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PREVIOUSLY ON SACRIFICE ═══════════════
"Stay on my ass," Joel gritted out in a low voice, pushing the high school's door open- his nice streak seemingly squashed by the brooding attitude he held now.
Joel had been making somewhat of an honest attempt at letting up when it came to how harsh he was towards Tommy. The younger had kept his distance, nevertheless, not wanting to get in the way and piss Joel off again.
Still, Tommy did stay close to Joel, nervous that an infected would pop around the corner at any given moment. He could almost feel the waves of anxiety radiating off of Joel though.
"Jesus Christ," Joel whispered out, his flashlight shining on a pile of dead bodies, maybe half a dozen dead people, piled against a door.
Tommy's knelt down to the bodies, holding a cloth over his nose. "They're FEDRA officers."
Joel's flashlight moved from the bodies to a spot above Tommy's head. "Yeah and I know who the killers were."
Above the bodies, painted in blood, was the Fireflies' symbol.
Joel sighed, nudging a body with his boot, hoping none would come to life. "So, what? They're just leavin' their mark or some dumb bullshit? This is like some fucked up cult stuff. Paintin' a sigil in blood? It's like they're sacrificin' people now. Jesus."
Joel backed away from the bodies just as something slammed into the door from the other side.
Both men jumped and quietly exclaimed in horror. Joel's flashlight shone through the window in the door to show an infected's crusted, bloodied face.
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Something scattered across the floor behind Tommy, and the younger heard it. Startled, he jerked himself around, flicking his finger over the safety of his gun to be sure it was off.
"What was that?" he urgently whispered his thoughts to Joel.
The older turned to face the younger with one hand on the strap of his backpack. "What was what?"
Tommy's eyebrows furrowed as his heartbeat escalated. "That sound. It was, I dunno. It was like somethin' runnin' across the floor."
As the boys kept moving, the footsteps got closer, now accompanied with a quiet snarl and growl.
From an open doorway, the Infected grabbed Joel as he ran past. Joel grunted, pushing the thing off of him, shooting it in the head with his double-barrel shotgun.
"Where's the door!?" Tommy asked. The school was like a maze.
Joel huffed out, turning to shoot behind him, "I don't know. Just keep running."
