Almost Running but not Quite

[Glyph]

Despite the gruesome scene outside, still fresh in his head, Banner managed an amused smirk at the eagerness in the hedgehog's voice.

"Keep straight on this road," the older Mobian instructed, fastening his seatbelt as well--he knew what Tara was capably of, now. "It'll be the last turnoff out of down-town, and after that it's all suburban."

Hopefully. If the neighborhoods between them and his house hadn't be leveled. Banner frowned at the thought, then pushed it away. Dwelling on it wouldn't change anything.

Staring out the window to keep watch, the fox readied his grip on the gun, but his voice was casual. "I'll let you know where to go from there."

[Kiwi]

“Okay. I got it.” Tara responded as she continued to drive the car down the street. Surprisingly, she was driving normally. Quite the opposite to yesterday’s fiasco. Then again, that was her first actual time driving behind the wheel. If you don’t include driving around in a parking lot or backing out of a driveway.

Now that she thought about it, high speed car races against robots seemed like the best possible way to teach teens how to drive. The white hedgehog almost laughed at that thought. She made the turn were he told her too, and he had been correct. She was now driving down a street lined with suburban houses. Well. What had once been suburban houses. They were rumble now. Occasionally, the young hedgehog would glance through the windows to make sure no one was following them.

For some reason, Tara felt on edge. She frowned slowly, trying to concentrate on driving. What if the robot they destroyed sent information to any others? Didn’t that E-series she destroyed say the same think before it blew up into sparks? Either way, the hedgehog felt that the next robot they encountered would not be by accident.

The hedgehog gripped the wheel tighter, and slowly pressed more on the gas, making the car go faster.

[Glyph]

"Whoa, easy there!" Banner started, blinking up from his puzzled scanning of the debris. The fox had been disappointed to find that the nice neighborhood had been reduced to rubble, and even more dismayed that its destroyed state was making it very hard to place streets and landmarks.

Peering uneasily through the smoky haze that still clung around a fewer of the more lively patches of rubble, Banner leaned forward suddenly, ignoring the change in speed long enough to squint at one of the few houses that were still remotely recognizable. Was this the McCreary's old house?

"Must be," he muttered to himself, "no one else's rubble is a bright shade of magenta." The McCrearys had always been an eccentric bunch.

"We need to turn here," the fox pointed to a side road coming up on their left--one that had, thankfully, remained mostly untouched. Except for the first couple of houses being missing and more potholes than he remembered there being, everything seemed normal, much to his relief. "Sixth house on the right."

[Kiwi]

“Uh. Sorry!” Tara responded, snapping out of her thoughts. The hedgehog let off the gas, allowing the car to go slower as she watched Banner scan through the crumbled houses. “Good thing there aren’t any robots in this area. Maybe they went to other parts of the city?” She paused for a moment. Or they went beyond the city. She frowned at that thought.

She tilted her ears towards Banner at his next words. McCreays? She’d never heard of them, but they must had been the owner of the purple ruble not far off. She frowned. A house of that color? Ew. She grimaced. Tara was more of the neutral color person. Give her blues whites and grays. Anything but something vibrant and screamed shoot me.

Tara nodded at his command and turned were he signaled. She blinked in surprise, most of the houses still standing in this section. “The sixth house? You mean that one?” She pointed over the steering wheel at a house not too far away. It was still standing obviously, but she had yet to get a close look to see any possible damage.

She pulled the car up to the curb and switched the car off. The white hedgehog stepped out of the vehicle. She gave the street a fleeting glance before stepping onto the side walk that was only slightly cracked. “This place was hardly touched.” She announced. “Looks like the robots didn’t destroy everything.”

[Glyph]

As Tara brought the car to a stop, Banner popped the seatbelt and let it wind back up on its own, ignoring it the moment he popped the car door open.

"I wonder how long they'll leave it alone." The fox mused, staring at the overgrown forest that had once been his front lawn. He scowled suddenly when he remembered why it looked so ragged--he hadn't been home for several days, even before this whole fiasco had started.

At least the house was intact... except for the garage, he noted with a wince. It had collapsed and crumpled in on itself, as if something very big had decided to take a nap on top of it. Not that it mattered, seeing as how his car was stalled on the highway two days west of here.

"... C'mon." He finally said, and, almost reluctantly, plodded up to the front door. There was a spare key under the mat, and, to his surprise, he found that it hadn't been touched. Huh. He'd been sure those stupid kids from down the street would have figured out where he kept it by now. Oh well. Shrugging, the fox twisted it in the lock and pushed open the door, before poking his head into the dark house.

The lights were out, just like anywhere else in the city, and it was a sparse, functional dwelling, but this was still Banner's home. He knew, just by the air, that it hadn't been touched, and the familiar sight of the old overstuffed armchair, the coat closet full of shoeboxes and dustbunnies, and the general, slightly frazzled messiness warmed him more than he'd ever admit.

Leaving the door propped open for light, the fox prowled inside, past the picture-filled mantelpiece and into the hall; before disappearing any farther, he glanced back, waiting for Tara.

[Kiwi]

Tara stuffed her hands into her pockets, glancing the house up and down. Besides the garage, the place looked untouched. She blinked, glancing over at the untrimmed lawn. He probably had probably been gone before this all started, she thought silently. Or he just never cut his grass. The pale hedgehog scratched the back of her head, trailing after him as he stopped by the front door and unlocked it with the spare key. This was the first time she had ever been in a officers house.

She stepped inside and blinked. She was expecting things to be more…organized? The hedgehog glanced around the house. Well, it seemed homely. It probably held much more sentiment to him. Her eyes paused as she observed the pictures that lined the mantelpiece. She almost asked about it, but when she turned her head, she could see that the fox expected her to follow. Tara closed her mouth and quickly joined his side.

All in all, this was just another normal house. The hedgehog sighed. She had been foolish in expecting something extreme. He probably only had a bag of bullets and maybe a spare gun or two here. Not a armory like she had believed. That would be pretty cool though.

[Glyph]

If Banner noticed Tara looking at the photos of his niece and the rest of his extended family displayed on the mantle, he didn't question it. Instead, he pointed toward a door at the end of the hallway, seeming faintly amused at her sigh.

"You head down first," he said, indicating that he would be in the kitchen, "I'll be down in a minute."

Before he turned away, he flashed her a sly smirk. "Feel free to grab anything that strikes your fancy."

Maybe it wasn't an armory... but the weapon's supply store absolutely adored him, and, well, what could he say? His line of work brought home some very interesting souvenirs...


OOC: Go wild, Kiwi. Banner's basement isn't an armory, but... *innocent grin*

[Kiwi]

Tara followed his hand, and the pale hedgehog gave a confused nod. “Er. Alright.” She responded and headed towards the door, slightly bewildered on the smirk he flashed her. She glanced over her shoulder, watching him head into the kitchen before she finally decided to head down into the basement. She opened the door slowly, and then headed down the stairs that lead to only Banner knew. She stumbled along the way, without light, it was almost impossible to see.

The hedgehog paused, her ears perking up as she emerged a room. Of course, she couldn’t see anything. It was far to dark in side. Her hands grasped the wall, desperate to find a light switch of some sort. Why did he tell her to come down into this dark place? She frowned, her hands touching something metal. No, not a switch, probably some plumbing or something. Oh wait. The electricity was down. She swore under her breath.

“I can’t see a damn thing down here.” She muttered. If there was anything Tara hated, it was the dark. She scrambled around the room, before her eyes finally landed on some sort of basement window that had been covered by a small curtain or something. Carefully, she moved towards it, and pushed away the veil, allowing light to filter in.

When she turned around, her jaw dropped. Enough light had come in for this hedgehog to now see what room she was in.

It was a damn armory damn it!

“Holly Mother of Chaos!” She blurted out, her eyes scanning along the walls lined with weapons.

Now, Tara was no expert at guns, but she had played plenty of videogames, so she had some sort of feel as to what would suit her and what wouldn’t. She knew that her laser pistol was only a side arm, and that she’d need something with a bit more…kick. Shotgun maybe? She shook her head, still in awe. How’d he get all of these guns anyway? She decided not to ask that question.

Her hands reached forward and gingerly removed a gun from a stand, blinking at how light it was. Seemed like a rifle to her. She ran through gun terms in her head. Bolt-Action? Was that what it was called? Yeah. Bolt Action. That was it. She glanced through the scope. In most video games she played a sniper, but shooting a gun in a video game and real life were different, but she liked the way the gun felt in her hands. The hedgehog paused, grasping onto it’s strap and finally securing the rifle over her back right against her backpack. It felt right. Looks like she was taking this one then.

She grasped a leather bag and opened it. It was stuffed with bullets. It had been right next to the gun she grabbed, so these must be the bullets needed to fire. She already knew that her weapon was loaded. She swung off her backpack and poured the bullets into a side pouch for quick access.

Okay, now she had a long range, medium range, now she just needed a weapon to fight close up. Just in case a robot ever got in her face and she couldn’t shoot it. She glanced around again. Almost everything here was a gun of some sort. Then, she paused. Her eyes landing on a knife ever so conveniently placed on a crate.

The hedgehog walked forward, and picked it up. It felt heavy in her grasp. She frowned, twirling it around in her hand for a moment. It seemed more like a knife you threw at something, but you could probably stab with it as well. Her hands gripped a sheath, probably for the blade, and secured it around her waist and slipped the blade inside.

Tara paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. Well. She was loaded and ready to scrap some metal.
__________________________________________________________________________

Her gun: www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=001C&mid=535108

[Glyph]

If the situation weren't so serious, Banner would have doubled over laughing at the astounded outburst that filtered up from downstairs. Instead, the fox simply grinned and gave a small, throaty chuckle as he rifled through the pantry.

Honestly, it wasn't all that impressive--a good portion of the stock downstairs had been inherited or given to him as gifts, and he'd picked up everything else on the job or out of curiosity. It wasn't like he was some end-of-the-world extremist or anything: he'd just picked them up as he'd felt the need. Banner'd never even used half of them.

Still shaking his head with amusement, the detective went back to shoving whatever food he could find into the duffel he'd snatched from his room--he already knew where he'd find his weapons.

[Kiwi]

Tara climbed up the stairs slowly, peeking her head through the door she had walked through only moments ago. “Where’d you get so many guns? Chaos. I think you out stock a gun store with the arms you got down there.” She walked through the door way, and headed into the living room, her new gun strapped to her back. “I guess being a cop has some real benefits.” To think this hedgehog had only been expecting something normal. She was proven wrong, fast. Her ears perked up as she entered the kitchen, she leaned against the doorway, watching him stuff his bag full of food.

“Well, benefits, or maybe the government has too many weapons laying around.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her eyes returned to the mantel piece and the pictures of…family members maybe? She turned her gaze back to Banner as he packed. She was all ready to go.

[Glyph]

"I've been around," Banner replied vaguely, his head shoved inside the pantry as he shuffled things around, looking for things that would keep in the long term. Eventually he got tired of poking around cobwebs, and ducked back out, his duffel bag under one arm and a sixpack of bottled water in the other.

"A little of both," the fox padded across the room and dropped both onto a little cluttered table, then strode past Tara again to the hall closet. Banner returned with a first aid kit and an armload of other things he figured they'd end up needing somewhere down the road, and, again, tossed them onto the table for later sorting. His eyes flicked to Tara again as he stood, pondering. "I picked them up here and there over the jobs and years... I traveled quite a bit before I landed a job in Central."

[Kiwi]

“Traveled a bit? Where too? If you don’t mind me asking.” Tara blinked innocently. You know the saying, curiosity killed the cat, but Tara wasn’t a cat, she was a hedgehog. So that analogy had nothing to do with her. She watched him sort through the items on the table, taking stock and comparing what he was packing as to what she already had in her backpack. Of course, she hardly had anything in her bag. Just bullets, food, and water, and that small first aid kit, but it was a tiny one. The one he had would be far more useful then what she had.

“Speaking of traveling, you got any idea on were we’re going after we leave the city?” That thought had been bugging her, but another thought bugged her as well. What happened when they did find a safe location? Would he leave her behind as he went off to do Chaos knows what? She frowned at that thought. Well, it’s not like she could constantly lean on him for his fighting skills, sooner or later, Tara would have to fend for herself. Right?

Well, Tara hoped that day wouldn’t be coming for awhile. The only thing she was good at was running or flying. Her aim was lousy, it was a miracle that she had even managed to shoot that robot from before, even at such close range. It made her wonder just why she had chosen a bolt action rifle. Well, she would learn to use it at one point, and who knows, maybe one day she’ll be a decent shooter.

She almost laughed at that thought. A week ago, she would have done a double take if she even thought about using a gun, now look at her, armed to the teeth and a backpack full with bullets. It was funny, in a dry way.

[Glyph]

Banner just shrugged, ignoring the painful pull in his shoulder long enough to hoist the duffel and its rearranged contents off the table.

"Station Square. Westopolis. Soleanna--where ever I was needed. Originally... Well." The fox waved vaguely in the direction of the living room, only half paying attention as he turned and made for the hall again. His voice drifted from one of the rooms--his bedroom, actually, but it wasn't like Tara could see that from in the kitchen. "--those pictures in there of my sister and her daughter were taken in Holoska."

You could almost hear the frown in his words--he dearly hoped that this mess didn't make it that far north. A few ruffling noises and puzzled grumbling later, he reappeared, a new trenchcoat slung over one arm and a laser rifle hanging from its strap on his other elbow. Pursing his lips, the fox flipped his tattered hat onto the open bag along with the coat, and began methodically inspecting the gun, sighting it in and making sure everything was in working order.

Banner glanced back at Tara after a moment, listening to her question and looking thoughtful. "Thought we'd head south and how Station Square's holding up... And if that's a bust, then I guess we put as much distance between here and us as we can."

[Kiwi]

“Holoska?” She remarked. Her mind reeling. She could remember briefly, a conversation between foster parents from long ago. Tara closed her eyes. What did they say again? Vacation house maybe? Or a timeshare? Either way, she could distinctly remember the two talking about either owning a place, or planning to buy one. Of course, she had been young then, maybe six or seven. Whether or not they bought a place there, she wasn’t sure. She had ran away around a day or two after the conversation. It had been the last she had seen of those two. They had been a nice couple, two beavers. Very homely, but far too affectionate for Tara’s taste. If it wasn’t obvious, Tara needed more of a strong hand in her life, rather then cuddling and affection. This hedgehog wasn’t exactly the touchy feely type.

She blinked and glanced up when he came back from his room. The hedgehog paused, her eyes on the laser rifle. Were did he get something like that? It made her pistol look like a child’s toy. She chose not the ask, and instead chose to listen to his plan. Station Square huh? She’d been there maybe once or twice, and she didn’t remember it too well. This hedgehog had spent most of her life in Central.

“I suppose that would work, but who knows.” She shrugged. “Then again, a whole ton of refugees from here might have run to Station Square, they have a real good hospital there don’t they?”

[Glyph]

"Yeah," he replied absently, hitching the rifle over his shoulder, "I was born there. Very cold. Very dark. But nice enough, I suppose."

He really hadn't been back there in a while--the last time he could recall had been when Glacy was six, and they'd all gone bobsledding through the village square. They'd nearly taken out a couple of pedestrians, and Banner had sworn that he'd never let himself be the unlucky soul who had to teach his niece how to drive.

Of course, now he had another crazy female driver to worry about...

The smirk that appeared on his muzzle slowly shrank when Tara continued. Might. Might was the key word here--they might have run to Station Square, just like they might have made it out of the city alive.

"Either way," Banner eventually said, shrugging, "We still need to put some distance between us. Anywhere away from here would do, if you have somewhere in particular in mind."