Six hours, Obie recalled. Six hours of endless repetition about proper vocabulary use, grammar, and language skills to help him form competent sentences. These sentences didn't have to be completely appropriate, yet enough to blend in with the lingo of today's world. For the skill to evolve briefly, Obie had to teach the role of culture in human to human interaction as best she could, because she was as seasoned as low fat milk.

There was no such thing as being black or white these days. There was the living and the infected. Therefore, America's infamous recognition in embracing diversity within a highly populated civilization...ahem debatable... had progressed. The nation managed to synchronize in the heat of a scientific crisis and developed one official culture; philosophy of survival.

Luckily, mister vampire was actually making the effort to comprehend and put his best fang forward. He sat with his legs crossed, and back straight with a pencil settled awkwardly between his tanned long fingers. He tried to take notes, but every so often, a loud snap would take her out of her micro nap. At the end of their sessions, Obie's body was convinced that it had been days since she's slept. Most interesting part of it all, after six hours, on the vampire's paper was....

Drum roll please.

Do what OB do,

Yes, comma. Not a period.

Written in a preschooler's font.

After three years of bullshit, she bet half of the illiterates in America forgot what the inside of a dictionary looked like. They probably thought the word "verb" was a type of weed.

One thing for sure his grammar was improving.

Another thing for sure was the vampire struggled to converse, normally.

They practiced.

Over.

Over.

Over.

Over.

Over.

Again.

Again.

Again.

He was more than embarrassed.

It came to a point they had to practice walking to prevent him from crawling on all fours.

He had his hands in his pocket, hood settled on his head and clumsily, tripping in his sneakers. Good thing they didn't have to meet till later in the evening, because Obie felt like her head was going to explode. Training the vampire to act human was harder than she thought.

She had to go to the extreme.

It took an hour to convince the vampire, but with a little push, he followed along Obie's plan.

Currently, Obie was sitting outside of a small room in a ruined sandwich store soaked in vampire's blood. The smell burned through her nostrils; the scent of morning breath, infuriated with spoiled tuna. Burrito didn't take a liking to the smell either as she was drenched for own protection as well. It was, but a couple of weeks ago when Obie described vampire's blood as black as coal and the smell of iron overwhelmed the air like walking through a factory. It was till now she appreciated its past lack luster, because she was stuck in this tornado of gag provoking reek.

Obie had to find a way tolerate it. Surprisingly, she didn't have to bust her brain to get some idea. The broken bulb over her head flickered as she discovered the odor conflicted with the strange yearning for mister vampire's blood. They battled in the air, ending their confrontation in the field of Obie's nose hairs. His sweet odor that warmed her body and crawled through her skin like a creeping predator was none of her concern. She didn't have to worry about the daze, the daze that ironically caught her before she could fall back into her usual habits.

Thanks to the infected he killed and dragged in the bookstore, she can focus on other things. Like controlling her strength, her vision, and her hearing. The vampire had some learning to do before they got to meet up with Logan's group, but Obie had her own growth to establish.

Another hard topic Obie had to try not to think about. While she was covered in vampire blood, vampire blood was running deeply inside of her and altering the characteristics of her human identity. Most of the time, she hated the vampire. Hanging around him was like slapping hands with a childhood bully. It didn't make any sense. On the other hand, she remembered he was who he was, because her father had sick ideas in creating life beyond the scope of mother nature. She couldn't be too angry at a person, who suffered at the hands of the man who raised her. God knows how much she played a part in her father's deception.

It's not like she was hanging out with him for fun. She wanted him to remember everything Logan's collected documents couldn't satisfy.

An odor of sweet syrup tickled her nose.

She looked up to find the vampire peeking from within the doorway. His pink lips held a great frown, while his eyes sparkled in nervousness.

Obie reassured the vampire in a volume so low a human couldn't pick it up. "You'll be fine."

He shook his head, vigorously.

"Calm down."

The vampire crouched on the ground and leaned on the threshold with a terrifying look on his face. Not that he was terrifying. He was terrified. "No no."

"Shh. Shh. Before the person hears you," Obie shut him up. "We practiced. You can do this."

"I did bad." He quivered.

"You talk to me all the time. You even practiced on Burrito." Obie said. "Just do it."

"No."

"Yes." She hissed. "The sooner you get it done. The faster we can go back to the bookstore."

He shook his head again.

"Fine. Let's stay here until your little friends outside gets pass the smell and realize I'm a whole snack. It's one thing for one human to hide in one place, but two is like asking to come to a buffet" Obie looked him in the eyes, sharply. "We're not doing this for nothing."

He looked down.

"This is for you. I don't want anything bad to happen because you don't know the difference between a person who wants to hug you or a person who wants to stab you. I need to see you at least understand. Okay?"

He said in a small voice. "D-don't make me."

Obie sighed, feeling bad for him. He was a vampire. Social interaction was not part of the criteria of the infected's survival. If anything, the vampire was a child who was attending his first day of school and he won't let go of Obie's hand when she tried to drop him off. How do parent's convince their child to let go? "If you do it, I'll let you touch my hand."

The vampire gasped, silently. "Y-your h-hand?"

"Yes."

"Anytime?" his blue eyes glittered.

Obie tried to keep her expression neutral as she was shocked by how fair he believed her offering to be. Like touching her hand was a million dollars. Like a million dollars was worth anything these days. "Yup."

"What's 'yup'?"

"It means yes."

For an instant, the vampire budged. The glossy sheen in his eyes reflected the same polished excitement in the orbs of a happy child. It was impeccably large and played around with one's sentiment to the point it was hard to ignore. After some time, an adult just gives in to the wants of the child and ignore the needs. Yet, it was the vampire who was giving into Obie's desires. So who was the child in this scenerio?

"Go on." She whispered.

He sighed, turning his head away.

"You got this."

He looked at her warmly and the warmness struck her not so gently. "Touch."

She cleared her throat. "Right now?"

He nodded, stretching out his two fingers and thumb towards her. Sparing no time, Obie extended her index and middle finger with her thumb spread wide. A second ago, she didn't think it was a big deal. Letting him touch her hand seemed easy. The best her manipulation gets to offer. Now, her fingers faltered and curled in hesitancy, then lifted and protracted in confidence. It became a back and forth game of doubt. But the vampire had no issue.

His middle finger touched hers. His index finger pressed onwards and finalized at the pads of their thumbs. A perfect triangle was formed by their digits, though the shape was the least catalyst to her reverence. The tactile sensations, commenced by the skin to skin friction, did more to Obie than she ever anticipated. Her mind focused on the gentle burst of heat scattered through her palm and mystically molested up her neck, trying to release a tension inside her head. It wasn't a relaxing rub, but a perverted caressing she sickly relished.

Obie brought her hand to her chest and looked away, shamefully. "I did it. Are you ready now?"

"No, but I try." He said breathlessly, staring at his fingers in wonder.

Obie's smile wobbled. Probably unstable in its fakeness mixed with a hint of genuine concern. Nevertheless, Obie tried to push down her feelings and said "Showtime."

Seconds later, Obie had her back pressed against the wall with Burrito on her shoulder as the vampire stood in the doorway to the basement. His hands were glued to his side, slouching his back as if ready to pounce. His mouth was tightened into a straight line, while his eyes narrowed in like his prey was awaiting on the lower level.

Obie grimaced, observing how much he was relapsing into his natural position.

They worked on this!

Do you know how many times Obie had to correct him? How many times they had to find a posture he actually liked doing? Fixing his grammar was the worst, but his body language was a close second.

It was so...animalistic.

Obie waved her hand in his peripheral.

He looked at her, startlingly.

She pointed to his body up and down, mouthing. "Fix it."

The vampire straightened his back, shoved his two hands in his pockets in case his claws come out and separated his feet in preparation to walk. His head was high. A little too high. His eyes slightly separating, easing the hostility in his expression.

Obie can't help, but be nervous for him.

She was sending him out to interact with a person other than her.

It was a stupid idea, at first. How could she risk exposing herself to the other vampires to see how he was with other people? Luckily for her camouflage, the infected crawled around in the streets and didn't have enough time to evaluate her scent.

She sighed, watching the vampire walk down the steps soundlessly.

But she had to. Logan wasn't stupid. He analyzed things. He was hired to. She couldn't imagine the rest of them digging into their business. She's still trying to figure out how to explain to Logan who he was.

Obie snapped out of it, hearing the vampire reach the last step. There were footsteps here and there. She couldn't tell if they were rats or the actual person. Then, again, they were just as heavy as the vampire.

"Don't move." She heard a womanly voice whispering roughly. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Obie took a peek at the windows, scrutinizing upon any alarmed vampires.

That woman better be quiet. The vampire would be the least of their problems.

C'mon, vampire.

What's your next move?

This was one of the scenarios they practiced with the Barns & Noble's bear.

Please remember.

She flashed back to hours ago.

"Hi." Obie spoke for the bear.

"May I approach you?" He asked.

Way too formal, but she wasn't going to stop him. They could look at it like he was being polite.

"No." Obie said.

"I respect your boundaries."

Obie tried not to laugh. "Well, what do you want?"

He paused. "Want?"

"If you don't really want anything, maybe you should leave."

The vampire almost turned on his heels and left. "Oh wait."

She raised her eyebrow.

"My line." He murmured under his breath, then remembered. "I'll go. B-but first I want to offer my c-company. I noticed your sadness. Be my pal."

"Cut." She made a "T" with her hands.

"I mess up." He sighed.

"My acting skills were horrible so I don't blame you. But you're way too formal and you're not reading my energy." Obie folded her arms. "At least your English is better, but you're thinking about it so much, you sound like a robot. Tell me what's the first thing you noticed about Bear."

The vampire shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked against his sneaker's heels. "Fluffy."

"True but no." Obie put down Burrito as she dug into her doggy snacks. "What was your first impression of Bear?"

He thought. "Nice."

"Too early to tell. What's a better word for it?"

"Not...aggressive."

"Correct. What else?"

"Reserved...cautious."

"Okay." Obie summarized it, pacing in front of him. "If Bear is cautious, reserved, but non-aggressive and not dismissive, how should you approach?"

"I-I-I." He hesitated. "I have to be....same, but...blunt."

"Yeah you do." She approved. "You have to be blunt in an informal way but with reason. You can't just go up to someone and say 'be my pal'. Weird word choice by the way. Look at your surroundings. You might be their enemy. Bear might not be dismissing you, but it's guard is up. With every word you spoke, I wanted to run away for Bear. What if you're trying to get Bear's food?! What if you're trying to attack Bear for its hiding spot?! What if you're trying to take Bear's virginity?!"

"Virginity?"

"Never mind. I got too carried away." Not really. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

He bit his lip and shook his head.

"Alright." She breathed. "Do it again."

As their memory of their 1/1000 sessions concluded, Obie really hoped he remembered.

The vampire began to speak."I-I."

This was it.

Obie pressed her ear against the wall to hang onto every word. Burrito lightly snarled as she pressed a little hard.

"Sorry, B." She mouthed.

But what was he going to say?

Hey?

What's up?

How are you?

I mean no harm?

Let's be friends?

Hi?

The vampire began to talk and Obie lifted to her toes as if it would help her hearing. "I-I-I d-don't want your v-v-virginity."

"What in the fuck." Obie whispered.

Abort mission. ABORT.

Obie was about to climb down before the woman started screaming bloody murder. But then the woman paused like she had to reevaluate the situation. "Nice to know. Now what do you want?"

"I don't know." He said nervously.

There was a long silence. A LONNNG silence. Obie nearly broke it off, but then she realized the woman must have been observing him. "You don't know?"

"No." The vampire said in a small voice. "I d-don't know."

He's choking.

"Bet you know how you got in here, though. The door was locked." She said sneered. "I made sure of it."

"I found way." He said.

"There isn't any way but the door." She whispered uneasily.

"I found a way." He repeated, adding "a" as if it changed the sentence.

"Kid, I don't any food. I don't have any weapons. I don't have anything you want. I have nothing, but me, myself and this room. So find somewhere else to hide."

"I don't want to hide."

She cursed. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting weird"

His next words shocked the living shit out of her. "I'm retarded."

NO!

Obie slapped her face.

He's supposed to have a speech impediment and a social disorder. It was a backup plan if one of Logan's guys asked him about his "problem". She gave him all the degrading words people would use on him; what to take offense to or not. She didn't think he would actually use the word to describe who he was.

The woman said slowly. "You're retarded?"

"Yes."

The woman sighed. "You can stay, but you're going to sit on the other side of the room where I can watch you. Not like I can kick you out without alarming those things outside. Like I asked before, how did you even get in?"

"I found a way." He said. She heard him shuffling, purposely ignoring the question. "I-I sit h-here."

"Yes, you sit there." The woman said keenly as if the vampire was a child. "We got to be quiet. You know...shh...shh."

"Shh." The vampire repeated.

Jeez, he really was a child.

Or was he playing the game.

As much as Obie was disappointed in the vampire's word choices, he was doing well. Despite not knowing this woman's weakness, he caught her attention with his "disability" that played well with his personality. She probably viewed him as a baby in a seventeen year old body. He wasn't a threat unless he started acting crazy.

Obie hid her smile in B's blood soaked hair. "He's doing it, B."

She prepared to sit on the ground, allowing the vampire some time to converse. Yet, she was overwhelmed with an earthy odor, usually sensed when water touched the ground in the midst of spring. Her hearing wasn't the only subjective proof for her claim.

It began to rain.

Quietly, Obie looked for containers in the Deli shop.

Nope nothing.

She, then, crossed over into the other store through the large hole.

There was luck on her side in this department.

She walked into Sally's Beauty Supply Store. There, Obie stacked up multiple empty dye bowls and waited for the heavy rain to make their path through the ceilings. She had time. The vampire and the stranger weren't talking.

Though, curiosity will end the silence.

It always does.

Fifteen minutes later, Obie closed her eyes and focused on their conversation, ignoring the rain, the rodents and the infected's cries.

"How old are you, kid?" The woman began.

"W-what d-do you mean?" He asked curiously.

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'?" she scoffed. "Do you know how old you are?"

"B-bones from the N-n-night H-huntress book is 217 years old. He's a vampire too"

Obie scrambled to not drop the bowls and Burrito at the same time.

"Ohhhh. You're a vampire?" The woman said exaggeratingly.

"I'm not s-supposed to say."

"Hmm...so you are delayed. I wonder what's it like to be retarded in a world of blood suckers."

Obie sighed in relief.

The vampire said disapprovingly. "Only r-retarded p-people can say the word r-retarded."

"Semantics, huh?" She responded back, derisively. "Here's my advice, kid. Those type of things don't mean shit these days. I can say all types of spook, nigger, spic, retard, coon, cunt, kike, guido and that doesn't mean anything to anyone as long as I'm not trying to steal from them. As long as I'm not trying to keep them from living."

"From vampires?"

"From anyone." She sounded as if she was frowning. "You can't be this unaware, kid. You survived for this long, so you have to know everyone's an enemy. Vampires are just the worst ones."

Debatable.

The vampire didn't respond.

"You don't look too bad either. From what I can see, you're wearing fresh clothes without a single scar on your skin." The woman's voice began to shake. "You're not one of those Skull men, are you?"

"Skull men?"

Skull men? Obie wondered too.

"Guess you don't. Doesn't matter now. Just stay away from those people. Okay?" she said. "A rere like you shouldn't have to die at the hands of them."

Did she mean the Capitol?

"How do you look so well off?" She probed.

"I alone." The