Post by Vio on Apr 10, 2022 10:37:33 GMT -5
Yanmei #1
The dark clouds and torrential rains had subsided, replaced by dull sunlight that pierced the waning remnants of a once inky veil. It had been a matter of minutes, really, since the duo of Zhu Yanmei and her chosen First Mate, John Culliford, had lost track of their latest acquaintance — a woman from a place called Rime Beat to whom the whimsical Mei had taken interest. They’d sworn a rescue attempt, uncertainty banished from Yanmei’s mind as she stepped forth with conviction, confident in her comrade to remain as determined as she was.
Bang…! Somewhere in the distance, the crack of a rifle echoed, sending native birds who had once sheltered themselves within the overgrown trees and bushes soaring in panic. Jade eyes looked up to the skies for a moment, the dull warmth of sunlight caressing her face, before she once more broke into a dash. It had to be the way, right? What constituted settlement and wilderness was marred by abandonment, Portis City now more or less just a part of the wilds themselves, but surely there was someone else here.
“They won’t have gone far,” she exhaled, footwear squelching audibly as she stepped through muddy soil. “Huh… Hey! What’s that?” Miss Zhu questioned, eyes descending upon an odd sight as they broke through the cover of a particularly rough and muddy patch of terrain. Up ahead was something completely ordinary — far too ordinary to be hidden by the derelict, cracked, and rusted structures that surrounded it. A building that looked comparatively clean and ‘busy’, with nature’s gradual attempt at reclaiming all having been pruned back.“Oi!” Yanmei shouted out as she approached:
“Have you seen a man in bandages…?”
“Hmph…? Who in tarnation are ya?” replied the target of her query. A burly but somewhat short man with a wide midsection, belly slightly exposed between his blue jeans and chequered red and blue shirt. He was propped up against the wall, a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth, with a brown hat upon his head and a rifle with a flared muzzle rested over his shoulders. “This ‘ere part’s off limits, ‘less yer contendin’,” he added, small eyes peering from over a blond bristled moustache as he stood up and placed himself between the two strangers and the old gated tunnel that ran through the strange building.“I’m Yanmei! Uh,” she paused:
“I dunno what you just said!”
“…Odd name. Ain’t on the list. Scram, kiddo,” the rifleman shook his head to one side, as if to motion her down another road, but quickly began to move his gun into position when he realised the dark-haired girl had no intent of stopping her march. But, despite the quickness of his movements and the threat of the gun’s muzzle in her face, Mei did not stop walking. “I told ya to go on an’ git! Place ain’t safe fer li’l ladies like ya,” he growled, turning his eyes to John as if to find authority and sense in the man. “I don’t know what the both of ya are doin’ ‘ere, but I’d suggest ya turn yerselves ‘round right now, capiche? Only blood bein’ shed beyond those gates!” Then he felt it. The gun tugged downwards, green eyes piercing his own as he snapped back to see the girl’s hand tight around the gun and holding it aimed at her heart rather than her head.“Tch…?!”“Let us through!” Yanmei glared:
“Or I’ll break on through…!!”
“Harumph…! Alright,” he subsided, wrenching the rifle from the young woman’s grasp, rolling his cigar to the other side of his mouth and trying — but failing — to look down his nose at her. “But lemme tell ya this,” he continued, shouldering his weapon and starting to step aside as he spoke. “If ya ain’t huntin’, yer goin’ to be the hunted when ya step through them there gates. Inside the arena anythin’ goes, last one standin’ takes the prize,” he explained, gesturing for them to enter the still slightly open passage. And enter Yanmei did, practically at full sprint, but not before casting a sideways grin to the gunman.“Thanks…!”“Ya ain’t got much longer!” he called back:
“Next shot’ll be the starting signal…!”{Post Synposis:}
The duo of Yanmei and John find themselves at a guarded checkpoint as they pursue the kidnappers, but the former’s insistence persuades the guard to let them through with a warning of what to expect beyond the gates!
Notes: fearjunkie pepsi
Zhu Yanmei | #301934
John Culliford | #4b6f44
Galatea Parthenos | #fdfff5
Teo [NPC] | #6d5f95
Furred Man [NPC] | #96aeae
Guard [NPC] | #888888