One-Shots

Serenity

"Be careful," he whispers. He launches himself up and you turn yourself to lean on the bumper to cover him with gunfire, aiming for the mech's legs.

Flip crosses the street and waits by the corner to provide you with cover. As soon as the mech's attention is on him when he starts shooting, you sprint back down the street, headed in the direction you last saw one of the team.

Their shots crumble the walls of buildings. Sounds of the cars being crushed under their robotic feet echo between the abandoned buildings.

Flip is running towards where he last saw a car that would maybe work to escape. Hard to know. Most of the batteries are probably dead by now. It's been months since the skitters landed and destroyed the whole world.

He can still taste you on his lips and remembers the feeling as he shoots another skitter. He's angry. Worried. The ambush was over the top. Seriously, what are they defending? He's killed more than a dozen of them and they're still flooding the street.

He grunts as he uses an elbow to break the window, searching around inside the car for a set of keys. Not finding any, he lets out a frustrated shout and quickly uses his gun to shoot a skitter about to jump on top of him from the building opposite. He doesn't see the one crawling down the building he's standing next to.

It launches itself at his back.

With a shout, he tries to turn around. He feels its disgusting feet clawing at him. His gun goes off and hits one of its legs. Flip is stumbling backward. He propels himself towards the building, sandwiching the alien between him and the wall. He swipes the dagger out of his belt and blindly stabs it behind him.

Its blood gushes over his hand. It makes a pained scream and Flip uses the opportunity to turn around. He stabs it again, dragging the blade across its belly. It slumps down to the ground, lifeless.

Flip shakes his hand to get rid of the blood, repulsed. He whips his head around when he hears footsteps approaching from the corner.

You're out of breath. Bending over with your hands on your knees once you reach Flip, you barely get out the words, "They left."

Flip jolts forward to grab your shoulders, supporting you from the front as he swings the machine gun around his back. He looks into your eyes, confused. "What do you mean?"

"They- They left. Found a truck."

You continue when Flip just stares.

"Watched them drive off." You begin to catch your breath, standing up fully, gesturing behind yourself with your thumb.

Flip brings you closer, pulling you into a hug. His bloody hand stays by his side while the other threads itself through your hair, cradling your head. You melt into his touch, leaning into his broad chest, hands going around his sides, clutching at his flannel.

The mechs sound like they're about a block away. Flip makes a decision.

"Okay, we go through the suburbs."

You jerk your head upward. "We haven't mapped that area out yet." Could be infested with skitters.

"Route is blocked through town," he says, nodding his head in the direction of the mechs.

You nod slowly, accepting his reasoning. Without a working car, there's no hope to make it past the mechs.

At the sound of more skitters, you both spring into action and start sprinting down the street, away from the center of town.

Barely escaping the second hoard of skitters flooding the area, you both flee from the ambush. If the team decided to head back to town without you, you'll just have to find another way back to base and Flip's plan to go through the suburbs is the only option right now.