CYOA Page 115
Sep. 13th, 2013 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12You send the guy off to fetch the rope; you can't leave Joel alone with these assholes.
You still have your knife because they haven't discovered it yet, but it doesn't give you enough confidence to take on two hunters at once. You would have to know Joel can help, and he's not giving you any indication that he's faking, so...
It's not going to take the other guy long to get the rope and come back, so you feel like you should do something quickly. ...But WHAT?
"Um, do you mind if I like... tend to his wounds?" you ask of no one in particular. It's something you want to do anyway, and maybe it will give you a better idea of how bad off Joel really is; if nothing else, maybe it will give you time to think.
"Go for it," one of the hunters replies with a snort. Like he doesn't think it will do you much good.
But when you reach for your backpack--
"Wait a minute," the other guy growls, grabbing your arm and yanking you away. "Tend his wounds, my ass. What've you got in there?"
"A first aid kit!" you tell him. It's not a lie! You do just happen to have other shit in there, though...
...which the first guy discovers upon rifling through it. "Fuck that. What's all this?"
"But you see the first aid kit, right? Just give it to me, you can keep the rest!" you snarl at them.
"This girl is trouble," says the guy holding your arm. "Wait... why are we even keeping that dude alive again?"
The other guy considers this. Shrugs. "I dunno. No point now, is there? We've got her... unarmed and shit..."
"No, please!" Your demeanor changes instantly. "You're keeping him alive so I'll do whatever you want," you remind them.
The guy with your backpack laughs. "Seriously? You think we can't just make you do whatever we want now?"
"...You mean sex, right?" You feel the heat creeping over your face. "Wouldn't it be better if... you didn't have to make me?"
Arm guy laughs. "You're gonna fuck like you want it? Is that it?"
You can't even bring yourself to say "yes" to that. Although you should, for Joel's sake... wouldn't you do anything...?
Of course you would. The problem is, you can't trust these motherfuckers to keep their word to not kill him! Nope, we won't be doing that... THINK, Ellie...
"Maybe she's sluttier than she looks," says backpack guy (although he's now abandoned your backpack). "It don't matter. You can make it easier on yourself, not fighting... or you can fight like hell. It's all the same to us. And we don't need him."
He turns and levels his gun at Joel, who is still crumpled on the ground, and you experience a moment of panic such as you've never felt before. It would just take him half a second to take the most precious thing in the world from you --
You wrench yourself from the other guy's (quite slack) grip and lunge at the man threatening Joel's life. You didn't even pull your knife out -- no time for that -- you just have to make sure that the threatening gun is pointed away from Joel--
You succeed in that, but then you feel cold hard metal exploding across your face -- he whacked you with the gun, and it fucking hurts. It knocks the wind out of you... momentarily... or perhaps for several long moments--
It all happens so quickly-- Joel is fighting now?! -- a gun fires -- followed by another -- someone's grabbing you -- you're struggling -- kicking, thrashing --
You free yourself -- you push the hunter toward the cliff--
Or so you thought...
Somehow, he grabbed your arm -- twisted around -- he's pushing you toward that cliff --
Not quite far enough, though -- you manage to grab the edge!
Until he fucking stomps on your fingers.
You scream as you feel yourself fall back, the sky rushing away from you as you--
-Oh THANK GOD -- someone caught you -- or... what?... yeah, you're landing on the ledge that that guy is on!
"I gotcha. You're okay."
You're on the ground (er... rock-ground?) but the guy has an arm around you... you cling to him -- or, you try to, but your throbbing fingers aren't cooperating. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to want to pitch you over the edge, and you realize you're not about to fall off, either, so you stop pawing at him. In fact, you push him away and scramble to your feet. You look up, desperate to see what's happening up there... but naturally, you can't see shit from here.
You hear another gunshot!
"Joel!" you yell. "Joel, are you okay?! JOEL!"
There's no answer... but it does get really quiet up there -- no more gunshots, no scuffling...
"JOEL! ANSWER ME! Are you okay?!?!?"
"Shit -- calm down, missy," the hunter grumbles. "You trying to blow out my eardrums?"
"I don't give a fuck about you," you sneer at him, sparing him a glance before looking up again. "JOEL! Answer me!"
"...Ellie... are you all right?"
Thank God! "Yes!" You're so relieved to hear Joel's voice that you could like... kiss the stupid hunter beside you (...but you don't). "Yes! Are you? Joel, are you okay? -- Wait -- there's a guy who was going to get some rope -- there's three guys! Three! Did you kill them all? Are they all dead? Joel! Joel, talk to me! Are you okay? Did you kill those guys?"
Finally, you see his face peering over the edge at you! "Well, if I could get a word in edgewise..."
"Don't shoot me!" cries the hunter; you didn't even register the gun in Joel's hand, but obviously, he did. "I'm cool, man -- I saved her! I saved her life! Didn't I!" He looks to you to confirm this for him. "Tell him!"
You don't know if that's true, strictly speaking. You kinda feel like it is, but you also feel like you would have landed on the ledge just fine without his help. Still... I might've broken my back or something if he didn't break my fall, right? "Yeah, he did," you say.
"Put your hands up," Joel barks at him. "Up -- higher. Now turn around, slowly."
The man obeys.
"He doesn't have a gun," you tell Joel helpfully, after the fact.
"Turn out your pockets," Joel commands next.
The guy does as he's told. "I've got nothing... see?"
"Joel, he's cool." Maybe you feel the need to stick up for this hunter because he possibly saved your life?
Joel is not reassured. "If you lay one goddamned finger on her, I swear to God..."
The guy throws his hands up in the air again. "I won't! Honest!"
Joel disappears from view.
"Jesus fuck," the guy mutters, lowering his hands. He glances at you. "I feel sorry for any boy that... wants to be your boyfriend."
That sounds almost insulting... except you know he's referring to Joel's behavior. "No boyfriends." GIRLfriends are another story...
"Oh." The guy sort of... shuffles his feet awkwardly?
...Why does he feel awkward? It's almost fucking adorable, really. You don't know why that thought pops into your head, but... fuck, you almost kind of like this hunter. He looks pretty harmless. Not scrawny, exactly, but not as big as the other guys, and definitely not as mean-looking. You wonder how old he is. His beard's all patchy... like he can't grow a decent one yet? I bet he's young. "I'm Ellie, by the way."
He nods. "Mick."
You give him a little smile. "If we rescue you..."
"I... would be eternally grateful? Ha... I mean, yeah, that would be awesome..."
"You wouldn't try to kill us?"
"Hell no!"
You snort. "Good answer."
"Seriously, I wouldn't! I didn't even hit him, you know. He hit me... but..."
Mick doesn't finish that sentence, but the way you figure it, Joel hit him once and sent him reeling over the edge of the cliff, and that was that. "Yeah, I see you're working on quite the shiner there," you note, not entirely without sympathy...
"Ellie!" Joel is back -- with rope. "Can you climb this if I lower it to you?"
"Of course! Lower away!"
Joel glares at Mick first. "I got my gun right here, so don't try anythin'."
...because he's going to piss off his would-be rescuer?! "Joel, relax, he's okay!" You're not sure why Joel hasn't killed him yet, but you're hopeful that it means he's not itching to do it. You watch the rope descend until it's dangling just above your face.
"All right... grab the rope, kiddo... and you -- you stand right underneath her. You got it?"
Oh, of course! So Joel doesn't want Mick laying a "goddamn finger" on you, but expects him to catch you if you fall.
You reach for the rope, which is now right in front of you... and you hesitate. Fuck...
Joel is watching you. "Maybe... if we tie it 'round your waist, too, to give you some extra--"
"It's not that." You sigh. "My fingers... that guy stepped on them, like... hard. I think they're broken! They're not working!" Your thumbs might be fine... but when you try gripping the rope with just your thumbs-- fucking useless! You can sort of grip it okay, but you also have to climb, and... that just ain't gonna happen, you can tell. Yet you keep trying to make your stupid fingers function the way they should. "Ow... fuck! It's not just that they hurt, Joel, they just... they won't grip!" You frown up at him, frustrated.
"Looks like they're swellin' up pretty good. All right, well... if we tie it around you--"
"If he does, you mean." You nod at Mick.
"I... have an idea," Mick says hesitantly. He speaks to you rather than Joel. "Only thing I hurt in the fall is my ass when I landed on it. I can climb the rope. If you could just hold on... like, to my back? You don't really need your fingers for that, right? Just... with your arms, you squeeze... like..."
You quirk an eyebrow at him. "You can climb that... with me on your back?"
He bristles a little, like you've insulted him. " 'Course I can. You're not that big."
"Just tie it around her," Joel says impatiently. "I'll haul her up."
You look at Joel dubiously. "Joel... no offense, but... you're not exactly in the greatest shape right now? Right? I saw how bad you got hurt--"
"Not that bad -- did I or did I not just kill all them hunters?"
"Well... okay, but... shooting them is one thing. This is..."
"I can do it."
Maybe he can, maybe he can't... but he doesn't have to! "Joel, don't be silly! This is way easier. We don't have to go very far -- we'll be up in like... ten seconds. And Mick's gotta climb up anyway, cuz we're not just going to leave him down here after he saved my life, right?" (You've decided that he did indeed save you.) "I mean... that's pretty rude."
Joel gives you a look. "Mick?"
"That's his name," you explain, exasperated. "Are you ready? Can we just..." You turn to Mick. "Let's do it. It's a good idea." And back to Joel. "And he's not touching me, see? I'll be touching him!"
Joel doesn't roll his eyes, but he might as well; you can feel the sentiment rolling off him. "Fine. All right. ...I'm gonna try this rail as leverage... I think it'll be fine. If it's too much, I'll stop you real quick."
You don't ask him too much what. "Okay! So, Mick... I'll try not to crush you... too much..."
He chuckles. "Yeah, no... hold on tight. With your legs, too. Piggyback all the way." He squats so you can climb onto his back.
It's kind of scary not being able to use your hands to grip. You wrap your arms around his chest, and he tucks your legs around him snugly (you glance at Joel to see if he's going to freak out about that, but thankfully, he seems to be all about the task at hand now).
"I got this... you don't even have to pull, man," Mick informs Joel happily.
Joel is pulling on his end anyway, you see.
It's also a little scary relying on a stranger to do the work you should be able to do yourself -- you would feel infinitely better about this if you were doing it yourself, or if Joel were doing it. But Mick is stronger than he looks. Or maybe he's just that good at climbing ropes.
"You all right, Ellie?" asks Joel.
"Yeah -- I'm not doing anything," you laugh. Almost at the top already! You hope Joel doesn't just grab you and let the rope go slack on Mick; you're certainly not going to help him do that, if it seems like that's his inclination...
You needn't have worried -- Mick is halfway over the edge before Joel pulls you off his back, sweeping you into his arms. "See? How easy was that?" you say happily, hugging him tight.
"Thank God," Joel breathes.
"Fuck -- I'm so glad you're not hurt as bad as it looked. Or... wait -- are you?" You pull back to better examine him. "You do look really bad... your face..."
Joel snorts. "Damn. There goes my modelin' career."
You burst out laughing at that. Joel is so fucking hilarious sometimes. And you're just so happy that he's okay!
He barely looks at you; Mick just helped you up the cliff, and Joel still has to give him the evil eye. ...except he's not. Not really. He's just keeping an eye on him because he doesn't trust him. But Mick must feel like he's being given the evil eye...
You turn and smile at the guy. "Thanks, dude. I owe you one."
"You don't owe him shit," Joel growls. "If it wasn't for him--"
"He didn't do anything! He just has bad taste in friends." ...You just decided that, too.
"That's naïve, Ellie."
Mick finally speaks up. "Well, one of 'em was my brother."
"Aha!" you cry, giving Joel a triumphant look. "See? So he's the good brother. Like with you and Tommy -- he's good, you're bad. Or so you like to say." Then you realize... Mick just told you that Joel killed his brother. You turn back to him. "Oh, uh... sorry about your brother."
"Don't apologize for that," Joel chides you. "We ain't the ones who attacked them."
"I can still be sorry that it was his brother, can't I?" you say defensively.
Mick starts walking away slowly. "Thanks for helping me. I'll just..."
"Stop right there," says Joel. "Stay where I can see you."
"You are gonna let him go, right?" you whisper to Joel.
He doesn't answer. But he does finally take a better look at you. "This here..." He winces at the wound on the side of your face as he smooths your hair back.
You wonder how bad it looks, where the gun struck you. It hurts, but you're more concerned about your fingers. "Should I worry about my modeling career?" you joke.
Joel frowns. "That shouldn't've happened. I heard them... the way they were talkin' to you... felt like I was slippin' in an' out of consciousness... I don' know what I was waitin' for... I should've acted sooner."
"Then you might be dead right now," you point out. "It worked out fine."
"Let me see your hands."
"...Fine except for that, anyway," you amend, lifting your hands so he can examine them. "This is bad. How can I shoot if I can't even hold a gun? How can I ride? ...Maybe I can still tug on the reins... I can move my thumbs..."
"You can ride with me. We'll figure it out. Let's get 'em wrapped up... the hospital should be able to fix you up better."
You sigh. "I'll be fucking useless."
"Nah... remember in the beginnin', when you just told me to look out behind me... or to my left..."
You roll your eyes. "Yeah. Great. At least back then I could smash bottles over their heads. And look at you -- can you even see out of that eye?" His left eye is all puffed up.
"Sort of." He chuckles. "See? You can help me out: be my eyes."
"Awesome. How are we gonna make it home like this?"
Joel chuckles. "We're quite the pair right now, I'll give you that."
"If you need help," Mick starts to say.
"No," Joel cuts him off immediately.
He shrugs. "Just sayin'. Not like I've got anything else going on right now."
"We'll be fine," says Joel, glowering at him.
You'd like to make a case for bringing Mick along, but it would probably fall on deaf ears, and you're not sure you have the energy. Besides, maybe Joel is right; the guy is a hunter, after all. From a group that ambushes people... makes them pay 'tolls'...
But you don't have to leave him with nothing -- you don't have to bring that third horse with you. It's not yours. Hell, maybe it belongs to the hunters anyway. Or they stole it from someone... but, well, isn't that just the way of the world? You and Joel take what you want, too, don't you? You haven't looked through all the hunters' possessions; they could have a saddle and shit in one of those alcoves for all you know.
Not THEY, you remind yourself. Mick's alone now. You can't help feeling sorry for him... feeling like he doesn't deserve such a fate. But he's alive. And you can make sure he stays that way until you leave him, at least by not letting Joel kill him (because without your intervention, you doubt he'd think twice about it).
More importantly -- you and Joel are alive. And Joel is right: the two of you will be fine. You always are.
If you'd like to start another adventure, return to page 1.
Carlos
Date: 2020-11-26 06:25 am (UTC)Re: Carlos
Date: 2020-11-26 04:52 pm (UTC)