As Shalimar lay in bed smiling at the afterglow that surrounded them she turned abruptly as she heard a noise from the hall. She looked back to a still sleeping Emma and decided to pass it off. She looked to her watch to realize it was five p.m. As she tried to relax once more she again heard the strange, disturbing noise from the other side of the wall. After everything she'd been through Shalimar wasn't about to let any mysterious sound near them go unchecked.

She slowly slid from the bed as to not awaken her lover and rested Emma's down on her pillow. She crept ever so quietly over to the middle of the room and began to round up her clothes so she might dress herself. When she was fully clothed, she stepped quietly over to the door but halted herself as she noticed Emma beginning to slowly wake up.

"Shal? Where are you going?"

"Shh," the feral warned. "I heard something down the hall. I'm going to see what's going on."

"Shal, I think you should stay here. We should stay together."

"Emma, I'm not gonna sit here and wait for you to get attacked again. Just lock the door after me and don't leave until I get back."

Shalimar began to take another step towards the door and looked to see Emma sit straight up in the bed.

"No," she flatly protested. "You're not leaving me here."

"Emma, I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't want you to leave me," Emma said as she hoped her plea would keep the feral out of danger. "Please come back to bed. If you hear anything that really suggests danger I'll go with you."

Shalimar sighed and slid herself back into bed. Emma's relief was apparent as she reached her arm across her chest to pull her close. As Emma began to drift herself back off to sleep, Shalimar count shake the feeling that something just wasn't right. Her feral and woman senses both confirmed there was something in the nearby area that wasn't welcome. She couldn't allow herself to just lay there and wait for whatever might happen. It would be night soon and the only light they'd have would be from the candles by the bed and she wanted to take care of any business before that time came.

She hated having to go against Emma's wishes and regretfully but necessarily stepped out of bed once more. She pulled the covers up to comfort the psionic as she slowly snuck through the door and locked it behind her. She knew they were both stuck there until the storm passed and thought it best there weren't any further threats to worsen their week together.

As Shalimar stepped swiftly down the hall she kept herself on full alert. She searched the hallway for any sign of an intruder and made her way downstairs to the main lobby. She turned as she saw the desk clerk smiling back at her.

"Hey," she said in a friendly voice as she headed over to him. "Have you seen that girl around? You know the one who had my room before me."

"Not since she checked out this morning, ma'am."

"Ok, thanks."

Shalimar felt dissatisfied as she began to look around the lobby. She headed over to the window and noticed the storm was slightly less powerful but still holding strong enough to keep them put for the time being. Shalimar sighed as she began to turn herself from the window but stopped herself as she saw a figure outside in the distance standing in the rain. She turned back to the desk clerk as curiosity got the best of her.

"Excuse me, what's that out there?"

"You mean the supply shed?"

"Yeah. Is there someone staying out there?"

"Not that I know of. None of our people would go out there in this storm."

Shalimar turned back to the window as the lightning lit up the silhouette of the figure in the rain and she noticed it was a woman. Her eyes widened and she turned quickly to head out the door. As she stepped outside she noticed the figure had disappeared and she fought her way through the down pouring rain to the shed in the middle of the land. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside, careful to inspect her surroundings for any enemy.

As she made her way inside the dark shed she scanned the shelves and walls for any signs of the woman she'd seen standing beside it just moments ago. She walked slowly around the shed and sniffed the air around her. As she reached the middle of the room she paused, her eyes turning yellow, and turned herself around with a roundhouse kick to the midsection of Barbie sending her flying back into the tool wall. Barbie quickly recovered and removed a shovel from the wall to hold at her opponent. Shalimar raised her eyes as if to say 'bring it on'.

"You know, I was hoping we could be friends but instead I think I'll just kick the crap out of ya," Shalimar said as she rushed her enemy with a series of kicks.

"Your girlfriend was fun to kill!"

Barbie flung the shovel at Shalimar who caught it in her left hand and kicked the woman in the ribs.

"You're a dead woman."

"What about my suffering huh? You think you can just get away with what you did to me?"

"Shut up!"

Shalimar ripped the shovel from the woman's hand and slammed it into her chest as she punched fiercely at her. Barbie turned to unleash a back kick to Shalimar's side and sent her flying back into the wall. Shalimar was quick to stand on her feet and grab the drills off the wall to throw at her opponent. Barbie dodged them and rushed across the room at Shalimar to tackle her to the ground. As Shalimar fought back her senses warned her of more nearby danger. She saw the grin on Barbie's face and flung her off herself as she flipped herself to her feet. Before she could counter attack she saw blasts from all directions flying towards her and she quickly threw herself to the ground in an attempt to get out of the cross fire but instead felt the pain of fire as it sunk into her muscles and into her bones.

As Emma lay sleeping in bed still she suddenly jumped up as she picked up a read from Shalimar. She looked to the empty mattress beside her and quickly got to her feet and dressed herself. She ran outside into the oncoming rain, wetting her recently dried clothes as she headed for the shed. She opened the door and stepped in to find a badly beaten Shalimar laying on the ground, full of marks and bleeding in various places.

"Shalimar!"

Emma yelled in panic as she rushed to Shalimar's side. She crouched down to see she'd been hit in the back and mortally wounded. She felt the tears flowing from her eyes as she cradled the lifeless body in her arms and cried her very soul out onto the ground to mix with the ferals' blood.

A/N: There are a few more chapters to this story. I hope to finish typing all of them before I post any more (instead of one at a time) so the story can be finished. Hopefully within the week I expect them all to be up unless I get too lazy ;) And thanks for reviewing by the way.