Municipal Wasteland 6
A/N: Hey guys, many, many thanks for the reviews/favorites, it's all very much appreciated. I've got to apologize for the lack of updating since September of last year. My Word 2007 stopped working and I wasn't able to renew anything 'til just recently. I will try to update more frequently than I had been, though, especially since I've gotten a few more ideas formed.
Again, thanks for reading and thanks for liking this enough to keep coming back. Any requests, comments, suggestions are always welcome.
000
Taggart ducked his head over the edge of the building; bloody vomit spilling forth from his open mouth. The acid spewed from his mouth and nostrils, burning.
His ragged retching must've waked his companion; Liam stepped up behind the bent Hunter and waited until there was an interval in the vomiting before speaking. "Eat somethin' bad, eh?"
"C-can it, dude," another lurch and more puke splashed to the sidewalk below.
Liam smirked absently and brought a hand to a side pocket, reaching for cigarettes that were no longer there. He cursed inwardly, thinking he'd have to scavenge a few shops, later.
"Can you wrap this up soon? I kinda wanna get moving." His index fingers spun around each other in a rolling motion trying to emphasize whatever point he meant to make.
Taggart snapped his head around to glare behind him at the smirking Smoker. Dirty spittle flew from his lips as he barked, "Fuck you, man, this fuckin' sucks! I dunno what's up with - *hulp* - me, but just gimme a minute."
The taller infected rolled his milky eyes and shrugged loosely, stepping away from the crouched figure. He walked back into what was left of the shell of a room, the retching echoing off the damaged walls like it was a cave.
He twitched his long fingers, the joints crackling loudly with the movement, as he stepped through a doorway on the opposite wall. He came out into a trashed hallway, sniffing the air with grunted snorts. His senses perked some; there was possible prey nearby, but it wasn't anywhere in this particular building. The scent reeked strongly of tangy, coppery blood and his mouth could've watered. He wondered if he should go and fetch said prey for their breakfast, but would Taggart be okay on his own?
A rumbling growl from his hollowed stomach answered that for him.
He made his way into the room across from theirs, and found it to be an office with a broken window. Choosing it as his exit, he hoisted himself onto the sill and slipped outside.
000
The smoker sniffed the air again after his blood-encrusted soles made contact with the alleyway floor. He could still smell that same prey, though it was fairly clearer now, not too far from where he now stood. Following the scent like a hunting dog, he crept out of the alleyway and out into the paper-strewn street. There were a few common infected staggering around but nothing human lay in sight.
"Must be hiding…" He sniffed the air again and carried on with his tracking. The scent strengthened the closer he got to pawn shop a few buildings down the street. He hurried his steps, shoving an infected or two out of his way.
He made his way to the front and wrenched the door open, nearly taking the heavy plank of wood off its remaining hinges. Broken glass and scattered items crunched beneath his heavy steps as he stalked through the islands of shelves, looking for any hiders. An intake of breath brought him towards the girls' bathroom located at the back of the looted shop. Carefully pushing the door open a crack, he inhaled again and the scent he'd been following was now almost overwhelming.
"Bingo."
He shoved passed the door and trudged into the cramped bathroom, his sharpened teeth gnashing behind his cracked lips. It was silent in the tiny room minus the echoing drip of a leaky faucet. Creeping near the stalls his wandering eyes took glances through the cracks in between the doorways until he spotted her in the very last one.
His pink, pustule-covered tongue slithered from his jaw and slid under the door to reach the lock, the girl's frightened, startled gasp not escaping his ears. With a single flick and tap of the tip of his tongue, the entrance was unlocked and opening. His appendage gathered back into his mouth and he pushed the door out of the way.
A teenaged girl sat cowering between a stall wall and the toilet, her body practically convulsing in nervous shivers. Her brown, make-up smeared eyes widened painfully and her mouth hung open like she wanted to scream. The slim fingers clutched tightly at the porcelain seat, going whiter by the second as she continued to stare at the former man in front of her.
Liam gave the girl a once-over and saw from an unfortunate stain that the source of the scent was coming from a particular area between her legs. He could've laughed at that, finding her body's poor timing funny, but instead he figured he'd save her the embarrassment in her final moments. Taking one looming step closer to her, he raised a tumor-speckled hand, and, just as she was about to cry out, swung the limb back down, raking her throat with his claws.
The dying girl clutched at her hemorrhaging throat in a panic, her bare feet kicking and sliding against the filthy floor. After a few moments of thrashing, her small body gave its final twitches before sagging heavily against the tiled wall.
The smoker reached down and took hold of the body, hoisting it up onto a shoulder. He headed out of the bathroom and wondered to himself why none of the common infected outside had investigated the same scent he had. Chalking it up to their senses not being as good as his, he sauntered back to the building where he and Taggart had stayed.
The infected he'd been thinking about must've either read his mind or finally smelled the blood because as soon as he stepped out into the street they'd hurried over to him. Their hands flew up at him trying to tear at the lifeless sack on his shoulder, hungry moans echoing around the surrounding buildings. He snarled at them with a barked warning, even swiping at a stubborn few until they finally backed off.
He eyed the walking viruses a second before continuing on to his building. With the body still on his shoulder, he hurriedly clambered up one side of the structure towards the open wall of their room. He slipped off the wall and landed with a slight thud onto the scratched floorboards. Giving a brief scan of the open room he found Taggart huddled in one of the back corners, on his knees and clutching his stomach, his forehead pressed to the boards.
Liam walked over to his comrade and carelessly dropped the body beside him onto the floor. He crouched and tapped at the other's shoulder. "Food's here," he grunted.
The hunter gave a phlegm-y groan and attempted to curl into himself more.
Liam shifted and sat, propping his bony elbows on his knees. "Still puke-y?"
The hunter gave an awkward nod and responded in a muffled voice, "Ya think? I thought we were zombies – zombies aren't supposed to feel anything!" The last part was almost whined.
Liam gave a bored shrug, "Guess the movies lied, huh? Well, you can join me for breakfast whenever you feel up to it, but I can't say I'm gonna leave you the best parts." He turned slightly to face the body and began to wrench at the right arm, working on tearing it off.
Taggart finally moved his head off the floor and looked up at the body. His blond brows furrowed and he asked, "Where'd you find that?" His head bobbed some with his jaw moving against the boards.
"Pawn shop; she stunk of girly-blood, found her hiding in a bathroom stall." With a violent yank, the socket gave an audible 'pop' and the tissue began to tear more easily. After a few more good pulls, the detached limb now lay in his lap and he began to rip into it with his teeth.
Taggart inched his way towards to cold body, his body still weirdly folded, and sniffed at the blood-soaked neckline. He moved closer until he was able to sink his teeth into some muscle on the shoulder.
"It'll be easier to eat if you sit your ass up and use your hands, you know," Liam mumbled around a hunk of meat, juices dribbling around his lips.
Taggart growled in response but shifted himself into a seated position anyway. He tore a healthy chunk of skin from the body's remaining arm and chewed, his hunger restoring itself after that nasty puke fest.
The two ate in a comfortable silence, the only sounds other than outside ambience being mouths smacking and meat tearing wetly. Both infected felt a little better after what they deemed a busy morning.
000
End Chapter 6.
A/N: Not much going on in this chapter, I know, I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things after a couple months' absence. Like always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think.