Abandoned

Lucifer sighed "We're searching for Joy, she was kidnapped by...well apparently her brother." he said, carving the boar into meat slabs. Luckily his father had tought him some taxidermy and carving techniques that he still remembered. He listened to their conversation. "Sorry about your group..maybe they're alive somewhere." he said, hoping to cheer him up.

He was quiet until his powers were mentioned when he smiled and slapped the ground, three chairs by the fire appearing "Rock isn't warm or comfy but it is handy.

"Yeah, Joy, she was always happy and had lots of wings…it was a long time ago that I last saw her, sorry." Hiro was disappointed that he couldn't help them find her. His attention was turned to the rock chairs, he stood from sitting on the ground and sat in one. "Cool, I'm pretty sure I don't have one, I mean, I would have found it by now." He looked at Reo's spear, maybe his miracle was just in the form of a weapon, it didn't seem too strange to him.

Lucifer finally got some meat prepped and ready to cook, setting a wire rack over the fire they'd found off a camp awhile back he then laid the meat on it to start cooking. "I've had my powers since the day I woke up apparently." he shrugged "This world still makes 0 sense to me so maybe your power is luck? Afterall, you have stayed alive for so long, especially in your condition kid." he moved one of the meat cuts onto the 'grill' and sat back in one of the earthen chairs.

He smiled and looked up at the stars "Despite everything that goes on in life its good to relax once in awhile and remember the good things in life...my dad taught me that." Lucifer smiled "The star view on this planet is much better than Earth..way less smog and all."

"If my power really is luck, then I'll never know for sure." He would admit that it was nothing short of a miracle that he survived. Hiro froze when he heard the moans, not too far off. His whole trembled just thinking about the traumatic experience. He saw the figure coming closer, but in the darkness he couldn't yet see who it was. "No..." He whispered, "I thought it was over..." He stood, taking his knife and ready to run at any moment. He gripped the handle of the knife so hard his knuckles turned white. This couldn't be happening, even in this crazy world he thought he would be safe from them. When the figure came close enough to barely be illuminated by the fire light, he realized it was Kioshi. He stepped backwards, "No, it can't be..." He shook his head, refusing to believe what had happened to Key.

Lucifer nodded in agreeance "To be honest Reo and I could use a bit of luck." he sighed, finishing the steaks he set them on a stone slab and stood up, stretching when he notice Reo and the kid react to something and he noticed the creature.

He took his polearm from its spot in the ground, seeing Reo get a branch on fire "Undead exist here?" he paused "Technically we're undead though aren't we?" he sighed and put his spear in the ground "And Reo is right, whatever this thing is your friend is gone."

"No...no!" Hiro tried to back away but Reo's hand stopped him. He began to cry, the hot salty tears cascading down his cheeks. "I can't do this, I don't want to!" The burning stick was placed into his hand without his consent, "Key..." He stepped towards the slowly moving figure, "I won't kill you Key, if you want to kill me, then I would be happy, we can finally be together..." He dropped the stick, not caring if it started a fire, and opened his arms for Kioshi to come to him.

As the being grew closer it lunged for Hiro, it's mouth opened as if it was ready to bite at him. Having no thoughts, or control just trying to fill it's own hunger. The soul that used to be in this person was forever gone. As it grabbed at Hiro what was left of it's one arm nails missing from it's fingers. The teeth left over were rotten and some missing. But the smell was beyond revolting.

Lucifer was about to step in when he noticed Reo take action and finish off the walking corpse. He went up to Hiro and walked with him as Reo burned the body away from their fire so the food wouldn't get ruined. He stood there quietly with Hiro "If you want to survive longer you need to be able to fight sometimes, we would've stepped in but it should've been you to finish the jobs...anything you'd like to say about your friend?" he asked, attempting to comfort Hiro.

Hiro fell to the ground on his knees, setting his head in his hands to sob. He refused to watch while Reo disposed of the body. Why? Why had things turned out this way? Why couldn't they be together? It was so unfair, the world was too cruel. Reo's hand and Lucifer's words strangely comforted him. "He saved me…so many times. And in the end, not once but twice, it was my fault he died." When he finished his words he started another round of sobbing, wondering why things couldn't have been different.

Lucifer watched the flames, knowing the pain this kid felt. He nodded at Reo's statement "The best thing to do is to keep moving forward, for both you and your friend." He smiled and sat down, lsitening to Reo before watching him leave.

He then sighed "I know how you feel, when I was 18 I lost my best friend in World War II. We were only supposed to go into a camp and help move supplies but we were invaded..We got left behind and after 3 days of questioning I was freed but my friend was shot by an American on accident, He died later that day." Lucifer looked back to the fire "A week after that the war ended...I nearly killed myself after the loss..when I got home my girl was waiting for me and was pregnant with our first child..what I'm saying is no matter what happens, there will be something to look forward to in the future. So cheer up kid ok?" he smiled "And why not stay with us for awhile?"

Their words did make him feel better, he would live on, for Kioshi's sake. "Im sorry…" Hiro apologized, both for his reaction and Lucifer's past. "I would like to stay…if thats okay." He would probably just drag them down and be another mouth to feed, but weather he stayed or went on his own, he would struggle to survive. And honestly it would be easier to have others to rely on.

Lucifer waited til the body was burnt to dust and bone chips before throwing dirt on it so it wouldnt start a forest fire. He noticed Reo come back after a little bit and watched as his jacket fell on the kid. Lucifer stood up and walked with the kid "time to eat." he said with a smile as he helped Reo salt and cook tonights dinner, glad to have meat for a change.

Lucifer passed some meat to Hiro and sat down, eating for a bit before hearing Reo "Its fine..I'll take first watch, I can't sleep anyhow." he sighed, his mind thinking about his family on Earth once again.

Hiro pulled the jacket tightly around himself, "thank you..." He hoped Reo wouldn't be cold without it. He took the meat and stared at it for a while before finally taking a bite, chewing slowly and eating equally slow. He wasn't about to argue over who took watch, he wanted to sleep so he would let the other two volunteer themselves.

Lucifer sat on a tree stump, cleaning his weapon with his back to the fire he sighed
He's right, try to sleep. I'll wake you up Reo when its your turn to take watch." he stated and ran his hand through his hair "Sometime tommorow we should loop back to the creek and wash up."

Hiro laid down as well, his back facing the fire. He couldn't stop thinking about Kioshi. He would give his arm and leg ten times over to get Key back.he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to clam him, hoping it wouldn't come with nightmares.

Lucifer's turn of watching was so far peaceful, after the kid had fallen asleep he added more wood to the fire, he figured he'd leave it running til sunrise and then put it out. Lucifer also let Reo sleep the entire night, Reo had been taking alot of nights without sleep recently and it had to be weighing on him. Lucifer sighed "Awake already?" he asked Reo. It was still dark out but sunrise would be upon them soon.

Hiro slept a dreamless sleep for only a few hours before waking silently in the dark. He stared into the distance, waiting for the sun to rise and for Reo to wake before he gave any indication that he was awake. The sun still hadn't risen when Reo stirred, so he stayed still, listening to the two. Reo had sounded distressed when he awoke, and Hiro wondered if he had a nightmare. After hearing Lucifer's story the night before he had wondered if they all came from sad past's with tragic ends, maybe that was why all of them were here.