A word of warning - this chapter is a bit of a rollercoaster, (and seriously warrants the Mature rating) but let me know if y'all enjoyed the ride anyways...

Chapter 9: Time for Worship

Alice wasted no time finding the part Claire required. She could've stayed a few hours and taken a chunk out of the undead population, but she was too antsy. Thank Claire for the muscle car because only its speed soothed Alice. It meant a quick return and that was paramount.

The hooded blonde pulled up behind the Hummer, put it in park and shut off the engine. She stepped out and was hit by the stillness of the area. Claire wasn't resting against the yellow SUV; K-mart wasn't sitting in the back of it. She'd only been gone a couple of hours and she'd expected to be greeted on her arrival. Surely the survivors would've heard the Hemi as Alice drove up, even if they were in the house.

Alice paid attention to her blood but it was quiet. Her veins weren't tingling, yet her gut was clenched in fear. They're probably just in the house and they didn't hear me pull up…why? Because the tv is up too loud – don't be an idiot, Alice condemned herself.

She took one step towards the door and heard muffled voices coming from inside, but they were too deep to be from Claire or K-mart. Alice's thoughts immediately turned to the worst as she sprinted inside, pistol drawn. What greeted her eyes transformed her into a beast worse than the demons in the fifth circle of Hell.

Two men held Claire down on the living room floor as a third kneeled over her, using one hand to rip her top off and the other was clamped over her mouth to keep her silent. K-mart was being held back in the corner by a young man, her torso kept firmly to him by a scrawny arm, gun in hand.

At the sight of her, K-mart cried out and began to flail wildly. "Alice!"

The plea only fueled her wrath as her crystal blue eyes glossed over with bloodlust. She threw up her obsidian pistol but couldn't shoot the man who was hovering over Claire without hitting the redhead as well. Instead, she shot the two keeping a tight grip on each of the Claire's arms. They both collapsed to the floor, dead, and Claire was free to punch the brute in the face giving her enough leeway to get out from under him.

The redhead rolled away as he pulled a pistol from his waistband, but it was too late. Alice was already tackling him hard to the ground. They both lost their guns but it was no matter. Her hands found their way to his neck and the scruffy man, wearing all black, gasped like a fish as his dark eyes bulged.

Alice didn't want it to be over too fast so she didn't tap into her un-human strength; she was running on pure rage. Her mind began to race with all the thoughts of what Claire had been about to go through.

The redhead struggling as the rest of her clothes were ripped away – a busted pants button – screaming in pain as the first man began to force himself into her – a torn bra strap – defeated begging as the next one took conquered her – her bruising, tearing skin slick with another's sweat – Claire completely silent as the third one came inside her with his final thrust – a tear on her cheek...

Alice's mind was cruel to her; her imagination so powerful that she could hardly tell reality from fiction.

She couldn't hold back now, and she didn't want to. Alice kept one hand clamped tightly on the man's neck as she brought her fist backwards to deliver her strongest blow. The blunt force trauma as her fist impacted his skull killed him instantly, but she didn't quit.

Claire's voice barley registered in her ears. "Alice, stop. Alice…Alice, come on. That's enough."

On the fourth punch, Alice broke the man's cheekbone and the next caved his facial structure in entirely. Her hand came back a mess of crimson liquid after she cracked his skull in like a piece of rotten fruit. A section of the ruptured bone had scraped against her skin and it was already beginning to heal. Suddenly, Alice was off the man like wildfire, screaming as she tried everything to wipe the thick fluid off.

"FUCK! Get it off me! It can't mix! Fuck!" She was manic; desperate not to let his blood enter into her cut skin and combine with her own. There was nothing she had to fear physically; it was all in Alice's head. She worked the blood off the cut on the back of her hand with her fingers, hard enough that on anyone else it probably would've left bruises.

Can't be like him. Can't – can't – fuck, what time is it?

Alice jerked her wrist towards her face; the glass on her watch was spotted with blood. She could only make out a portion, but the numbers began to relax her just the same. 12:2-

K-mart! Alice was reminded of the teen by her loud thought. She whipped out her other handgun, but the young man who had been keeping the girl hostage in the corner was gone.

The blonde glanced around but all she saw was Claire holding the bits of her shirt together over her bra and K-mart grasping her arm, quivering as she used the redhead for a shield against Alice.

"Where the FUCK is he?" Alice shouted; she had to find him. She had to kill him.

"Alice," Claire held up the arm that wasn't being wrangled by the teen as well as keeping her top together. "Calm down." The redhead was trying to be soothing, but it had no affect on Alice; she didn't care about the words. "He isn't a threat to us."

The blonde heard a floorboard creak behind her and she twisted on the balls of her feet to see the last male standing in the doorway as he tried to sneak out. Her lips upturned in a vengeful smile as she aimed for him. The boy, for he could hardly be called a man, made a run for it. Alice let him get a few paces in before she pulled the trigger.

Claire yelled. "Alice, don't!"

The redhead knocked her arm aside and the gun went out of alignment causing the bullet to hit him in the right thigh.

Damn it!

She turned to look at Claire and snarled. "He deserves to die."

Before Claire could stop her, Alice shrugged the woman off and broke for the boy. He couldn't be any older than eighteen and his sandy blonde hair was kin to K-mart's.

The pathetic whelp tried to crawl away leaving a blood trail in the browning grass of the front yard as Alice approached him with purpose.

The blonde walked in front of him and satisfyingly kicked him in the face with her steel-toed boot. Blood and teeth flew from his mouth and he began to beg.

"Please…please, don't kill me."

Alice could only laugh as she walked and stood towards his middle.

"I'll grant you one mercy – it'll be quick."

She didn't even give him a second to think about it before she dug her knee into his back, reached around his head and snapped his neck.

The nightmare was finally over. With Alice's rancorous actions, Claire and K-mart were out of danger once again.

The redhead walked up to the blonde as K-mart crossed over to the Hummer. Alice almost expected Claire to swoon in her arms, thank her desperately for making it in time, and beg her to never leave them again. She got something else entirely.

Claire slapped her hard across the face; the hit resounded in her head. She didn't even know how to react, but striking back briefly flashed in her mind until the redhead began to shout at her.

"Who the fuck are you to decide who lives and dies? He wasn't keeping K-mart hostage – he was keeping her safe from the others!" Tears began to stream down Claire's face as the overwhelming events began to catch up to her. "You're not God, Alice!"

The blonde shook her head in disbelief, an unexpected smile rising from her lips as she began her rant.

"Who says? I have the powers of a god. I make a god's decisions every day." Superiority and irritation started to drip from every word. "You think God gives a shit about His creations? I can tell you right now – He doesn't. How could He? How could He let this happen? God couldn't," Alice stood a little straighter. "The only god on this dying planet – is me."

"You selfish, arrogant, bitch!"

The words tore into Alice's flesh like none before, stinging much more than the powerful slap. Everything was going to shit around her. Claire should be agreeing with her; the redhead owed her that.

Claire took a step to invade Alice's space and pronounced each of her next words with righteous intent. Her tears only made her emerald eyes glisten even more.

"I can't wait to see you fall." The redhead stole away.

Yes, Alice had already fallen from grace, but she didn't think that's what Claire had in mind. Next to oblivious to Alice and unintentional by Claire; the blonde was falling.

I may be divine, Alice thought as she looked wistfully at the back of the redhead who was sauntering to the Hummer, but even God needs angels…

K-mart was with Claire at the back of the vehicle. The redhead stripped from her shirt and dug through one of the bags for a new one. Her stomach was marked with bruises, and Alice finally noticed her split lip and that she was favoring her right arm. The redhead had certainly put up a fight, but she'd lost and Alice hadn't been there.

The blonde was becoming enraged again at the pain inflicted on Claire. She'd killed them all too fast; she hadn't let them suffer enough. In a sick way, Alice took what she thought they deserved on herself. It was the beginning of guilt and it would consume her.

Claire pulled on a spare top. After, Alice tried to meet the redhead's eyes, but Claire refused to look at her. She shifted her gaze to K-mart but the teen backed away, lightly knocking into the other woman.

The blonde shut her eyes tight against the scene. She's afraid of me, Alice thought. Once, she would have been happy to elicit that kind of reaction. It's obvious I can't keep them safe. Claire hates me; the girl fears me. I've lost the purpose I never should've had.

Next time Alice lost herself – it would be in a bottle or more accurately, quite a few bottles…and she would be alone.

Her decision made, she checked the time but there was still a spot of blood obscuring the numbers. She scrapped it off with the tip of her thumbnail. The dried liquid came off in flecks until she was finally able to read the device. 12:33:52.

The satellite, Alice remembered with unease before she let that feeling slip away. Let them find me…it hardly matters now.

Alice looked down; the corpse of the boy was still at her feet. The boy who was protecting K-mart and I killed him for it.

She hadn't buried another human in years; it was a practice she'd abandoned when she abandoned her soul. The boy's bravery justified a burial however, and Alice would do it before she left for good.

The house they'd stayed in the night before had a small shack around back. In it, as she'd seen yesterday, was an old shovel. The warn wood of the tool felt right in her hands, the heaviness of the steel blade went well together with her weighed down conscious, and the steady digging as she broke and moved the earth seemed completely natural.

As she did this, Claire retrieved the part from the Mustang and began to install it in the Hummer. Though Alice could've had the six foot hole dug in no time, she wanted to make it last.

Night was failing by the time the boy was in the ground near the front yard and Claire was closing the hood after hours of silent work. She got into the driver's seat to make sure everything had been put back together correctly.

Alice struck the shovel into the earth and watched Claire start the Hummer without a hitch.

Her chest fluttered weakly as she imagined the redhead and her charge leaving without even saying goodbye, but then engine was switched off.

Claire got out of the vehicle, and again she walked to the blonde.

Alice decided to go cold; if she shut down then the redhead couldn't hurt her again. She settled into her long practiced mannerisms – all by lifting back up the black hood that'd fallen onto her shoulders after she started digging.

The woman caught Alice off guard anyways.

Claire kissed her. At first, Alice didn't respond to the warm lips on her own. I want this too badly, she thought and succumbed. The redhead began to tremble when Alice kissed her back; the blonde could feel it where their skin touched. She'd expected Claire to pull away and thought that perhaps she should do it instead.

The second she tried it, the redhead grabbed Alice's face with her hands, they slipped inside her hood; Claire's fingers wrapped around her jaw and slid behind her ears to hold her there. Alice followed the motion by placing her hands on Claire's waist to keep them anchored together. They kissed a minute more; the blonde could see that it was less about passion and more about comfort.

When it ended, Alice let Claire's forehead rest against her own.

The redhead finally spoke, her voice unsure. "Alice?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever leave me again."