tlou/apocalypse au – avatrice
"Help me up."
Ava is wiggling beside her and Beatrice can only roll her eyes, settle against the wall before cupping her hands in front of her so Ava could use it to reach the window. "Be careful, we don't know if–"
"–this place is infested, I know I know. You say that every time, Bea." Before Beatrice can answer Ava puts a hand on her shoulder, fingers digging into her shirt for grip and it takes everything for her not to squirm. Instead she tenses up, body rigid as she tries to shift her focus on what to do. Which is helping Ava up– right.
Ava hefts herself up with the push of a boot and Beatrice strains her arms, one hand settling on her thigh once she reaches the window. "You got it?"
"Yup." Ava drags herself over the edge of the broken window, arms flexing (remind her again why she had to wear a tank top?) Beatrice mulls it over as she watches, already hearing Ava's answer in her head. 'it's hot, Bea.'
Yes, hot. Like it's the middle of August and they have been walking for hours hot. Not, Beatrice can't help but stare because Ava is more fit than she realised and when she stretches, her shirt pulls up and exposes the skin by her–
The door slams open in front of her and Beatrice jumps back, her hand going down to her gun on instinct.
"All clear! Told you I could do it." Ava is leaning against the door, a smile playing at her lips before she turns around and walks further into the building.
Beatrice forces herself to relax, sighs. "Did you check every room?"
"No, I thought we could do that together. Team-style you know?"
"Right." Beatrice is slowly following her, gun drawn and the flashlight on her backpack turned on as she scans the room. It's dark, dust layering every surface. She drags the flashlight over the room in practice motion, spotting multiple broken statues and paintings that had been washed away of all its colour.
“I know I say this for like every place we visit, but you got to agree that this place is freaky as fuck.”
"Language." Beatrice mumbles non-committedly, pointing her light at a larger statue that stood poised by the wall. It was a depiction of a man made of marble that held his head high, only covered in thin sheets that draped over his shoulder and down to his waist. “This was likely a place for storing historical objects, many people came to look at it.” Beatrice had read a lot of books in her years of growing up at the QZ, she tried to sort through her memory of what she had learnt, tried to picture this place before everything fell to bits. When there was life and people and you didn't have to worry about infected by every corner. “I believe they called it museums.”
Ava came up beside her, nudging their shoulders together and gesturing to the statue with a playful grin. "I bet he got all the ladies. I mean, look at that body. It's rock hard!"
Beatrice fights back another sigh, tries not to let the amused smile break free as Ava looks at her expectantly. "That's the best you can do?"
"Come on, I saw that smile. Admit that it was funny."
"You're ridiculous."
Ava shakes her head. "I'm hilarious."
A low rattling sound makes Beatrice shift her attention to the back of the room.
"Was it so bad that you're leaving me behind?" Ava echoes behind her, clearly still playful. "Damn Bea, I'm wounded."
Beatrice ignores the sentiment with the pull of her lip, turning around the bookshelf to scan the area behind. The floor is wet and there's paper scattered around but that's not what gets her attention. The metal door further in is ajar, blocked by a cabinet that had fallen to its side and left marks on the ground.
She puts her gun back in its holster and bends down to move it. They were in need of material. If the furniture hadn't been moved by someone else, it was likely this place hadn't been scavenged in a long time.
The cabinet is lighter than she expects and Beatrice lifts it with ease. It's far too easy really. So easy that she should have expected the slam of the door the second the barrier was removed.
It is the rush of air that gets her first then a clicker breaks through and is on her in a matter of seconds, staggering her with the impact. It's all sound and fury, flailing limbs and ear-shattering screams that makes her flinch into her very bone. Its jaw snaps close to her face and all she can think of is the rancid smell of its breath, unsettlingly cool and damp as it digs its claws into her arm and tries to tear it off.
Its face is made of fungus. All exploding and ever growing in layers and orderly chaos. It continues to swing widely as Beatrice reaches for her gun, all limbs and movement as it searches for the soft flesh of her throat.
She moves back steadily.
It isn't until her foot catches on a broken floorboard that she's afraid. Really afraid. She's sent to the ground with the clicker on top of her and its hands, all claws and flesh, pins her wrists down onto the floor and makes her unable to move.
Her body seizes up and there's a flash of pure terror. A desperate, stuttering moment that steals the breath from her lungs and makes her scream– "Ava!"
The loud crack of a revolver responds to her call and makes half of the bony plate of its head explode, so close to her face that she can feel the sting of fractured bone shards against her cheek.
It still screams, pinning her down, uncaring of the loss of like– half of its face and it isn't until the second shot, loud and shattering, that it splits open, all brown moist and blood that makes it collapse dead, or as dead as those things could be.
Ava is on her before she can even move. She pushes the clicker off her body, hands going everywhere, checking her over her clothes, eyes frantic and filled with more fear than Beatrice believes she's ever seen from the girl. "Are you okay?! Did it get you?"
Before Beatrice has a chance to respond, warm hands come up to cradle her face in an attempt to get her attention. Beatrice only seizes up more, the touch going like fire through her body. Oh, hell.
"Bea?"
Ava's eyes search for hers and Beatrice needs to look away and drag herself up from the floor before she actually passes away – not from a clicker or a wound but some sort of a heart problem because she's sure it's going to beat out of her chest at any moment.
"I'm fine." Her voice wavers, betraying her. She brush off her clothes and checks her gun to keep herself busy from the heat that's steadily rising up her neck and moves away to check the barricaded room.
She can hear Ava following her cautiously, a question on the tip of her tongue.
"What?"
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Ava."
"Fine, fine." She gets closer, close enough that her hip brushes up against hers. Beatrice forces herself not to react to the touch. "I guess we really gotta stick together or else one of us is going to get mauled by a clicker."
Ava hooks her arm with hers and Beatrice almost drops her gun. She adjusts before responding, her grip tightening around the handle. "Seems highly inefficient."
"Maybe." Ava shrugs, then her eyes land on something on a table further into her room and she releases her arm to run over. Beatrice damns herself for the feeling of loss and is left watching. "Oh my god, Bea! Look at this."
Ava whips around with multiple carved horses in her hands. "This one almost looks like Halo!" She holds it forward, almost identical to the others except for the splintered ear. "I'm gonna keep it."
"Ava, we're not supposed to–"
"Come on, just this time. It's seriously so small it should be a crime."
Crime– she would never get this girl. Ava is still looking at her, a wide smile splitting her face and brown eyes practically glimmering. Beatrice mouth goes dry and any reservation she previously had leaves her mind. "Fine."
Ava fist bumps the air, draws her into a quick hug and Beatrice doesn't have time to process it before she has moved on to the next engaging thing.
This is going to be a long, long journey.
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