Shit guys, sorry its been so long since an update. Band camp started up at the beginning of this month and I spent all of July dealing with... family problems. Hope I haven't lost my touch heh heh.
Chapter 7- False Pretense; The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
'I can't seem to understand how you turned out to be so cold. You tried but were caught red handed, are you happy with your role?'
"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves- regret for the past and fear for the future."- Fulton Oursler
"Holy shit what happened to you?" was the first thing out of Joshua's mouth when he met Alec on the stairs. The Hunter had just returned from scouting the area; which loosely translated into searching for Spirit under the guise of looking for food; and still had dried rivulets of blood on his arm.
"Where is everyone?" Alec replied quietly, avoiding the question as much as he could.
"Uh, Ellis and Philo are upstairs and Wolfen is still in his room as far as I know. Why? You have news?"
"In a sense. Go get the hermit, he needs to hear this too." Joshua nodded, moving past his brother down the stairs to Wolfen's room while Alec made his way to the third floor living room. He said nothing, shrugging off the concerned looks he got from Ellis and Philo when they laid their eyes on the gash in his arm and dried blood. As soon as Joshua pushed Wolfen into the room, Alec spoke. "Well, I found her. And she showed how eager she was to come back by driving a knife into my arm."
Their eyes collectively widened and Philo was the first to speak. "Unprovoked?"
"No. I tried talking to her, making her see sense. I even tried to guilt her but it didn't work. So, I grabbed her and she stabbed me." he sighed, running a hand through his hair and swallowing a growl. A contemptuous snort came from Wolfen, getting him a look from the others in the room.
"I'm surprised she didn't put a bullet between your eyes." he muttered, crossing his arms and looking away. No one said anything or moved for a long time until Wolfen stood up and stomped out of the room and down the stairs. The other four exchanged a look and sighed almost in unison. Alec stood up, moving into the kitchen where they stored some of their medical supplies. He cleaned the wound as much as he could and slapped a large band aid on it, not bothering with antiseptic. It was better used for humans than Infected anyway.
"So what are we gonna do?" Joshua asked once Alec had sat down beside Ellis with a huff. "Just let her wander alone?" his eyes shone with an emotion that bordered on horrified but he tried hard to make sure it didn't show on his face.
"Not much else we can do. Obviously she's gonna put up a hell of a fight if anyone tries to force her." Philo sighed, ruffling his long blonde hair with an irritated look on his face. "Let's just leave her to her own devices. And go on with our own lives." he was as tired of the wild goose chase as Alec was and it was time they came to terms with the fact that she wasn't coming back. It had been two weeks and when Alec had seen her she looked like she was faring better than anyone had thought she would. Now was the time to focus on much more pressing matters, like the human army that was scattered around the city and the soon-to-be approaching Infected army. There was no telling when they would appear but it couldn't be too much longer.
They sat in a thick silence until Joshua stood up and walked down the hall, moving onto a small balcony that sat across from the bathroom. Alec could see him leaning on the railing with his head between his hands, but his breathing was even. "We still need to find more food." Ellis suddenly piped up, drawing the Hunter's attention. "Feel like going out again?" he raised an eyebrow at Alec and he nodded, standing up. On a whim, he sprinted down stairs into the room Spirit had occupied and grabbed a ratty tee that she hadn't bothered to bring with her. Ellis gave him an inquiring look when he saw Alec tuck it between his back and his pants like it was a rag from an auto shop. "You have an idea?"
"Yeah. And if it works hopefully the news will pull Wolfen out of his funk. If he knows she's sort of safe he might be willing to put some effort into helping us find supplies. The unwillingness he's displaying is pissing me off." they moved silently from that point on, their arms barely brushing. With each passing day they had to pan out further in search of food and other supplies. If the distance became too much they would have to move locations so travel distances were cut down. Alec went out every day faithfully, determined to keep his Infected mind pushed down and now and then he would take one of his companions with him. Most days it was Ellis or Philo but sometimes he dragged Joshua out of the house, teasing him that if all he did was laze around and eat he was going to get fat. Of course, even if they did do just that, the meager amounts of food they consumed daily was just enough to keep them from getting malnourished. It was a hard life but it could very easily be worse.
They had just come across a small dollar store that looked mostly in tact when a scent caught Alec's attention. Frowning, he told Ellis to stay close as he tracked it around the back of the building. One eyebrow went up when he saw a scrawny Hunter crouched there, sniffing in trashcans that had long since been picked through. When it noticed their presence, it jerked its head up and hissed, sucking air into its lungs to try and seem larger. But it was nothing but skin and bones so the effort was wasted. Alec growled and stalked forward, backing the Hunter into a corner. He noticed that it was wearing a green camo hoodie and gray camo pants, thinking back to what the soldier he had rescued had told him about a Hunter that had taken out his squad. Narrowing his blazing red eyes, Alec crouched lower until his face was mere inches from the other Hunter's quivering form. "It would be smart not to move." he snarled in the Infected tongue, drawing air into his own lungs to make his already tall muscular frame seem larger.
"Food. Hunt. Food, food." it almost chanted back in a shaky hiss. Its eyes were huge with fear but it didn't move.
"We'll get you some food but you have to do a favor for us in return." Alec snapped in the human tongue, narrowing his eyes further. The scrawny creature before him nodded frantically, whimpering. "A friend of ours is missing and we don't like her being alone. If we get you something to eat, you need to go find her and protect her." he dared the other Hunter to argue, growling from deep in his chest. He was aware of Ellis's presence a few feet behind him but didn't move to let the starving Hunter see him. No doubt that would throw it into hunting mode and that wouldn't be good. "Stay right there." he snarled, straightening up and backing up slowly. Ellis backed up with him, careful to keep himself even with Alec so he wouldn't be seen. They quickly darted into the store, grabbing as much as they could fit into the bag they carried while Alec grabbed a can of... something, breaking it open with a hammer and carried it outside. The other Hunter still crouched there, frozen like someone had hit a mental pause button. When it smelled the food it practically tackled Alec for it, gulping down what was in the can greedily before looking around for more. "If you want more, you need to find our friend." he pulled the shirt out from behind him and waved it in front of the other Hunter. "Get that scent memorized and then I have something you need to learn."
The Hunter grabbed the shirt, turning it over, smelling it and even licking it before looking at Alec with wide eyes, still terrified of the stronger being that stood before it. "Now, she won't trust you at first so you need to learn how to say my name. That way she'll have less incentive to kill you." he wasn't quite sure how much the pitiful being before him was understanding but didn't care. "Now repeat after me in a human voice. Alec." it tried, only getting out a growl. Alec frowned, motioning for it to try again. This continued for several minutes before it finally managed to croak out the others name. "Good. Now scram." he waved the other Hunter away, making it scramble back and out the other end of the alley, no doubt looking for the scent it had been ordered to follow.
"You think it'll work?" Ellis asked, walking up behind Alec, wrapping an arm around the Hunter's shoulders.
"God I hope so. I scared him pretty good so chances are he'll obey." he shrugged, turning to Ellis with a grin. "Let's head back. Its getting late." they meandered their way back to the house slowly, arriving just as the sun dipped below the buildings around them. "Bring this upstairs. I'm gonna go talk to Wolfen." Ellis nodded, leaning over to give Alec a light kiss as he took the bag from the Hunter before jogging up the stairs. Alec walked over to the door behind which Wolfen was and knocked. "Hey man, open up."
"No." came the muffled reply.
"Either you open the door willingly or I'm forcing my way in. Which would you prefer?" he kept his tone light but allowed it to rumble with a soft growl letting the other know he was being serious. He heard a sigh and the door was opened a few seconds later, allowing Alec access to the room.
"What do you want?"
"Well I thought that you would like to know that we found an ally today. I sent him after Spirit to hopefully keep her safe even though she seemed to be doing pretty damn fine on her own." he noticed interest spark in Wolfen's eyes and offered up a soft smile. "She's going to be just fine. You knew her better than any of us and you know she's capable of handling herself. I know you feel betrayed but keeping yourself locked up when there's more important things to worry about isn't helping anyone." he snickered, earning a strange look from the person across from him. "Now come upstairs and socialize before I have Philo come bind and gag you to drag you up there."
"That's not funny!" he heard the Smoker yell from the living room a floor above them. The house was silent so Alec knew that everyone was listening to what they could hear. Alec chuckled and backed out of the doorway, looking at the other expectantly. Wolfen sighed and brushed past Alec, slowly walking up the stairs. He stopped and turned to look at the Hunter, his eyes and expression both unsure.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Now get your butt up there." a small grin twitched its way onto Wolfen's face and he turned, walking up the stairs a bit faster. Alec sighed and shook his head, moving to the room he and Ellis shared to change out of his sweaty bloody clothes. When he had slipped on a pair of khaki colored three-quarter cargo pants and a body tight dark blue tee he made his way to the foot of the stairs, crouching and leaping up to the balcony that over looked the steps, hauling himself over the railing and walking calmly into the living room to find his four companions talking lightly. Things seemed to be looking up a bit. Alec knew, just as everyone knew, that it wouldn't last very long and to enjoy it while it lasted.
Alec soon found himself wrestling with Joshua, a rare occurrence and one that the Hunter had to be careful with because of his claws but brothers would be brothers. Alec finally managed to flip his shorter and lighter, but certainly not any less fierce, brother onto his stomach and sat on his back, using his greater stature and weight to pin him to the carpeted floor. "Admit it Josh, even when we were kids you could never win." Alec cackled, as Joshua squirmed in vain to get out from under his younger brother.
"Get off me you great lump I can't breathe." he grunted, clawing at the carpet in hopes of pulling himself forward. Alec rolled off him with a laugh, soon finding himself pinned by his black haired blue eye brother who laughed triumphantly while perching on Alec's stomach. "Who's winning now baby brother?" he snickered, getting a growl from the Hunter below him. The other four laughed at his expense as he shoved Joshua off him and scooted against the black leather couch in front of where Ellis sat cross legged.
"I let you do that." he muttered grudgingly, soaking up the light hearted atmosphere and enjoying it while it lasted.
"Oh sure oh great one. Even as a Hunter you still get careless. Max would be disappointed."
"Yeah right, he only taught me how to fight so he wouldn't get bored as quickly whenever he decided to kick my ass up one side and down the other. Literally." Alec sniped back, grinning maliciously. "And if I remember correctly, Rache could always beat your ass. In fighting and everything else." he couldn't say he had a happy childhood but it felt good to be bickering with his year-older brother for the first time in forever.
Joshua whined very much like a small child and protested loudly, "I let her 'cause she was so much younger!" Alec only shook his head with a laugh along side the three seated behind him. This was a rare occurrence but a welcome one nonetheless. It brought back happy times for all of them, childhood memories that had been buried for a long time because of the Infection. At least for tonight, everything was sort of normal. Joshua's face suddenly became thoughtful and he looked at Alec with a strange expression. "Hey I just realized something. Didn't you used to have gauges in your ears?"
Alec sighed and rubbed his neck in thought. "Yeah. Our asshole father made me remove 'em before I went out with Max and Pat on my birthday the night everything went to hell. I never bothered with them again, not much point." his father had said that now that he was twenty-one he didn't need juvenile things like piercings. The holes had long since disappeared and Alec hadn't really thought about it until Joshua brought it up. Of course, that brought a lot of curiosity from the others.
"You had gauges?" Philo asked, looking like he was trying not to laugh. Alec scowled at him, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah what of it. At least I don't have a stripper tattooed on my ass." he smirked when Philo's pale face went red. Alec had had the misfortune of walking in on Philo to ask him a question when he had just dropped his pants to get changed. Philo hadn't noticed he was there but the Hunter had beat a hasty retreat while trying not to throw up. Ever since he had been trying to delete the disturbing image from his mind but now he realized that it was a wonderful piece of black mail. Between Philo's expression and what Alec had said there was a combined roar of laughing and stifled gags while the Smoker tried not to look as mortified as he actually was.
"How drunk were you when you got that?" Wolfen gasped while roaring with laughter, clutching his sides. Philo muttered something under his breath that sounded to Alec like 'very' but he didn't say anything, sparing the Smoke further humiliation. Warm feelings saturated the air around them and Alec allowed himself to sink into the cloud of laughter that floated around the room as their bickering continued into the early hours of the morning. Eventually everyone aside from Alec retreated to their respective rooms to get a few hours of rest before the next day of hardship started. Alec remained in the living room, staring up at the moon for what felt like an eternity, sinking into his own thoughts and hearing the faint growl from his Infected mind that had become ever present. Is there hope or did that leave us along with our humanity? He thought, his mind wandering to Philo, his long-dead brothers who's last sight in life had been their own sibling ripping out their throats or snapping their necks. He thought of all the Infected beings he had ever met, a deep feeling of pity and hopelessness flooding him even as he settled down beside Ellis and allowed his eyes to slip closed.
This one's sort of a filler, explaining a couple things that were seen in the previous chapter and showing a more light hearted side of the remaining group. The next one is gonna be with Spirit and what she's doing. Reviews are used for the future of this story and work as good incentive for me to actually write! Oh, and I'm gonna be putting links for some awesome fanart up on my profile here soon so go check it out! Enjoy!
