Post by Ashe Kandor on Oct 19, 2010 19:32:26 GMT -6
The building before Ashe was made of sleek metal and glass, the design streamlined, ultra-modern. Just a few blocks away, the street was lined with former high-class boutiques and restaurants. The wreckage there had been worth more money than Ashe had ever seen. But that wasn’t what bothered her.[/blockquote]
Ashe glanced furtively in either direction, but nothing looked familiar—the configuration of buildings, the trees, the car pile-ups. None of it rang any bells whatsoever.
Fuck. Fuck. This never happened to her. She’d been in the city well over fifty times. She knew her routes like the back of her hand. She could have sworn that she was following the right path back to her bike. And yet… Ashe planted her hands on her hips and glared up at the building. And yet, she had absolutely no clue where they were.
Ashe glanced over her shoulder at Jace. Well, at least she wasn’t alone and lost. Jace was… eccentric, but he was competent. Another pair of eyes would be useful in a strange part of town. And his other senses weren’t too shabby, either; he’d heard the Infected coming a solid twelve seconds before she had. He was certainly proving to be a good scout—almost too good to be merely human.
But that was neither here nor there. What was more important was that she’d somehow gotten them lost, and her primary focus should be getting them to safety—
Wait. What was that?
Ashe squinted at the green-tinted glass walls of the ground level, trying to cancel out the glare from the sun. It was difficult, but she could make out… yes. A raccoon, rummaging through the debris of the restaurant. Big guy, too. Could probably get a lot of meat off of it. Maybe use the fur for mittens.
Her dark eyes flicked up and down the street again. Still quiet. Ashe crouched down and wormed her fingers into her right boot, feeling for the knife she kept there. She’d learned that having a sharp knife on hand could be useful in a whole bunch of situations—marking doors to show where she’d been, cutting up drapes to use for clothing… and, naturally, making a silent kill. She still preferred her gun for hunting, but she couldn’t afford to make that much noise in an unfamiliar area.
Her fingers curled around the heavy plastic of the handle. “Jace,” she said over her shoulder, still tracking the raccoon with her eyes. “I’m gonna go in there. Cover me.”
The doors had been made of a more fragile glass than the walls; Ashe slipped through the busted-out door, keeping her steps light. Her eyes began adjusting to the lower light levels, and as she took in a breath she felt the plentiful shadows start to skim over her arms. The ‘coon was still foraging; she could see it near the back of the restaurant, sniffing around an upended table splashed with what could have been blood or tomato soup.
Ashe bit her lip and let the shadows embrace her. It was always such a strange feeling, like she could feel her edges blurring until she was one with the background. Half there, half not. Once she felt adequately camouflaged, she started creeping toward the critter. As long as she avoided making too much noise, it might not notice her until she was close enough. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be a wash after all.
(OOC: Aaagh sorry this took ages, again. At least long post is long.)