The two of them advanced more slowly, heading towards the apartment building with caution. They managed to get inside one of the stores, a hardware store, without issue. But they immediately encountered an enemy.
It was very weird looking, it almost had the body of a man but fins on its arms and legs, sharp teeth, and a more fish-like face. It was hunched over, onto all four legs, however it was clearly tall, if it stood up it would likely be taller than a human, though not by much. It was a mix of blues in color with some red tips at the end of its fins and it was dripping wet.
However the most interesting thing about this creature was that, despite being called a lakelurk king, it looked nothing like any other lakelurk he had ever seen. It looked more like a horror movie villain like a gillman or the creature from the black lagoon or something. But appearance aside, Deccanus was taking this seriously so Adam was too.
Deccanus crouch walked slowly along the floor as he approached the king silently. Adam remained still, unslinging his rifle and steadying his aim. They would only have one shot before it noticed them, after all its back was to them now, but whether Adam shoots or Deccanus stabs first, it would react. They just needed to wait for the right opportunity.
Deccanus was half a step away from the creature, ready to stab it through the throat or hit it in the head, whichever was easier, when it suddenly turned to the side, looking at Deccanus right in the eyes, just as surprised to see him as Deccanus was to see it move.
The room remained in silence for a moment before Adam shouted to Deccanus.
"Get down!" He shouted as he fired off his rifle right into the head of the fishman. However his aim was not true, as the creature had whipped around to look at Adam when he yelled. His mark hit it in the jaw, cutting straight through the back of its skull, it roared out in pain but didn't seem to be dying.
Deccanus took the opportunity to quickly swing his machete hard, cutting the head in half, severing it at the jawline. The top of the head rolled along the floor as the body fell with a thud.
Adam was about to congratulate Deccanus before Adam was forced to cover his ears as the loudest scream he had ever heard pierced the wind from behind him. Not only was the sound loud but he could feel his insides churning as the blast of air that came from behind him passed through his body. It was as if the vibrations themselves were rearranging his intestines.
Despite the pain and disorientation Adam dove to the side, out of the doorway and behind a wall he hoped was safe. Since now he didn't have the wherewithal to check.
Luckily Deccanus still had his wits as he pulled out his lever action repeater and began to fire through the doorway at an unseen foe. Eventually, as Adam regained his composure, another lakelurk king burst through the door, riddled with bullets, and charged straight at Deccanus.
Decanus dropped his gun to the floor unceremoniously and pulled out his machete and held it out, the creature then proceeded to impale itself on the machete. This did not, however, stop it from getting a good scratch with its claws at Deccanus' face. Cutting right through his cloth bandana and leaving a nasty gash on his face. Deccanus was momentarily stunned by the attack which gave the creature a chance to hit him again while he was still reeling, Adam however, took that chance away.
Adam fired right through its head, correctly this time, and watched as it fell onto the machete which only pushed the blade in further than it already was.
"Deccanus are you-" Adam began before Deccanus, who was gripping his still violently bleeding mouth and cheek, shook his head. He slapped his chest hard with his free hand balled up into a fist and then quickly gestured to the stairway next to him leading to the apartments upstairs.
Adam nodded and then ran over to Deccanus as he kicked the dead creature over and took back his machete. Once he had retrieved his blade the two of them ran up the stairs, all 6 flights, until they were on the top floor.
Deccanus took his machete and with the handle slammed it down hard on the doorknob of one of the units breaking it off its hinges. He hadn't even checked to see if the door was unlocked, he just assumed. The two of them then ran inside.
While Deccanus ran over to the non functional sink to bandage his face Adam slid a dresser in front of the door to block it. Satisfied that he would at least be bought a few moments he ran over to Deccanus who had removed his tattered bandana and was expertly wrapping his face.
"Deccanus are you alright?" Adam asked quickly. Deccanus finished what he was doing a few moments later and then turned to look at Adam, his face was half wrapped with gauze. Adam hadn't gotten the chance to see how bad the wound was before it was wrapped but considering it did not appear to be bleeding through the gauze it was likely not life threatening.
Adam quickly rummaged through his backpack and found a stimpack, offering it to Deccanus quickly.
"Here, use this." Deccanus stared at it and then Adam incredulously. It was clear he had things to say but due to his jaw being bandaged like it was he was unable to speak.
Adam noticed the look and was confused for a few moments before he understood. He then got angry back.
"Look, to hell with the Legion's rules about not using chems! You could risk permanent disfigurement if you don't get medical treatment right away! Be damned your pride!" Adam shouted at him.
Deccanus remained firm, staring at Adam like he had no intention of budging but Adam pressed on.
"I wouldn't care if it was a small scratch but I don't know how bad the wound is, and we are not in a situation where I can leisurely take you to a doctor." Adam continued. "And even if I could, I doubt you would accept the doctor's help anyway." Deccanus remained unmoved by Adam's words, so he changed tact, more desperate as his initial assessment proved to be wrong, blood was indeed seeping through the multiple wrapping of gauze bandage, it must have been a gnarly wound.
"Look." Adam began, calming down now and looking Deccanus in the eyes. "You wanted to find your own path right? One that was not wholly Legion? Well this is the first step." Adam said, this time Deccanus seemed to falter, he looked down a bit, either in contemplation or in shame. Adam sighed and walked over to him softly, placing a hand on Deccanus' shoulder.
"You asked to come with me because you wanted to learn from me right? Well I'll readily admit you have more real world experience than I do. But part of living the life I do, if that is still what you want to do, is to accept that not everything can be in your control. Sometimes you need to take the easy way out. Sometimes you need to make the choices that are unpleasant. Don't deny yourself opportunities because you are afraid of change. You said it yourself. The Legion has no fear." Adam smiled softly and then opened his hand again as he once more offered the stimpack to Deccanus.
Deccanus' expression softened as he looked up into Adam's eyes again and then seemed to relax his posture. He looked down at the stimpack for a few long moments and then took it from him. He injected himself with it into a vein in his neck on the same side as the wound. Adam nodded and pat Deccanus on the shoulder understandingly.
"Good job." He said with pride, happy he was able to convince Deccanus to get over years of ingrained Legion training in order to accept his advice. Adam motioned with his head to the couch in the living room nearby. "Go take a seat and rest for now, let the stimpack do its thing, when your face is healed enough to talk we can discuss the next move."
Deccanus let out a long breath through his nose and then nodded before heading over to the indicated spot to sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile Adam turned to look at the door, glad nothing followed them upstairs.