Simply Survive

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Summer took his arm before she could think about it and that action alone halted any other movement she would have made, despite his command. Her fangs had already grown and her eyes swam red as the scent hit her nose. She struggled, the savage creature inside her wanting nothing more than to sink her teeth into his arm and drain the blood from him, uncaring about who he was or how it would effect his body. And her heart rebelled against such a thing, fighting the feral nature back into submission.

The woman brought Targas' arm up only when she felt she had adequate control but instead of biting him, she licked away the blood that had begun to run down his skin, up to the cut itself where she forcefully kept herself from latching on to his skin. Instead, Summer pressed a soft kiss to the injury and red glowed on her lips, healing his flesh over in seconds. She pulled back then, lips red and her eyes fading from that same color back to a pale blue.

She shook her head.

"No. I don't want to hurt you and right now...I would. I wouldn't want to, but I would. I need to hunt, Targas, to drain."

Summer brought her hand to his cheek, her thumb brushing against the facial hair there, tickling her palm and she smiled, clear love in the expression. "Thank you for being willing, though."
 
Then we will hunt.

He grabbed his makeshift spear and pushed his way through the barricade that he made and went out into the street, scanning the street for anything that moved.

"What are you hungry for, dear?"

He found a pointed piece of metal and tied it to the tip of his spear with some shredded cloth. Man, he really needed some new pants. He began searching for a clothing store that survived the years of raiding and fires, using the spear as a walking stick. Hmm, now that he thought about it...he needed to feed too. He spent a lot of energy last night.

"Im thinking take-out." He smiled as he said it, the obvious desire to eat and the playful tone suggested that a hunt was what he needed too.
 
Summer laughed, grinning over at him as she started scanning the surrounding area with her senses, searching for what they both needed. Well, besides clothes - hers were torn and shredded, too. She had a feeling they'd be going through a lot of those.

"Hmm....well, I don't want to go underground for the RadRats and the thought of eating roach is....disgusting to say the least. I think a Behemoth would be hard for us in the state we're in. Creepers would be the easiest to catch, but Leapers...would give a good chase."

Summer didn't mention Trackers at all and while the thought of 'why' didn't come to her as she hardly seemed aware that she'd excluded them, the fact that she had would come to make her wonder in time. Right now she was more focused on finding their potential prey and as they walked, Summer's eyes dilated, bleeding red as she caught the scent of something that moved, even if it wasn't something alive.

The woman looked at Targas, mischief dancing in her gaze as her fangs slowly grew and claws did the same, red scales slowly creeping over her skin in a very controlled way, almost flirtatious; as if she were inviting him to join her, to let loose and have fun doing it.

"So what will it be, sweetie? Creeper or Leaper?"
 
"I think a Leaper would be the most adventurous." He grinned and started shrugging and shifting as he let his mass grow, focusing the changes in the legs to give a more powerful sprint and jump. He gripped his spear in his hand as he convulsed slightly, he was learning to control his rage and his changing.

Lead.

Almost as soon as he sent her the though, he heard the screech in the distance and the rest followed suit. There must have been at least six of them. He felt the smile creep across his face as he turned to face the noise. As he turned, he forced his bones to pop and realign to create protective layers around his chest, spine and neck. His eyesight shifted from normal to the black and red mesh that swept over his eyes, allowing him to track by heat.

He walked over to his lover and ran a gentle hand down her face and arm and nodded in the direction of the noise.

Lady first.
 
She purred at his touch, tail curling happily in delight and excitement and Summer leaped away, a small, lithe thing in comparison to her mate, but powerful in her own right and just as lethal. The woman let instinct take over as they grew closer to the screeching and she sprang from the street with feline grace, latching on to the side of a building, her claws sharp enough to cut through the bricks and her tail providing an excellent state of balance as she leaped and crawled her way toward the prey.

Only the prey didn't think they were prey, not yet at least, and Summer saw the first Leaper spring for her out of the corner of her eye, hearing the thing before she even saw it. She laughed, dodging the strike entirely even as she encountered a second Leaper and from that point on, it was a matter of chase; seeing who was faster, smarter and after a time, Summer started to toy with her food.

She'd take leaps, pause and wait until a Leaper was right upon her before escaping by a hair's breath. It was exciting, made her work and it made the savage creature inside her happy. Soon enough, though, hunger demanded to be satisfied and when she saw her opportunity, the scaled woman gave a deafening screech, latching on to her prey with wicked claws when the Leaper paused on a ledge.

She bit into the creature's neck and blood rushed into her mouth at an unnatural speed as she proceeded to drain the Leaper into a husk. It barely had the time to struggle before it was too weak to do so.
 
Targas started bounding after his mate, picking up intense speeds and started doing leaping bounds towards the creatures. He felt that he was going to enjoy the hunt, knowing that they were not going to be the hunted today. The creatures inside of him agreed that it was much more enjoyable to do the hunting and their desire for him to cause damage only spurred his hunger.

He flew through the air and landed on a rusted car, crushing it under his weight and landing in a kneeling position. He stood up to see three leapers jumping around him, trying to find a good venue of attack. He stepped off the car and ripped off its door, waiting for a Leaper to jump at him. As soon as one of them did, he swung the door and it collided with such force that the rusted metal just folded around it and there was a loud, Thwaaaaaannggggg and a crash as he tossed the wrapped up Leaper to the side. The other two jumped at him and he jumped up, coming down on the two as they landed where he was, pinning them to the car.

They were thrashing around for a few moments before he forced his legs down, breaking their spines. The one he tossed had forced its way out of the door and staggered for a moment before jumping away in fear. It knew that it was outmatched and Targas gave chase, bounding after it and catching up to it in short time. The leaper had the advantage of being a walljumper but he had a spear and he used it. As the leaper was jumping across the street, he threw the spear with as much strength as he could and watched it sail through the air and impale it into a wall twenty feet down. A feral smile crept across his face as he slowly walked his way over to the writhing creature, desperate to get away but pinned to a wall.

He walked up to the pinned leaper and shrugged off the claws it swung at him, simply grabbing its head and shoulder and holding them apart, giving him access to the neck. He felt the hunger inside of him surge as he tore into its neck, blood spraying everywhere. He kept gnawing at the things neck until it stopped moving, a feat that was accomplished by literally eating the entirety of the neck as the head fell off its former shoulders. He pulled the spear out of the wall and carried the Leaper-on-a-stick back to where his lover was still playing and hunting.
 
Summer had caught another Leaper by the time her mate returned and she chuckled at the proud look on his face, her own process of feeding a bit more delicate. Sure, her attacks were bloody, brutal, but once she started draining, no blood was wasted and as Summer let the now truly-dead, hollowed out Leaper fall to the ground, she wiped her mouth and face free of the red liquid before leaping down herself.

She cleaned her claws, sucking the blood off of them as she approached her mate, tail swinging happily behind her, her scales a dark, rich red now that she was sated. Knowing that Targas still had to actually eat, she hopped into a car with a torn off roof and lounged back in the seat, a leg up over the door, dangling out the window and half her side propped up against the armrest and console to the side. Her long tail joined her leg, creating lazy circles near the ground.

Summer smiled at the male, clearly happy.

Well, that was fun.
 
He tossed the corpse on the hood of the car and began breaking its bones at the joints to make smaller pieces, almost like a drumstick. He tore into the carcass at first with a savage hunger to it before he regained his composure and just gnawed at it. When he was finished he pulled his spear out of its body and shrug off the majority of his size, getting into the car and cuddling up to his mate.

Indeed it was.

He gazed over the woman's form, taking in every feature and making it quite obvious that he was checking her out. He let a hand caress her face and pulled himself up to her face, giving her a warm and loving kiss. His other arm trailed down from her neck and down the curves of her body and around her waist. For a few moments, he held the kiss before letting himself back into his cuddling position, running the tips of his fingers down the length of her tail.

We need to take a vacation I think.

He looked up into her eyes, eyes full of desire for a day of peace with her.

What do you think?
 
Summer's smile grew as he came to join her and as his eyes trailed over her form, she let him, the smile growing somewhat alluring. It seemed to work, too, as his lips met her own and the scaled woman hummed a low purr deep in her throat as his touch left a trail of fire across her skin and her tail came back into the car to twine like a vine around his leg, starting at his thigh and the tip with the blade ending harmlessly at his ankle.

When Targas pulled back, she growled softly, only half protesting the departure as his fingers started to caress her tail gently, sending the most pleasant tingles up her spine. Her fingers found his hair then, carding through the brown mess, putting some order to it as her claws shrank and her fingers lightly scratched over his scalp.

Summer chuckled at his words and she pulled some of his hair affectionately. I think that sounds wonderful, but did not someone say that we had a mission to accomplish first? she teased back. The thought of just being with him, no danger, nothing to do...it was the most appealing thought in the world and for a minute Summer let herself dream of that, envisioning it clearly, but she knew reality all too well.

It couldn't happen until they were safe, free of those who would pursue them with a vengeance now.

Pale blue eyes met gray ones and Summer smiled softly, brushing his damp hair away from his forehead, running her hand down to the back of his head, cradling it gently as she looked down at Targas. For now, I will settle for here and now, with you, like this and I will trust that at the end of all this, we will still have the chance to be the way we are now, at peace.
 
Well...we could always go find some island with waterfalls and wait for them to come to us...no, that wouldnt work. We wouldnt have the strength then. He signed in his mind and sounded almost sad. They had a war to wage but at least this cell was dead. He had no idea how many more he would have to kill to be with his love in peace.

He lay there and cuddled her until she was ready to go. He was quite content with laying here for a long time and it was up to her when they would move.

"Tell me hon, do you like to dance?"

He looked up to her with his grey eyes, they danced with the desire for fun of any sorts. Hunting was fun but it was a necessity, doing something for themselves on the otherhand...that was a want and he has been fighting it for some time now.
 
Summer felt no desire to move. Oh, she knew they'd have to because if more Stickies didn't come then Leapers, Creepers, Trackers and stars knew what else would when it got dark, when they got even more active than they already were. They'd have to move sooner or later, but right now, she was perfectly content where she was and when the man she loved spoke again, asking a question of her that she had absolutely no problem answering, Summer grinned.

"I love to dance. I used to, all the time, before everything happened. I haven't done so in years, though." she admitted and then wiggled, poking him until he moved with chuckles of her own until she could get out of the car. Summer then proceeded to pull him out with her, not really accomplishing the deed unless he complied, but her whim clear nonetheless.

"Come on, your brought it up. Dance with me."
 
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He chuckled as he was brought to his feet, man he was going to disappoint her with his dancing...he was terrible.

"Ill have you know Im terrible at this. Never went to Prom because of it."

He gave her a sheepish smile and looked into her eyes, "That doesnt mean that I dont want to do it though."

He took her left hand in his right and put his other around her waist. He started to hum Clair de lune as he attempted some form of Waltz and he was pretty sure he was butchering it but at least he wasnt stepping on her feet. He slowly picked up his own pace as the dancing lessons he took in PE all those years ago started to come back to him and it turned into some bastardization of a formal ballroom dance while he hummed the song.
 
Summer laughed as he brought her close and they started to dance. He was right - he wasn't that good at this, but she didn't mind. He was holding her and she was near him and it didn't matter how strange the dancing was, how many steps they got wrong trying not to tangle over each other's feet or trip over various objects on the street. She'd never felt so happy in a dance and Summer smiled and laughed her way through it, thoroughly pleased by the turn of events.

He was doing well for someone who professed to being so terrible, but the woman was admittedly a great deal more graceful than he was. Summer had shifted back down to her human form and now she drew closer to Targas as his humming started to fade away, the end of the song, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, their dancing slowing into the ridiculous 'dancing' one saw teenagers do. She pressed her lips to his in a short, sweet kiss and tilted her head back slightly, hair cascading down her shoulders and almost reaching mid-back. She was covered in blood, clothes torn, dirty, but still he looked at her as if she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen and Summer knew she'd never meet a more handsome man, gore-covered and all.

"You aren't half-bad, Targas. Maybe I could teach you, though, this isn't exactly my kind of dance."
 
"Heh, told you and I would love it if you taught me." There was sincerity in his words as he looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Perhaps another time though, we should probably find some clothes and a place to stay. I think we should swing by the compound before we trek off and become savage hunters of the wild."

He smirked at what he said but there was a hint of truth to what he said. He wouldnt mind living like that but he still thought that it should be a last resport. There was a whole world to explore, though, and that enticed him. He took her hand in his and gave her a deep bow, kissing her hand and looking up at her.

"Thank you for the dance, mi'lady."
 
(I'm time-skipping - getting them really traveling. Hope that's okay, let me know if it's not)

Summer smiled, holding back a giggle at his antics and she cleared her throat, keeping a straight face as she curtsied. "Thank you for asking me, m'lord." She looked up through her hair then and couldn't help the laughter that escaped again, rising to wrap her arms around he male once more and kiss him soundly.

There would be many hard, bad days ahead, of that she was sure, but as long as she had these moments, as long as she had HIM, then anything was worth it. Anything was possible.

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

A month saw Targas and Summer making their way across the country, wiping out hives as they went. They'd developed a reputation among the undead and they had little fear of being harrassed anymore as news of the carnage they left in their wake started to spread. Undead were not the only things that had heard of them, though, and the two were either met with open hostility from humans - at which they avoided them seeing as how enough humans died from the world they lived in anyway - or cautious help before they were on their way.

No one really knew what to make of them, but the undead and the Stickies sure knew how to react to them. One species fled and the other fought. Simple as that.

As time passed, both Targas and Summer learned more about what they could do, their strength and limitations. They learned a great deal more about each other as well, likes and dislikes, things they did as children, hobbies, interests before the virus spread. What they didn't seem to talk about, though, was how they'd lost their families, how they'd ended up where they'd been when they met. Perhaps it was not on purpose, but all the same, it was a subject they didn't broach.

They were journeying through what used to be Colorado Springs now and at present, Summer was examining two human corpses, probably about two months old. She slung her gun over her shoulder and crouched, flipping her hair back as she let claws grow and delicately searched the male's body with those until she found what she'd suspected would be among the remains. She held up an empty vial, the same kind that had affected them and shook her head with a sigh.

"Looks like another one."

They'd been finding these all over now; bodies of a male and a female, always with the vial, always empty. Their bodies had rejected the pure virus and they'd died almost instantly.
 
"That makes what...two hundred and thirty pairs now?"

He sighed audibly under his breath and shook his head. Damn shame it happened like that. Often times, he would talk to the hundreds of dead inside of his body to learn what he could about the stickies and their numbers and these vials. The answers were always mixed. What he did know from the responses though was that their numbers were dwindling. Once the pures are dead, they had to track down the hybrids and destroy all the vials they could. That was a larger task than the stickies themselves.

He knelt next to her and examined the two of them, looking towards their hands.

"Looks like these two were married. Likely prior to their taking of the ritual. Damn shame. We must be getting close though, I can smell it."

Targas stood up and looked to the skeletal remains of the cityscape in the distance, the creaking and groaning of the buildings singing to the quiet skies as the wind blew through it, making a music all of its own. The dust disturbed and settling, making clouds and new layers. This area was hot though. He could see that from the distance.

"The whole region has a glow to it. We are definitely close indeed."
 
Summer nodded, agreeing with his assessment. Another hive was close, she could almost feel their presence though she and her mate had long since learned to hide themselves rather well - mentally and definitely physically. She stood and followed after Targas, glancing back only once at the human couple, thoughtful. She hadn't yet brought it up with Targas, not sure of her own stand on the matter, but now she felt the need to again and Summer glanced at him, speaking slowly at first.

"Targas, do you think there are others like us out there? Other hybrids who have escaped capture? I know we see lot of dead ones, and many have probably been taken, but there have to be others, those that were strong enough to resist, right?"

They were entering the outskirts of the city now and Summer drew her gun, holding it at the read as they started to creep through the cars and debris left over from panicking people as the virus spread and killed.
 
"I have no doubt that there were and are others like us but they are either fighting or hiding. There is one difference between us and them though, we know what we are doing and we have our love. So, while there are others like us, that doesnt mean that they are us. We are unique."

He looked to her face and wondered if he was answering a hidden question, deciding if he was satisfied of his answer and nodded to himself. But that did raise thoughts in his own head: what if they are the only ones that survived the process? He didnt want to dwell on that for too long, it would compromise his thoughts.

"And to be honest, babe...if there are others, they likely have heard of us. We do have a reputation and they likely wont want to get in our way."

He gave her a walking hug as they entered the city. He could feel how tense she was and he knew this had been on her mind for a while now. Part of him wished that they found another couple who had resisted to put her mind at ease and another part of him wanted what they had to be unique but that is too selfish for him to openly acknowledge. He checked the clip on his rifle and reloaded it then giving her another hug and kissing her on the head.

"We will find peace soon hon..I can feel it. This wont go on for too much longer."
 
"I hope not."

Summer thought over his answers as they parted and began walking again, but while what he said made sense, she couldn't help the....well, it wasn't worry, but it was definitely something like worry, about the whole situation. She KNEW they weren't the only ones who'd survived the process because the Stickies had confirmed that, but were they the only ones who'd been strong enough to resist the draw of the Stickies themselves? The aliens didn't seem to know what to do with them, how to handle them, like this was new to them, too.

And if they'd built such a reputation, wouldn't it make sense if there were others like them, free and fighting, that they'd want to form up, become a stronger group? And wouldn't they have heard about another pair - or pairs - of fighting hybrids just as their own infamy was spreading? No, Summer feared they were on the only ones like them, as Targas seemed to be suggesting with his 'unique' comment.

She wasn't sure about any of it and that's what agitated Summer. She hated not knowing.

The red-head shook the thoughts away and instead focused on her surroundings, starting to sniff and listen in earnest now. The distance shrieks of the undead seemed to signal their arrival but they weren't confronted by any of the creatures. They knew better.

Oh wait. She'd spoken too soon.

Summer raised a brow, glancing at Targas and then toward the pack of Trackers approaching them. These dog-hybrids were massive. The hotter climate and mountains for hunting seemed to agree with them and they were nearly twice the size of western city Trackers.

There were also about fifteen of them.
 
(sorry, would have responded earlier but I had some upset feels to deal with)

Targas puffed up and snarled at them, asserting his dominance and attempting to establish a mind link with the alpha, who responded by stepping forward. He walked towards the alpha and they circled around each other.

He reached out to the alpha. Pack help?

Pack feed.

Pack follow. Pack hunt.

Pack hunt?

Pack makers.

Feed. Makers. Follow.

He chuckled to himself and turned back to his lover.

"They will follow us. I have given them the promise for a feast in their eyes. Let us move on."
 
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