The Star Hunter

Chapter 2: There Goes the Neighborhood

"Here it is", Scar announced as we approached the sugar mill. My already pale face paled as I stared at the building with fear. Lazerlemon peeked out of my pocket and his face paled as well. The storm was long gone, thank God, but the sight of the mill brought pain and fear into my eyes.

I snarled, "I'm perfectly aware of that! I don't want to be here." Lazerlemon 'meeped' in agreement. He remembers the witches.

Scar replied calmly, "I told you before. The witches won't attack a Hunter unless provoked."

I huffed sarcastically, "Oh great! Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

Scar whispered, "I take it, it didn't work."

I huffed, "No shit, Sherlock."

Regardless, we hopped into the building and into the factory. I stopped dead in my tracks, scanning the area for the witches. There were plenty. My blood ran cold as my claws balled into fists at the mere memory of these crying bitches.

Scar strolled forward and shouted, "Hello, ladies!"

All the witches looked at Scar and actually smiled. They all replied in unison, "Hello, Scar!"

Lazerlemon hopped out of my pocket and stood beside me. He looked up at me with a confused look on his face. I returned his look with a shrug. Is this Hunter a celebrity to these witches? The witches began talking to each other about Scar. I rolled my clear eyes and muttered, "Just like the girls in high school."

Scar faced his attention to me and announced to his 'fan club', "Everyone, we have a new recruit!"

The witches began growling as they followed Scar's gaze to me. I snarled in self-defense as Lazerlemon climbed up onto my shoulder. I reached for my Magnum, which immediately made the witches frantic. "A survivor?"

"Here?"

"Why!"

"It's her!" The last witch hissed. Her comrades looked at her for an explanation. That witch began walking towards me, glaring at me with anger.

I stood my ground and snarled, "What did I do!"

She stood in front of me and jabbed her index claw into my neck. "You saved the man in the white suit. Your team killed Nancy! Now, I'm going to kill you!"

I did a quick-draw with my Magnum and aimed for her head, "Bring it bitch!"

Scar quickly hopped between us and snarled at the witch, "Melissa! She's one of us now! Stand down!"

She obeyed him, but not before growling at me. I growled back as I put my Magnum back into its holster. Scar stood up and said, "Don't worry about Melissa. She's the short fuse among them all. Plus, she's pissed that your team survived. She hates your boy for some odd reason."

I huffed, "He has a name, Scar. It's Nick."

He replied, "Well, I'm sorry. I didn't have time to learn all of your teammates' names. I only know you and that's it."

He walked away from me and began talking to his witch posse. I hissed to myself as I watched him, "Stalker."

A howl broke out of Scar's throat, causing me to force my claws into my ears to muffle the sound. Lazerlemon fell off my shoulder and curled up into a ball of fur, covering his own ears with his little claws. The Special Infected that were at the helicopter pad appeared behind me. Lazerlemon saw the Jockey again and screamed. I spun around and my eyes bugged out.

Scar hopped to my side and grinned, "Meet you new family, Chris."

I began walking backwards, shaking my head. "No. Not my family. My family is dead! All because of your fucking kind!"

The Smoker spoke, "Sad to say, we all paid tribute to that bloody day. Except for young Nathan." He looked at the young Hunter next to him and smiled at him. Nathan looked up at the Smoker and nodded.

Nathan asked me, "What's that thing on the ground next to you?"

I looked down at Lazerlemon and replied, "A Hunter pup named Lazerlemon. He was my friend's pet. Wait…you helped kill my family?"

The Jockey looked down and replied, "Yeah. We were ordered to do so."

I grabbed the Jockey's throat, alerting the rest of his buddies. I snarled, "Who gave you the order?"

He was terrified by my tone, so he pointed to Scar. I let the Jockey go and hissed at Scar. "Why! Why, you mother fucker!"

Scar replied as calmly as possible, "I was supposed to get you into this apocalypse. Besides, it killed me to do it. However, it was the only way to see you survive. If you stayed with them, you would've been killed as well. At least, the last female Starly survived."

I stormed up to Scar and slashed his face with my claws. This action of violence shocked everyone. Scar stumbled backwards, holding his face in his claws. The Charger grabbed a hold of me and shoved me into a nearby wall. The Jockey picked up Lazerlemon and cackled at his fear.

Scar's wound healed miraculously fast and he barked, "Rambo! Put her down! Detour! Unhand the pup!"

The Charger growled as he obeyed Scar. The Jockey groaned as he dropped Lazerlemon onto the ground. Lazerlemon huffed at the Jockey and the Jockey huffed back. I dusted myself off and the Charger growled, "You're lucky that I didn't pound you into a pancake."

I hissed, "Just like you did to Joey, my brother?"

The Charger stared at me. Then I hissed at the Jockey, "And you rode my sister, Mary to her death!" The Jockey looked down to avoid my gaze. My eyes traveled to the Smoker and snarled, "You killed my youngest sister, Cindy!"

But unlike the Charger and the Jockey, the Smoker stood up for himself, "But I saved your friend from the ditch! You tricked me into saving him!"

My glare softened and I asked, "So you were the Smoker that we spared?"

He nodded, "Yes I am. My name is Salt Lick."

I growled softly, "I'm Chris. And who are the rest of you?"

The Charger spoke, "I'm Sir Rambo. And I'm quite proud of it."

The Jockey began hopping up and down, "I'm Detour! I'm the meanest and craziest Jockey you'll ever meet, Chris. I guarantee it!"

I stood back a little, thinking Detour was going to hop at me. The Tank lumbered forward and announced, "You may call me Brawn. Why did you avoid me on the bridge?"

I replied, "We wanted to avoid all confrontations. We ran and didn't bother attacking."

He nodded, "That's understandable, I guess."

The Boomer waddled over to me and said, "I'm Booms."

I cocked my eyebrow and quipped harshly, "How original."

He scoffed, "Well, sorry for not being very creative!" Booms huffed as he waddled away from me.

The Spitter walked up to me and said, "Don't worry about him. He may not be very smart, but he is quite sensitive. I'm Abby."

Before I replied, a witch walked beside Abby. I backed away a little. The witch saw me retreat slightly and she waved her claws innocently, "Don't worry about me. I won't hurt a fellow infected, even if you were a survivor. I'm Chloe."

She raised her claw to me, wanting to shake my hand. I looked at it with uncertainty. "I'm not quite comfortable with witch claws touching my flesh."

She chuckled, "I know Nancy gave you a nasty wound last time, but I'm not like the other witches. I was human once and I'm actually quite happy. I know what it's like to lose people you cared for. You can trust me."

I sighed as I looked at Chloe. She seemed nice enough and she didn't attack me for being a survivor. She had soft ruby colored eyes and white skin. Unlike the other witches, who wear white torn tank tops and underwear, she wore a black tank top with a pair of small denim shorts. I guess I can try to trust her. I replied, "Ok. But if you or any of you back-stab me, I will stab back."

Scar chuckled, "Relax, Chris. They won't you without a reason. Even Melissa."

I snarled, "Yeah. What's her beef with me?"

Detour answered, "She hates the man in the white suit."

Brawn added, "She wanted to kill him."

I asked the Tank, "Why?"

Salt Lick answered for him as he lit up a cigarette, which made me think of Bill, "We don't truly know. Maybe they knew each other once and hate the other. Every time we ask, she flips. Trust me on this Chris. You never wanna pick a fight with the strongest witch in this mill."

I sighed, "Fine. I won't fight her. I've bled to death once and I don't need to do it again.

Salt Lick smirked, "Oh yes. You took Nancy instead of him. I saw that."

Chloe giggled, "So did I. That was a gutsy move. Then you were cussing like crazy afterwards. Damn it was too funny."

I narrowed my eyes. My pain was funny to them. The memory of bleeding out was hurtful and dreadful. I pressed my claw against my chest and sighed. Nick. My heart cries for him. I was glad I took that witch Nancy for him. Sure, I died in the process, but I thought with my heart and not with my head at the time. Just the thought of Nick made my heart hurt and my eyes slightly glossy.

Lazerlemon walked up to my leg and rubbed up against it like a cat. I looked down at him and petted the top of his head. A small tear escaped my eyes and it fell onto his furry head. He 'meeped' as he shook it off his fur. Chloe saw it and asked, "Was it something I said?"

Instead of answering, I got up and hopped away somewhere away from the infected. I saw one of the deserted trailers, so I stood up on my hind legs and opened it. Water gushed out of the door, causing me to leap out of the way of the rushing flood water. I waited for the water to stop flowing before walking into the trailer. It was small with slippery tile, thanks to the flood a few days ago. There was a desk with a SPAS shotgun on it and a few Molotovs. I sighed as I picked up the shotgun. I remember that this was Coach's favorite gun. It felt weird in my claws since I'm now the enemy. However, in my head, I said, "This is so right. What can I shoot with this?"

Sadly, I had to put the shotgun down and moved the Molotovs off the desk. I climbed on top of the desk and curled into a ball, quietly weeping. I cried for Nick. I cried for my family. I cried for a sign. In order to calm my nerves down, I pulled my IPod out of my pocket and began playing a song on random. It was "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin. I began singing the chorus every time it came around.

Show me what it's like

To dream in black and white

So I can leave this world tonight.

Holding on too tight

Breathe the breath of life

So I can leave this world behind

Lazerlemon hopped into the trailer and saw me crying underneath my hood. He 'meeped' in sadness, so he hopped onto the desk and cuddled into my shoulder, trying to help me feel better. I gently petted him, whispering, "Good boy. Good pup." He purred in response. My eyelids grew heavy due to exhaustion. I hid my face into my sleeve and cried myself to sleep. Wishing for my friends, praying that everyone is ok.

~I looked over the sugar mill as the witches began slaughtering human soldiers. I grinned, showing my bloody teeth. Another figure walked to my side and observed the scene. I asked without looking at the figure, "Scar, are you pleased with the amount of human blood?"

The lead Hunter nodded, "Yes. You have done well to lead the team here. Now, they can't escape their fate. I'm impressed, Chris. You have become a great Hunter. I'm quite proud of you."

I nodded with respect, "Thank you, Scar. Your kind words give me the satisfaction I desired for so long."

He replied, "I'm glad." He looked down and noticed one of the soldiers was fighting back…and winning. He snarled and turned to me. "Finish him, Chris!" he commanded.

I nodded as I leaped down into the battle zone and pounced the fierce soldier. He grunted under my attack and fell on his back. I hissed at the soldier and slashed his helmet off. Before I clawed his chest open, his face made me freeze in place. Emerald green eyes. Black, slick hair. Round jaw. Kissable lips that make my black heart ache. "Nick!"~

I woke up with a yell. Lazerlemon hopped out of his fur and landed on the floor. I began panting and after a few seconds, the tears came back to my eyes. "Why must I be tortured?" I sobbed as my eyes closed again, hoping to avoid that dream. Nick…I miss you…

Later…

A bugle blasted into the survivors' tent, alerting everyone of the sudden noise. The boys cussed over the rude wake up call, while the girls groaned and placed their pillows over their heads to muffle the sound. A loud voice boomed after the bugle's call, "Wake up! Up and at 'em, ladies!"

Ellis groaned as he rubbed his eyes, "He must be talkin' to Sheila and Ro."

Nick snapped at him, "He's talking about all of us, Overalls!" Then he turned to the bugler, "Since when did this center become a fucking boot camp?"

The bugler replied in the same commanding tone, "You ladies are going to be the next soldiers that'll be fighting this infection! Now move it!" The bugler walked out of the tent and Ellis immediately fell back down on his pillow, not wanting to wake up yet.

"Fuck this", Nick huffed as he yawned, thanks to the lack of sleep.

Coach stood up and stretched his aching limbs. "Come on people. You hear the man."

Alex snapped, "Yeah, but that man is an asshole!"

Then Sheila replied, "Welcome to the worst camp on Earth: Boot Camp."

Alex groaned as he forced his legs to move. Sadly, they were asleep so when he went to stand up, they buckled and he fell onto the ground.

Ro yawned and stood up beside her bed, looking like she was doing something. She asked, "Hey, Nick?"

The con man turned to his weary companion and yawned, "Yeah?'

She asked, "What did he mean about us being soldiers?"

Coach added, "Fighting the infection? Are they forcing us back into the zombie-filled hell?"

Nick sighed, "I hope not. If so, then I'm getting my ass out of here."

Sheila walked over to Nick and placed her hand on his shoulder, "We need you, Nick. Don't leave us."

He huffed, "I refuse to fight those mealy-mouthed bastards again! Especially after what happened." His tone grew melancholy as he looked down at the ground. Sheila sadly nodded and walked away from the male con artist.

Yesterday's soldier escort walked into the tent. Jock had his nose all bandaged up and it looked swollen, earning a snicker from Nick. Dwayne had a more relaxed approach, while Jock was still fuming from yesterday's incident, so he was sterner. Coach looked up and said, "Hey, Dwayne."

Dwayne replied, "Hey, guys. Time to get your breakfast."

Alex asked, "We need a soldier escort for breakfast? That's weird."

Dwayne chuckled, "I agree, but the generals don't like taking their chances sometimes. Especially after finding you guys."

Sheila asked as she shook Ellis wake, "What's on the menu?"

Jock replied in a snarky tone, "Slop and water. That's it."

Ro, Sheila and Alex retched over the image floating in their heads. Slop can be anything from dog food to oatmeal. Disgusting stuff. Nick huffed, thinking of the food he's had in prison. That was his breakfast: slop and water. Coach didn't think too much of it and Ellis wasn't fully awake to care.

Jock and Dwayne escorted the not-so-sunny group of zombie slayers to a bigger tent. Inside were tables, chairs and a few more soldiers. The table in the back had huge pots with chefs scooping the contents inside and onto waiting plates. Dwayne and Jock got their plates and the group followed their lead. They slid their plates along the table like high school cafeteria trays and watched the glob of food splash onto their plates. Sheila and Ro went wide eyed at the concoction. It looked like white paste with chucks of meat and peppers in it, without flavor. They got their breakfast and followed the soldiers to a vacant table.

Jock didn't seem too happy having non-military company sitting with him and his partner. "Hey. Reserved for soldiers. Get out of here!"

Nick asked challengingly, "You know what would look good with your broken nose?"

Jock hissed, matching Nick's tone, "No. Enlighten me."

Nick balled up his fist and snarled, "Two black eyes!"

Dwayne snapped at his comrade, "Quit being a jackass to them! They had a hard time. Cut them some slack, Jock!"

Alex sighed, "Thank you, Dwayne."

He nodded, "You're welcome…"

"Alex. Alex Bucker", the young redneck replied.

Sheila said, "I'm Sheila Spyri."

Dwayne bowed his head slightly to show courtesy. "Pleasure to meet you, Sheila. The other young lady is…"

Ro finished, "Rochelle Lucason."

Coach chimed in, "You can call me Coach Callaway. Coach will do just fine." He reached over the table and held out his hand to the soldier.

Dwayne shook it and smiled, "Will do, Coach." Then he turned to Ellis, "You. In the trucker cap. What's your name?"

Ellis blinked and then answered, "I'm Ellis Bucker."

The soldier asked, "You and Alex brothers?"

Ellis nodded, "Yep. My only blood family alive."

Dwayne nodded sadly, "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure every one of you lost someone to the zombies."

A deathly silence loomed over the survivors, which made the soldiers feel uneasy. Sheila whispered, "We lost some one very dear to us."

Nick growled, "Let's drop it now. It's too much."

Dwayne asked, "Your name, buddy?"

Nick looked up at the soldier. His icy gaze made Dwayne feel very uncomfortable. Nick answered, "Nick. That's all you need." Dwayne nodded as a result.

As they muscled down the breakfast paste, Sheila pointed out, "I think 'Dwayne' was Hicks' first name in the movie 'Aliens.'"

Dwayne nodded, "Yeah. That's where I got my name from. My parents were big 'Alien' sage fans. Not a lot of people can point that connection out."

She replied, "You can thank an old friend for that. She showed me the 'Alien' movies and I love them. 'Aliens' is my favorite, so that's why I noticed that coincidence."

Jock commented sweetly to Sheila, "Good movie smarts. I'll admit that."

She responded, "Thanks, Jock."

All of a sudden, a man dressed up in a military uniform walked into the tent and shouted, "Alright! Breakfast is over, ladies! Tent 7 must stay here. The rest of you are dismissed! Move!"

All of the other soldiers and employees scrambled out of the tent, leaving the Tent 7 survivors with their escort. Two CEDA guys walked in with fresh new clothes to replace their scrubs. They were camo pants and black shirt. Simple enough, they thought. "Put these on", one of the CEDA guys commanded. Without a second thought, they obeyed. Alex got a new pair of boxers so he doesn't go commando anymore.

Once they were dressed in their new outfits, the general clicked his heels and shouted, "Forward face!"

It startled the survivors, causing them to face in any other direction possible. Dwayne and Jock began snickering. Jock said to the pressured survivors, "It means face him, idiots."

As they corrected their mistake, Nick muttered under his breath, "He's getting a few steps closer to those black eyes." Ro, who was right next to him, nudged him hard in the ribs. He subtly winced in pain.

The general rolled his eyes at his new recruits and barked, "Alright now. As of today, you maggots are getting to be trained to become ZVS."

Alex sheepishly raised his hand as if he was in school, "What does 'ZVS' stand for?"

The general walked up to him and bored into his eyes, "Zombie Veteran Soldiers. Do you understand!"

Alex cowered under the man's powerful voice, shaking his head rapidly. The older survivors felt bad for Alex for being yelled at for asking a simple question. The general asked, "Any more questions, rookie?" Alex once again shook his head rapidly to avoid the man's booming voice. "Good!"

The general walked back to his original spot and continued his speech, "I will train you to destroy the infected menace! It will be hard. It will be painful. And you will beg for mercy! But I won't give it. Do I make myself clear?"

They lazily nodded. The general growled and repeated much louder, "Do I make myself clear!"

They all shouted in unison, "Sir, yes sir!"

The general smiled, "Good. You'll start by doing 50!"

Sheila paled, "50 push-ups?"

He snapped his head to her and asked, "What did you say, little missy?"

She froze in fear as she repeated to the best of her ability, "50 push-ups, sir?"

He sweetly nodded, "That's right, lady. 50 push-ups. Girlie push-ups don't count."

Ro and Sheila softly groaned to themselves. They never thought they would end up here. Hell none of them expected this change. They had their opinions on boot camp, but sadly, their opinions didn't matter anymore. When in boot camp, you're treated like dirt and you must fight or break.

"Now!" the general boomed, startling the survivors out of their thoughts. They hit dirt and began doing their push-ups. Nick and Coach were by far the strongest ones out of the group, so they didn't have a lot of trouble with the push-ups until they got around the early 40s.

Ro and Sheila struggled, thanks to their lack in upper body strength. Ellis and Alex were also not very strong, but thanks to their slight muscle tone they gained from the apocalypse, they were able to gain an advantage over the girls.

Once the push-ups were done, the general barked at them to do 50 more. They groaned as they went back down on the ground and did a total of hundred push-ups. Once that 50 was done, their arms began to ache. It seemed today was going to last forever to the weary survivors. It took them only a few hours to do those push-ups and as punishment to being so slow, they were forced to do 50 more.

The next "training" they had to do was weapons clearing and firing. They sighed and grinned at the sight of their old guns. Nick grabbed a hold of his Assault rifle and exhaled, "This feels so right."

Coach grabbed his Spas and replied, "I know it, Nick! I missed this gun."

Sheila took her military sniper and cradled it like a baby, "I missed my sniper sooo much! I feel deadly wielding it."

Ellis plucked his hunting rifle out of the pile and looked through the scope. "Watch yourself, Nick. I've got ya in my sights." Nick looked at him and took a step back because the end of the barrel was directly in his face. Ellis laughed as he lowered it.

Alex took his MP5 (which is a German-only sub machine gun) and brushed his fingers along the barrel and back up again. He scoffed, "My baby! I thought I lost you!"

Ro picked up her combat rifle and pondered, "I wonder if the military cleaned these guns."

Nick scoffed harshly, but then sighed nicely, "I doubt it. Why else would they tell us to clean them?"

She replied with a shrug to her own question, "Good point, Nick. Forget I asked."

He nodded, but didn't reply. He looked on the table and noticed an AK-47 on it. Immediately, he thought of me. Dwayne walked up from behind and picked the powerful gun. The soldier noticed Nick staring at his gun, so he asked, "Nick? Are you ok?"

Nick blinked and his mind was pulled out of his memories. "Huh? Yeah, I'm ok. We just knew a person who used an AK-47. That's all."

Dwayne grinned as he examined his weapon, "Yeah. I don't blame that person for using this gun. It's great for every situation. Short range, long range, and melee. Hey see this pattern on the butt?"

Nick looked at the design on the AK's end. It was a weird looking swirl and the bigger end looked like a head with gaping jaws. The color itself was black, but the surrounding design looked like it was singed with acid. Nick quickly connected two-and-two together. "Alien", he concluded.

Dwayne nodded, "Yep. You're sharp, Nick. Hey, who was the person who used the AK?"

Nick's eyes grew icy and his jaw began clenching. Just the vibes off the con artist made Dwayne realize that he went a bit too far. "Just someone", Nick answered with sorrow mixed with anger in his voice. Not wanting to push the topic any further, the soldier nodded and began teaching the survivors how to clean their weapons. At least they were being taught by a humble solider and not by the general. They were grateful for that.

Once the sun went down, the group retreated back to their tent. They dragged themselves to their beds and crashed onto them with loud moans of pain and fatigue. This camp was torture. The apocalypse was deadly Hell. At this point, they would've taken their chances back with the zombies.

Ellis complained, "I can't feel my arms."

Sheila replied as she rolled onto her side to face him, "You and me both, baby. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow."

Nick snapped, "How many push-ups have you done today, Overalls?"

Ellis was taken aback by Nick's sudden mood change. Hell, he has PMS since my sacrifice. "150 push-ups."

Nick let out a half-laugh, followed by, "Is that all? I did 300!"

Ro defended the elder Bucker by replying, "That was your fault! You shouldn't have shot Jock during weapon training!"

Nick hissed, "He had it coming. Besides, the trigger was touchy."

Coach grumbled, "Enough! Time to get some sleep, y'all." Within seconds, Coach was already asleep.

Ellis edged to the end of his bed and whispered to Sheila, "Good night, my darlin'."

She giggled as she responded, "Night, hot shot." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which made him grin ear-to-ear and blush.

The moment was killed when Alex quipped, "Shame, shame. I know your name!"

Ellis scowled, "Shut up, lil' bro. Get some shut eye!" Alex shrugged as he flopped on his bed, trying to get comfortable. It took him five minutes of twisting and turning before he was settled.

Nick saw the small good-night kiss and his heart sank deeper into the abyss of his sorrow. He looked away from his team mates and pulled out my bandana from his pants pocket. Ro saw him and sighed, "I'm sorry, Nick. Don't stay up too late." He only nodded without facing her. She crawled under the covers and fell asleep, leaving Nick alone.

He began playing with the bandana as his eyes grew flossy again. He quickly wiped his eyes dry, whispering to himself, "Why am I crying so much?" In his sunken heart, he knew the true answer: he loved me and seeing me sacrifice myself to save everyone killed him inside. He sighed as he tied the bandana around his wrist and snuggled into his pillow. When his eyes were engulfing in darkness, he let one tear escape and let it roll down his face. Sleep took over, letting Nick be in peace for awhile until the sun rise again. He needs it.

A/N: I was loosey goosey with the reviews in my last story, but not this time. If you want to see chapter 3, I need to obtain 5 different reviews. I want to know what people think of my work, so please review. No reviews=no new chappie!

Nick: Guys, she's serious about this. Just do it.

Lazerlemon: Meep!

Nick: What! Get away from me, you fur ball!