A/N: This chapter gets graphic in an extremely violent, slightly sexual sense near the end, just thought I'd warn a bit for that... Again, I hope you guys like this chapter as well... I have big plans ahead.

**CHAPTER IV**

There was screaming, and blood everywhere. Jake could hardly remember could hardly comprehend what had just happened. It was all too sudden, too catastrophic; he was in a state of shellshock. They were in the backseat of the car, Laura was lying across his lap, and her leg was torn and bleeding badly. She was crying, saying unintelligible things; she was terrified as he was.

They had just been in the store, looking for whatever would be good for the trip ahead. Then there came the screaming, and she was attacked.

He jumped and cried out in shock as something hit the side of the car before Chris could get the engine to start. It was a person, or so he thought, slamming his hands violently against the window of the car in an attempt to get in at the fresh meat inside. It would take Jake some time to realize this was an infected, and later he'd come to know that this was simply one of the commons. Of course, more would come, five, to be precise, before Chris could even get the car started. When he finally did, though, they drove out of their as fast as the rather cheap car would take them.

"Oh God what was that? What was that!?" Laura exclaimed, clinging onto Jake for dear life.

"Calm down, we're taking you to a hospital, don't worry," Chris said, trying to sound authoritative, but Jake could hear the fear in his voice.

The infection couldn't have spread this far, could it? Not so soon, it wasn't possible…

"It hurts…" Laura whimpered, and Jake looked to see the very distinct shape of a bite wound on her calf, her leg was propped up on the seat. The material below it was soaked in blood, and he instantly started to look for something to wrap the wound. He ended up using his own shirt to do it.

No one knew, and he didn't want to think about just what being bitten by one of those things meant. Everything was going to be fine, and they were going to make it to the safe area soon. He did not hesitate to assure her of this, as he comfortingly stroked her hair as she fell into a light sleep on his lap…

Awaking with a painful start, Jake actually lashed out, hitting the wall hard enough to deeply mar its white finish with his claws. He hissed loudly through his teeth, getting up from his temporary nest, feeling extremely nauseous. He crawled and stumbled drunkenly into the empty office room, fighting back the urge to vomit.

That dream, (or was it a memory…?) had been an extremely unpleasant wakeup call. It was almost like a past life he was witnessing, the memories were too hazy to believe anymore. With a sinking feeling of dread, he realized that any memories he had were either gone or extremely tarnished. His head hurt horribly every time he tried to think back, back to who he had been before…. His life…

He covered his face with both hands, hissing loudly with pain as he pressed on his tightly closed eyes with his palms, the horrible ache spreading throughout his entire head. He finally had to stop trying to remember, lest the pain cause him to be sick, or worse, tear out his own eyes in desperation. He slammed his hands down onto the floor, before throwing his head back and letting out a loud, agonized shriek. He then shook himself, breathing harshly as he stared down at his own claws.

Finally, he tore himself from the floor, half staggering over to peer out the window he'd come in the night before. He was thankful for the heavy storm clouds that had apparently just rolled in, for they obscured the bright sunlight which would have only exacerbated the ache that still resided behind his eyes.

He stared down at the courtyard, three stories below, for a long moment, until he heard the low sound of rolling thunder. He pulled back to look back into the room he was leaving, an old abandoned classroom. He'd made the connection last night of this being a middle school, and for some reason, the space behind the teacher's desk looked like a perfect spot to sleep.

He looked back outside, down at the still green courtyard and then at the side of the school across it. He could practically see the kids here, as they had been before the infection spread. Could see them walking or just hanging out in the yard, laughing, talking …living, before they had to go inside to begin their classes.

He could visualize an average day, here at school, something that felt entirely like a nostalgic vision of the past, even though he'd never gone to this school. At least, he didn't think he did… Trying to remember anything tended to send a freezing cold ice pick through his brain, so he decided not to try anymore.

Carefully, he climbed out the window, and began his steady descent down onto the still soft green grass below. He barely saw the flash, but he did hear the low rumble of thunder as he crossed the courtyard in plain sight. He walked with his hands in his pockets and his head down, face and head obscured by his hood. From a distance, he could have easily been mistaken for a non-infected human being. Such an appearance was not to last, however, as he suddenly stopped. A loud, low hiss escaped his throat, and he twitched, tearing his hands from his pockets to glare down at his own claws. He felt the fever again, and he did not fight it, no, there was no point in fighting.

He took off in a run, eventually dropping on all fours. He then leaped and scaled effortlessly up the opposite side of the school, until he met the top of the roof. Hissing and growling with every breath, he slowly crawled along the roof, scanning the streets on the other side with those bright, inhuman eyes.

There was a dog. It was severely malnourished looking, its hip bones, ribs and spine protruding from its black and brown pelt almost painfully so. It walked with its tail curled between its legs and its head down as if it was terrified of something. It was walking up the sidewalk, heading away from him, and Jake felt his blood boil at the sight of another living creature. A wicked grin came over his features, and he readied to pounce, much like a big feline would.

He lunged, all the way from the roof of that three story school building, and came down on the dog with horrifying speed. His aim was true, his hands catching the dog right in the middle of the back. Its spine and ribs shattered with a sickening crunch as it was slammed to the pavement. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he heard the animal screeching in agony, but it was blocked out by the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.

With all the ferocity of a rabid animal, he hooked his claws into the creature's flesh, and just started ripping, tearing, even going so far as to lift the animal and slam it against the side of the building beside him as well as onto the pavement, repeatedly. Soon the dog was no longer screaming, or moving for that matter. He cried out in a rage as he tore the dog apart, flinging viscera and body parts everywhere. It was only an afterthought to actually start eating the thing he was massacring, and he tore a few mouthfuls from it before the rage forced him to continue on to find something that still had a pulse.

He stood up and ran, crossing a couple blocks before something made him stop abruptly in his tracks: A whole street full of common infected, just walking and sitting around, bored, or possibly tired from starvation. He grinned again and slowly turned toward that street, claws outstretched. He took a couple steps forward, before he lunged with a horrific screech that reverberated throughout the otherwise silent city.

He came to not even fifteen minutes later, the fever leaving just as he was about to slash apart yet another common infected. Of course they'd fought back, as the random tears and cuts that covered him told, but this one seemed to be twice as ferocious. Or maybe it only seemed that way because he'd just lost the fuel to his fire.

He stopped and staggered backward, before the infected flew at him, grabbing and hitting, and he screeched in pain and shock as his right sleeve was almost completely torn off. Only after he'd taken a few good hits, did he finally manage to incapacitate the other infected and flee up the side of the nearest building. He then ran, leaping over the rooftops of a couple more buildings so as to get a good distance away from the horde he'd just tried to massacre.

Rain was falling steadily now, the water cutting through the fresh blood that covered his face and his hands. He was thankful for that, now that the fever was gone. Sitting upright in a way reminiscent of a meerkat, he tipped back his hood and turned his face to the sky, letting the rain wash off the foul blood of the common infected he'd just blindly slaughtered.

Hissing with frustration, he decided it was time to get a new hoodie, maybe entirely new clothes for that matter, and he tried to remember where he'd found what he had on now. He'd found it after he'd been infected, that was for sure. Fighting back the headache, he brought back memories of a rather large store, a mall, maybe, somewhere downtown… He hissed and clutched his head, crouching down. What was the point, anyway? It wasn't like he had anyone to impress. He didn't think being covered in infected blood would change much.

Looking up at the sky after the pain subsided, he saw a flash within the clouds. Low, loud thunder shook the platform beneath him, making his anger instantly disappear. No matter how far gone he would become, it seemed he'd always love thunderstorms.

Closing his eyes, he tilted his head back again to feel the cold rain running down his burning hot skin. Sitting back a bit, he reached up to unzip his hoodie, pulling it open. The water fell faster and harder, starting to feel like a proper, albeit somewhat cold shower. He was surprised by how utterly good it felt, as he let his hoodie fall, only held on now by the duct tape tight around the wrists.

He opened his mouth to catch some of the water, realizing abruptly how thirsty he was. He ended up trying to catch it in his hands, licking it from his palms ravenously. After a moment of this, he finally shrugged his jacket back on properly, but didn't bother to zip it back up just yet as he stood up and walked to the edge of the building. He peered down off the ledge, looking around momentarily only to confirm that there was nothing and no one around. He frowned. He was still hungry. The tiny bits of meat he was able to get off that scrawny dog had been a poor excuse for a meal at best.

Shaking himself a little in reflex, he thought about just how difficult hunting in this weather might be. But then again, the rain and thunder could afford him extra cover as well. Lightning flashed, and seconds later, thunder boomed overhead so loud it made his hypersensitive ears ring. He hissed and winced in surprise and pain, shaking his head again as if to clear it. He then looked back down at the street.

He froze and had to do a double take. It took him a moment to realize what he was now seeing: three very unmistakable shapes moving quickly across the street. Staring at them, he felt his heart speed up in a new type of elation. Those were people, non-infected, survivors. The first he'd seen since that one woman shot him through the shoulder.

It may have been surprising to know that the last thing he thought of was making those people his next meal. No, again he felt the small pang, the small urge to go meet and try to befriend them. Oh how foolish an impulse that was. He felt angry at the memory of what happened last time he tried that, and finally it clicked in his mind: People were not friends. He'd seen up close and personal just what he'd become, no human in their right mind would ever look at him as anything other than something to be feared and shot at. He felt the rage rising inside of himself, except this time it was more controlled, more … human.

He placed his hands on the concrete ledge of the building, and glared hatefully down at them; he was very close to leaping off the building and giving chase right there and then. That's when he sensed a presence behind him, and felt a hand grasp his wrist, gently. He yelped in shock and tried to spin around to fight back, but he was held firm. Growling deeply, he tried to look behind himself, but couldn't.

"Wait…"

He was surprised to hear that hissing voice beside his ear, and he realized immediately who had him. He growled a bit louder, and the other Hunter released him. He whipped around and lashed out, but his claws met only air. He did not attempt any further attacks after that, because for the first time, he did not feel the need for such overt hostility toward this other infected. Maybe it was because he had other, more worthy targets in mind at the moment.

He saw that the older Hunter was still torn from their previous encounter. He'd ripped off what was left of the lower part of his pant leg himself, and his sleeves were still badly mangled; one was torn off almost completely while all that remained of the other was most of the upper arm. It was hard to distinguish his expression from here in the pouring rain, but Jake could tell the elder Hunter was pretty much unconcerned by any threat displays he had to offer. This was proven further as the other infected moved toward him now and stood beside him to peer down at the three non-infected who had made it across the street just moments before.

Jake looked at him a moment, before casting all his useless objections aside to turn and look down at their prey as well. It was obvious this Hunter had hunted people before; Jake would be stupid not to accept this learning experience while he could. Besides, it kind of felt good to be this close to the other infected, just standing here like this, despite the pouring rain. The feeling confused Jake deeply, for at the same time he would have been happy to try to tear the older Hunter to shreds again.

He really, really did not understand himself anymore. But that was no surprise.

His thoughts were cut short as he watched the other infected suddenly start to take action. The way he moved was like a cat, silent and quick, as he began to follow the survivors from up here, eventually leaping across the gap between buildings to continue on his way directly across them. Jake decided after a moment to follow, and he tried his best to be just as stealthy. Eventually he caught up to the other infected, and watched as the older Hunter started climbing down the side of the building.

Jake lagged behind on the roof, heart racing with growing excitement as he watched the other Hunter sneak up on the one survivor that was lagging quite a ways behind. In the relative darkness and rain, the person didn't even notice his impending doom until the Hunter had stood up and grabbed him, pulling him backward violently. What happened next happened so quickly, Jake wasn't quite sure what he'd seen. A swift movement of the older Hunter's hands near the survivor's throat, and suddenly the person was falling to the ground, twitching and dying without a sound. It was then the older Hunter rushed after the final two who were still on the move, and Jake took this cue as his time to join in the attack.

All his muscles seemed to be a little too tense, as he flew off the building with one powerful leap and soared clear over the street toward the smaller one of the two survivors. He landed not five feet away, before springing again a second later with claws outstretched and a high pitched screech of sheer excitement. There were gunshots, there were screams. Jake heard the other Hunter, but his cries were not of pain or fear, they were of the same spirit Jake's were; excitement, and murderous ardor.

Jake snarled as he grabbed the survivor, who he soon discovered was female due to her cries of terror, and flew forward into the alley and pinned her beneath him upon the cold, hard and wet pavement. The breath was knocked from her for a moment, her cries momentarily cut off even as she tried to struggle out from beneath him. He clutched her shoulders, his claws digging in as he glared down at her, and finally she screamed.

"Get off!" she cried, kicking and trying her best to wiggle away, "Oh God please!"

Jake narrowed his eyes at her, feeling no remorse at all for what he was about to do. She stared up at him with pure, untainted terror, and that look disturbed him so greatly, he pulled his hand back only to slash her hard across the face once, then twice, then three times, over and over again until he was just hitting her not only with his claws, but his fists as she continued to struggle violently beneath him. Soon her face was so mangled and bloody, she was completely unrecognizable.

It was about this time that Jake realized a certain effect that all her bucking and struggling had brought on. Already straddling her, he found himself pressing against her a little harder. He hissed through his teeth, closing his eyes when he felt the rain dripping from his face and nearly getting in his eyes as he tilted his head down. Gripping her head with one hand, he stabbed his thumb claw slowly into her still uninjured eye, and this had the desired effect. She started bucking and wiggling more violently, and his legs tensed as he pressed into her moving body, feeling an almost unfamiliar burning hot pleasure lancing through him with every movement.

She tried to fight, her hands on his wrist as she tried to pull his hand off her face, but her meager strength was nothing compared to his. He didn't even feel her nails digging into his skin. He hissed louder, starting to buck against her harshly as he felt something rapidly rising inside of himself. He slid both his hands down now to wrap around her narrow throat and he used this leverage to continue thrusting against her hard and fast.

He threw his head back, not stopping even when she ceased moving beneath him. It wasn't long before his heavy panting and growls turned into a cry of intense pleasure as the heat that had been building inside him finally reached a peak. He bucked a couple more times, trembling with the intensity and the mind-rending pleasure that had torn through him with little warning.

Hunting had never felt like that before…

Reality came crashing back to him painfully fast afterward, and his eyes snapped open. He turned slightly, sensing eyes on him. He was somewhat surprised to see the older Hunter crouched nearby, watching him silently, his features completely hidden by his hood. Jake remembered suddenly that he still had his own hoodie unzipped and open, and he felt extremely exposed for more reasons than one.

The older Hunter stood up, tipping his hood back, and Jake saw that he was smiling. It was a smile that had the young Hunter looking away, for the first time he could not meet the other Hunter's gaze. He hissed softly to himself in mild frustration, before glancing back over, only to see that the other Hunter had vanished.

After a long moment of getting over what had just happened, Jake tore open the carcass before him to start feasting upon it like he'd at first intended. He was hungry, and no amount of chagrin was going to get in the way of that.