it's the end of the world as we know it and... (ifeelfine) wrote in immune_ic,
Okay. Okay, there was no reason to panic. Gabriel was good at luring groups of infected away from people. Large groups, though? Large groups were another story. While the hustle and panic led most people around him toward the front exit, Gabriel darted away from the masses and headed toward the back exit so he could get around and do his job faster. He got around to the front of the building and took his gun off his hip, loading it and firing a single shot into the air to attract the attention of a group of infected.
As soon as he noticed attention being turned to him, that was when the running started.
When he ran; when he baited, he tried to focus on things other than what he was running from. If he allowed himself to focus too heavily on that, well… he'd panic, and panic was most definitely a baiter's enemy. So, he did what he did best, luring small groups (albeit larger groups than he was used to) of infected away from the safehouse. He did what he'd trained himself to do over time, focused on the sound of his footsteps hitting the pavement as he ran. He was still mindful for nearby infected, of course – he hadn't survived for so long without being bitten by being reckless, after all – but it was easier to keep moving if you kept your mind off your circumstance.
When he'd lured the group a safe distance away, he doubled back to lure another group away. But that was when he saw it. In a window in the distance, he spied a small child, abandoned (or worse) in the melee, desperate to find her way to an exit. It went against Gabriel's better judgment, sure, but it also tugged at his heart in an unexpected way.
Abandoning his duty for the time being – something that would inevitably be looked upon poorly by his superiors later – he hurried toward the young girl, who was looking around frantically.
He climbed into a window, already broken from the fracas all around him, and hurried to the girl's aid. Getting on a knee in front of her, he gave her a secure smile. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "Are you alone?"
The girl seemed either intimidated or outright afraid of Gabriel, and she shoved him hard in the shoulder and took off in a full-out run into the crowd, leaving Gabriel just laying flat on the floor. By the time he pulled himself to his feet, he was covered in goo and dirt from the floor. It occurred to him that it… probably didn't look good to any near passersby, and as if to prove his point, a nearby man… probably around fifty years old, pointed a gun to his face.
"You one of them?" he asked.
Gabriel shook his head frantically. "No, no!"
"Been bitten?"
"I haven't! I swear!" he insisted again, holding his hands in the air in attempted surrender. "Don't shoot!"