The last I remember (Josie, Marc)

[Lovely]

Name: Josette Mitchell Aliases: Josie, Jo DOB: Location: New Hampshire played by: Lovely likeness used: Anne Hathaway

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PIC HERE Name: Marcus Brynn Aliases: Marc DOB: Location: New Hampshire played by: Tripp likeness used: Dougray Scott

[Lovely]

October 22, 2007
3pm


Josie needed to find a place to sleep soon but she also needed to eat and so she headed into the market to see what might still be on the shelves. With the small number of survivors she'd come across in her travels, she doubted that she wouldn't find plenty to fill her pack with. She set her rifle against the shelf and started loading cans into the bag. Perhaps she was tired or maybe had gotten too relaxed but she moved away from the gun and further down the aisle. She still had her knife and the club she'd pulled off a fallen officer's body a few towns back, but she couldn't juggle the gun while holding the bag in one hand and filling it with the other.

He'd been in the shop himself and had pulled apart a can of vegetables and some kind of processed meat product that reminded him too much of the infected creatures to find it palatable. He'd forced himself to devour enough of it to keep his stomach quiet from pains of hunger, but now the pains of indigestion were making it gurgle worse. The store front had become a fortress of sorts, a sanctuary or simply a home base that was familiar enough to keep him calm yet foreign enough to keep him focused and hopefully a step ahead of the creatures. At first he thought she was one, but reasoned out that the rifle she carried was protecting her so she was still human or on the human side of the insanity still. He needed to know whether to kill her and keep the rifle or keep her as a companion - safety in numbers was the only way of life, now. She actually set the gun down and he padded quietly behind her to extract it from the shelf. Checking it for actual ammunition would draw her attention. What drew his, however and made the color fade from his round, tanned face, was the length and color of her hair. Overwhelmed with a single thought enough for tears to well and his jaw to tighten, he charged after her to turn her to face him. Rifle in hand he stopped behind her. "Jennie! Please...," he begged, grabbing at her arm and holding the rifle where she could see he wasn't afraid to use it if he had any instant to believe she was infected.

The sound of movement had her turning to look for her rifle but she realized she'd left it, then his voice called her a name that wasn't hers, and he grabbed at her arm. Josie yelped softly and tried to twist away, her eyes wide as her bag dropped to the floor. "Let go of me!" She snapped automatically, not really thinking on it much. "I'm not Jennie." She added more softly, he looked a little crazed but not like those who had been infected, he looked the regular human been through hell sort.

"I thought...," he paused briefly, swallowing hard. Recognition registered in his eyes that saw the woman whose name he'd called, not the girl whose arm he held tighter as he pushed to hold her against the shelf. The rifle was aimed high despite his attempt to dive at her for a passionately demanding kiss.

"I'm not.." She tried to protest as she saw something in his eyes that seemed to recognise her but she'd never seen him before. "Ow." She gasped as he shoved her against the shelf. He was on her before she could explain, her free hand came up to try to hold him back but he was bigger and stronger than she was without being hopped up on special zombie juice. For a moment she thought he was going to bite her but he kissed her.. not just a peck either! "Mmm!" She pushed and even twisted her hand into his shirt.

The spark in his eyes seemed to rekindle and soften the crazed look even as she pushed him off. He nearly smiled, "We have to get out of here before they come back." He looked around as he started to pull her with him, ignoring the provisions that clattered to the floor from the shelf.

Now she wasn't sure if he was crazy or confused, though he didn't correct himself or apologise as he started to pull her along with him. "Wait.. I mean.." She cringed and her gaze swung around as things clattered from the shelf. "Yes, we need to go.. but we need supplies.. and who are you?" She wanted her gun, her hand inched down toward her waist but she was hesitant to attack him when he hadn't really done anything to deserve it.

"Jennie...," his tone scolded as though she teased him and now he did smile. "It's really me. I just missed you. I thought... well nevermind that, you're okay. We won't be okay if we stay here. Get those and let's go," he said, checking the rifle to confirm it was useful.

She bit her lower lip, he took her gun but didn't threaten her with it or really in any manner. He was confused about who she was and it bothered her but he had a point about them getting out of the shop. A little nervous, but not wanting to cause a scene or call more attention to where they were, Jo turned and scooped up the bag along with a few more cans. She slung the pack over her shoulder and eyed the man somewhat warily. "Josie." She spoke softly, hoping he'd hear the correction and know she wasn't this Jennie, but if looking at her didn't tell him that she wasn't sure the name would either.

"Hm?" He seemed preoccupied at the moment with testing the weight and aim of the rifle like a quick study in quick-draw techniques that were tired and clumsy, but he continued to try with every ounce of strength he seemed to have to take a protective stance in front of the girl, ready to shoot in the vacinity of anything other than them that moved. He lowered the rifle and turned to face her again, his eyes dim once more and slightly damp in the corners, making his long lashes glisten. He was a handsome man beneath the weight of his exhaustion and worry, looking beyond the girl to his memories. "It took me three days to find you. I'll be damned to hell if I let them take you again," he said quietly.

Josie's heart broke for him, this obviously strong man who stood looking at her with pain in his eyes and glistening lashes, he'd lost a loved one and somehow saw that person in her. She took a deep breath and nodded her head slightly, she could let him think that until they got somewhere safer. He obviously needed it and by the looks of it, needed to rest, maybe if she played along until he had, he would realize and be able to start dealing with his loss. "I understand.. I need to find my sister.. but I'll go with you for now." She didn't want to hurt him, but didn't want to lie or promise him something that he'd expect her to keep later.

He laughed. "For now? What in the hell is that supposed to mean? I let you go 'check' on things before and look what happened. No, not this time," he insisted, grabbing at her arm more tightly. "No 'for now' anything. We get home, we're both staying there."

Her mouth parted in a silent gasp of shock as he grabbed her more tightly, her eyes widening again. What had she gotten herself into? Breathe Josie, just breathe and think. She tried to follow her own advice but it wasn't easy with him gripping her arm like that. "Okay... okay.. I'm sorry.. please let go?"

"No. They could be anywhere. Just stay close and let's go," he said, his fingers releasing only a little but not letting go as he took a long stride away from the shelves. "Trust Marc just this once, Jennie. It'll be okay, I promise, alright?"

She blinked away the sting of tears as she stumbled the first couple of steps when he took off with a long stride. So his name was Marc, maybe she could use that.. she didn't know how but maybe once they were 'home', she could reason with him? He was trying to keep her safe in his own way, whoever Jennie was - something had happened to her. "Alright." She said softly, moving with him and trying to keep an eye on him with the rifle as much as what was around them.

[Lovely]

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The next day


Marc had been clearly exhausted when she'd first encountered him yet he still had the strength to half-drag her the rest of the way to the place he called home. He'd even used the rifle to protect them both against three formerly human creatures that somehow in their bloody and bedraggled fury seemed less broken than himself. It was scarcely an hour after they arrived and he seemed satisfied that he'd found 'Jennie' that his eyelids fell heavily and he'd slumped into a fitful bit of much-needed rest. Satisfied that she was not "Jennie" and that the story needed to end quickly, Josie had attempted to simply leave while Marc slept, not counting on how the recent events had sharpened his alertness. Again his grip had found her and, as promised, he wasn't letting her leave again, finding tape and rope to hold her captive in what had been Marc and Jennie's room, kept seemingly as it was the moment Jennie had left, or been taken, with shattered and broken items littering the floor, resembling the man that hovered watchfully over her now.

The events unfolded in a different way for Josie, the facts were the same and she was held captive by a man who thought she was someone else but from her perspective it was much more frightening. She was tied to the bedpost and missing most of her clothes, left in her shirt which had lost several buttons in Marc's eagerness. That was the nicest way to put it though part of her had compassion and understanding for him and his situation, she also felt violated and helpless. She was at the mercy of a madman.. who had a good heart. It was merely that she was not the woman he thought she was and was fighting to protect and save. He'd wanted to make love to that woman last night, demanded it but Josie was the one there - tied and unable to fight him off. Surprisingly, Josie didn't hate the man, just the circumstances that led them both to be trapped this way - him in his own mind and her as his captive. Josie's eyes fluttered open to find him hovering and her gaze skirted around, they'd both made it through the night and it was now the day after he'd found her.. what time was it? She groaned quietly as she tried to stretch and move against the way he'd tied her.

The sadness in his eyes seemed erased only at the edges where the little bit of sleep had refreshed them. He grinned, though, as she stirred and struggled against the binding. "Couldn't take the chance, Jennie. Marc knows what he's doing once in a while. Kept you safe last night, didn't it?"

In her own way, Josie understood his pain and accepted it as real. How could she deny what was so clear in his eyes, even if his mind was clouded. "You did keep me safe from those things last night.. thank you." She would give him credit for that, tied like this she couldn't defend herself from anything. "Did you get any sleep?"

He shook his head and lifted the rifle in view. "Had to keep watch. I'll sleep later. You're hungry? We did get a few things. I found peaches," he added with a bit of misty delight that broadened his grin only briefly.

Her mouth turned down in a small frown, the less he slept the more delusional he would likely get - that wasn't good for either of them. She wondered if he'd always been protective and attentive to Jennie or if this was part of his guilt over losing her? "Starving.. I was hungry in the store yesterday.." She hadn't eaten yet, and was sure it hadn't been the first thing on his mind before. "You should try to rest."

"I am resting. Sitting still at any rate. Either they're moving off or I've gotten the best of the buzzards. Hah!" He tilted his head back to let the defiant exclamation fill the room. Slowly his chin lowered again and his shoulders sagged with the doubt that the creatures he hadn't bested would be gone long before returning with others. "Was it only yesterday?" He asked in a whisper, seemingly unaware of the passage of time. "Peaches and anything else I find I'll bring. Don't get up."

"I can't get up." She reminded him softly and glanced to the way he had her tied up. Josie bit at her lower lip, she wanted to say more and insist that he sleep but was unsure of how he'd react to it. Maybe she should try, she took a deep breath. "Maybe.. you should let me keep watch awhile? You stayed up all night to keep me safe.. you really need to sleep, so you'll be able to keep protecting us." Her voice was low, soft and concerned as her eyes took in his face, he looked ragged and worn, no wonder he was going a little crazy.

He seemed confused. "Can't let you do that. They took you when you kept watch, remember? I have to keep watch until I'm sure. Don't you trust me?" He seemed to accuse her with a sudden sharp pierce of his green eyes.

She swallowed and slowly nodded her head. "I do trust you.. but trust has nothing to do with you being exhausted.. at least untie me so I can help?" She paused and her voice waivered a bit as she tried a slightly different tactic. "I'm worried about you.. and scared.. please.. tell me what I can do?"

He seemed to shudder. "Don't... leave," he seemed to beg as he agreed with undoing the bindings. He couldn't undo them with one hand and set the rifle out of reach as he stood cut her loose with a small pocket knife. If he intended to confine her again he'd need something else.

She felt her heart break a little for the way he asked her to not to leave, she decided in that instant that she would promise him what he needed to help him get through this. "I promise, I won't leave you." Josie watched as he stood and cut her loose, she brought her wrists into the opposite hands and rubbed them a little. "Do you have water.. so I can clean up a little?"

He didn't move at first as if denying her request. Eventually he nodded. "Careful of the glass," he muttered. Apparently Jennie had not been aware of the glass shattered over the floor in the small washroom, or maybe it had been the last thing she had known. The window had been broken inward and many of the shards had browned edges where blood had dried.

Josie stood slowly, glancing around and trying to locate the bathroom though she nodded to his comment about the glass. "If you have a broom and dustpan, I could clean it up.." She offered softly, taking a careful step away from the bed, walking gingerly as if sore - which she was. More evidence that she wasn't Jennie stained the sheet. She gathered what she could find of her own clothes and moved off to peek through doorways until she found the right one.