Hunter

The deep huff of the Tank made me freeze as he passed. Giving me a side glance as his massive arms, much bigger then me, pounded the ground. But it was nothing like when he raged. His giant shoulders turned to look my way, but his eyes quickly averted elsewhere. I shook my head and turned the other direction, noticing my small Pack gathering together.

Mitch sat up, legs brought up around his sides. He glared at me, his hood shadowing his deep acrue eyes. "Now that the mutts here, I figure we could start."

"Well, I'm starving so were going to go try and catch something. Preferably those humans that Chip let get away..." He finished, kicking dirt my way. A snicker escaped the Hunter to my left as I began a raspy cough. "Lets get going. I don't want that damn Jockey to get to them first."

He stood on his legs, stretching his arms wide while groaning.

After an hours travel we picked up the scent of the survivors. I had seen them once before, in a hotel. And we had followed them all the way here. Disrupting them a few times a long the way. Last time I was the one to let them get away. Just as they had tried to leave a parking lot after the Tanker had blown up. The shock of the explosion threw me off the woman I had pinned..

Now they had made they're we here, into the buoys of Louisiana. Their car had only gone so far, and we had been watching them as they made their way to a hotel. A dead witch hung over the empty pool side as we jumped over the fence. Her long claws still imbedded in the ground.

"Dumb Bitch..." Mitch hissed, standing on his legs and smelling the air, the other four did the same. I stayed down, my back curving down, in a defensive stature. I could smell them. They were still in the hotel itself, and I heard the nasty cough of the smoker. I could see him on the roof, just above where I believed they stood. Mitch leaned down, grabbing the back of my black jacket.

"You stay right here. I'm not gonna let you mess this up again." He hissed, giving me a hard pat on the back. I watched all five walk away, leaving me behind. I began walking around the building, scouting out my pack. I saw a Huntress leap to the roof, motioning for me to be quiet. She was right behind a large man. Looking as if he was going balled and had dark skin. She disappeared behind the hall railings, but I was sure she was ready to spring. A younger man looked over his shoulder, more to be sure then anything, and saw the crouching figure right behind him.

"Hunter!" He yelled, turned his gun around. A women next to him pulled the older man out of the way as another man in a white jacket joined the first and shot at the Huntress. She jumped over the ledge, screeching as a shot grazed her hip. I darted behind a car, knocking an unsuspecting Common to the ground with a sharp yip.

The survivors bolted down the stairs, the man in white in the lead. Mitch lept from the roof, heading straight for the younger man, who was lagging behind once he stumbled slightly on the stairs. They had moved their way to the edge of a hill that was a straight drop into the swamp. The man in white lifted his gun, aiming right at Mitch, and I knew he wasn't going to miss.

I leaned back on my hips, bringing my weight back. With a sharp screech I lept forward, knocking into the unsuspecting man. The impact surprised me as much as him. I hadn't actually thought I would hit him. And that caused me to stop just before impact, making me clumsily push him over. We both stumbled, me on top of him as he tried to grab onto the ground before rolling over the edge.

We rolled head over heels, hitting the mushy ground and sharp rocks before we hit the bottom, him under me. The water was shallow, barely ankle high. I froze, unsure of what to do. I had a survivor underneath me and I had no idea how to get away. I wasn't sure I wanted to. Mitch would kill me.

The man cursed under his breath as we sat there for a moment before pushing his feet under me, pushing up hard. I yelped, letting go of his jacket and flying into the water. I sputtered up, having landed face down. I heard him cock the gun and turned to see it against my back. I rolled away and lept to safety behind a large bush. The thorns picking at my jacket that was now soaked. I shook my body and each leg separately.

"Where did the little bastard go?" I heard a man call, closer then I thought he would be. I whined again and crawled away, belly low. I heard what I believed to be the younger man, parting a bush to my left.

The white man parted a bush of his own at my right. I backed up, haunches in the air. My hood fell slightly back. My brown hair fell forward into my eyes as the women leaned in closer.

"Holy-!" She exclaimed, pushing the younger man out of the way. Having been right in front of me. I turned and ran, not daring to even watch where I stepped. I could feel sharp rocks and sticks digging at my hands and feet, but I didn't stop. I had to beat Mitch and the others. If they caught me I was dead for sure. If those humans caught me I was no better off.

I skidded to a hard stop, panting hard. I lifted my left hand from the water, inspecting the damage. My palm was cut, but nothing that would heal. Oh yeah. At least I could heal. That's what saved from so many things. But infection was not one. I never changed completely, but I am still one of the few that have begun to mutate.

A good number of Infected had turned into what the Survivors had called "Specials". We were stronger and faster than the Common, and had a good amount of smarts left. But I had changed oddly. I could stand but it was a slouch. I could walk but mostly it was a crawl like a stalking cat. My color had stayed. I was only slightly pale and had kept my eye color. My body weight was something that I hadn't kept. I couldn't stand eating these people.

I didn't want to live with these Hunters. I wanted to be on my own, but it would mean curtain death from a guy like me. I had promised my brother I would make it out of here. I promised I would get to an Evacuation Center. But right now, that didn't look possible. I had to go back. So, I did. I turned tail and began to drag myself towards what was likely going to kill me anyway.

Mitch.

Before to long it was all water, and I was restricted to the creek beds. Dead zombies were scattered here and there. Some had been torn by their own kind. The fight for food becoming harder.

"It wasn't funny Overalls..."

"Are you kiddin' me? That Hunter was friggen hilarious!"

I froze, the humans right in front of me and I hadn't even seen them.

"It wasn't on you sweety-" The women began, but I was already up a tree, trying to make my escape. The loud hush made me freeze once again, trying to hide in the fading light. The four had paused, turned my way. The younger man lifted his gun, pointing it right at my tree. I could already feel the bullet going through me. My black jacket would have hid me in the dark, but not in the dusk light.

But the young man stopped.

The gun lowered, his gaze meeting mine for a moment before he let his arm go limp. The older man, the one I had attacked grabbed the gun from his hands, bringing it to his shoulder. The click of the trigger made me move, the bullet barely grazing my arm, but I still yelled out of surprise. My body fell, the branch swaying from the shock. I fell to the water with a splat, at least a gallon going down my throat. I dug my claws into the grass at my left and yanked myself out, darting away from the still-raised-gun.