It was early in the morning, Corpse didn't know the exact time, but he rolled over groaning anyway. Something had woken him up, someone new in the tunnels? He listened carefully, his hand brushing over the small axe he kept next to his "bed". There were muffled voices, muffled but sharp enough to hear, he froze like stone and even limited his breathing to try and pick up whatever was being said. He wished he hadn't. Soon after the muffled voices he heard a shout loud enough to attract the Corporation, loud enough to make him jump.
"You're a fucking bastard do you know that?!"
Corpse groaned loudly, looking at the clock as he heard Jinx's shout. They were arguing. Again. At 4am. He rolled over and pulled his jumper over his ears, trying to block out the noise coming from down the hallway. This wasn't a new thing for him, he'd been with Jinx and Vincent for a few months now, and the longer he stayed with them; the more they seemed to be at each other's throats. They fought together for survival, but fought against each other just as much.
Corpse himself was a well built fighter. He didn't fight for survival, he fought for vengeance. He didn't care if he died anymore, he just fought for the hell of it. Technically, he should've been dead. No one in the tunnels could believe he was still alive after all of the wounds he'd sustained, it was almost inhuman. He found it ironic, he wouldn't have minded death, he practically welcomed it after he watched his girlfriend and family get ripped to shreds by the wild dogs that the Corporation had released to freely roam the cities. Yet, life clung to him like some kind of mocking disease.
And so did consciousness.
By this point, the shouting had got louder and everyone in the tunnels was awake. Corpse dragged himself from his compartment, stepping out to see Tammy already heading down to where the shouting was coming from. He quickly followed up behind, noticing that she was holding her stomach as she rushed down what could only be described as a poorly built hallway. Corpse said nothing, but inwardly wondered if she was in some kind of pain. As usual, KC was nowhere to be seen. He was most likely awake; shut away in his compartment ignoring the rest of the world, working on a new weapon built from scrap or some kind of system that would provide the tunnels with some form of heat.
Tammy and Corpse burst into what they considered the kitchen in an attempt to break up the fighting, it didn't work. Jinx and Vincent both continued to scream at each other as the others stood gormless in the doorway, uncertain of what to do next. Tammy glanced at Corpse and shrugged, she never liked to get involved when people were fighting. Sighing, and then taking a deep breath, Corpse yelled as loudly as he could,
"SHUT THE FUCK UP. BOTH OF YOU."
The tunnels fell silent. Jinx choked on whatever she was about to yell at Vincent, and Vincent glared at Corpse. Tammy stood awkwardly in the doorway, giving Jinx a look of sympathy and understanding. Jinx opened her mouth to say something, but Corpse cut her short.
"Could you two just give it a rest, for once? We're here every single week, breaking you two up from whatever you decide to bitch about, but we all know that at some point throughout the day, you'll both apologise to each other and by tonight you'll both be sharing the same bed again." He spat. Tammy elbowed him hard, in full view of Jinx and Vincent. It wasn't a secret that they slept in the same compartment; they had done since they had began to travel, it was just a habit they'd got into and while it was news to Tammy that they shared a bed, she looked as if she was about to punch Corpse for mentioning it. Jinx stared at the floor angrily, refusing to look at anyone or move, or even breathe. Her authority within the group was hardly ever challenged and while she was used to being shouted at, something that Corpse had said struck a nerve in her somewhere, leaving her somewhere between punching a wall and crying.
It was a number of uncomfortable seconds before anyone said anything, and unusually, it was Tammy who broke the silence. Fiesty as she was, she was always careful to not cause further arguing, but her compassion for Jinx broke through at this moment in time. She reached out and touched Jinx's arm,
"Here, I'll take her back to bed and we can all get a bit more sleep, okay? I'll leave you two to fight over who's top dog of the pack." She scoffed sarcastically at Vincent and Corpse, and pulled Jinx down the tunnel to calm her down. Corpse snickered and looked at Vincent, who was several inches taller than him, and currently resting on the edge of a worktop, arms folded, eyes on the floor.
"Don't say anything." Vincent murmured dryly, not moving an inch.
"I wouldn't dream of it. You might want to go easy on that little one, you need someone to repopulate this hell-hole with." Corpse mocked. Vincent looked up from the floor and glared directly at the smaller man, with an expression so threatening it could make a masochist cry. Even Corpse was taken aback, and considered for a moment whether or not he actually did value his life.
"If I were you, I think I'd consider it smart to shut up and leave." Vincent threatened without blinking. Corpse shrugged off the threat.
"Oh yes, because it's not like that at all between you two, yet you won't let her go out on surface missions or sleep in another fucking room."
"She can sleep wherever the fuck she likes! If she wants to sleep in your goddamn cupboard then she can!" Vincent motioned down the hallway, slicing the air with his hand with a sharp extension of his arm.
"Ha, the day you let that happen is the day the Corporation gives up. Speaking of sleeping, I'm sure Tiny is wondering where her pillow is, you'd best go find her." Corpse replied. Vincent stared a black hole into the wall, unmoving and silent, his entire body was rigid with stress and the effort of stopping the very tempting urge to punch Corpse in the face. The two men remained silent for several minutes. Neither of them said a word, they just both stood there, arms folded, eyes fixed on the floor.
"Do you always have to argue with her?" Corpse asked, breaking the silence. Vincent sighed and then groaned, running a hand through his hair.
"We both hate it, okay? We hate it more than you and Tammy and KC and whoever else might have a problem with it." He responded, avoiding the question. Corpse just looked at him with a more friendly expression.
"Yeah we know. It's pretty obvious you're both too stubborn to admit the either one is wrong and that's why this ALWAYS happens, but look...just a word of advice: just make sure you don't push her away. I didn't choose to lose Libby. And I know you say that it's not like that at all between you two, and that might be true, but she's still all you've really got. Because God knows I wouldn't give a much of a fuck if you got stabbed, but that girl...well, if she wanted you dead, she had the chance to do it. She's the only one around here who I know would do anything for you, so just keep that in mind yeah?" Corpse walked out of the kitchen compartment with that, and back to his own bed.
Vincent stood in the empty room for a while, listening to the silence, trying to wash off what Corpse had said. He hated feeling emotional in any kind of way and hated it even more when he knew that the little, axe-wielding man was right. His thoughts began to wander, on how he ended up here, in some old transport tunnels underneath a series of warehouses, sharing a bed with a girl who tried to kill him just to keep warm at night. He allowed himself to ponder on the rest of the group to take his mind off Jinx. The group had naturally formed over the space of a few months, Corpse was the first to start travelling with Jinx and Vincent, Tammy and KC came soon after. In a way, Vincent was thankful. Their group was small enough not to draw attention, but large enough to be able to fight in safe numbers. KC and Jinx usually stayed in the tunnels while the others went to the surface, trying to scrape together food and anything at all that would come in handy. Vincent soon started thinking about what Corpse said. Jinx was a brilliant fighter, one of the best he had ever seen. She had no technicality behind her attack, she was just unstoppable...like an uncaged animal. He couldn't justify to himself exactly why he hardly ever allowed her to go out on surface missions, she was just too precious to lose, but he could never admit that to himself or anyone else for that matter.
Vincent let out a deep breath and relaxed his body, unfolding his arms and letting his shoulders drop, before quietly walking back to his compartment. Tammy had gone back to her room at some point when Corpse and Vincent were arguing, and Jinx was lying in her own bed with her back to the door. He looked hopelessly at her, considering telling her to get up and just get back to where she had been sleeping before in his bed. He looked at his bed at the other side of the room, he didn't particularly fancy getting into it, he didn't really want to go back to sleep.
"Hey, budge up." He whispered, nudging Jinx's shoulder with his hand, she could pretend to be asleep all she liked, he knew she was awake. She moaned in protest a little, as an indication that there wasn't much room for her to make for him. She shuffled a little underneath her thin sheet which was wrapped tightly around her frame. What Jinx lacked in height, she made up for in body shape. She wasn't fat, but even if she hadn't eaten for days, she could still fill out her clothes. Of course, this made it a little difficult when trying to share a bed that was really, too small for her, never mind another person.
"This is why we always sleep in your bed. It's bigger." Jinx grumbled once she'd shuffled over enough for them both to fit. Vincent had one arm around her, holding onto the mattress underneath so he wouldn't fall onto the floor. Jinx shook her head and giggled a little, she was holding onto his arm for the very same reason. Vincent exhaled as if he was relaxing for the first time in his life. This was the only place both of them felt that maybe, one day, things would get sorted out and everything would be back to normal again. The most basic human contact between them gave them both the motivation to be able to get up the next day and fight again and again, even when it seemed hopeless.
Both Jinx and Vincent lay still and in silence for ten minutes, just enjoying feeling safe before they had to get up and fight for survival in a world that wasn't theirs anymore. Vincent was almost under the impression that Jinx was asleep, until he heard a very faint whisper escape her.
"I'm sorry." She said it so softly it was nearly just another breath into the silence. Vincent stiffened slightly, sucking in breath.
"Shut up and go to sleep, Jinx."