Hey everyone :D
And here is the next chapter, in which will be revealed who the hunter is! Everyone who got it right, gets a cookie *hands out cookies*
This chapter is longer again. I couldn't really stop writing. I got so caught up in it X'D Well, I think I will have a lot of fun with these three in the future *evil grin*
Anyway, thanks for the reviews, favs and follows. Enjoy the chapter :'D
Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead istn't mine, but my OCs are
Chapter 8_Family reunion
She was going to die!
If the smoker wouldn't kill her than the fall from that balcony would.
Chiara screamed out of fright as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and wished desperately for Shark to save her. She didn't want to die like that, she didn't want to die at all!
Before the little girl could think about anything else, she was suddenly grabbed midair only to be pressed against something soft and warm. She automatically clung to the person while her face was pressed against the soft material, so that her terrified screams were muffled because of it.
After that everything happened too fast for the five year old to comprehend. The only thing she knew was that she was safe – for now at least – and that everything else didn't matter.
Not till a soft purr reached her ears and she finally realized that they had stopped moving, did the little girl dare to open her eyes. The first thing that she saw was the colour brown before she identified it as a clothed chest, so that she hesitantly lifted her head in order to look her savior in the face.
It couldn't be Shark, because the small hunter wore a dark red hoodie with black sleeves and not a brown shirt. Her assumption was confirmed as her grey-blue eyes met crystal blue ones which looked intently down at her.
"You are...", started the little girl before she cut herself off and just shook her head out of disbelieve. A dark brown T-shirt, dark blue pants, a baseball cap with a camouflage design in dark gray shades and two eyes. There was no doubt about it. That was the hunter from the day before who had now saved her a second time.
The thought back to her fall not some minutes ago let the little girl realize that she could have been dead by now.
A choked sob left her lips as the tears started to flow and her small body began to shake slightly. The shock was catching up to her. She was just a five year old girl, after all.
The weird hunter instantly pressed her against his chest while one hand petted her back reassuringly and the other hand ran soothingly through her ginger hair. He purred lowly as he started to rock her gently in an attempt to calm her somewhat down.
It took some time but eventually the little girl calmed down again as only quiet hiccups could be heard from her. Slightly sniffing she reached up and wiped her last tears away.
"Thank you...", mumbled Chiara weakly before a soft purr answered her.
Now that she could think clearly again she noticed that the way the weird hunter had tried to calm her down was very familiar to her. The only other person who had done the exact same things when she had been upset, had been her...
A sudden yell that could be heard in the distance pulled the little girl out of her thoughts as she immediately perked up. She could be wrong but she could have sworn that she heard her name being yelled – not her real name, but Shark's version of her name.
Without thinking she pressed her small hands against the hunter's chest who reluctantly let go of her, whereupon she rushed to the next best window and tried to look out. But unfortunately she was too small and didn't even reach the windowsill, so that all she could see was the dark sky.
She didn't realize until now that it was still nighttime and that it seemed like the weird hunter had brought her in some house.
The little girl squealed out of surprise as she was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted from the floor, so that she could finally look out of the window. Chiara looked briefly over her shoulder at the weird hunter who was holding her up, before she turned away again and instead looked out the window, hoping to spot Shark somewhere.
But unfortunately she couldn't see that much in the dark. She was about to give up as another yell, that seemed to be nearer this time, could be heard.
"Shark... That was Shark! Let me down, I have to find him!", demanded the little girl hurriedly as she pointed at first out the window and then at the floor under her feet, which dangled in the air.
But to her displeasure the hunter didn't let her down, instead he cradled her in his arms while he shook his head slightly and stepped away from the window.
"Let me down! Now! Please..." The little girl tried it anew while she pointed vehemently at the floor and started to struggle a little bit. She had to find Shark. The small hunter was surely worried sick about her. He saw her falling from the balcony after all. That thought still send an unpleasant shiver down her spine. She didn't want to experience such a fall again.
The hunter seemed to hesitate before he shook his head again and started to walk awkwardly on two legs. At first he walked out the room, down the hall and then out on the street through an open door, where he stopped to sniff the air.
Chiara blinked several times as she processed the information that the weird hunter could walk on two legs like she could. She had thought that hunters could only crawl on all fours like Shark did it all the time. Another thing that was weird about this hunter. Neither was he wearing a hoodie nor did he move like a normal hunter. What was it with him?
"Why do you can walk on two legs?" The little girl couldn't help herself but to ask her question out loud, while she tilted her head back so she could look the hunter better in the face. It would have been easier when her back wouldn't be pressed against the hunter's chest.
The hunter in the brown shirt stopped what he was doing and instead looked down at her, before he shrugged and slowly kneeled down to a more hunter-like posture. Now he was sitting on his haunches while he looked at her with one raised eyebrow – like he wanted to ask if that posture was any better.
Chiara furrowed her brow as she observed the hunters actions. If she didn't know it any better she could have sworn that the hunter understood her. But this couldn't be possible, or could it?
"Why aren't you wearing a hoodie? All the other hunters do." Just to be sure she asked another question and was surprised as the hunter opened his mouth like he wanted to say something before he seemed to realize that he wasn't able to speak, so that he closed his mouth again with a loud snap and instead just shrugged.
"You can understand me, don't you?" This time she got a slow nod for an answer. So the weird hunter understood her words after all. But how was that even possible? Another thing she could put on her mental 'what-was-weird-about-the-hunter-in-the-brown-shirt'-list.
She was about to ask some other questions as some moans reached her ears. She quickly looked in the direction from where the noise came from only to spot some of the bad people who stumbled in their direction.
The weird hunter reacted promptly as he growled warningly at the commons and bared his teeth which were to Chiara's surprise not as bloody as she would have suspected. Shark's teeth were definitely bloodier than the weird hunter's teeth.
Some of the bad people stopped uncertainly about the situation while the rest stumbled on like nothing had happened.
The hunter sat still for some seconds longer, before he finally started to move. He quickly put one hand on the ground while he held the little girl still with one arm. With a last look at the bad people he started to crawl along the street only to turn left in an alleyway after some meters.
For the fact that he was using only three of his four limbs to crawl he was pretty quick on his feet – even though he could have been much faster when he would have both of his hands available.
He crouched down as he spotted a ladder of a fire-escape and swiftly jumped up to grab one rung of the ladder. From there he started to climb to the top of the building – still using only three of his limbs. As he finally reached the top he looked around him before he sat down cross-legged and put Chiara on his lap.
"You know, there would have been a much more faster method", started Chiara to inform the hunter as she turned around to him in his lap, so she could look him better in his eyes and face. The weird hunter only cocked his head and rose one eyebrow – silently encouraging her to speak on.
"You know how cats carry their baby kitties around? You could have done the exact same thing." As the hunter looked at her like she was crazy, she hurriedly added something to her prior speech.
"Shark does it like that. And it works just fine."
The hunter only snorted very loudly and shook his head for an answer. It seemed like he didn't agree with Shark's method.
Both of them perked up as another yell could be heard in the distance, which was getting louder by the minute.
The weird hunter growled lowly as he quickly snatched the little girl from his lap so he could carry her again and fell back on his three free limbs. As the little girl realized that the weird hunter was about to take off with her again, she acted without thinking.
"SHARK!", she screamed the name of the small hunter so loud she could, whereupon the hunter in the brown shirt froze on the spot as an answering call sounded near by.
The hunter snarled angrily at her before he looked around them and started to sniff the air – probably trying to find out from where Shark was coming.
An outraged shriek signalized the arrival of the small hunter who suddenly landed some meters to their side on the rooftop. The weird hunter whirled around in order to face Shark whereupon he bared his own teeth warningly and growled lowly.
Neither of them moved for a period of time – just staring at each other – before the hunter in the brown shirt crouched down without warning and leaped to the next rooftop. His landing was a little bit rough and clumsy because he was still holding the little girl and was just able to use one of his hands.
But the hunter didn't stop there, instead he started to sprint across the rooftops as Shark immediately followed him with a loud angry screech. As the little girl could sneak a peek over the hunter's shoulder she could see that Shark was hot on their tail – what wasn't that big of a surprise if one considered the fact that the hunter in the brown shirt was forced to slow down by holding her in one arm.
But why was he running away from Shark? And what did he want with her anyway?
The little girl was pulled out of her thoughts as the hunter misjudged his next jump, so that he didn't land on the next rooftop but on the side of the building. He instantly clung to one of the many windowsills with one hand before he started to climb up as fast as he could.
He stopped in his tracks with a shocked sound as he grabbed the edge of the roof, only to stare directly in Sharks face as he looked up. While he had been climbing, the small hunter jumped on the roof and just waited for them on the edge of the rooftop.
Shark swiftly reached down for the little girl whereupon the other hunter snapped at Shark's arm, so that the smaller hunter was forced to pull back.
Shark snarled angrily as he reached for Chiara again while he slapped the other hunter in the face with his other hand in order to avoid getting bitten. But before he got a good grip on the five year old the taller hunter lost his own grip on the edge of the roof.
Chiara screamed out of fright as she was falling through the air a second time this night while she clutched the brown shirt of the hunter tightly, who pressed her against him in response and let a distressed shriek slip from his lips.
The little girl was sure that they would die as she suddenly saw a red and black blurred form from the corner of her eye, before a heavy force collided with them. Instead of a crash-landing on the ground they crashed through a window of a building.
The weird hunter instantly curled protectively around her to shield her from the fall and the shattered glass as they rolled roughly over the floor.
Not till they came to a stop did the little girl open her eyes again, which she had squeezed shut sometime during the whole rough landing process. She jumped slightly as a pained groan from under her and shortly after an angry growl from above her could be heard.
She quickly tried to process what happened, as she noticed that she was lying on the weird hunter's chest with Shark kneeling over them and holding the taller hunter down with a death grip on his shoulders.
It seemed like Shark had saved them. But how?
The little girl looked curiously back at the broken window as she thought she might got it right. It seemed like Shark diverted the direction of their fall by crashing into their side so they crashed through the window and not on the ground below.
A pained screech that was quickly followed by whining pulled her out of her musings, whereupon she quickly turned her head to the source of the noise.
She gasped loudly out of shock as she saw how Shark's claws were digging deep into the other hunter's right shoulder who still didn't let go of the little girl nonetheless.
"Stop that! Shark, I said...", started the little girl, before she trailed off as she looked into the pained face of the hunter who was missing his baseball cap on top of his head, that he probably lost during the fall.
The hunter had a tussled brown mob of hair on his head at which a wide white strand of hair fell in his face. Just like her...
"Daddy...", whispered the five year old out of disbelieve who just couldn't understand how that was even possible. That white strand of hair... There was no doubt about it. This hunter was her daddy.
But how? And why hadn't she noticed that earlier? The signs had been so clear! They found him where Chiara thought she had lost her mommy and daddy, he wore nearly the same clothes as before and he had calmed her down like he had done it as he had been still human. But above all that his face should have given him away – even though his face was dirty and bloody it was still the face of her daddy. How could she have been that stupid?
But maybe she just hadn't wanted to accept the fact that her daddy could become one of the bad people, so that she clung to the believe that he was dead – gone for ever.
"Shark stop! Stop! Don't hurt him! That's my daddy!", shouted the little girl franticly before she grabbed the hand that was hurting her daddy and pulled on the appendage with all her might.
Shark growled out of irritation at her before he slowly gave in and pulled his hand reluctantly away from the now bloody shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Chiara just noticed how stupid that question was as she already had said the words out loud. Of course her daddy wasn't okay. He was bleeding from his shoulder and from some cuts he got from some pieces of broken glass.
But her daddy just nodded weakly and tried to give her a reassuringly smile, which looked more like a grimace than anything else.
Chiara sighed softly before she turned around to Shark who still looked angrily at her daddy.
"Shark?", she softly called the hunter's name in order to catch his attention whereupon the small hunter looked at her.
"That was bad. Bad! Don't hurt my daddy again, okay?" While she spoke the little girl pointed at her father's bleeding shoulder and shook her head with a frown on her face.
The hunter in the dark red hoodie whined out of confusion as he looked between the five year old and the other hunter's wound back and forth.
"Don't do it again." The little girl repeated her words as she pointed this time at first at Shark and then at her daddy's bleeding shoulder before she shook her head firmly.
Shark seemed to be still somewhat confused, but to Chiara's relief he just sagged his shoulders in defeat and grumpily turned his head to the side like he was offended by Chiara's disapproval.
The little girl quickly turned her head to her daddy again as she heard him hissing quietly.
"What's wrong?", asked the five year old worriedly. Her daddy narrowed his eyes as he pointed in the direction of the window, whereupon the little girl turned around. The first sunbeams were falling through the shattered window. She hadn't realized that it already was dawn.
"Oh... right. Your baseball cap is gone", muttered Chiara before she looked around and spotted the article of clothing at the window. The cap was hanging on one of the pieces of broken glass, which was still stuck to the window frame.
She hurriedly tried to stand up but her daddy's hands stopped her, which were still holding on to her.
"You can let go of me daddy. I get your baseball cap", informed the little girl the hunter who hissed anew but reluctantly let go of her.
Chiara stood up immediately and ran up to the window, where she reached up for the baseball cap. But no matter how much she stretched she just couldn't reach the thing.
"Shark! Can you please get it for me?", pleaded the little girl as she pointed meaningfully at the article of clothing. At first she doubted that Shark would do it as the small hunter just growled and stared at her – it seemed like he was still in a huff – before he finally crawled over to her and grabbed the baseball cap to hand it over to her.
"Thank you!" The little girl smiled up at the hunter in the dark red hoodie and petted him swiftly on the cheek before she rushed back to her daddy and put the baseball cap on top of his head. Her daddy stopped hissing then but he still narrowed his eyes slightly.
"We have to get you something better than this baseball cap", said the little girl while she pointed at the article of clothing. That thing still did a poor job of protecting her daddy's eyes from the light.
She squealed out of surprise as Shark suddenly stepped up behind her and lifted her from the floor by biting down on her hoodie.
Her daddy immediately growled out of protest as he tried to sat up, but Shark prevented him from doing so as he pushed the bigger hunter back down. Her daddy whimpered quietly because the motion aggravated his wound just further. He bared his teeth in a last attempt to intimidate the smaller hunter somewhat.
But Shark just stared unimpressed at him before he let go of him and turned around to the broken window.
"Shark? Wait! We can't leave him here! He comes with us!" The little girl tried to make Shark understand as she pointed vehemently at the floor. The small hunter stopped shortly in front of the window and squinted down at her, before he turned his head in the direction of the bigger hunter.
Her daddy was in the process of propping himself up while he groaned miserably. Now that he was kneeling on all fours Chiara could see some pieces of broken glass, which stuck out from her daddy's flesh.
"Let me down!", demanded the little girl as she pointed anew at the floor. To her relieve Shark seemed to have understood one of the words as he bent down and released her hoodie from his teeth with a displeased grunt.
The five year old swiftly ran up to her father and grabbed one broken piece of glass with slightly shaking hands. She tried to pull it out, but the damn thing didn't budge.
She jumped as Shark suddenly pushed her aside and grabbed the broken piece of glass himself, before he pulled roughly on it and yanked it out with one go. Her daddy hissed out of pain as the piece of broken glass was yanked out and tried to pull back from Shark, who growled warningly at him before he pressed one of his hands on the bigger hunter's back and forced him to lie down on his stomach.
The little girl watched how her daddy squirmed slightly as Shark continued to pull the other pieces of broken glass out. She was grateful for that, but she still didn't get why Shark was doing it. She had gotten the impression that the small hunter didn't like her daddy that much. He even would have left him here with his bleeding wounds. So why did he change his mind all of the sudden?
It didn't take Shark long to pull all the pieces of broken glass out, which were now stained with blood and laid on the floor. The small hunter let go of the bigger one and instead looked at the little girl, who smiled gratefully up at him and petted him once more on the cheek, before she turned to her daddy and grabbed gently one of his arms.
"You should say thank you to Shark", advised the little girl her father who looked at first at her and then lifted his head while he sat up slowly.
He grit his teeth for a moment as he seemed to falter to do what his daughter advised him to do. Chiara couldn't tell if he just didn't want to do it or if he didn't know how to do it.
Finally it seemed like he came to a conclusion as he bowed his head and rubbed it slightly against Shark's shoulder with a very quiet purr, before he quickly retreated again and grumbled to himself.
The little girl smiled happily as Shark nodded slightly and bent down to bite down on her hoodie. As the little girl saw how her daddy was about to protest about that again, she quickly waved her hands in front of her.
"It's okay. I told you that Shark carries me around like that, didn't I? It's okay, daddy."
Her daddy snorted again, just like he had done it on the roof as she had told him about Shark's method for the first time, before he sighed out of defeat and nodded slightly.
Shark crawled up to the window again, but before he jumped out of it he looked back at her daddy to make sure that he was following them. Satisfied he crouched down and leaped out of the broken window and landed on the opposite roof.
Chiara looked back at the window where her daddy seemed to hesitate for a moment to follow them, before he also jumped out of the window and barely missed the edge of the rooftop. Shark reacted quickly as he dropped the little girl on the roof and dived for the edge of the rooftop whereupon he barely got a good grip of one of her daddy's hands. With a strained groan the small hunter pulled the other one up on the rooftop, where her daddy collapsed out of exhaustion and pain.
The bigger hunter was a miserable sight to look at, so that Chiara couldn't help but pity him. It hurt her to hear the muffled pained sounds, which her daddy made.
Shark growled out of frustration before he grabbed her daddy's arms and pulled the bigger hunter on his back. As her daddy didn't react right away the small hunter snarled loudly at him, whereupon her daddy looped his arms around Shark's neck and his legs around his waist with a barely audibly snarl of his own. Even though her daddy was a bit bigger than Shark the difference in size wasn't enough to hinder Shark to carry her daddy around like that.
Grunting the hunter in the dark red hoodie made some steps to test out his balance with the new weight on his back, before he crawled over to the little girl and bit down on her hoodie to lift her from the ground.
The journey back to their apartment took longer than Chiara had thought. Shark needed a break now and then before he continued to jump from one rooftop to the next.
As they finally arrived at the apartment Shark crawled through the window into the big living room. He bent down and released Chiara's hoodie from his teeth before he pulled on the bigger hunter's arms roughly with an inpatient growl. Her daddy let go of the smaller hunter, so that he slid down his back until he sat on his haunches on the floor.
Her daddy really looked exhausted – like he would pass out any moment now.
"Come on daddy, we're going to bed." While she spoke she pointed in the direction of the bedroom and couldn't stop the yawn from escaping her. She was quiet exhausted herself. She didn't get that much sleep in the night and it had been an eventful night after all.
The yawn barely left her lips as Shark scooped her up from the floor and carried her in the bedroom, where he jumped up on the bed and laid down with her.
Shortly after her daddy came stumbling in the room and looked warily at the two of them. Before he could have even considered to join Shark and her in the bed, the smaller hunter growled warningly at her daddy.
Chiara frowned at Shark's behavior before she shook her head with a loud sigh and quickly climbed from the bed. She stepped up to her daddy, grabbed one of his arms and guided him towards the bed.
"He will also sleep in the bed with us", clarified the five year old with a big pout on her face.
Her daddy took her in his arms and slowly climbed on the bed. He barely stepped in the circle of pillows and blankets as he collapsed with a deep sigh, followed by a soft purr.
Shark grumbled out of displeasure about this, before he grudgingly accepted the situation and put one arm around the bigger hunter, who was still holding the little girl.
Her daddy opened his eyes again as he felt the arm around him, whereupon he looked at Shark and bared his teeth slightly. The smaller hunter just sneered back at him before he growled lowly and pressed one of his fingers warningly against one of her daddy's cuts.
The bigger hunter hissed quietly but didn't make a fuss after that. He just grumbled quietly to himself before he went limp and welcomed the darkness with open arms.
Chiara watched how her daddy's eyelids drooped as he was drifting off to sleep, before she looked at Shark with slight disapproval. The small hunter just made a soft sound in the back of his throat as he nuzzled the little girls head.
Chiara couldn't help but smile about that, so that she also closed her eyes with a quiet sigh.
She had her daddy back.
Everything would be just fine now. She couldn't be happier. She had her daddy and Shark with her and she intended to keep it that way from now on.