It was easier when he didn't have to think, and finally getting to be behind the wheel of his wonderful old motorcycle after so long certainly helped him turn his brain off for a while. Though the fact that without the sidecar, it meant that Vash had to ride pillion against his back made things...just a little harder to let his mind drift. Which was, all things considered, maybe a good thing in the end. It meant that when the small village appeared over the horizon, he was aware enough to notice it, and enough to change course so that they could make a stop.
What wasn't pleasant about it was the smell as they got closer, and the sudden realization that all around them, in the streets, hanging out of windows, draped over the banisters on porches, were bodies. Piles of them. And by the look of them, they'd been here a while.
"Shit."
He'd just wanted to make a pit stop, check for supplies, refill the tank. But now, he didn't think it was such a good idea, especially knowing how this was going to effect the man behind him. They absolutely did not have the time or energy it would take to bury all of these people, and Vash had a hard enough time with one dead body, let alone...this.
So he very nearly rode through and didn't stop. At least, not until he caught sight of the small figure in the middle of the square, chained down to a piece of ship debris, looking distinctly less decayed than the rest of the bodies and making a flash of memory lance through his brain like a gunshot to the head.
He skidded the bike to a stop on the edge of the square, barely breathing as he stared at the small, frail-looking form for far too long. The hair, that arm.
"Oh, fuck. God, no, fuck, no, you...you gotta be fuckin' kidding me..."
He didn't even care to drop the kickstand as he climbed off the bike, his lungs drawing in ragged, almost panicked breaths despite the stench of decay in the air, and while he didn't run towards the young man - no, he was barely more than a child - it was a near thing.
"Hey, hey. You...are you awake? God, please tell me you're alive, fuck!"
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What wasn't pleasant about it was the smell as they got closer, and the sudden realization that all around them, in the streets, hanging out of windows, draped over the banisters on porches, were bodies. Piles of them. And by the look of them, they'd been here a while.
"Shit."
He'd just wanted to make a pit stop, check for supplies, refill the tank. But now, he didn't think it was such a good idea, especially knowing how this was going to effect the man behind him. They absolutely did not have the time or energy it would take to bury all of these people, and Vash had a hard enough time with one dead body, let alone...this.
So he very nearly rode through and didn't stop. At least, not until he caught sight of the small figure in the middle of the square, chained down to a piece of ship debris, looking distinctly less decayed than the rest of the bodies and making a flash of memory lance through his brain like a gunshot to the head.
He skidded the bike to a stop on the edge of the square, barely breathing as he stared at the small, frail-looking form for far too long. The hair, that arm.
"Oh, fuck. God, no, fuck, no, you...you gotta be fuckin' kidding me..."
He didn't even care to drop the kickstand as he climbed off the bike, his lungs drawing in ragged, almost panicked breaths despite the stench of decay in the air, and while he didn't run towards the young man - no, he was barely more than a child - it was a near thing.
"Hey, hey. You...are you awake? God, please tell me you're alive, fuck!"