Fan Fiction ❯ Nuclear Winter ❯ Unnatural Beasts ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: BlueSoul 
The spawn of demons now reside in the once magnificient city...
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Post-apocalyptic | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.12.2001 | Updated On: 01.02.2002 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 221 | Status: Completed
The spawn of demons now reside in the once magnificient city...
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Post-apocalyptic | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.12.2001 | Updated On: 01.02.2002 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 221 | Status: Completed
Trevelyan sucks in a sharp breath, her boots scuffing noisily over the broken ground beneath its thin, muddy layer of snow as she unconsciously seeks the solid presence of him at her back. "Indigo..." she whispers, her voice half pleading and half desperate as she tremblingingly lowers the revolver, aiming it at the nearest creature, steadying it with her other hand.
Indigo holds the shotgun steady, keeping eye contact with one of the monstrosities. It stares curiously at him, pacing back and forth. The second creature does that same, only keeping its eyes on Trev. Indigo shivers, the cold wind penetrating his coat, penetrating his skin, and seemingly, penetrating his soul. The demon in front of him stops pacing and lets out a half-roar half-bark at him. Indigo winces but keeps his aim steady. Without warning, it leaps at him. Bony legs somehow packed with immense power propel the creature- straight into his shotgun. Indigo pulls the trigger, a hail of buckshot tearing into its skin. The force of the impact nearly rips the thing in half, spreading black blood over the snow. The demon lets out a moan of anguish as it spills the rest of its guts onto the snow. Indigo pumps the shotgun, the empty cartridge popping out and landing softly in the snow. The other creature, wary of this threat, makes sure to avoid Indigo and his shotgun.... instead focusing its leap on Trevelyan...
There is a bare moment of hesitation, in which Trevelyan stands frozen, watching the creature leaping toward her in numbed shock. But then instinct and reflex snaps the revolver up, and whether the brief pause was bane or blessing - costing her precious time or putting the creature into point-blank range - Trevelyan squeezes off a shot aimed at the creature's snout almost before she has the hammer drawn back fully.
The loud report of the magnum cuts the night even more than Indigo's shotgun blast. Impact shock from the blast sends the creature spinning end-over-end, it's light weight coupled with a hole in the head giving it lift. Noiselessly, it crumples to a heap in the snow, dead before it hit the ground.
Trevelyan staggers back a step, breaths puffing out in misty white clouds, still not quite sure she had managed to escape death for the moment. But then reality finally sinks in, and with a start, she jerks the gun up again in hands gone numb from cold and the brief kick of the recoil, levering the hammer back once more until it locks into position. "Indigo?" she calls breathlessly, checking on his status as she searches for more likely targets.
Indigo stares at the dead critter, once again in silence. Slowly he turns to Trevelyan and frowns. "Hostile territory, don't you agree? Good shot by the way." He rubs his hands, his gaze still on the corpse. "What... what are these things anyway? Is /everyone/ dead?" As if to answer his questions, more howls pierce the night... though further away this time, wary of the new resistance.
"Th-thanks," Trevelyan says a little uncertainly, as if not sure whether she should accept the praise or not after a quick peek at the corpse and then a grimace. When nothing else looks like it's planning on leaping at her anytime soon, she slowly lowers the gun. "I don't know, but if there's someone still alive, we probably won't find them standing around waiting to be eaten. And how do you uncock a revolver anyway?"
Indigo says nothing, his breath visible in the cold. After staring for some time, he snaps out of it. "Huh? Oh. You just push it down and back in... but I would recommend keeping it cocked. You might also want to load that last bullet in, while you have time." Turning away, he starts walking, slipping his shotgun back over his shoulder. "You're right though, if anyone's left, they'll be hiding," he says, sliding the shimmering desert eagle from his hip holster.
Trevelyan wordlessly does as he suggests, fumbling a bit but eventually getting everything done without accidentally shooting off her foot. Her eyes are unintentionally drawn to the handgun that he draws, before she bites her lip and combs back hair made damp from sweat and melted snow. "I think there were some buildings that looked like they used to be hotels over there. There'll be stores we can pilfer around them, if they haven't already been stripped of everything."
Indigo nods while moving, his head bobbling in every direction to keep track of any critters that may try to sneak up on them. Ahead, a regal-looking building with a shattered glass entryway looks out of place among the rubble. "There. That looks relatively intact. Watch your back, though." His form seems to glow for a moment as he passes by a pair of fires, seemingly arranged like a gate.
Trevelyan sucks in an uneasy breath as she watches him pass the watchfires, but falls into step behind him not long after, unconsciously muffling her nose with her free hand when she walks between the flames. As she does so, she continues scanning the area, leaving it to him to lead them. "Do you think we can secure one of the rooms?" she asks after a little while.
Pausing at the doorway, glass crunching underfoot, Indigo peers at the lobby. Tables are overturned, blood, both black and crimson are spread around. Bodies of humans and creatures lay strewn about. More blood leaves a trail, going up the stairs. Bulletholes and empty casings litter the area as well. "We might be able to secure a room. From the looks of this, somebody beat us here."
Trevelyan remains silent as she follows him in to survey the wreckage, but it seems she has already received the maximum number of shocks she would tolerate tonight and merely shook her head, moving past him toward one of the broad corridors that lead off from the main atrium. "Maybe they were too busy fighting to loot," is all she mutters, loosening her jacket enough to reach inside and retrieve a small, carefully wrapped bundle. Clumsily retrieving her glasses from within one-handed, she slips them on, blinking to refocus.
Indigo sighs, shaking his head. He moves to examine the bodies, the ones huddled behind make-shift barricades and shields. Most of the bodies are dismembered, or have their throats ripped out. Crouching next to one body, he searches through pockets, looking for ammunition or anything else. "Huh? What's this?" He pulls a gold chain from one man's pocket. A woman's necklace, gold pendant with two pictures on it, two young-looking children. Indigo sighs and drops it, moving to peel a pistol from the man's cold fingers. "Not much to salvage... though we might find a few extra bullets." Sliding the handgun into his pocket, he stands up, gazing at the small number of human corpses. Turning his gaze back to Trevelyan, he smirks. "You look cuter with your glasses on, you know that?"
Trevelyan looks up from her intent examination of the hotel's store directory mounted on a low podium, blank-faced surprise soon giving way to a myriad of emotions ranging from a blush of embarrassment to a scowl. Finally, she settles on holding up the revolver and waggling it a little in reminder. "No, I don't know that that's true, and you better watch what else you say or do because I know how to use this now." Returning her attention to the map after the quip, her mood lightening a little in spite of herself, she absently tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and then traces the drawn lines. "Classy place. They had a whole section of the main floor devoted to stores. Second level was restaurants and a food court. Everything above the third is rooms."
The lobby remains quiet, just the sound of crunching glass and breathing is heard as Indigo wanders over to the map. "Wow... never seen a place /this/ fancy since... wow." Leaning back, he peers down a side hallway, rows of lights and glass windows reflecting a whole lot of nothing... "So where to..?"
Trevelyan doesn't answer for a moment, finally responding after a more extensive examination of the layout, "Depends on where you want to go first. As I said, stores were on the first level. Rooms start from the third. Closest set of stairs is in the west wing, to your left over there..."
Indigo holds the shotgun steady, keeping eye contact with one of the monstrosities. It stares curiously at him, pacing back and forth. The second creature does that same, only keeping its eyes on Trev. Indigo shivers, the cold wind penetrating his coat, penetrating his skin, and seemingly, penetrating his soul. The demon in front of him stops pacing and lets out a half-roar half-bark at him. Indigo winces but keeps his aim steady. Without warning, it leaps at him. Bony legs somehow packed with immense power propel the creature- straight into his shotgun. Indigo pulls the trigger, a hail of buckshot tearing into its skin. The force of the impact nearly rips the thing in half, spreading black blood over the snow. The demon lets out a moan of anguish as it spills the rest of its guts onto the snow. Indigo pumps the shotgun, the empty cartridge popping out and landing softly in the snow. The other creature, wary of this threat, makes sure to avoid Indigo and his shotgun.... instead focusing its leap on Trevelyan...
There is a bare moment of hesitation, in which Trevelyan stands frozen, watching the creature leaping toward her in numbed shock. But then instinct and reflex snaps the revolver up, and whether the brief pause was bane or blessing - costing her precious time or putting the creature into point-blank range - Trevelyan squeezes off a shot aimed at the creature's snout almost before she has the hammer drawn back fully.
The loud report of the magnum cuts the night even more than Indigo's shotgun blast. Impact shock from the blast sends the creature spinning end-over-end, it's light weight coupled with a hole in the head giving it lift. Noiselessly, it crumples to a heap in the snow, dead before it hit the ground.
Trevelyan staggers back a step, breaths puffing out in misty white clouds, still not quite sure she had managed to escape death for the moment. But then reality finally sinks in, and with a start, she jerks the gun up again in hands gone numb from cold and the brief kick of the recoil, levering the hammer back once more until it locks into position. "Indigo?" she calls breathlessly, checking on his status as she searches for more likely targets.
Indigo stares at the dead critter, once again in silence. Slowly he turns to Trevelyan and frowns. "Hostile territory, don't you agree? Good shot by the way." He rubs his hands, his gaze still on the corpse. "What... what are these things anyway? Is /everyone/ dead?" As if to answer his questions, more howls pierce the night... though further away this time, wary of the new resistance.
"Th-thanks," Trevelyan says a little uncertainly, as if not sure whether she should accept the praise or not after a quick peek at the corpse and then a grimace. When nothing else looks like it's planning on leaping at her anytime soon, she slowly lowers the gun. "I don't know, but if there's someone still alive, we probably won't find them standing around waiting to be eaten. And how do you uncock a revolver anyway?"
Indigo says nothing, his breath visible in the cold. After staring for some time, he snaps out of it. "Huh? Oh. You just push it down and back in... but I would recommend keeping it cocked. You might also want to load that last bullet in, while you have time." Turning away, he starts walking, slipping his shotgun back over his shoulder. "You're right though, if anyone's left, they'll be hiding," he says, sliding the shimmering desert eagle from his hip holster.
Trevelyan wordlessly does as he suggests, fumbling a bit but eventually getting everything done without accidentally shooting off her foot. Her eyes are unintentionally drawn to the handgun that he draws, before she bites her lip and combs back hair made damp from sweat and melted snow. "I think there were some buildings that looked like they used to be hotels over there. There'll be stores we can pilfer around them, if they haven't already been stripped of everything."
Indigo nods while moving, his head bobbling in every direction to keep track of any critters that may try to sneak up on them. Ahead, a regal-looking building with a shattered glass entryway looks out of place among the rubble. "There. That looks relatively intact. Watch your back, though." His form seems to glow for a moment as he passes by a pair of fires, seemingly arranged like a gate.
Trevelyan sucks in an uneasy breath as she watches him pass the watchfires, but falls into step behind him not long after, unconsciously muffling her nose with her free hand when she walks between the flames. As she does so, she continues scanning the area, leaving it to him to lead them. "Do you think we can secure one of the rooms?" she asks after a little while.
Pausing at the doorway, glass crunching underfoot, Indigo peers at the lobby. Tables are overturned, blood, both black and crimson are spread around. Bodies of humans and creatures lay strewn about. More blood leaves a trail, going up the stairs. Bulletholes and empty casings litter the area as well. "We might be able to secure a room. From the looks of this, somebody beat us here."
Trevelyan remains silent as she follows him in to survey the wreckage, but it seems she has already received the maximum number of shocks she would tolerate tonight and merely shook her head, moving past him toward one of the broad corridors that lead off from the main atrium. "Maybe they were too busy fighting to loot," is all she mutters, loosening her jacket enough to reach inside and retrieve a small, carefully wrapped bundle. Clumsily retrieving her glasses from within one-handed, she slips them on, blinking to refocus.
Indigo sighs, shaking his head. He moves to examine the bodies, the ones huddled behind make-shift barricades and shields. Most of the bodies are dismembered, or have their throats ripped out. Crouching next to one body, he searches through pockets, looking for ammunition or anything else. "Huh? What's this?" He pulls a gold chain from one man's pocket. A woman's necklace, gold pendant with two pictures on it, two young-looking children. Indigo sighs and drops it, moving to peel a pistol from the man's cold fingers. "Not much to salvage... though we might find a few extra bullets." Sliding the handgun into his pocket, he stands up, gazing at the small number of human corpses. Turning his gaze back to Trevelyan, he smirks. "You look cuter with your glasses on, you know that?"
Trevelyan looks up from her intent examination of the hotel's store directory mounted on a low podium, blank-faced surprise soon giving way to a myriad of emotions ranging from a blush of embarrassment to a scowl. Finally, she settles on holding up the revolver and waggling it a little in reminder. "No, I don't know that that's true, and you better watch what else you say or do because I know how to use this now." Returning her attention to the map after the quip, her mood lightening a little in spite of herself, she absently tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and then traces the drawn lines. "Classy place. They had a whole section of the main floor devoted to stores. Second level was restaurants and a food court. Everything above the third is rooms."
The lobby remains quiet, just the sound of crunching glass and breathing is heard as Indigo wanders over to the map. "Wow... never seen a place /this/ fancy since... wow." Leaning back, he peers down a side hallway, rows of lights and glass windows reflecting a whole lot of nothing... "So where to..?"
Trevelyan doesn't answer for a moment, finally responding after a more extensive examination of the layout, "Depends on where you want to go first. As I said, stores were on the first level. Rooms start from the third. Closest set of stairs is in the west wing, to your left over there..."