(AoS) The Switch (Solo)

If there was one thing that creeped Miles out whenever he left his already explored areas of New York City, it was what he called "The din of silence". New York had been a noisy city back in 2012 and everyone, whether they realized it or not, had gotten accustomed to the hums, honks and voices of people coming and going everywhere within the metropolis. Having all of that noise suddenly stop and turn into the dreadful silence of a ruined and desolate city could really get on his nerves, so he intentionally made small noises to break it.

He moved on, rifle in hand, hearing only the scratch from his mismatched sneakers over the dust and gravel on the ground. Astor's footsteps (pawsteps?) immediately followed behind as they both peered over the piles of scrap metal and abandoned cars, all of them rusting to the elements, while random foliage now grew undisturbed wherever there was a tiny patch of soil. Tinaker, his smaller and quicker dog, was lost to the nooks and crannies of ruined buildings up ahead, exploring at his leisure and trying to find any signs of life, to rescue it and bring it over to town if it was human sized or to hunt it, kill it and bring it back to Miles for lunch if it was not.

The one good thing about piercing silence was that any sounds could be heard from a greater distance. He heard the shriek and how it was immediately muffled, coming from somewhere within the four remaining lower stories of what must have been an imposing building once. Coincidentally, that's where he sensed Tinaker was prowling about, so he didn't hurry to find out what was wrong. His black, scouting dog with red glowing eyes usually had that effect on women.

He still approached the remnants of the structure with caution as Astor took to his side and remained alert. Miles closed his eyes and opened his mental connection with his scouting canine, making his eyes and ears become the dog's eyes and ears. The young mutant suddenly found himself seeing in black and white, from a lower angle and looking at the inside walls of a poorly lit room. It was dirty and unkempt, with the scent of a human presence that did not live there.

She was crouched in a corner, her hand covering her mouth and dark eyes opened wide as plates. She wore stained, tattered clothes she hadn't changed in days, smelled like sweat and cigarettes and her black hair was definitely not an improvement over her pathetic looks. Miles mentally commanded the dog to lower its head and lie down, but to keep its eyes on the woman as he made his way up.

Getting to the second floor where she was located turned out to be troublesome without an elevator and a fallen staircase blocking the way. He ordered Astor to stay and wait as he climbed over a large pile of rubble and squeezed his way up through a hole on the ceiling, probably the same one Tinaker had taken to reach her. He was soon on his feet in the second floor, pinpointing his dog’s location ever closer and as he made his way to the room she was in, Miles looked through his dog's eyes. Tinaker was lying flat on the floor, his head between his paws in the most harmless position possible, doing his best not to scare her, like Miles had commanded.

She heard his footsteps and froze up, hand still in her mouth, trying to hide her gasps for breath. There wasn't even a door blocking the room's entrance, so the young man put the butt of his rifle in the ground and leaned it against a wall. He then stretched both arms and empty hands through the doorway, to show her he was not armed.

Miles slowly pushed his head in. The woman had not moved and when she saw him, she did not attempt to flee or scream. That was good. She still looked terrified, so he entered the room almost in slow motion, crouched next to his dog, patted him on the head and spoke in a low, soothing voice.

“He’s mine” he said with a hint of a smile, trying to calm her down. “He’s not as scary as he looks. Don’t be afraid of us, we won’t hurt you.”

The woman still held her hand on her mouth but her eyes had returned to normal. She was staring deep into his eyes, curious and unblinking. She then lowered her hand, whispering through cracked lips.

“You are not the ones I am scared of. Stay still and stay quiet or they will kill us all”.