Hello everyone :D
Yeah, I know. The last update was a long time ago, but well... school and stuff... life...
I know it's too late for that, but I wish you all a happy new year nonetheless.
And I hope that my English didn't suffer too much during that long break.
Have fun reading the chapter! And a big thank you to you all for the favs, follows and reviews!
Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead isn't mine, but my OCs are.
Chapter 12_The chase
Shark cringed as the sudden loud peeping noise sounded and threatened to burst his eardrums. That sound hurt his ears! It was definitely too loud and too shrill!
Moaning, groaning and the sound of many footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts again, so that he quickly looked up only to spot a horde of stupid ones, who were coming for them.
That wasn't good.
The small hunter swiftly looked over his shoulder back into the room full of clothes, before he shook his head slightly and looked back out the street. As far as he could tell there wasn't a great escape route in this shop. They would be trapped, if they would stay in here. That glass door wouldn't hold long against so many stupid ones.
Shark huffed loudly as he grabbed one of the other hunter's arms and dragged him further towards the entrance. But the bigger hunter wouldn't have anything of that. He struggled against the smaller ones hold. He took Shark's hand in his own and tore it from his arm, while he shook his head firmly and growled uneasily.
The small hunter growled impatiently in return. They didn't have the time to argue! They had to go now if they didn't want to be eaten alive. Or more precisely if they didn't want Chiara to be harmed.
Shark doubted that the stupid ones could do anything against him but he wasn't so sure about the bigger hunter and less sure about the little girl in the other one's arms.
The hunter in the red hoodie tried again to pull the other hunter through the entrance, but again the bigger one refused to move.
Snarling loudly and baring his teeth angrily at the stubborn hunter Shark quickly reached out and snatched the five year old out of the other's arms, who squealed out of surprise and gave him a confused look. Before the bigger hunter could have reacted properly the small hunter leaped out of the entrance of the shop and into the streets with Chiara in one of his arms and securely pressed against his chest.
It wasn't like Shark prefered this method, but like he had predicted the little girl's father followed him immediately with an angry snarl on his lips. He had to suppress the triumphant grin about that, which was threatening to split his face in two halves.
When he noticed that the horde was nearly upon them and that the bigger hunter was reaching out for his little girl, he promptly jumped on a nearby rooftop – quickly followed by the hunter in the dark brown shirt.
Shark didn't protest this time as the other hunter took Chiara back and pressed her protectively against his chest, while he gave the smaller one a dirty look and growled out of displeasure.
The small hunter could just snort about that. Thanks to him they were safe on a rooftop and thus out of reach for the stupid ones. The other one had no reason to be so grumpy with him.
Before he could have thought about that a little while longer, he catched a familiar scent in the air. He smelled that scent before and he knew exactly who it belonged to. Earlier he wasn't too sure, but now the scent was much stronger than before and didn't leave any doubt in his mind.
It seemed like Scarface was back again. That wasn't good. Especially not if one considered the fact, that Shark couldn't just smell Scarface but other of his brethren too. That was definitely a disaster.
Shark couldn't stop the unintentionally whine that slipped out of his mouth as he sniffed the air again and looked in all directions around him. He could deal with the much bigger hunter on his own, but not when he had to worry all the time about the freshly turned hunter and the little human girl by his side.
The small hunter paid his two companions little to no mind – who were both looking at him questioningly, even though the father seemed a little bit confused due to the scent he also catched in the air but couldn't place anywhere.
They were near and just as Shark was contemplating to leave this place, a thump sounded behind him on the rooftop. He barely whipped around – spotting an angry looking Scarface and another two hunters, one lean and the other big, who he recognized both as one of his former pack mates – before he was tackled by Scarface with no warning whatsoever.
The force of the attack was enough to cause the small hunter to be shoved over the edge and to fall off the rooftop.
Shark shrieked out of shock as he flew through the air and couldn't find anything to hold on to in order to stop his fall. In a last attempt to soften his fall he turned midair, so that he was facing the advancing ground, only to spot in the place of a hard, cold underground a group of commons, who were gathered below and were looking hungrily up to him and the roof.
The small hunter landed in the middle of all the stupid ones, who luckily for him cushioned his fall a bit by being crushed under his weight. He didn't feel sorry for them in the slightest.
Hissing quietly – the landing did hurt a bit regardless – the hunter in the red hoodie propped himself up and hastily looked up to the roof. He panicked as he couldn't see anyone standing on it anymore.
Before he could have jumped on the roof to check if he wasn't really mistaken about that, he catched some movement out of the corner of his eye.
Out of instinct he leaped back – crashing into some other stupid ones in the process – as Scarface landed exactly there where Shark had been merely a second ago.
The bigger hunter snarled furiously, whereupon the smaller one growled in return and crouched down into a defensively stance. The moment he saw how the big hunter's muscles tensed up for a second attack, he jumped out of the way. Or at least he wanted to, but couldn't as the many hands of the stupid ones, who were grabbing any fabric of his clothing they could reach, prevented him from doing so.
Shark hissed out of anger and in a short lived fit of rage he lashed out in order to get free from their grip. His claws were met with rotting flesh that gave easily in under the pressure of his attack. He made short work of all the stupid ones by clawing at their arms, even going as far as to bite into their flesh and ripping one or two limbs out of their sockets.
But unfortunately he was a little bit too slow and before he could have freed himself fully, a heavy weight collided with him and crashed together with him into more stupid ones around them, who flailed their limbs uselessly and moaned loudly.
Shark tried to prop himself up straightaway, but Scarface was faster and promptly pressed him back down again, while he growled warningly at the smaller hunter under him. The small hunter snarled out of anger as he pushed back with all his strength but couldn't get up again. The bigger hunter was too strong.
If he could just get free then he could outrun his former alpha, he knew it.
Shark winced as he felt Scarface's sharp teeth gracing his vulnerable throat, whereupon his whole body became stiff and an uneasy whine left his lips. He hated it so much, that the bigger hunter always went for the throat first. One should think he could have predicted that move from a mile away, but even though the hunter in the dark green hoodie was big and beefy he could strike very fast before you had time to react properly. He wasn't the alpha for nothing after all.
But even so Shark stopped his struggling Scarface didn't let up from him – rather the opposite. With a deep growl the big hunter gripped the smaller ones shoulders harder, so that his claws sank painfully into the flesh there, while he bit into his throat at the same time – not too deep to cause any major harm but deep enough to leave a mark.
The small hunter couldn't stop the pained whimper that slipped out of his mouth as he forced himself not to struggle anew. It would just get worse if he were about to resist.
It seemed like his former alpha was still angry about their last encounter with the witch or else he would have let up from him by now. Shark couldn't blame Scarface for that, to be honest – what didn't mean that he liked the treatment any better.
But he had to stop this somehow. He had no clue where his little girl and her father were and if they were safe. He had to find them and if necessary protect them. He couldn't do that pinned under Scarface like he was at the moment.
As if the stupid ones had heard his thoughts, they suddenly decided to do something else than to just stare stupidly at the pair. They started to clumsily pull and claw at the two hunters in their midst, whereupon Scarface finally released his hold on Shark with a furious growl and tried to slap the commons away instead.
Shark immediately made use of the opportunity and wiggled out from under the bigger hunter, before he jumped on a rooftop. Away from the horde and Scarface, who quickly noticed his absence and leaped after him.
The small hunter didn't loose any time and swiftly jumped on the roof where he had last seen his little girl and the other hunter. No one was here anymore.
Where could they be? He had to find them!
A difficult task with Scarface at his heels. The big hunter barely landed on the same rooftop as Shark hastily leaped to the next roof and then to another one. He had to leave Scarface behind in order to go look for Chiara and her father.
But stubborn as the alpha was he didn't stop his pursuit.
Not til Shark heard a loud screech coming from the bigger hunter behind him and he suddenly smelled another of his brethren close by did he realize that Scarface was calling for help. It seemed like the hunter in the dark green hoodie wanted to make sure that he wouldn't escape from him this time around.
Shark looked fleetingly over the other rooftops in his proximity, only to spot the lean hunter from before leaping from roof to roof – approaching too fast for his liking.
If Shark wasn't mistaken then this had to be Runner – a name he had given this particular former pack mate of his because the lean hunter had loved it to run over the roofs, through the woods or in the streets and because he was a really fast runner. The small hunter couldn't even say if Runner was faster than he was, but he definitely could keep up with him.
Gritting his teeth out of frustration the small hunter picked up the pace. If they would get him then it was all over. He couldn't let that happen.
Shark wondered briefly what Scarface could possibly want from him and why he hadn't given up by now, but stopped that train of thought shortly as he nearly slipped. That wasn't important right now. He should rather concentrate of getting away. There would still be time for some thinking later.
The small hunter looked quickly back over his shoulder to check where the other two hunters were, only to see the lean hunter hot on his heels. To his displeasure he noticed that there were only a few meters left between them.
In an attempt to loose his former pack mates somehow Shark swiftly made a sharp right turn, before he jumped to his left – dropping some meters and landing on a smaller building in the process – shortly after. Seeing an already shattered window in his next intended flight path, he promptly leaped through it, so that he landed in some kind of study room. But he didn't linger there for long. Instead he dived headlong into the next room – not even looking at his surroundings – and hastily climbed out of an open window. From there it was a short fall onto the fire escape stairs below.
Not wanting to loose precious time the small hunter quickly leaped over the street and on the next rooftop, where he continued his escape, while he tried to make quick changes in direction to confuse and eventually loose his pursuers.
But no such luck.
Shark barely avoided being crushed under Runner's weight – who had tried to jump on him from out of nowhere with a loud screech – by clumsily rolling to his side. The hunter in the red hoodie quickly propped himself up again and growled loudly out of pure frustration.
But before he could have jumped off again, his ankle was grabbed firmly by the lean hunter, so that he lost his balance and crashed face first to the ground.
Shark groaned lowly as he heard a quiet cracking noise from his nose at the impact with the ground, whereupon he felt something wet – he guessed it had to be his own blood – flowing out of it. He snuffled awkwardly, before he whipped around in order to face Runner, who was still holding his ankle.
The small hunter snarled angrily and bared his teeth warningly, while the lean hunter seemed to laugh at him with his big toothy grin on his face. It looked like the other hunter thought the chase to be amusing.
Under different circumstances Shark could have agreed, but looking at his situation now he didn't think that the chase was remotely amusing – considering he was the prey in it.
It didn't look like Runner would let go of him any time soon, at least not of his own volition.
A deep growl left Shark's lips as he slashed at the other hunter without any hesitation left, who quickly let go of him in order do dodge the attack. With his newfound freedom the small hunter promptly sprang up on all fours and leaped to the next rooftop, while he could hear an angry sounding screech not far behind him. He was pretty sure that that furious scream came from Scarface.
Runner wasn't far behind him, who immediately followed him and tried to grab for him again. Shark winced as he felt one of the lean hunter's claws grazing the sole of his foot as he barely missed his target.
Shark looked hastily around him, but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't spot anything that would help him to loose his pursuers. He had no choice but to keep running and to hope that he wouldn't run out of steam first.
But before he could have done just that, two long limbs suddenly wrapped themselves around him from behind and trapped his arms against his sides. It seemed like Runner had catched up with him. Shark struggled wildly in the other's grip as he saw the roof, he was about to jump on before the lean hunter had snatched him out of the air, coming steadily closer. With his arms rendered useless the landing would be a painful one – especially with Runner's additional weight on his back.
The impact with the hard and unforgiving surface of the rooftop was indeed excruciating and wormed a pained scream out of the small hunter. He could have sworn that he heard some of his bones breaking. But he couldn't ponder very long over that as something else catched his attention.
The momentum of their fall was so strong, that they skidded over the rooftop up to the edge of the skyscraper, whereupon they tumbled over it.
Runner's shocked screech nearly drowned Shark's own alarmed shriek out as they fell to the ground below together.
As Shark noticed that the lean hunter was about to let go of him in order to save himself somehow, he swiftly grabbed Runner's arm in return and tried to wrench the other hunter under him, so that he could land on him like the lean hunter had done to him not some seconds ago.
He wouldn't fall to his doom alone!
But Runner didn't give up without a struggle. The two hunters clawed at each other and wrestled wildly with the other in the air, while the ground advanced constantly.
In the end neither of the two hunters could gain the upper hand, so that they both landed painfully on their sides side by side. Following the impact all of Shark's air whooshed out of his lungs and he was left breathless, while he was damn sure that this time some of his bones did definitely crack loudly.
He couldn't help the pathetic whimper that slipped out of his lips as he tried to get up again. But no matter how hard he tried his limbs just wouldn't move. The crippling pain – and probably some broken bones – prevented him from doing so. Another miserable sounding whine escaped him as he heard a loud thump nearby before he could spot Scarface's shape out of the corner of his eye.
That was it. There was no escaping now.
Biting his bottom lip hard to prevent himself from making any more sounds, Shark watched silently how his former alpha crawled over to Runner to check up on him. At first the lean hunter seemed lifeless the way he was lying motionless and utterly silent on his side. But that changed immediately as Scarface shoved his pack mate roughly and growled in an impatient fashion.
Runner twitched with a loud painful sounding groan, before he turned his head slowly and looked up at his alpha. The lean hunter was greeted with Scarface's face, which was adorned with a sadistic looking grin by now. The big hunter found the pain of others – even if it was the pain of one of his own pack mates – amusing like usually. It seemed like Scarface really hadn't changed a bit over all these years.
With a deep rumbling sound the alpha grabbed the lean hunter's neck and dragged him not too gently to his knees, before he let go of him again. Runner stumbled for a moment, but steadied himself rather quickly again and stayed crouched down – even though he seemed to do it with some difficulties if his pained face was anything to go by.
Scarface studied his pack mate for some long tense seconds, before he gave him an approving nod and turned around to Shark's direction afterwards, who was still lying motionless on the ground.
For a short moment Shark looked fearfully up to the bigger hunter, before he tried to mask that fear with a defiant snarl forming on his lips. He didn't want to know what the hunter in the dark green hoodie had planned for him. He just knew that it wouldn't be anything pretty.
He tried to growl warningly at Scarface as the bigger hunter approached him slowly, but all that left his mouth were just some pathetic sounding gargling noises and a mouthful of dark blood. A violent coughing fit caused his body to shake all over shortly after – and damn did that hurt!
He stopped then to try to intimidate the bigger hunter, which was a useless attempt from the beginning anyway and proceeded to just lie there in silence.
Scarface stopped at his side and for some long seconds he only stared expressionless at the smaller hunter, before a taunting grin threatened to split his face in two. He cackled lowly as he bent lazily down in order to lap the blood, that was dripping out of Shark's mouth and down his chin. The hunter in the red hoodie could just grimace out of disgust about that. The deep purr of the bigger hunter didn't help the situation neither.
The small hunter couldn't stop the quiet whimpers from escaping him as Scarface stopped licking his face and instead put his hand on the smaller one's head to press down hard. Shark shut his one remaining eye tightly as the pressure on his head got quickly unbearable. Just as he thought that his skull would cave in any moment now did Scarface release his pounding head with an amused snort.
Shark glared balefully at his former alpha, who just gave him a sadistic grin. That bastard was having fun.
He couldn't help himself but to wince out of fright as Scarface lifted his hand for another attack. He just wanted it to be over already. He still had to find Chiara and her father. That was the last thought Shark clung to, before the big, beefy hunter hit him over the head and the sweet darkness of unconsciousness overtook him.