08-24-2015, 09:48 PM
Abner grunted in annoyance. He spit a little bit of tobacco into the dirt as he raised his rifle, listening intently for more of the undead canines. None of this made a whole lot of sense, anymore. He'd seen the ghost girl before, of course. She'd led him to this miserable jungle, and put him in this ridiculous team. Then again, that was only one assumption. In the back of his mind he was also considering that this creepy ghost was trying to get him killed for whatever reason. Her apparent connection with the woman who seemed to still be restraining herself from outright killing him didn't help, either.
He spit the used up cigarette to the ground, next, and followed it up with a little bit more of his dip. He considered lighting another cigarette, and only didn't because he was pretty certain he didn't need to remove either hand from his rifle at the moment. He didn't often double up on his tobacco intake, but the current situation made it feel more than necessary.
Some sort of canines were prowling through the woods. Christa had shot some, and Abner had taken care of a few of his own. Despite that, they could hear the prowling. The beasts were breathing, snarling, and lurking. They were being hunted by these unseen creatures, and all they could do was keep moving forward. They were back to back at this point, each walking forward and covering a side. It was a silent agreement, and they had just fallen into it so that neither was walking completely forward or completely backwards. Abner was responsible for one side, and Christa the other. They were in rough shape, with their wounds loosely patched up and the injuries taking their toll on their minds as well as their bodies, but they both had the frame of mind to press on.
A shot rang out as Abner dropped a canine that thought it might be able to ambush them. Their formation was effective, though. It wasn't entirely practical, but it was the best they could do with their limited resources.
"Who's that girl?" Abner couldn't hold the question in any longer. That ghostly being was responsible for them being here and she knew Christa. If he died in this jungle, he wanted to begin to understand why.
"She looks like my sister," Christa was curt with her response, as she was much more interested in making it through this deathtrap of a forest.
"Looks like?" Abner asked just as fast. Another shot echoed into the woods. Christa had downed another beast, but he didn't turn to confirm it. He was forced to trust her skills.
"My sister was killed by you and your Empire," Christa spat back as she scanned the tree lines. The dogs were coming from above just as well as as ground level. She had to stay alert.
"I thought we went over this," Abner snarled in response. His patience was beyond it's limit, and the last thing he needed was a reminder about how infuriated he was with the people that sent him here.
"Make all the excuses you want," Christa replied, ignoring the sounds of Abner putting down two more attackers as she scanned her own area. "Your life's work went to the service of those monsters. Everything you've ever done made it a little easier for them to do what they did to my sister, and plenty others like her."
"Some of us don't have a choice. Some of us have to make due in this fucked up reality however we can," Abner replied, though he was clearly pushing aside the sting of those words.
"If that helps you sleep at night," Christa answered as they began to move a little faster, with the silent understanding that the terrain had changed just enough to allow a faster pace.
"Why'd you have to mention sleep?" Abner bluntly said.
They were in quiet agreement on that one. They were both hungry, thirsty, and downright tired. There seemed to be no end to this madness. One challenge after another, and each answered question brought it's own mystery.
Regardless of their drive and motive, they both understood that their bodies would give out long before their minds would. Their injuries were still fresh and their blood loss apparent in their movement and even their speech. Neither of them were as quick as they would be on a typical day, in reflex or in wit. However, the mind was a powerful thing, and their drive alone kept them going. They might have had different purposes, but the basic goal was the same. Live.
The sounds of battle suddenly echoed in the woods ahead of them. The sounds of gunfire and shouting were a welcome relief, because in this hellscape anyone could be an ally. The groaning of the undead permeated it all, and they could tell that they were walking into another battle. The chance of friendly reinforcements was enough for both of them to want to take the risk. To both of their displeasure, they were in sync with their tactics.
"Don't get in a goddamn rush," Abner ordered as their pace rapidly accelerated. "Hold this formation."
"Then hurry the fuck up," Christa responded quickly.
The sounds of battle were close, and they were about on top of the others. As they got close, they pushed off each other's backs and advanced side by side, their firearms ready. They both shouted as they entered the clearing so that they would make it apparent to the others that they were not of the undead.
The sight of their allies rejuvenated them, even if they barely knew most of them. After all, Abner and Christa knew better than anyone that in this place anyone could be friend.
He spit the used up cigarette to the ground, next, and followed it up with a little bit more of his dip. He considered lighting another cigarette, and only didn't because he was pretty certain he didn't need to remove either hand from his rifle at the moment. He didn't often double up on his tobacco intake, but the current situation made it feel more than necessary.
Some sort of canines were prowling through the woods. Christa had shot some, and Abner had taken care of a few of his own. Despite that, they could hear the prowling. The beasts were breathing, snarling, and lurking. They were being hunted by these unseen creatures, and all they could do was keep moving forward. They were back to back at this point, each walking forward and covering a side. It was a silent agreement, and they had just fallen into it so that neither was walking completely forward or completely backwards. Abner was responsible for one side, and Christa the other. They were in rough shape, with their wounds loosely patched up and the injuries taking their toll on their minds as well as their bodies, but they both had the frame of mind to press on.
A shot rang out as Abner dropped a canine that thought it might be able to ambush them. Their formation was effective, though. It wasn't entirely practical, but it was the best they could do with their limited resources.
"Who's that girl?" Abner couldn't hold the question in any longer. That ghostly being was responsible for them being here and she knew Christa. If he died in this jungle, he wanted to begin to understand why.
"She looks like my sister," Christa was curt with her response, as she was much more interested in making it through this deathtrap of a forest.
"Looks like?" Abner asked just as fast. Another shot echoed into the woods. Christa had downed another beast, but he didn't turn to confirm it. He was forced to trust her skills.
"My sister was killed by you and your Empire," Christa spat back as she scanned the tree lines. The dogs were coming from above just as well as as ground level. She had to stay alert.
"I thought we went over this," Abner snarled in response. His patience was beyond it's limit, and the last thing he needed was a reminder about how infuriated he was with the people that sent him here.
"Make all the excuses you want," Christa replied, ignoring the sounds of Abner putting down two more attackers as she scanned her own area. "Your life's work went to the service of those monsters. Everything you've ever done made it a little easier for them to do what they did to my sister, and plenty others like her."
"Some of us don't have a choice. Some of us have to make due in this fucked up reality however we can," Abner replied, though he was clearly pushing aside the sting of those words.
"If that helps you sleep at night," Christa answered as they began to move a little faster, with the silent understanding that the terrain had changed just enough to allow a faster pace.
"Why'd you have to mention sleep?" Abner bluntly said.
They were in quiet agreement on that one. They were both hungry, thirsty, and downright tired. There seemed to be no end to this madness. One challenge after another, and each answered question brought it's own mystery.
Regardless of their drive and motive, they both understood that their bodies would give out long before their minds would. Their injuries were still fresh and their blood loss apparent in their movement and even their speech. Neither of them were as quick as they would be on a typical day, in reflex or in wit. However, the mind was a powerful thing, and their drive alone kept them going. They might have had different purposes, but the basic goal was the same. Live.
The sounds of battle suddenly echoed in the woods ahead of them. The sounds of gunfire and shouting were a welcome relief, because in this hellscape anyone could be an ally. The groaning of the undead permeated it all, and they could tell that they were walking into another battle. The chance of friendly reinforcements was enough for both of them to want to take the risk. To both of their displeasure, they were in sync with their tactics.
"Don't get in a goddamn rush," Abner ordered as their pace rapidly accelerated. "Hold this formation."
"Then hurry the fuck up," Christa responded quickly.
The sounds of battle were close, and they were about on top of the others. As they got close, they pushed off each other's backs and advanced side by side, their firearms ready. They both shouted as they entered the clearing so that they would make it apparent to the others that they were not of the undead.
The sight of their allies rejuvenated them, even if they barely knew most of them. After all, Abner and Christa knew better than anyone that in this place anyone could be friend.