((Adonis Alba continued from Connect / Disconnect))
The ground was rocky, uneven, and had way too many dents and craters of varying sizes. Most people would consider a place like this to be uncomfortable and inhospitable, maybe even a little spooky. However, Adonis had been in the presence of actual tar pits and a corpse within the last 24 hours, so in comparison, this place didn't seem so bad. He plopped his bag on the ground and sat next to it, using a vaguely square-shaped rock as a seat.
It was still kind of weird to him that he was hanging out with Kyran Dean. Kyran fucking Dean. Even when he was on the team he didn't really like the guy that much, and now he was counting on the guy to help him stay alive despite punching him in the face earlier. Man, how fucked up was that?
Adonis groaned and put his head in his hands. He didn't even feel like cursing anything out right now. He was just tired and had a headache.
It's Kind of Like a Wasteland
[[Kyran Dean Continued From: Connect / Disconnect.]]
Blam .... Blam .... Blam.
Each shot echoed throughout the open quarry, bouncing off the engraved stone walls and scattered boulders of the spacious, man-made valley. The area was made of slopes going down from the edges into a hollow at the center. Gravel and grey ground covered the surface. Rocks and dirt mounds everywhere, which made excellent targets. A good place to get a handle out of this firearm.
The AK-47 could be used for more than the burst fire he had used back in the forest with Tina, allowing single shots, but it was much more difficult to aim, control and be accurate. He'd aimed at a single, fairly large rock at the distance, but had only managed to hit the pebbles, slate and sediments, below and behind the thing instead. This gun was way more of a spray and pray type of weapon unless you were a clear expert, which Kyran clearly knew he was not. He wondered how he was lucky enough to break a few branches the last time he'd done this.
As Kyran practiced, Adonis was just sitting, drinking water, and generally sulking, off to the side.
Whatever. He didn't really like talking to him anyway. Bastard gave him a fat lip one time and a bloody nose an hour or so ago. Hate that guy.
The recoil was tough and even with his decent strength, Kyran had some trouble keeping it steady, especially after the first round of a burst. Each recoil bounced him backward just a tiny bit. The shells were also something he didn't think would bother him, as they didn't last time, but this time a few of the heated casings catapulted out and touched his arm before falling to the ground, burning at him for a few seconds. It was a little worrying and he wished he had some sunglasses or goggles or something, because what if one of these hot metal excretions got in his eye.
The most obvious of discomfort of course were the thundering sounds. Each shot rattled through the ears to his brain, reverberating through his vertebrae. The extra gauze of stuffing stuff Adonis had provided from his first aid kit for Kyran's nose were made into impromptu ear plugs, which was something to drown the noise a bit, but it wasn't much. He wished he had real muffs, but at least the practice was letting him get acquainted to the sounds and the feel of the AK in his hands.
Sure, Kyran was bringing much attention to the quarry, but he banked on the opinion that guns would scare people off and they would rather run away - from the crackling of bullets, than run to it. Kind of like when he and Natali ran away from that isolated cabin area when they heard the very similar canon like shots back then, rather than continue moving toward the noise. Bullets usually meant uncertainty and vulnerability after all.
That is unless, you were the person carrying the firearm.
Kyran slid out a magazine, and slid another cartridge in. The instructions were a decent touch to help when he skimmed it on the way here, with the nagging Adonis behind him, but Kyran was more of a hands-on kind of guy. The trial and error of doing than reading would be more useful to him in getting to know the weapon with the way he learned things.
He swallowed some of his saliva, trying to coat his parched throat with some wetness, as the afternoon sun beat down upon him. More of a dry hot than humid hot, which wasn't as bad, but really sucked when you hadn't had anything to drink, because you left your only water somewhere in the forest. He was starting to feel a little dizzy, but continued ahead.
Squeezing the trigger, he fired again, this time in short, but longer bursts, instead of single shots at the dirt mounds against the slopes. He knew not to use it directly on the standing boulders, for fear of deflected bullets. The rifle quivered throughout his arms as it sent more spitfire into the walls, cracking and chipping at the embedded old stones.
Never shot a gun before yesterday, but Kyran had to admit, it was sort of fun.
He raised it again aiming at a small rock, resting on another rock. This time the aim was impeccable, managing to accurately knock the tiny stone from its perch onto the ground with the rest of the gravel. Sure it was a lucky shot, but he would take it. The AK smoked a bit from its barrel.
Kyran Dean took a step back and spoke with quiet satisfaction.
"Like a boss."
Blam .... Blam .... Blam.
Each shot echoed throughout the open quarry, bouncing off the engraved stone walls and scattered boulders of the spacious, man-made valley. The area was made of slopes going down from the edges into a hollow at the center. Gravel and grey ground covered the surface. Rocks and dirt mounds everywhere, which made excellent targets. A good place to get a handle out of this firearm.
The AK-47 could be used for more than the burst fire he had used back in the forest with Tina, allowing single shots, but it was much more difficult to aim, control and be accurate. He'd aimed at a single, fairly large rock at the distance, but had only managed to hit the pebbles, slate and sediments, below and behind the thing instead. This gun was way more of a spray and pray type of weapon unless you were a clear expert, which Kyran clearly knew he was not. He wondered how he was lucky enough to break a few branches the last time he'd done this.
As Kyran practiced, Adonis was just sitting, drinking water, and generally sulking, off to the side.
Whatever. He didn't really like talking to him anyway. Bastard gave him a fat lip one time and a bloody nose an hour or so ago. Hate that guy.
The recoil was tough and even with his decent strength, Kyran had some trouble keeping it steady, especially after the first round of a burst. Each recoil bounced him backward just a tiny bit. The shells were also something he didn't think would bother him, as they didn't last time, but this time a few of the heated casings catapulted out and touched his arm before falling to the ground, burning at him for a few seconds. It was a little worrying and he wished he had some sunglasses or goggles or something, because what if one of these hot metal excretions got in his eye.
The most obvious of discomfort of course were the thundering sounds. Each shot rattled through the ears to his brain, reverberating through his vertebrae. The extra gauze of stuffing stuff Adonis had provided from his first aid kit for Kyran's nose were made into impromptu ear plugs, which was something to drown the noise a bit, but it wasn't much. He wished he had real muffs, but at least the practice was letting him get acquainted to the sounds and the feel of the AK in his hands.
Sure, Kyran was bringing much attention to the quarry, but he banked on the opinion that guns would scare people off and they would rather run away - from the crackling of bullets, than run to it. Kind of like when he and Natali ran away from that isolated cabin area when they heard the very similar canon like shots back then, rather than continue moving toward the noise. Bullets usually meant uncertainty and vulnerability after all.
That is unless, you were the person carrying the firearm.
Kyran slid out a magazine, and slid another cartridge in. The instructions were a decent touch to help when he skimmed it on the way here, with the nagging Adonis behind him, but Kyran was more of a hands-on kind of guy. The trial and error of doing than reading would be more useful to him in getting to know the weapon with the way he learned things.
He swallowed some of his saliva, trying to coat his parched throat with some wetness, as the afternoon sun beat down upon him. More of a dry hot than humid hot, which wasn't as bad, but really sucked when you hadn't had anything to drink, because you left your only water somewhere in the forest. He was starting to feel a little dizzy, but continued ahead.
Squeezing the trigger, he fired again, this time in short, but longer bursts, instead of single shots at the dirt mounds against the slopes. He knew not to use it directly on the standing boulders, for fear of deflected bullets. The rifle quivered throughout his arms as it sent more spitfire into the walls, cracking and chipping at the embedded old stones.
Never shot a gun before yesterday, but Kyran had to admit, it was sort of fun.
He raised it again aiming at a small rock, resting on another rock. This time the aim was impeccable, managing to accurately knock the tiny stone from its perch onto the ground with the rest of the gravel. Sure it was a lucky shot, but he would take it. The AK smoked a bit from its barrel.
Kyran Dean took a step back and spoke with quiet satisfaction.
"Like a boss."
The last bit of water drained from the bottle and went down Adonis' throat, refreshing him from his earlier walk across the island. It had taken about two days, but he had reached the bottom of his first water bottle. Not really knowing what to do with it, he crunched it as small as he could and tossed it to the side. Yes, that was technically littering, but he didn't exactly have many other places to put it, and it wasn't like anyone would call him out for it anyway, so he just left it in the dirt.
He stayed put on his rock and hunched over, arms across his chest as he assumed the surliest expression he could. Meanwhile Kyran, for some fucking reason, was bust shooting his AK at nothing.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The sound just kept going on, like someone was releasing a clipboard's clip right next to his ear over and over again. It was loud, it sucked, and it was giving him a headache. And yet Kyran just kept going ahead, happy to fire off all of his bullets before they could even run into someone dangerous worth scaring off with them. Real great strategist, that guy.
There was a brief silence, and Adonis relaxed his muscles. However, they re-tensed a short time later as Kyran had resumed firing, only in bursts rather than single shots. The bursts were worse. Adonis tried closing his eyes and covering his ears to ignore it, but i was no use. The barrage of shots brought him back to the Tar Pits, when that one girl let a string of bullets rip at Kasumi. The memory caused him to hiss and grit his teeth before spinning around to face Kyran and shout.
"Would you cut it out?"
He stayed put on his rock and hunched over, arms across his chest as he assumed the surliest expression he could. Meanwhile Kyran, for some fucking reason, was bust shooting his AK at nothing.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The sound just kept going on, like someone was releasing a clipboard's clip right next to his ear over and over again. It was loud, it sucked, and it was giving him a headache. And yet Kyran just kept going ahead, happy to fire off all of his bullets before they could even run into someone dangerous worth scaring off with them. Real great strategist, that guy.
There was a brief silence, and Adonis relaxed his muscles. However, they re-tensed a short time later as Kyran had resumed firing, only in bursts rather than single shots. The bursts were worse. Adonis tried closing his eyes and covering his ears to ignore it, but i was no use. The barrage of shots brought him back to the Tar Pits, when that one girl let a string of bullets rip at Kasumi. The memory caused him to hiss and grit his teeth before spinning around to face Kyran and shout.
"Would you cut it out?"
Kyran Dean pulled the make-shift ear-plugs from his ears, the explosiveness of the shots still beating at his eardrums.
"Wut?"
"Wut?"
Adonis looked up from his seat and frowned.
"Stop shooting. It's annoying."
"Stop shooting. It's annoying."
Oh.
"Yeah," he lowered the gun. "Whatever."
He was done practicing anyway. That last shot was enough progress already.
He found a vaguely chair like stone of his own and took a seat. His breathing was staggered a bit and he laid back against the relatively smooth surface of the rock face nearby to where he sat. He rested the back of his hand against his eye. His head, the skin of his hand feeling very warm.
Kyran had not asked Natali yesterday or Adonis today. He was too proud for that, even when he could barely function. Even then his thoughts escaped his mouth as he closed his eyes, laying still.
"Dang. I really need some water."
"Yeah," he lowered the gun. "Whatever."
He was done practicing anyway. That last shot was enough progress already.
He found a vaguely chair like stone of his own and took a seat. His breathing was staggered a bit and he laid back against the relatively smooth surface of the rock face nearby to where he sat. He rested the back of his hand against his eye. His head, the skin of his hand feeling very warm.
Kyran had not asked Natali yesterday or Adonis today. He was too proud for that, even when he could barely function. Even then his thoughts escaped his mouth as he closed his eyes, laying still.
"Dang. I really need some water."
Shit.
Man, it sure would be nice if Kyran still had his own bag. With him leeching off of Adonis, his own supplies would run out twice as fast, and that was gonna suck super-hard in a day or two once they started running low. Begrudgingly, he took his second water bottle out of his bag and handed it over.
"Don't drink the whole thing, alright?" He said with an angry look. "And you mind telling me why you ditched your bag while you're at it?"
Man, it sure would be nice if Kyran still had his own bag. With him leeching off of Adonis, his own supplies would run out twice as fast, and that was gonna suck super-hard in a day or two once they started running low. Begrudgingly, he took his second water bottle out of his bag and handed it over.
"Don't drink the whole thing, alright?" He said with an angry look. "And you mind telling me why you ditched your bag while you're at it?"
Kyran lifted the hand from his face, looked at the water bottle Adonis had put on the stone turned end-table between them and then sat up to look at Alba gritting his teeth.
"Left it cause Natali couldn't walk after Tina's attack," Kyran began, not sure if Adonis even realized it was Tina Luz who had shot at them in the first place.
"I couldn't carry, everything."
He laid back down. Covered his face.
"Keep your water."
Jerk.
"Left it cause Natali couldn't walk after Tina's attack," Kyran began, not sure if Adonis even realized it was Tina Luz who had shot at them in the first place.
"I couldn't carry, everything."
He laid back down. Covered his face.
"Keep your water."
Jerk.
"You sure?" Adonis took the water from the makeshift table and held it up, waiting for a response. When he didn't get one, he shrugged and placed it back in his bag. "Whatever."
The water he just drank reacted in his mostly-empty stomach, eliciting a strange-sounding belch. With that out of the way, he wondered about what Kyran had just told him. For one thing, now he supposed he knew who had shot at them. Although the name "Tina" didn't really ring a bell, at least it was good to know. As for the other bit of information regarding Natali, that raised a question of its own.
"So where's Natali?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You said she couldn't walk, right?" He scratched a sweaty spot at the back of his neck, feeling like he was moving into uncomfortable territory. "So did she, uh... you know..." He didn't know what exactly the appropriate hand gesture for "death" would be, so he just let the sentence hang for Kyran to figure it out.
The water he just drank reacted in his mostly-empty stomach, eliciting a strange-sounding belch. With that out of the way, he wondered about what Kyran had just told him. For one thing, now he supposed he knew who had shot at them. Although the name "Tina" didn't really ring a bell, at least it was good to know. As for the other bit of information regarding Natali, that raised a question of its own.
"So where's Natali?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You said she couldn't walk, right?" He scratched a sweaty spot at the back of his neck, feeling like he was moving into uncomfortable territory. "So did she, uh... you know..." He didn't know what exactly the appropriate hand gesture for "death" would be, so he just let the sentence hang for Kyran to figure it out.
"She got better. We went our separate ways. She might be at the lighthouse, but I don't really know for sure."
Kyran let out a sigh, licking at his considerably chapped lips.
"Well. You know what I have," Kyran said, putting a palm on his resting fire-arm.
"What about you?"
Kyran let out a sigh, licking at his considerably chapped lips.
"Well. You know what I have," Kyran said, putting a palm on his resting fire-arm.
"What about you?"
"Oh, that's good." Adonis replied. At least Kyran didn't totally fuck things up. "So you wanna know about my weapon?" He sighed, remembering the useless piece of shit that he had found in his bag back at the tar pits. And at the same time, there was Kyran, holding his big, deadly, actually useful AK-47.
Motherfucker was taunting him, wasn't he?
"Well you see..." Air hissed through his teeth as he settled into an unsteady grimace. "I got half a snowglobe. You believe that shit?" He scoffed at his awful luck. "Yeah, I..." He trailed off as his mind traveled back to the point in time where he discovered and lost the snowglobe within the span of a minute. It was something that he didn't really feel like revisiting, understandably.
"I, uh... lost it."
Motherfucker was taunting him, wasn't he?
"Well you see..." Air hissed through his teeth as he settled into an unsteady grimace. "I got half a snowglobe. You believe that shit?" He scoffed at his awful luck. "Yeah, I..." He trailed off as his mind traveled back to the point in time where he discovered and lost the snowglobe within the span of a minute. It was something that he didn't really feel like revisiting, understandably.
"I, uh... lost it."
Looks like he had the weapon and no supplies while Adonis had some supplies, but no weapon. It was like an effed up Yin and Yang situation. Two puzzle pieces colliding into one messed up circle. Why the heck did it have to be Alba though, why him.
There was something odd about Adonis' explanation on his snow-globe though. He was noticeably irritated at the memory of discovering what he received as his designated weapon, sharing his opinion clearly, until he got to the point about what happened to it. Kyran believed that if Adonis had purposely ditched the seemingly useless globe, the guy would continue to be a braggart about it, but instead he seemed spooked at the thought, like he was hiding something important that was seriously bothering him.
Normally Kyran wouldn't like to probe, but there was a story behind this and he needed all the information he could get from their island situation. He sat up. Looked at Adonis through dry eyes, itchy eyes.
"So," Kyran trailed off. "You lost it: Or did something else happen that you wanna tell me about. What really happened."
There was something odd about Adonis' explanation on his snow-globe though. He was noticeably irritated at the memory of discovering what he received as his designated weapon, sharing his opinion clearly, until he got to the point about what happened to it. Kyran believed that if Adonis had purposely ditched the seemingly useless globe, the guy would continue to be a braggart about it, but instead he seemed spooked at the thought, like he was hiding something important that was seriously bothering him.
Normally Kyran wouldn't like to probe, but there was a story behind this and he needed all the information he could get from their island situation. He sat up. Looked at Adonis through dry eyes, itchy eyes.
"So," Kyran trailed off. "You lost it: Or did something else happen that you wanna tell me about. What really happened."
Fuck. Did Kyran really see through him that easily? Guy must be some kind of secret detective or something. Or maybe Adonis was just really shitty at trying to keep things under wraps. Either explanation made sense, really. Well, whatever it was, the cat was basically out of the bag already, so there was no point in trying to tiptoe around it.
Adonis grunted. This was really gonna suck.
"Okay, I was at the tar pits when this chick showed up and pointed a gun at me from across one of the pools." He explained, using his hands to approximate the distance between him and Gun Girl. "Then Kasumi White ran in with a bat and charged her. Still don't know where the fuck that came from." The hand that represented him now represented Kasumi. "Then Gun Girl took Kasumi down, and tried to get me to give up my stuff. I didn't know what to do, man."
He was getting to the bad part of the story, so he took a moment to breathe before he kept going. "I just threw the snowglobe at her. I dunno, I guess I wanted to hit her in the head so I could get away, y'know?" He closed his eyes and winced. "Yeah, I missed, and she kinda..." His voice got quieter as he reached the end of the story.
"... shot the shit out of Kasumi."
Adonis grunted. This was really gonna suck.
"Okay, I was at the tar pits when this chick showed up and pointed a gun at me from across one of the pools." He explained, using his hands to approximate the distance between him and Gun Girl. "Then Kasumi White ran in with a bat and charged her. Still don't know where the fuck that came from." The hand that represented him now represented Kasumi. "Then Gun Girl took Kasumi down, and tried to get me to give up my stuff. I didn't know what to do, man."
He was getting to the bad part of the story, so he took a moment to breathe before he kept going. "I just threw the snowglobe at her. I dunno, I guess I wanted to hit her in the head so I could get away, y'know?" He closed his eyes and winced. "Yeah, I missed, and she kinda..." His voice got quieter as he reached the end of the story.
"... shot the shit out of Kasumi."
Another one. Another Danger to be added to the list along with the others.
It was awful that Kasumi had to suffer, but she wasn't on the today's announcements, so she had to still be alive somehow. Kyran had to hand it to Adonis for painting a clearer picture with the hand puppets, but he was missing one crucial bit of information. A name.
"I'm sorry," he started off for having to bring out the necessary experiences from Adonis who clearly had not wanted to speak of it. However, this was important.
"Who exactly is Gun Girl?"
It was awful that Kasumi had to suffer, but she wasn't on the today's announcements, so she had to still be alive somehow. Kyran had to hand it to Adonis for painting a clearer picture with the hand puppets, but he was missing one crucial bit of information. A name.
"I'm sorry," he started off for having to bring out the necessary experiences from Adonis who clearly had not wanted to speak of it. However, this was important.
"Who exactly is Gun Girl?"
"Uh... fuck."
Adonis never was good with names. Well, time to try something else.
"Okay, she didn't really look that big. She had... brown hair. Kinda long." He waved a hand behind his head, mimicking Gun Girl's hair. "She was wearing..." He moved his hands around his chest, trying to recall what color shirt Gun Girl had been wearing. "Green, I think"
He tapped on his knee trying to see if he could remember anything else. "Sorry man, that's all I got. She's got a big fuckin' gun like yours, if that helps."
Adonis never was good with names. Well, time to try something else.
"Okay, she didn't really look that big. She had... brown hair. Kinda long." He waved a hand behind his head, mimicking Gun Girl's hair. "She was wearing..." He moved his hands around his chest, trying to recall what color shirt Gun Girl had been wearing. "Green, I think"
He tapped on his knee trying to see if he could remember anything else. "Sorry man, that's all I got. She's got a big fuckin' gun like yours, if that helps."