Artemis, carrying her adopted baby Tank Tanya who was happily gurgling and chewing on the rainbow teething ring given to her back Meral, strolled through the void silent streets of the city. Thinking to herself, she realised that it was too quiet even for an infected filled city. Usually there would be the familiar sounds of her friends nearby and the groans of the commons but today there was no sounds, not even one and this was making Art scared, and a scared mother Hunter is a dangerous as well as over-protective Hunter.
After walking a few minutes longer, Art stopped dead in her tracks as the ground started to rumble and rumbling ground was never good. Tank. That was the only thing she knew that could make the earth shaking the way it does. "Please don't come this way." She repeated in her mind, although she knew, being one of the only real target around.
The rumbling got louder and due to the fact that she was practically blind she could only guess that the tank was now charging straight for her from A, the way the ground was shacking and B, that Tanya has started crying and squirming about in her arms. Art let out a warning/help screech, hoping someone would come as she quickly turned on her heels and fled down to street, taking of her hoodie and making a make shift baby carrier and quickly putting her baby Tank in it before scaling up a tall building with the Tank not to far behind.
Once on the roof she swiftly twisted about and ducked just as the Tank threw a large chunk of rooftop hurtling towards her, triggering her to cry out again and hiss harshly at the terrifying Brute. This had to end and end fast. Dashing forward to the Tank, Art leapt high into the air and landed on the beasts back ducking low so that the over muscled arms couldn't reach her or her dear baby Tanya. The Tank started thrashing about and trying to get the Huntress off the on avail. Punching into the bass of the thug's neck she crooked and pulled at the much larger infected neck, making the massive mass of muscles head for the rooftop edge.
Unfortunately for Art, once she had gotten him to the edge it was fairly hard to get off him until it was too late and she fell plunging to the pavement below, though luckily for her she landed on the now dead Tank. Tanya was crying loud and Art, in pain from her several broken ribs and fracture wrist, slowly pulled her out the makeshift baby carrier and cradled her close.
"T-Tanya, Ah 'ave ta get inside som'whe'e safe an' clos'd off. Ah need ya to be quiet for mummy please?"
Art stutter out and thankfully Tanya slowly quieten and nuzzled into her Hunter mothers chest cooing softly. Painfully and slowly Art rose to her feet and staggered blindly into an old warehouse, holding her Baby closer to her. Finding a suitable place to hide Tanya, Art starts singing.
"Hush now, quiet now, It's time ta lay yer sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now, It's time ta go ta bed
Drift, Drift off ta sleep,Excitin' day behind ya.
Drift, Drift off ta sleep, Lets 'he joy of dreamland find ya."
By the end of the song, Art was crying softly and Tanya was sound asleep. After what seemed like forever though it was only mere minutes passed by, Art heard and smelt the unnerving presence of a Smoker. By the sounds and smells Art could only think that this Smoker had some sort of metal on him, and then it hit her. This was the infamous Jack, The smoker who Eagle had warned her about.
Quickly getting up, though instinctively cursing herself for getting up so quickly, Art turned just as a metal tipped tongue darted at her and impaling her to the wall behind her. Art wanted to cried out so badly but due to the fact she didn't want to wake Tanya up she stayed quiet. The smoker was going on about how he wanted to hear her cry out, to cry out for help and was he was saying this, he would twitch the tongue impaled in Art making her wince and grimace but never once cry out.
"You're boring me! I'll have to do this the hard way."
Stepping close to Art, The psycho Smoker produced a rusted scalpel, He then started to talk about how much is going to enjoy this and how he was going to do it to her dear friends first but seeing as she was here he'd take this opportunity. By now Artemis Had ground sort of bored of the rambling Smoker, She knew she should just push him away rip out his tongue and flee with Tanya, But she was in so much pain from her fall.
"J-Just s-s-hut up y-yer Bastard."
Art managed to spit out at him, He just chuckled before drawing a long shallow cut long the Huntress throat, causing her to let out a silent cry before the assault of cuts and stabs over her body.
After a long torturous 'session' as the psycho in front of her said it was Art let out a loud screech for help once again just as the now angry smoker ripped out the metal tipped tongue to instantly plunge it deep into Arts stomach causing her to cough up a lot of blood. The Smoker then disappears just as Meral appeared, who was more than merely shocked to see Art lying curled slightly on the floor.
"A-ART!"Meral cry out and run over to the slowly fading Art.
"M-Meral?… 'Member wha' ya p-promised me?" Art was painfully obvious that she was crying, She was feeling all too cold.
"W-What do you mean Art?… Are you talking about Tanya?" Meral asked to the stifle a sob when Art nodded softly.
" B-But you're going to be fine Artemis." The wounded Huntress shook her head.
"Ahm n-not… M-Meral… A-Ahm cold an' frighten…" Meral was now fighting a hopeless battle with her tears.
"Ah need ta know 'hat Yall take c-care of…of T-Tanya." Arts body was trembling now as she felt herself slowly losing grip.
"I…I promise Artemis. I'll look after her just like you have."
"No b-better 'han m-me, A-Ah shouldac-check 'ere first an'… M-Meral A-Ahm so cold an'…An' scared" Art was shaking more and her vision was now completely gone.
"I'm here for you Art, and I'll be there for Tanya too, Y-You have my word." Meral was now freely crying too but hers was a silent cry.
"M-Meral… A-Ah can't see… A-Ah can feel an'thin' Meral…M-Meral…. Tell Me a Story…. Please?" Meral Reached over to pick up the sleeping bundle that was Tanya and put her in one of her make shift baby carriers before carefully moving so that Arts head was on her lap.
"T-there once were two friends. T-They laughed and pl-played together."Art sighs softly as her eyelids grew heavy and her body cold as Meral told her story.
"They both had amazing friends though they always did like each others company the most" Meral's voice was cracking under her silent sobbing. Arts breathing had almost all but stop but she was hanging on till she had heard the story.
"They always had the best of times e-even when one of them was either poorly or angry. Then there was one day when they couldn't play together as one of them had to move, far far away from the other, Neither of them wanted to leave each other but they had no choice. They decided that to remember each other they would give the other one thing, One of the choose a small doll, the other having nothing on her asked that she waited for right there till she came back, But by time she did come back….H-her f-friend had a-already left, leaving her standing there with h-her favourite blanket and the doll, wondering whether she'll e-ever see her d-dear friend again" Meral ended unable to keep from crying. Art's paling lips formed a small smile before a final tear rolled down her cheek as with her final breath she whispered.
"G-Goodbye, Meral Ah…Ahll watch over ya…." And with that last word Art breathing stopped and she ceased to move, leaving Meral crying and whimpering just like her story, to continue on with caring for Tanya just as she promised.