Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters
Catherine bit back a anguished groan as they abandoned her night club and hurried up the road. The streets were eerily deserted this time of night, the normal crowds seemingly disappeared. The survivors of the attack fell in behind the westerners, hurrying up the road.
"Would someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?" Catherine demanded as they jogged up the street. "I mean, other than Mind Controlled Zombies."
Akira sighed, the attractive young cop hurrying beside her. "There was a alien critter that was putting it's spawn into people and killing them," she explained, "we thought we killed it."
"So they're being controlled by alien parasites," Catherine said very flatly.
"Pretty much," Red agreed as she hurried along beside her.
Before any other comments, another group of possessed errupted from a side alley. "Shit!" Yuki yelped before being dogpiled on.
"Aw crap," Red sighed as she kicked one in the face.
"We have to rescue her!" another woman cried.
"Really? Why?" Wolf asked mildly, punching another possessed.
"I keep forgetting you two are mercenaries," Akira muttered as she and Catherine waded into the zombies to try to rescue her ex.
"You know, Shiro WOULD get upset if we let her get whacked," Red noted as most of the bar survivors watched.
Wolf sighed dramatically. "You just like her," she complained. "Aw, fuck."
Catherine struggled with one of the infected, then 'eeped' as the man was casually yanked right off her. Wolf calmly flung the man aside, even as she and Red waded into the fight. The four women quickly got the rest off Yuki, who was sobbing in fear and relief.
"Oh thank you, thank you," Yuki wept weakly.
"Yeah, yeah," Red grumbled, "We gotta MOVE people. There are probably more of those things coming."
"You could be a BIT more gentle," Akira sighed.
"I'm not PAID enough to be gentle," Red shot back then added bitterly, "fuck, I'm not being paid for this at all."
"Come on, let's go," Wolf sighed as Akira helped a sobbing Yuki up and everyone hurried off down the street.
Catherine shook her head, wondering what, exactly, was going on with Akira's friends. That, and if she'd ever live through all this craziness.
They reached the police line not long after, which was yet another surreal sight. The police had discovered that tasers could disable the possessed, and even better the electricity forced the creatures out of the hosts. So they would taser a man, watch the critter escape from the mouth then smash it with a mallet before scooping it up and dropping it in a barrel, just in case.
"Well, that's kinda cool," Red noted. "I hadn't thought of that."
The survivors of the club attack were huddled together behind the defensive line, getting warm drinks and trying to recover a bit. Now that the initial rush had worn off, several of the women had just collapsed, and were being cared for by police.
"I don't understand why some people just fall apart when this sort of thing happens," Catherine noted as she sipped a hot cup of soup.
"It's not all THAT unusual," Akira noted calmly, "some people just don't cope well with this sort of thing."
"Thank you for the rescue, by the way," Catherine smiled at the younger woman, "Things were so hectic I kind of forgot to say that."
Akira smiled and shrugged, "We were being attacked too, so..."
"Don't downplay your heroism," Catherine put her hand on the younger woman's arm and squeezed gently.
"Heh," Akira blushed.
Red looked on with amusement as she muttered to Wolf, "She's TOTALLY hitting on Akira."
"I think it's cute," Wolf shrugged. She looked at Red, "Any luck getting Shiro on the phone?"
"The cops can't get a hold of him, switchboard is still jammed," Red shrugged, "and my phone's out of power."
"We haven't really had a chance to charge the thing," Wolf admitted. "Do we ask Akira?"
"I want something to eat first," Red decided, the two heading over to where they were serving soup. As they each got a cup she asked, "How bad are things?"
"Confusing," the young man shrugged. "I think we're starting to get ahead of things, now that we know tasering works..."
"Thankfully," a woman cop grinned, "it was getting scary for a while there."
"But yeah, the police are getting ahead of it, finally," the man concluded.
Collecting their soups Wolf and Red moved off. "I'd take that more seriously if we hadn't seen so many infected getting here," Red noted flatly.
"Damn right," Wolf agreed flatly.
Catherine leaned forward as she continued, "You know, I..."
Akira's phone rang, making both women jerk apart. "Sorry, I have to get this," Akira apologized as she thumbed her phone.
"Right," Catherine growled out. She was about to confess her long time interest in the younger woman! DAMN modern technology!
"Yes?" Akira answered then smiled, "Good to hear from you, sir. Yes. Yes. We're fine so far, sir." She paused then looked around, "Hey, Red! The Captain wants to talk to you."
Red sauntered over and took the phone, "Yo, Shiro. You're still alive?"
Akira winced visibly. "She's SO disrespectful," she muttered.
Catherine had to laugh. "She's western," she pointed out, "and it seems he doesn't mind. They're good friends?"
"They've worked cases together," Akira shrugged helplessly "tho it's strange. I would have thought, from what he told me, they would be thirty, even fourty years old. But they look like they're in their twenties."
"Huh," Catherine looked at Red thoughtfully. Couldn't be much more than twenty. If that. "Good genes?" she wondered.
"Heh," Akira smiled. She looked at Catherine, "What were you going to say, before I got that call?"
Catherine froze, then took a steadying breath. "We've known each other a long time," she admitted, "and there is something I've never told you. But after today, after how close we've all come to dying, I don't want to waste any more time."
"Yes?" Akira asked.
"I think I love you," Catherine admitted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The squeal of joy made Red turn, watching Akira hug Catherine, in fact nearly knocking the older woman over. "What was that?" Shiro demanded over the phone.
"I think your minion just got asked out. Or possibly engaged," Red noted with a grin.
Shiro just laughed. "Don't tell me, I shouldn't officially know," he said. "So, can I ask you to do this for me?" he asked.
"You're going to have to pay extra," Red warned him.
"Yeah, yeah," Shiro agreed.
"We'll need a van, maybe a armored one, and some weapons," Red added, "I think this is going to get messy."
"Riot and stun gear is the best I can do," Shiro answered.
"It'll have to do. Can we keep Akira as a driver?" Red asked.
Shiro sighed. "Yes, yes... please. Do this for me, and please don't get me in deep trouble?" he asked plaintively.
"No promises," Red grinned. She move the phone away as she yelled, "Hey, Akira! Your boss needs to talk to you!"
The young officer trotted over as she asked, "More craziness?"
"Pretty much," Red handed her the phone.
To be continued...
