Left to Die

Chapter 2

 

The Hunter and I finally reached the apartment I had been staying in and I tiredly walked inside with the Hunter following after me. I closed the door and made sure it was locked. I wanted to collapse and go to sleep, but the Hunter’s body smell got to me.

 

“You,” I looked at him and he glanced up at me. “Follow me.” I walked into the bathroom with the Hunter following after me and when we were both inside, I shut the door and locked it.

 

The Hunter gave a small growl and I plugged the tub and ran the water. The Hunter seemed to glare at it as I finally shut off the water and pointed at the tub. “You, bath time.”

 

The Hunter growled louder this time, showing his teeth. My eyes narrowed. “Don’t make me force you into this tub.”

 

The Hunter shifted his position as if to say ‘try me’. He asked for it. I thought and let’s just a say a battle was fought.

 

I ended up getting clawed up pretty bad because the damn Infected didn’t want to take a fucking bath. I did manage to get his hoodie off and what surprised me was that for being one of the undead, he wasn’t ugly. His hair was black and shaggy, stopping around the nape of his neck and his eyes were an eerie blue, with his skin a grey tinge color, much like the rest of the Infected.

 

The Hunter bared his teeth at me, showing he was pissed that I had taken off his hoodie. “You need a bath! You stink! And don’t worry, I’m washing your clothes too!” I grabbed his broad shoulders and since he had been on the edge of the tub, I pushed him right in.

 

But not before he grabbed my sleeve and pulled me in with me.

 

“Fuck….” I swore as the hot water stung the claw marks on my skin and the Hunter growled again. “Get used to it mister. If you’re going to be traveling with me, you’re gonna be taking baths.” I grabbed the edge of his pants and froze.

 

Now, let me tell you something.

 

I’ve never had sex, never gotten kissed and never had a boyfriend. I’ve seen stuff on TV, about that and stuff, but I’ve never actually been in the same room with a naked man before. Well, Infected is what he is.

 

I gulped, a small blush coming onto my face as I edged his worn out jeans off his hips and was careful not to look as I fully pulled them off. Parts of them were wet with the water and I placed them on the floor before switching the Hunter so that he was sitting in the tub. I sighed and winced from the claw marks. I heard the Hunter growl softly and I picked up the worn jeans and searched for a wallet.

 

I had to give him a name.

 

I finally found the wallet and pulled it out, searching for a driver’s license. I found one and pulled it out, observing it. His name was Seth Burkhart and he was 21, 2 years older than me. It said his height was 6’4” and his weight was 210 pounds.

 

I glanced at the Hunter and his eerie blue eyes caught my hazel ones. “Seth?”

 

The Hunter’s head perked up at his name and I assumed that was his name before he turned. “Seth it is then.”

 

I set the wallet on the sink counter and took off my boots, jacket, shirt and pants, leaving me in nothing but a tank top and boxer shorts. My skin was pale, but not pale like the Infected. Seth was clearly confused until I stepped into the water and knelt down in front of him. I grabbed the shampoo and poured some into my hands and once the soap touched his shaggy hair, he let out a low growl.

 

I glared at him a little. “Don’t you growl at me mister. If you’re going to be with me, you have to at least take a bath.”

 

The Hunter seemed to huff in annoyance, the frown evident on his face. I grinned victoriously and scrubbed the dirt and gunk from his hair, using the shower head to rinse it out. Next, I started working on his filthy skin and the clear water had become filthy with dirt.

 

But I still wasn’t done. Huffing, I unplugged the tub and let the water drain out but kept a towel over his front and using the shower head to wash him. I inspected his long nails, too long to be human and got the dirt out from underneath of them also. Finally, he looked clean and I noticed how…..human he looked. Minus the grey skin, nails and eerie eyes, he looked human.

 

He had scars all over his body, more in his torso and arms than anywhere else. I gently brushed a scar that began from his left shoulder and went down to the middle of his chest. Seth’s body seemed to tense up and he let out a soft growl. I wondered what he was like when he was a human.

 

I sighed and groaned a little, feeling light-headed. I had now just remembered the claw marks Seth had given me. I had them on my arms, a few on my chest and on my cheek and neck. I was probably just tired. Seth seemed to sense my tiredness and he leaned forwards, his clawed hands on the sides of the tub.

 

I just blushed a little and went to get out, but he twisted me around so that my back was on the tub floor and he was hovering above me, with nothing to cover him. I blushed furiously and turned my head away from him eerie blue gaze. Seth the Hunter purred and leaned down, nuzzling his cheek against my scarred one and to my surprise, his tongue came out and ran along the three claw marks.

 

My face heated up again and he moved down, going to the marks across my neck and down even lower. I felt my gut twitch and I twisted my body out of his grasp and out of the tub. “Listen, cover yourself with this and I’ll wash your clothes, how ‘bout that?” I threw the towel at him.

 

Seth only growled softly in response.

 

……………………..

 

“Ugh……….” I groaned and popped two pain pills into my mouth before using water to swallow them. Seth was clearly happy to have his pants and hoodie back after I had washed them. I had finally taken a shower myself and tended to the claw marks. They didn’t hurt anymore, but I would have them for a while.

 

I looked at my watch and blinked tiredly. Good god, it was four in the morning. I sighed tiredly and went over to my mass of blankets and pillows and collapsed in them, using one to cover myself since it was cold out.

 

I had closed my eyes when I heard Seth whine and opened my eyes to see him crouched down right in front of me. Did he want to…uh…..cuddle or something? Pursing my lips, I opened the blanket and motioned for him to get in.

 

Seth purred happily and dove into the mass of blankets next to me, snuggling up to me from the front and purring, like a cat. I sighed and gave his hooded head an affectionate pat before I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

 

I woke the next afternoon, Seth gone. I sighed, not surprised at all. He was a Hunter and he was going to leave anyway. I had to move on anyway and get to New York. Maybe I could hot wire a car, if it had gas. I sighed and sat up, yawning a bit. That’s when I heard a familiar growl and glanced around to see a Hunter, more specifically, Seth, standing in the doorway of the glass sliding door that led to the balcony.

 

“Where ya been?” I asked.

 

The Hunter crouched into the room and I realized he had my backpack on. He took it off his back and had a little trouble un-zipping it, but he unzipped it and I found all kinds of cans and other foods. I hadn’t gotten much the day before, so this was quite a surprise. For a Special Infected, Seth was pretty smart.

 

“Uh, wow. Thanks.” I said with a small smile and dumped the backpack, looking through the goods. Oh god…..candy! I haven’t had candy in god knows how long. I picked up a Snickers, unwrapped it and bit into the chocolaty goodness. It was cold, so Seth must’ve found a store with electricity. Seth purred and came over to my side, nuzzling his hooded face against my head.

 

I chuckled and gave his head an affectionate pat. I then realized something, could he understand me? I swallowed the chocolate in my mouth and looked at him. “Seth, can you understand me? What I’m saying and stuff?”

 

Seth cocked his head to the side before he gave a visible nod. Wow…I thought. “Um…can you speak?”

 

Seth’s jaw moved as he tried to form words, but all that came out was a choked gurgle. I smiled sadly. “Don’t worry, we’ll work on it.” I spoke and then I remembered something. “Oh! I never told you my name, did I?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“It’s Shell, S-H-E-L-L.” I spoke out the letters slowly. Seth’s jaw moved again in a feeble attempt to say my name, but he failed and hung his head in shame. “Aww, don’t worry about it.” I patted his shoulder. “The day you say my name, I’ll shat rocks.” I grinned a little bit and realized I hadn’t grinned or smiled in forever.

 

Seth only growled softly and curled up in my lap, almost like a dog as I ate the rest of my candy bar. I grabbed the walkie-talkie from beside my mass of blankets and turned it back on, hearing only static.

 

I sighed and was about to turn it off when I heard a voice. “C…Can anybody hear me..? Over.”

 

I nearly shouted out in delight, but I kept my calm. “Yes I can hear you, over.” As I said this, Seth’s head perked up and he made a noise that sounded like a questionable purr.

 

The person on the end sighed in relief. “Oh thank god! We finally got through to somebody! Over.”

 

It was man, by his voice. I chuckled. “The same for me. Over. Where are you at?”

 

“My group and I are in Buffalo, New York. You? Over.”

 

“A town in Pennsylvania. It won’t take me and my friend but a day to get there, if we can get a vehicle running. Over.”

 

“Awesome. The name’s David. Over.”

 

“Shell. See ya in a bit. Over.” I turned the walkie-talkie off and Seth lifted his head up again. “Ready for a road trip Seth?”