Zoey sighed quietly, one hand gripping her pistol tightly as she made her way along, the sound of mewling zombies loud in her ears as she kept her back to the wall, the rain gradually letting up.

"Bill?" she whispered, biting her lip anxiously. Having gotten separated from the veteran, Francis, and Louis during a horde attack (after Francis tried to shoot a straggler and ended up setting off a car alarm), she was now alone in her search for safety, until she found them again. "If I find them again… No, I can't think like that!" she shook her head angrily…then dropped to a crouch, mouth shut tight as the howl of Hunter split the air somewhere near.

"Damn…it's that Hunter again, same one who separated me from the guys. It's still following me?" As if to answer her question, it screeched again, closer, and she took a deep breath before sprinting across the street to a nearby store. Luckily, she made it behind the counter without alerting the lumbering beasts in the streets. The rain poured down again outside, though the creatures seemed indifferent to the change. Zoey jerked up her hood, it having fallen from her face as she had run into the store.

"Got to keep moving…" she muttered, and stepped outside once more…only to hear her pursuer a ways behind her. She didn't bother looking over her shoulder, just sped off, and, trying to shake him, bolted down an alleyway. She crept alongside the brick wall until she hit a dead end. The Hunter's cry rang out, and she whipped around, pistol held out in front of her…but nothing was there.

Relaxing a bit, she took a few steps forward to see if she could spot the thing, but as she did, she was pounced from behind, her gun skittering across the pavement as she fell on her back, having tried to twist around to face her attacker during the impact.

The monster straddling her seemed pleased with his catch, smirking through a row of bloody teeth as he leaned down, sniffing her much like an excited animal. Zoey closed her eyes tightly, waiting to hear the ripping of her own flesh, to feel that blinding, final pain… The Hunter tilted his head in what seemed like confusion before licking her face, something of a purr escaping him as he sampled her skin.

"Get away, please!" Zoey's eyes shot open and she stared up at him, trying to control her fear. She turned her head slightly and saw her gun close by, and, as he was distracted by, for whatever reason, pulling at her hood, she gathered all her strength and threw him off. She grabbed her pistol before he jumped her again, irritation in his snarl as she pointed the weapon at him.

"If you're going to kill me, you bastard, I'll be the death of you," she hissed, eyes flaring. The Hunter's head drooped slightly and, strangely enough, she felt that it meant her no harm. Her grip on the gun relaxed a bit as she considered this.

"Z…Zoey…" though the word was garbled to hell, Zoey knew she heard him speak.

"H-How do you know my name?" she asked, then recalled Bill calling her name as the Hunter chased her away from the group. "So…you are intelligent…"

The Hunter smiled at her, and she felt warmth in her cheeks. Oh God, was she blushing? Well, she was in a rather awkward situation, considering an undead flesh addict was pinning her to the ground. Surely she had a right to be embarrassed. He pushed her gun away and tugged at her hood, allowing her to sit up before pushing it back. Curious, she went to do the same to him, but he grabbed her wrist, a low growl escaping him as he studied her profile, face close to hers.

"N…not…us…" he hissed. Zoey blinked, bewildered…until she realized…with her hood on, had he thought she was a female Hunter?

"No, I'm not…" she replied cautiously, and the Hunter nodded slowly, then shot forward, capturing her in a kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

"Caught you. Z…Zoey mine," he growled possessively, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, you did catch me, I guess. But what makes you think I belong to you now? Weird, I guess not all of you are mindless cannibals…" she muttered the last part so he couldn't hear. He smirked devilishly and caressed her cheek with a claw before pulling her hood back up.

"Mine," he nuzzled her neck, purring.

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice. It would be nice not to travel alone, even if…well, you know…and…oddly enough, I don't mind it," Zoey allowed him to hug her tighter and, even though it was strange to hell, she felt…safe…in her new companion's arms.