Two Against the World.
Through This Disappearin' Land. (Lara and Rylan, L4D2 random OC insertion fanfiction. Bluh bluh. Huge nerd.)
The empty streets of the French Quarter were painted over in orange by the early morning sun, the only thing giving them any kind of sign of life. Rylan and Lara were coming up on Decatur Street. Lara had cut her brown hair short to deal with the warmer temperatures. Rylan's black hair did nothing in this regard, despite it already being short. They'd both looted sets of clothes more fitting for the weather as well, keeping it to simple pairs of t-shirts and shorts. Before crossing over, Rylan put her hand out, stopping Lara, "Hold on." She pressed up against a wall, the katana stowed on her back pressing in between her shoulder blades slightly. She drew out her pistol and peeked around the corner. Lara readied her hunting rifle.
Nothing. Just a few abandoned cars. She sighed, "It's empty." Lara moved around Rylan and headed down the street, "Most people would be relieved, I'd think."
Rylan holstered her gun, "Well, I feel bugged if I can't see them. Makes me think they're just gonna sneak up on us." They kept moving forward up the street, Rylan now following behind Lara. She eyed the canister of Boomer bile that was attached to one of the belt loops of her pants.
As they neared the midpoint of the street, Lara stopped in her tracks. Rylan followed suit, but not without almost bumping into Lara, "What is it?" Lara quietly reached for the rifle again, "I think I see one of them." Rylan peeked around her, and saw a figure sitting down near a car. It was moving lazily, shifting slightly in its sitting position. Faintly, they both heard it give out a rasping moan. Lara raised the rifle, aiming down the sight. "Don't hit the car," Rylan warned her, noticing the lights blinking on the car. "The alarm will go off if you hit it. I'm up for a fight, but we can't handle that many of them right now." Lara nodded focusing down the sight. She fired. The crack of the bullet echoed loudly down the street. There was a loud pang, followed by the sudden blaring of a car alarm. Rylan rose up to full attention as the figure looked over to them. It got up and began to run for them, followed by a large group of others pouring out from the various shops and alleyways.
Lara began to fire the rifle wildly, hitting some, but nothing fatal. Rylan fired her pistol into the group, sending a few of them tumbling to the ground, only to be trampled by the rest of the infected. She and Lara backed away, continuing to fire. Passing by an empty car, Rylan saw that the trunk was open. She almost stopped, nearly struck dumb by the weight of the good fortune of what was inside. A single pipe bomb. She quickly grabbed it. She tapped Lara on the shoulder, "Lara, quick, throw the puke!"
Lara looked down, grabbed the bile from her hip and she quickly threw it in arch. It smashed on the ground a little bit behind the group of infected. The shattering of the canister was masked by their howls and screams. In an instant, they all turned, towards to where the bile landed. They quickly crowded around it, their frenzied state increasing. Rylan gripped the pipe bomb. She pressed the button on the side, and it began to beep. She pulled a lighter she'd looted earlier from her pocket and lit the fuse. In the same manner as Lara, she tossed it in arch above her. It landed near the group of infected, beeping loudly still. As the beeping became faster, Rylan grabbed Lara by the hand, "Come on!" She ran back aways with her in tow, and the two of them ducked behind a nearby car. There was a loud explosion. The beeping of the pipe bomb and the car alarm both ceased. A final cacophony of screeches from the infected echoed up the street with the explosion, followed by silence.
Rylan and Lara peeked out from behind the car. "Did we get them all?" Lara said. Rylan nodded, "We did." She turned to Lara, "I told you not to hit the car, didn't I?"
"I thought I had the shot," Lara said.
"We're going to have to find you a new weapon. One that's easier for you to use."
Rylan stood up and motioned for Lara to do the same. They both walked to a nearby restaurant. A tattered awning shaded the outer eating area, "Cafe du Monde" scrawled across its front. Rylan scoured through the tables and chairs and the rest of the restaurant, looking for anything Lara could use. Lara looked around as well.
"Here!" Rylan shouted from a distant part of the restaurant. Lara followed her voice and found her near the door to the kitchen. She was picking up a gray, metal object that was wedged between the door and the frame. She turned and handed it to Lara. It was a fairly small submachine gun, "This should help for now. You won't have to aim as much. We can get you practicing on the rifle later. Let's keep moving."
Lara stepped carefully over the pieces of the infected now littering the street. Rylan was ahead of her, moving quickly, disregarding that she was stepping much of the mess the explosion left behind. Lara stowed the rifle on her back and kept her newly acquired submachine gun at her side. "I'm surprised there aren't that many of them around," Lara said. Rylan checked carefully down the cross street, making sure it was clear, "It is a little strange. I figured this area would be crawling with them."
"Well, at least this'll give us an easy trip to the bridge if it keeps up. Hopefully." Rylan nodded, "Yeah, hopefully. Let's just keep moving for now." They moved past the cross street. They were just getting to the outside of a jazz club when a quaking roar rolled through the street. A car in the distance flew off the ground and into a nearby restaurant as a Tank appeared and began to run down the street. "Shit!" Rylan shouted. She tried to back up, get to a place where her and Lara could get some high ground. The Tank already caught up with her and swung its arm at her. With a dull thud, Rylan was sent flying and crashed through the window of the jazz café nearby. "Rylan!" Lara shouted. She started to run to the café window, but the Tank was already moving in on her. From above them, a shot rang out. A bullet hit the Tank clear through the temple.
It staggered and fell with a force that cracked the pavement. Lara stood for a moment, dumbfounded. She'd never seen a Tank go down in one shot before. She shook off the confusion and ran to the window of the café. "Rylan!" she shouted, climbing through the remains of the window. There was a path of smashed tables and chairs. Faintly, Lara heard someone coughing, with a slight wheeze. In the dusty darkness of the café, Lara saw Rylan on the floor. She ran over to her and knelt by her. She turned her over slowly, "Are you hurt?"
Rylan shook her head, "No…I'm fine. Nothing serious. I'm going to be sore for a while, though." Lara breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned in and kissed her and then pulled away, "I thought you were gone." Rylan laughed, a little weakly, "when it does happen, I'm not gonna let it happen that easily." Lara took Rylan's hand and helped her up. Rylan winced, "Some pain pills might be nice, though." Lara made her way back to the entrance, helping Rylan along. They went out through the door. Rylan eyed the Tank on the ground. She looked at Rylan, "You took him down yourself?" Lara shook her head, "No, it wasn't me. The shot came from somewhere else."
"Ya two alive down there?" A voice came down from above them. A male voice, with a slight accent. Rylan and Lara looked up. Standing atop the roof was a man looking to be in his mid-30s. His hair was dark and short, clean-shaven face and a white t-shirt and dark pants. A sniper rifle was in his hand. "Yeah, we're alive. She's hurt, though," Lara said, motioning to Rylan. "You wouldn't happen to have any pain pills up there would you?" The man slung the rifle on his back, "Sure do. Hang on." He disappeared for a moment and they heard him gathering up some things. He climbed down from the roof, the rifle and a pack of supplies on his back. He unzipped the pack and took out a bottle of pain pills and handed it to Rylan. "Thanks," she said, as she took off the cap and took a couple of them.
"So…you took down the Tank? In one shot?" The man looked over at the body on the ground. He shrugged, "I just got lucky. Ya sure ya friend's alright?" Lara was handed the pain pills by Rylan and she handed them back to the man, "She's fine. She's tougher than she looks. My name's Lara, by the way. She's Rylan."
"Nice to meet ya. The name's T-Boy.Ya two headed to the Memorial Bridge?" Rylan spoke up, "That's right. CEDA has an Evac Center there, right?" T-Boy put the pills back in his pack and zipped it up, "That's right. I was on my way there myself, but I got stuck up here when that Tank started prowlin' around. Ya mind I come along with ya? I'm not the best shot, but I got plenty of med kits and pain pills."
"Sure," Lara said. "We're low on those anyway. We should go quickly, though. They're might be more of those around." T-Boy slung the pack onto his back, "Sounds good. Let's head out!" He started off ahead of them, moving quickly down the street. Lara started off, and Rylan followed behind her. "Are you sure about this?" Rylan asked. "Yeah," Lara replied. "Why not? He has supplies we need and an extra gun isn't bad."
"We've done fine on our own," Rylan said. Lara was silent. She put her arm around Rylan's shoulder and pulled her close to her side, "Relax. It's only until the bridge. He'll get rescued, and so will we. Then it'll be the two of us again. Okay?"
Rylan nodded, leaning into Lara a little more, "Okay." T-Boy turned to face them, "Ya two comin'? We'd better stick together. I don't wanna accidentally leave ya behind." Lara called back, "Coming!" She and Rylan caught up to him, and the three began their journey to the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
The empty streets of the French Quarter were painted over in orange by the early morning sun, the only thing giving them any kind of sign of life. Rylan and Lara were coming up on Decatur Street. Lara had cut her brown hair short to deal with the warmer temperatures. Rylan's black hair did nothing in this regard, despite it already being short. They'd both looted sets of clothes more fitting for the weather as well, keeping it to simple pairs of t-shirts and shorts. Before crossing over, Rylan put her hand out, stopping Lara, "Hold on." She pressed up against a wall, the katana stowed on her back pressing in between her shoulder blades slightly. She drew out her pistol and peeked around the corner. Lara readied her hunting rifle.
Nothing. Just a few abandoned cars. She sighed, "It's empty." Lara moved around Rylan and headed down the street, "Most people would be relieved, I'd think."
Rylan holstered her gun, "Well, I feel bugged if I can't see them. Makes me think they're just gonna sneak up on us." They kept moving forward up the street, Rylan now following behind Lara. She eyed the canister of Boomer bile that was attached to one of the belt loops of her pants.
As they neared the midpoint of the street, Lara stopped in her tracks. Rylan followed suit, but not without almost bumping into Lara, "What is it?" Lara quietly reached for the rifle again, "I think I see one of them." Rylan peeked around her, and saw a figure sitting down near a car. It was moving lazily, shifting slightly in its sitting position. Faintly, they both heard it give out a rasping moan. Lara raised the rifle, aiming down the sight. "Don't hit the car," Rylan warned her, noticing the lights blinking on the car. "The alarm will go off if you hit it. I'm up for a fight, but we can't handle that many of them right now." Lara nodded focusing down the sight. She fired. The crack of the bullet echoed loudly down the street. There was a loud pang, followed by the sudden blaring of a car alarm. Rylan rose up to full attention as the figure looked over to them. It got up and began to run for them, followed by a large group of others pouring out from the various shops and alleyways.
Lara began to fire the rifle wildly, hitting some, but nothing fatal. Rylan fired her pistol into the group, sending a few of them tumbling to the ground, only to be trampled by the rest of the infected. She and Lara backed away, continuing to fire. Passing by an empty car, Rylan saw that the trunk was open. She almost stopped, nearly struck dumb by the weight of the good fortune of what was inside. A single pipe bomb. She quickly grabbed it. She tapped Lara on the shoulder, "Lara, quick, throw the puke!"
Lara looked down, grabbed the bile from her hip and she quickly threw it in arch. It smashed on the ground a little bit behind the group of infected. The shattering of the canister was masked by their howls and screams. In an instant, they all turned, towards to where the bile landed. They quickly crowded around it, their frenzied state increasing. Rylan gripped the pipe bomb. She pressed the button on the side, and it began to beep. She pulled a lighter she'd looted earlier from her pocket and lit the fuse. In the same manner as Lara, she tossed it in arch above her. It landed near the group of infected, beeping loudly still. As the beeping became faster, Rylan grabbed Lara by the hand, "Come on!" She ran back aways with her in tow, and the two of them ducked behind a nearby car. There was a loud explosion. The beeping of the pipe bomb and the car alarm both ceased. A final cacophony of screeches from the infected echoed up the street with the explosion, followed by silence.
Rylan and Lara peeked out from behind the car. "Did we get them all?" Lara said. Rylan nodded, "We did." She turned to Lara, "I told you not to hit the car, didn't I?"
"I thought I had the shot," Lara said.
"We're going to have to find you a new weapon. One that's easier for you to use."
Rylan stood up and motioned for Lara to do the same. They both walked to a nearby restaurant. A tattered awning shaded the outer eating area, "Cafe du Monde" scrawled across its front. Rylan scoured through the tables and chairs and the rest of the restaurant, looking for anything Lara could use. Lara looked around as well.
"Here!" Rylan shouted from a distant part of the restaurant. Lara followed her voice and found her near the door to the kitchen. She was picking up a gray, metal object that was wedged between the door and the frame. She turned and handed it to Lara. It was a fairly small submachine gun, "This should help for now. You won't have to aim as much. We can get you practicing on the rifle later. Let's keep moving."
Lara stepped carefully over the pieces of the infected now littering the street. Rylan was ahead of her, moving quickly, disregarding that she was stepping much of the mess the explosion left behind. Lara stowed the rifle on her back and kept her newly acquired submachine gun at her side. "I'm surprised there aren't that many of them around," Lara said. Rylan checked carefully down the cross street, making sure it was clear, "It is a little strange. I figured this area would be crawling with them."
"Well, at least this'll give us an easy trip to the bridge if it keeps up. Hopefully." Rylan nodded, "Yeah, hopefully. Let's just keep moving for now." They moved past the cross street. They were just getting to the outside of a jazz club when a quaking roar rolled through the street. A car in the distance flew off the ground and into a nearby restaurant as a Tank appeared and began to run down the street. "Shit!" Rylan shouted. She tried to back up, get to a place where her and Lara could get some high ground. The Tank already caught up with her and swung its arm at her. With a dull thud, Rylan was sent flying and crashed through the window of the jazz café nearby. "Rylan!" Lara shouted. She started to run to the café window, but the Tank was already moving in on her. From above them, a shot rang out. A bullet hit the Tank clear through the temple.
It staggered and fell with a force that cracked the pavement. Lara stood for a moment, dumbfounded. She'd never seen a Tank go down in one shot before. She shook off the confusion and ran to the window of the café. "Rylan!" she shouted, climbing through the remains of the window. There was a path of smashed tables and chairs. Faintly, Lara heard someone coughing, with a slight wheeze. In the dusty darkness of the café, Lara saw Rylan on the floor. She ran over to her and knelt by her. She turned her over slowly, "Are you hurt?"
Rylan shook her head, "No…I'm fine. Nothing serious. I'm going to be sore for a while, though." Lara breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned in and kissed her and then pulled away, "I thought you were gone." Rylan laughed, a little weakly, "when it does happen, I'm not gonna let it happen that easily." Lara took Rylan's hand and helped her up. Rylan winced, "Some pain pills might be nice, though." Lara made her way back to the entrance, helping Rylan along. They went out through the door. Rylan eyed the Tank on the ground. She looked at Rylan, "You took him down yourself?" Lara shook her head, "No, it wasn't me. The shot came from somewhere else."
"Ya two alive down there?" A voice came down from above them. A male voice, with a slight accent. Rylan and Lara looked up. Standing atop the roof was a man looking to be in his mid-30s. His hair was dark and short, clean-shaven face and a white t-shirt and dark pants. A sniper rifle was in his hand. "Yeah, we're alive. She's hurt, though," Lara said, motioning to Rylan. "You wouldn't happen to have any pain pills up there would you?" The man slung the rifle on his back, "Sure do. Hang on." He disappeared for a moment and they heard him gathering up some things. He climbed down from the roof, the rifle and a pack of supplies on his back. He unzipped the pack and took out a bottle of pain pills and handed it to Rylan. "Thanks," she said, as she took off the cap and took a couple of them.
"So…you took down the Tank? In one shot?" The man looked over at the body on the ground. He shrugged, "I just got lucky. Ya sure ya friend's alright?" Lara was handed the pain pills by Rylan and she handed them back to the man, "She's fine. She's tougher than she looks. My name's Lara, by the way. She's Rylan."
"Nice to meet ya. The name's T-Boy.Ya two headed to the Memorial Bridge?" Rylan spoke up, "That's right. CEDA has an Evac Center there, right?" T-Boy put the pills back in his pack and zipped it up, "That's right. I was on my way there myself, but I got stuck up here when that Tank started prowlin' around. Ya mind I come along with ya? I'm not the best shot, but I got plenty of med kits and pain pills."
"Sure," Lara said. "We're low on those anyway. We should go quickly, though. They're might be more of those around." T-Boy slung the pack onto his back, "Sounds good. Let's head out!" He started off ahead of them, moving quickly down the street. Lara started off, and Rylan followed behind her. "Are you sure about this?" Rylan asked. "Yeah," Lara replied. "Why not? He has supplies we need and an extra gun isn't bad."
"We've done fine on our own," Rylan said. Lara was silent. She put her arm around Rylan's shoulder and pulled her close to her side, "Relax. It's only until the bridge. He'll get rescued, and so will we. Then it'll be the two of us again. Okay?"
Rylan nodded, leaning into Lara a little more, "Okay." T-Boy turned to face them, "Ya two comin'? We'd better stick together. I don't wanna accidentally leave ya behind." Lara called back, "Coming!" She and Rylan caught up to him, and the three began their journey to the Veterans Memorial Bridge.