Been playing through Dead Island and Riptide and got hit with inspiration for the series. There's a lot of interesting NPC's and situations so here's where I'll put the little one shots about the various NPC's you meet while playing the game. Updates will be sporadic and possibly all over the place but some NPC's need a little love.
Annie Snider doesn't feels like she is a Good Girl anymore. It's her smarts that make her think so in the end. Her mind recalls an old memory, distant and a little fuzzy but she understands. She is young, younger than she is now as her pa carries her off towards her bedroom. A small hand clings tightly to the soft cloth of his sleep shirt. Annie whimpers aloud, both then and now.
Annie begins to rock harder on the floor in the dimly lit bungalow. She shakes her head and a few blonde strands break free from her ponytail. She doesn't want to think why she's not a good girl anymore. The pounding against the doors matches her heart, even when it skips and stutters in her chest. The monster's won't stop knocking and she trembles. Someone might eventually let them in with all their pounding.
Annie bites her cheek until she tastes something warm in her spit. Kimmy wouldn't let them in though. Even if Annie isn't a good girl, Kimmy has to be. She gave her water after all and Annie knows that when other's share it means a lot. Specially when they isn't much left.
Her eyes go towards the door leading to a bedroom. Maybe the girl sleeping in the bed? How she could sleep now was a mystery to Annie. When she asked Kimmy she only smiled that looked like a lot more of a frown. It had to have been the medicine she had and the drinks she guzzled down. Kimmy wouldn't say but Annie knew that had to be why. Annie licked her dry lips but knew that the drinks that the girl had wouldn't make her or Kimmy feel better. She said so and since the girl didn't wake up, Annie left it alone.
She closed her eyes tightly and shivered. She was back there in her mind. With her mom and pa and Jenny. She could see her sister laughing as Annie splashed her with water so clear it looked like you could drink it. Annie wanted to cry, for her sister, and uncle. For Kimmy, shaky and tired and for herself and being a bad girl. She refused to cry though. Kimmy had said they needed the water in their bodies and Annie had to be strong until Jenny found her.
The monster's growl loudly outside, screeching and rumbling deep in their bloody chests before letting out rasping noises. The silence from the big front doors doesn't make Annie feel better. Maybe the monster's finally found a way in?
Annie remembers her pa putting her on her floral blanket. She remembers him checking the closest and underneath the bed. He does this, all the while Annie sits there quietly, blue eyes looking at every shadow and crevice. It's her pa who taught her, and her mom who comforted her.
"The monsters only come for bad girls. Are you a bad girl, Annie?" Her parent's words, comforting then feel like something worse now. She shakes her head no in her mind but now, she shakes it yes. If Annie wasn't a bad girl, then the monsters wouldn't have come.
"Then you don't have to be frightened by monsters." The parents who aren't here murmur into her ear. She continues to shake because they are wrong.
More shrieking comes from outside, followed by creepy silence. Annie continues to tremble on her place on the floor. Then it comes, startling her, and distracting Kimmy from her head aching. The door in the back creaks, groans as something throws itself against it. There's still two more doors, Annie tells herself. She jumps when she hears the lock split and the door coming open.
The two doors don't feel so safe anymore. Only the bathroom had a lock like that but that was right by the back door. Steps come, not sloppy like the rest but they make Annie feel sick in her stomach.
This time she does cry.
It's only a tear, single and alone as Annie feels herself. It's all she can manage when she's thirsty like Kimmy. The door to their room opens and her heart beats loud like a drum. It's not a monster, though Annie is still a little afraid. It's a woman, black hair and dressed like other's at the hotel. The bloody knife she's holds makes Annie's heart leap into her throat but she doesn't shriek for the woman doesn't raise it.
Her dark eyes take them both in, Kimmy and Annie trembling in place. She speaks to someone in the room with the sleeping girl but whoever it is doesn't come in. She looks serious but tries to smile when she notices Annie staring. It's looks like a frown and Annie feels something in her chest relax. She talks to Kimmy for a little while and even gives her water. She can't help but lick her lips at the sight.
The woman must've noticed Annie and started to walk towards her. Her insides froze with fear again and she shouts, surprising herself and the other woman, "Who are you?" Her voice sounds strong, even though Annie doesn't feel like she is.
She doesn't come closer. "Xian Mei." The woman replies. She kneels and rolls the bottle of water towards Annie. As soon as it's in reach she swipes it, lest the woman decides to take it away. She takes greedy gulps before Kimmy tells her to drink slower. Annie listens to her and then lowers the bottle to her lap.
"Who are you? Do you need any help?" Xian Mei asks, tone soft and maybe a little wary.
Annie's voice trembles and it feels a little grating as she responds. "My name is Annie and I am looking for my teddy bear." She wants her sister badly, wants Jenny to protect her but she doesn't know where she is. Teddy, could protect her until Jenny found her. Teddy had kept her safe even when she was a bad girl at home.
The woman looks surprised and Annie begins to fear she won't do it. There are a lot of monsters out there and maybe she knows Annie is the reason they came. Xian Mei smiles, this time it truly looks like one and not another frown.
"Alright." She agrees in the same soft tone she had spoken with before.
Annie smiles, shaky but genuine. She tells her where to find Teddy.