Survival Of The Fittest

"Attacked?" Amos muttered to himself; he and Aion had been lucky not to have had anyone try anything outside of Aion getting hit and that weird bit with Prezek. But this guy here was dealing with something; anyone could see that from a mile away.

When he asked to stay, Amos was unsure of what to say. The nice thing would be to let the guy stay since he looked messed up, but he had himself and Aion to think of over, and what if the guy was lying or something?

"Well, uh, we just got here so uh..." He scratched the back of his head while glancing over to Aion and back, gauging his thoughts on the matter.

They could not tell the guy to fuck off now, could they? He could react badly to that and decide this place was his alone; not like Amos could do a lot about that if push came to shove.

"Sure, I guess?"

Aion would have been more selfish and said no. The guy was being a bit pushy over wanting to stay, but since Amos was alright with guy staying; Aion had to hold back his sharp tongue that wanted to keep other people away from them. However, the guy hadn't even attacked them, just knocked on the door and came rushing inside. That was it. He just wanted a safe place to stay and Aion felt like he had no right to deny anyone a haven.

"I mean... If Amos is fine with you staying here, then I guess.... you can stay with us for as long as you need to." Aion was still feeling a bit unsure about Adam at the moment and he folded his arms across his chest, trying to possibly protect himself in a way.

He mulled over what to say next.

"Sorry that you got attacked, man. Just know that uh.... we're not looking to start fights with anyone right now. We just want to chill out and be safe here."

He hoped that would help Adam stay calm.

He hated that this guy was making him think of his ex too much. Goddammit, this was not the time to think about relationships...! Even if he had been feeling a slight tug towards Amos after staying with him for a few days. His head was really in shambles, wasn't it? Ugh!

Easy.

“I’m a good runner, so,” he said and lowered the pool cue slightly. The blood that had been on it had been washed off. Adam looked pleased but determined, his breath shaky even though he had more than enough stamina in him. “I think I was able to shake them off.” He rubbed his reddened cheek, forcing his eyes to water. “...Fuck the snow. They could have sent us to the Bahamas for our last hurrah.”

Maybe the stifling atmosphere of the church would heat things up a bit. The silence was always the same, a feeling like tomorrow’s sun halted its way. Like it was waiting for something, and for what? Dear God, just hurry up and get to the point. Adam looked left and right, noting the disarrayed pews. Aion’s bandaged head raised some questions too when his focus landed back on the two.

“I guess I could use some chill...” He didn’t want it, and he didn’t need it. “But what are we gonna do after that part? Waiting it out doesn’t seem to be an option.”

Amos listened intently as the boy said he managed to shake his pursuers on the way here. It shook him to think that people around here chased each other down, but the morning had told him there was more than that going on each day. He and Aion had gotten really lucky on that point.

At the same time, there was something about this that set the hairs on his neck straight out. He was being chased and seemingly had no idea who they were. It could be people they've heard or maybe someone trying their luck. The worst part was not knowing anything. He was giving them the bare minimum.

He said that he shook them off, but did he? Or are they outside right now, looking for him? Or, worse, working with him on some plan?

Leading this group of "attackers" right to them?

Amos couldn't believe that; he hoped that was not the case. They would have to settle down here for the night with this guy and hope that he is as he seems. At least, Amos had to. Aion couldn't do anything about this dude in his current condition, which left it to him.

"We're only here for the night. We've got someplace to be after this." He said.

Aion was relieved that Adam seemed to be open to the idea of them spending the night together in the church and then whatever they were going to do in the morning. Aion wished that his condition wasn't as bad as it was, but well, there was nothing that he could really do about that. He really did hope that Adam had been able shake off his attackers because sometimes by sheer luck, attackers will find their victim.

He shivered at that thought.

Amos mentioned a little about what they were doing and Aion felt a bit alarmed by that. He didn't really trust Adam yet. There was something about him that was making a small part of Aion's mind scream and bang on pans as a warning.

"Yeah. We actually need to meet up with some friends." It was like a half-lie. He knew that they had to get back to the other boys at some point. "I'm not sure what you want to do, but well, we can discuss that in the morning. I'm too fucking exhausted to get into it right now. Let's get some rest, yeah?"

((Aion Rhodes continued in This Holy Place Is Really Unholy))

Adam wasn't too happy with their answers. It felt like they had a plan they didn't want to share and all he could do was sigh quietly. Either way, this was better than nothing. Shelter from the cold? Check. Company? Check. No attackers? Check; thankfully they didn’t exist. Maybe he'd get super lucky and Aion would die in his sleep from whatever had happened to his head. He couldn’t tell if Amos had any injuries.

"Alright then. Well, we're friends now too, aren't we?" he said with an empty smile and moved to close the distance between them.

((Adam Lader continued in This Holy Place Is Really Unholy))

"Uh, sure buddy?" Amos answered with a blank face. A glance toward Aion betrayed the blankness and conveyed something along the lines of "Who does this guy think he is?". Nonetheless, now that he was here they could not exactly kick him out.

Amos wasn't sure if they could. The guy looked rough, and that could mean a lot of things. Hopefully, in their case, something good now that he was closing in.

Amos gave a wave. It lacked a smile to go with it.

Hopefully.

((Amos Flannigan continued elsewhere...))