Simply Survive

[Kaisaan]

"Scout! Your turn."

Pale blue eyes strayed away from the landscape; a rocky, barren stretch of rolling hills between one city and the next, to focus on the speaker of the command. In a group of five, Dozer, a large black man, was the leader and what he said everyone obeyed.

Summer wasn't an exception, but it wasn't because she feared him. No, she just didn't have any reason to protest and the auburn-haired woman gave a sharp nod, rising from the rocks she sat on to start walking. She'd get a small head-start from the group and essentially act as their warning system should anything present itself.

It was a job Summer actually enjoyed as it got her away from the three men and two women she traveled with. The silence was welcome, though, she could still hear their faint voices behind her and her nose was unhindered by the reek of sweat and dirt and blood. She was the best in her group at this task, too, because of her talents and no one really cared that she took the front position more often than self-made protocol dictated she should.

The slender woman adjusted the black cloth over her mouth and nose, keeping the dust out of her lungs for the most part and she caught her hair as it blew past her eyes, effectively tying it back with a piece of string she kept wrapped around her wrist for such an occasion. She couldn't have anything hindering her vision right now.

Making sure her gun was secure and that a throwing knife was easily accessible, Summer set out walking, knowing there wasn't a preferred direction to go in. Everything was the same; dangerous. Every city and town was infested with those altered by the plague-like virus that had swept the world and they weren't even the most lethal of creatures out there. No where was truly safe. Nothing was different no matter which way one went and as of now, as far as anyone knew, there was no hope.

There was only survival.

 

[Hearthridge]

Targas hunkered in a small shop with his outfit, taking time to examine the surroundings and scavenge what was left behind by rushing scavers. The process is painstakingly long and arduous but is required every time they take more than a five minute rest. They were thirty clicks from their rendezvous point and probably could have made it if they trekked through the night, but as everyone knows, that is a fools game.

"Fixer, you find anything yet?" Scorcher, the demo expert calls from the next room over.

"Nothing but some old trash. Tis a shame too, hate to get there empty handed."

He returned to the group of mercs and sat around their makeshift campfire, taking care to make it stay small to prevent too much smoke from attracting unwanted attention. Scorcher and Delta began to discuss tactics and how they were going to get the group to the RV point, debating what roads and alleys to take. Sev, another sniper, began to clean his rifle and Niner was standing watch, hunkered down behind a counter. Targas, often called Fixer by his outfit, began to clean his rifles too. He finished his assault rifle before working on his actual sniper gear in order to have a decent firearm if they were attacked.

He thinks back a few years, seeing himself doing this exact same thing in Houston. He winces to himself as he recalls the day that he lost his daughter, an event that happened but a few days prior. Sev looks up at him, noticing the expression and asks the silent question but Targas just shakes his head and dismisses it. Maybe one day things will be better and he can move on.

 

[Kaisaan]

Summer saw the city, appearing almost as if by magic beyond the next barren hill, before her group did as was her job, and she paused, pale blue eyes narrowing. Gah, she hated cities. Hated the tight spaces and towering buildings, all the places for creepers, leapers and trackers to hide. And then there were the humans who'd taken it upon themselves to make life even more difficult, shooting on sight, stealing, harassing. As if life wasn't hard enough already. She really didn't understand idiots like that.

So yeah, the sight of a city didn't put Summer in the best of moods and the auburn-haired woman growled under her breath, but forced herself to focus. If she came back without information, without even TRYING to get information, Dozer might just decide to keep good on his threat and throw her around a bit. Not the most pleasant of thoughts.

Wracking her hand back through her hair and ignoring the snags, Summer closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, letting her mind blank and her senses expand. At first the only thing she heard was the wind whistling through the rocks, but slowly more began to filter in; the sound of metal clinking together, a tracker's howl deep within the city, at least six leapers' tell-tale noises as they leaped from building to building and then the faintest....faintest whisper of an intelligent sound. A word.

Human.

Now that one sense had picked it up, another did as well and Summer's tilted her face up, inhaling deeply, mouth slightly open like a cat scenting the air. The wind brought many smells, hundreds and it was only years of practice that helped her sort through them as quickly as she did. And one unmistakable smell...was definitely human. More than one, too and they were....somewhere on the north side of the city. Knowing that was about as good as she was going to be able to do in regards to pinpointing the other group's location, Summer opened her eyes again and took another scan of her surroundings before she took off, back to her own group.

She didn't waste time with greetings when she came back to them, directing her words to Dozer and to an extent, Arrow - a blond with a knack for explosives - who stayed by his side.

"City up ahead. There's a group of humans somewhere on the north side."

"Any idea how many?"

Summer shrugged. "More than one."

"That's very specific, Scout."

Pale blue eyes narrowed, frosting over. "Despite all evidence to the contrary, I'm not a damn blood-hound. If you think you can do better, by all means, have at it." she snapped back and Arrow, between the two sighed. "Knock it off, both of you. Thank you, Scout. Dozer, I'm not sure it's a good idea to be seeking other groups. We lost Colt the last time."

Summer left the two at this point, knowing her input wasn't needed and she didn't particularly care what the choice was. Her auburn hair flew again as the tie had come loose and the woman crossed her arms, gaze narrowed once more as she looked toward the city. Maybe she'd die in there today.

And maybe she wouldn't mind so much.

 

[Hearthridge]

(Not very long/detailed post go!)

The group settled down in for the night, dictating who was going to take the shifts and put out the fire. Niner was to take the first watch, Sev the second and Fixer the third. Just before lights out, they went over their inventory of supplies: Two days food rations, three grenades, and four hundred rounds between the lot of them. They were running dangerously low on supplies and they needed to move fast but that will be saved for the morning.

 

[Kaisaan]

Summer's group had made it to the city before nightfall and had settled as safely as they could in what used to be a bakery - or at least they were pretty sure that's what it was. They decided on shifts and everyone got what sleep they could. It wasn't always easy, but they'd been doing it for a while and managed, though, everyone got on edge when in a city. It was only wise of them to do so.

Tomorrow they'd see if they could find this other human group.

-----------

"Well?"

Summer resisted mightily the urge to spin on her heel, leap and choke the living daylights out of Badger. The man was as aggravating as his code-name and the female was fast losing patience. Did none of them freaking realize how hard it was to pick up one type of scent among hundreds if not thousands of others just as potent?!

Well, no, of course they wouldn't know that. She hadn't told any of them such a thing and she'd only been in this group for four months. That was a long time in the world they now lived in, but despite that, Summer hadn't opened up. She wasn't going to get attached, especially when she saw nothing worth getting attached to and that included giving out information. This group knew practically nothing about her, but the other five had been together for nearly a year. They were close-knit as one could get considering the death rate of humans right now.

Coaxing herself to further patience, Summer smiled in a forced way, looking back over her shoulder. "No, there isn't a well here, but if I find one, I'll let you know."

"Scout." The warning tone came from Dozer and Summer raised a brow, replying back evenly, "Dozer."

"Just follow the trail."

Fanged teeth bared in a silent growl as the woman turned back to the ground, inhaling deeply where she was crouched, but muttering under her breath. "....not a damn hound..."

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer woke up the rest of the outfit at first light and they ate a quick meal of canned peaches and hardtack. It was during the time where everyone was packing their gear and getting ready to move out that he decided that he would check out the place once more. He was climbing over some rubble when he noticed something sticking out from under a boulder. Upon closer inspection, it was a hand (long since decayed) but it was holding something. He leaned over and took out a bag and slowly picked it up in it. It was a strange black vial, covered in glowing red runes.

He tried to examine the runes but they seemed to be moving across the vial like water and it made his head hurt. He looked away for a second and blinked away the shapes dancing across his eyes and examined it again. The vial was matte black and had an almost hourglass shape to it, or was it pear shaped? Cylinder? The shape of it seemed to change with every blink of an eye but the symbols seemed to be changing as well, slowly becoming more and more like English letters.

He wrapped the strange artifact up in a sock and stashed it in his backpack with the rest of his clothes and returned to the rest of the group.

"Did you find anything today?" Delta inquired, "You were gone for a little bit there."

"No, was just rooting through some rubble now that I had daylight to work with." Fixer sighed and shook his head, making the lie rather convincing.

Now that he thought about it, he doesn't recall finding anything, making his lie all the more truthful in his mind.

"Alright then, your shit packed? Because we are moving out." Delta kicked out the embers of the fire and went to the door.

-------------------------------------------

The first hour of travel was rather uneventful, a creeper here and there but nothing too serious. During that second hour, however...not so much. They were about five clicks from the RV point when the ground started shaking, growing more and more frequent and the shockwaves coming closer.

"B'moth." Sev chirps in through their headset. Sev is out scouting ahead and is more than capable at handling himself but a Behemoth is bad news for anyone.

"Roger, fall back and regroup." Delta ordered, making hand signals to take defensive firing positions.

Fixer took point, awaiting when Sev would return. Delta took mid, keeping his eyes to the skies and walls. Scorch and Niner took rear and kept their eyes to the alley behind them and the outfit.

The vibrations of the ground became louder, faster and heavier. No doubt on the trail of Sev. Almost on cue, Sev is seen sprinting and bounding over rubble with a Behemoth rounding the corner after him. Sev jumps into cover next to Fixer and pulls out his rifle, readying for the fight.

The Behemoth looks at the group of mercs and roars...loud. Almost in response, cries of other undead can be heard in the nearby area...the telltale chirps of Leapers, the almost wolf-like howls of the Trackers...everything nearby was on its way. It was at that point, the Behemoth charged.

The fight for survival had begun.

 

[Kaisaan]

Summer heard the pounding footsteps, about four blocks away, before the others, but their ears picked up on the monstrous noise not even a minute after her own and when the Behemoth roared...well, everyone heard that. They knew what it meant, too. The creature had found prey and seeing as how THEY were tracking humans, there could only be one thing the undead were heading toward now; the same group they were.

Her first inclination was to run in the opposite direction. If the undead were hunting in one direction, the WISE thing to do would be to go the opposite way as fast and silently as you could. But Summer, unfortunately, had not joined a group bent on staying out of trouble, but rather one that faced it, especially if other humans were in danger. They were what survivors called 'Upbeat Fools'. They had the mindset that if everyone stuck together and helped each other, it would increase their survival rate. And maybe, just maybe they were right, but in Summer's opinion, there weren't enough groups or safe places for those groups for such a strategy to be beneficial.

So when her group made a split decision to go toward the impending fight, Summer hesitated, lingering behind, watching them go. No one called out to her. There was always a mutual understanding among people that everyone made their own decisions for better or worse and it was the auburn-haired female's turn to make another one for herself. She could go with the group, toward danger, toward suicide most-likely and perhaps help a few people who were as good as dead anyway....or she could run and be on her own again. She wouldn't be safer that way, but she might live another day.

Summer knew which decision was the smart one.

So why in the bloody hell were her feet taking in the wrong direction?

Sighing and giving up on questioning her own stupid instincts, Summer instead focused on catching up with the others, drawing her gun as she went. Time for more killing.

 

[Hearthridge]

Gunfire poured from the alley in all direction, the outfit taking care to fire in short, controlled bursts to conserve their ammo. Sev and Fixer used their skills as snipers to fire towards the eyes of the Behemoth. With concentrated fire, both of the eyes were destroyed...something that caused the Behemoth to go into a blind rage (literally). Scorch and Niner took to dealing with zombies coming from the flank, and before long there was a small wall of corpses building up. Delta began firing on the Leapers that were scaling the walls in order to perform a Death from Above.

Not even three minutes into the fighting, there were bodies everywhere and anyone near would know that these weren't simple survivors. These survivors had controlled fire and bigger guns than most. But even then, the number of guns firing slowly decreased.

A Leaper was able to make its way past Delta and leapt in for Scorch, latching onto his neck and tearing at his armor with its talons. He didnt make it. Niner was able to dispatch it but not before some Creepers got past his distraction and pulled him down. Delta decided that it was time to go, and fast. The three took off, mentally marking where this alley was so they could return to their fallen comrades and give them their burial rights. The Behemoth was off nearby stomping everything and smashing whatever got into its way, making a big mess.

The group made it into a small shop and hastily barricaded the doors and windows and dug in for the siege.

 

[Kaisaan]

Well...this is pretty.

Summer crouched behind a dumpster, looking out with calculating eyes at the damage being inflicted by the Behemoth and the dead bodies of the Creepers and Leapers alike. She didn't use her nose in the circumstance - she really didn't want to gag, thankyouverymuch - but her ears were beneficial as they told her where the undead were now heading and where their prey had gone. She could see her group already making their way cautiously after the swarm and Summer sighed, but braced herself and followed.

Her throwing knife lodged itself into a strangling Creeper as she worked her way down the street and the woman pulled it out smoothly as she passed, ducking flying debris as the Behemoth got too close for comfort. It was obvious something was wrong with it, though, and Summer smirked at seeing the blood and gore coming out of its eyes. Well, well...someone knew what they were doing and knew how to shoot. Good.

Maybe there was some hope for this mysterious group after all.

Now a bit more curious, Summer continued to work her way toward certain death. The increasing number of Creepers was a dead giveaway that they were getting closer to the swarm and while stealth had been used thus far by everyone, the first shot - the first indicator to the undead that there was more food to be found - had to be fired at some point and when a Leaper finally spotted them, Summer didn't waste time raising her weapon with a roll of her eyes.

The creature gave a shriek right before it died and she grinned at her comrades. "Show time." It was a completely sarcastic quip before she sprinted for better cover, her lithe body twisting to avoid a leaping Leaper, her reflexes a bit faster than the undead were used to. She stabbed the thing, keeping a hold on her knife and Summer willed herself to keep calm and focused as she started to hear shots being fired off by the other five.

They were all gonna die....

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer listened to the gunfire outside and shook his head. Whoever out there was going to get killed. He looked out from his cover to see a group of people battling their way through the swarm, wondering what brought them here in the first place. In the end it didnt matter to him nor the others.

"Get ready, we need to help them." Delta ordered, loading a fresh mag in his rifle.

He got his affirmations as Sev readied himself and Fixer made his way to a higher vantage point with his Dragunov, pulling it off his back and getting ready to make some heads pop. The two burst out of the building and began carefully making their way towards the group, picking off anything that came near. Fixer, on the other hand, turned his attention to that Behemoth that was near them. He took aim just behind the mandible of the creature and fired, the round piercing into the head through one of the body's natural weaknesses and began to ricochet around the skull, thanks to the thickened plating of its head.

The Behemoth growled for a moment before tumbling into a nearby building and slumping down dead.

 

[Kaisaan]

Mmm, bravo.

Summer laughed as the Behemoth collapsed, a strange sound to be heard in a circumstance like this and though her combat skills were to be desired, she really didn't need them in this fight. She didn't WANT to touch the undead if she could help it and the auburn-haired woman used a more evasive, dance-like style to weave in and out among her enemies, incapacitating them by any means possible as she did so. It was obvious she favored her knives, but more than once her gun flashed, and only one out of every five shots did she miss on average.

"Scout!"

She whirled at the shout from Hawk, just in time to feel weight collide into her chest and torso and Summer grabbed the neck of the Leaper, keeping his teeth just out of reach as her back hit the concrete. The wind rushed out of her, loosening her grip and the undead snarled and screeched, lunging against her grip, claws scrabbling at her clothing, shredding, trying to find the skin beneath. It snarled at her and Summer reacted on instinct alone.

She snarled back, fangs extended and her pale blue eyes darkening as anger surged through her veins. The Leaper had size and strength on her, but she had intelligence and the female used it now, maneuvering quickly, efficiently to get her legs under the creature and with an upsurge, flipped it over her head. The thing scrambled up as it hit the ground, but Summer was already on her feet, gun cocked. She tilted her head slightly, smiled and shot.

The woman was away then like a sprite, to the aid of Arrow who seemed to have bitten off more than she could chew, but then again, hadn't they all?

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer took great pains not to accidentally shoot anyone in the head or any other part of their body. A shot from his rifle is lethal to any part it hits. While he was scanning through the crowds of living and deceased, he saw a woman fight a Leaper off her body and execute it, a feat not many can do. Fixer always likes a girl who can fight.

He shook the thought from his mind and looked to the horde, deciding it was time to make a little bit more noise. He lay his rifle down next to him and pulled one of the last grenades his entire outfit had and pulled the pin, calculating where to throw to cause the least amount of living damage but most undead. He tossed the grenade into a writing mass of beings and listened to the satisfying explosion that ensued. It cleared a good thirty of the bastards and there was only a handful left. Niner and Delta began to clean up the mess as Fixer made his way to the street level and shouldering his rifle.
Delta and Niner began to head back to the ambush site to retrieve any gear left on their dead comrades and to decapitate them, leaving Fixer to deal with these new survivors.

 

[Kaisaan]

Oh, for the love of-

Summer spewed curses, some louder than others as she rubbed at her ears, working her jaw to try and get rid of the ringing that buzzed in her head. Enhanced hearing could SUCK sometimes as she'd learned, but really, she hated being surprised by it. The female growled under her breath as she made herself leave her aching ears alone, knowing they'd settle with some time and instead she focused her attention on whether or not the flecks of blood on her were from her body or someone elses.

She rolled her jacket sleeve up and grimaced. Nope. That was definitely a scratch from a Leaper claw. Hmm, good thing it was small, a graze really. She had enough strain of virus in her system to fight that off. Still, she wouldn't make it too known that she had it. Some people were a little trigger happy and the last thing she wanted was to survive the swarm from hell and then be shot by her own kind now that the tide had ebbed. Not exactly the way she wanted to go.

Summer rolled her sleeve back down, cleaned her blades, sheathed them and holstered her gun at her belt before she moved forward to join her group who were now two members short. Hawk and Steel were gone and the smallest twinge of regret went through Summer, but not enough to make her pause. It was life and that's why you didn't get attached. Everything was too risky and personally, she'd never found anything worth wanting to take that risk.

Her pale blue eyes scanned the man who approached them. Her was rugged, good-looking sure, but she could already sense he was hard. Maybe even harder than her, but a lot of people were. Still, she was already impressed with his skill. Taking down a Behemoth was not something just anyone could do. There was some respect there already even if there was no trust whatsoever.

It was Dozer, their leader, who spoke first and Summer pretty much tuned out. She knew this routine. You introduced yourself, your team and you explained - or didn't - why you were here, and how you found this other group of survivors. Same story, different groups and she'd heard it more than once. Though, usually she wasn't included in the whole thing and the woman started slightly, body tense as she heard her name, heard Dozer's deep voice and saw his eyes go to her.

"Scout's the one that knew you were here. She's our-"

"You say blood-hound and I'll shoot you." Summer growled out and Dozer gave her a look before continuing.

"-tracker."

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer looked over the group of survivors and commended them in his mind, they didnt look all too tough but they seemed to be surviving...well most at least, looking over to the two deceased.

"Name's Fixer, Death's Head Sniper," He said in a thick, Kiwi accent. "Delta and Sev are the two that walked off."

He looked around at the messy scene and sighed.

"We were on our way to an RV point when big boy over there pinged our scout." He said pointing to the man he called Sev.

---------------------------------

After hearing that Scout was the one who tracked them down, he let out a short chuckle.

"You're quite the resourceful one, aren't you?" He said, addressing Scout. "You should think about Death's Head, decent benefits for what it's worth."

He began to make his way over to the dead Behemoth and pulled out a small, clear vial and put some of the creature's blood in it and sealed it tight before walking back to the group. Sev and Delta arrived and began to discuss things with Dozer as Fixer piped over them,

"I suggest we get moving, we dont want to be out in this open for too long. Id rather hate to discover whether those rumors about the blood are true."

 

[Kaisaan]

Death's Head, huh?

Summer raised a brow, but didn't respond and she didn't need to. Everyone was already moving around, doing whatever they needed to anyway. Besides, she wouldn't have had an answer right now anyway, but really...she'd think about it. Might be better to be with people who knew what they were doing than those who merely did what they could to stay alive. And frankly, her group wasn't all that skilled. She wasn't an expert, but she was better than they were and she knew it. It wasn't even an arrogance thing, it was merely fact and in this world, it was facts that mattered.

Like the fact that Fixer was right. It WAS time to get moving whether the blood rumors were true or not.

Her group agreed and as they moved out, the female stopped for a moment, realizing she was missing something. Hr head tilted, sniffing and a smile flit across her face as she veered off from the others and to a Leaper corpse. She pulled her third blade from the undead's chest and wiped it off before sheathing the weapon with a satisfying shhhnick sound at her belt. Her ears had stopped ringing by this point and as she caught up with the others, trying her hair back as she walked, Summer's pale blue eyes glanced back at the city behind them, her head cocked.

She spoke to everyone and no one in particular. "Might want to set a fast pace. We have company about three miles away. Must have been attracted by the noise."

The female took her own advice then, starting to move once more.

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer took point with Delta and Sev taking positions on the side of the group, trying to keep the group of "civilians" in the center. They may be a merc company, but these are still people that need protecting. Just as they were heading out, Delta tossed a couple mags at him he got from the downed men. He slapped a new clip into the gun and pressed on.

"Delta, how far till the RV point?" Fixer called back.

"Well, we are on Freemont Street and Beverly, so I'd say about two and a half clicks." Delta said, folding a small map up and pocketing it. Anyone looking at it could see that there were a lot of marks and symbols on it that dont look good at first glance.

"Right then, we will stick to the main roads. Stay on the sidewalk though, less likely to be spotted at that point."

People taking the time to look at Fixer could see that he stands 5'8'' and weighs about 165lbs, most of which is muscle. He is Caucasian but tanned from being out in the city with some burns from environmental issues. Brown hair with steel-grey eyes (mine can actually hit that hue, kinda cool). Has visible scars all over his body, most of which from bladed or projectile weapons. A large scar from when a leaper was able to get ahold of him before the blood mutated. Gave him three nasty scars down his right arm. His face is slightly pocked, as is the rest of his visible body, all from acid rain over the years. He wears a black jumpsuit underneath his matte black combat armor (the equivalent to something like standard military armor of now). He is often seen wearing an Urban Camo overlay on his armor to better blend in with the surroundings. He has a pair of sunglasses that he wears when hes out and about and has a black Navy Seals hat he found over the years and most of his face is covered by whatever he can find to prevent who-knows-what from getting in his body.

He is cradling his M16 in his arms, keeping a vigilant eye on the road and eyes open for Leapers.

"So, Scout. What particular talents do you have for 'Tracking?'" He asks as he looks behind him at the attractive woman with auburn hair.

 

[Kaisaan]

Summer glanced over at the rough-looking man - Fixer, right - and arched a brow, wondering why in the world, out of all the people here, he'd chosen to talk to her. If anything she expected him to address Dozer or even Arrow. When it came to speech, Dozer was far more experienced and willing and Arrow..well, the woman was a bombshell. Sure, she was taken, but most men didn't know that. Why Fixer had chosen to focus on her evaded the auburn-haired woman and in turn she was wary.

Well, scratch that. She was wary of everyone, but perhaps more-so of anyone interested in her for any reason.

Despite the hard edge in her pale blue eyes, she spoke, answering the question with as little detail as possible, voice neutral. "I have an enhanced sense of smell and hearing."

"She's not kidding. The girl's been known to smell out food two miles away and her hearing is off the charts."

If looks could kill, Domino would have been dead and the man in question caught Summer's glare and cringed, looking slightly apologetic as he eased away from her. Among other things, the lithe woman was known for her cold temper and Summer would have liked nothing better than to unleash it now. The ONLY thing that stopped her was the need for secrecy and quiet....and Domino knew it, too.

"Why thank you, Domino, but I don't believe your name is Scout." she hissed out between visibly bared fangs and the man cleared his throat and nodded before falling back. Pale blue eyes looked back into sunglass-hidden ones again and the smile that flickered at Summer's lips was sharp, forced. "There you have it. How long you been sharp-shooter?"

 

[Hearthridge]

"Been at it for a good five or six years now. Heh, now that I think about it...it might have been a little longer. Hard to remember all those years ago."

He chucked to himself and shook his head out of the reverie and continued walking.

"Come take point with me. I could use a spotter, or a listener for that matter. That lout back there *points to Sev* is piss poor at it."

"Oi, Im not that bad!"

"You still get distracted by that picture of whatever-her-name was. Thought you threw that thing away."

"I threw that one away. Kept the special one close to my heart, if you catch my drift."

Fixer shook his head and chuckled again.

"See what I mean? Hes terrible at it. Besides, I wont bite though I feel you might."

 

[Kaisaan]

This time Summer did smile and while it was amused, it also contained an almost feral edge, only enhanced by her fangs. A deep chuckle sounded in her throat as she tilted her head in an agreeing manner. "I think you're right." she retorted simply before she followed Fixer away from the group, not at all nervous about being semi-alone with him. If she could handle a Leaper intent on ripping her throat out, she could handle one man who might or might not have honorable intentions.

It's not like she hadn't dealt with that issue in the past.

They had to nearly jog to get ahead of the others, but slowed a bit once they were far enough away to be of use and Summer immediately grew more alert, like a canine put to task, her head swiveling slowly, nose inhaling deeply, brows furrowed as she worked through everything her senses could tell her. And right now they were telling her to spin and fling a knife at the Creeper emerging from the ally.

Having done so, Summer retrieved the blade and looked toward Fixer. "This is the only one on the block. There are....four or five two blocks over and...." She frowned, looking at the ground, calculating before she spoke again, tucking her hair behind her ear absentmindedly. "Sixteen....maybe eighteen Leapers about a mile from here, but they're moving away from us. No Trackers or Behemoths. I think you scared them away."

She said that last part with a wink, half sarcastic, but half admiring, too before walking on.

 

[Hearthridge]

Fixer looked over to the woman walking near him. She wasnt that much shorter than he was and was attractive enough but aside from that, she had the physical makings to be a good Legionnaire.

"I wasnt joking when I said you should join the Legion. You have the skills to make a valuable asset. Also, I mean no offense by using the term 'asset,' it's just what we are to a merc outfit."

He looked over his shoulder to check on the group behind him and he got a snarky smile from Sev and an official 'OK' nod from Delta with a hand gesture indicating where to turn.

Fixer took a left on the road and began to follow it down its length.

"Im also a little curious as to how acute your hearing? Is it good enough to distinguish heartbeats?"