We, Mariamcardoso and Blindy, have put our cerebral cortexes together to create a fusion of fantastical storywriting. For both of us, this is our first collaborative piece of work, and we have worked tirelessly to produce the bet piece of writing possible. First, foremost, lastly and leastly, we'd like to thank the internet for making this possible. By connecting two souls who do not know each other and bringing our the best of their abilities, it has enabled the creation of what we know only as...LITERARY FUSION.


What made Spike run after Faye? He didn't know.

When he'd come bolting out the doors, Faye was already entering the woods near the hotel. Without thinking twice, he ran after her.

The storm was starting up and Spike was already cold; in a matter of minutes, he would be frozen. He didn't want to think about Faye in that tiny black dress.


Faye was running after the bounty as fast as she could and she couldn't catch him, but what was really bothering her was that had lost sight of him a couple of minutes ago. She looked back, trying to get at least a glimpse of Spike. No Spike.

Figures!

She continued running, gun in hand, and fired once. The bounty yelped.

He's near.

Suddenly, there was deafening silence, a serious lack of movement. Faye was not dumb. He had stopped, thinking she wouldn't notice and keep going. He was wrong. She stopped abruptly and closed her eyes to give her total attention to the sounds that were surrounding her.

You're not getting rid of me like that! You must be tired after all this running… breathe for me.

He did. He exhaled heavily. Faye turned abruptly to her right and fired two shots.


Spike entered the woods but couldn't see her. It was pitch dark, but at least they were protected from the strong wind that the storm was causing. He kept running forward until he heard a shot. His heart skipped a beat and he gave a sharp intake of breath, not quite a gasp. Faye…

"Faye?!" he called out in a loud whisper. When there was no answer, he almost panicked. Then he remembered…

It's Faye we're talking. She's not that easy. Her name must be Hope – the last one to die.

The last shot showed him the way. If the sudden silence was killing him, the extreme cold wasn't helping either. The sudden lack of footsteps made him think the worst. If she was shot in this freaking storm, she is, most probably, dead!

The thought hurt more than he thought it would. She was a comrade...no. She was a friend. More. Shit. He couldn't deal with these feelings. Not now.

Spike heard two more shots. He ran towards the sound. Finally, a glimpse of Faye, even if it was just her round ass. She was up and running, so everything was all right.

Spike smiled. It was perhaps the truest smile that had crossed his face since he had lost Julia four years ago.


After the shots were fired, the bounty started running again. Faye aimed and shot, but the cold was getting to her. She had to continue running or she would freeze.

Finally, Faye exited the woods and came to a stop by a lake house. She knew that house. It was the house Spike and her had used as a reference when they'd arrived. Unfortunately for the bounty, there were no more trees and he was bound to get shot if he didn't stop.

"You'd better stop, you son of a bitch!" she called out angrily. Okay, remember when she told Spike she could run in heels? Well, she could, but not for 100 fucking kilometers and certainly not in some damn forest. Her feet were killing her. For the next, let's say, three months she wouldn't be wearing heels. Hello, 168 cm. Damn.

After a couple of steps, she grinned as the bounty stopped three meters from the door of the lake house.

"That's better."


Spike continued running and finally…

"You'd better stop, you son of a a bitch!"

If Spike had ever doubted that there was a God, now there was no doubt. Spike exhaled slowly.

That's my shrew – what the hell was that? Spike paused.

"That's better."

It was her again, and he could now see all of her. Legs partly opened, arms at a ninety degree angle, holding her gun and aiming at the bounty.

"Faye…"

Never had he said her name so softly. She was so tense she didn't notice it. He was relieved. She would have asked him about that moment of tenderness if she'd been paying attention. She looked over her shoulder.

"What?!"

The opportunity the bounty was expecting was finally there. He bolted into the house.

"Fuck! Thanks Spike."

Her irritation was visible. Trying to go back to his usual self as he moved toward her, Spike said, "It's not my fault."

She ran to the house and kicked the door open. Spike, after realizing that she might need help, drew his weapon and followed her. He caught up with her and they entered the house together. It was abandoned. The smoke they'd seen earlier had probably been the bounty lighting the fireplace. The back door that led to the lake was open; the bounty was not inside anymore.

"Motherfu…"

"Run, shrew!"

For the first time, she did what she was told. Faye exited the house and saw the bounty sitting at the end of the pier putting on some blades to ice skate away from them. She started running toward him. Spike ran through the door after her and stopped when she jumped after him to the lake. Faye shot once as a warning and the bounty stopped and turned around, aiming a gun at her. Aiming at each other, they both grinned. The bounty lowered the gun.

"You know, I have a problem shooting women."

Faye laughed. "That's good to know."

Spike couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew something wasn't right. The guy could have run away from them with no problem at all.

Shots were fired and the bounty hunters' hearts stopped for a moment. The bounty shot the ice and it began to break beneath Faye. She looked around. It was suddenly impossible to reach safety without falling into the water.

Spike started running. The faster he wanted to move, the slower he seemed to run. He was in slow motion. The thump of his feet on the wood pier was now slower than ever.

"Faye! Get out of there!"

He didn't see the situation as Faye did. She was going to sink and she would pass out within seconds in this cold. Spike jumped to firm ice and looked around. There was no way to get to her without falling in too.

"Faye! Listen."

Faye turned around to look at Spike. Never had he seen Faye so scared in his life. The panicked look on her face while trying to stay on top of the ice as long as she could tightened Spike's heart.

"You have to swim and try to reach firm ice so I can get you out."

As she realized that she was indeed going to fall to the extremely cold water, she froze in place, and Spike's words were the last thing she heard.

"Help m…"

As the ice began to settle, the piece supporting Faye abruptly cracked in half and she began to sink into the icy waters.