This is my first fan fiction, flames will be deleted. None of the characters from the games will make a live appearance, although they may be referenced to at various points in the story. I own nothing except my original characters. All plot references(concerning Bill's group AND Nick's group) are meant to drive the story further or break the ice between my OCs. Also, any references to CEDA and/or the Green Flu are meant to keep the story going, and to prevent confusion. Credit goes where it's due, and I thank all those who've posted Witch+Hunter stories before.

Thoughts

"Dialogue"

All I could feel was pain. My whole body seemed aflame. I hoped, wished, begged, PRAYED that it would end. And eventually it did... to an extent. The pain was overshadowed with a depth of sorrow that can only be grazed by losing everything you have. The depth of sadness that makes you want to do nothing but sit there and cry until there's nothing left, and then you cry some more. Grief that can never be sated through tears, cursing, and incoherent screams of emotional pain. I don't know how long I was there, or where I was, but I knew something was wrong. My hands felt... heavier... and a cold breeze tickled my body, making me shiver. I looked around and saw a room, lights on and the door was open. Deciding to leave my current spot on the floor, I placed my hands on the ground... and froze with shock and fear. My once beautiful hands were now elongated and, to my amazement, left claw marks in the stone when I attemted to ball them up. Hoping that nothing else had changed, I slowly stood up and shuffled to the room, closing the door behind me.

HOURS LATER

I smell... salt... sugar... blood... and... cooked meat?

Carl was scavenging around,looking for survivors in this soon-to-be slush-covered city and he was looking for someone to talk to that wasn't fat, stupid, coughing, laughing, hacking, or otherwise ignoring him. Basically, there wasn't anyone to talk to in this "forsaken" land. His friend, Boomer, was too busy thinking of food to actually talk with. Tank and his buddy Charger were arm-wrestling, while Smoker and Spitter... well, what they did together in their spare time was just too gruesome and utterly WRONG to even think about, let alone see. Jockey was off having the time of his life, hopping onto random Commons and steering them into various traps or just to piss them off. And the only other Hunter Carl had met was off in another state, probably having a grand old time.

So Carl was stuck with jumping from rooftop to rooftop, bored out of his mind, when he smelled something. To him, it smelled like a pleasant combination between salt, sugar, and iron, and he was immediately intrigued. Following the scent, he came upon an old firestation, long abandoned due to the Green Flu. As he got closer to the source of the smell, he heard the distinct sound of flesh on flesh, and heard someone sniffle. Eventually, he came to a red, iron-clad door with a very small peephole he could see through. He could tell several things from what he saw through that tiny hole. One, someone was inside. Two, that same someone had a cold or had been crying recently. Three, they were cooking... a steak? Deciding to press his luck, he gently rapped his knuckles on the door.

Gasping at an unexpected knock, Jess turned her attention from the steak she was cooking to the door at her right. She couldn't see outside the peephole, but she knew someone was there. Carefully, she reached for the handle(which, thankfully, wasn't the traditional knob like you'd expect) and quietly asked, "Who's there? And why are you here?"

Not expecting someone to actually answer his knock, he searched through his pack and found a bottle of water. Drinking about half of it soothed his throat enough that he could speak.

"My name is Carl. I came here because I smelled something very sweet. May I come in? And, perhaps, have some of that delicious steak I smell?"

Astonished at the male's sense of smell, Jess slowly opened the door, keeping it between her and her visitor until he had entered the room completely. She saw him glance around and finally turn around. She was cold again, and began rubbing her arms, lowering her head so that their gazes didn't meet. Before she started looking at her feet though, she saw his jaw drop slightly as he turned to look at her, and gave a small smile behind her curtain of hair, hoping beyond hope that he found her pretty, or at least a very small piece of eye candy.

Entering what the survivors called a "safe house", Carl was slightly underwhelmed by how little was actually in here. A few used sleeping bags over in the corner, a table covered with guns and ammo, one lone medkit, a couch to his left, and to his right was the steak he smelled earlier, almost nearing medium rare. Slowly, he turned around, and just before the mysterious girl lowered her head, he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen, and that included before the infection hit. Not noticing his jaw drop, he slowly slid his eyes down her slender frame, and discovered claws on her hands that were at least three times as long as his. He closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, smelling that wonderful scent that was salty sweet emanating from the girl before him. Other scents were hiding under that wonderful aroma, ones he had recognized before, smelled them coming from his teammates. One he recognized as joy, another fear, worry, sadness, and one other he couldn't place, but it smelled... like... a combination of joy, fear, and indecision, mixed in with a couple other scents that were foreign to him. He didn't know what it was, but he knew he had smelled it from somewhere else, but he pushed it from his mind for the time being, returning his attention to the girl before him.

He looked around and spotted a blanket nearby. He grabbed it and slung it over the girl's shoulders, saying, "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but what's your name?" He then closed the door, seeing that it was still open and letting in a draft.

She didn't know him. She had just met him, and he was treating her as if she were a dear friend. Timidly she said, "J... Jess. My name is Jess." She felt the blanket go over her shoulders, and she carefully grabbed it, attempting to wrap it around herself. She went over to the steak, which was, surprisingly, quite a large slab, and was actually the smallest in the little icebox she had found in a room about three doors down. She looked around for plates, and, not seeing any, sighed and decided to cut it on the hotplate with her claws. She cut a good portion of it off for herself, and offered the rest to her visitor, which he took happily. Almost immediately, he bit down into it and tore off a chunk that looked too big to fit in his mouth, the steak juices dripping onto the floor and down his chin.

"Careful, you might choke on it," Jess said. The boy just looked at her, put his hand up to his mouth, and smiled.

Little habits die hard, but it's good anyway. Spitting the somewhat chewed mouthful of meat into his hand, he said, "How on earth did you find a steak? I thought all the meat had went rotten weeks ago." The girl known as Jess shrugged and said, "I found it about three doors down from here, in the icebox inside a deli. Believe it or not, this steak was the smallest one I could find."

"Huh. I guess they must've flavored the steaks and then stored 'em."

"Nope. I found the spices I needed next to the deli. What luck, huh?" And she giggled slightly at the oddity of there being extra spices and good, preserved meat.

30 Minutes Later...

Satisfied with the large portion of steak that had been given to him, he looked over at Jess and said, "Thanks. It's been a long time since I've had decent meat, let alone a wonderfully cooked steak. I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you like to come with me? I'm certain my friends would like to meet you, and I'm betting they'd love to have someone who can actually cook. Especially Boomer. He'd like you right off the bat." Laughing lightly he looked into her eyes, waiting patiently for a response. After a few minutes, she agreed to come along. Smiling, Carl looked around and grabbed a nearby coat, sliding it onto Jess and helping her into the sleeves, then opened the door, motioning for her to piggyback. "Hold on tight, this could get bumpy. And please keep your head down. Wind resistance can make the trip longer than need be."

Hopping onto his back, Jess held tight and closed her eyes, hearing the wind rush past her ears every time he jumped. Moving her head so that her face wouldn't be chilled as much, she got a very good whiff of him. To her, he smelled faintly of chocolate, mixed with some peanuts and a remnant of the steak they had shared earlier. She smiled and held tighter, feeling warm for the first time since she had woken up in that abandoned fire station.

Eventually, Carl stopped jumping and started to stand, realizing at the last second that Jess had fallen asleep during their journey. Smiling to himself, he gently moved her around so that he was carrying her as if she were a bride. Using his foot, he knocked on the front door of his residence, and was greeted by, to his surprise, Smoker. Thanking him for opening the door, Carl slowly went up to the last unoccupied room in the building, and gently laid Jess down on the bed. He went over to the closet down the hall, pulled out a decently thick blanket, and went back to Jess's new room and laid it on her, careful not to wake her. He went downstairs and grabbed a few logs and a couple matches, then went back upstairs and laid them in the small fireplace in her room, lighting them and watching them catch. On his way out, he made sure the windows were closed and that there were no holes in the wall, then, giving one last look at Jess, he slowly shut the door and let her sleep.

Author's Note: And that's chapter one. I plan on getting the rest up ASAP, so chillax. Intros coming soon, along with a possible new fear for our little witch: Smoker/Spitter! And that's just them making out, btw. You don't want to know what happens when they're alone... in the dark... to a song, thus ruining that song for everyone else within earshot. What's worse is that both of them scream... *shudder* Anyway, chapter 2 inc. soon!