"Theron? You okay?" Rubi asked.

If I had kept a closer eye on her, this wouldn't have happened. Why did I have to take her with me?! I could have just saved her life, but no, being the idiot I am, I brought her with me!

Bad Witch.

Thanks for telling me information I already know! What was I thinking?

Wasn't thinking.

Do you have anything positive to contribute?!

Cute.

Thanks, I suppose.

Witch.

"Theron?"

"Yes?" Theron responded hesitantly.

"Don't take Flavius seriously. He's just being a drama queen. I'm positive we didn't take that much bacon, so relax, alright?"

"Sure."

"Do you ever speak in sentences longer than one word?"

"Sure."

"If you say so, Theron. I trust you."

Theron was actually surprised by that. Somebody trusted him. Admittedly, that somebody was a juvenile delinquent who could steal cars and pick locks while she did her make-up, but the apocalypse reduced his choices drastically.

"Thanks, Rubi," Theron replied, trying not to let amazement get into his voice. She was probably just trying to reassure him. He certainly didn't trust any of them. Maybe it was just the Hunter mind rubbing off on him, but he didn't feel much kinship to them.

"So, what's the plan? How are we going to take care of zombies if they get too close?" Rubi asked, scanning the area around. Aside from the gargantuan horde on the bridge that only grew larger, the area seemed devoid of life. Theron could smell all the commoners crowded on the bridge, cramped together with the dead bodies. If they kept their distance, they would be fine, but if they got too close, it was over.

"You deal with the tougher ones. I'll take care of the commoners," Theron murmured, keeping his eyes on the commoners in the front of the bridge. They were too busy fighting over territory to notice them as they sprinted across the street.

Theron and Rubi hurried into an alleyway just across from the gas station, taking a good look at their surroundings. The walls were covered in gang graffiti and blood, the windows were covered by steel bars, and the doors looked like they were held together with spit and glue. They were safe from the horde on the bridge behind them, but being silent was still preferable.

"So what's the plan?" Theron whispered.

"Find bacon. It's about as simple as it gets."

"That easy?"

"Nobody said it was easy. Simple, yes. Easy, not so much. First, we have to survive the trek to the grocery store. Assuming we even make it, it should be filled with zombies and probably devoid of bacon. Then we'll have to hike to another grocery store or go back home. Either way is over six miles while dodging zombies, trying to remember the right way, and probably getting lost multiple times."

"Fantastic," Theron muttered sarcastically. "Why not just take a car?"

"The streets have too much traffic. If we had a motorcycle or something, we could totally drive past them, but I don't see one."

"Just drive on the sidewalk with a car. It's not too hard."

"That's actually a good idea. If we get crushed to death by something, I'm blaming you, though. Which car do you like?" Rubi asked, indicating to the parking lot in front of them.

Theron didn't have many choices. Most of the cars were either on the street behind them by the horde on the bridge or crashed into a wall. He had his choice of a minivan, limo, or another minivan.

"Let's take the limo," Theron suggested. If nothing else, the limo probably had drinks. It would be harder to maneuver, but the length would be useful if the Infected came too close.

Rubi shrugged and ran toward the limo, Theron on her heel and scanning for any hidden threats. It looked entirely safe. Too safe. No way in hell the zombie apocalypse was just going to let them drive a limo to a grocery store. With their luck, a Tank would materialize out of nowhere and bludgeon them to death, then pile-drive their corpses just to be safe.

Bludgeon?

You have access to my memories. Isn't there a dictionary somewhere in there?

Dictionary?

Tank smash. Simple enough for you?
"It's open," Rubi announced, sliding herself into the driver's seat while Theron leapt over the vehicle onto the other side and let himself in. If anyone else had been with him, he would have insisted on driving.

"Just take it nice and …"

Before Theron could finish his warning, Rubi had already slammed the gas pedal to the floor, resulting in the limo leaping over the parking space and onto the cramped street. Theron was thrown forward, not having time to put his seatbelt on and leaving a small dent in the windshield.

"Stupid limo," he heard Rubi grumble quietly as she continued driving and scraping several cars along the way. Theron took the opportunity to put on his seatbelt and watch for stores.

Most Infected simply bounced off the vehicle and fell, but the few unlucky enough to block the way were hit by the front of the vehicle, rolled under, and were crushed again by the rear tires seconds later. Despite that, the limo didn't bounce off the ground nearly as much as Theron expected. Considering all the bumps, the limo had a good suspension system. From there, the commoners gathered that it wasn't the best idea to throw themselves in front. Luckily, Rubi was going too fast for most of them to even notice. Commoners would feel the wind from the limo, turn around, and look perplexed when they noticed nothing behind them. The limo flew down the sidewalk, Rubi hitting Infected, plowing through benches, and knocking down stop signs. The special Infected hadn't appeared yet, but what could they do?

While Theron was busy fearing for his life, Rubi was screaming her brains out in a combination of terror and happiness. The environment was a blur, flying by twisted and abstract. The sidewalk seemed to drag on forever in a straight line, mostly devoid of Infected.

After a few minutes of driving that made Theron imbed his claws in the dashboard simply because the seatbelt wasn't enough, they arrived at what appeared to be a grocery store, the limo stopping directly in front of the sliding doors.

"Go on, get the food," Rubi said, shooing Theron out of the limo's passenger seat while Theron pulled his claws out, taking bits of dashboard with him and strolling toward the doors and admiring the place.

The store itself was in great condition. Plenty of edible human food, but nothing to tempt a Hunter's palate. At least not at first glance. The few Infected who chose to remain here were milling about aimlessly, occasionally knocking over displays and searching for food. They all paused to note Theron's presence, but went back to ignoring him seconds later.

Move?

Absolutely. Let's find the food and leave. This feels like a trap.

Good trap?

Not really. There's nowhere to hide. Let's hurry so Rubi doesn't have to wait too long.

Theron moved toward the sign displaying a special on crab legs and was about to shove his way through the crowd when a howl came from somewhere within the mass of commoners. Another Hunter must have been hiding here.

Attack now?

This can't be solved that simply. We're outnumbered.

The Hunter mind had to content itself with unleashing frustration with a hiss at the nearest commoner. If the commoner noticed, she didn't give any indication, not even turning her head. Theron noticed a flicker of movement in the crowd of shuffling commoners, a flash that seemed to be gone as quickly as it appeared. Then again, the crowd itself was a good hiding place. Theron could almost feel some of the commoners glaring at him, determining the best time to attack.

Run?

If they get too close for comfort, why not? Let's get some bacon.

Theron shoved the commoner out of his way, dodging when the commoner swung a punch at his skull. Theron raked his claw across the commoner's face, ending the fight as the commoner retreated to a safe distance and hissing through the pain. The rest of the crowd seemed to note the pain inflicted and took a few steps back themselves, most of them not bothering at petty intimidation attempts. Theron ran through while the crowd still offered space, ending up at the counter in seconds.

Scaring?

Scaring people works. I doubt we did any permanent damage. At least we didn't have to wait in a line. This apocalypse has a silver lining.

The dishes behind the display counters were devoid of any seafood whatsoever, unfortunately. Theron wasn't too worried yet, though. There was probably some more in a freezer.

Vaulting over the counter and checking the steel doors marked 'Employees Only' had resulted in an empty freezer. The packages nearby were ripped open and empty. The seafood was gone. Theron left the room and scanned for another counter. Upon vaulting over the counter, the crowd automatically cleared the way. The other counters looked just as empty as the first. Theron knew a search of the freezers would yield the same result. It was time to move on to the next place.

Theron walked toward the limo to find that the driver's side was open and Rubi was standing, gazing out into the parking lot.

Theron sprinted toward her to see what the problem was. One quick glance showed him that they had been followed. Infected blocked the exits, sniffing about curiously. It was only a matter of time until they found them.

"Let's take the limo out of here," Theron murmured under his breath, keeping an eye out for any sneakiness.

"Screw the limo. Check that out," Rubi said. Theron followed her stare to a pristine lime-green sports car on the lot in front of them. Even the rich with poor taste hadn't made it out of the city. Aside from being lime-green, the car had golden spinning rims, light purple tinted windows, and racing flames just above the tires.

"There are Infected by the car, Rubi."

"You'll protect me."

"I'll try."

"Good enough for me. You get them away from the car and we can make this run about five minutes."

With that, Theron crouched down and growled, getting a feel for pouncing. The wind conditions were nonexistent and the sun was down. Perfect for leaping.

One pounce took Theron from his position through the air while his Hunter mind practically forced him to scream bloody murder. It almost scared him that he considered screeching as he glided through the air normal. Then again, normal back in the day meant taking classes in college. If he remembered correctly, his family was rich enough for him to not work a day in his life. The zombie apocalypse had ruined that plan, though.

His pounce carried him halfway to the car, allowing him to land on a bus and inspect the amount of commoners. It wasn't close to the exits, so only eight commoners and a fellow Hunter surrounded the vehicle. The commoners didn't seem to notice anything amiss, but the Hunter was searching frantically, spinning on his heel to try and locate the noise. They dressed oddly for a Hunter: red hoodie, biker shorts, and tennis shoes.

Kill quickly?

Can you stop thinking about killing for one minute? Just herd them away from the car. Intimidation, remember?

Theron's next silent pounce carried him from his perch toward the Hunter. He would never see it coming.

Theron landed on the Hunter, knocking the breath out of him and pinning to the ground. Theron raised his claws only to find the Hunter didn't assist him. When humans were pinned down, his primal Hunter mind was happy to assume the role and rip the human to shreds, gore and organs flying like bloody confetti unless, of course, he simply fed on the victim while he pinned them down. When fellow Infected were involved, the human part of Theron was forced to do the dirty work.

Jamming one claw through the cheek was enough to get the pinned Hunter to hiss, refusing to scream but still dripping gore across the light red jacket. The commoners, unfortunately, took no notice.

Theron moved the claw up toward the ear, drawing a low howl that the commoners still took no notice of.

Finally, Theron ripped the claw out with a pop, blood suddenly leaping from the wound and staining the ground around him. This time, the howl was deafening, catching the attention of the commoners nearby and causing them to retreat to a safe distance.

"Rubi!" Theron shouted, beckoning her over with a bloodstained claw seconds before slitting the Hunter's throat. Rubi sprinted toward the car, pulling a lockpick out of her pocket as she ran.

Rubi was there in seconds, working the pick and reassuring herself while Theron guarded her.

Any fear the commoners had of Theron paled in comparison with their hunger. The commoners reversed direction, running directly at Rubi.

One of them leapt before Theron impaled it on his claws and flung it to the floor. He barely spun around in time to send a kick that shattered the kneecap of Rubi's next assailant. Another spin ended up taking out an attacker's eye. Another kick, this time to the skull of a commoner, send it stumbling backward.

"It's open!" Rubi shouted, opening the door and getting herself inside.

Theron slide across the hood of the car, not noticing until it was too late.

The Boomer waiting on the other side of the vehicle attempted to punch Theron, only managing to knock him back. Theron flailed while falling, scratching the Boomer as he fell backward. One tiny scratch across the stomach.

The Boomer detonated, covering the windows of the car with bile and blinding Theron. He managed to find his way to the car, wrench open the door, and push himself inside.

As usual, Rubi drove like she had a deathwish, plowing over the commoners while they pounded on the car windows. In seconds, the car had accelerated up to ninety miles, easily escaping the horde behind them. Considering the fact that most of the windshield was covered in bile, Rubi was driving pretty well.

"Where are we going?!" Theron shouted over the wind, shaking his arms to get off the puke.

"Mall!" Rubi answered, keeping her eyes on the road. "Should be a nice entrance up ahead!"

"How far?"

"Few miles!" Going 120 mph, it wouldn't take too long for them to find it. Through the obscured windshield, Theron could already see it. It was a gargantuan shopping center that was made up of most of the surrounding area. They had already passed multiple stores, so the parking lot should have been nearby.

We might just make it, my friend.

"Tank!" Rubi shouted, turning the wheel a few degrees. Theron felt his head smash against the window, a piece of glass slicing his ear.

The Tank's swing missed the sports car by inches, the giant fist taking off a rearview mirror as they passed. Instead of the parking lot, Rubi was now headed toward the windows leading down. The window was designed for shoppers to look up outside or for passerby to look down on shoppers. Provided the sports car survived the twenty foot drop, they should be fine.

In the split second before they drove through the glass, Theron noticed what was probably the world's most elaborate bike rack blocking the way. They would be colliding with steel instead of glass. Steel bolted into the ground.

Before he could ponder that, the 140 mph collision launched the two of them out of the windshield, through the mall windows, and twenty feet onto the floor below.