Dependance

Indeed, there was a bright and shining city ahead, buildings taller than the last settlement they had been in and the common lights were like diamonds to Vincent eye. The man was more used to candles. He had, on rare occasions, come to see these more populated areas from a distance. The male had been fascinated at it’s size, it’s noise, it’s very way of life. So different from what he was used to. But this was closer than them times. It did seem overwhelming but he drove ahead nonetheless, blocking out it‘s overpowering presence - just another obstacle to complete. The large brick housings were more modernized and did not look as cosy as the ones Vincent was used to - some buildings were not even made of brick, but concrete smoothed onto a side so it looked neat and professional.

Lorna appeared undaunted by it; but she was in fact apprehensive about the area. There would be more police in a more crowded place. She did not want Vincent to be taken away. The female pushed them thoughts to the back of her head and concentrated on picking the dirt from under her nails and tapping a rhythm with her feet at the same time. It was always a good distraction, having to focus her mind on two activities she was doing (not to mention she did have a problem with being multitasked so all the better).

As the variety of shopping places rolled on by the glass of the window, the wheels began to turn in her head, teeth bit at her index fingernail and grin began to form on her face.

“Hey Vincent, considering you’ve done pretty bad stuff and all…would you mind a bit of night time shopping later?” She asked, smiling widely and suggestively. Vincent found himself looking away from the tarmac and half smiling at the girl, pondering. She had a mischievous side. He nodded in reply to her question. He pulled up behind a seemingly abandoned house where the shadows hid everything.

Two slams of the truck doors fell in synch with each other as two people exited the vehicle. Vincent plodded from around the driver’s side and positioned himself parallel to Lorna; they both inclined their heads upwards (Vincent’s from the safety of his hood) to stare at the silent house that sat amidst the commotion of the world surrounding. It was so bold and abnormal. Planks of splintered wood boarded the windows in an effort to keep polite society from seeing the filthy depths of it’s insides.

“I suppose we could stay here for a bit…” Suggested Lorna, who turned to Vincent and waited for his reply. He nodded. Both of them walked forward, and Vincent reached for the back door’s handle. It creaked loudly and was barely hanging on it’s hinges as they entered the dismal place. How long had this place been left unattended? Dust devils -pun intended- whirled around their feet in attempts to layer their shoes in it’s grime and pin them to the floorboards. Lorna moved her arms back and forth as she travelled down the dingy corridor, swimming through the thick cobwebs as she went along. This was not really her idea of hygiene.

The lounge was decorated with hard mahogany furniture, then covered in inch thick dust. They looked like they were made out of concrete rather than wood. Through the grey colouring of the walls, the female guessed the wallpaper was the horrible old style green and brown that grandparents used.

Vincent peered into the kitchen from the hallway and spied a lime green tiled flooring (discoloured over the years), a few chairs dotted about the place, no table, and cupboards hanging from the walls. He turned and headed into the lounge, where from the few sparse rays of light creeping through the window, he noted that Lorna’s once black clothes had been coated in a slate colour. He observed as she lent over to wipe the dust from the furniture. Vincent could see the slight curve of her hips against the darkness of the floorboards, and the lights muscles of her thighs as the jeans tightened in her actions.

True, Vincent had seen females before, but he had never seen them in this sort of way. Except maybe the woman who he had waxed into ‘Miss Ambrose‘. He had found her a little more interesting than most females. However with Lorna…she was almost alluring…

Lorna sat down on the somewhat cleaner sofa. Her grey elbow propped up on her knee and her mouth chewed at her fingernails. Vincent stood quietly for a few moments then joined Lorna and sat down. Out of his peripheral vision he saw her looking at him.

“Do you mind staying here for a while? It’s just that if we keep on driving we’ll run out of fuel and it might be better for us to rest anyway.” Lorna explained. Vincent gave a rusty grunt of approval. “Suppose I should try and clean this place up a bit then…”

Two hours later Lorna was a dust ball - seeing as she used her clothes for the cleaning - and Vincent was kipping on the sofa, letting out small cute snores every now and again. The grossness of it all was getting to her. After retrieving the bag of clothes from the truck, Lorna went to the bedroom upstairs and stripped. This time she pulled out a pair of plain baggy blue jeans and a large black sweater. She looked thoughtfully to her underwear whilst she changed. They were dirty; never mind, it would all be sorted out tonight.

Plodding down the stairs, and into the lounge Lorna plopped down next to Vincent’s still sleeping form. He looked innocent again. Unlike the last few hours where he remained impassive. The female absentmindedly pushed some of his ebony hair behind his ear. Vincent shuffled in his sleep and Lorna slowly took her hand away, sighing.

Somewhere around three O’clock in the morning two shadowed figures sidled along the walls to the mall. One tripped over a dustbin.

“Ouch!” Came a female mutter, proceeded by a giggle at her foolishness.

Vincent offered Lorna a hand and gently pulled her up, bringing her a little closer. The darkness hid half of their faces and highlighted the other features; especially their parallel smiles.

“Let’s get on with that shopping, eh?”

They both crawled up the sides of the mall complex, often stopping to help each other onto another ledge. Lorna knew this was wrong, and it was breaking the law. But the rules of the nation did not apply when she was on the run from a homicidal maniac. Besides, she had never experienced something that was on the wrong side of the authorities, and it gave her an excited fluttery feeling in her stomach.

Vincent stopped on the ledge of the first window and began to unscrew the window panes - the screwdriver previously being in his trench coat pocket. He thought it odd that these window did not have sealing like a normal window, but instead screwed with sides of metal. All some new thing to make it all look futuristic and snazzy, but in the end it only served for people to get in easier.

The male pulled on the square of glass and moved himself inside the building and gently placed it down. Lorna crawled in next and made a motion with her hand, signalling for Vincent to wait. He did as instructed and stood like a statue. Lorna sprawled herself on the floor. Vincent raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell she was doing. The girl began to shuffle on her belly; she wanted to avoid any laser alarms that were around. After ten minutes of labouring work, Lorna stood near the entrance, where there was a security office. Obviously there was no alarms there because the manager in the morning would have to come in and start everything up. Waltzing in, the female scanned over the computers and grinning evilly, beginning to type at a fast pace. A few moments, a blinking button above her head changed from red to green.

Lorna danced out of the station like a ribbon in the wind and sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. This was just to easy. She could feel the adrenaline running through her bloodstream, and all she had done was disable the alarms. Coming up alongside Vincent, she grabbed his hand and dragged him with her to a selection on shops.

Ten minutes later, and Lorna had already worn out all her interest in the mainstream shops. They just did not seem to spark any sort of girlish shopping instinct in her. Vincent did not seem too happy about those places either. In the middle of the food court, Lorna slowly looked upwards to the top floor where they had not travelled. A smile spread across her face. Last chance.

Another couple of flights of stairs and a bucket of sweat later, Vincent and Lorna were positioned on the top floor, scrutinizing the world around them. Dark shops, sometimes with alternative colour combinations and stock. Now this seemed interesting…Maybe it was in these last few days spent with Vincent and away from reality, that Lorna’s vision on life and even preferences had been distorted. For better or worse, the girl would have to wait and see.

Lorna took the screwdriver from Vincent’s hand, her fingertips brushing the hard enamel of his fingernails. Taking a random pin from her hair, she began to work on the locks of the doors, Vincent helped with other up ahead. Soon enough, they were open to their viewing and thieving pleasure.

Vincent happily went off to the men’s section of one and Lorna quickly grabbed some underwear whilst he was not looking, retrieved some bags from under the glass counter (where accessories for piercing were available) counter and shoved them in one. She really did not like shopping for underwear, even if this was not really shopping. Now with that out of her way, it was time to fulfil her girly fetish of obtaining anything new.

After browsing, there was a particular brand that she quite liked: Emily The Strange. She had already helped herself to some clothes but she was quite happy about these red and black stomper boots.

Vincent came back with a few bags for himself. She did not know what he had chosen but she was curious.