-57- [Voice]

[inhumandog]

[He's whispering, now that he has a little time between waves. There's the sound of rustling leaves, as he's got himself holed up in a tree for the moment. Every so often, there's a shot from a rifle.]

Well, this has certainly been...enlightening. These people certainly smell like the locals of the last port but...they don't act like them.

[A pause

Comments

ACTION

[major_west]

The truck had broken down just as they'd made it into the town-- no, not a town. It was more of a village. Quaint, rural, a nice little vacation spot under normal circumstances. No, he supposed, normality wouldn't have offered anything different. This was normal, after all. Different circumstances, then.

As they made their way down what appeared to be the town's main street, West kept his eyes peeled for any of the markings that would lead them to the safe house. The sun was beginning to set, and he wanted to find somewhere secure before night fell completely. And so, he and Iago took the lead, scouting out ahead of the others. He trusted Snoop to keep the rest of them in line.

ACTION

[inhumandog]

Iago didn't like the idea of being out at nightfall, either. The...Infected...were difficult enough to hit during the day, especially when they arrived in hordes. He walked beside West, gun drawn, but he didn't feel any more safe. The things they saw on the way over...it wasn't pretty.

He glanced to the Major and frowned deeply, but nothing would be said on what he was actually thinking.

"It feels a little too quiet," was all he managed to say at the moment.

ACTION

[major_west]

"It does," he agreed. "But they're here. We mustn't let our guards down for a second." As though on cue, a despairing sob cut through the silence. It didn't sound like any Infected-- in fact, it sounded like a person. West turned to Iago with a look of concern, then resumed his scan of the street. In the dimming light, he spotted a figure curled up in a doorway. It was a girl, the source of the crying.

ACTION

[inhumandog]

Iago shook his head when West looked to him. It was a little too convenient, but he would follow West's orders on it.

"Is she one of ours?" He didn't think any of the other Barge people were in this area. Then again, he could be completely wrong. He glanced back to the group once and then to West.

ACTION

[major_west]

West remained silent for a moment, watching the girl, thinking. She could have been a survivor; somebody who'd managed to avoid the initial wave of Infected. The tears, those were to be expected when one had just been witness to the death of everything they ever knew.

But the noise... There was no way the Infected wouldn't have heard those cries and came running for a chance to tear her apart or spread the disease, whichever came first. It was too suspicious. The Infected left their own alone, after all... She must have caught the virus already. He was beginning to suspect, judging by the others' posts to the network, that the incubation period for the Infection had slowed down. An evolutionary tactic, perhaps, to reach vigilant survivors reluctant to kill those who didn't exhibit signs of Infection yet.

He wasn't going to take the risk.

"Kill her," he said, finally.

ACTION

[inhumandog]

Iago hesitated for a split second, giving West a look. Now he wasn't so certain. Not that he had any compunctions about killing someone, but this was different. She wasn't hurting anyone...she wasn't...doing anything wrong. She was just...sitting. He raised his gun and then faltered on the trigger.

"Are you sure?"

ACTION

[major_west]

There was the tiniest moment of hesitation, as West wasn't entirely certain about the girl's status, but then he raised his own assault rifle. "Positive," he said, as he took aim for the head and fired. He wasn't positive.

The girl, upon being disturbed by the hail of bullets, rose to her feet with a shriek, eyes flashing red, arms now at her sides, revealing a set of vicious looking claws.

"Kill her!" he repeated, backing up as he fired on the creature. The shot to the head had slowed it down, but it was still going.

ACTION

[inhumandog]

Iago let loose a volley of shots at her as he ran back a few steps, keeping careful aim. Rather than reload, he dropped the bigger gun, aiming to get it after she was dead, and pulled out the pistol, taking aim at her face or...really anything he could get to on her body.

However, it quickly became obvious that she was not going to be an easy target.

ACTION

[major_west]

West continued to fire until the bullets ran out, then slammed the woman with the butt of his rifle as she took a swipe at him. In an attempt to dodge back to avoid the next swipe, West tripped up and landed on the ground, swiftly pulling his pistol out and firing at the head once more as she loomed over him, prepared to eviscerate him with those claws.

Luckily, between his and Iago's gunfire, those final shots were all that was needed to bring the witch down. Panting, standing, West fired two final shots into the fallen woman's head, just to be certain. Then, he reloaded his rifle and turned to Iago, his voice very cold and calm, almost soft.

"Next time, you do as I say. No questions." He kept his eyes locked on the other man's. "The virus has mutated. There's no telling what to expect now. Follow my orders, or everybody here will die."

ACTION

[inhumandog]

Iago returned to grab his own rifle off the ground and replaced it as his main weapon for the moment. The pistol was stashed away for future use.

However, the two final shots brought him back over to the Major and he faced him, straightening his back and nodding once.

"Yes, sir." The sir was a bit emphasized, but he felt it needed to be said to placate the man in front of him. Iago didn't feel as if he had made a mistake. After all, West couldn't drop her with the single shot and Iago wouldn't have been able to, either. But...something about the way he said what he did was alarming.

He reloaded his rifle and started off again. Unluckily for them, it seemed that the shots had attracted the attention of a few of the Infected, as West called them, and he had no time to say anything else.