chapter one

Shmurrrr

Blood orange light consumed the rotting field as the sun slowly fell apon the horizon. The woods were silent save for the occasional cry of a distant bird. Emma paced feverishly amongst the once tall grass that had recently been darkened by a forest fire. As she paced quiet obscenitys could be herd from her muttering lips. She waited impatiently for her partner to return. The slight ruffle of leaves behind her caught her attention and she whipped around drawing her weapon. An eight note song rang through the air as Hunter, her partner whistled their tune. "Dang it Hunter, what took you so long?" She asked as he climbed, laughing from of the bushes. He answered her question without words as he dragged a small doe with him from the shrubs. Her eyes widened slightly at the fresh meat and she ran to hug him. "I thought you were just going to check the snares" she said excitedly. Hunter dropped the doe with a thump. "Ya...well." He cut off. Emma smiled big, her mood lightened incredibly by his catch. "Hunter the Hunter, how fitting" she giggled. He rolled his eyes and pulled a knife from the small bag slung around his neck. "Just get over here and help me skin the damn thing will ya?" He replied snarkily. Emma sighed at his disheartening mood but didn't let it bother her, and with that they set to work.

Hunter sighed. Emma rolled over on the chilly ground with a yawn. And jumped up with a start as glowing green eyes stared back into hers. Hunter laughed loudly and sat up. "What do you think you're doing!?" She exclaimed. He continued laughing borderline hysterical. Emma caught her breath in heavy heaves before joining him in a fit of giggles. The laughter soon subsided and they collected their things ready to move camp. Once the few items they had to their name where safely packed away in two back packs they set off, moving steadily away from the home they once called their own and on to a new future. The crunching of fallen leaves warned them of the upcoming weather and Hunters brow furrowed with worry. "We need to find somewhere to stay" he stated. Emma sighed heavily and turned to sit on a broken tree. Hunter joined her and slung a light arm over her shoulders. It was obvious, he could tell what she was thinking about."Emma...", he started but trailed off as she gave him a look. He tried again. "Look Emma, I know this is hard but we have to keep going. If we go back we will both be changed in their god awful experiments. We will forget everything we ever knew, and Emma." He paused and looked in her eyes."I might never see you again" the reality hit her and he continued. "They said we would never make it, but I'll be gosh damned if we don't at least try to prove them wrong." Emma gave him a weak smile, any thought of going back was released almost immediately. Her smile grew wide and she sighed through her nose. "Fine, but I still need a break" she said kicking up her feet on the side of the log. Hunter let out a long breath that could easily be mistaken for a snicker as he sat behind her. "Emma..." He started but trailed off. She didn't respond, just leaned her head back against his chest and fell sound asleep. She woke up on a floor for a change. She sat up quickly and struggled to assess her surrounding. She was in a small room with a heater in the corner. She
found Hunter leaning against the wall fast asleep. He looked peaceful and she decided not to wake him. Instead, she crawled over to what she assumed was the door and pushed it open. It was heavy and it took more weight then she thought. It finally slid open and what she saw rocked her back on her feet. Hundreds of grave stones scattered the field. She gasped and nearly had a heart attack as she realized where she was. "Oh my god it's a mausoleum!" She whispered. Hunter stirred and she forced herself to quiet. Her eyes scanned the room for a second time and she noticed what she assumed to be the grave. She ran her fingers through her hair and took in a a shaky breath. "I'm surrounded by dead bodies" she couldn't help herself from thinking aloud. Hunter stirred again and for a second time she hushed herself. She bit her lip and struggled to avoid the thought of vampires and zombies and other horrors of the night that her and her friends would tell each other of, back in her home town. Her breathing became rapid and shallow as she pushed aside her fear. Finally she stood and ducked her head away from the cobweb covered ceiling. Her eyes where soon adjusted to the dim room and she was able to make out the shape of graves with ease. The still open door provided little light from the moon and she shifted delicatly through their bags to find a light stick they had taken from the labratory before they stole off into the night. Emma sighed wistfully at remembered loses from their group that had at one point been quite large. Many where shot or captured while escaping. She shuddered slightly as she imagined what they had done once they had been brought back. Her mind wondered back to the previous subject. The images of two of their good friends drowning in a river as they crossed flashed through her mind. Soon it was only Hunter and her. She turned to look at him and saw that he was already awake and staring at her. He looked away quickly but it was unmistakable. "Where did
you get the
eater?" Emma asked him avoiding the subject. He glanced back at her. "You fell asleep so I carried you. I found this graveyard and I couldn't see anything else around so I decided to sleep here. I brought you in and you said you where cold? Don't you remember that?" Emma shook her head and he continued. "Well I went looking for something and I found an old junk yard. This was out there and I fixed it up. " Hunter was an amazing inventor and there was seldom a thing he could fix. Emma smiled and moved closer to the warmth. "Of all places to pick" she joked. He smiled a little and relaxed. The day passed by slowly and then another none with a disturbance save for a young couple come to visit a grave but they stayed away from their little fortrace. They cleaned up and made sure to leave the space around the coffin undisturbed. Hunter fixed a light for them and the creepy mausoleum became home. Soon winter had come and went then spring and finally summer. The warm weather was a nice change for the two and they treasured it it with much gratitude. They had grown accustomed to the surrounding area and wildlife was simple to hunt although the previous winter was difficult they had made it. Hunter pulled in their catches for they day three rabbits, a.squirrel and three fish. "Did you reset the snares?" She asked as she took the meat. He nodded. Setting aside two of the rabbits and the fish to be tended to later, she began to work warily on their meal for the day. She broke apart vegetables and skinned the animals with a small makeshift knife Hunter had crafted from scrap metal he had sorted through in the junkyard. The skins where set aside to be made into warm clothing. Hunters hands gently touched her shoulder and she jumped. He snickered a little as he moved her over to the side and reached for the excess meat. "I'm going to go put this in the icebox." He said still holding back snickers. She let out a shaky breath and glared at him. Her anger didn't last long and soon the room was filled with the fresh smell of cooking meat. Hunter had built a small stone oven that they used to cook the meat. "Come and get it" Emma called to Hunter who was at this point busy chopping wood. He had a hefty pile made already and he set down the axe with a sigh. They ate dinner with idle conversation filling the awkward silences. Hunter finished eating and buried his head in his hands. "What's wrong?" Emma asked collecting the dishes. He looked up at her. "They are still looking for us." Emma furrowed her brow. He continued "I thought they had given up but when I was switching the junk yard I saw a few of them. Emma we have to keep moving. We can't live here anymore." Emma's face paled as realization dawned on her. "I-I thought they forgot about us" she stuttered. Hunter could see tears brimming in her eyes. He hated to see her cry and he stood to comfort her. He gently put his arms around her and stroked her hair. "Don't cry" he pleaded. Emma's breathing was ragged with sobs and her shoulders shook. She buried her face into his shirt and he could feel it growing wet with salty tears. He bit his lip holding back tears of his own. They had thought they where safe. They had made a home no matter how scary of a place it was in and now..he didn't want to think about it. Not to mention the look on Emma's face when he had told her. The pain in her eyes had hurt him more then anything but they couldn't be found. The things they would do to them if they where brought back was to terrifying to imagine. He felt a single tear slip down his cheek and quickly wiped it away before Emma could see. Her state was heartbreaking and he struggled endlessly not to kiss away her tears. He couldn't, it wasn't that way. They didn't love each other like that. He repeated to himself in his head. Her sobs grew noisier although muffled by his t-shirt and he cringed. Her tears gradually started to fade and she pulled away wiping her wet cheeks. "I'm sorry" she gasped and he shook his head, his shocking blond hair bouncing side to side. "Its okay" he paused. "Lets..pack up" she nodded and without another word ran her hand over their makeshift table scattering dishes to the floor with a crash. Shattered glass spun around their feet. She turned back her expression never changing an error aura of calm surrounded her. Hunter stepped back she kicked the leg off of the boards they used for a shelf. More things flattered to the ground. She sniffed. "Lets go" Hunter opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself. He quickly packed all of their dried meat and collected fruit into a blue backpack along with a knife he had sharpened and some frayed rope. She did not stop to wait for him and by the time he caught up with her she was already quite a ways away. He followed her quietly. The area was silent save for the thumping of the backpack against Hunter's back. Emma's face was hard and emotionless.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar