Gossamer seized Portia's arm, drawing her attention away from Chris' transformation, the human girl shaking her head in confusion at the wild gestures the Reaper was offering her. "I don't understand!" She finally cried, Gossamer grabbing her head and turning her attention to something across the street.
"Oh… SHIT!" Roger hissed, following her gaze. Portia got to her feet, crawling up onto the hot hood of the car behind her as both Reapers rose as well. Roger settled next to Portia, both the humans raising their guns. Opal lifted her arm, drawing her tongue along the wound on it, her red eyes seeming to glow. "This isn't good."
"We've got it." Portia hissed through clenched teeth.
"That many of them?" Roger asked above the sudden bellow that escaped their Glutton friend nearby. "Are you SURE?!"
"We've got it!" Portia repeated, letting the first bullet fly as the horde in the parking lot across from them began tearing past, over and through the cars in the lot. One of the infected went down, it's head reduced to pink mist, and Roger stopped hesitating, opening fire himself.
As the two humans picked off the lessers charging towards them like fans at a Backstreet Boys concert, the Reapers raced forward to meet them, tearing through them as effortlessly as wild dogs in a rabbit hutch.
Chris turned his demonic face towards the horde, tensing when something shot past him like a red and white rocket. Charm, eyes throwing fire and claws dripping blood, threw herself into the horde from the side, beginning to shred through zombies with little effort.
"Well, they're fine." Chris grumbled, turning to look around, to make sure there were no other surprises waiting for them. He turned just in time to see the car that was flying towards him, the Glutton's eyes widening in horror. Drawing back one fist, he punched through the vehicle, being driven back a few feet from the force of it, opening his beady eyes to see the copper skinned giant rushing towards him with an eager grin on it's face. "Oh, fuck me…"
Reaching over, the Glutton seized one of the halves of the car, shifting backwards to get the other as Crusher continued to advance towards him. The others continued to thin out the horde behind him, though from the sounds of it, the zombies were running in terror now. Chris didn't blame them.
Throwing one half of the car, then the other in quick succession, Chris hoped to create himself an opening. He had to keep Crusher away from the rest of his pack, otherwise they'd all be dead meat. The first half of the car was batted away effortlessly by the charging giant, but the other half hit him in the face and staggered him, Chris moving forward with a roar to meet Crusher in battle.
Crusher smashed both fists into the road, the bellow that escaped him making the ground tremble so that Chris almost lost his footing. Shouts rose up from the rest of the pack, the humans both turning their guns on Crusher while the Reapers bolted to stop Charm from pursuing the rest of the horde.
As Chris moved towards Crusher, he picked up half of the car as he passed, using it as a bludgeoning weapon. The bullets peppering Crusher's heavy hide were enough to distract and annoy him, allowing Chris to hit him dead on with the wrecked vehicle. Teeth flew, bones cracked and Crusher let out a howl of pain, lashing out with one fist hard enough to send Chris flying. The Glutton ploughed through more vehicles, finally coming to a stop when he crashed into a light pole. Seeing stars in his vision, his control over the Glutton beginning to fade with the pain that was taking over, Chris got slowly to his feet, putting one hand to his head.
He saw that Crusher had turned his attention to the humans, Portia still crouched on the hood of the car while Roger was watching the Reaper's backs, the twins finally managing to capture the still livid Witch. Portia was taking careful aim at the furious and injured giant, Chris staggering forward a few steps to try and distract him long enough to keep him from reaching the girl.
Crusher bellowed in her direction, the sound dissolving into a frantic yelp of pain as the giant's head jerked back, more blood flying from his face. He reached up one massive hand and clapped it over the left side of his face, Chris quickly realizing what had happened.
Portia had fired…
Portia had hit home. The bullet had gone right through Crusher's left eye, blood leaking out the back of the giant's head where it had gone right through, and the beast was staggering to one side while letting out croons of pain.
"Chris!!" The girl shouted, the Glutton's head snapping to the side to look at her. "Change back, Chris!!"
"Can't…" Chris managed to grunt, shaking his head and backing away. He was too badly hurt now, and control was getting even harder. If he didn't get away, he might make a mistake.
"Don't run! We can still help you!" Portia pleaded. "C'mon, we're not far from the warehouse! We can take care of you there!"
Chris shook his head again, taking another step back. It was too risky… if he hurt any of them, he'd never forgive himself.
Opal was next to Portia now, putting her hand on the girl's arm and turning her eyes to Chris with an expression he couldn't quite identify.
"Please…" Portia breathed, fingers white knuckled on her rifle.
Chris looked around the group, seeing Gossamer tending to a trembling, weeping Charm and Roger loading something into his gun, face smeared with blood. When his eyes shifted back to Opal and Portia, the female Reaper nodded with the barest of smiles, Chris letting out a soft groan and collapsing to the ground.
It wasn't until his vision began swimming that he felt the sting of something sticking out of his arm. He could hardly believe it…
Someone had shot him.
…
…
…
Chris drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few hours. It was a long walk to the nearest safe room, another gas station in the parking lot of the Costco, and by the time they arrived, Opal was almost as weak as Chris was from blood loss.
"Chances are, that's the last we'll see of Crusher." Roger murmured quietly as he bandaged up a wound on Gossamer's leg. Portia was cleaning Opal's arm, a needle and thread she had found inside one of the packs laying on the floor next to her, and the girl's face was tight with concern.
"What a fucking cost to pay for it." She managed to say after a moment, picking up the needle and murmuring softly to Opal to reassure her it was going to be alright. The Reaper leaned up and nuzzled Portia's neck, settling back down with a sigh and a nod of understanding as the girl began to stitch the wound closed. It was hard, especially because the blood made the needle slippery, the soft hisses of pain that escaped Opal from time to time making Charm tense. The Witch seemed more on edge than she had been before, probably still stung about being dragged away from the lingering members of the horde. Gossamer nodded thanks to Roger and sat up, glancing over at the crumpled form of the Glutton near the back wall.
"The sedative was meant for horses… I dunno how long it will last on Chris. Gluttons can repair themselves pretty quick and Chris is a big guy." Roger murmured. He got several bottles of water from one of the coolers, the soft hum of it indicating that it was still running, then returned to Portia's side. "You want me to take over?"
"No." Portia replied simply, rubbing the back of her hand across her face and smearing it with blood. She was crying now, the tears mingling with the blood and filth on her cheeks, and the obscured vision she must have been experiencing was making it difficult for her to continue her work. "I got it."
"Lemme find some tissues, then." Roger murmured, heading into the small bathroom. There wasn't any paper towel left, but a roll of toilet paper on the back of one of the toilets would suffice, so he grabbed it and returned once again to the human girl. Gossamer was crouched near Chris, his back to the Glutton, his red eyes following Roger's movement with a curious light in them. "Here. It'll be better for both of you ladies if you can see what you're doing."
Portia allowed the older male to wipe her face clean with the tissues, laughing softly and shaking her head once he was done. "You must think I'm stupid, crying like this."
"I don't think so." Roger shrugged. "I think you're a woman, you're in distress, and you have every right to be weepy. If I got upset at a woman every time she got weepy, you really think I'd be able to put up with the crying machine over there by the door?"
Portia glanced at Charm, who was looking at them with a frown on her face, then shook her head and turned back to stitching Opal's wound. It was almost done now, and it looked horrible, but it was better than leaving it gaping the way it had been. Hopefully, Opal would be able to fend off any infection that might set in, since the work was far from sterile.
Roger used one of the bottles of water to clean up as much blood as he could, watching as Portia picked up her things and moved towards Chris. "Hey… what are you doing?"
"I'm seeing if he needs help." Portia replied, glancing over her shoulder. "He's one of us."
"Right now, he might tear your face off for breathing funny in his direction. You should keep your distance." Roger got to his feet, Opal tugging on his pantleg and making him look down. The Reaper scowled at him, shaking her head, then she began attempting to drag herself over to the Glutton as well. Roger sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. "You're both nuts."
"Or maybe we just offer him a little more trust than you." Portia shrugged.
"Yeah, maybe." Roger moved to the counter and leaned against it, drinking some of the water from the second bottle he had grabbed. He watched the two women fuss over the massive, unconscious infected and shuddered, wondering what was going to happen once Chris woke up.
"Let's move him into the back." He heard Portia say quietly to Opal, who nodded in agreement. They began dragging Chris' limp form across the floor, Gossamer helping them after a moment. When they had him in the storage room near the bathrooms, Roger went to see how things were working out. The room was small, but there was enough room for Chris to lay on the floor between the shelves, and if he woke up in a rage, they would have enough warning to get out before he got to them.
"Smart move, I suppose." He commented, Portia getting to her feet and smiling slightly. "Someone gonna stay here with him?"
"Opal volunteered. She's pretty damaged, but she's managed to get close to the Glutton before." Portia pushed her hair from her face. "I'm going to get cleaned up, as much as I can get cleaned up at least."
"Kay." Roger nodded, moving out of the way so she could get into the small woman's bathroom across the hall from the storage room. After a moment, he stepped into the room behind her, standing silently near the door and watching as she splashed her face with water.
"Hey… this is the girl's bathroom." Portia said in a thick voice after a moment, noticing him in the mirror. Roger smiled and shook his head, moving a little closer with a sigh. "You're not supposed to be in here."
"You need a shoulder, lady." The man murmured, putting his hands on Portia's arms. She turned away from the sink, water still dripping off her face, her lower lip wobbling slightly as she looked up at him. "And I've got two available."
There was a moment of hesitation, then Portia's face contorted, her arms snaking around Roger's torso. She pressed her face into his shoulder, nails digging in to the back of his shirt, her frame beginning to shake with the sobs that escaped her. Roger held her gently, rubbing her back and murmuring soft words of comfort, but he made no effort to stop her.
Right now, she needed this more than she would ever admit.
…
…
…
Author's Note!!
Remember, italics means infected speak!! Now things are starting to get interesting. ^.^ Hope you're all still enjoying!
