CYOA Page 34
Sep. 15th, 2013 02:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12You nudge one of the front doors open just enough to allow you to peek outside. "I see... four... yeah, just four. I think we should kill them! They're far enough apart that you could sneak up behind them... and I could arrow the ones farther back. You up for that?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The two of you creep outside, ready for action. You make Joel take your knife (because it's dumb to waste shivs, even though he prefers them for some strange reason). He takes it, but trades you one of his shivs. "Just in case," he says quietly. "I'm gonna go 'round the buildin' an' get that one on the right."
You nod and get into archer position... your first arrow hits the target and makes it screech, but it doesn't kill it. Damn! You try again -- and completely miss. You tell yourself you were distracted by Joel's sudden reappearance. Yeah... okay, so, third time's the charm... your arrow whizzes right into the Clicker's face, and it keels over. Yes!
You move forward to get into a better position to kill your second Clicker, but decide to watch Joel first. He makes it look so easy. Just sneak up behind the thing and stab it in the neck. Done. You've made some clean kills yourself on occasion, but Joel... he's like a killing machine. You envy him that.
You're bigger and stronger now, if only just a little bit... maybe it will come easier to you than it did before? "Joel!" you whisper -- and he hears you, because his hearing is even better than a Clicker's. You motion him back toward you. "Let me do that," you say as he slowly approaches.
"What... knife it?" he whispers back.
"Yeah. I wanna get better at it. Quieter."
He's hesitant to agree.
"You can come with me in case I royally fuck it up," you add.
"You won't fuck it up. It's just... dangerous."
"No shit -- that's why I'd like to get better at it. And I'm already infected, so..."
"Immune," he corrects you, as usual (because 'infected' is too derogatory or something). "That one's kinda big, though."
"Big?"
"It's taller than the ones I just killed. I can tell."
"So what? Tall guys bleed just like the small ones," you recite from... something?
Joel sighs... or more like, exhales, since you're still in whisper mode. "All right. I'll be right behind you." You trade weapons again, although he just lays the bow down, ready to jump in and assist you if needed. You're not sure if Joel's presence makes you feel more nervous or less so. It's great that he has your back, but it's like... having to perform a task under the careful scrutiny of your sergeant or something. There's more pressure to do well.
You try to put him completely out of your mind and just concentrate on the kill. You creep up closer to the ugly creature, but not too close, expecting it to... yeah, it changed direction, so you have to circle back a little... fucking erratic motherfucker... when you're able to get right behind it... and the moment is perfect... you can't really see the spot you want to hit from down in the crouch (and maybe this one is a little bigger than most?), but you can visualize it... don't wait too long! You pounce on the thing's back, take a moment to like... get your bearings as it looses one of those hideous screams and flails its arms, and then plunge the knife right into its--
--not the right spot! You quickly withdraw the blade and do it again-- yes! You know you did it right because it starts to fall, and you immediately let go, landing shakily on your feet. You turn around and see Joel close by... and the remaining Clicker still pretty far back, undisturbed by whatever noises you emitted.
"Good job," says Joel as he walks over to you and wraps you up in his arms.
You beam at the pride in his voice. "You think so? I didn't do it as good as you."
"It was better than me."
"What? Pfff. Don't lie. I didn't hit the bullseye on the first go."
He kisses your nose. "Maybe not, but considerin' you had to jump on him, I think you did real good."
"Okay then." You grin, content to stop arguing the point. "You wanna get the last one with an arrow? So it's two and two."
"Sure." Joel picks up the bow and quiver while you pull your blade out of your victim's neck. You wipe the blood and ick off on a blood-free patch of its shirt before clicking the knife shut, stuffing it in your pocket, and observing Joel at work.
It takes him two arrows to kill the Clicker, which is still better than your three. You hear him mutter "damn" under his breath. "Such a perfectionist," you chide him. "Two is good."
"One is better."
One is hard as fuck to do, even if you hit the thing in the head. It amazes you how a virus, which by nature is supposed to weaken people, actually makes them stronger. "I'm gonna go get our arrows back," you announce. "And pick their pockets."
He nods. "I'll check out these two here."
You jog down the street to where the far-away Clickers died... and you're pleased to come up with four of the five arrows intact. A small amount of ammo in one pocket, nothing else of any use. You're about to head back to Joel when the sign of the building next door catches your eye: it's a comic store! Maybe they have the next Savage Starlight! You've been stuck on #14 for over a year, and have read each issue at least twice. You know there's a #15 because there was the dreaded "to be continued" message at the end of the last one.
You move closer to the store... there's no comics in the window display, or near the front, that you can see... but there are plenty strewn about toward the back. You're pretty sure you can see some Savage Starlights, but you can't see the covers very well or make out the titles. You think the one you need is called "Inertia" -- but, obviously, any title you don't recognize will do! The door is locked, but the huge front window is completely busted. You're about to climb through when you sense... oh fuck... more infected?
You crouch beneath the window and peek over the ledge. You can't see anything, but you hear... what is it that you're hearing?... it doesn't sound like Runners, or Clickers... maybe Stalkers? You haven't seen as many of those and don't remember exactly what they sound like. The source of the sound is getting closer... but it seems to be just one source; there might only be one infected in there. If there is, you're totally taking it down. You drop the arrows and pull your knife back out of your pocket. Maybe you should go inside and hide behind the shelves, and just wait for--
...Oh SHIT!... You actually don't need to do that to see what you're dealing with, because the top of its head has just come into view -- over the shelving. It's a fucking Bloater!
You should just run now. No way are you killing that thing with your knife, or the (bow-less) arrows, or even the 9-millimeter on your hip. You look longingly at the piles of comics. No wonder they're still in there... maybe this Bloater does nothing but patrol the aisles of the store day after day... I should put it out of its misery. ...And then help yourself to its comics!
But that's crazy! Bloaters are rumored to rip people's faces off. You might be able to sneak around it if you're very, very careful... but make one accidental little noise and you'll have to fight the fucker. What kind of idiot would risk their life for a fucking comic book, of all things?
...maybe me? You really, really want to check out those comics. Are you that kind of idiot?
If you decide to fight the Bloater, go get Joel first -- because you're not THAT much of an idiot -- and turn to page 64.
If you decide to get the fuck out of there, turn to page 70.
Carlos
Date: 2021-05-02 02:38 pm (UTC)Re: Carlos
Date: 2021-05-02 03:40 pm (UTC)