Prey Drive Chapter 3

By Cadet Deming

I don't own the rights to the X-Men, Marvel and Fox Studios do, so please don't sue. I work in litigation so you wouldn't want to anyhow. Set in X-Men: Origins Continuity. Horror/comedy. Rated T, possibly even T+ for violence, adult language and adult situations. Be warned, this chapter gets violent. Thank you for the reviews, they're appreciated.

Victor Creed rolled down the car window and sized the cop up. He looked young, like he was fresh out of the police academy. His badge spelled out the name: " Pankow".

"Is there a problem officer? I wasn't going too fast was I?" he smiled mock-innocently, careful to conceal his teeth.

Victor had a deep-seated hatred of cops. To him they were military wannabes with an inflated sense of their own importance, who wouldn't last 10 seconds in a real war. No wonder criminals called them "pigs".

"Oh no, no problem at all. We're just checking all cars in the area. There was a breakout at the Girls' Juvenile Center."

"How much danger could little girls be?" Victor asked.

"The leader was one of those mutants. The bitch set the place on fire and 10 people died. She's just 16, but they're saying if she gets caught she'll be tried as an adult and get the chair. If you ask me, every one of those damn mutant freaks should be hunted down and fried."

Creed could hear Tabitha's heartbeat accelerating. The cop's was steady, oblivious to the danger he was in. He thought he was safe because he carried lead.

"Funny, I never asked you," said Victor.

Pankow frowned at him.

"Could I see your license and registration? It's a formality."

"Of course," Creed replied, sheathing his nails as much as he could and flashing him one of the fake ID's Stryker had supplied him with.

Pankow frowned again at the sight of his retracted but still deadly-looking hands.

"I'm going to need to see her ID too," he said.

"Oh my…daughter doesn't have any yet. She's too young."

The cop took his eyes off of Victor for the first time and looked past him to Tabitha. Recognition showed in his face. Pankow unholstered his gun and aimed it at Victor.

"Step out of the car and put your hands on your head. Both of you, now."

Victor stepped out. He put his hands over his head, and extended his talons as far as they would go. He bared his fangs, enjoying the horror on Pankow's face. He took another step towards the cop.

"Don't come any closer. I'll shoot!"

"But officer, what does it matter? You said yourself mutant freaks like me should be hunted down and fried."

Creed took another step forward, daring him, and Pankow fired. He fired again, and again, eyes widening as he saw Victor didn't fall. Creed felt the hits, felt the pain and kept going. Instead of weakening, the pain made him feel more alive, more focused, more animal.

"No! You should be dead!" Pankow screamed as he turned and ran.

Victor liked when they ran. He loved to hunt from behind, but kill from the front. He let Pankow run towards the imaginary safety of his police cruiser for a moment, just to give him false hope, so he could snatch it away again.

Creed leapt to the man, claws extended. He roared. He knocked him to the ground, feeling a satisfying thud as the man's face hit the gravel.

"Ever see the Deliverance movie boy? I want to hear you squeal like a pig," he said.

The man screamed as Victor slashed into his back.

"Come on you little piggy-pig. Squeal for me!"

Pankow was crying now. Victor turned him over and stared into his tear-blurred eyes. He liked to see his victims' expressions at the end.

"Beg me not to kill you," he snarled.

"Please don't. Please don't. Please don't kill me," the man sobbed.

Victor tore the man's throat open, and the crying finally stopped. He dipped his finger in the streaming blood. He tasted it.

"Mmm. O-positive. Universal donor. Good stuff."

A moment later, he felt by instinct that something was wrong. Something was "off". He turned back and saw the car door was still open. Tabitha was gone.

20 Minutes Later

Tabitha crashed through the underbrush. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't even know where she was. She just needed to get far away. As her hands were still bound by the Adamantium, she couldn't protect herself from the branches that scratched at her face.

What bothered her more? The act she'd just seen Victor commit, or the fact that she was the cause all those people's deaths, even if it was an accident? Guilt commingled with fear in her mind as she kept trying to keep moving.

"Oh Tabitha! Tabby-cat! Where are you? You can't hide from me. You know I'll find you!" Victor's voice rang through the trees.

What made it even more sinister was that his voice seemed to come from above. She thought about bolting again, but realized it was useless. She could never get away from the Boogeyman.

"Just kill me and get it over with," she screamed and turned around.

Victor came into view, and he actually was above her, in the branches of the trees. He leapt down, his black trench coat flaring out behind him. From a distance, she could see his mouth had trickles of fresh blood dripping from it.

She closed her eyes and said again: "Just kill me and get it over with."

She opened her eyes and he was standing right in front of her.

"Do you really wanna die out here?" he asked.

"Well no, not really. I always hoped I would die of old age in my sleep. Or maybe become a famous model and O.D. on coke at Studio 54."

Victor laughed.

"You're evil," she said.

"I'm not evil. Evil is just something the powers that be invented to keep people in line. I'm just a part of nature."

"More like a force of it. Did you really tear apart that cop," she said, trying to process what happened.

"Well yeah, but it was technically self-defense. You heard what he said. He wanted to see us both fry just because we're mutants. If there's one thing I hate more than cops. It's racist cops. Besides, sounds like you're building up a pretty high body count yourself. 10 people in one day. I'm impressed."

"I've never killed anyone before, even by accident."

"So glad I could help you…pop your cherry," he grinned wolfishly.

He was giving her that look again. She couldn't tell if he wanted to screw her or kill her. Or in his case, both. She thought back to what she learned in a women's self-defense class about trying to prevent rape. They suggested doing something to disgust the attacker. But how do you gross out a guy who drinks human blood?

"I really need to pee. You know, squat to piss," she said.

Victor frowned. "Well now that you say so, I do need to 'mark my territory'."

"I thought you were litter-box trained?"

"It's a guy thing."

"Ah. Testosterone poisoning," she said.

"I had an Army doctor check my testosterone levels. He said I had the highest score ever recorded."

"That actually…explains a lot. I'm not saying it excuses you, but it explains a lot."

"You really need to work on your attitude," he said.

"I'm the one with a bad attitude?"

"Yeah. I'm not your enemy. Humans are. The cops that are after you, they're ready to shoot first and ask questions later. Right now, I'm the closest thing to a friend you've got. I'm the only one protecting you. When I offed that cop, I was defending your honor. It's you and me against the world, just like Bonnie and Clyde."

"You'd be a lot more convincing if you didn't have blood and human entrails hanging from your lips," she said.

"Actually I think it's a vocal cord. I avoid the intestines: too unsanitary. Is it out of my teeth yet?" he asked.

"You've still got a little stuck between the left canine and incisor."

"Your left or my left?"

"Your left," she said, as he stuck his claw into his mouth.

"Is it gone?"

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm actually having this conversation."

"It's not that bad. He tasted just like pork," he said.

"I always figured people tasted like chicken."

"Most of the cop is left at the side of the road if you want to try it."

"No. No. No thank you. There are two things I don't do: eat people and date musicians."

"Good thing I'm not a musician. And I don't actually eat people…anymore. I was just fucking with you. But, young girls do kind of taste like fish" he said, winking at her.

"I really, really need to pee," she said quickly.

"So pick a tree."

"Can you undo this Adamantium stuff first?" she pleaded.

Victor stared at her appraisingly. She met his gaze, trying not to flinch. She felt herself swallow.

"I don't know," he said.

"How can I show we can trust each other if you won't let me out of these. Me and you against the world, remember?"

He put his hands against her neck. She sensed that his claws were sheathed, but couldn't forget they were there. He leaned in towards her face.

"I may be wild. But I ain't stupid," he said.

He slid his hands down the length of her. She felt him untying the drawstring of her pants. He put his lips near her ear.

Victor whispered: "If you want out of the cuffs, you gotta earn it."

She felt herself exhaling.

"So pick a fucking tree already," he said, and walked away.

To Be Continued