Thread: When the Prey of Men find the Predator Within (translucentfeathers &  xanaphia)

Sierra was stirred from her rest, the sounds of someone making landing near her. She kept her breathing slow, measured. She couldnt see anything, but that was to be expected, given the counter she had hidden herself in. She listened, focusing on the things happening outside of her, instead of her heart beating through her chest, the pounding of blood in her ears. The footsteps were soft, swift, and yet lingering. Just one , Sierra thought to herself, one is good. I can take down one . Unless its a scout, and there are a dozen waiting just outside. She felt herself shaking, pushing down the terror, gripping her shotgun close to her chest. Just two days prior she wasnt a shuddering, frightened mess. Sierra and her small group moved smoothly, surely, seeking some sanctuary among the tattered ruins of civilization that once was. Her group had been together for three months, since her and Varis rescued Ruby and Sarah from Talons clutches. The warlord was not happy to lose two of his broodmares, but the group had evaded his grasp, slipping into the wastelands to lose his trackers. The plan was effective in the short term, until a group of vampires came upon them. Sierra had just avoided the fate of her three comrades, seeking a fresh water source while the trio broke their fast. She returned to find five bloodsuckers feasting on their bodies, tearing them limb from limb to devour their very essence. There was a moment of temptation, to throw herself at the fiends, loading her twelve gauge upon them. Taking as many down as she could with her until she succumbed to the same fate as her friends. She knew none of them would forgive her in the afterlife, if there was anything so cruel as an afterlife, if she got herself killed in some foolish revenge plan. So she hid, taking sanctuary in the abandoned library for the past two days. In that time she had run out of food and water, and now she had run out of safe haven, as someone wandered just outside her hiding place. It was inevitable after all, that she would die here. What was one woman supposed to do alone, in the wastes, hiding from both the vampires that would rip her apart to feed, and the roving bands of men who would take her back to their compounds to rape her into madness. At this point her only choice was how she wanted to die a swift, if painful, death as a meal to the bloodrinkers, or bred until her body could take no more. Or she could stay hidden, and succumb to thirst and hunger, which was bad enough. At the very least, she should check and see what manner of death awaited her on the other side of her cabinet. Slender legs were on the other side, and immediately Sierra could tell it was a woman. A woman like her. Did she escape Talons clutches? Was she seeking some refuge from the wastes as well? For a brief, terrifying moment, Sierra dared to hope. She didnt have to choose a manner of death this day. She could choose to live. She stalked out of her cubby hole, shotgun close to her chest, rust colored hair flowing loosely behind her. The woman turned towards her, catching Sierras breath in long forgotten desire. She was beautiful, long black hair covering half her face in a mysterious, alluring manner. There was several moments of silence as the two women sized each other up. Trying to get a read on the other, determine who was the predator and who was the prey. The glow of her amber eyes made Sierra think that the odds were against her, as her common sense told this was not an escapee of the hands of men. No, the being staring her down, just fifteen feet away? This was a vampire. Of course it was. Sierra unloaded two quick pumps of lead at the fiend, which would have torn through a human, but merely knocked her back. On her right shoulder were the silver filled shells, the only thing she had that could stop the blood drinker before her.