucket.
“Oh! Sure.” He said and walked over and let water fall from his hand into the bucket.
Elizabeth walked over and watched him use his ability. Darius began to feel a bit uncomfortable as both women watched him fill the bucket. He waited for Elizabeth to crack a crude joke about have performance anxiety but she said nothing. Mary thanked him and began to mop the floor. Elizabeth waved to him and asked him to follow her.
“What is it?” Darius asked as they walked up to the second floor.
“Just follow me, we’re going to the roof.” She said and walked to door at the far left side.
She opened the door revealing a stairwell. It was remarkably clean and free of graffiti. Each door was opened, allowing for light to filter in from the windows on all the floors.
“You guys will have to use this stairwell till you get electricity… and thoroughly test the elevator once you do.” She said.
“When will the electricity be turned on?” Darius asked.
“Uh… I don’t know…” She replied.
Darius sighed and looked back up at her as she was leading the way.
“How does the UHA have electricity?” He asked.
“They have tons of generators and a solar array on the roof for backup.” She said.
“Anyway, you can maybe get us something to get us going?” He asked.
She stopped walking, Darius almost bumping into her in the low light.
“You get a building, rent-free may I add… And you still want more?” She asked him.
“Well… Electricity would help out a lot…” He said.
“It would help everyone out. So you can wait like the rest of the city.” She said to him.
“It’s not like I want it just for selfish reasons.” Darius told her.
“Oh? And what would you use it for?” She asked waiting to hear him.
“Well… For one I wanted it to help with food storage. Right now all we take is canned food or bags of chips and stuff. I would really like to get some freezers to store more perishable foods. Meaning we could take more things in for trade.” He said.
She blinked and thought about it. She turned around and continued walking. As they reached the top she opened the door and stepped out onto the roof. The wind was rougher this high up. Her long hair began to move in violent jolts. She turned back to him as he stepped out.
“Okay! I want to watch you fill that up.” She said pointing behind him.
Darius turned around and could see a large water tower standing behind the roof entryway.
“Th-The whole thing?” Darius asked looking back at her.
“Did I stutter?” She asked sarcastically.
Darius walked up to it and inspected it.
“If it leaks we will deal with that, go ahead and turn the larger nozzle at the base. That will cut it off from the city line. Then climb up and open the hatch on top. You can fill it there.” She said.
“Why?” He asked.
“So you guys can have running water and I want to see how much you can let out at once. I’m giving you this building on the condition that I get to study you.” She reminded him.
Darius sighed and nodded. He did as she said and was soon on top of the water tower. he was a bit surprised it was still in pretty good condition. He opened the hatch as Elizabeth climbed up as well.
“Alright! Fill’er up!” She said and sat cross-legged beside him.
Darius sighed and began to let the water flow. She watched closely and laughed a bit.
“What?” Darius asked her.
“Little more force, please? Don’t want to be up here all week.” She said to him as she put her bottle to her lips but then realized it was now empty.
“Shit…” She said and let the bottle drop to the roof.
“You sure like to drink.” Darius said to her.
“You sure like to point out the obvious.” She said back.
They stayed in silence as she crawled to the edge of the water tower and looked over to see if there were any leaks. With seeing none she sat back down next to him.
“Use both hands.” She said.
He sighed and did as she said.
“Harder…” She said.
“Jesus…” He said and concentrated hard and the water flowing from his hand began to shoot out like jets.
“That’s better, but is this really the best you can do?” She asked.
“I think I can do more but I’m already having a hard time keeping my balance?” He said.
“I see… You need to build more muscle so you can use your ability to its fullest.” She told him.
“Is this just a way of you calling me a pussy?” He asked her.
“No, its a fact. You need to start training your body.” She said.
“Look, I agreed to let you study me… Not be my personal trainer.” He said to her.
“I guess I could start charging you rent.” She said.
“So do you want me to start with situps or jumping jacks or what?” Darius quickly asked.
Elizabeth began to laugh at his sudden change of heart. She wiped away a few tears in her eyes and looked back down in the water tower.
“Are you feeling tired?” She asked out of the blue.
Darius looked at her. It was strange to him seeing her being caring and sympathetic.
“No.” He said.
“Good. So far your ability lines up with how Cataract could use it.” She asked.
“Stop and try to command the water swirl clockwise.” She said to him.
“Say what?” Darius asked confused.
“Command the… Cataract could control the water he created to do a number of things. Bend around a corner, shoot upwards against gravity and stuff like that. So try to will it.” She said with a small sigh.
Darius blinked and looked into the tower. The cold, dark water sloshed back and forth against its aluminum sides. He thought about what she said. Command the water, but how the hell do you do that. Darius sighed and held his hand up to the pool. He began to concentrate on the water becoming a whirlpool. Nothing happened. He began to move his hand in the direction that he wanted the water to spin. Nothing happened.
“Can you please swirl?” Darius asked the water.
“What are you doing?” She asked him.
“I can’t get the water to do anything… So I tried asking.” Darius said back to her.
“You’re stupid.” She said to him.
“Shut up… I can’t control the water. What next?” He asked.
“Finish filling up the tank. Then we will head back down.” She said.
“Maybe you just need practice… Abilities are like muscles, the more you use them, the stronger they become.” She said as she leaned back, using her arms to prop herself up as she looked up at the clouds.
“…I hope. The other power I stole is weaker too.” He said to her.
“Oh right… You said you can make barriers?” She asked.
“Yeah, but they are smaller than the ones that its original owner could make… maybe they aren’t as strong too? I don't know.” He said.
“So you think that it’s a side effect? That the powers you steal become weakened?” She asked as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
“Uh yeah, they are also weakened when I pass them to someone else. But if I give them back, they seem to go back to their full strength.” He said to her.
“I see…” She said as she typed on her phone.
“What are you doing?” Darius asked her.
“Making notes…” She told him.
Darius watched as she typed what seemed like way more than what they had talked about. He sighed and looked down. As the water neared the top of the tower he finally stopped.
“Alright full.” He said.
She continued typing for another minute before she put her phone away.
“Alright… Well, Let’s head back down. You should bring your tall, good-looking friend back up here to flavor it.” She said.
“Sure.” He said as he climbed down.
As his feet touched the roof he looked up to help her down but only saw her dangling her feet over the edge of the tower.
“Catch!” She yelled out and pushed herself off.
“The Fu-”Darius let out as he quickly held out his hands and tried to catch he. As she landed in his arms his legs buckled and his back hit the ground with her sitting on top of him.
“Ahahahaaa! Yes! I was waiting to do that since I saw this place had a water tower!” She said laughing.
“What the fuck? Ahhhh, Shit…” Darius said as he laid on the ground.
“My hero! You seriously need to start working out!” She said as she looked down at him.
“Can you get off?” He asked her.
“Sure, but I would need to see some good porn first. Your face doesn’t really do it for me.” She said to him.
“Ughh… Gross. Just get off, your heavier then you look.” He said as he pushed her off of him.
She got up and dusted off her clothes and laughed at him again.
“I only weigh 99 pounds. You really need to work out.” She said with a chuckle.
“And you’re like 260 years old, you should act your age.” He said as he got to his feet and stretched, audible pops came from his back.
“Sure, Let me dig a hole first and I’ll hop right in.” She said.
“Do you suffer from bipolar disorder or something?” He asked her as he dusted himself off.
“I’m out of drink! Got to find something that makes me happy and picking on you works pretty well.” She said smiling.
“Whatever…” Darius said sighing and limped back to the door to reenter the building.
As they made their way back to the lobby they could see a truck backed up to the front entrance. Everyone was setting up tables for all the goods but nothing else had been brought in yet. Darius marveled at how well the lobby had cleaned up. As Sir and Todd set up the last table, Charity walked in and seemed to be directing Zane that was walking in behind her. He had his hands outstretched and cupped.
“Okay! The water coolers are on these back tables. There is a broom closet on the second floor, you can put the food in there. Clothes and everything else can go on whatever open table there is.” She said to him.
“Got it. You know… Did you guys really have to fill the water coolers before you guys moved?” He asked.
“Sorry… We didn’t think we would be moving so early in the morning.” She said to him.
“No need to apologize! If I couldn’t handle this what kind of Hero would I be?” He asked smiling at her.
He motioned his hand as coolers and boxes began to float into the lobby. With laser-like precision, he began to place everything on the tables exactly where he was told. Afterward, he still had seven boxes floating in the air.
“Lead the way to the food closet.” He said.
As they walked up the stairs they passed Darius and Elizabeth.
“Oi!” Zane let out.
“Hey!” Darius said back as they continued down into the first-floor lobby.
“Well, I guess that’s that for the day. I’m heading back to the UHA. And I’ll look to see what I can do for you guys electricity wise.” She said to him.
“Really?” He asked.
“Yeah. I’m not promising much… But I’ll talk to some people.” She said as she walked to the entrance.
“Uhh… Thanks, for everything. I know we didn’t get off to a good start but. Thank you.” Darius said to her.
She looked at him and nodded. She turned and left without saying anything else. As she walked out she could see a line of people already lining up around the block. She smiled seeing that the move wasn’t going to slow down their business. She got into her van and started it. She sat there for a moment letting the air conditioning wash over her. She turned on her stereo and listened as the sounds of smooth jazz filled the vehicle. She sighed and turned the wheel, set the car in drive and headed back towards the UHA.