Feed - p1

Alice stumbled out of the trees, falling to her knees. The bush behind her rustled and a man exploded through. He brought his hard metal staff down on the back of her head mercilessly. Her face smashed into the ground, and the staff came again, hitting her in the side with enough force to send her flying into a tree. She cried out, spitting up a mouthful of blood. Precious blood. She stood up, gathering what little strength she had left. But the blows kept coming. The man wasn't going to give her a chance to fight back because he knew she could win. Alice took another blow to the side of her head, and everything went black. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the man's feet a foot away from her feet. Instantly, she rolled to the side, just as the man's staff came crashing down, ready to impale her. The man's eyes shot with fear, realizing his mistake. He should have killed her right then and there, instead of resting for that smallest amount of a second. Because that fraction of a second was all Alice needed to turn the tables on him. She shot forward, arm straight out, and finger's coming to a point. Her superhuman strength allowed her hand to pierce the man's chest, tearing through his internal organs and severing his spinal cord. Blood spurted out, and gushed from the wound as Alice retracted her hand. The man looked at her in pure hatred, eyes burning like the sun. As he inhaled his last, rugged breath, he did the only thing he could: spit in her face. His mouth had filled with blood, and he spat it into Alice's face. Although she needed blood, she refused to take it. She tore off the man's sleeve, and used it to wipe off her face. She threw him to the ground, leaving him to his fate. A pack of wolves howled out in the night as the scent of the dying man reached them.

Alice wasted no time retreating back to the base, a long trail of crimson followed her. She limped through the woods, occasionally stopping to nurse her fractured leg. The world started spinning around her and she fell to the ground. She had lost a lot of blood. She looked up at the moon, and watched as the black sky grew larger until it swallowed her.

There was a small pain in her wrist. Alice opened her eyes, only to squeeze them shut again after being blinded by the light. Slowly, she let her eyes adjust to the light, and opened them again. She was in her room, the dark blue walls giving her a sense of comfort. She relaxed, and turned to see Edge with his back to her. He was mixing something on the counter, almost dropping it when he turned to see she was awake. He scowled, and poured the substance into a blood pack that ran into her wrist.

Alice opened her mouth to say something, but Edge cut her off.

"Don't say anything." He was angry. Alice looked down at her sheets. She didn't like it when Edge was mad at her. She wanted to cry.

"You can't keep doing this. You got lucky." She nodded slowly. Edge sat next to her on the bed.

"If you don't feed, you aren't going to have the strength to fight. Its the same as if you stopped eating. Back when you were..."

"Normal." She finished his sentence. Edge frowned again. "When I was useful. Now I'm just a burden."

"Dammit Al you aren't useless. This is just...an obstacle. That WE," he said, putting in emphasis, "can deal with. Together. You aren't alone."

Alice sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. Edge sighed loudly and put his arm around her.

"I know this is hard on you. But you need to do this. Once you feel...comfortable...with the way your body is working, we can start research. And we can find a cure. We can make you the way you were again. If that's what you want."

Alice nodded and lied down. She closed her eyes and buried her face into his arm and tried to sleep. But she couldn't. She was no longer able to sleep. She wondered if she could ever get used to this. She shivered harshly against at the thought of it. Sensing her discomfort, Edge pulled her closer. Alice turned and stared at the ceiling. The two of them laid in the bed for hours, each lost in their own thoughts.

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Edge sat up quickly, startling Alice in her rest. She looked around, realizing she was still in her room.

"What is it?" She asked. "What's wrong?" Edge looked into her dark eyes.

"More soldiers. They have dogs." Alice started to get up, but Edge held her back.

"You aren't going out there. You still haven't recovered." Alice looked back at him in shock.

"I'm not going to sit here while you go fight them!" She slammed her fist into the bed. Edge shook his head and got up.

"Stay here. Stay safe." With that, he vanished, charging out into battle. Alice stared at the doorway where Edge had just been standing. She got up, walking upstairs to the roof to watch. As she left, she snatched her bow and slung it over her shoulder.

The echoes of barking and snarling could be heard from a mile away, even without Edge's superhuman hearing. Edge awaited the squad, shifting his weight between his feet impatiently. Spotting him, the men slowed down into a walk, treading carefully. Edge watched them silently.

"Can I help you gentlemen with something?" He asked in an annoyed tone. "The floor has already been mopped up by the previous pathetic saps you sent earlier."

"How dare you! You will die!" A chorus of screaming erupted. Annoyed by all this, Edge screamed back at them.

"ENOUGH!" The ground seemed to shake with his voice. "If you're going to kill me, then do it already. You people annoy me."

Behind him, Edge heard a volley of arrows arcing towards him. The first group of men charged, unknowingly heading into Alice's arrows' path. Arrows silently slid through their heads, leaving red streams to spill down their faces. Edge turned and looked back at Alice. She greeted him with a middle finger.

The dog-carriers cried out, startled by the fact that their friends had died in an instant, without the man even moving. They dropped their leashes, and the four dogs charged at Edge. Edge never had time to react. Two of the genetically enhanced canines clamped their jaws on his arms. Edge threw one off, but another tore at his leg. With his free hand, he pulled out one of his daggers and rammed it into the beast's brain through his eye. It died instantly without a sound. The final dog jumped onto Edge, tearing at his throat. Another arrow came soaring down, going straight down the canine's throat. It reeled back, choking, allowing Edge to fight back. He shoved his foot into it's mouth and twisted, ripping its lower jaw completely off. As it howled in pain, Edge smashed his dagger into the dog attempting to rip his arm off. He flung the carcass away and stood up, brushing the dust off himself. The last dog was struggling to stand up. Edge grabbed it by the back of the neck and slit its throat. He tossed it into the dog that was missing its mouth, who was wandering blindly in pain. The remaining men stood there in shock, paralyzed with fear. One dropped his gun. The force of the gun hitting the ground caused a misfire, and shot out into the distance. The gunshot startled the other men, and they aimed and fired at Edge. By the time they had done this, however, he was already right on top of them. With a few easy swings from his dagger, Edge dispatched the remaining men.

As soon as Edge walked through the door, Alice slapped him in the face.

"Your a fucking idiot!" Edge rubbed his cheek slightly.

"You didn't need to slap me" he replied.

"Well you didn't need to almost get yourself killed!" Edge grabbed her collar and yanked her in, then kissed her gently. She tried to pull away, but gave up. Edge smiled and let her go, stepping back a little.

"...i hate you" Alice whispered, walking back upstairs. Edge places a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

"You need to feed." He said with a dead seriousness. Alice looked down and nodded, then turned to go outside.

"Please come with me. There could be more." Edge nodded, opening the door for her. They walked back outside, going towards the bodies of the soldiers they had just killed. Alice pulled one away from the rest and kneeled beside it. She sat there, starring at it for a few minutes, then leaned down. Edge watched as she bit into the man's neck, sucking the remaining blood from his body. Alice shuddered, then leaned away and started to dry heave. Edge placed his hand on his shoulder to comfort her, then looked up at the sky. The suddenly black sky.

"Alice...somethings coming...hurry up please." He looked back down at her, only to see her eyes turn blood red. She was unmoving, staring straight up. Blood ran from her mouth and down her neck, soaking into her collar. Her breathing was audible, which only made Edge more uncomfortable. Alice was able to limit the distance her sound waved traveled, making it literally impossible to hear her. Which is why her harsh, ragged breathing sent chills down Edge's spine.

"They're coming for me Edge" she rasped. "I can feel it." Edge tensed, squeezing the handles of his daggers. Alice stood up, looking off into the distance. A large black cloud was exploding outwards towards them. Alice cocked her head slightly and smiled.

"Alice...are you...feeling okay?" Slowly, she turned her head to him, flashing a wide grin. Her fangs still dripped blood, and her eyes seemed to pulse with red. She let out a small giggle, then grabbed Edge by the shoulders and swung him around.

"Ohhh I'm feeling better than okay, sweetie." She let out another giggle, which quickly turned into a sadistic cackle. Edge turned back to the quickly approaching dark cloud. It would be upon them within the next minute. A chorus of loud shrieks echoed out, and a howling wind began picking up. Alice released Edge, walking past him towards the cloud and held out her arms, as if she were going to embrace it.

"Edge dear, if I don't come out of this, just wait for me. I promise I'll be back tonight." She turned back and looked at him, her face snapped into a sudden seriousness. She gave him a faint, loving smile, and then the cloud hit.

The wave of darkness slammed into Edge so hard that it almost took him off his feet. He couldn't see an inch in front of himself. It felt like he was inside a tornado. All he could hear over the wind were the banshee-like shrieks of the Hunters inside the cloud. Edge couldn't see them, but he had encountered them several times before. He recognized their high-pitched screams and braced himself for the upcoming fight. There were at least two dozen of them inside the cloud, and fighting that many under normal circumstances was a challenge. Now he was in a massive cloud of black smoke, unable to see or hear from the intense wind. He had no idea if the creatures were at the same disadvantage, but he had to assume they weren't. Edge stood there, ready for anything. But nothing happened. The wind blew, the Hunters shrieked, but nothing else happened.

"ALICE?" He called out into the storm. He couldn't hear a response, if he got one. Blood splattered onto his face, coming from somewhere in front of him. It was Alice's blood, because he knew that Hunter's didn't bleed. The amount of screaming had died down. Edge realized they were solely focused on Alice. Just as he started to run towards where she was last standing, the cloud dissipated. The wind stopped instantly, and it was quiet again. The sun emerged from the clouds in the sky, and filled Edge with warmth. Alice was standing there, daggers out, and covered in gashes and lacerations. She threw her daggers into the ground and clenched her fists. The blood that oozed from her wounds began swirling around her, creating a vortex of black and red. All the cuts on her body began to close, but the vortex only grew larger.

"IS THAT FUCKING IT? THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN DO?" She took a step back, and nearly jumped as Edge put a hand on her shoulder. The tornado of blood that formed around her stopped immediately,  and it all fell to the ground. She looked at him, eyes still pulsing red.

"Pathetic" she whispered, then passed out.