Behind them, she heard the sound of hissing laughter.
“Scream louder, off-worlder,” one of the guards who had put her out said.“TheInfectedlove the flavor of terrified flesh and you’re bringing them right to you.”
That was enough to shutCassieup.Theywere right, she realized belatedly—as incapacitated as they were by the horribleHungerVirus, theInfectedhad acute hearing.Theywould be alert for the sounds of someone screaming or crying.
Have to get someplace safe—have to hide!she thought desperately.Surelyshe could find someplace where there was still food and shelter.Theremust be otherVisskous, who lived outside the city, still hiding from theInfected.
Right, like they’re going to take you in,whispered a skeptical little voice in her head.You’rean off-worlder—remember?Andyou’re of no use to them since you can’t breed with one of the males to make offspring or lay them any eggs.
Cassie knew the voice was right, but she had to at least try—she wasn’t ready to die yet.Ifanything, being in perimenopause had made hermoredetermined to live.Shewasn’t going to die until she got her hormones regulated, damn it!
She turned away from the gates…only to find that she was too late.Therewas already a herd ofInfectedcoming up over the hill.Theirhorrible white eyes were fixed on her and their sharp teeth were gnashing.Chunksof flesh were falling off their bodies in places but they were moving pretty quickly, for all of that.
“Oh, shit!”Cassiebreathed.Herlegs felt like they had turned to water as she looked around desperately for a place to hide or run to.
The land around theCrystalCitywas littered with junk—hovercars that had crashed and been left to rot and a land road that was clogged with ground traffic which was in a similar state of disrepair.
She supposed she could try to hide in one of the vehicles, but if theInfectedsaw her go into one, they would gather around it and either tear it apart to get to her or—if they couldn’t get in—would simply wait there until she died of thirst and hunger.
Never had she regretted her choice to marry and move to a whole different planet in a whole different galaxy more bitterly.Butit was too late now—all she could do was run and hope toGodshe found someplace to hide that theInfectedcouldn’t follow.Itwas going to be nightfall soon—maybe the darkness would help her.
Since they had already seen her, she took off at a dead run.Butshe wasn’t exactly dressed for exercise.Whenthe mandatory meeting had been called, she’d been wearing nothing but a nightgown, which barely came down past her thighs.She’dthrown a matching silky robe over it and put on some slippers, but she hadn’t had time to change into decent clothing before the guards demanded she andSkkarncome out to attend the gathering.
Cassie didn’t even like the nightgown and robe combo—even if she hadn’t been running for her life in it.Oneof the aggravations of living onVisslickPrimewas that there were noEarthClothesto be found.Allof the outfits for women had a hole in the back for a tail to go through.Orthe hem was so high it showed her lady bits.TheVisskoushad sex organs that were completely internal and hidden by their scaly skin, which was why it wasn’t considered improper to go around flashing your crotch.
Cassie’s visible sex organs—her breasts and pussy—had been a source of excitement forSskarthwhen they first gotJoined.However, he gradually lost interest and ever since she’d started having hot flashes he had made several remarks about how distastefully “hot and wet” she was between her legs.Apparently,Visskousfemales had nothing but a dry, sandy slit which later turned into an egg-carrying pouch where they incubated their eggs.
Which was a round-about way of saying thatCassiewas flashing her ass as she ran because she was wearing a nighty made for a lizard woman with no visible sex organs.Andwhy in the world were such inane thoughts running through her head while she was running for her life?Cassiedidn’t know—maybe it was her mind trying to fend off the panic that was threatening to swallow her whole.Ormaybe?—
Her thoughts cut off abruptly as she dodged around a fallen hovercraft and found herself face-to-face with a huge, uglyInfected.
It was a maleVisskous—she could see that because he didn’t have a leathery crest on his head.Hiseyes were milky white and glaring at her—or at least one of them was.Horribly, the left side of his face had rotted and the left eye was hanging from its socket, bouncing against the rotted flap of a cheek where sharp teeth were visible through the disintegrating flesh.
Cassie stopped, stunned for a moment but theInfecteddidn’t pause for a moment.Helunged for her, his long teeth snapping.
“Get away!”Cassieshouted and threw up her left arm to ward him off.
She meant to knock his head aside and dart around him, but theInfectedmale bit her—sinking his long fangs into the flesh of her forearm, right below the elbow.
Pain lanced through her as blood ran down her arm and she screamed breathlessly as she tried to pull free.
He’ll give it to me—I’llbecome one of theInfectedtoo!her mind was yammering.Orelse he’ll kill me and eat me.He’lltear me apart!OhGod, please no—please save me!Helpme get away—send me help!
She didn’t know if she was really praying or even who she was praying to but suddenly an enormous fist came down on top of theInfectedmale’s head.
The force of the blow caused the teeth that had been clamped on her arm to open and theInfectedmale fell to the ground, his white eyes rolling up in his head.
“Oh, thank you so mu—”Cassiebegan, but the words died abruptly in her throat when she saw her rescuer.
He wasn’t aVisskousand he wasn’t human either—he was aKindredwarrior and he was absolutelyhuge.
Cassie stared up at him—wayup.Thewarrior had long black hair and blazing golden eyes that had been dimmed by a white film.Shefelt her heart freeze in his chest—was he infected too?
Cassie looked for the blood-sign around his nose and mouth but it was impossible to see if he had it, since he was wearing a huge black respirator that covered half his face.Italso made him look even more terrifying—which was something, considering he was already a seven-foot tall mountain of muscle.
“Uh, hi there, big guy,” she said uneasily, taking a step back from him.“Look,Iappreciate you saving me, but…”
She trailed off because it was clear the huge warrior wasn’t listening.Hetook a step towards her and leaned down, his milky eyes fastening on hers.Hisirises weren’t completely opaque yet—she could still see the glint of gold behind the film that made her wonder if maybe he was aBeastKindred.Washehalfwayinfected?TheHungerViruscould be dormant in a person’s system for weeks before it took full effect.Washe on his way to fullInfectedstatus?
