(-(-(Hunters of the Eternal Night)-)-) (NEED NONHUMANS)

[Jason_Grey]

Maria stared at him, confused and somewhat scared. Did he mean...?

"Wh- what do you mean?" She scowled, "You can't honestly expect me to go back in there!"  

[Milquetoast82]

Jayne's face darkened and his smile widened. "Yes, I can. And you know what? I think he'll want more than just the truck, so why don't you take some of the extra lead I've got in my truck and add that onto the tag?" He turned to her. There was a derringer two-shot in his hand. ".22s Maria. One of the most dangerous calibres in the world. Enough power to enter the skull. Not enough to leave. So they just bounce around inside, effectively turning the brain to a mass of grey pudding." He said quietly, almost lovingly. He held out the gun to her. "Get the money however you can. Then... You know what to do..."  

[Jason_Grey]

Maria couldn't believe what he was saying! Kill Mr. Calibab? Could she do it? Could she kill the man she learned so much from?

Then she thought back to the things he said to her when she got something wrong ("You dumb b***h! I'll kill you if you do that again!"), the slaps and beatings, the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking...

Her eyebrows furrowed as she grinned an evil grin. Yes, she could kill that man.

Maria took the .22. "I'll be back soon with the new truck and the money." She took off running back through the gates.  

[Milquetoast82]

Jayne watched her go. And he felt something he hadn't felt in years: Respect. She could learn. She might even survive when the critters and the Empire... He shuddered, driving that thought from his mind. That shouldn't come for a few years yet. He hoped...

He opened the door of the truck and began to clear out the guns behind the seats and move them to the trailer.  

[Jason_Grey]

Her feet pounded the dirt road to Mr. Calibab's home. She was gasping for breath, but she couldn't stop for air now. Not while so much relied on her actions. Not while her freedom lay in the balance.

Maria was finally at the door, but before she could knock, the door was open, and she was inside. For a second she wondered if he had seen her and was dragging her in, but she then realised that she was alone, and that her body was moving on it's own.

Her body went up the stairs and to the door of his study. Hesistantly, she knocked on the door.

"Enter," a voice said, so she stepped inside.

A tall, skinny man, with beady blue eyes, and a long face was sitting at the desk. He smiled, revealing that some of his teeth were missing.

"Ah, Maria, I see you got my message-"

"Shut up." she said, walking closer to the desk, "I don't want to hear your story about how I 'have debts that I need to pay', because I don't and we both know it."

The smile on his face dimmed a little. "Now, Maria, we both know that you would be much more useful as one of my women than as a solo mechanic."

She was finally close enough to shoot. "Shut up. Just. Shut. UP!"

And Maria put the .22 between his eyes and pulled the trigger.  

[Milquetoast82]

And he was dead before he could scream. After the initial muscle spasms, his body slumped over, then out of the chair onto the floor. Blood dripped out of his nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, pooling around him.  

[Jason_Grey]

Maria stared at the remains of what was once James Calibab. Disgust spread through her body. It was at the corpse, the blood on her clothes, herself for not wearing her goggles before she fired the gun, at everything.

She paused. Was it a bad thing that she didn't really care that she had just killed a man?

She shrugged. Ah, well, no time to dwell on that. She hadta get the cash, and get the hell outta dodge.

Money in her pocket, and most of the blood off her face, she left the house, smiling a little. She walked through the streets, dazed and still bloody and smiling.

She got the truck and drove out to the gate. Maria knew that it would take a while to figure out how to park it, so she started trying before she reached the gate. When it was parked -in the middle of the gate, much to her charigin- she hopped out, and went over to Jayne.

"I did it. I killled him." And that's when what she had done hit her right in the face and she started crying.  

[Milquetoast82]

Jayne sighed. First blood obviously. He resisted the temptation to say 'Get over it, yer gonna have ta do it many more times before yer life's over.' And instead simply patted her on the shoulder and slid the gun out of her pocket.  

[Jason_Grey]

I killed someone. I... killed.... someone. Maria thought dimly. What have I done? What have I done?

An angry yell drew her out of her musing. "s**t," she said, "They musta found 'im."

Maria turned to Jayne. "We should probably get going soon." she said.  

[Milquetoast82]

Jayne nodded and pulled the ski-mounted trailed over to the truck, hitching it up. He then hopped into the driver's seat and motioned for her to get in quickly. He briefly wondered about the hunter and that imaginary animal-girl. Then he decided he really didn't give flying ********. And started the engine.  

[Jason_Grey]

Maria climbed into the truck, still somewhat stunned over killing a man in cold blood. Or was it hot blood? After all, she had wanted to kill him, though somewhat subconsciously.

But that didn't matter anymore, what's done is done. Now all that was left was to....

"Let's get movin'!" she shouted as someone started to run towards the truck.  

[Milquetoast82]

It felt strange to be in a different truck. But he didn't have time to worry about that. They were about to open fire. He slammed his foot down and began to speed off, away from the town. "So, anywhere in particular ya wanna go?" He asked calmly as tracers flew past the truck, clearly visible in the dark.  

[Jason_Grey]

Maria shrugged, clinging onto the armrest tightly. "Anywhere there's a mechanic I can learn under, I suppose." She glanced at him. "Do ya have a place in mind?" She yelped as a tracer got a little too close the window she was leaning on.  

[Milquetoast82]

He smiled. "I'm a scavenger Mar. I steal from the land and sell te the poor. No towns exept fer sales and resupply." he said, just as calmly, ignoring the bullet that ricocheted off his door. "And the nearest town's a week away at least. Oh, and by the way, how much experience with guns have you actually had?" He asked conversationally.  

[Jason_Grey]

Mar. Maria liked that nickname. She then heard the question.

"I had to learn some shooting skills at the monestary, and amongst the people who picked me up after it was destroyed. I'm not an expert, but I think I'm descent." She paused, looking at him cautiously. "Why do you ask?"