The winds whispered across the vast emptiness of the lonely meadow. Not even a mouse was in sight on that clear morning.

It was the perfect spot for a meeting space. Neutral territory. Nonthreatening, gentle, placid. Decorated with spring flowers that dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. Vibrant and full of color after the long, dull winter.

The area had been picked over, scoured, chosen for just that reason.

And on that warm sunny April morning, two women approached each other from opposing sides. At first glance one of the women seemed like the meadow. Open and fair. Her dark hair was pulled back into a curling ponytail that ran down her small back. Her face was rounded with a slight point to her chin, giving her a youthful appearance. However, her eyes betrayed her age. Her eyes were far older than her years. Her dark eyes bored into the very soul of things.

The other woman looked like one of Them. One of the dead ones that roamed the earth in search of sating a never ending hunger by way of flesh. But she did not walk or stumble like one of Them. No, she walked straight backed and proud.

Neither woman carried a weapon out of respect for the other. It was the way they'd planned it. So carefully planned down to the very last detail. Nothing was to go awry. It could jeopardize things for both of them. They knew it.

They stopped feet away, watching each other with a wary eye.

And then the second woman pulled off her skin. The dead skin that made her look like one of Them. Underneath, she was tall, comely and bald. Her face was hard and unyielding, though she wore a small smile. The superficial curve of her full lips did not extend to those cold, cold eyes.

The two women regarded each other with equally frosty stares. Both were equally dangerous in different ways. Both highly intelligent with two very different skill sets. And both equally lethal provided the circumstances were favorable.

It was the tall, bald woman who spoke first, lifting her chin with pride as she stared down the shorter, younger woman. "Here is the deal. You do not come onto our territory and we will not come onto yours. If you do, there will be consequences."

"I can live with that," the small woman replied as she clasped her hands in front of her. An attempt to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

The first woman flicked an invisible crumb from her shoulder. "You will stop killing my people at random."

The second woman tossed her head. "You will stop fettering me, you will stop chasing me, you will stop shooting at me."

"Agreed."

"I don't want to kill anymore of your people. I will if I have to."

The bald woman snorted. "I command an entire herd, little girl."

"You know what I'm capable of. I would tread lightly."

"The same applies to you."

The other woman merely raised her brows. "It would seem that you haven't learned your lesson."

"And it would seem like you need schooling."

The dark haired woman smiled. "Oh, I think not."

"Don't test me."

"Cut the shit. You can either attempt to kill me now or we can make peace."

The first woman sneered. "Peace is a mere illusion. Peace is a concept formed by a society that no longer exists."

"Peace may be an illusion, Alpha, but don't forget death comes just as swift as it used to. For some, swifter than others. You may want to keep that in mind, love."

"Don't patronize me little girl. You're stupid if you think you'll get away clean."

The second woman laughed as she spread her hands wide. "I've more blood on my hands than in my entire body. Some of those were your people. Which I'm sure you're aware of."

Alpha said nothing which made the dark haired girl smile.

"Here's the thing. I know you have a kid," she said softly making Alpha's gaze snap to her rounded face. "The last thing I want to do is harm an innocent."

Alpha tilted her head upward as she looked down on the other woman. "You too have a child."

"Yes. So let's make peace so they can both grow up."

Alpha blinked at her. "That would be agreeable..."

"Good. This meadow is neutral territory. Anything beyond to the east is mine. West is yours."

"Also agreeable."

The two women stood in silence each surveying the meadow, marking territory, making notations of anything out of the ordinary. Each shuffling from foot to foot, avoiding the gaze of the other. Each lost in their own thoughts. The dark haired girl fidgeted with the hem of her vest while Alpha's sharp eyes roamed the horizon.

Finally Alpha cleared her throat and nodded when the other woman glanced up from her feet. "So those are the terms?"

The dark haired girl didn't quite meet her eyes, but she nodded all the same.

"Good."

A few more awkward shuffles between the two of them and then the dark haired girl bobbed her head. She backed away, never tearing her gaze from Alpha, only turning away when she was far enough back. Her strides were short and fast, hands clenched as she crunched away from Alpha.

Alpha watched the dark girl become a silhouette and then a dot and then disappear into the far off forest. She shook out the wilting skin and tied it on her face, a dead grotesque mask with a horrifying smile.

With a quick glance over her shoulder she noticed her men approaching. She smiled to herself as she turned back to stare into the dark woods.

"Alpha," one of them muttered as he shuffled his feet.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "It is time."

The smallest man in the group picked a fly from his shoulder. "For?"

"Death."

The men looked at her with puzzlement in their eyes.

"Track her," she said to them, a grin spreading on her face under the skin. "Find her. Kill her. Bring me her head and the head of her child."