Heeeeeey guuuuuys, how's it going? Are you ready for another chapter? I think you are! This felt really short to me, hm. Oh well, at last, chapter ten! This means we're only sixteen chapters away from the end, oh my gosh! And as usual, thanks for all the favs and stuff I've been getting for this story, you guys are awesome and deserve this chapter.

Chapter 10: J is for Jump

When it doubt, jump it out.

His rival was whining and pawing at the door in impatience, using the tongue of the prey to beg and plead for her to open the barrier that kept them separated from the outside. Antonio could only roll his eye in annoyance, but he could feel impatience gnawing at him. He was flopped on his back with his feet in the prey's lap, waiting for her to roll the shiny stickiness around his legs. She had dressed the two of them up in the warm layerings in preparation of their small excursion to the outside full of cold whiteness. He honestly did not want to venture out but he knew the prey wouldn't let him stay inside just for the hell of it while his rival frolicked about by himself.

That and his rival was smart enough to know not to let him near the prey alone anyway.

"Okay Toni, all set" the prey cooed at him. Snarling, Antonio swung his legs away from her, rolling to his stomach and stalking towards the door. She did not have to make such noises at him like that, he still understood her fine without the extra sounds she would make at them. Disgusting, the prey thinking herself better than him, a powerful and mighty Hunter. But the glare his rival shot at him beneath his hood, he was reminded that he wasn't as powerful as he would like. Not in this domain he was.

"Alriiiight, ready to go boys?" the prey asked them, a big happy grin on her that Antonio just wanted to claw off…then maybe…eating would be good.

"Yes yes yes yes, out out out out!" his rival jabbered at her, bouncing in place excitedly. Antonio grunted in agreement, but he wasn't that happy about it. Not at all. But it wasn't like the prey could read his mind and she flung the door open for them. His rival let out a yowl as he launched himself out of the house and into the pile of white coldness just outside. "Coooooollllllllllllld!" his rival shrieked and shot back inside, shaking off white coldness from his coverings.

Antonio hissed at him and stalked away from him, this was exactly why he didn't want to go out there! It was cold and gross and the last time he was outside, the lessers tried to take his prey away. And that wasn't allowed to happen again. But the prey ignored his rival's protests and cries and urged him back out of the den to go play. Somehow she succeeded (then again, his rival was dumb enough to believe everything she muttered at him), and his rival was out and about romping in the whiteness.

"Come on Toni, you too!" the prey tried to push him out as well, but he refused to move for her. He was not going anywhere, and he certainly wasn't going out into the coldness with him. He hissed and snarled at her whenever she tried to nudge him out, once even swiping his claws at her. She really didn't seem to get the message until then. Folding her arms across her chest and pouting at him wasn't going to work either.

Those actions only made him more stubborn, want to refuse and glare at her until she wilted, tucked her tail between her legs and slinked away. Yet she wasn't doing that and it turned into a glaring match instead. Soon enough he was growling at her, wishing she'd just go away already and let him be and shut the damned door because it was cold and all the heat was being let out. But their stalemate was going no where.

"Don't you two have anything better to do than just like, I dunno know, stare at each other?" the Smoker said to them as he made his way towards the door, a small, smelly stick dangling between his fingers, and he was all dressed up to venture out into the coldness. Antonio's nose wrinkled as the cloud of smoke that constantly followed the taller Infected swallowed them up, causing both him and the prey to start coughing.

"Ryan, coughcough, could you just like, just get outside already?" the prey wheezed, and the Smoker happily obliged, taking his toxic cloud with him. Antonio could breath easy again, he really didn't like being around Smokers like that. "Hey wait, Ryan, could you get this out of the house for me?" the prey called after the Smoker, and his eye narrowed at her. What was she talking about? Seconds later, something wet wrapped around his waist, and he suddenly flew backwards. The den, gone, door, gone, white, everywhere. He was dumped unceremoniously into a pile of the white coldness and ahhhhhhhhhhhh, cold cold cold cold cold!

He really did not like the cold.

Antonio climbed out of the white coldness, hissing in utter disgust and shaking his hands in an effort to get the coldness off them. Stupid, stupid, stupid prey probably thought she was so clever for using the Smokey one against him like that. Said Somkey one was choking out a laugh at him, making him snarl and bare his teeth. He did not like being taunted at like that. The Smokey one stopped laughing, but still looked very, very amused.

"Get over yourself" the Smokey said to him in their language, brining the smelly stick to his mouth and inhaling.

"Choke" Antonio spat back and stalked away, growling with every step because the white coldness was really cold and icky and he really didn't like it. His rival did though. His rival would suddenly spring up from a big pile of coldness and into another one. And that pile would seemingly eat him before he just jumped out again. And his rival was…having fun with it. How? It was so cold and gross and Antonio would sooner roll around the fat, gurgling one's bile than this disgusting coldness.

Cold, disgusted, and bored, Antonio turned around to head back to the den in hopes of the prey opening the door and letting him back inside. The cry of the Hunter made him snarl and turn right back around in time for his rival to crash into him. The two rolled into a large pile of coldness where they went to just wrestle and try to kick the other off. Well, Antonio was trying to kick his rival off, his rival just wanted to…play with him?

"Play, play, play!" his rival demanded, sitting on top of him with a big, toothy grin. Antonio refused by swiping at that stupid face, his rival barely dodging it, the edges of his hood shredded. Oops. That wasn't good. Nope, not at all. That was bad. The grin went away at least, but was replaced with an ugly snarl. Antonio's single eye widened, and he struggled to get away.

He did get away, but not on his own accord. The next he knew, his rival was rolling him over, so now he was sitting on his rival. More specifically, his rival's legs. He got kicked off. He was sent sailing through the air to crash into more coldness. He desperately tried to get to his feet and run, but the coldness beneath his feet made standing a bit of a hassle. But it gave his rival just enough time to come tearing after him.

And so a big game of chase between the two ensued. Through piles of coldness, over the slippery rooftops of the dens, Antonio ran from his rival. At one point, he burst through a window to a den, thinking he had lost his chaser. He paused to catch his breath, his lungs burning for air. While he could chase down prey easily, running from another of his kind was not an easy task.

Then he heard it, a muffled, crying noise and hopped to his feet, hoping it was possibly more prey in hiding. Because that sound could be prey…could not be, but he had to check anyway. He was in a hallway. and the sound came from one of the rooms. Antonio cautiously edged down the hall, remaining silent in case the prey heard him. The further down he got, the more he could hear the crying. All the rooms were closed off, save for one. There.

He edged to the entry way of the room, poking his head around the corner to look inside. He snapped his head back and pressed up against the wall, holding his breath in case he was seen. But no, the crier did not cease in her crying, meaning she didn't sense him, and he was safe. For now. He needed to get out before the crier did realize he was there. Mighty Hunters did not fear the criers, when they were crying anyway. Once enraged, those claws were deadly, and a Hunter could be seriously injured because of it. He needed out out out out out out now!

He didn't get very far with that. As he inched his way back down the hall, his rival finally found him, squeezing in through the window and screaming loudly at him. Antonio waved his claws at him, get back get back! His rival only took that as a sign to attack, and he pounced. The smaller Hunter was slammed into floor, his rival snarling at him. Antonio didn't respond back, and only noticed how quiet it was.

Then the growling started. It wasn't from him, and it wasn't from his rival. They stared at each other in confusion before slowly turning their heads to see the crier glaring right at them. His rival had knocked him back right into the crier's line of sight. And she did not look happy. They could only watch as she stood and held her deathly claws up and their growls got worse.

They screamed. Not the about-to-pounce-and-kill scream, the going-to-piss-myself scream, and now they were scrambling away to not be near her and her claws and she screamed back at them and now she was after them. Antonio somehow made it to and out the window first, falling from the height and landing perfectly on his feet. His rival didn't come after him. The smaller Hunter glanced back up at the window, still able to hear the shrieks of the crier, and the screams of his rival. But nothing was coming out.

He felt torn. He could co back up and see what was happening, help him maybe. But at the same time, he hated his rival, right? This was a good thing, the crier would kill him and the prey would be all his! Buuuuuuut, he did sorta maybe want to make sure his rival got out okay. After all, what would the prey do if she found his rival dead? What then? Okay fine, he would go back up and look.

But then all the screaming stopped. It got really, really quiet. Was…was someone dead? Did the crier stop? Someone had to be dead. Silence still, yup, they were dead. Somewhat satisfied, Antonio turned and prepped to jump away when a ragged cough sounded from above. Moments later, his rival clumsily landed next to him. Only because his arm was held up against his chest, and Antonio could smell the blood off him. His rival's arm covering was soaked in red, and a large tear went down the side.

The crier had gotten him!

And while it would have been easy to still just walk away from him, Antonio sat there and watched over his rival while the latter licked at his wounds. It may have been cold, and the coldness was still icky, and he really shouldn't have cared, and really it was his rival's fault for getting them caught by the crier. But he still didn't go anywhere until his rival was good and ready.

It felt really weird to do.

Did that feel like filler to anyone else? Felt like it to me. But that's a chapter down and plenty more exciting ones to go. So see you next time for chapter 11, and the letter is K. So tell me readers, what word that starts with K would best suit the zombie-apocylypse? The reason this chapter took so long to start was because I didn't know what to call it! So, Chapter 11: K is for...?

Laters

UPDATE 5/9/13 Way too late to be telling you all now, but you can STOP sending in suggestions for chapter 11. I actually have the chapter already named and written, I just need to type it up. So now I encourage you all to start pestering me about doing that instead. K, thanks guys, and thanks to everyone who's sent in a title for ch 11.