Chapter 3:

Stalked

A/N: I wanted the last chapter to actually have some kind of action go on, in this chapter things will become all the more complicated and we'll begin to see some of the characters pasts start to come back at them and how they react to it. I appreciate everyone who reads and particularly those of you who review, you don't have to of course, it just helps me write the next chapter even better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any characters used therein. The character Will does belong to me however.

Warnings: Blood, Gore, Violence (duh), Sexual Situations, Sex (Possibly), Offensive Language, Nudity, Torture, Objectionable Political Views, Rape (Implied) and Dark Humor.

Pairings: Zack Fair x Aerith Gainsborough. That's it for now.

Summary: The group is forced to abandon their vehicle high in the mountains and begins a trek to a compound that Roxas is staying at.

Special Thanks: Jade-Eyed-Jinchuriki for your support.

Sighing dejectedly Riku glanced back at the Dodge. The black and silver paint was even more chipped up now. Blood caked the tires, windows and bumper. A large impact had left much of the windshield cracked and looking like a spider web. Sora stood on the bumper, hood open looking over the engine as steam poured into the air, occasionally he would curse and look up, then continue searching.

From the stump he sat on Riku watched Zack pace around eyeing for danger, Aerith at his side talking with him quietly, a small smile hung constantly on her face and at the moment she had infected Zack with her optimism. Will on the other hand stood further down the mountain side among fallen trees, even though he was looking far out into the ridges that surrounded them Riku could feel the scowl that Will had on his face and knew that he was angry, probably more at himself than anything else. Riku's thoughts drifted to the encounter the pair had in the back room.

'That was weird.' Riku surmised. The whole interaction had been strange to Riku and he knew Will was having a hard time figuring out what exactly the nature of their relationship was, Will came across to Riku as someone who tried to apply logic and reason to inter-personal relations and that meant that he was only so open to a given person based on their purpose. Those few moments in the back room had made Will abandon his previous ideas and reevaluate the direction of their growing friendship, at least that's what Riku thought.

Will could feel Riku's eyes resting on his back, it didn't bother him, he had been stared at most of his life. What was strange though was that Will felt no negativity radiating from Riku, in fact it was wonderment. The ferns, bits of fir trees and branches concealed him looking at the small, black, leather backed book in his hand. Flipping through the pages slowly, methodically he let a series of small smirks dance across his face, darkness laced each one. The thin paper was similar to that used in bibles and gave a telltale crumple when moved. Will felt euphoria threaten to ooze out and he decided it was time to return the book to it's hiding place. He placed the book in a metal box that was just big enough for the book, it had a small latch that allowed him to lock it. Will waited for Riku to look back at Sora before he ghosted the box back into his pack.

'He likes Sora a lot.' Will thought as he started up the steep incline. He moved slowly through the branches, logs, shrubs and dirt. He could vaguely see Sora storming around yelling and throwing the few tools that Will had stored in his Dodge. Irritation flashed through Will's mind at that but he suppressed it and continued on his way. His thoughts migrated to Riku. The boy was a bit odd and very confused about himself but for some reason Will felt good around him, as if he was an actual person, like he was capable of caring. The silverette turned to look at Will again and the blond gave a large wave as he crunched his way through the debris. He knew it made Zack uneasy that he went away from the group but he justified it to himself by remaining in sight.

Will wasn't the least bit concerned about zombies, in truth it would be several days if not a week or more before they moved into the mountains. What did concern him was the strange tingle he felt along his spine, it would become intense almost painful then subside for a bit and then return. He knew that he could feel evil from time to time, but the question was what it was.

"Fuck!" Sora exclaimed in a huff. He had been the one driving when the loud booming sound echoed through the air and the engine temperature skyrocketed. Sora had slammed on the brakes immediately fortunately they had crested the hill they were climbing at the time so they didn't roll back down. Everyone was confused and chattered confusedly and it was Sora who offered to take a look after all he did have mechanic experience, though at present he wasn't keen on going into detail about where he acquired his experience. It didn't take long to diagnose the issue, though he spent quite a bit of time to determine if he could jerry-rig something together. That seemed hopeless and Sora dreaded telling the group that they'd all be walking from here on.

"Okay everyone, gather 'round." Sora called out. Will had made it to the dirt road the rest of the group was on and panted lightly, sweat dripping from his face. Riku sprang up and jogged over while Zack and Aerith strolled casually back to the Dodge. Sora let them settle for a moment before he ran his grimy fingers through his hair and growled lowly.

"What's up?" Zack asked expectantly.

"Broke a piston rod. That blew out the oil pan and the head gasket. We ain't takin' this nowhere else."

"No way to fix it." Will spoke up. Sora nearly mistook Will's statement for a question and had to restrain himself to keep from shouting at the blonde.

"No. You mean you can't use your redneck powers to concoct some mystical bullshit solution to our problem?" Sora shot agitated. Riku stared at the brunette in disbelief.

"Seems my redneck powers are on the fritz today. Guess we're screwed." Will shrugged adjusting his pack. The tube steel frame dug into his lower back uncomfortably so he found himself shifting from time to time. The group was silent for a moment then a telltale buzzing emanated from Sora's pocket. Quickly the brunette retrieved his phone and touched the screen to accept the call from his brother.

"Oh my god! I've been calling you for hours! Where have you been?" A frantic string of sentences came from the other end of the line. Sora felt bad that he hadn't been able to talk with his twin but he had been preoccupied. It occurred to him that something must have happened for Roxas to be calling him in such a panic, the question that remained in Sora's mind was what that may be.

"We had to leave the house in a hurry. We're kinda stuck on a mountain right now." Sora sighed.

"Stuck? Oh man, what'd you do?"

"Nothing. The piston rod broke and blew out the oil pan and head gasket."

"I have no idea what that means."

"Means the whole things broke!" Will shouted at the phone irritably.

"Who was that?"

"That was Will. That guy I told you about."

"What an asshole." Another voice spoke. Sora could hear the rustling of fabric as the phone was passed from one used to another.

"Hey! You like yellin' at people? Try me on douche!" The voice called.

"You don't want to start with me boy." Will threatened, veins in his neck already protruding.

"I think I do, ya jackass, self-righteous prick."

"Fuck you, queerbait." Will snarled. Riku's eyes widened at the insult, not at all sure what to think. Sora's expression soured immediately and he could swear he heard Roxas yelling in the background, in truth he wanted desperately to punch Will in the face for the comment. His left hand balled into a fist and swung. Will took the punch with only a slight turn of his head. Before he could retaliate Zack grabbed the blond by the shoulders and forced him down the road beyond earshot.

"He's gone." Sora spoke before another tirade of insults could emit from his phone. On the other end he could hear mumbling and shifting as the phone was handed back to Roxas. Running his freehand through his hair Sora sighed exacerbated, he was still angry with Will and he knew that the two would have to have a chat a little later when they got some privacy.

"Good, he was rude." Roxas chirped from the other end. Sora giggled at his brother, as he did so he realized that Riku had gone with Zack and Will down the road and he felt a scowl cross his face at the perceived betrayal. How could Riku side with Will like that? It escaped Sora's capacity to understand so he just listened to his brother.

Down the road Will strained against both Zack and Riku who had hold of an arm and a shoulder each, the lithe silverette was considerably stronger than he looked. Trying to dig in his heels Will ended up overextending himself and wound up falling to his backside. Growling the blond sat in the dirt. Zack glared down at him, the smile that had graced his lips was replaced with a death threat of a contort, not quite a frown or scowl but some strange mixture of facial expressions that said, "talk and die" so Will kept his mouth shut.

"I don't know what the fuck is up with you but you need to knock it off now!" Zack thundered. Riku jumped a bit when Zack began, not expecting the older man's voice to be so demonic sounding. Spit leapt out of Zack's mouth as he shouted, his face was red and brought up his hand as if to punch Will but he didn't.

"You know, that comment you made offended me." Riku said, Zack relaxed a little but Will just stared forward at the forest ahead. Riku shifted uncomfortably and squatted next to Will. The blond turned and looked at Riku, green eyes dulled and uncertain. Will rose to his feet and began walking toward the forest but stopped after a few steps, Zack was hot on his heels and whipped him around.

"You think you can just walk away? You know we have to be a concise group and right now you're the weak link." Zack spat angrily. Will frowned at that considering what the black haired man was saying. Riku got Zack to let go of Will and put a gentle hand on Will's shoulder, it was tense, feeling like a rock beneath Riku's palm. Will shifted his eyes from Riku to Zack to the ground several times before he tried to speak. No words came, just a peculiar cracking sound. Breathing deeply for a moment Will tried again.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you." Will managed voice cracking. He directed his apology to the silverette standing to his left. Riku gave a soft smile and a nod as acceptance. He knew Will was rough around the edges but he found himself fascinated with the mysterious blond. In truth Riku knew more about Zack and Aerith that he did about Will, the blond simply didn't talk about himself, he acted as if he was guarding some great secret, Riku wanted to know what it might be.

"Fine." Zack shot a final glare at Will before he stormed back to where Sora had been left standing.

"Why did you do that?" Riku asked.

"Wasn't really thinking."

"Oh. That happen often?"

"No. Only when I'm angry."

"Aren't you always?"

"No."

"Ok. How come you don't talk about yourself?"

"Nothing to say."

"That's a lie."

"It is. But I'm not comfortable with the subject."

"That's ok. I don't like talking about certain thing either."

"Everybody's got something like that."

"True. Does that comment mean you disapprove of homosexuals?"

"No. Just something I picked up from my dad."

"Ah. So then are you straight?"

"I'm not."

"Then you're gay."

"No."

"Bi?"

"Nope."

"Huh? What are you then?"

"At the moment nothing."

"What do you mean 'at the moment'?"

"Sometimes I find certain males attractive. Other times I find certain women to be attractive. Most of the time I have no inclination either way."

"You're still a virgin aren't you?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"You avoid them a lot."

"So what if I am. Is that so strange?"

"In this day and age yeah."

"I don't much care what other people do."

"No, you don't. But that not caring could tear the group apart."

"I know."

"We gotta work together. You might not care about what happens to me, but I care about what happens to you. Platonically of course." Riku gave a parting smile and walked back to the Dodge leaving Will standing alone. High in the air he heard the cries of hawks. To his right he heard the growls of a brown bear, but to his rear he could feel a presence staring at him, watching. He didn't know what it was but he felt terror clutch his chest.

'I care too.' Will thought as he strode back to the group. He received a venomous glare from Sora who held his phone to his head, mumbling affirmations and nodding from time to time. Zack stared him down daring Will to try anything. Aerith and Riku had fallen into a hushed conversation but with a little focus Will could make out some of what they were saying.

"...forgot them..." Riku whispered in a panic. Aerith when a shade paler and immediately Will knew Riku had left his medications at the house. He couldn't believe that happened it was far too important for Riku to be taking them to simply be forgotten like that.

'He'll be withdrawing soon. Hopefully we'll come across a house or something. Maybe I can find something there.' Will mused cracking his neck with a series of loud pops. Sora growled and thrust his phone in his pocket.

"Fuckin' batteries." Sora groaned. Zack gave a small smirk.

"So what's goin' on?" Riku asked masking his panic but Will could see it. Even Zack noticed that Riku's voice was just slightly higher than normal, neither of the two said anything. In truth Riku had been telling a story about how he once ice-skated barefoot because he forgot his skates, he was stifling a laugh.

"Battery died. But anyway, Roxas said he's staying at a compound with Axel, his...boyfriend. So, uh...his older brother Reno owns the place, used to be their dad's, but we're welcome to go there and stay." Sora stuttered, it was unusual to hear, particularly for Riku. Regardless, the group felt a bit of comfort in the news.

"Where's it at?" Zack asked. Sora sighed softly.

"About twenty miles northeast of Corvallis." The brunette groaned knowing that they'd be walking the whole way. Zack took a moment to think. Will pursed his lips in concentration, thinking of how best to approach the situation.

"We'd better get going then." Riku pipped up. All eyes were on him as they expected an explanation. Shrugging Riku began walking down the road. The rest of the group fell in behind for a bit until Zack spoke up for them to stop.

"Listen. Me and Sora will go about thirty meters ahead of everyone. We'll be the scouting element. Hon, you stay with Riku and jackass. You guys'll be support. Let us worry about where we're going. Oh, and don't walk on the road, we don't know what's out here and I'm already havin' funny feelings. We don't want to be where whatever the hell can get us easily. Zombie or otherwise..." Zack trailed off as he motioned to Sora. The pair started down the hill to the group's left which Riku could only assume was a northerly direction. After a time Will started down the hill Riku and Aerith in tow.

The going was difficult, the area had been a logging site so stumps, branches and fallen logs littered the area. It was eerily vacant of any form of life and everyone was on edge, moving deliberately, knowing that no one could afford to get injured here. Ahead Riku could hear Sora curse as a branch snapped with a near gunshot like sound. Zack helped the brunette to his feet as he clutched his face, a striking red mark across the left side of his face.

"So tell me. How can you stand Will?" Sora grunted climbing over a log. Zack didn't stop for a second as he ducked under a thick limb. Sora wanted to shout as it apparently was the only way to get an answer out of anyone.

"He's not usually like this. Actually, that was pretty damn weird back there." Zack spoke as he leaned forward to begin his way uphill. They had spent a long time in silence and Sora had become bored.

"Really? He seems like he's tryin' to pick fights." Sora rebutted skeptically.

"He's headstrong. In truth he's never been in a fight." Zack chuckled.

"Maybe, he needs an ass kickin' to knock 'im down a few pegs."

"Maybe."

"I'd gladly do it. Thinks he can talk to my brother and his...male friend like that.."

"Yeah that was uncalled for. But you would've lost."

"Bull. I've been in fights okay. I beat guys a lot bigger than him too."

"That's all fine and dandy but I taught Will how to fight."

"That Army Ranger stuff? You taught that psycho that?"

"Yeah. He's not psycho by the way, just a little bit..."

"Enatic?"

"Yeah."

"Still. I would've won not him."

"No. He was going for his forty-five. He was gonna shoot your ass."

"What?!"

"That's how Rangers are trained for close quarters. Everything is based around using your weapons, mostly we train to break contact so we can engage with firearms." Zack grunted as he slid a few feet down hill in the soft soil. Sora kept having to grab onto stumps to pull himself upward. Behind they could hear Riku and Aerith muttering an occasionally exclaiming, but nothing from the larger male who by all means should be having a much harder time than anyone else.

"It won't happen again me and Riku straightened him out."

"Humph. He just better not fuck with me again." Sora growled and glared behind. Strangely enough he could see Will glaring back as he climbed the hill with deliberate, powerful strides.

"Hey. Things'll calm down. Right now the only reason you're at each other's throats is because nothin's goin' on. Once we start gettin' jumped by zombies an' shit, we'll have each others backs. I've seen this play out dozens of times, you'll argue left and right but when it comes down to it and you've seen some shit, you'll be best buddies. Remember, we've been lucky til now." That last statement left Sora speechless, he hadn't considered the fact that while all hell was breaking loose they had managed to escape unscathed up to this point. That could change at anytime and there was no guarantee that they would live to see the next morning. Suddenly Sora felt petty.

Riku was panting loudly, face drenched in sweat and hair plastered to his face. He paid little mind to Will and Aerith puffing and grunting, he was too concerned with his own climbing. Truthfully he could make it up the uneven and debris filled terrain easily were it not for his pack, weapon and clothing which he wasn't accustomed to. The pack by itself weighed 50 pounds easily and his M-60 was another 20 on top of that. Riku felt very tired already and they had just started. For their parts Will and Aerith simply kept on. Riku groaned as Sora and Zack crested the hill, they were still only halfway. Riku knew the day was going to be long and from the look of the sun it was only about 11 o'clock.

Dusk had the group coming to a halt in a meadow. The high, dry grass was good cover for them to hide in and there was enough scent in the air from animals and plants to mask their own a tad. The group was weary and haggard, even Zack was exhausted. Riku nursed his left knee rubbing the bump he'd gotten from a tree branch. Sora scratched at scabs on his face from blackberry vines raking it. Aerith and Zack had both had small tumbles throughout the day leaving them with a few bruises and bumps, but Will had slid halfway down a hillside and smacked into a stump. Everyone was shocked when he bounded to his feet and began storming back up the hill. The bruise was dark all over his mid section and hips, but surprisingly he seemed rather unaffected by it at present.

"Holy...shit. How far do we...have left?" Sora panted out as he lay on the ground. Surges of soreness and pain traveled through his body. He was hungry too, but he was too tired to move. He watched Zack take what looked like a manila envelope from his pack, though it was tinfoil not paper. He opened it and dumped out it's centners: a couple small boxes, a smaller pouch and some plastic bags. He took his water bottle and poured some into the smaller pouch.

"It's an MRE." Will said hoarily.

"Huh?" Sora looked around confusedly.

"Meal Ready to Eat." Zack supplied.

"Basically, you have a big pouch that holds everything. Inside that, there's another pouch and things like toilet paper, utensils, napkins, coffee, salt, and other shit like that. Inside the smaller pouch is another pouch, that pouch has the entree. The pouch outside the entree pouch has a chemical that heats up when you pour water on it so it'll heat up your entree. Takes about one to two minutes." Will said as he performed the tasks on his own MRE.

"O...kay." Sora sighed. Riku nodded to his friend indicating his understanding as to how he felt at the moment.

"Alright. Barbecued pork ribs." Zack nearly shouted. His enthusiasm sent waves of laughter through the group. Temporarily the group was unconcerned with the troubles of the unfolding Apocalypse but instead fell into idle chatter about childhood and other funny stories. Sora didn't share the enjoyment that Zack had with his pork since Sora had ended up with beef ravioli which he despised in any other setting anyway. Riku had the fortune of a beef brisket which by his account wasn't half bad. Aerith enjoyed mediterranean chicken, while Will wolfed down spaghetti.

"How come you got spaghetti?" Sora whined as he gulped down the ravioli.

"Same shit you got there."

"No it ain't. These noodles are giant and those ones are normal."

"Wanna know the real reason?"

"What?"

"Only cool kids get spaghetti." Will shared a laugh with the rest of the group as Sora's face went red. The deep frown that creased his mouth looked more cute than scarey and the made sure he knew it. Sora had to admit Will wasn't so terrible to be around when he wasn't acting like he was John Wayne, or trying to anyway.

"Here." Will held out his pouch of spaghetti to Sora who stared in confusion.

"You want to trade?" Riku asked.

"Well I like the ravioli too and he don't. For the time being we can be a little picky. Until we're starvin' anyway." Will replied nonchalantly. The advice gradually sunk into the group and Riku was sure Will had been a sage in a previous life. Sora gladly traded the pouches and the group finished eating in silence. One by one everyone laid down for their much needed rest and Will was left on first watch. With no campfire or actual camp for that matter, it shouldn't have been too difficult to remain hidden, by Zack's logic. In the waning light Riku could swear he heard low growls in the distance.

With everyone asleep Will paced silently through the grass, like a panther. He could feel the air hang heavy with foreboding. He paced around the camp and often around ten meters in any direction past it but always coming back and never leaving a track. So as he knelt down and in the moonlight saw a set of hoof prints in the soil around the camp he was on edge.

'Too big to be a deer. Elk maybe. They don't move around too much at night though and not around people. Set's not right either. It's like it only walks on two legs. These are deep, too deep for a normal animal.' Will thought analyzing his find. A sudden snort sent shivers down his spine and he whipped around to see what appeared to be a giant of a man. Before he could react he received a sharp strike to the chest, sending him flying about ten feet back. Rolling on the ground Will groped for his shotgun in the darkness as the creature closed in.

"Wake up!" Will shouted to the group. He was no more than fifteen feet from them but they simply tossed in their deep sleep too tired to be woken easily. The creature grabbed Will by the legs and hoisted him into the air. Though panicked Will snatched his 1911 from its holster and fired three shots into its chest. With a loud bellowing like a bull the creature dropped Will, luckily on his shoulder not his head. Will saw the shine of polished wood in the moonlight and leapt for his Saiga. Rolling onto his back Will fired at the charging beast. Huge chunks of flesh and bone tore loose from the creature but just as it came upon Will he managed to hit it in the head, which exploded, covering Will and the surrounding grass in blood and brains. Panting heavily, Will barely acknowledged the shouts of his companions. Riku found him quickly enough and drug him to his feet.

"What the hell is that thing?" Sora breathed shaken.

"Lest I'm mistaken, it's a minotaur." Will answered as he woozily made his way back to their defacto camp to collect his rifle. Slinging it on his back Will motioned for the others to do the same. While doing so the group heard more distant bellows and screeches that none of them could place with any birds they knew of.

"Time to go." Zack said as darted into the grass. It was difficult to follow him with the darkness and the grass being over all their heads. Still they managed to keep close, even as the bellowing grew closer. To their right they heard screeches all too close and Zack directed them more to the left. Realization hit the former ranger.

"Their driving us." Zack halted as he spoke. Everyone looked to him for direction. Terror clung to everyone, even to those who tried to mask it.

"Will you still got those pipe bombs?" The blond affirmed that he did.

"Listen you light one off to our rear. Wait for 'em to get right on top of us. After it goes we tear right through 'em and head back downhill. We'll never beat 'em up hill." Zack ordered rapidly. Fetching a bomb from his pack Will prepared to light the fuse.

"Delay?" Zack asked.

"Ten seconds." Will answered breathing heavily. Pounding filled the air. The pounding of hooves on the dry ground. Grass moved as the creatures closed in racing faster than any human.

"Now!" Zack shouted. With a grunt Will tossed the foot long pipe, its faint, glowing fuse the only thing that was still visible as it hit the ground. Just as the creatures past the bomb it went off with an enormous eruption of heat, light and fire. Soon there was a raging blaze engulfing the grass. Thunderously the bellowing screams of several minotaurs filled the air, curdling the groups blood.

"You threw napalm?!" Zack shouted.

"My bad!" Will shouted back.

"Didn't think we had enough problems?!" Sora jumped in angrily.

"This way!" Riku hollered shoving Zack and Will. They ran to their right, the creatures that had been there seemed too distracted by the fire to pay them any attention and in fact they were making a hasty retreat as well. The fire was on their heels and embers were landing in front of them catching more of the meadow on fire. On a whim Riku directed the group to the left and the found themselves sliding downhill through shrubs and thickets.

"Oh, crap!' Zack hollered amid the chaos.

"Please stop." Aerith cried out.

"Jesus tap-dancin' christ!" Will shouted as he tumbled.

"Damn!" Sora yelled when he saw a river below them its water rushing mightily.

"Oh, shit." Riku murmured as the continued on with no signs of stopping. Just before they came to the river they tumbled across some large rocks. Will and Sora came to a stop as soon as they hit the rocks, Aerith and Zack just before they fell over the edge. Riku however was not so fortunate. He fell into the river but as he did so his head struck a rock that was sticking up from the bottom. His lungs filled with air as he cried out in pain and shock, the frigid water ceased his muscles. He couldn't move, as darkness clouded his vision. He could feel his chest heavy as if with great sobs but only a strange gurgling sound came from his body, after that everything was blank.

A/N: Just had to leave you with a cliffhanger. This is a suspense story afterall. Anyway I hope everyone liked it but any input anyone can give is welcome, thanks for reading.