Guns & Roses

Chapter 26

TW: THERE IS MILD GORE IN THIS ONE!!!
I will be using this symbol (*~*) to indicate where it starts and ends if you are uncomfortable with reading it.

With that out of the way, enjoy!
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[Sheriff]

Sheriff watched the building intently, it was definitely bigger than the other one's they'd dealt with before. The other thing he noticed right away was how much cleaner it seemed, the door at the entrance wasn't caked with rust around its hinges and there was the occasional window. Even the outside walls seemed neater with less holes and almost no grime in the bricks.

He had to focus though, 2B had forced Hank to give Sheriff his gun back, which meant he needed to be helpful this time around. For the first time, he didn't feel as nervous as he usually would. He had a few guesses as to why, after all he'd definitely made a lot of progress with integrating into their group, especially with the fact that he and Hank were staring to get along. Of course, they weren't buddy-buddy with each other, and a large part of him doubted they ever would be, but it was enough for him to feel somewhat safe.

They approached the door, and Sheriff quietly took a deep breath, trying to calm the last of his nerves that were still on edge. A hand grabbed his shoulder, so he stopped as the other three went ahead, each glancing back for a second before they continued.

"Not you." 2B said firmly, taking the hand off his shoulder to grab a walkie-talkie from their belt pouch and held it out for him to take. Sheriff obliged, just sort of looking at it as they started walking off. The door slammed open with a metal thud, making Sheriff flinch which oddly enough got him back in the moment.

"Wait-... Why am I not going in?" Sheriff called out, a little confused. 2B turned around, staying quiet for a second before saying anything.

"This building is guarded much heavier than the ones you've seen, we don't know if you're ready for a fight like this. I'll tell you if you're needed." 2B explained, quickly turning back and continuing into the building. Sheriff wanted to say something to let them know he heard, but by the time the thought crossed his mind they had already disappeared inside.

He stood there waiting for them to finish up, idly listening to the gunshots becoming more distant, which thankfully also meant it was harder to hear the occasional screams that followed. He hated having to hear them, as it always gave him a pit in his stomach. Either way, he felt a little antsy, so in an attempt to distract himself for a while he began collecting loose rocks from the ground. The idea was he could skip them over the ground to see how far they would go, it definitely wasn't going to work as well as water but he could sure as hell try.

He threw the first one, getting it to bounce once before it came to a stop, spraying a small cloud of dust into the air which was quickly dissipated. He was oddly amused by the way the dust moved, so he changed his goal from getting the rock to bounce to making the biggest dust cloud he could manage. He continued entertaining himself, forgetting the world around him for a while so he could enjoy the moment.

That was, until, the sound of shattering glass dragged him back to reality, rattling him in the process. It was already startling enough, until it was followed by a desperate cry of anguish, which was cut off by a dull thud. Sheriff froze, a cold chill climbing his spine. He didn't know how long he stood there, staring into the space where the ground melded with the red abyss, unsure of what to do.

He looked back at the remaining rocks in his hand, tempted to just pretend it never happened and continue. No, he couldn't do that. He let the rocks drop, scattering as they bounced on the ground. He wasn't in the mood for skipping them anymore.