The second time Stephanie dodged the Giant Croc, she knew something was up. He had come at her, mouth agape, and as she jumped into the air, she roll-dodged sideways while firing a single shot of the shotgun into its mouth and landing softly on her digigrade legs again in the shit-water of the sewer tunnel.
While the Croc was sliding forward, it's mouth full of buckshot and not her, she double-checked her Character Sheet. She had one notable skill. Just one. No Firearms skill, no magical abilities, no Hit Point buffs, and nothing much else of any note.
What she did have was a shut-tone of Athletics, Speed, Stamina, and Dodge. She had Rolling Doge, Firearm Dodge, Melee Dodge, Hand to Hand Doge, Bullet-Time Dodge… just about every single kind of Dodge a Level Fourteen could have, and they were all Maxed. Also, she had enough Stamina to her name that she was more likely to die in two hits before she ran out of enough energy to dodge.
"Ready for the second dance?" she gained a shit-eater grin as the Giant Croc turned its head to look at her. It roared, and she pulled up her Smith & Wesson 1000 Series, firing three rounds into its mouth as she juggled his head back twice with the first two shots. "G'head and open'r up again. Let's see how this goes," the relatively little girl said with a smile as the Croc lowered it's form closer to the nasty water.
It lunged forward, nearly catching her and her tail in it's teeth, but she jumped back against the wall, and barely managed a weak wall-run ending in a forward flip as the Croc barely missed her yet again. "All or nothing big boy. I know you get me once and this is all over, but this is the most fun I've had in days, so I ain't backin' out now," her cute little form said as she pumped the shotgun to make sure her next round was ready.
It came at her again, it's arms forward, walking on it's two legs, and opening it's mouth to roar again. "Some critters never learn," she said as she fired, pumped, fired, pumped and fired again, each powerful shot ripping open it's mouth, jaw, and head, blood spewing out. It's head came back down for bite and each time, she was ready with another shot.
It turned quick this last time as she jumped passed and came back at her before she was ready. She put out her legs and kicked, barely placing them in it's somewhat less-toothed mouth narrowly gashing herself on it's remaining teeth. "Dide, fucker!" she called out, standing in his mouth as he raised his head, her head whacking the ceiling hard.
Aiming downward, she fired into it's throat and belly from as good an angle she would ever get. It jerked in place, it's jaw not closing on her, she pumped again and fired a final time down into it. It's legs squirmed and gave way, it falling forward into the sewer water. Its jaw slammed into her legs full force, up under her flak jacket and through her pants, into her legs.
Never before had Denise felt such pain. He screamed out in Stephanie's voice for real this time, feeling the teeth cut deep into his flesh, and rip through muscle and tendons. He squirmed, and thought to himself how Mrs. Richardson must have felt all those years ago when he bumped her into the bus circle and had her legs run over.
Stephanie shook her head as she kept it barely above the sewer water's level. Part of her wondered if it would become infected as she crawled her way up and out of the lower bed and up to the cement walkway. She held he shotgun up against her breasts as she looked down at her legs… they were intact, but shredded.
"I'll need a hospital," she said to herself as footsteps could be heard up ahead. She frowned and sat back against the wall, holding up the shotgun and whoever or whatever was going to come next. But when Kenneth Baker stepped around the corner in the sewer, she had to laugh.
"I thought you had a machine gun," he said, holding his hands up, but smiling at her. "Fired all your rounds, huh? Not so scary now," he said, stepping over to her, and standing a few feet away. "I tell you what… I'll drag you too the nearest hospital if you beg me" he grinned.
"Bad at math?" she asked, aiming the shotgun at his head. "First Shot, Three More, Three More, Two More… that's Nine. I have one left," she said, and smiled at him. "Tell me… is being to the Graveyard twice in one hour a Debuff in this game too?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer. She pulled the trigger again, and blew Kenneth's head all over the sewer.
The impact of the shot into his face, blood and bone and brains all over the place… she hadn't ever seen anything quite like it… and having done it all herself, she could safely say this was the greatest First Person Shooter she had ever played. Stephanie just stared at the carnage for a moment, taking it all in.
The pain returned however, and her attention went back to her legs. Some how she still needed to be careful of the cops while also getting herself healed up. There was enough energy in her body to stand, even though it would hurt. The downside was, she was bleeding out and effectively had a time-limit on how long she could take to get to wherever she was going.
That begged the question: Where was she going?