Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead
Among The Bodies: Lick
After wandering cities that were either deserted, filled to the brim with infected or bombed and in ruins, the liveliness around us was overwhelming. There wasn't any trace of infection, no destruction, and no one fighting desperately to survive. The only signs of anything relating to the world past the gates was the overgrowth sprouting on a few buildings and the rubble piles at every corner.
The people around us traveled in groups, talking among themselves and hardly sparing us a glance. Everyone was smiling, laughing as they strolled along. They appeared to be well fed, healthy, and happy. Looking around, no one was carrying any sort of firearm, or even melee weapon.
The only ones carrying weapons were the strangers we had disguised ourselves as. They stood on the sides, unmoving, gripping their guns and scanning the crowds as they walked. They didn't speak to anyone, just watched behind concealing masks.
We were blind here. My plan from earlier only extended far enough to where we could walk around freely here, as long as we weren't caught. I never contemplated on where to go or what action to take once we were actually inside. So right now, our only option was to keep moving and hope a lead would suddenly reveal itself, though it was unlikely.
A uniformed man happened to glimpse in my direction and I was able to catch the slight movement of his head. A simple nod in place for an unvoiced greeting. I returned the gesture to avoid looking suspicious. The man returned to his duty, back straight and keeping close watch on the bystanders. If I could avoid conversation, then I could pull this off.
Aaron, on the other hand, was having a much more difficult time than I was. He was walking in a straight line, putting one foot in front of the other. With his hands stuffed inside his pockets, no one could see the claws attached to his fingers or the dried blood that was caked to them. He pulled the survivor act off so well that if I didn't already know he was a hunter, I would have been fooled.
But I could tell he was distressed. If anyone looked hard enough, they would be able to spot the obvious signs. As we walked, he would stray a foot or so behind me, whether it was because he was still angry with me or just nervous, I don't know. But as a little girl with black braids adorning her hair brushed passed him and into the outstretched arms of her father, he flinched, quickening his pace in able get closer to me.
I don't know how much longer he can behave, but if even so much as utter a growl then it's game over. Our cover will be blown and I'm sure that the armed gunmen standing at every corner will be more than happy to unleash hell. We needed to find somewhere we could stop and think about our options. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an ally.
It was hidden from public view, facing against the sun completely shaded. Once I was sure there was no officer lurking at the end of it, I spun on my heel and began casually walking into the shadows, Aaron following closely.
We turned the second corner, becoming undetectable. When I was sure I could no longer hear the loud conversations and laughter, I lowered my mask. "How are you feeling?" I questioned him. There wasn't really anything I could do to prevent him from going nuts at any moment, considering just on how edge he was. But I could provide words of encouragement, and while he may not understand them, I'm sure he'll appreciate the pause from the hustle and bustle.
He remained still, with his head still angled downwards staring at the ground. I don't want to try and wheeze a reaction from him, not with the mental state he was currently in. But the lack of response still bugged me. I felt guilty, not only for dragging him along in my problems but for making him suffer. It was clearly a bad idea to take him somewhere highly populated.
"Listen," I started, pausing to double check for eavesdroppers. "I meant what I said before; you don't have to do this." I told him. There was no answer, so I tried again. "You're not in debt, you never were. Hell, if anything, it's my fault we're here. If I hadn't of left them, they might have been ok." I confessed, letting my rifle swing loosely at my side.
I had already repeated that confession again and again inside my mind, but it seemed fresh saying it out loud. He didn't hear me, and slouched. I couldn't follow his gaze, and there was no clear sign of him actually listening to me, or maybe tuning me out. But I continued, whether or not he was.
"I'm not your problem to deal with, and you're certainly not mine-" He stiffened and I tried to catch myself, but the words were already free. "No-no wait, I didn't mean it like that, I swear." I did my best to explain, but he kept tense. Nervously, I ran my hands through my pony tail. "I'm just thinking…it's not…You aren't…"My words seemed to break and I stuttered terribly. I was never good at social skills anyway.
I took a deep breath, unnerved by the fact that he hasn't so much as twitched in the last five minutes. Maybe when we were somewhere safer, we could figure this out. This just wasn't the time. "Let's go, we'll figure this out later." I sighed, hoisting up my rifle and walking away.
The short break was nice, but the tension was too thick to enjoy it.
There was a lack of footsteps behind me and I stopped. Turning around, he was standing straight, no longer glaring at the ground but instead directly at me. The mask covered his face and head completely, leaving me with no clue on his current expression, if he was even making one at all. Not like a blank stare would be any better than a death glare.
"What's wrong?" The question slipped out before I could bite it. His hesitation was making me feel uneasy. "Aren't you coming?" Well, are you? Or did you finally realize that you're following around an idiot who entered a hostile area blindly with no plan whatsoever searching for people whose whereabouts are unknown and could even be dead?
I was in the middle of a mental debate on whether or not I should have walked off or forced him to come with me when moved. It was a pause after the second step, like he was heavily distracted himself. Biting the inside of cheek, we wandered out of the ally and into the streets again. My mind was overflowing with questions.
The cold had driven many people inside their homes, or what I guess was their homes. The surrounding buildings looked to be formerly cafes, general stores, and even a day care. The streets were becoming less populated as we moved, the road becoming narrower and narrower. The amount of officers around each turn was decreasing, until there was just a single man stationed. Far away, it seemed as if he was just relaxing, leaning against the wall. But as I neared closer, I heard soft, faint snores.
I scanned the rooftops. Every building had a flat roof, close enough to each other that it would be easy to jump them myself. However, they stood at different heights, the highest being four stories high. This was a very old fashioned town, I thought. If we could get onto of those roof tops, we could easily make our way around much faster without drawing too much attention.
We slipped to another ally, out of view. The back of the brick building we were behind had broken windows and a fire escape that had partly broken off. Now that I think of it, most houses nearby were in poor condition as well. I guess even Paradise had a bad neiborhood.
"Hey, Aaron…" I pulled my mask down, letting it hang from my neck. "How high can you jump?" I joked lightheartedly. For once, he looked away from the concrete and up above, taking in the height and distance of the rooftops.
"I know you mad…but it would be really helpful if you could take us up there." I pointed to the fire escape which only reached from the fourth floor to the third, the other half missing. If he could at least take us to the third floor, than we could make our way up to the top.
"We can stay above everyone else, they wouldn't see us." I pressured. "It would be faster too, we can see a lot more from up there," I reasoned. Starting at the brick, Aaron let out a low rumble. But I don't speak hunter, so that was nothing but nonsense to me.
"Can you?" I asked again, trying to sound light but I felt myself becoming a little impatient. He turned from the sky to me, then to the roofs again. I sighed, "Alright, fine. Let's head back out into the stre-"
My sentence was cut off. An arm wrapped around my waist and held tightly, the sudden and quick movement causing me to pause. One moment I was standing on my feet at ground level, the next I was flipped over and I squealed in surprise. "What the he-"
I felt the sudden feeling of weightlessness, and my chest spiked and stabbed my throat as I watched the ground fly away. But in reality, we were the ones who were flying. We passed the second floor, the third, and the forth, and even went a few feet past the roof.
Once again I have wrongly underestimated the abilities of a hunter, something I best not do again.
It was over as quickly as it had started. We landed on the roof with a solid thud and I was still in the midst of processing the last two seconds it took to get up here. As I gathered my thoughts, I noticed I was still being held. Last time I had pushed him away he pretty much threw me at the ground. I frowned, doing my best to squirm and wheeze my way out of his grasp, but stopped when his hands gripped even stronger that I could feel the pricks of his claws poking through my clothes.
Once again, we were airborne, and the only way to prevent myself from screaming was to bite my tongue. The pressure of my teeth combined with the impact on the next roof was extremely painful. I couldn't stop the loud curse escaping as I screamed. Without purposely meaning to, I aimed a punch for his head. I missed, but he seemed to take the hint.
We landed on the third jump and I was carefully placed on solid ground. As I spat, I realized we were a good distance away from our original spot. But the pain in my tongue still overruled all other current thoughts. A little dribble of blood flowed from my lip and I licked it away.
"A warning would have been nice…" I sneered. I couldn't be mad at him for my tongue, since it was my own fault. But still, I didn't like surprises, and the rapid beating in my chest had yet to slow. I sat cross-legged on the roof, catching my breath. Aaron copied my action, crouching down and sitting on his hind legs.
The mask was putting pressure on my jaw, and it suddenly wasn't necessary anymore. No one could see us up here anyway. I unstrapped the clips, carefully pulling it away and setting it on the ground. Running my fingers through my ponytail, I tried to straighten it out best I could.
I caught Aaron eyeing the smear on my mouth. "This?" I pointed to my lips, sticking out my tongue and showing him the bite. "Just a bite, hurts like a bitch though." I commented, tapping my tongue with my finger. Mouth injuries healed pretty quickly; I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be fine.
I was too busy prodding at my own mouth that I didn't notice him fling off his gas mask. It fell to the floor, landing near me. I raised a brow. "Just not the same as the hoodie, huh?" I asked without making eye contact. I could feel his stare, but as I looked up to meet it he turned away. His jaw had healed, no longer wearing the gash marks that Tanya had inflicted earlier.
My previous racing heartbeat was now the steady, normal pace I much prefer it to be. It was quiet. Looking over the edge of the building, I turned from left to right. From that point I could see the entire street and past that. I could even make out the sleeping officer, still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his gun laid at his side.
There was a noticeable lack of shadows on the ground, and I looked to the sky. There was a thick collection of grey clouds concealing the sun. I frowned at the sight. It was bone chilling cold, and rain would only add to my suffering. I clenched my hands hidden in my sleeves. This jacket was warm, yeah, but how would it cope when it was wet?
My hands and unclenched and my eyes widened when I realized I was missing my rifle. I glanced down at my hands, then spun around and scanned the nearby rooftops we've previously landed on, hoping that it was dropped somewhere close by. It was nowhere to be seen. I groaned, gritting my teeth and flinching in regret when my mouth rippled with pain.
Aaron sat innocently to my right, watching me from the side. Now I had something I could blame him for. "You made me drop the rifle…do you know how valuable that was? That could have been the difference in a life and death situation!" I half yelled, trying to keep my volume under control. The hunter responded with a blank stare.
Normally I would of crumbled under his inverted glare, but I was too peeved off to care. With grim thought, I noted on how much more angry and upset I get when he was around. Most everything that went wrong was my fault, but that didn't mean he didn't play a part in them.
His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on my jaw and I became aware of the stain that now covered the front of my chin. I rolled up my sleeve and made move to wipe it off. Bringing back my hand, it was spotless. Wiping multiple times with my hands and even resorting to the sleeve, it was no use. There was a faint trace of dried blood. It would have to be ignored.
"Unless you can magically summon an assault rifle, then I say we're pretty fucked if we get caught." I patted around my pockets, a smile gracing my lips as I felt the slick metal of a pistol before it disappeared. "Two handguns low on ammo vs an army of rapid fire, you do the math." I sighed, also checking for the knife I kept tucked away.
My ears peaked and I could hear the faint sound of voices and metal clanging from down below. I paid no attention to it, deeming it as just another group of buddies taking a stroll. I shivered; I could really use some sun rays right now, but it was still concealed behind the clouds, a large greyish white circle where it should have been.
Aaron grumbled, his expression shifting to something other than anger or plain blankness for once: boredom, or annoyed, or maybe irritated. Even without anything covering his face, it was difficult telling what he was thinking. While some people may be an open book, Aaron was like a picture: Seemed frozen to one expression and rarely showed emotion, aside from the occasional smirk or so.
Rolling my eyes, I took the second gun from out the back of my jeans, placing it with the other in my front pocket. The vest strapped around my front budged out a little, but if I hunched a certain way it would only seemed as if I had put on weight. A smiled spread across my face and I chuckled. "Great, now me and the guys can be beer belly buddies…"
Bill, Doug, and even Francis always had a slightly pudgy middle section. I remember the times where Bill could of passed it off as a result of old age, but we picked on Francis every now and then about it. He would shrug us off, saying that it was actually just massive abs hidden underneath his biker vest. But everyone would laugh and we'd make fun of his goatee instead.
I wonder what they're doing now.
Sitting on the floor, I finally took a look around. The buildings looked all the same, and the only two things I found worthy of noting was the radio tower down the street and the huge library off in the distance. Judging by the amount of people surrounded around it, I guess that the library was the equivalent of Paradise's town hall.
"So," I began, had forgotten about the rifle incident. I'm sure it was somewhere in that ally, too far to head back for it now. "Where to now, buddy?" I inquired, leaned on one hand and using the other to massage my jaw. The voices and loud noises below had grown louder. There was many people shouting all at once, overlapping each other enough where I couldn't pinpoint on what all the commotion was about. It sounded like an overcrowded auction.
An unclear sound emitted from his throat. I shrugged. "Tower it is then-" A sneeze interrupted me, and I shuddered again. The cold was beginning to seep through the jacket and I crossed my arms over myself in a futile attempt to keep heat in. My teeth started to chatter, and dim throb in my tongue spiked to its full limit again. I moaned in annoyance.
Aaron shifted, leaning towards me and sniffing in my direction. I raised a brow. "I don't stink, do I?" I tried to grin, but my tongue refused to work with the rest of my mouth. Using my hands, I stuck out my tongue gripping it with my fingers. There was a tiny prickle of blood flowing and it dripping from my mouth to the ground, a droplet splattering on the roof.
"See what you made me do?" I mumbled, keeping my mouth open. My words came out jumbled and mixed together, but Aaron didn't seem to mind. The red fluid trickled down my chin and I licked around my mouth in reflex, sighing when I realized that the small amount of blood had smeared. Congrats on turning into a clown, Zoey.
For a measly tongue bite, it bled buckets.
I heard a soft snicker. Alarmed, I turned to Aaron, but he was still has plain faced as he was before. Only, he seemed to be distracted, eyes glazed a bit. I was about to give a snarky comment on how drunk he looked before he leaned forward, a clawed hand grasping the sides of my face.
His own tongue dragged roughly across my mouth, which I had enough sense to close it in time. It left a wet, slick trail on my skin and my clown stained smile was wiped away. He licked the last of the blood away, and it was a long, awkward moment before I regained my sense of reality, and reacted how any girl would of in a situation like this: A hurricane of limbs and curses.
My foot found its way to his chest and I kicked him back. He lept backwards, but hardly stumbled. Rolling over on my side, I spat out any fluid in my mouth and wiped furiously with my sleeve. No matter how hard I rubbed, the feeling of his tongue lingered and I began to feel a little sick in the stomach.
My face was clean, but I would of rather it been caked in mud and boomer bile then had to use Aaron's salvia as a face wipe. "You little shit," I coughed, "Is this your twisted idea of revenge? That was fucking disgusting!" I yelled, my voice amplifying intensely. It didn't need to worry about that, since the streets below was now equivalent to a parade.
Rolling back over, I debated on whether or not it was a good idea to sling another kick at him. The need deepened when I caught a small movement, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. I glared hard at his smug face, my hand held defensively over my mouth. The pain that flowed in my tongue seemed very insignificant all of a sudden.
"Fuck you, Aaron" I uttered, but my insult was drowned in the sounds coming from below. "You do anything like that again, and I swear I'll shoot you" I threatened, scooting away from the hunter. While he didn't carry a smirk, it was clear that he was amused by my reaction, which only angered me more.
I continued to back away from the special infected until I reached the edge, coming to a halt before I launched myself off the end. I gasped, watching the happy people below as they moved amongst each other.
It really did look like a parade; all it needed now was a beaming sun glaring into their backs. The once empty streets were now booming with people of all kinds, but most of them wore things that became useless and worthless once the outbreak had begun. Jewelry, handbags, some women were even wearing heels. Ladies wore pearl necklaces and earrings to match, while men walked around in suits and ties.
The people we had seen when we first entered weren't dressed like this. Those people wore clean, regular casual clothing. So that means whoever these people were, they were Paradise's 'elites', which simply was a different way to put 'rich' and 'privileged'.
But it wasn't the fancy attire of the humans I was interested in, it was what-or really who- they were dragging behind them.
A smoker followed a man as he walked with what I assumed was his wife. A black leash led from the man's hand to the smoker's neck, where it attached to a color wrapped around his throat. The tumors that usually covered half of a smoker's face and ear were cut off, a bloody bandage wrapped around the spot where it should have been.
I gasped, horrified. Everything they had said what apparently true, and from what I could see, it was much worse. Doug had put it lightly.
The smoker wore ragged clothes, no shoes, and looked just absolutely miserable. Bloody gashes that covered his ankles and knees hinted that he might have been dragged all over the place. Smokers are normally skinny, but this one looked like a gust of wind would have snapped him in half. He was extremely underfed.
The man and his wife stopped, and pointed at something. I grit my teeth, disgusted. A man waved around a cane, trying to grab the couple's attention. After they waved him off and sauntered away, the man still attempted to sell.
The'merchandise' was sobbing; down on her knees and limbs tied together. The chains around her wrist looked too tight, cutting into her pasty grey skin. It was the same with her feet. The Witch appeared to have been bathed, since I didn't see any blood or filth caught in her white, stringy hair.
Many stopped and watched the wailing woman weep, some even smiled. I couldn't hear what the cane wielding man was yelling to the crowd, but whatever it was I assumed it had something to do with the paper tag that had been tied around her right foot.
They weren't the only ones. Up and down the street people were bringing out special infected, either chained or tied up. Some were missing tumors, some limbs, and some wearing strange outfits, chosen by their owners no doubt. Everyone was picking a spot on the side of the road, set their merchandise in place and chanted.
A crowd had begun to form near the cane wielding man and his Witch, laughing and pointing. Among them, I heard the bidding price rise higher and higher.
I would of kept staring if the sun hadn't of revealed itself behind the clouds and shined directly in my face. Dispite it now being late in the date, it was still shining strong. I covered my eyes, turning when I heard shuffling behind me. Aaron had strapped his mask back on, trying his best to avoid from looking directly into the sunlight.
I grabbed my own mask and strapped it on. Giving one last glance to the black market, I stood up. "Alright, let's get moving." I walked to the edge of the building. About the foot below was another roof, and the distance wasn't that far. The logic in my head told me I was an idiot, but my gut was telling me I was too angry to care.
With a running start, I leaped. Landing on the roof safely, I turned to see if Aaron would follow. He wasn't even there anymore, and was already two roofs away, waiting. I rolled my eyes. "Don't show off, I'm not used to this." He smugly hunched on his hind legs, making an impatient noise.
The tower wasn't but a few buildings away anyway. From where I was, I could see a ladder lined up the side of the tower. All I needed was to reach that ladder and make my way up. The tower stood above everything else in town, and if I was able to reach the top, I could make a decent layout of the town. Not sure what we'll do after that, but I'll figure it out.
Taking a deep breath, I leaped again. This time I landed with a skid, almost losing my footing. My arms flailed around and I was able to prevent myself from making any sort of distress noise. Once I had regained my balance, I refused to acknowledge Aaron snickering a distance away.
He was always one step ahead, and I soon gave up on trying keeping up. Every time I even came close, he was in the air, doing some fancy parkour trick that would probably kill me if I even attempted at it. At one point he flipped in the air, landing on his hands and springing back up on his feet. At this, I groaned. Yeah, I'm not the most graceful being on the planet, that's for sure. But that did not mean he had to rub it in my face.
When we finally reached the tower, I was crouching, gasping for breath with both hands on my knees. I coughed, my lungs clouding. My mask slipped off and I held it while I breathed the non-constricted air. Once I was sure my lungs were satisfied, I strapped it back on, not liking how every time I did so it would press harshly at my cheeks.
I carefully leaned outwards, reaching for the ladder. I had barely grasped the metal bar before the solid ground left my feet and I was left dangling from an extremely high height. Aaron crouched nearby, waiting patiently for me to ascend. Well, it was high to me. To him, four stories were probably four inches.
Making sure I had each bar solidly in my hands before moving up, I slowly rose. It wasn't till I reached the top did I let out he breath I didn't realize I was holding it. I launched myself up, curling my knees up to my chest and resting on the balcony wall. I'm fine, it's not like one little slip would have cost me my life or anything.
Aaron scaled up the railing as I took the ladder, moving at the same rate as I was. I glanced at him, or really his gasmask, as he crouched beside me. "You would have caught me if I fell, right?" I asked, half joking, half serious. The hunter hesitated before shrugging. That seemed to be the only gesture he knew.
Crossing my arms, I sighed. "Good to know you've got my back" I spat sarcastically, standing up to my full height. Without thinking, I looked over the edge of the balcony and my stomach did backflips. And what was even worse, what that from this height I could clearly see that the black market stretched much further than just one street. The streets were so crowded with people that I couldn't make out the grey of the concrete. I noted the lack of officers, not sure whether it was because they didn't know about it, or they just ignored it.
There was a wooden door on the side of the wall, and I grasped the knob without hesitation, more focused on getting inside then knowing on what in it. I flung it open, and the survivor in me came to life and guided my hands to my pockets, bringing both guns up. Luckily for us, it was empty.
The floor was green carpeted, and a single chair sat upturned in the corner. On one side of the room was a massive window, the other was a large table bolted to the wall, covered with buttons and switches. Under each button was a piece of paper stuck to the surface, labeling what it was. I wasn't able to understand it anyway, I never worked in music.
The one thing that stood out was the electric glow of each button, telling me that the radio station had power.
Aaron strutted inside and I shut the door behind us. It was bigger on the inside than it showed on the outside. He had taken his mask off, and I couldn't pin point where he tossed it off too. The room was dark, and the light blue glow of the buttons was casting a blue tint across the room, overlapping the light that entered through the window.
Aaron looked tired, more exhausted than I was. He didn't seem angry anymore, but he definitely wasn't that hyper ball of energy he was a few days ago. If anything, I'd say he resorting back to the statue like, cautious behavior, similar when to we had first met. I thought back when I had forced him to reveal his face, how furious he was. Maybe that severed whatever 'friendship' we had developed and he only stayed because he was either too involved or needed food. Did he ever regret following me out of the woods?
There was a loud crash and Aaron leapt back, hissing at the now flashing lights that came from the table. I grinned. Maybe I was wrong. "Serves you right. You can't just poke everything you see and expect nothing to happen." I moved to pat him on the back, a simple comfort. He hissed had my intruding hand and the pat turned into a slap on the shoulder. "Stop making that noise." I complained. "It's annoying."
He ignored me, approaching the lights and prodded them again, pressing them in a random pattern. I rolled my eyes. "If set an alarm off or something, I'll shoot you." My words went unnoticed. "I mean it." I repeated, but his attention was still latched onto the lights and colors. He was nothing more than a toddler. A superhuman, always hungry, reckless, sun light hating toddler.
Something bumped the back of my heel and I spun around. Behind the door, a little open crate with objects placed disorganized sat, and I leaned down, shuffling through the items. You never know what you could find.
I pulled out something dark blue, rotating it in my hands and smiled. "Hey, Aaron" I held the cap up, and he glared at it with interest. "Look what I found."
With some hesitation, he crawled over to me, flinching away when I made to place it on his head. "It'll shield you're eyes." I commented, and he stopped mid-escape. "You won't have to wear the mask anymore, besides, I'm not sure If we'll even need them much longer." I didn't mention the fact that I had no idea what he had done with his anyway.
If we stayed on top of rooftops, there was no need for any disguise. With that thought, I remembered my own and unstrapped it, tossing it in the crate as to prove my point. The hunter watched as it landed among the other misc. items and turned back to face me. Now that I could clearly see him, his eyebrow was arched, questioning. He looked incredibly human.
"Here" I held the hat out, and he slowly raised his clawed fingers to take it. He placed it upon his head, and once again, his eyes were hidden from me. I chuckled, flicking it upward. He growled, immediately moving it back down again. It shadowed his eyes and the only difference from the hood now was that I could see his hair.
"Maybe giving you that wasn't such a good idea" I mused out loud, and he snarled playfully, poking a claw at my jacket. I shrugged it off, and tossed on the chair in the corner. Moaning, I stretched my back and began to pop my fingers. I had forgotten how heavy that thing was.
Aaron had returned to his shenanigans with the sound bored again, and I shook my head. If he got electrocuted, I was not going to take responsibility. Dragging around a fried hunter was not in my plans and I wasn't adding it to the list anytime soon.
He pressed something and a little screen lit up, making itself known in the blue room. I raised my brow at the small screen, and stepped closer when words began to appear. The words were white against the black background, and easy to read, but the list kept scrolling and it was too fast to remember what the last sentence had said before the next one appeared.
Stepping closer, I realized with interest that it was a list of names. Not song names like you would think, but names. With the names, a small box glided beside them, containing paragraphs that moved too fast for me to read. There was a little switch next to the screen, turned to the fullest. Out of curiosity, I pulled down.
The words halted. With them no longer gliding on the screen, I could clearly read the writings. I squinted, adjusting my eyes to the screen. It's been a very long time since I've seen anything remotely electric.
(Deceased)Shanice Wagman - Illegal smuggling operations, illegal exposure to infection, theft.
(Deceased)Markus Fisher/Isaac Fisher – Father and son pair, illegal exposure to infection, illegal weapon development and use.
(Unknown)Philippe Thevenin – Murder, illegal weapon development and use, treason. Several accounts of violence against citizens. Mentally unstable.
(Deceased)Nia Yukino – Illegal smuggling operations, illegal use of medications.
(Unknown)Mika Higgins –Mentally unstable. Infected bait, escaped.
(Custody) Doug/Olive Jones – Married pair. Illegal explosive development and use, trespassing, theft, treason.
Rereading the sentence to make sure my mind hadn't been playing tricks; I let out a gust of relief. They were alive. Held hostage, but alive. Knowing Doug, he wouldn't be the one to go down without a fight anyway. I disregarded the rest of the list, refreshing my memory.
Doug and Olive Jones wanted mainly for treason and theft of important information. Recently ceased production and left without authorization. Death of family member is thought to be linked to their reasons for leaving, however, this is not confirmed and the true reason will not be released until it is established at trail. Known to be skilled in creating explosive weaponry. Proceed with caution.
The paragraph left my mind in pieces. So, they were originally from Paradise? Is that why they knew so much about it? And just how important is that info? Too be honest, I had already suspected them of making bombs. Hell, Louis and I used to discuss how to create pipe bombs all the time. That day when Doug walked out the cabin, smelling like he did, clearly gave it away.
Still, grumpy old man Doug and his sweet little ole wife Olive are criminals?
I'll believe it. It's not the most outrageous thing I've discovered this week, and it definitely doesn't change my motives to rescue them. Besides, they were only criminals in Paradise, and if this wasn't the apocalypse, they'd be just some old couple living harmlessly in the woods. I can't see them as anything else.
Aaron growled suddenly, startling me. He lept, flinging past me and I was pushed back, slamming into the wall behind me. Pain shot in my mouth but I was too focused on what was happening in front of me to care.
A click and bang. My ears rang and I winced. Aaron, whom had been hit mid-air, was flung back and slammed against the wall, the same as I. He clutched where the bullet had landed, where his chest and shoulder met. He let out a feral shriek and with it my sense of hearing. I was deaf, for the time being.
Half a minute passed and I struggled to open my eyes. When I did, I found the barrel of pistol pointed at my fore head. My heart felt like it was about to puncture my chest and fly away. Behind the threat, Aaron laid sloped on the ground, his shoulder bleeding profusely.
I gulped, looking up to see my assailant. A mask covered his face, and another was held in his grasp. It looked to be the one that Aaron had before. My own fingers twitched, wishing to grab both guns in my pockets, or at least Theron's knife. But I had a feeling that if I so much as even cough, I'm finished.
He stood above me, overpowering and dominate. I had both hands up without thinking, not wanting him to think I had a weapon. Of course, I did, but he didn't have to know that. I waited for a reaction, an order, a question or even a gunshot, but the only thing that I heard was silence, and the agony of an injured hunter.
Aaron growled, but the click of the gun silenced him. From the way he was sitting, he was more focused on who was under the gun then who was holding it. But he was in no shape to pounce, not with that bullet lodged in his body. Another attempt to move proved it, with him whining in pain, and sloping back down again.
The stranger held his hand out, dropping the mask in my lap.
"Vous avez laissé tomber cela."
*gasp* What's this? A chapter update? ON TIME?
Impossible.
If you don't know what language that last line of dialogue is, it's French. Excuse me if it sounds weird or comes out wrong when you read it, I'm using the internet for translations. If you're familiar with the language, feel free to correct me.
Thanks for the review Band-Aids last chapter guys, I EVEN GOT SOME ICE. My hands thank you. I feel like the ending was kinda rushed, but I can't seem to find the right words to stretch it right now. Mostly likely will edit and replace this chapter later with a better version.
Even though I'm the author, and I know how things are going to play out; I miss Doug. I just miss writing him, since he was so much fun putting into character. I feel guilty about letting him get kidnapped, but I had to send Zoey on some epic quest. But can the courageous 'Bub' save the old, feeble couple? Or are they Left 4 Dead? DUN DUN DUN.
It's the part where I complain about the time: 1:11 AM. Make a wish. Regret nothing. Need caffeine.
*review beg*