Considering what Skyler now knew about being pursued, the rustling of branches as she rooted through the hedges stood out as entirely too loud in the near pitch-dark at the edge of the Dunkin parking lot. She wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though; supplies didn't come easy.

In the world four months prior, she might have thought more about how shifty this appeared and been looking over her shoulder for cops. Instead, she kept scanning the shadows for movement, her ears attuned for any disturbance.

She hadn't yet found what she was looking for when a flash of eyeshine darted across the far end of the lot and gave her a heart attack. Her rifle was aimed immediately and she stifled a curse, prepared to light the target up like a Christmas tree, but it wound up being a remarkably round raccoon with a moldy hunk of donut in its mouth that dove out of sight off the side of the road. Godspeed, glorious bastard.

The relief when she finally cleared off an inconspicuously placed shoebox heavy with contents was great. If there was any question this was meant for her, it was dispelled when she extracted it from the bramble and saw that the top had been illustrated with a small doodle of her and Adrian, very much in the style of those "How to Draw Anime" books younger people were into. Huh. Would you look at that? She emptied out a pack and a half of AAs, a bottle of water, a can of pork and beans, and a tube of Neosporin into her rucksack, glad to be able to get out of here.

Truthfully, it had been incredibly useful having Adrian around to pick up on other infected in a much larger area than she could have, but frankly, he'd been acting kind of strangely for most of the day. More so than usual, anyway. Avoiding looking straight at her and his motions were repetitive and erratic. She wasn't so sure she could trust that he was focused enough to bother alerting her to anything before it became a problem.

It would be nice to be able to ask what was wrong, even if the response might have been something along the lines of "gee, take a fucking guess". Stopping to try to talk it out with someone with next to no comprehension of talking it out in the first place wasn't a luxury they had at the moment, though. The quicker they got a move on, the more likely they were to shake their stalkers. Hopefully he could deal, because she had no idea what she was going to do otherwise.

It should have been easier out here.

That place of dense buildings and winding passages and many Others had been a constant source of stress. The struggle of surviving with everything that he needed about to be snatched from him unless he fought for it grated constantly, and most days he spent consumed by either fury or despair, more often than not both. Here, where it was at least a little safer, he should have felt relief.

Adrian's claws etched over the raised bumps in his trinket over and over as he trailed behind. Just… just keep going. That was what he had to do. He still didn't know where his Sister was taking him, but anything had to be better than That Place. Anything.

The sense of danger prickled over his skin. Nothing came to attack from the dark and he didn't think the insistent whispering and responding "shh-shh-shh," over his shoulder were real, but there was something not far, he knew it. And that feeling wasn't the worst part.

He was so, so aware of his prey… of his Sister just a few steps away. The smell of sweat layered over her scent, the steady sound of her breath. It was like the harder he tried to push it away, the worse it got. His pulse hammered as his gaze fixed on her back. She was focused on everything around them except for him. It would be the perfect time to-

As if she could hear what he was thinking (could she?), she came to a stop and froze him in place with a questioning stare. He immediately ducked away from meeting her gaze, prickling under her eye until she relented and continued forward at her careful pace.

He couldn't let her know that he was thinking about hurting her. She'd attack first, of course she would, and likely wouldn't stop until she'd killed him this time.

Or she'd make him go back where he came from.

No. No, he couldn't. Not now. Not after imagining there could be something else. He'd teetered on that edge of falling apart before, but he felt like that would be what finally pushed him over.

What was it that was nearby? He swung his head from one side to the other manically, itching to catch a glimpse. Whatever it was, he was going to destroy it when he got his hands on it. He could vent some of the aggression, and then-

Something snapped.

Skyler heard the breaking branch at the same time that Adrian did. Though she certainly was trained on it pretty fast, his response was something else. He tore across the pavement in the direction it had come from, skidding to a stop and snarling wildly at a stand of trees, the fence nearby, just about anywhere it could have originated. When nothing sprung out (if there had been anything at all and not just the weight of the snow), he crouched there with his hands flexing like he was already envisioning ripping into something and his chest rising and falling as if he'd just run a marathon.

She cringed at the sudden viciousness, mouthing out a low, "Well shit, okay then." After a little too long of him not moving from there, she hazarded raising her voice enough to call out, "Adrian. Adrian!"

He didn't shake from it quite as easily as she'd have liked but did gradually ease enough to turn away and return to following distance from her.

"We're cool?" she questioned warily.

He stared at her as though trying to discern what she was asking.

"You and me?" she did her best to clarify, gesturing between him and herself, "We're good?"

She wasn't sure whether it was in response to her or if he even understood, but he looked away. Shit.

Well, whatever. It wasn't whatever, but she didn't know how best to deal with that, so she just kept moving. Like all of the other goddamn problems, it could catch up to her later.

She hadn't gotten much further, though, when what she was pretty sure was the same chunky raccoon from the parking lot went running across the road a few yards ahead, chattering in alarm as it crossed until it shoved itself into a drain. Now Skyler didn't have her Wilderness Scout Badge, but it sure did still give her pause.

Alright. Maybe Adrian had been onto something.

Her face creased into a frown and when she did continue, it was cautious enough to hopefully avoid walking into an ambush. Every once in a while she aimed her rifle into the shadows, not seeing anything in particular but wanting to send the message to anything that was watching that they weren't slick.

Unfortunately for her wishes not to be pounced on from the rooftops, it seemed they were coming up to the center of town. While it wasn't the city they were coming from, it was riskier nonetheless, and their other option looked to be diverting through far more tree-lined park streets where her visibility would be even shittier. Not the most appealing choice to have to make, but she figured she might as well not get lost in the process and keep right on the way they've been going.

Hopefully, it didn't turn out to be a dumb move.

This feeling was unbearable. Adrian's nerves were all bristling with it and it came with the kind of hyper-clarity that took over him sometimes and distorted the difference between what was real and what wasn't.

He knew now that something was there. And it was staring at him, he could feel it staring at him and he hated it so much. He had to direct the roiling, adrenaline-soaked impulses there. Or else they were going to be turned around on no, no he didn't want to do that. Why did he want so badly to do something that he didn't want to do?

Focus. Just focus on the threat at hand. Except he couldn't, not in the way that he needed to be safe.

When he'd envisioned the urges, he'd always thought about something burning, something fiery. That was the way they felt pumping through his blood, anyway. They might burn him up but would leave him glowing and warm if he could satisfy the demand. Now, though, he imagined more like the big water they'd crossed; deep, dark, full of heavy, shifting plates cracking into each other and groaning as they collided. The current pulled and the awareness came to him that he knew very well what it felt like to drown.

A spark of desperation ignited in his chest and in that moment he was sure he was about to breathe in lungfuls of icy, burning saltwater. Instead, he only gasped in frigid air and found himself not sinking but instead staggering in the middle of their path. That was right, wasn't it? Oh no. Was he walking, or was he drowning? He didn't know, he didn't know-

Hide. That was what the instinct always screamed to do when it got like this, and he wasn't going to argue with it; there wasn't much else he could think to do and he could hardly think to begin with. The perception of someone near him drew out a snarl, but he brushed past her in his urgency. She could follow him or not, he didn't particularly care about anything besides getting somewhere secret and enclosed.

Fear and his single-minded goal, not to mention the surreal quality his vision had taken, left him blind to everything between wherever he'd been and the indoor cranny into which his body had steered him. His physical senses left him aware of the other still being present even as he dropped towards the floor to make himself smaller.

Just stop. Please stop, please go away and leave him alone.

Haha! Ha! Gee, this kid sure could pick where to have a breakdown, couldn't he? And for the love of fuck, Skyler wasn't even sure if he knew he'd done it, but he'd made the heartwarming decision to drag her into the same closet for company. Touching. Except she had to shut the door the second they were in there, leaving the two of them in the pitch-dark, because they'd moved in with a neighbor!

In what universe was it fair that the goddamn Witches could be quiet? At least the weeping and wailing let you know what you were dealing with before you got too close. This one though was stealthier. Or maybe just lacked the energy to be letting loose with full sobs and waterworks, the details weren't important. The stick-skinny infected was sat back by an emptied display with the contents, what looked like a bunch of coats, scattered around her. She hardly gave any indication that she hadn't frozen to death where she sat besides slow back-and-forth rocking and occasional soft moans and whines.

Or, wait. Were those sounds coming from her, or Adrian? Both, kind of. The Witch was lamenting that it fucking sucked being a Witch she was sure, and Adrian's poor attempt at muffling his rapid breathing was interspersed with odd mutterings that she suspected would be talking to himself if they were at all passable as anything coherent.

This whole situation was fucked. The best she could do was to slowly… very slowly… get the door open and-

She'd only managed to see a crack into the other room when she spotted the Witch peering up through filthy hair at her and so of course Skyler did the polite thing least likely to get her tits ripped off and shut that door right back up. Fuck. Between this and the presence that she could only imagine was Miss Pink and company on their trail, she felt like she was tiptoeing around a hornet's nest.

One wrong move and she was going to get got.

Heart pounding pulse thrumming nerves overloaded this was too much, it was too much and his body was screaming at him to release the torrential feelings by lashing out at all around him and it was only just barely that anything held him back from doing so. Hunkering down in the same desperate way as being caught in the open when a sudden storm hits and waiting in terror for the worst to pass.

The current was so bad now. Against the more violent shrieking was something with an almost soothing tone, but the tug was sickening nonetheless.

Can fix this, it assured him in its not-quite-voice. Shhh, poor thing poor thing poor thing. Can make it all feel better, you know how, it'd be so perfect and all you have to do. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS KILL HER, WHY AREN'T YOU KILLING HER?

It was clearer than usual, not in whatever sounds his Sister made, but it somehow took meaning in his head.

And he knew. The rush of killing had been practically the only thing keeping him going for this long. But. That would mean…

Didn't matter. It made no difference and couldn't have.

Limbs trembling, he pushed himself to his feet.

Thank fucking god. It looked like Adrian was deciding that maybe this wasn't the best place to have his freakout after all, which started solving one of their problems. Now to figure how to sneak their way out of here without alerting either the Witch or their unseen pursuers.

"Alright. Cool," she mouthed in relief. "We've just gotta do this real stealthy. You got that? We are gonna keep quiet… and-"

She got no farther when he growled and threw her for a loop by getting a hand on her shoulder to shove her against the closet wall. What in the fuck-! For one reason or another, the first thought to come out of this as she fought to free herself from his impressive grip was, "No! No, we are not play-fighting again, this shit is serious!"

The teeth that nearly caught her ear if she hadn't been ducking let her know that yes, she was right, this was actually serious. Her gut plunged through the floor.

There was hardly enough light in here to see how Adrian was coming at her in the cramped space, let alone what he looked like, but the noises told her plenty; he was beyond concern given to keeping hushed and the snarling and panting came in short, frantic bursts.

She had to bring an elbow up hard and shove as hard as she could into his chest just to prevent him from snapping at her face.

BLOOD. He was going to have Clean blood drenching him again it was going to be the most beautiful thing in the world now he needed it now. His mouth watered imagining the euphoric feeling of flesh weighing his belly but even more, it was the overwhelming rage washing over every nerve in his body that piloted him.

He was blind in his efforts to sink claws and teeth into her; clumsy. Catching air, the layers of fabric covering her up as she was infuriatingly managing to keep him off of anything soft and vulnerable.

Not entirely successful though.

A maddeningly sweet, sharp tang in the air. He'd recognize it anywhere and it made him go blank.

NOW! NOW!

He had to tear her into screaming pieces to match the ones in his brain. He had to kill her, so he could be miserable and alone again-

GREAT! Out of everything around here that could kill her, Skyler was being attacked again by the one guy she thought was done with that! A whole goddamn hornet's nest, and turns out what she had to worry about was in the closet with her.

She was just processing the sting of a laceration to her forearm through her sleeve when she also picked up that she was hearing irritable vocalizations that weren't Adrian. Past the door, a bleary sort of, "unh?" built into a series of increasingly aware and angry vocalizations. The neighbor was starting to realize she no longer had the place to herself. Shit. Shit shit shit!

Taking his cue like a real champ, Adrian's pitch shifted so that she knew he was about to let out one of those godawful Hunter screams and all she could decide to do in that crucial second was to bring her knee up as hard as she could into his belly. Though he seemed to be recovering from his couple of injuries frankly unnaturally well and didn't stop in his attempt to push her back and get teeth into her, it hurt, Skyler could tell from hearing and the little she could see. For a long time, she'd wondered whether the infected felt pain in any sort of normal way, given the horrific injuries they continued attacking with, but her time with this kid had done a great job of showing her that they very much did and were usually incapable of flicking off that murder switch anyways.

It did accomplish her goal of taking the wind out of him though, and better yet his weight against her lifted for a second. She used that momentum to push for the opposite side of the closet, knowing well that knocking him down was a slim chance, but using the opportunity to grasp both of his shoulders instead and shove down with all of her might.

"Quiet," she hissed again, able to feel the hairs plastered to the back of her neck with sweat by now. Couldn't he at least be quieter about trying to kill her?

The scream started to build again. He twisted his claws in her clothes to drag her towards him and she similarly yanked him down towards her level, close enough now to get up close and personal with his near-hyperventilation and wild salivation.

"I. Am. Trying. To help you," she enunciated every syllable, for what it was worth.

More snarling, but the fact she hadn't already been overpowered told her intuition to keep pushing.

"You know what help is? Help. Help."

And maybe she was on to something, because each repetition sapped some of the strength out of him.

"Help," she repeated, feeling the wobble of one of his knees starting to buckle. Practically out of her own head, she continued in a hoarse whisper and didn't let go. His back hit the wall. The growls turned weak and shaky. He sagged slowly back towards the floor under some invisible weight, and by then they were both breathless and exhausted. "Oh fuck," her steady chant melted into, "Oh fuck."

She couldn't believe this had worked.

Skyler didn't know where Adrian was looking and maybe it was nowhere in particular, but once they reached the floor every breath that he exhaled came in a shudder that rocked his body. The clinking that she heard was quite familiar. She was so focused on this de-escalation that she'd never released her hold on his arms. It was only when she got a look at her hands in a bit of light that she noticed they were shaking pretty badly, too.

Light? Wait, bad. Hell, they'd knocked the door back open in the scuffle, and in trying not to get eviscerated she'd nearly forgotten about the…

She turned to follow where Adrian was staring straight past her.

Oh. Not the Witch.

At the far end of the large room, at the base of a staircase was the partially-hunched figure of who else would it be, of course it was Miss Pink being the good leader and going ahead of the rest of her little crew.

In that brief moment, likely fueled by Skyler's brain assessing the threat, details of the strange Hunter stood out sharper than they had on previous sightings. From her age, it was entirely possible that she'd gone to one of the local colleges too. Deep brown skin, a fringe of curls emerging from under her drawn hood, and eyes suggestive of a dark brown or black under that weird membrane thing. And the look she was giving them.

Now Skyler wasn't exactly an art person, as she was sure anyone who half-knew her would guess. But there's something that had stuck with her, this tattoo one of the dudes she'd loitered around the old train trestle with had showed her. Medusa With the Head of Perseus, he'd called it, based on some… some statue or something, she didn't know, but the image itself was still crisp. The grim set of Medusa's expression, the stance that wasn't exactly triumphant but more determined as she held the decapitated head of an enemy at her side.

If someone were going by expression alone, it might as well have been taken from this girl; it was a pretty stark contrast to the rage-contorted faces of every other infected that'd run at Skyler to date.

What was she even supposed to do?! She was backed into a literal closet and if she shot, there was no question about it setting off the Witch! Oh, this wasn't going to end well. This wasn't-

Movement and pissed-off sounds just about had her taking her chances and fucking booking it out of there, before the actual process of events clicked. Pink had tried to close in, only to have the tables turned and be growled at by the Witch as soon as she'd threatened the other special's personal bubble. Unsurprisingly Pink was smart enough to stop dead in her tracks. She gave it another go, slinking from a different angle, but this attempt was equally unfruitful and forced her back towards the stairs with a scowl.

Not even a few seconds later, the smallest of the bunch, that kid, came darting and tumbling downstairs as well. A flash of obvious alarm hijacked Pink's stoneface while she caught him with amazing reflexes and jerked him back towards herself.

The Witch now was half-stood, apparently not caring who it was that dared to get too close to her, just not happy about it regardless and holy shit Skyler took back everything she'd ever said about Witches. Oh god, she would open-mouth kiss this one if she could.

Pink, for her part, had regained her composure for staring daggers across the room, all the while holding back the whining and squirming child. There must have been a solid couple of minutes that they locked like that. Finally, fucking finally, the girl bared teeth silently in Skyler's direction and then slowly backed off and back up, ushering the tiny leaper with her.

Feeling a fresh wave of exhaustion as soon as the other Hunters were out of sight, Skyler damn near collapsed back into the tiny closet space she was sharing with the guy who'd made a real effort to maim her not five minutes ago. Closing the door once more, she was surrounded now by both the sounds of the Witch gradually settling back into her misery and of Adrian's panting melding into something not dissimilar.

It had to be some fluke of the universe that, somehow, she was still alive.

A/N: Heeey, so guess who got their ass handed to them by the past couple of semesters, and then busted out the entire latter half of a chapter within the past couple days? Spoiler alert, it's me. Hi all. Told you I'd keep coming back to this work when I got the chance, though! This fic really is my favorite baby. Hope anyone reading has done alright in these past few months. I also plan on making a couple small edits on a few past chapters which shouldn't be too huge, but might be a little cleaner and improved on a reread! So don't be surprised to see another couple "updates" in these next few days.