A/N:

Hello all :) I'm rewriting my sequel to Blank Eyes here, not a new story. It's going to have a new ending though. It can stand alone but it pairs well with its predecessor. happy reading :)

Ohhh. And any of the hunters thoughts will be italicized.

Chapter One

They had walked and walked and walked. Finding shelter wasn't too hard, survivors had long since abandoned their homes and the infected followed their food source. It was just this incessant walking that drove Violet insane. Finding supplies in the abandoned buildings was getting harder and harder. It was especially hard when you needed something so specific as diapers. Violet had given up all pretense when it came to baby food. Estelle drank water and ate whatever they could find that could be mashed up.

After one such long day of walking, as they climbed into a small stores large walk in freezer (that, judging by the smell, had long ago stopped working), Liam asked her where they were going. They were in a freezer, in a store that looked like it had been abandoned years before the Green Flu had ever been heard of, in the middle of nowhere. He looked frustrated and tired. She understood his feelings but couldn't help but bristle at his tone. She was doing the best she could.

She contemplated his words. Where indeed? The closer they got to the Tennessee state line the, more infected they encountered. Ordinarily, that would be a problem, and she would have taken their small group in a different direction. Her eyes fell on her groups two most interesting members and she knew that the increase in active infected numbers was a good thing. More infected meant task forces hadn't yet been sent in to eliminate those stricken with the Green Flu. Hayley and Vincent were safe for now.

The hunters seemed unaware of her scrutiny as they curled up with Estelle, forming a protective dogpile around the baby. Soon, the blond, chubby girl was engulfed as she growled less than ferociously. Hayley nudged her cheek affectionately. Vincent didn't complain as Estelle crawled all over him.

Violet had yet to encounter more sentient infected, except a brief encounter with a witch and her teenage keeper months ago. She had faith that there were more out there though. After all, the Green Flu was just a virus. Humans had been fighting viruses since the origin of their species.

"We head into the mountains. It should be safe for us there. The more infected we see, the safer Hayley and Vincent are." She answered him, after a long pause.

"Yeah but as they get safer you, me and Estelle get less safe. We need to find a place to hunker down. Traveling like this leaves us vulnerable. We have maybe ten diapers left. I haven't seen a sign of civilization for miles. We need water. We need food. We nee-"

He interrupted himself by tripping over the ledge of a large metal square hidden under a burlap sack. After closer inspection Violet noted a handle with a grin. "What the hell?!" Liam cursed. "What is this thing?"

Violet smirked at him and said "This, my dear is a 'sign of civilization'. It's a bomb shelter. Lets see if we can open it. These things are generally very well stocked. In case of nuclear holocaust and such."

He gave her a strange look as he heaved up on the small door. It opened with a hiss, stale air invading their noses. Violet let out a relieved sigh. That meant it was probably empty, since a truly terrified redneck would have locked it into place. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to proceed with extreme caution. Who knew what was down there?

She certainly didn't need some heavily armed good ol' boy coming at her thinking she was a zombie or a looter. Even though, technically, she was. A looter, anyway. Hayley and Vincent were zombies though. And in a jumpy rednecks mind, she would be guilty by association. She much preferred to keep herself in one piece, bullet free.

So, she instructed everyone to stay up top as she slowly descended the metal ladder that led into the bunker. Her metallic footsteps echoed loudly and she was shocked to find herself nervous. Her heart started to pound as she shot one last look at Liam. He smiled at her, and that was all the encouragement she needed. She shook her head and disappeared into the darkness.

The bunker was colder than she expected and very dark. She shivered, goosebumps erupting on her bare arms. It took a moment for Violets eyes to adjust. Treading softly, she moved forward through the surprisingly large space. She watched sharply for any sign of movement, but saw none. She listened carefully, holding her breath, but heard nothing. She was satisfied that she was alone.

All around her were shelves stocked with canned food and other necessities. Thank God for paranoid rednecks and their survival instincts. She made a quick circle of the area and noted that everything had a thin layer of dust on it. The person that had set this shelter up must have never made it here. She felt slightly macabre when she realized she was glad. Their misfortune had proved most fortunate for her group. She called to Liam, letting him know it was safe to come down.

The hunters leapt down first , followed my Liam. Liam's flashlight beam illuminated his face briefly and Violet was struck again by just how handsome he really was. Dark brown eyes that lit up every time he smiled, dirty blond hair, that had been cropped short at one time, was becoming shaggy in an almost stylish way, tall and muscular. Thinking of his looks only made her frown when she thought of her own. Her auburn hair was, at the moment, half brown, half auburn after an impromptu dye job. What was once a stylish asymmetrical bob was now a wavy shaggy mess of all different lengths. Her green eyes were sunk into her bony face and she was rather thin. All the walking did away any curves she once had.

But then he smiled at her. When he smiled at her, Violet forgot the world, zombies and all. She had always been a very confident woman but when he looked at her, she felt absolutely amazing. Her heart would beat faster and she was overcome with the urge to kiss him until neither one of them could breathe. Violet was in love for the first time. This year had brought about a lot of changes for her. She was in love, had adopted a baby, not to mention two zombies and was in search of a safe place to set up a homestead for her whole new family. Before the infection, if someone had told her that this is how her life was going to play out, she would have offered them her psychologists card.

She was brought out of her reverie by the aforementioned baby squealing happily as Liam finally released her. She crawled to Hayley, immediately pulling the hunters hood back. She didn't seem fazed by the mutated features of the female hunter, and much preferred that the long silvery blond hair of her unlikely friend was out from the confines of the pink hoodie. She noticed that Vincent seemed pretty fond of it too, as he nuzzled his mate happily every time Estelle relieved her of her hood.

Liam closed the distance between them and planted a kiss on her cheek. Violet blushed as she giggled like a school girl. He murmured into her hair that he would love some time with her on the cot over on the other side of the room. Her blush deepened and she cursed herself for being such a twit. It wasn't as if this was her first boyfriend! But she knew that this was very different. She didn't control every aspect of this relationship. Her treacherous heart had betrayed her and given itself to this man, much to her brains dismay.

She followed him without protest as she noted Estelle was already settled in with the hunters, as had become her routine. She and Estelle shared a great bond, but Hayley and the infant were almost inseparable. Vincent accepted this without a hitch, not at all upset with having to share the attention of his mate. In fact, he seemed to have made his own attachments to the young girl. Violet watched him snuggle closer to her.

Violet was pulled onto the cot with Liam and she giggled again. She instantly cuddled up into him, resting her head into the crook of his neck. She kissed his shoulder on the spot she knew he had a large scar from a rather nasty zombie bite. Kisses wouldn't heal the physical scar but they made him sleep easier. He had terrible dreams if she wasn't holding him while he slept. She didn't mind one bit. She placed gentle kisses on his neck until she heard his breath even out. She smiled at his soft snores. He deserved a good nights sleep.

She rolled over carefully and noted that she and Vincent were the only ones awake. She slipped off the cot and secured the bunker door. Liam didn't stir. No one would be surprising them.

She sat down on the floor and Vincent disentangled himself from Estelle to come sit by her. She wrapped her arm around the hunter and started pouring her heart out. Her feelings about Liam, her fears of being found by the government, her concern for Hayley and him. He listened quietly and simply nodded his head. He had become accustomed to this nightly ritual.

The human enjoyed speaking to him at night. He enjoyed the attention and he enjoyed the contact. He was starting to understand some things that she told him. Lee Um was her mate, he was Vin Sin and Little One was Hay Lee. Stell was the cub. He was learning a lot from his human at night. Things were starting to make sense. Human talk was coming into focus.

Violet gave Vincent a kiss on the top of his head, pulling down his hood to do so. She went to comfort Liam, who was whimpering and thrashing in his sleep. As soon as she crawled into the cot, he clung to her tightly. After a few comforting kisses, he relaxed. Vincent curled around Estelle and let out a yawn. All was right in their world for now.