WHO: Annie Wheaton, Rachel 'Sister' Wheaton, and Castiel WHAT: Arriving in the Safe Zone. WHEN: Mid-morning; around 10AM WHERE: Not too far from the Welcome Center. RATING: TBD STATUS: In Progress
Rachel was exhausted. The past several months had worn her down until she was functioning on little more than hope, determination, and the smallest amount of sleep that a person could get while still being coherent. The loss of her parents, mixed with having to keep a constant eye on her sister, had more than taken its toll on her as well. And now, with a safe place to stay and the pressure of the world off her shoulders for the time being, she was starting to lose her tenuous control over her emotions as well. She was so close to getting some rest, so close to being able to take her eye off of Annie for more than a scant few minutes at a time.
She just had to get them to their apartment, first.
Normally, this would be an easy task. Getting her sister to follow along came as second nature to Rachel as breathing. However they were in a new place, surrounded by strangers, and with destruction all around them. To say that Annie was curious was an understatement. In fact Rachel was pretty sure that the girl hadn't been able to take more than three steps at a time without pausing to look around her.
"Come on, Annie," the young woman sighed, the weariness evident in her tone. "We'll explore later. I promise."
If Annie heard her, she gave no indication of that fact. She simply continued to stand on the edge of the curb, her doll held tightly in the crook of one elbow, and stare at the comings and goings of those around her. Rachel sighed again and reached for her sister, fully intending on dragging her along if necessary. She needed food, sleep, and a hot shower. And not necessarily in that order.
Annie, however, was clearly not nearly as concerned with those things as she was with trying to acclimate herself to this strange, new place. Her gaze was a somber one yet her eyes shone with curiosity as she turned her attention to a partially destroyed building directly across the street from them. Her lips turned downward at the sight, or perhaps at the realization that people had been hurt and even died there, and when her sister touched her arm the girl made it quite clear she didn't appreciate her focus being shifted away.
With a grunt she pulled free of Rachel's grasp. A handful of cars that lined the street immediately began to sound their alarms. The streetlight a few feet away flickered on and off, the red, green, and yellow colors appearing more like a strobe light as they sped up.
Rachel immediately withdrew her hand and stifled a groan. "Annie," she exclaimed, raising her voice to be heard over the ruckus of tires squealing at the bizarre behavior of the lights and the steady honking of car alarms that surrounded them. With a sigh that was all but sounded from the depths of her very soul, the older sister finally relented.
"Okay," she agreed, "if you want to explore now, we'll explore now. Just stop it, all right?"
Annie didn't answer. At least, not by use of words. Instead the alarms ceased immediately and the lights - precariously close to shattering - flickered back to normal. As traffic once again began to resume around them, the girl cast a glance at her caretaker and offered her a shy smile.
"I s-see 'oses," she murmured softly. And sure enough, across the street in a sectioned off area where flowers and trees had once grown in an attempt to make the city more pleasing to the eye, the first bloom of a red rose could be seen peeking through the weeds and snow.