It was the unforeseen cry from a cat that saved me.

This noise from an allegedly extinct species rang out into the air. Then its dirty, malnourished form darted from behind the safety of discarded trash, causing a loud ruckus as metal cans met pavement.

And instantly, I knew the chase was on.

Inside me, terror transformed rapidly into exhilaration, like someone had flipped a switch. My lashes closed, and my breathing became labored, but I was not concerned about my safety anymore.

Countless, ravenous creatures had hunched forward like marathon runners awaiting the gun; their jaws elongated to allow shrieks to pierce the sky.

And yet, I was not afraid.

No, like them, what I wanted more than anything, was to give in to this need. I wanted to surrender to the gnawing ache inside that demanded I claim a small portion of my savior for myself. The Huntress in me wanted to feed...

Of course, all thoughts vanished once the rush of wind hit me from all sides. My eyes reopened to watch the crush of bodies surge forward while I smothered my insane yearning to join in. Some devourers even bumped into me in their hastened pursuit of the small tabby.

The thunderous sound of footsteps eclipsed the resumed thump inside my chest. And it wasn't until I saw Carly's face in the distance that I realized just how close I'd come to repeating my parents' death.

I didn't break free from such bleak thoughts until I felt tiny fingers, once again, intertwine with mine.

"We should go," Carly whispered; her gaze on the moving horde rather than on me. "Let's not tempt fate any more than we have to."

I glanced around the yard. A few strays remained, mainly because they were missing limbs that hindered their participation. However, for the most part, the majority had joined the pursuit.

Sidestepping yet another limbless devourer, our movements provoked rotten teeth to yap at our heels. We managed to hurry down the last few steps before I found myself pausing once more.

My hand slipped from Hailee's as they ran toward the street, but I couldn't force myself to continue. For I recognized the tilt of that head, the shape of that jaw... that height, that build.

"Alyssa, what are you doing?" Carly hissed.

Cautious footsteps took me forward while my gaze stayed glued to the hunched figure who drug one foot aimlessly along the sidewalk. His curls were matted, grimy. His jersey was almost unrecognizable beneath the filth and spatters of old dried blood... and yet it was him.

"Brian-" I foolishly questioned. "B?"

I don't know what I expected.

As if Camille's older brother could magically cast off the wreckage that was now his mind. As if he'd suddenly see me as the girl who used to play video games with him. As if Brian would remember my horrible array into flirting or the dent in his parent's car from his failure at teaching me how to drive.

"Brian?"

Mostly, I idiotically gained his attention in the hopes of keeping the promise we made when the world's end began to take its toll.

His body whipped toward me, a groan slipping pass what was left of his full lips. Pale eyes remained glued to mine while his senses tried and yet failed to detect a human's scent.

I took a deep breath, my traitorous mind recounting every life I'd taken since I'd been infected, recounting the people who had gazed up at me seeking mercy.

Inflicting death was haunting, but it wasn't impossible to do.

So then, why were my lips quivering?

Why was my gaze suddenly blurring?

Why was my hand trembling as I tightened the grip on the handle of my machete?

At sensing no food, Brian dismissively turned away. My unsteady hand rose to impose a deadly blow just as Carly's palm wrapped around my wrist.

"Not now." Her panicked eyes shifted around us before my aunt's death-like grip tightened.

Glancing over my shoulder as we moved further from the house, I watched helplessly as Brian's shape disappeared. He was swallowed up by a crowd currently eating small portions of a murdered cat at the other end of the street.

"But that was-"

"I know exactly who that was, and I know exactly what you were intending to do." My aunt didn't let go of me until we had rounded the corner.

"You had no right. I made a promise-"

"You made a promise to me too, to us," she interrupted, "You promised to have my back, to protect your cousin."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "And what do you call what I did back there?"

She turned on me, a red flush giving her pale complexion some much-needed color. "I'm not denying the lengths you'd go to keep Hailee safe, but that-" she pointed at my machete- "that could have ended us."

"I had to. I made a promise to Brian, to Camille," came my confession. Broken-down houses, discarded paths of trash, and lifeless brown grass became my vision's target. Hell, I looked at anything that would distract me from the truth in her words.

"Oh, and you chose now to be sentimental, Alyssa? Where was that girl when you were dumping on the lawn? Hell, where was that girl this morning in the kitchen?"

I wanted to scream, like I have control over which emotion surfaces. Like I can stop my brain from wanting to inflict pain!

Carly's jaw hardened. "You understand that had you ended that boy's suffering, those creatures would have pounced, right? I mean, you know any sign of aggression in a horde only makes them more violent, it makes them want to attack."

My teeth sunk into the inside of my jaw. "I know-"

"It's why you didn't use the machete on the devourer that was standing in front of you."

My teeth's pressure increased until I could taste my own blood. "I know this-"

"Okay, if that's so, why would you want to take a chance with our lives?"

At my silence, she seemed to soften. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened to Brian. I really am. I could barely look at him and not think of-" Carly paused at the mere idea of Shawn before she found the strength to continue. "I virtually watched that boy grow up next door. Those kids were at my house as much as they were at their own, but-" she stopped, waiting until my gaze connected with hers- "but he's gone and we're not. And it's as simple as that."

Nothing was that simple anymore.

With that said, Carly continued forward, sure that I would follow without having to check that this was so.

On feet, our journey would take at least sixty minutes. And we had it timed down to the second. Making it to the gates by that time was vital, and the detour I had unintentionally caused was going to cost us.

I knew this, and Carly sure as hell knew this.

It was apparent in the way that her steps hastened, and her gun remained pointed at any moving shadow. It was obvious in the way that, while still vigilant, her concern seemed to be more on how much ground we covered rather than what laid in wait, watching.

For the dead weren't the only predators to fear out here.

Unlike the citizens protected behind the wall, we knew that others like us existed. And the differences between our breed and the humans living on the fringes were vast. Humanity was driven by desperation; whereas, many hybrids lurking in this area were simply vicious. They lingered on the outskirts and blended into the crowds when needed.

This was a dog eat dog world where even the hunters were sometimes game.

Our footsteps were silent but swift as we raced through abandoned streets that held busted shops covered in cobwebs and colorful tags. Dusty, rust covered cars became impediments that we had to be wary of as we darted around them. For some were empty of owners; whereas others, were not.

We came out on Main street. What was left of wedding boutiques littered both sides of the road. Huge portions of the sidewalks were missing as if an earthquake had imploded bits of the cement. It wasn't until we came upon an unexpected motion within an old Honda civic that we stopped.

"Behind the wall. Get behind the wall," Carly ordered quickly.

Running for cover, we made it to the alley between a cake shop and a dry cleaner.

"Do you think they saw us?" I peeked out at the street before I turned back to watch my aunt hand Hailee a water bottle.

"I think we'd have company if they did." She glanced out over my shoulder. "We don't have time for this."

I couldn't help but notice the fear that Hailee tried to hide. Her expression reminded me so much of my little brother that I volunteered, "I'll go."

"What? No," Carly dismissed as she tried to look past the car's filthy windows. "We'll stick to the shadows. I have my gun. It should discourage anyone from trying anything stupid."

I rolled my eyes at her deduction. "What shadows? It's broad daylight."

And still, stubbornly, she shook her head. "Then we'll take the back way-"

"What back way?" I pointed at the massive collection of broken rubble behind the shop that seemed to go on for miles. "And if we have to backtrack to find another street, we'll lose even more time. We'll never make it. So, let's pretend this was your idea so that we can just get this done."

Moving forward, I didn't give her a chance to reward me with her customary glare. With my clutch tensing around the handle of my weapon, my boots remained soundless as I crept closer towards the vehicle. Even from this distance, I could decipher that the car only contained two voices. The wind blew my dark strands across my face as I took a few measured steps forward. The dust collected upon the windows still made seeing who had chosen this small space for home impossible. And had they turned to gaze out the window for even a second, death would have finally found me.

Crouching, I ran breathlessly, my footsteps eating up the space. I didn't stop until my fingers touched the back bumper, my heart hammering in my chest. Looking back at my aunt's anxious expression, I knew that she awaited my signal, and yet I paused to prepare myself.

My clutch tensed around my weapon, sweat making its surface slick beneath my palm. And with the absence of my unnatural hunger or mental contamination, I readied my soul to kill again, smothering the tiny specks of guilt that remained. Stale air entered my constricted lungs before my fingerprints left impressions along the coating of dirt as I eased around to the passenger side.

It was then that the car resumed its movement.

My grip tightened once more around the handle before I eased into a position that allowed me to peek into the side view mirror. The sight of tangled limbs made it clear that our presence was the least of their concern, so hastily, I signaled for Carly to surge forward.

It wasn't until I moved to join my family that I caught a glimpse of the face beneath the man. Her eyes met mine, and never had I witnessed such bleakness, such a void of despair. There, within her blue gaze, was a silent cry for help.

Instinctively, my sight shifted to the gun within this man's reach before moving back to hers. And even while my mind calculated how soon I'd find a bullet in my skull if I assisted this stranger, I couldn't help this impulse to intervene.

Where the hell was that coming from?

The fever had destroyed my need to sympathize with my food, and yet...

From the corner of this girl's dark lashes dripped a lone tear. And strangely enough, I had to force myself to turn away, force myself to resume our trek.

Because the truth was, I knew better. Out here, the brave died quicker than this world's cowards.

As I sprinted past my family, I moved as if the devil tracked my movements. For silently I wished, I could also outrun the knowledge of how she appeared to be a year or two younger than I was.

Stop, I internally chanted.

Because as we bypassed dumpsters and what used to be the Freedom Center Museum, I suddenly found the silence of the outskirts to be suffocating.

Alyssa, stop it.

This was something I had never really gotten used to; the quiet. After the infection formed devourers, there was so much noise. Screams from the unlucky, groans from the dead, the squeal of tires from those desperate to escape, and then eventually, the explosions.

But now, the silence left me with my worst enemy, my thoughts.

"You did the right thing," Carly stated after several blocks separated us from the parked car, her movements frantic to match mine. I slowed at the slight sheen of sweat on Hailee's skin.

"You would say that."

She huffed indignantly. "And what is that supposed to mean, Alyssa?"

That you work for a company that never takes responsibility for the damage that you inflict.

I grimaced at the view of the darkened parking garages that loomed on both sides of the street. We normally didn't take this path, but thanks to our need to shave off some of the distance, we were walking about the city blindly. With every step that brought us closer to downtown, our danger increased. "Nothing."

"You've never bitten your tongue before, why start now?" she mocked, her eyes widening as she gazed upon the multiple levels of blackness before us. "While you're on your high horse, you should know that I noticed a rather agitated man watching that car from a darkened alcove across the street after you moved closer. And quite frankly, I'd hate to know what would have happened to us if you had interfered."

I could only gaze back at her, at a loss for words. Was that true?

Of course, my confusion was ignored. My aunt stepped forward with Hailee close to her side, her insult trailing over her shoulder, "Stop trying to switch roles, Alyssa. Hero doesn't really suit you."

Wow, I did not expect that blow to sting so much.

"But provider does?" I countered. "Let us not forget what turned me into what I am."

Her visual agitation made the truth behind my words more evident, and still Carly refused to acknowledge it. "We're wasting time, and I don't really think this is the place to do so."

I bet it isn't.

My aunt took the lead, her weapon pointed at the surrounding stretches of shadows. The sun slipped behind the cover of clouds until the streets and the front of these structures were all that received light. And as I hurried forward, I began to hate the lack of illumination because early detection of possible enemies- whether it was the dead or the living- was now impossible. Then precious seconds lapsed before cockroaches began to slip from obscurity.

"Help me."

"Can you spare some change, some food?" Went the chorus from the despairing.

I knew without a shadow of a doubt that these people were human. For many, like us, only risked being outside when we absolutely had to... And we wouldn't—couldn't allow ourselves to go hungry.

From pockets of darkness, I saw flashes of faces a multitude of races covered in filth. On every level, they began to emerge in droves. Some were lucky to be dressed in tattered rags, while others remained bare. The homeless couldn't afford the cost of living in the city, but gravitated to its proximity, if only to hide from the herds. Many were abandoned youth while others were the city's discarded seniors, too old to make a living anymore.

My darker urges recognized the old as an easy snack; however, to stop amid so many would be as foolish as screaming in a crowd full of devourers.

A few who were bold enough, entered the streets begging for a small morsel of food; yet, it was the ones cloaked in darkness, the ones who gazed upon our weapons, that increased our need to be watchful.

"Alyssa, pick up the pace. We can't get surrounded here." One man had gotten too close causing Carly to target him, yelling, "Get back!"

But there were too many of them.

Carly seemed to figure this out just as quickly as I did, for the gap toward the other end of this road seemed to become increasingly harder to see over the gathering poor.

"Get back!" Aunt Carly kept screaming. But even if she managed to kill or wound a few, there was no way she could take out enough of these people to reach freedom. And they knew this.

My eyes went to the tears on Hailee's face before my grip on the machete tightened.

While I still have breath in my body, nothing will touch her.

My insides deadened as I readied to embrace my inner darkness fully, to engage that part of myself that would allow me to see these people as nothing more than food rather than starving individuals. My arm rose to hack off the nearest limb that reached out toward us just as a loud whistle pierced the sky.

The crowd's movements stilled before all eyes rose. There on the edge of the second level, stood a small group of men.

Nothing about them signified unity, but there was this undeniable sense of ruthlessness. Around them, loomed a silent threat. They didn't appear poor or hungry. No, on the contrary, their clothing was free of dirt, their guns appeared expensive, and that look in their eyes was deadly.

They're like us.

However, it was their markings that drew my attention. Intricately designed, the tattoo of a phoenix surrounded by flames took up half of the space along their necks.

Skye.

One member nodded toward the congested end of the street before the crowd parted like the red sea to allow us safe passage. And needing no further encouragement, my Aunt pulled us forward.

But as I left the shadowy alleyway, I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder.

And there, on the lips of the man who granted us freedom, lied an oddly knowing smile.

We rounded a corner of yet another building that had seen better days, the skyscrapers of downtown visible behind its cement enclosed fortress.

"What was that?" Carly finally voiced.

I knew silence would only nurture her suspicion, so I simply replied, "Does it really matter? We made it out of there alive."

She eyed me warily before she cast one last look behind her. "Barely."

Soundlessly, we climbed over yet another chain-linked fence, splashing into the puddle that waited below. We sprinted through countless back streets, only backtracking for safer routes at the sight of the dead.

"How much time do we have?" I asked, once again, as the emergence of man-made barricades that surrounded the heart of Cincinnati, came into view.

Blockades meant that the entrance was within reach, and with such proximity came the fucking guards.

Our bodies automatically crouched low. Then quickly, we made the frantic dash behind an abandoned Ford Focus, gazing out at an armed protector defending this section of the wall. Two others stood left of him, ready to take out any threat – human or non-human- stupid enough to endanger the precious citizens beyond the gilded gates.

"Ten minutes. We have ten minutes before the entrance into the city shuts down for the day. Ten minutes until everything that we went through this morning becomes meaningless."

My eyes traveled over to the crowd being herded into the city like cattle in the distance. Day workers, trusted to enter to serve, but never good enough to stay.

We watched as anxiety-inducing minutes ticked by, as one by one, each citizen was thoroughly searched.

"Where is he?" came the question that I knew I would receive no answer to.

To join the throng would have been easy; squeezing among the bodies authorized to enter would have been effortless. Yet what would have been impossible, was not being detected as infected by Lumera Pharmaceuticals' retina scanners.

With my focus on what was in front of us and the passing of costly seconds, I became ignorant of what danger lurked from behind until I heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

Shit.

"Don't move."

Author's note:

Hope you enjoyed it!