Present day...
Naomi screamed as she woke up from a nightmare. She had dreamed of her mother in her last moments as she gave her life to buy Naomi more time to escape the horde of Runners. She was only sixteen when that happened. It was an event that haunted Naomi forever. It was her fault that her mother died. She had been a bitch to her that day and ran off like a brat.
The image of her mother being ravaged by Runners filled her head. She also remembered the moment she found a samurai sword and used it to kill the Runners that pursued her. She recalled screaming as she swung the sword again and again and again and again. She shook her head furiously to try and get the memories out in vain.
"Hey."
She looked up, Tess was standing there at the entrance to Naomi's room. When Naomi's mother died, Tess and Joel took her in. She'd been in the smuggling business with them ever since, earning the nickname: Crimson Blade. She had received this nickname when a smuggling assignment turned into a nightmare. She, Joel, Tess, and a group of travelers transporting rations to another city were cornered by bandits.
Out of ammo and out of luck, Naomi had to save the day. Luckily for her, the bandits were only armed with pipes and sticks. Ever since she was seventeen, she had been devoting most of her free time in the art of Kendo and Kenjutsu. When she was five, she took private lessons from an instructor. Drawing on the memories of what she learned in the past, she killed the twelve bandits in less than ten seconds.
Time seemed to have slowed when Naomi killed them, like as if she was on a different plane of existence. She deftly dodged each of the bandits swings and arms and legs flew up in the air with each slash of Naomi's samurai sword. Tess and Joel were shocked by Naomi's "talent." So were the travelers. They spread the word of Naomi's ferocity and that was how she earned the nickname, the Crimson Blade.
"It's six in the morning, why are you screaming?" She asked, slightly irritated by the fact she was awakened.
"Sorry... I had another nightmare."
Tess sighed and sat next to her on the bed. She would never do this if Joel was around. She would never hear the end of it if he caught her being soft. "You're having those nightmares because you haven't forgiven yourself, girl."
"Tell me something I don't know.."
"Hey, I'm trying to help you out here. Your mother was a good friend. She wouldn't want you to be like this." Tess wrapped an arm around Naomi. "You've got to let go of what happened. It's not healthy to linger in the past."
"I know... but how do you just.. forget? It was my fault-"
"Stop." Tess said, firmly. "If you keep beating yourself up over this, you'll never be at peace."
When Naomi didn't reply, Tess got up from the bed and looked at her. "Anyways, get ready. We got a bone to pick with Robert. I'll go wake Joel up."
"Again?" Naomi complained, remembering the last time she saw the gangster. She had the blade of her sword against his throat. She wished she killed him that day. "What did he do this time?"
"He stole a weapons cache from us, we're going to get it back." Tess said before exiting Naomi's room.
Naomi sighed before getting out of bed. She went to her closet and pulled out a white shirt and blue denim shorts. She also pulled out a black trench coat and put them all on. She went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She was gifted with the perfect black hair, never had a single bad-hair-day.
She was about the average height for an Oriental girl which was five feet and six inches. But beyond that, all uses of the word "average" were thrown out the window. Naomi had a heart shaped face framed by intensely black hair that descended to her mid-back. She had fair skin, ample breasts, high cheek bones that models would have sold their children for, and a set of heart stopping curves. She inherited all of these from her mother. The only thing that she inherited from her father... whom she barely knew, was his light blue eyes.
According to some men she pass by on a daily basis, she was "smoking hot."
She slipped on her knee-high socks and slipped into her high-top steel tipped black boots. When Tess asked why she dressed up like a "whore," Naomi replied saying that it throws people off, making them think that she's less of a threat than she actually is. Despite the weird answer, Tess complimented her for using her brain, but ridiculed her saying that she would freeze to death if it was winter. Well, Naomi had a pair of jeans she kept in her one sling backpack in case it did get cold.
"Hurry up!" Tess called to Naomi.
"I'm coming! God..." Naomi said as she grabbed her sword, which was wrapped in cloth and slung it behind her as well.
"ID please." The military sentry said at the checkpoint. Joel gave him their ID's and the sentry inspected them. "What's your business here?" He asked.
"Visiting a friend." Joel replied.
The sentry gave Joel the ID's back, "all right. Go ahead." He said, opening the gate. Then suddenly a deafening explosion occurred to a military truck not that far from the gate where they were.
"Joel!" Naomi cried out, he had been hit in the arm by a small piece of shrapnel.
"Get out of here!" the military sentry yelled as he closed the gate behind him. "Fireflies!"
"Come on!" Tess said. They sprinted to the apartment complex not far from the gate. Chaos ensued in the streets as gunfire erupted. Inside, Naomi and Tess helped Joel pull out the shrapnel and wrapped an alcohol-sanitized cloth around the wound.
"They're going to close all of the checkpoints, we're going to have to go around the outside." Tess said.
Naomi brightened, she loved going outside the city walls. Nature was always a fascination for her.
"Outside the wall?" Joel said.
"I don't think we have a choice." Naomi said, wanting to go outside the wall.
"Yep, either this or we could just let Robert go." Tess smirked.
"Cute." Joel scoffed.
They walked through the halls of the old apartment. It was run down and most of the people were evicted from the rooms because they couldn't afford to stay. The doors were boarded and some guys stayed outside the rooms.
They geared up in a secret underground hideout they used often.
"Not a lot of ammo." Joel muttered.
"Well, make your shots count." Tess said. She looked at Naomi. "Not bringing a gun again?"
"Nope."
"You know, one day you're going to appreciate the technology of a firearm. That sword of yours won't do you any good against armed bandits." Tess said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Guns are too loud." Naomi retorted. "If you guys would have gotten me a bow, I would feel better."
"Sweetheart," Joel began. "Those are hard to come by, but we'll let you know if we manage to get one." Joel smirked.
"Alright Texas, boost me up." Tess said, standing next to a wall. The second floor of the underground hideout above her.
Joel backed himself against the wall and braced himself as Tess climbed on his hands and grabbed the ledge. When she hoisted herself up, she said, "alright, your turn Naomi."
She sighed as she handed her sword to Tess. "You guys really need to get a ladder for this." She gave a running start and Joel boosted her up to the ledge. Tess helped her up.
Joel was the next challenge. The man practically weighed like a boulder as they helped him up. They took the dark passage up to an old shop that was in ruins.
Naomi basked in the warmth of the sun as she stepped out into the green and lush environment.
"Be careful." Joel called out to them.
"When are we not?" Tess scoffed.
"That a trick question?"
They walked through the plaza and climbed into another old apartment complex. Naomi went all over the place, scavenging for anything they could use. "Hey, Joel. I found some bullets for your gun." She said as she picked up three 9mm rounds.
"Thank you kindly." Joel said as he slid the rounds into the magazine of the pistol.
They descended into the apartment complex.
"You think Robert's still got our guns?" Tess asked.
"For his sake... he better." Joel growled.
"What was in that weapons cache?" Naomi asked, jumping down from a ruined staircase.
"A lot of ammo," Tess began, "and I managed to get us some better pistols."
"All the more reason to get them back." Joel said.
"Hold up." Tess said. "Spores."
They put their gas masks on. Naomi hated wearing them, they hindered her peripheral vision. Her senses were on high alert as they made their way through the apartment.
"Oh shit!" Joel mutters as a part of the ceiling collapses as he moves a vertical support to the side.
"You okay?" Tess asked.
"Yeah." He replies. "Be careful, damn ceiling's falling apart. This way," he says as he slips through the tight space, Naomi and Tess following him.
"Oh shit. Watch it, watchi it." Joel says as he pulls Tess and Naomi quickly through the tight space, avoiding an infected man.
They shined their lights on him.
"Please..." he coughed. "My mask broke.. don't leave me to turn..."
"What do you want to do?" Tess asked Joel.
He pulled out his gun.
"Wait." Naomi said, unsheathing her sword. "Don't waste those bullets."
"You sure you want to do this?" Joel asked. They knew how Naomi felt about killing defenseless people.
"Yeah..." Naomi said as she positioned the tip of the blade at the base of the man's neck. "Rest in peace..." She whispered, then drove the blade through. The man instantly stopped moving, all the tension and energy that was once there, gone.
She cleaned her sword before sheathing it again. Then walked on ahead of Joel and Tess.
"You alright?" Tess asked.
"Yeah, let's just keep moving." Naomi muttered.
They continued further into the apartment complex. It didn't take long before Joel stopped them, "Shh, shh, shh." He had them duck behind a wall as a woman screamed. She was being torn apart by Runners. "Jesus..."
Naomi felt her stomach churn badly at hearing the ever-so-clear sound of the Runners eating the flesh of the woman. She wanted to vomit, but held it back. Even though she's been killing infected for more than three years, nothing will ever prepare her to the horrible reality of the infected. Their need to feed on the living.
"How do you wanna handle it?" Tess asked Joel. Without replying, he crept into the nearby room and strangled the lone Runner to death. After hearing the crack of the base of the neck, he quietly placed the lifeless body on the ground.
He motioned for Naomi to come to him. "I'm going to take one of the Runners in the other room, I need you to take care of the other one."
She could still hear the Runners feasting on the flesh of the woman, but she nodded. Fading to the left, she quietly unsheathed her sword and crept behind one of the Runners. Waiting for Joel's three-count, her heart thumped loudly in her ears. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she tried to keep her breathing quiet. As Joel brought the third finger down, she quickly stood up and got the Runner's attention with a whistle.
As the Runner stood up, Naomi raised her sword and expertly decapitated the head of the Runner. Joel had finished breaking the neck of the other Runner as Naomi bent down to wipe the blood of the Runner off of her sword with its shirt.
She stared at the head she had cut off. Her heart ached as she realized that the man who was once there had just recently turned. Her eyes wandered over to the ravaged woman on the floor and Naomi finally lost it. She quickly went up the apartment complex and when she could find fresh air again, she removed her mask and vomited into the kitchen sink of a ruined apartment room.
"Naomi!" Joel shouted as he and Tess quickly caught up to her. They removed their masks and Tess went over to Naomi and patted her on the back.
"Let it all out, girl..." She said as she rubbed Naomi's back.
Joel stood awkwardly at the ledge of the wall. When Naomi felt normal again, she wiped her mouth and they continued on their journey to go pay Robert a visit.
She was silent the whole time as Joel and Tess continued to talk to each other, both glancing back at the poor girl now and then. Tess had just paid a young boy to lookout for any of Robert's men or soldiers with a ration card. When the boy knocked on the window giving them the all clear, they emerged into the black market of Boston. Passing by people that looked like they were armed to the teeth.
After Tess paid a man for information about Robert, they walked into a plaza. Robert's men were expecting them.
"Here we go.." Joel muttered.
The three of them stood behind a metal table in case things got out of hand.
"Let us through." Tess said.
The man in front of the trio spoke. "You guys need to turn around and head back if you know what's good for you."
"Our beef isn't with you. We just want Robert. You don't want to do this." Tess warned, her hand on her gun.
"Turn the fuck around and leave now." He demanded.
"We're not going anywhere without Robert." Tess growled.
"Bitch! I will bash your skull unless you turn around and get your dumb ass out of here." He threatened.
Tess and Joel looked at each other. Naomi saw them nod, which meant it was time for a fight.
"Fuck this." Tess said before shooting the guy in the face.
"Fuck! Take cover!" One of the two men said.
Joel, Naomi and Tess took cover behind the metal table. "You ready?" Tess asked them.
"Yeah." Joel muttered.
Naomi just nodded.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" One of the men shouted.
"I'll cover you both, get the angle on them." Tess said.
Naomi faded to the right while Joel went left. They jumped from cover to cover, dodging bullets that pinged off of the steel covers. Tess returned their fire, causing the men to duck behind their cover.
Naomi subtly peeked around her cover, she wasn't that far from her target. Joel was just merely a few feet away from blowing the other guy's head off. Naomi unsheathed her sword, but made a big mistake. Her sword glistened in the sunlight and the man saw it and aimed the gun at her.
Shit!
She rolled behind cover. Luckily, Tess saved her ass by ending the guy with a bullet to the temple. Joel had already beat the ever living hell out of the other guy and slammed his head into the wall.
Naomi was nearly hyperventilating as she stood up, realizing that she almost died. It was a careless and stupid mistake that she made and it nearly cost her everything.
"Are you okay?" Joel and Tess ran to her, checking to see if she was hit.
"I-I-I'm fine." Naomi said, her voice betraying her.
"Girl, you have gotta be more careful.." Tess said.
"I-I know.." She said. Her hands were shaking like crazy as she tried to hold her sword properly.
"Maybe you should head on back-" Joel began.
"No!" Naomi said, not meaning to sound desperate. "I'm fine... Let's just go get Robert and our guns.."
Joel and Tess looked at each other. "Alright," Tess began. "But you're not going any further unless you have a gun." She said, picking up one of the dead guard's pistol.
Naomi stared at it for a while not wanting to hold it. But after a while, she reluctantly took it and switched the safety of the gun on.
They proceeded through the compound in silence, using stealth as their main strategy. But this time, Naomi stayed back as Joel and Tess did all the work. They weren't going to let her do anything violent until her nerves calmed down.
She froze as she heard the cocking of a pistol behind her. One of the guards that they missed was directly behind her. Her heart began to beat rapidly.
"Stand up." He said.
She obeyed, doing well to hide her fear. She turned around slowly, facing her captor.
He whistled as he gave her the up and down inspection, "it's a shame I have to kill you. I would have loved to fuck you. All day and night." He chuckled.
In your dreams...
With lightning speed, she bashed away the gun from pointing at her and kicked the man in the groin with her steel-tipped boot. His eyeballs seemed to have doubled in size as he bent over in shock. But she didn't stop there, she kneed him in the face as he brought his head down then knocked his lights out with a round house kick to the temple.
"Naomi!" Joel saw what happened.
"I'm fine, Joel. Let's just go get Robert, his office is just right there." She pointed at the secluded building in the distance.
He chuckled, "that was one hell of a kick you just did there." He winked, earning a smile from her.
They quietly came up to Robert's office door and Joel opened it. "Oh shit!" He said as he quickly ducked back behind cover. Bullets pinged on the wall where Joel originally was.
"Get the fuck back!" Robert yelled as he fired the gun.
"We just want to talk Robert!" Tess said, peeking a little bit. She jerked back when he fired at her, missing.
"We ain't got fuckin' nothin' to talk about!" Robert yelled.
Naomi tapped Joel on the shoulder, "I'll go around the back and cut him off if he runs." She whispered, before disappearing.
"Be careful." He whispered.
"Put your gun down!" Tess yelled.
Naomi waited, she could hear Robert coming her way. When his footsteps became louder, she stuck her foot out and he tripped on it, flying through the window and landing in a pile of trash cans.
"Fuck!" He cursed as he tried to get up. He stopped when he felt the cold steel blade on his throat.
Naomi smirked, "hello, Robert."
"H-h-hey, Naomi. We're cool, right? No hard f-feelings?" He said nervously. His hidden hand was reaching for a lid of a trash can.
Tess and Joel come out of the building. "Nice work, kiddo." Joel said, smiling.
Robert grabbed the lid and smacked the sword out of the way and tried to bolt past Tess. She clubbed his kneecap with a metal rod.
Robert stumbled onto the ground, screaming in pain. "Ahh!... Goddammit!"
"We missed you, Robert." Tess said.
"Look," Robert held his hand out to them as if it was his only defense. "Whatever it is you heard, it ain't true, okay? I just want to say-"
"The guns." Tess interrupted. "You want to tell us where the guns are?"
"Yeah, sure... but it's complicated. Alright? Look, alright, just hear me out on this. I gotta-"
Tess kicked him in the face, causing Naomi to wince. She didn't want to watch as Tess beat up a defenseless man.
"Fuck... Stop! Stop! Stop!" He cried out as Tess threatened to break his arm. "I sold 'em! Alright?!" He said.
"Excuse me?" Tess growled.
"I didn't have much of a choice! I owed someone!" He said.
"Who has our guns?" Tess growled, breaking his arm.
He screamed in pain. "The Fireflies! I sold them to the Fireflies!"
"What?..." Tess said.
"Look, they're basically all dead. We can just... Just go in there, finish 'em off. We get the guns. Whaddya say? C'mon, fuck those Fireflies. Let's go get 'em." He said.
Naomi shook her head, Tess said exactly what she was thinking.
"That is a stupid idea." Then she shot him, startling Naomi.
"Why'd you shoot him?!" Naomi asked. "He wasn't a threat to us!" She said.
"Look, Naomi." Tess began. "Grow up! In this kind of world, it's kill or be killed!"
"She's right, kiddo..." Joel said before turning to Tess. "Now what?" He asked.
Tess holstered her pistol and sighed, "we go get our merchandise back."
Joel folded his arms across his chest, "how?"
"I don't know." She said, frustrated. "We explain it to them.. Look, let's go find a firefly."
"You don't have to look very far."
They turned around to see the woman from the wanted posters.
Joel sighed, "there you go, queen Firefly." He said.
I had to literally play the game to get all the dialogue... Imagine how fun that was.
More chapters coming soon, leave a review and hit that favorite/follow button. There will be scenes later on that focus on Naomi.