Simply Survive

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Summer started at Targas' words and she spun a bit faster than she should have to face him, eyes wide. She opened her mouth to respond and then shut it again, unsure what to tell him. That she was...talking to herself and herself was answering back? That might be too weird even for him. Summer's eyes flashed red, unbeknownst to her, and they stayed that way for several seconds.

{Do you not understand how much he loves you? I'm pretty sure you could turn into a snake and he'd love you. Just tell him.}

Her vision faded back to blue and the woman frowned. Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to say it out loud!

Her eyes flashed red again. {Uh, yes I do. I'm you. Duh.}

Blue eyes. Summer held her head with a growl and she practically spat out the answer, growing frustrated. "I don't know. I'm talking back to myself but it's like it's not me even though it is and it's bloody confusing!"

The voice in her head, herself essentially, laughed and Summer's eyes went red again, switching back and forth as rapidly as the conversation did. {You haven't begun to understand confusing.}
 
What was going on with her and her eyes? Talking to herself? Was this another change she was going through?

No.

Who is that?

I am me but I am you. We are one and we shall soon be many.

Targas shook his head, looking to his mate.

"I think we have some invasive personalities. You remember the energy we absorbed? I think that was their essence...and now that I think about it, those visions we had from the vial, I think that was the essence of their lore keeper."

Yes.

He shook his head and chuckled, walking over to the confused woman that he loves and took her in his arms. He looked into her eyes and smiled pleasantly to the two of them and unknown to him, the other inside him smiled as well. There were two pairs of mates in this room and according to the one in his head, there will be more.

"We should be fine hon."
 
Summer stared up at Targas and her eyes were still wide, but they were blue. She could feel the voice inside her smiling back at Targas, but Summer was confused and while she let the male hold her, she hadn't relaxed and she shook her head a little, voice somewhere between calm and alarmed. "Wait....are you saying that I have a dead Sticky in my head?"

Her eyes flashed red as the answer ccame but not from her mate. {In a way. But only the parts of us that would merge. I am you even as I was her. I have more of a clue than you do, though, and the traits we share have been enhanced.}

So...will you be here forever?

{Yes and no. My pressence will fade over time as I absorb into everything you are, but if you search hard enough, you'll find my voice. And any voice of any creature you kill. Why do you think you're craving blood, genius? The Tracker. You absorbed its instincts.}

Summer blinked, surprised by that and she found that when she focused back on Targas, she wasn't so on edge and she nodded in a delayed agreement with him, biting her lip. Okay, we'll be fine, great, but if I start going insane you'll know why.

She's only half joking.
 
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Then that is something we will worry about in the then. For now, we are whole and together.

"Now, we need to go. I have secured us a group of soldiers. They will be helping us rid the world of the Sticky problem. We cant do this alone hon, I hope you understand that. They also know that they likely wont be coming home but we have a few special surprises. Explosive bullets. They will take out as many as they can while we do what we must."

We will deal with our new companions later. For now, let us go and use what we can from their knowledge of their people to help us.

Targas looked into her eyes and flashed the confidence he had into her mind through their link. He put his forehead to hers and rubbed their noses together and kissed the tip of her nose before pulling her into a tight hug, doing his best to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.

They will be waiting. They will kill you all.

They can try all they like but they underestimate humankind.

You are not human, not anymore.

That may be the case but my heart, my soul, is still human and its fighting for Summer. So long as she is with me, I cannot be stopped.

Targas grabbed his rifle and loaded it. He was going to war.
 
She let his touch and his voice work their magic and even though Summer had a lot of questions and uncertainties, she let herself trust Targas and she nodded to his words. She understood. They were powerful, but they weren't invincible and it would be good to have backup. So long as the men didn't start shooting at THEM at any point she'd be fine with their presence. In any case, the person she most wanted with her when crap went down was holding her in his arms.

And like him, she was ready to fight.

--------

They'd left the hotel-base hours ago and Summer hadn't looked back. They were working their way toward the subway tunnels now, going by a different entrance than the last one they'd used and they hadn't encountered any problems so far. It was as if the undead were being compelled to leave them alone and Summer reasoned - and pointed out to Targas - that it was probably because the Stickies wanted them alive.

Still, the lack of danger was unnerving and the auburn-haired female found herself wanting to snarl at shadows, the tension in everyone running high. Something told all of them, though, that they wouldn't see any action until they got to the tunnels.

That was where the Stickies were and so that was were this battle would commence.
 
The lack of any fighting started off as an ok thing but slowly became worse as it meant that the Stickies had a powerful influence on the area. It wasnt affecting him as much as the others, though. He knew what he was up against but they didnt. As they got closer and closer to the entrance, the sound of the drum started to raise in volume and frequency. They were getting near. He stopped and turned to face the group behind him.

"Alright, we are getting close, I can feel it in my body. Things you should know: They are fast, they are strong, and they are smart. Shoot where it plans to jump and shoot it until there are parts everywhere. Summer and I will be going in first and we will be changing. When you charge in, do not shoot the eight foot giant of a man nor the red-scaled woman. That will be us using our enhanced forms to fight them. Many of you will likely die tonight and I urge you to turn back now if you are having second thoughts."

He waited until no one of the twelve men and women here left.

"Good, thats what I like to see. Now, lock and load."

Targas turned back to the front and started to take off his armor and put the gun on the ground. He didnt need them seeing as there were no zombies near here and continued walking towards the entrance, watching it look in the distance.
 
Summer felt a swell of pride as she listened to Targas, to HER mate and the woman followed him without hesitation into the subway tunnels. Her nose picked up the scent of the aliens immediately, though, they were some distance away and she told the male at her side as much as they continued to walk. The woman was actually glad she didn't have to use her ears in this place as the sound of the group of men behind her was nearly deafening to her sensitive ears. She would never have heard the Sticky that attacked from above, but she certainly smelled the creature and the hairs on her arms and neck rose in warning right before her slitted, red eyes looked up into malicious dark ones.

Summer leaped at the same time the female Sticky did and between the two changing females, Summer finished her form first before they slammed into each other. The impact sent them hurtling back toward the ground, flung off to the side and into the wall before they landed on the ground and sprang apart, snarling horribly.

All hell broke loose then as a flare from one of the men illuminated the tunnel and the many Stickies converging on them, their focus Targas and Summer though they were not above killing the humans as well. The men started firing, taking up positions, finding cover to hide behind, but though the noise made her head hurt and her ears ring, Summer was beyond caring about anything but her opponent - and maybe a few more - and her connection to Targas.

She wouldn't lose him.

As the blood fury and feral state enveloped her, Summer kept that one thought constant in her mind as she started in on the bloodbath in earnest. Her lithe, scaled body was death incarnate. She struck without mercy, calculating and never wasting a strike, never missing a chance to inflict the worst kind of damage that she could.
 
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He had feared that they would get the drop on him but he wasnt surprised. As Summer leapt out of the way and the combat broke out, he let out his anger...and the anger of the other inside of him. His mass tripled in size and he lumbered forward towards the biggest male he could find, indicating that was the alpha.

One of his hands formed the hammerfist and the other formed the blade, using the cunning of the stickies and their base strength to help him. The alpha jumped and crashed into him, slamming him into a wall and would have ripped out his throat had he not have put his ultra-dense arm in the way, feeling it crunching the bones. A white flash of pain and rage surged through him and he gained in mass again, throwing the alpha off of him. It crashed into the wall and roared, growing in its own strength.

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

"They're everywhere!"

"Keep concentrating your fire on where their heads are moving!"

"Frak! Delta is down!"

"Suppressing fire!"

"This was a stupid plan!"

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

Targas found himself embedded in the side of a railcar after being thrown by the alpha. Both of them were mad and getting bigger, hitting harder and lasting longer. He was able to pry himself off just before the alpha crashed into the side of the car and he leapt onto its back, punching his way through and into its skin with his sharpened bones. The alpha was about fifteen feet at the shoulders and twenty long at this point and showed no signs of slowing its growth. Targas was half that size.

The Alpha leapt up into the air and slamming its back into the ceiling and crushing Targas between the two surfaces. He used that pressure to puncture deeper into its back, slowly moving through the muscle layers. He grabbed on to a chunk of grisly muscle in order to stay on its back and changed his other hand into another sharp blade and began to saw his way into a larger hole.
 
Summer had found the alpha female. Apex predators were drawn to each other and the females engaged just as fiercely as the males did, and the red-scaled woman found out rather quickly that she could leap walls and crawl across ceilings just as easily in this form as a Leaper could, as the Stickies themselves did. Her battle with the alpha spanned every angle of the tunnel and the female just kept growing, kept adapting faster than Summer could follow.

She held her own but it was almost inevitable when the larger female managed to catch and pin her. A clawed hand ripped into her stomach, trying to get past the scales and Summer screamed, the sound inhuman, but full of pain. She struggled to get free and her bladed tail wrapped around the alpha's neck, the sharp edge piercing into the creature's neck. It didn't kill the alpha and she only released her grip on Summer fractionally. It was enough for the scaled woman to renew her struggles and after a moment where her tail tightened, choking off the other creature's air, Summer managed to break free.

Her fangs grew further and the red in her eyes deepened as something hot stirred in Summer's stomach. She didn't even feel surprised when the next time she screeched, flames, black as the night sky exited her mouth and the Sticky was engulfed in them. As the creature roared in pain, affected by this fire unlike any normal one, Summer rolled away, feeling her vision swim. She kept a hand on her stomach, the gory, claw marks having dug a hole. She was bleeding badly.

She didn't have time to dwell on that, though, as the alpha recovered and they engaged once again, both injured badly and now on a more level playing field.
 
He heard his mate and love scream in pain and agony, turnings his head to see her injured but still fighting. His rage compounded and he began hacking at the alpha's back until he had a wide enough hole to force part of himself in to. He forced his way into its back and began to hack at the organs inside of it. His hunger demanded he feast his way out of the creature, like the aliens of old.

He wrapped his hands around the ribcage and pried it open and began to hack at the connective tissues encasing its heart. He could see the creatures energies pulsing around it and funneling into it, channelling its rage into a more potent form of power. He put his feet in a bracing position and rocketed forward, grasping its heart and punching out of its chest.

He landed on the ground and rolled to his feet, covered in gore and holding its still pulsing with energy. His hunger grew ravenous and he tore into it, feeling the energy feed his body and he turned to another Sticky and attacked.
 
Another burst of dark fire saw Summer finally getting an advantage on the alpha female and her claws ripped into the creature's heart as it stumbled back with unearthly shrieks. The flames licked at its skin, devouring the Sticky alive and Summer ended its misery rather swiftly, ripping the pumping organ out of the alpha's chest cavity and then letting the red energy wrap around her before she dropped the heart. Unlike Targas, Summer had no desire to eat the flesh.

No, she wanted blood, but that took more time and live blood was better than sluggish dead blood. Another Sticky presented itself as if reading her mind and Summer snarled, leaping for the creature and starting another battle all over again. This time, though, she was noticeably slower in her movements, sluggish in reaction time to the strikes that came toward her and while Summer dispatched two more Stickies - they were far easier to subdue now that their leaders were gone so they must have a somewhat packlike structure - she wasn't in a good way.

Her fourth opponent was a male Sticky and Summer knew, she didn't know how, but she did that she wasn't going to win this fight. Her body was soaked in blood, but a great deal of it was her own and her body was not healing, not after so many opponents had targeted her stomach, seeing it as a weak point since she was already injured. Her scales had kept them from completely gutting her, but she was a shredded mess and this male was no different in his ability to sense a weakness.

Summer felt her ribs crack, snap as she failed to avoid a powerful strike from a densely-boned fist and her scream was cut short as she hit the tunnel wall, rolling down the side and stopping only when she hit a dead Sticky.

This time Summer didn't rise.
 
Targas froze in the middle of crushing the skull of another sticky as he heard the scream of his love and he felt her life drifting away.

No. She will not fade. (Internalized dialogue. Phone cant make italics)

He leapt through the air and brutalized the sticky that dropped her, snapping its neck and tossing it to the side like garbage. The last couple soldiers finished their last threats and took defensive positions. Targas dropped his form and went over to her crippled and dying body. His tears streaked down his face and his cries could be heard over the aftermath of the fight.

He held her forehead to his, letting the tears flow down his face and hers, eventually reaching the wounds in her body. His hopes and dreams for them flashing through his mind as he searched his heart to find a way to help her. All he got in an answer was, Love. It made sense. He had what the others didnt, he had the most powerful emotion he could use at his fingertips.

He lay her down and noticed that red glyphs were floating around the wound, his tears lying near. He placed his hands over her Gut and closed his eyes. He let his love for her fuel his sadness and happiness respectively. The tears that flowed down his face were that of happiness and sadness but together they were something more powerful than just water. The glyphs began glowing a deep, purple hue and he leaned in over her, placing his lips on hers and giving her a kiss.

"Come back to me, Summer. I cant lose you, not now....not ever...I love you Summer. I always have. Ever since I first saw you all those years ago. I never had the chance nor balls to tell you then but im here now...please dont leave me here, not now...come back to me..."

His voice trailed off as his tears and sobbing took over, the tears running down his face then hers again. He pulled her into his arms and put her head to his chest, craddling her in his arms, hoping the sound of his heart will help guide her back.

At this point, the others gathered around and were actually crying themselves. They have seen their friends go throughout this countless times but it still hurts to watch it. They were going to head back and insisted he come but he insisted he stay with her, and evn if he did want to go he wouldnt be allowed to state as it was. No, he wasnt going to leave her and the others left him to his sorrow.

"I love you, Summer...come back..."
 
Black.

Everything was black and cold and dead. Was she dead? Did the dead ask themselves questions? No, she didn't think she was dead, but maybe close. Yes, that felt right. She was close to death, able to feel it breathing down her neck, coaxing her to let go, that everything would feel better, would end if she just...let go.

But let go of what?

Oh, maybe that red, glowing rope. She hadn't seen it appear, but now it was clearly visible and she took a step in the direction it led, swallowed up by the darkness a few steps in. Her first move along the rope that had attached itself to her chest resulted in instant pain and she gasped, stepping back again. That had hurt! Why did it hurt?

Death called to her again and she turned to face it, hesitating and she knew why a moment later as sound entered the blackness around her.

Come back.

Back? Back to what? Why couldn't she think about what she was going back to? It had a strong hold on her, perhaps even stronger than death and she turned back to the glowing cord. That voice...it had been heartbroken and yet so very determined. She knew that voice, didn't she? She took a step forward again, this time braced for the pain and then another and another. Wet. There was something wet on her amidst the pain. It smelled salty.

Tears.

Targas. She'd left him...had almost left him. Summer - for that was who she was, wasn't it? - felt like she was waking up as she started to run along the cord, the pain becoming intense the closer to the light she grew. That light would take her to her lover, though, and the pain no longer mattered as Summer leaped the last few feet, letting the light engulf her.

She took a deep breath and then started coughing, the sound wet as flecks of blood speckled her lips. Her heart started to pound strongly, different from the sluggish beat it had been maintaining as the pain swamped her senses and Summer grit her teeth against a cry, tears tracking their way down her face to join the wetness Targas had left behind. Her body was starting to heal, slow about it, though and pale blue eyes found steel gray.

Summer struggled to breathe properly, her lungs clearly punctured, but she spoke softly to her mate, trying to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere. Not anymore.

"Hi, love."
 
In normal circumstances, Targas would have jumped for joy but he just sat there, holding her in his arms. He would wait here as long as he needed until she was rested and healed. He wouldnt care about anything so long as she was safe.

"You had me scared, babe..."

His voice was still sad but there was happiness to it. Something in his head clicked and his tone changed completely.

"You need blood to regenerate, dont you? "

He held out his arm in an offer and held out a knife.

"Id rather you get it fresh from me, I insist. I am much cleaner than they are anyways. "

He let a small smile escape his lips as he said that.
 
Summer blinked at him, a myriad of feelings washing through her; guilt for scaring him, relief that she was alive, that he was alive, pain was a constant as was fear that she'd slip off again, but the most prominent was surprise and hesitancy at Targas' offer. She wanted to ask him if he was sure, tell him she could just feed off the dead like he did, but she was having a hard enough time breathing past the blood in her lungs, keeping the scream in, that she said nothing.

The longer she looked at Targas' arm, though, the louder the beat of the pulse underneath his skin got in her ears. It was steady, though, not scared and racing and she reached out slowly, taking his hand gently in her own. Again, though, she hesitated. This was her mate.

{All the more reason to sink your fangs into him. Unless you'd like to die.} The voice was different now, echoing as if there were far more behind it and Summer resisted the urge to close her eyes to respond, her lids already feeling heavy, dangerously so.

It's okay?

{It's natural. Who's blood but his is going to have the strength to heal a wound like the one we have? He knows it and you do too. Stop thinking about it.}

Summer didn't have the will to protest and so she merely followed orders. Her fangs elongated once more and she bit into Targas' arm delicately. The minute his blood hit her system, she could feel the change come over her body. His essence tingled, warm and welcome as it slid down her throat and was then consumed by the red energy inside her, used as her insides started to heal first, the energy working it's way outward, repairing the damage. Summer let her eyes fall shut in bliss, knowing she'd never taste anything as good as her mate's blood again.

Even so, she was careful to monitor the beat of his heart and the regulation of his breathing. The very last thing she wanted to do was take too much from him.
 
As far as he was concerned, she could bleed him dry so long as she was ok in the end. It was not entirely a pleasant experience to be honest but he was completely alright with it. He let her drink, cutting off some flesh off the sticky behind her and consuming it. He needed to keep his blood levels elevated but he felt that wouldnt hold up for too long.

"How...are you feeling...hon? "

He was visibly starting to flush pale and finding himself very tired. He cautiously. Pulled his arm back and wrapped it in some cloth.

"Heh...im sorry hon...feeling a bit lightheaded...im just going to lay down now..."

And with that, he fell unconscious.
 
"S***."

Summer caught Targas as he slumped and she carefully worked her way out from under him, her stomach still tender, but no where near the mess it had been. She was breathing easier now, too, though, the urge to cough still hit randomly. The woman ignored all that, though, her attention solely on the man she loved as she laid him down gently and brushed his hair back from his forehead, feeling his skin and listening to the sounds of his breathing and heart rate.

Her panic subsided slowly - very slowly - when she came to the conclusion that he was all right. She'd just taken too much for him to remain conscious. She hadn't taken enough to kill him, though, and the auburn-haired female released a shuddering breath, feeling incredibly shaky as she looked around at the carnage that surrounded them. She forcefully brought her eyes back to Targas, making herself focus on him as she laid down, curling into his side and burying her face into his shoulder.

She didn't want to look anymore, to smell the death and so she blocked it out, staying curled against her mate. And she'd stay that way until he woke and they could leave this place together.
 
Targas woke a few hours later, feeling his body replienishing itself and finding Summer curled around him. She was so cute but he could still feel that she wasnt fully healed. He looked around at the carnage and shuddered, this was much worse than he was used to and even more so since a lot of the blood around here was hers. He stood up and picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the tunnels. The two of them will never have to come back here now that this is done.

He walked out of the tunnels and into the darkening skies. Frak. He wouldnt be able to make it to someplace safe before the night fell so he looked around frantically and eventually deciding on a mostly intact building. He carried her inside and set her down on the ground and took off the tattered remnants of his shirt and covered her in them. He wandered around the building, finding it was a two room structure. There was the main room in the front and a smaller room in the back that had only one door. He came back and picked her up and put her in the back room and went back to searching for anything he could use to barricade the area and make some weapons, as he had none any more.

He took his knife and whittled at a piece of wood, fashioning it into a primitive spear and he settled in for the night, lying down with her but not falling asleep. She needed her rest more so than he did so he was going to stay up.

Good night love. Get your sleep. He bent over and kissed her on the head and sat back and waited for the day to come.
 
Summer had slept for a few hours before waking and upon doing so, she'd pretty much fought Targas into letting her stand guard while he got some sleep as well. Her logic was that they'd be no good to each other if only one of them was rested. The night was mostly uneventful with a few close calls but nothing significant. The sun was just beginning to creep over the earth when the female started to feel restless and she got up, pacing, listening, smelling and then sitting again before she started the whole process up once more.

She didn't feel any danger, didn't smell anything alarming...no, she just felt hungry, but the thought of food made her flinch away. No, it was a different kind of hunger, building to a ravenous point and it was with some trepidation that the auburn-haired female realized she was again craving blood.

But why?

{Easy energy. Males have a slower metabolisms and they expel energy at a slower rate. They need more substance that they can store and so they eat the flesh, blood along with it, but they use the muscle and fats more than anything. As a female, your energy is expelled quicker because your metabolism is faster. You need a faster way to get your energy. Blood provides that and yesterday you lost a great deal of it and energy both. Your body wants to replenish. That's all. Perhaps you should start paying more attention to these things.}

The explanation made sense to Summer and she nodded slowly, ignoring the sarcastic tone and looking back out through the door again, a soft growl in her throat. Her body was impatient, wanting, needing to hunt, but her mind was the stronger and Summer cautioned herself to patience. She wouldn't be going anywhere without Targas and she wasn't going to wake him until he was good and ready to get up.
 
Targas woke up when she had started pacing the room and he sat up. She looked on edge but she wasnt acting as if there were threats nearby.

"Are you ok?"

He looked into her blue eyes and saw the hunger in them, he knew that look from all the years seeing people like that and of himself the past few days after a heavy fight. She was probably still recovering from the night before's events and was still needing to be fed properly. He pulled out his knife and walked over to his lover, making a cut in his arm with the knife and holding the wound forward towards her.

"Feed."

His tone was gentle but still acted as an order. She needed to feed and be rested and she couldnt get what she needed from something that was already dead.

"Ill be fine this time, Ill just regulate how much you take for now and Ill give you more when its needed."
 
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