Standing at the edge of Richard's ear, the breeze whipped at my coat and blew my locks back. Richard lived alone so I wouldn't be able to latch onto a new victim so easily. He did have a dog though. I didn't like the idea of making a dog my home, but I didn't have the liberty to be choosy. Every morning, Richards's dog would run into the bedroom and lick the guy awake for his morning jog. All I had to do was hang around for the mutt. When I heard the telltale barking, I smirked. "Our ride's here." Slipping my shades over my eyes, I glanced over at Kat. "Time to go, baby," I said while holding out a hand to her.

"And how exactly are we gonna get down? I don't suppose you can change your hotrod into a helicopter," Kat asked with a brow raised.

"I've got a more personal form of travel," I replied and shook my extended hand impatiently. She glanced over the side of the ear before shrugging and slipping off her heels. I pulled her to me with a smirk. "Hold on tight."

Grabbing the edges of my coat, I leapt from the ear. I felt Kat latch onto me even tighter, every inch of her membrane pressing into me. "Do you know where you're going?" Kat shouted above the sounds of rushing winds.

"Don't you trust me, baby? I know what I'm doing," I replied with a chuckle. I could hear her scoff once before going quiet.

Our landing wasn't as smooth as I would have liked. It wasn't like Kat was heavy. But even her small frame threw me off my game. We ended up crashing onto the mutt's head with loud grunts of pain before rolling over several times. "The dog!? That's your plan?" I heard Kat shout in disbelief. I rolled my yellow eyes in annoyance.

"I don't know if you realize, but this mutt is the closest living thing around," I threw over my shoulder before starting the trek through the forest of fur. When Kat had caught up to me, I said, "You should be grateful, baby. Big Daddy Thrax set you free from your double life."

"Sure. Now I'm walking for miles through a dog's fur," she replied with a scoff.

My eyes narrowed as I looked at her from the side of my eyes. "I don't think I like your tone..." I said in warning.

Without hesitation, she fixed a hard glare on me. Without another word, she rolled her eyes, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and strutted away from me. My jaw dropped as I watched her in stunned silence. I almost wanted to show her how much of a threat I could really be. No one disrespects me and gets away with it. Instead, I took a deep breath and smoothed back my locks. No sense in losing my cool. I won't have to deal with her for much longer.

~:~

Getting in the mutt was easy enough. Maintenance was terrible at clearing the wax out of the various passages in the ear. Surprisingly, Kat didn't complain once. For a high-maintenance she-cell, she was pretty resilient. I lagged behind her slightly, my yellow eyes boring holes into her membrane as she avoided piles of wax.

We were finally coming to the end of this mutt's ear canal when Kat suddenly stopped and held up a hand to block my way. I raised a brow at her, but she was focused on something in the distance. Looking ahead, I spotted two cleanup workers. They were slowly clearing away small bits of wax while exchanging dialogue. I chuckled lowly. "Have no fear, baby. Watch me work my magic," I told her and displayed my elongated claw for emphasis.

Casually slipping my shades as I strolled over to the cells, I couldn't help but hum lowly. My steps were silent, helping me maintain the element of surprise. When I was only a few feet away, one of the cells looked up in surprise. "Don't mind me, boys," I said while heating up my claw. Their eyes widened to comical sizes just before I gave their membranes small, matching nicks. I watched them bubble and melt, my ears tuned into the sound of Kat's heels clicking as she approached.

She let out a short sound of disgust. "What a mess," she said before walking over to the car that the two cells had probably driven up here. "You coming?"

When I slipped into the passenger seat, I stretched out my long body with a grin. My left arm wrapped around the driver's seat as I stared out the window. Kat drove at normal pace, the breeze whipping her hair back. "What are you grinning about?" she asked and raised a brow at me.

"Aw, baby. You have no idea how amazing I feel," I hinted with a chuckle. It was like a high. Sliceing through a measly cell was nothing compared to the feeling of taking down an entire city. Watching it all go up in flames from my handiwork.

"Taking down Richard meant that much to you, huh? He your first kill?"

"He won't be my last," I promised with a wide grin.

~:~

Kat found us a cheap motel to spend the night. It didn't matter how scummy the place was, I wasn't planning on an extended stay. I stood back quietly as she spoke in a low tone to the owner of the motel. She was leaning over the top of the desk, her button-up revealing plenty for the owner to gawk at. I didn't care for the way he was looking at her, but I wasn't about to say anything to ruin our chances of a getting a free place for the night. "Thank you, hun. You really know how to treat a lady," Kat cooed and rubbed the owner on his balding head. The goofy look he had on his face with the definition of pathetic. She snatched the key from his hand before turning to leave. I rolled my eyes at the dopey expression on the owner's face before following after Kat.

Once we were inside the motel room, my eyes examined the various stains on the carpet and walls. I grimaced slightly before shrugging out of my coat. It wasn't anything close to what I had grown accustomed to in Richard, but it would have to do for now.

"So what's the plan?"

"Plan?" I repeated with a brow raised. I turned slowly to observe her.

She scoffed. "Did you plan to spend the rest of your life in a dog?"

"Of course not. I was just wondering what made you think you were part of the plan anymore," I responded and walked over to a dirty window. I stared out at the city with a calculating expression.

"Don't do that, Hun," I heard her say in that seductive voice that I was growing fond of. She placed a hand on my cheek and turned my face to look me in the eyes. "I don't plan on going anywhere, Thrax. I need you just like you need me."

It's not like she could go anywhere. An infected Immunity cell would be taken down in an instant. Now that she was outside her body, she was just as foreign as I was. "That's where you're wrong, baby. I don't need anyone. I work alone," I corrected and looked away. She was convenient once. She helped me make my first kill and I saved her membrane from whatever lowlives had it out for her. We were straight. But obviously, she thought differently. "I'm gonna make it to the big leagues. One by one, I'll take down every body I come across. They'll be writing chapters on me in every medical book!"

"Alright. I just figured that since it took you so long to take down Richard on your own, you'd at least consider the possibility that I could help you out for a bit longer. Immunity all work the same. You haven't seen how the force works from the inside like I have."

I chuckled. "You want to hang around? Be my guest. But this is still my show," I warned. She smiled coyly at me.