Cat and Mouse

Cara could hear the crickets chirping mixed with the sound of her strained attempts to breathe as she ran. Her foot caught on a root and she stumbled, barely able to put the other foot down before falling to her knees in the dark. She held her hands out instinctively then kept on going. She knew it wasn't safe to be out in the open like this, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice.

Her toe jammed hard into a protruding rock but this time she was close enough to the nearest tree to grab on to it for balance. Her foot screamed in pain but she kept her mouth shut. If the scream made it all the way past her lips, she'd be dead within minutes. She had to find shelter, and fast. The rustling of branches made her gasp and she peered around wildly, praying that it was just the wind.

Cara took off running again, headed anywhere away from the direction she came. There was nothing back there but death and her best hope for survival had to exist somewhere up ahead. Just as she hit a downward slope, gravity took over and she felt like she was sprinting despite her exhaustion. Regardless of how much momentum she was gaining... something zipped past her even faster. Her racing heartbeat gave a heavy thud in her chest and she skidded to a halt, pressing her back flat against a tree as she hid herself (she hoped) from view.

It was too dark for her to see more than a few feet, what with the limited moon light and the tree cover overhead, but she knew that her enemies' eyesight was keener. Forcing herself to calm her breathing and her racing heart, she tried listening for any unseen threats. At first she didn't hear anything other than the chorus of crickets and the occasional owl hooting into the untamed woods. 'Maybe I should keep going' she thought, lifting a hand to push the red fringe out of her eyes. How long had it been since she had a haircut?

Hand halfway through finger-combing her hair back, she heard the telltale sound of an inhuman burst of speed whooshing past and her hand froze. No more than a moment later the nighttime quiet was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a sultry woman's voice speaking from the other side of Cara's hiding spot. "I really love a good game of cat and mouse," the newcomer teased. "Really works up an appetite!" She said as she turned along the side of the tree and grab Cara by her shoulder. Cara flinched as the strong grip pulled her sideways and now she could see from the corner of her eye who had pursued her.

The woman was a little taller than Cara, wearing all black from the leather jacket over her fitted scoop neck tee, down to her skinny jeans tucked into high heeled boots. Cara's hair was tangled and unwashed, matting to the back of her neck with sweat from the exertion of running; but this creatures hair looked flawless, full of luxurious coils utterly unaffected from the chase. Fangs glistened alongside pristine white teeth as the predator continued talking. "Helps me to enjoy my meal that much more." The sadistic smile that accompanied the words perfectly matched her tone of voice. 'This was it,' Cara thought to herself, her restless heart beating hard enough to break free from her chest. She could barely breathe as she looked into the vampires eyes and tried to plead for her life.

"Please... I... I'm not ready to die," she begged, but there was no mercy in the charcoal eyes that glinted with an unnatural fiery glow. Rather, the huntress chuckled and brushed Cara's hair back from her neck. "Well, no duh. Is anyone... ever... ready?" With both hands now, she forced Cara to turn her head and expose her neck. "Bon appétit," she said to herself before sinking her teeth into Cara's throat so fast that the pain of the punctured skin was delayed hitting Cara's brain. And Lord did it hurt.

Cara struggled with all the strength she had left but it didn't budge the blood sucker latched onto her throat. Her fatal flaw was fleeing without a weapon, and she'd known the moment she hit the ground running that it would cost her, she just didn't know she'd pay with her life. Rendered helpless, all that was left to do was think about what she should have done different. All the while the sound and vomit-inducing feeling of blood being sucked greedily from her veins (accompanied by the blood pounding in her ears) made it impossible for her to hear the crude bestial snarls approaching.

Her torment stopped unexpectedly and Cara was tossed to the ground. "Freaking vultures!" The vampire screeched, wiping the back of her hand across the blood dribble that escaped the corners of her lips. That's when Cara heard them... the reason she was out in the woods to begin with. Their groans and hungry growls increasing as they sensed prey and quickened their pace. Cara pushed herself up from the ground and watched as four of them stumbled onto the scene.

The Vampire woman stood over Cara possessively as the rotting corpses charged forward. The mindless flesh eaters couldn't care less that a blood sucker had beaten them to it. They operated on instinct alone with no thought whatsoever for self preservation. The only thing that mattered was satisfying an insatiable hunger, and unfortunately for Cara, hers was the only warm body in sight. With a guttural growl of her own, the vampire charged forward as well, grabbing a zombie by the throat with each hand and slamming them into the trunk of two trees. The other two uninhibited zombies continued forward, prepared to fall on Cara and feast, but one thing about vampires that no other creature could contend with was their speed.

Arms length away, these two were caught by their collars and dragged backwards with that supernatural whooshing sound. Their howls and her fangy hisses reverberated throughout the trees, snapping Cara out of it. They wouldn't be able to distract the vampire for long, so Cara stumbled to her feet and took off running again without looking back. The vampire made short work of her competition, crushing heads against rocks and snapping necks with her bare hands, before returning to the spot only to find it empty. "Are you freaking kidding me..." she grumbled before marching off in pursuit.

Just two of the reasons humanity had fallen to pieces and society as they knew it ceased to exists. Cara stumbled clumsily through the woods alone with one hand over her bloody neck and still nowhere safe to go. Could this apocalypse get any worse?