This is a very old short centered around my OC Helena and her companion leftover from the Left 4 Dead Craze. I never did anything with the characters I developed which is a shame because I actually really like them. Anyway, thought I'd post this here. My more obscure OCs deserve a little love too, ya know?

The shots from my rifle echoed into the rain-soaked darkness, bullets tearing through green-grey flesh like a knife through tissue paper.

A spray of skull fragments and viscera followed in their wake, painting the dirty brick walls with macabre splashes of color that were quickly washed away by the torrential rains.

Bulls-eye.

But I couldn't stop to appreciate it for very long.

I was on autopilot, swapping the spent magazine for a fresh one as cries of pain and ripping flesh reverberated through the alleyway. I could tell he'd made contact and a feral grin curled my lips for a brief moment.

It was an ugly existence, but it had become routine for the both of us.

"Cage," The word spilled past my lips on a breath, barely audible in the downpour, but the answering roar was loud and clear. He wasn't like the other hunters out there. I'd known that since the day he first started tailing me.

Too intelligent and much too dangerous.

His roar was a deep bellow that somehow still sent many infected, at least the ones that retained some shreds of their self-preservational instincts, scattering for cover.

Any stragglers were quickly torn to pieces and a large, lean form soared through the air before landing at my side, crouching next to my leg like some type of hellish guard dog.

He uncurled himself a good deal from his usual hunch and breathed down my neck, dwarfing me still despite the half-deliberate curl in his spine.

He didn't speak.

I don't even think he's quite capable of it anymore, but I knew he was checking for injuries while my rifle stayed trained on the other end of the alley, still looking for further signs of danger. We couldn't stay for long. Even we would get overrun after a while

We were both soaked and Cage huffed, blowing steam and hot air along my neck and shoulder. I'd long-since learned to ignore his constant disregard for personal space and the black ichor that seems to drip almost perpetually from the corners of his grey-on-black eyes.

He huffed again, grunting deep in his chest, and I absently dabbed some of the ichor away from his chin with the edge of my sweater sleeve.

"I'm alright." I mumble.

He went still like a beast does when something catches its interest, predatory and completely inhuman, staring me down with those eerie eyes of his. It was like he was waiting to catch me in a lie. He did that sometimes. I stared right back and eventually he bared his teeth in a smile.

You know when people tell their dogs to smile and you get that ugly yet mildly humorous parody of a grin? It was kinda like that.

More like a grimace really, teeth jagged and a few extra where there really shouldn't be.

When all this shit began, I used to think their teeth looked a little odd because human teeth weren't meant to bite through stuff the way the infected sometimes did, especially the hunters. I know better now.

The hunters had teeth sharp enough to match their claws just like any other predator. Fitting ain't it?

It was also a terrifying display up close and personal, but I knew it wasn't a real threat. Especially not towards me. Besides, I knew he was amused by me again for some reason. The way he watched me...laughing at me with his eyes. I couldn't help but raise my chin a bit.

There was a clatter at the other end of the alley and the moment was broken. The look morphed into something much more dangerous and he turned on his heel, tearing off into the soaking darkness with a roar.

Something off in the distance cried out right before it died bloody.

R&R