Please enjoy!
"Fucking bastards..." Joel muttered, his breath heavy with static as he breathed in deep, ragged breaths, his heavy boots pounding on the metal floor as several moans echoed off the walls.
Joel ran as fast as he could, mentally making a map as he followed the signs to the experimental wing. Joel skidded in his tracks as he ran right into a group of experimental infected, turning and diving into the closest door he saw before sliding the metal doors shut, automatically locking.
Joel ignored the banging and groans behind the door as he looked around the room, assault rifle raised and pointing every which way in the dim light, breath still ragged.
Seeing the room largely ruined with experimental equipment, Joel took a step forward and cringed as he felt something crack under his boot. Looking down, Joel noticed he stepped on a broken jar with what looked like a fetus inside. As his gaze turned towards the wall, Joel saw shelves that were filled with similar fetuses, though appearing deformed-most likely from experimentation. No doubt they were doing stem cell research.
"Sick fucks." Joel muttered, traveling until he hit the actual experimental wing, several test subjects locked in cages-both human and animal. The ones that weren't dead, undead, or any variation of dead were raging and foaming at the mouth, hair and flesh falling off, as if suffering from rabies.
Joel jumped back as an experiment reached for him, bolting from the darkness and snarling, yet withheld by it's prison.
"Gettin' tired of all these ugly ass fucks..." Joel muttered, not wanting to waste his bullets as he continued passed the caged experiments.
Going through the doors at the end, Joel saw a main computer which seemed to be monitoring the vital signs of something. He also heard the cocking of a 3 mm that was aimed at his head.
"Fuckin' a."
"Shut up! Put your hands in the air! Go on! Put them where I can see 'em!" The man shouted, Joel slowly raising his hands in the air.
"Cool your jets, fuck face. I'm only here for a subject. Where is she?" Joel asked, the man smacking him with the butt of the small pistol.
"Hey! I am th-ahh!" The man yelped as Joel smashed his elbow into the scientist's face, grabbing his arm and twisting it, the gun clanging to the ground, "Jesus!"
"Tell me where she is or I'll break your fucking arm right now!" Joel hissed, static rough as the man cried in pain.
"No! Do-I don't know who your-ahhhh! Stop! Stop, please!" The man screamed as Joel pushed the limb towards its breaking point.
"Alura! You fucking have her here you sick fucks! Tell me where she fucking is you lying sack of shit!"
"A...you can't have her! She's in the restricted section! What goes in must never come-AHHHHHAAA!" The man screamed shrilly as a loud snap was heard, arm breaking.
"Show me where she is or I'll break your other fucking arm!" Joel ordered, the man taking several minutes to regain himself before hesitantly leading Joel even deeper into the experimental wing. Joel paused to pick up the spare pistol before following, eventually being led to a cell that read the woman's name.
Joel ripped the man's ID from his hand, using it to open the door and saw a woman curled up in the corner, red hair resting above her shoulders, clothes dirty and ragged as she sported a black vest with a white buttoned shirt underneath and torn black pants. She was small, and frail, the woman flinching and shaking in terror as Joel approached.
"Alura? Oh, what the fuck did they do to you, baby?" Joel asked, voice soft as she slowly approached, kneeling as the woman looked upon him.
"J...Joel?" Alura asked, voice barely audible and soft, as if not used to speaking.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm here. I'm here, baby." Joel cooed, scooping up Alura in his arms, alarmed at how frail she was. Alura wrapped her arms around his neck, her head resting on his chest as he walked out of the cell.
"You. You're with us." Joel ordered, nodding towards the other man.
"What? Why would I go with you? It's safer down here! The halls are filled with experiments run amuck!"
"They're all burned out. How do you think I fuckin' got down here?"
"You...all by yourself?"
"I ain't the best for nothin." Joel muttered, grunting in pain at the shrapnel being disturbed in his arm by Alura.
"You're...bleeding. Hurt." Alura stated, obviously tired from being held in captivity.
"It's nothing, Alura. Don't worry." Joel reassured, leading her passed the experimental wing as she shook in his arms at all the types of undead and ill subjects, trying to sink into him.
The trio made it out of the safety of the closed doors, Joel knowing they would be dead if they ran into any of the subjects.
Joel began to lead them out of the catacombs, the man following behind as he moaned about his arm.
"I can't believe you broke my arm! You're fucking psycho!"
"Shut the fuck up." Joel ordered, the man falling quiet for several minutes before opening his mouth.
"And what are you going to do once we get out, huh? You can't take her out! And how do I know you aren't gonna kill me like all the others!?"
"Shhh! Keep fuckin' quiet!" Joel hissed, holding Alura closer as he cursed, hearing the moans and dragging of feet, "Now look what you did you dumb fuck!"
"The subjects? You said you killed them! All of them! Jesus Christ!" The man cried shrilly, both men breaking into a sprint in their haste to leave before they were overwhelmed.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Joel muttered, hastily running around the corners and trying to remember the way back, Alura holding onto him tighter in fear, hiding her head in his chest.
Joel cursed as he almost ran into stray subject, turning a corner, boots pounding even harder as he saw the exit.
Looking back, Joel was actually shocked to see the scientist keeping pace, if only three seconds behind him.
Slowing his pace down, Joel purposely slammed the man into the wall, the man crying out in pain from his arm and falling in a heep.
Joel didn't bother to look back as he heard the guy being torn apart. He was damn happy that got the subjects off his back as the doors slowly opened and closed with the man's ID, locks clicking.
Alura breathed a sigh of relief, Joel panting to regain his breath.
"The men...are they dead? Did you kill them all?" Alura asked, no doubt meaning the bodies of the CDC's faculty as they moved through.
"Like fuckin' dogs, Alura." Joel answered.
"...good." Alura answered, Joel pausing as he noticed light riot gear in one of the rooms, obviously meant to be used in the riot.
"Can you walk?"
"I...think so." Alura replied, nodding as Joel let her down, the woman's legs almost giving out underneath her as she wobbled.
"Easy, easy." Joel cooed, holding out a hand to steady her. Who knew how long she was kept in that cage like a dog.
"I'm...fine. I am." Alura replied, as if nodding to confirm.
"Right. Here, put this on. You'll slip right through the fuckin' lines." Joel spoke, helping her get the riot gear on, putting a helmet on her head. It was obvious she was uncomfortable with the armor.
"Here, take this. You'll need it." Joel continued, handing her the scientist's small pistol. Alura looked at it before holstering it. She didn't really plan on using it. She barely knew how to work a gun.
"C'mon, Alura. Let's go." Joel replied, Alura following, walking into the door as she went out from her lack of vision.
The pair exited the CDC, Joel cursing as seeing the lines largely overrun, infected everywhere.
"Shit!" Joel hissed, Alura tapping on him and pointing towards a camanche that had yet to take off, both running towards it.
"Hurry up, Joel! We've stalled long enough!" Yuri called from the comanche, Scott obviously piloting as Yuri helped them inside, the bird taking off seconds later.
"Hello, Alura." Yuri replied, smiling warmly, turning Alura's head towards him since she couldn't see well.
"Hello." Alura replied softly, voice muffled as she waved, Joel cursing as he took off his gasmask, sweating underneath.
"This place is going to fuckin' hell." Joel muttered, looking at the burning buildings below before looking at his own arm, still embedded with shrapnel.
The comanche flew north east from New York, Joel grunting as he ripped the shrapnel out of his arm, blood spraying like the red that enveloped the whole city, leaving only the the bones in a hellish blaze.
Yuri sighed at the loss, Alura noticing his sorrow and wrapping her fingers around his larger ones. Yuri looked up and smiled sullenly upon the woman.
"Where to next, Scott?" Joel asked, Scott chewing on his tongue.
"Cape Vincent. Little blot town you wouldn't even find on a map."
"Cape Vincent? Why the fuck are we goin' there?"
"Our boys reported uprising not too long ago, 'bout three hours. Didn't think it would be that far up North already. We gotta burn 'em." Scott replied, smirking slightly.
Not sure who to switch to next; Rolins or Jane. Either way thank you for reading!