CYOA Page 180
Sep. 12th, 2013 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12Fuck the plane -- you're just here to get your horses back.
The two of you give the plane a wide berth as you stealthily make your way toward the horses... toward the house that's harboring the hunters -- and you know it is, because you saw one come out of there to check on the horses. The guy feeds them... something you can't even see with the binoculars because you don't have the angle. "That better not be poison," you mutter to Joel.
He chuckles. "That would be pretty goddamn stupid. Steal a couple of valuable animals just to kill 'em."
"Well, maybe they're goddamn stupid?" But you have to agree with him.
"I think there's a bunch of 'em in there," Joel says -- and he's not even the one with the binoculars.
"I think you're right. So... what's the plan? Take the horses and run?"
"Maybe... but they took the bags inside, didn't they?"
"Yeah..."
"Gotta get those back, if we can."
"Okay, so... sneak up to the house and check things out?"
Joel nods. "If there's no one around an' we can jus' steal 'em back? Great. But I have a feelin' that ain't gonna be the case. Maybe I can pick off a few of 'em first. Avoid a big firefight."
"I can help with that."
"Better if I do it."
Because you make more noise -- some of the time. You have managed to do it quietly, too. "Whatever. Maybe... I can sneak around and lay some bombs at the doors?" It always amazes you how people don't even fucking see the bomb sitting there right in front of them... but they never do. Or if they do, they don't realize what it is.
"Good idea. Let's go."
Stealing over to the house is a little nerve-wracking, as you don't have much cover for the last stretch there, but you and Joel manage to avoid being seen. You creep around the house together, peeking through the windows. It's a two-story house, so you're not getting the full picture here... but you do see a handful of hunters -- and your bags! You gesture to Joel excitedly when you spot them. There are three hunters in that room, a living room... that's too many for him to quietly strangle and expect to remain unnoticed. He plants one nail bomb at the front door, and you plant one at the back, then the two of you meet by that living room window -- one that is conveniently open, inviting you to come on in. "We could throw something?" you whisper to him. "Like, to draw them out? Maybe get at least one of them to move?"
"An' maybe they'll walk through those doors," Joel adds.
You pull out the empty bottle you've been carrying around for just this purpose, and he does a "gimme" motion. You hand it to him.
He considers for a moment, then chucks the bottle to his right, toward the front of the house. It shatters spectacularly on the stone walkway.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Johnson! That you?"
"...Naw, man, I don't think he'd be back this soon..."
But none of them move. Just fucking GO OUTSIDE already, you plead silently, frustrated.
"Theresa go upstairs?"
"She's ~next door~ with Stokes."
He says 'next door' kind of funny, and you wonder if it's code for something. You and Joel exchange a look: you'd better watch out for hunters emerging from the neighboring houses.
Finally one of the dickheads gets up and ventures over to the back door... and even though you know what's coming, you still jump a little when you hear the explosion.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" / "What the fuck!" / "What the hell is going on down there?"
You and Joel have certainly rattled the hunters. You watch them scramble to grab their guns and run outside -- which, again, you can't believe people do -- they run recklessly right toward the danger! But maybe their egos are so huge they can't believe anything bad would happen to them...
You hear another satisfying explosion as someone runs through the other door. Followed by more shouting. Joel motions for you to follow him inside, and you both climb through the window. There is at least one hunter still in the house -- and Joel's about to take care of him right now, as he enters... whatever room is adjacent to this one. You wait, feeling impatient, even though you know the dude will be dead in less than fifteen seconds. You crouch by the biggest couch to be the lookout while Joel disposes of the lone hunter. ...Shit! "Joel -- two coming in the front!" you stage-whisper to him (he's already mid-strangle so you didn't fuck up his kill) -- and you bolt for the staircase, because if you move to the other side of the couch, the hunter you hear stomping around the back is going to see you if he looks through the window, and... it's just too fucking open down here. You creep up to the second floor, confident that neither of the returning hunters saw you.
You watched (or, more like you heard) a hunter fly down the stairs earlier, and you figure if there were any others up here, they would have come down by now, so any of the bedrooms are probably safe... but if you retreat to a bedroom, you can't protect Joel. You hover in the hallway, hidden from view, and try to fucking think.
You and Joel still have the advantage, because they don't know where you are. The second you start shooting, you lose that advantage. Maybe I can sneak back down and like... take care of one while Joel gets the other... if I can signal to him somehow, or -- fuck, usually we don't even HAVE to signal, we can read each other's minds when it comes to shit like--
"Drop it, girl."
You hear a gun cocking behind you!
"If you value your life, drop that gun right now and get your ass in here."
You don't drop it; you turn around slowly to see what you're dealing with. -It's an old dude with a rifle, standing in the doorway of the nearest bedroom. Fuck! You drop the gun and raise your hands slowly, praying that Joel saw (or sensed?) you going upstairs, and that he'll see your gun there in the hall...
"In. Now."
You take baby steps toward the bedroom, your mind racing: what the fuck do I DO how do I get out of this why didn't he just shoot me oh God please don't let him be some fucking pervert--
"Close the door behind ya... ...now go sit on the bed over there."
You comply, as slowly as you can. You sit on the twin bed, fighting the urge to curl up in the corner, because it's better if you remain ready. Ready for what, you don't know... an opportunity...
The guy sits in a chair -- like a kitchen chair -- by the open window, and looks out of it for a second before turning back to you. He keeps the gun trained on you. Maybe if he gets distracted long enough that I can lunge for the gun-- You don't think you can make it to the door, open it, and get through without him noticing and, most likely, shooting you in the back. But a lunge? You could be on that thing in a heartbeat.
"You're awful young, aren't ya."
You don't answer, because you don't know what he fucking means by that, nor do you care to talk to the old prick. The guy looks like he's a good ten years or so older than Joel. Maybe more. And he's on the skinny side... nowhere near as fit as Joel... you wonder if you could take him.
"You the girl we took the horses from?"
You glare at him. "Yep." Okay, so I'm talking to him now... "It wasn't just me. There's a guy with me. A guy who's gonna kick your ass if you lay a finger on me." You feel a little wussy, using Joel to threaten the guy, but hey -- whatever works?
"Right. An old man, they said."
"Not as old as you," you tell him, just to build on your threat. "He's strong and smart and he will kill all of you motherfuckers."
The man's eyes keep darting between you and the window. He's just been waiting here to snipe us? Good thing he's on the wrong side of the house. Maybe he rotates between all the bedrooms... or he was just waiting for you to head for the front door. "I don't wanna kill ya, girl. Or touch ya. I wanna help you get outta here alive."
...Huh? "You have a funny way of showing it."
He gives you an appraising look... but it doesn't feel like a pervy look. "You've had it rough. Haven't you."
"So have lots of other people." What does this dude want, a sob story?
"Girls like you... think they need to latch on to a man to make it out there. Endure all kinds of shit, so they'll protect you. And you don't have to. They're not all bad. My hunter sure wasn't."
You bristled at the girls like you remark... and nothing he said after that did anything to defuse your irritation. But the longer the guy keeps talking, the better off you are. Maybe you can get him to trust you, and then... "Your hunter?" you have to ask, though, because that was a fucking weird thing to say. Hunters don't refer to themselves as hunters, after all.
"My son. He was a good boy. ...a good man. They're out there. And Hunter came of age in these hard times, same as these sons of bitches here... it's no excuse."
Ohhh his NAME was Hunter... "What happened to him?" You try to sound like you care.
But the old guy waves his hand dismissively. The gun hand is rather slack, with the gun in his lap now. Still pointing toward you... but he'd have to lift it faster than I can jump... "That's neither here nor there," he says. "Listen up -- you're a smart girl. I can tell. Right now, you're wondering if you can wrestle this gun away from me, aren't ya."
You feel the heat creep over your face, so you don't bother denying it.
"You might be able to... but it's a risk. One you don't need to take. And you know, truth be told, you don't need a man to get by. You just gotta pick your battles more carefully, is all."
"Dude, I already told you, I'm with a guy. And he's one of the good ones."
"Tch. No use lying about it, girl. They saw you. I'm trying to tell you--"
"They saw me?" Doing what? ...Joel would have HEARD them...
"You were in bed together. When they stole the horses. That's--"
You laugh loudly (...maybe Joel will hear you?). "We weren't in bed together. We were napping. On the fucking couch. What, you think I'm like his sex slave or something?"...Uh... I was kind of joking, but he totally does! Ha! That's EXACLTY what he thinks! Dude, I WISH. ...oh, fuck, I can't resist-- "I wish I was," you say out loud.
The perplexed look on his face does not disappoint. "You wish? It's... worse than that?" He shushes your protests. "That's why you need to get out on your own. You don't need him, honey. Listen here -- we're moving out at first light. All you gotta do is hide out in that closet there. I won't give you up to the boys. If--"
A gunshot rings out from downstairs!
Continue to page 257.
Carlos
Date: 2021-04-21 05:26 am (UTC)RE: Carlos
Date: 2021-04-21 01:17 pm (UTC)