Scud watched as Ulyena picked through the junk that was out by the loading dock of the old warehouse. She refused to use the umbrella that he'd brought out, so she was getting rained on. She seemed to be enjoying the rain as she picked through the old wires, metal and boxes full of other things. He loved the way that her clothes clung to her curvy body; the way that her hair turned a darker shade of blonde when it got wet; the smile she wore as she hummed something from a band called Rammstein. Scud couldn't believe that he was falling for her. Most lives were ruined if a man went to a strip club, but Scud's life got better since then.

Her voice pulled him from his thoughts. "So, what are we looking for, here?" She said it loud so her voice would carry over the heavily falling rain.

"Phosphor rods." He replied. "If I can suss out the light source, maybe I can make some sort of UV flash-bang grenade or something."

"You lost me at phosphor rods." She laughed.

Three hours later, they were sitting at Scud's workbench, swapping stories as Ulyena watched Scud put things together to create a UV bomb. "How do you and Blade know each other?" She asked him.

"Well," the joint in his mouth bobbed as he spoke. "I was backpacking. I met these two chicks" He stood up and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I, uh, decided to take 'em back to my tent for a little 'Three's Company' action." He opened his shirt to reveal ugly, jagged scars lining his skin. They were pale pink in contrast to his slightly tanned skin, and Ulyena jumped and reached out to touch them. "Next thing I know, Janet and Chrissy started tearing chunks out of my stomach. Blade shows up, saves my ass. Everything else just sort of fell into place."

Ulyena was quiet, and Scud wondered if he had hurt her feelings when he told that story. Not every girl wanted to know about their boyfriend's past sexual adventures. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

She nodded. "It's just that these scars look similar to the ones my mom had on her back. I remember those before she was..." She trailed off, not wanting to say the word.

"Before what, Ulyena?"

"My mom was kidnapped when I was about seven years old." She sat back down in her chair, remembering the past like it was just yesterday. "I remember us walking home from her friend's house. It was cold that night, and we had just moved into a new house, so we had to walk about twelve blocks. In Moscow, you either walked or you were fucking rich, and we were a dollar a meal family. She gave me her jacket because it was so cold, and I can even remember the perfume she was wearing that night. We were walking home and we were almost there, then a few guys came out of the shadows and threw me onto the ground. They surrounded her, and then one of them talked to her. I couldn't hear, and I didn't want to move to get closer. I was so scared." She paused and took a deep breath to keep from crying. "He ripped her shirt and yelled about her scars, and fussed about a tattoo she had on her hip, and then one of them knocked me out. I remember waking up on the sidewalk... And I haven't heard anything on her since." She wiped a tear before it could fall. "They didn't even declare her dead."

It took Scud a minute to register what she just told him, but overall, he was speechless. He didn't know what to think of her story. He didn't think someone like her could go through something so tragic. To make her feel better, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. He'd never comforted someone before, so it was a bit awkward at first, but the only thing on his mind was to make her tears stop.

Ulyena cleared her throat. "Uhm, let's see if the UV grenade works." She said with an awkward tremble in her voice.

"Alright. I hope it works." He said, and pulled the pin before they both stepped back a little bit. In her head, Ulyena counted to ten before it briefly flashed, but it wasn't what they expected. "I don't know, maybe I fucked up." Scud said. "Maybe something went wrong." Just then, it exploded in a large ray of purplish-blue light and Ulyena put her hands in front of her face to avoid being blinded.

Scud smiled and kissed her cheek. "Papa's got a brand new bag." Then he went to work on making more.

"Hey babe, I'm going to use the bathroom. Be right back." Ulyena said before walking off. She tried to hide the pained expression on her face as she rubbed the skin on her hands and arms where it was burned a severe red color. How did that happen? She hadn't been outside during the day in about a week, and plus, she tanned; she never burned. An allergic reaction, perhaps? She shrugged it off, hoping it was just something small and went to the bathroom.

Ulyena was lost as Scud explained how to use the UV bomb to Blade. "Just be careful where you pop your load." Aside from being handsome, he was smart, and she liked that about him.

"You're not coming?" Nyssa asked him, glancing over at Ulyena while she spoke.

"No." He said. "I'm a lover, not a fighter." Then he went and sat down on a table.

Blade looked at Ulyena, but hesitated before speaking. "Ulyena..." It was as if he didn't know what to say. "You're staying here with him, but don't go out anywhere."

Ulyena hugged him quickly. "Thank you, Blade, for helping me out and letting me stay."

He flinched when his skin touched hers. "No problem." When she let go of him, he stared at her coldly. "Are you alright? You have a fever."

"What do you mean?" She asked, putting a hand to her head. "I feel fine." But she really felt woozy and a little fatigued. She wouldn't admit it, though. She walked away from the group that was preparing themselves to leave and looked at herself in a mirror. Her skin was noticeably paler, her hair seemed brighter and her eyes were darker. Her senses seemed sharper, but she didn't notice it until she thought about it. She swallowed a large lump in her throat as she ran her hands over the puncture wounds in her neck. Chupa's bite marks burned like fire and she suddenly felt hungry, but nothing that she could cook would satisfy her cravings.

What the fuck was happening to her?