Time seemed to slow as I stared at the Hunter, the calls of the Commons and the other Survivors fading away as the Hunter sailed through the air towards me, his claws outstretched and reaching. His screech echoed in my airs as I turned my body to face him, lifting my arms to aim my sniper rifle at him.
Time returned to normal as he collided with me, the momentum of the impact causing the both of us to tumble down the hill behind me. I let go of my rifle on the way down, my main focus was stopping my descent and dislodging myself from the male Special. My vision became a blur of dark green and dark blue as the Hunter and I continued despite my efforts.
We came to a sudden stop, him on top of me as we hit a wall. My head snapped to the side and hit the concrete surface, causing sudden pain to bloom as a pressure on top of me reminded me of my current issue. The Hunter had managed to grab my wrists on the way down and had them pinned into the ground above my head, his face inches away from mine. His snarl was prominent as he growled, releasing a foul air from his lungs with every breath. I blinked a couple of times, my mind still reeling from the tumble and the impact of the wall next to us.
The Hunter's growls became louder and I felt the colour leave my face as thoughts of my impeding death appeared in my mind, 'I'm going to die. 5 months of surviving is going to end. There's no way out- Wait, maybe there is something, it might work long enough for me to get him off of me!'
I closed the distance between our faces and licked the tip of the Hunter's nose, inwardly grimacing at the taste of dirt and dried blood. The Hunter's growls stopped suddenly as he sat up, letting go of my wrists, his snarl disappearing and tilting his head to the side, as if confused, before he leaned down again, his claws resting on the ground above my head.
He sniffed around my face and I licked his nose again. He pulled back with a yip of surprise and crawled off slowly, cautiously. I inched my way into a sitting position, rubbing my wrists, and looked at the Infected male. His head was tilted again as he stared at me, crouched on all fours.
We both looked up the hill as the voices of the other Survivors came closer. I started turning my head to look at the Hunter but paused as a wet thing dragged itself up my right cheek. I looked at the Hunter in surprise as the sound of the Survivors got closer.
He just smirked, his sharp teeth becoming partially exposed, and leapt away into the foliage, disappearing from view just as my group appeared. They ran over and helped me up, chattering about how lucky I was. I felt my rifle being pushed into my hands and I nodded my thanks, the pain in my head becoming more apparent as time passed. The eldest in our group looked at me and asked, "Where'd that Hunter go?"
I shrugged my shoulders, grabbing some pills from the container offered to me and downing them. We all reloaded and headed off towards the next Safe House.