Hey everyone!
I know it's a long time since the last update. But well you should be used to it from me by now^^; I can just say that my studies are really stressful at the moment...
I hope that my English didn't suffer too much. But regardless I wanted to thank you all! Thank you for all the fallows, faves and reviews! You guys are great! :3
So enjoy the chapter! Even though it's not very long, sorry! But I thought it was a good moment to end the chapter. (And you will see how evil I am, poor Shark X'D)
Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead isn't mine, but my OCs are
Chapter 16_Pack Dynamics
When Shark woke up again he couldn't tell how much time had passed. The only thing his still half-asleep brain could register immediately was that the alpha wasn't crouching down anywhere near him.
Sighing out of relief the small hunter opened his eye groggily.
He could remember vague images of his nightmare, that he would have loved to forget forever. But sadly those memories were still a part of him and his life.
Sighing once again he blinked a couple of times to get rid of his slightly blurry vision. While doing so he noticed the silence around him. Why was it so quiet? Usually you could hear some growling, shrieking and cackling from some part of this place.
Frowning slightly he looked around warily, whereupon he could see a few of his brethren lying huddled on the ground a great distance away. It seemed like they were sleeping. So it had to be daytime by now – which didn't really help him to figure out how long he had slept.
Sighing quietly he just lay there for some seconds longer, before he sniffed the air. The small hunter could only detect a faint scent of Scarface's smell. So his former alpha shouldn't be in the building right now. He should try to escape while he had the chance. With Scarface out of the picture and the other hunters sleeping there was no better opportunity.
Shark swallowed hard and ground his teeth in order to prepare himself for the incoming pain.
Slowly he tried to pick himself up, only to hiss out of pain as his whole body protested against that act. His arms he was using to push himself up from the ground trembled violently, before they finally gave away and he crashed back to the dirty ground. The small hunter couldn't stop the choked yelp from escaping his lips when the pain only got worse.
He whimpered lowly as the realization dawned on him that his body was too weak to support his weight. He knew that some of his injuries had started to heal, but that also required a lot of energy – energy that he didn't have.
Now he regretted not eating that meat which Scarface had offered him. At least then he probably wouldn't feel so weak and exhausted now and maybe some of his injuries would have healed faster. But all the whining and complaining in the world couldn't change that now – which didn't stop him from doing just that regardless.
His nostrils flared slightly when suddenly a new smell infiltrated his senses. Was he starting to hallucinate or could he really smell some meat? Hesitantly he lifted his head in order to find the source of the new scent, which didn't took very long.
Shark frowned when he spotted a young huntress, who was crawling slowly towards him with a small piece of meat dangling from her bloody teeth. He couldn't remember ever seeing her before, so that could only mean that she joined the pack after he left all those years ago.
The small hunter stared openly at the huntress, who came to a stop right beside him and stared right back. What did she want from him? Confused he warily watched out for any sudden or threatening movements, while he couldn't stop his gaze from wandering every so often to the heavenly smelling flesh between the female's teeth.
He was so damn hungry! He could tell that the flesh wasn't the freshest there was, but it still smelled good and that was all that mattered to him.
So what? Did she want to taunt him too or why was she just sitting there staring him down while holding the flesh just out of his reach.
Just as he was about to growl at the huntress out of frustration, did she suddenly bent down and dropped the meat right in front of his face.
Shark blinked a couple of times, before he looked back and forth between the tempting flesh and the huntress in disbelief. A confused noise left his lips, while he tried to understand why she would give him the meat just like that – if that was even really the case.
As an answer she shoved the piece of meat closer towards his face, so that the flesh was touching his nose by now, while a sympathetic whine could be heard from her.
That's when the small hunter realized it. She was pitying him. He growled lowly as his first impulse was to refuse the meat. He didn't want her pity! He didn't want anyone's pity for that matter.
But the longer he inhaled the delicious smell of the meat, which was still sitting right in front of his nose, the harder it got to withstand his gnawing hunger.
With a frustrated snarl he gripped the meat and tore into it like a starving man. He greedily wolfed it all down. Even if it wasn't much it still helped to settle the worst of his hunger and soothed some of the cramping pain in his stomach. Sighing loudly a soft barely audible purr left his mouth, before he looked up at the huntress again, who seemed to be smiling down at him. Grudgingly he nodded at her in thanks and smiled slightly back. The gesture had been nice and he really had needed that food. So he could give her that much.
A sudden loud noise and a more than familiar scent caught not just his but also the huntress's attention. The female looked alert, as she quickly leaped away and vanished in the shadows of the building. That had been probably the wisest decision. If Scarface saw her so close to him who knows what he would do to either her or him.
Gritting his teeth Shark looked over his shoulder with caution. The alpha was back, carrying some meat with him and getting closer to the smaller hunter. His best guess was that the other hunter would try to get him to beg for some food again.
Snorting quietly the small hunter turned away from the other one and stared stubbornly at the ground. Now that he had some food in his system his former alpha could forget about him begging for any kind of food. He wasn't that hungry and desperate anymore, thanks to that surprisingly kind huntress.
The small hunter didn't look up, when the bigger hunter crouched down right next to him. For some seconds it was deathly quiet, before Scarface growled lowly and grabbed his chin, so that he could roughly turn the smaller one's head towards him. Not until he was sure that Shark's gaze was on him, did he lift the meat tauntingly and smirked down at him.
The hunter in the red hoodie narrowed his eyes and growled out of anger. He knew it! His former alpha wanted him to beg. With a snarl he turned his head in order to shake off the hand on his chin. When that didn't work and the grip only tightened, the small hunter bared his teeth in warning before he reached up and started to claw at the offending hand. He had enough of this! He wouldn't beg no matter what!
Instead of letting go Scarface growled furiously, as he lifted the smaller one's head a little bit before slamming it back down on the hard ground. Shark whimpered out of pain as his whole body stiffened and as the blow left him dazed for a moment.
With a quiet whine he looked up again only to come face to face with Scarface's sadistic grinning mug. Only some inches separated their faces now. The small hunter snapped at the other hunter, in a futile attempt to bite the alpha's face off.
Big mistake. The big hunter frowned deeply when Shark opened his mouth, whereupon he caught a familiar scent. It smelled like meat. Not some old smell from a meal days ago, but the smell of fresh meat. The alpha could even detect fresh looking blood on the smaller one's teeth.
It didn't seem to take Scarface long to figure it out. Furious he snarled and growled deeply, as he slammed the other one's head into the ground again. How dare he! How dare he accept food from someone else but not him, his alpha! Someone must have given the small hunter some meat. He couldn't have gotten any by himself.
Shark whimpered pitifully as his head started to throb painfully and the room started to spin for a second, so that he scrunched his eyes shut for a moment. What was Scarface's damn problem?
The small hunter didn't have long to ponder about that, as some fingers were suddenly shoved harshly into his mouth and past his teeth. Alarmed Shark opened his eyes again, before he started to panic as the bigger hunter was trying to pry his lips open by force. He tried to bite down – without any success. Before he knew it his mouth was forced open and another hand was shoved into his mouth and down his throat.
Shark choked violently as he started to struggle desperately. He barely registered the taste of fresh meat on his tongue under the disgusting taste of Scarface's dirty skin. Was his former alpha really trying to force feed him?!
The small hunter gagged as tears started to form in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't breath! And he feared that he would have to vomit any moment. Out of desperation he pushed frantically against the bigger one's chest, who didn't budge in the slightest.
Just when he finally swallowed the meat painfully and could feel the bile raising in his throat at the same time, did Scarface remove his hand from his mouth. The small hunter coughed roughly and panted for air. Before he could have fully recovered another hand with more meat was shoved down his throat again. The damn bastard was choking him! He couldn't breath! Tears rolled down Shark's face, while he gagged violently. Unconsciously he bit down on the invading hand, whereupon the taste of fresh blood entered his mouth. But still the hand wasn't removed.
At this rate he would black out. He had no air left in his lungs and the urge to throw up grew with every second. He couldn't take this anymore!
When the hand finally retreated Shark hastily rolled on his side, before he heaved violently. He could distantly hear his former alpha cackling while he emptied his stomach. Damn bastard was probably enjoying the show.
The small hunter panted harshly and whimpered loudly when nothing was left to throw up anymore.
He desperately hoped that it was over and Scarface would leave him alone.
No such luck.
Shark yelped as the bigger hunter grabbed his shoulder, turned him on his back again and carelessly shoved another piece of meat down his throat.
That procedure continued for a while until no meat was left. The small hunter still felt the urge to throw up again – even though he wasn't allowed to this time. The alpha pressed hard down at his chest to keep him on his back, while he was also pressing a hand over Shark's mouth, forcing it shut.
The small hunter choked as the bile rose again. He struggled wildly, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't throw the bigger hunter off of him, so that he had no other choice but to swallow the puke again and forcing it back down – even though that just made him feel sicker.
His whole body slumped in defeat as he closed his eyes with a pathetic whimper. He felt horrible and humiliated. Sniffling he hesitantly opened is eye again to look up into the alpha's face. He wanted to see what was coming, even if he couldn't stop it from happening. The bigger hunter looked satisfied, if his big grin was anything to go by. Damn him…
They stared at each other for some seconds longer, before Scarface's face suddenly darkened. Shark flinched involuntary at the sight. He bit his bottom lip to prevent any sounds from escaping them – scared that any sound or movement from his part would set his former alpha off. He couldn't take much more today. He felt sick, exhausted and angry, but foremost he was scared.
Still worrying his bottom lip, he jumped slightly when the bigger hunter moved. With wide eyes he watched how the other one got off of him and crawled away from him.
Shark let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding up til now. He slumped to the ground exhausted, as he turned on his side and rolled into a ball.
He nearly drifted off, when suddenly a loud high pitched shriek could be heard from somewhere in the building. He jumped and opened his eye again. What was that?
It was quiet for a short while, before another pained scream could be heard. That scream definitely sounded feminine. Shark could only guess that Scarface found the huntress who gave him the meat and was now punishing her for it.
The alpha didn't allow any disobedience in his pack. And any such act was punished instantly. Shark knew that fact all too well to his own misfortune. You could only live a happy life in this pack if you followed the alpha without any protests and submitted to him. Two things that weren't in Shark's nature.
The small hunter hated it to submit to anyone – even though he knew most of the time when he had to back down if he valued his own life. He wasn't stupid. He knew how the dynamics of a pack worked. He knew that a pack protected each other – safety in numbers. But still, he wasn't the type who followed someone mindlessly. Why should he follow an order that seemed to be plain stupid and irrational or even an order that would only humiliate him or would result in some pain for him.
Sighing deeply he lied back down on the dirty ground and closed his eye again – trying to ignore the pained screams.
Even though he tried to convince himself that it was the huntress's own fault – she should know the consequences of disobeying their alpha by now – he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty.