Us vs. the Apocalypse
Title: Why'd It Have To Be Snakes?
Word Count: 485
"Holy crap you two," Avery muttered sleepily as she joined us. "You make enough noise to wake the dead." Her commented netted a loud laugh from Mason ("I though it was funny...") and a groan from me, and she scruffed her hand through my hair as she walked by. "Anything exciting going on?" she asked as she wandered into the middle of the courtyard, weaving around clumps of vines that had grown through the stone floor until she could peer through the partially-collapsed roof.
"Nothing," I told her as Mason threw another log on the fire. "Don't wander too far, though. The floors full of holes over there."
"I see that," she said, looking into the shadows briefly before she turned her face to the sky again. "Wow," she said, her voice full of awe. "It's beautiful up there tonight."
"Funny the things that happen when society collapses," Mason muttered. I raised an eyebrow as Avery shot an astonished look at him, but he only shrugged and jabbed at the fire with a stick. "What? The world's ugly with people in it."
"Aww, Mase, are you going to start brushing your bangs to one side?" Avery crooned, miming wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. "Next you'll be..." I saw her twist abruptly, looking into the shadows behind her. "Did you hear that?" she asked.
Mason and I were on our feet immediately, guns drawn and moving slowly toward her as she looked back and forth for the source of whatever she'd heard. We'd nearly reached her when she leaned over and peered into a thick clump of weeds, and before I could even open my mouth to tell her to pull back she let out an ear-piercing shriek and - I realized this later, much later, after the horrible tremble of adrenaline had finally eased off - jumped higher than I think even the last round of Olympians could have managed.
"KILL IT!" she screamed, sprinting behind Mason and using him as a human shield against whatever horror she found in the grass. "KILL IT! MASE KILL IT!"
"What the hell is 'it'?!" he demanded, shoving her into a wall with his free hand. Admittedly I was confused as hell too - we'd seen a lot in the time we'd been together, many of which were straight out of my mental Rolodex of Horrible Things, and I'd never seen Avery wig out this badly before. Edging forward, I tapped at the stand of weeds and tall grass with my boot, but the only thing I saw was a pair of small garter snakes dart into the shadows. Avery, however, saw them as well and started screaming like a banshee until Mason clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Snakes?" I asked incredulously. I turned to look at her and she just nodded emphatically behind Mason's hand, her brown eyes huge and filled with tears. "Really?"
Word Count: 485
"Holy crap you two," Avery muttered sleepily as she joined us. "You make enough noise to wake the dead." Her commented netted a loud laugh from Mason ("I though it was funny...") and a groan from me, and she scruffed her hand through my hair as she walked by. "Anything exciting going on?" she asked as she wandered into the middle of the courtyard, weaving around clumps of vines that had grown through the stone floor until she could peer through the partially-collapsed roof.
"Nothing," I told her as Mason threw another log on the fire. "Don't wander too far, though. The floors full of holes over there."
"I see that," she said, looking into the shadows briefly before she turned her face to the sky again. "Wow," she said, her voice full of awe. "It's beautiful up there tonight."
"Funny the things that happen when society collapses," Mason muttered. I raised an eyebrow as Avery shot an astonished look at him, but he only shrugged and jabbed at the fire with a stick. "What? The world's ugly with people in it."
"Aww, Mase, are you going to start brushing your bangs to one side?" Avery crooned, miming wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. "Next you'll be..." I saw her twist abruptly, looking into the shadows behind her. "Did you hear that?" she asked.
Mason and I were on our feet immediately, guns drawn and moving slowly toward her as she looked back and forth for the source of whatever she'd heard. We'd nearly reached her when she leaned over and peered into a thick clump of weeds, and before I could even open my mouth to tell her to pull back she let out an ear-piercing shriek and - I realized this later, much later, after the horrible tremble of adrenaline had finally eased off - jumped higher than I think even the last round of Olympians could have managed.
"KILL IT!" she screamed, sprinting behind Mason and using him as a human shield against whatever horror she found in the grass. "KILL IT! MASE KILL IT!"
"What the hell is 'it'?!" he demanded, shoving her into a wall with his free hand. Admittedly I was confused as hell too - we'd seen a lot in the time we'd been together, many of which were straight out of my mental Rolodex of Horrible Things, and I'd never seen Avery wig out this badly before. Edging forward, I tapped at the stand of weeds and tall grass with my boot, but the only thing I saw was a pair of small garter snakes dart into the shadows. Avery, however, saw them as well and started screaming like a banshee until Mason clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Snakes?" I asked incredulously. I turned to look at her and she just nodded emphatically behind Mason's hand, her brown eyes huge and filled with tears. "Really?"