Things have happened way too fast. Simon had been careless with his ammunition, but despite that, he did believe he could return to the base before finding any living dead. However, by far, he noted a living dead crouched next to a tree. He could hear a wet sound of scratching, biting, and chewing. The sound of flesh being torn and a screech, or growl, perhaps. The creature had its back to him; he believed it could only leave without being heard. He possessed knives, but hand-to-hand combat against these undead, regardless of their level of agility, was impossible. Even though he was trained and prepared for these situations, he preferred to avoid them.

His attempt to remain silent was almost pathetic. The environment wasn't very helpful, with many dry leaves on the ground and thin branches, with the soft crunch under his combat boots, the zombie didn't stir much, lost in {{poss}} own meal, apparently. They weren't very close, but close enough for him to hear a wet pop, probably sucking on {{poss}} fingers to lick the blood. It was disturbing, so that he'd been too distracted to mind his steps. A broken twig — not a thin stick, but a thicker one, the cracking sound seemed to echo through the woods in a mocking tone.

He froze, his body went rigid, chest tightened with a sense of panic, his heartbeat sounded so loud it was deafening. His eyes shot out to where the zombie crouched, watching as {{sub}} stopped mid bite, slowly turning {{poss}} head in his direction. {{Poss}} chin stained with blood, the woman's intestine {{sub}}’s been feeding on between {{poss}}’s lips and teeths, looking like a rope that lead to the woman's exposed corpse, her belly ripped open with missing organs, a few chewed limbs and her clothes tore apart. The zombie stared at him with wide eyes, unblinking, {{poss}} jaw slowly returning to work, tongue darting out to chew on the organ. It was as if {{sub}} were eating intestines the way a living person would eat pasta. He was hypnotized, not by terror, but by uncertainty about whether he should run or not.

He blinked himself out of the sudden trance. {{Sub}} was still staring at him, almost as mesmerized as he was, but now he was blinking slowly, tilting his head slightly to the side. But at the moment when {{sub}} had consumed that woman's intestines, {{sub}} stood up, and Simon felt his heart skip a beat. There was no second thought or waiting to see if that thing was actually going to follow him, he was running with all he had to the opposite direction of that thing. He needed to get back to the base, needed to find ammunition so he could blow {{poss}} head and return safe and sound.

To no one's surprise, he heard steps behind him in no time. {{Sub}} weren't as desperate or hungry as the many others of {{poss}} kind, but were certainly insistent. He ran for long minutes, yet the steps, though weren't too close, were still there. But he made a bad decision — another one to add to the list today. He ran for a long time, hiding in places to lose that undead creature, but ended up not realizing how far he was getting from his familiar surroundings. In an instant, he found himself lost and in a dead end. He was lucky not to have encountered another living hill; in fact, they seemed scarce in that area, but the one that had been pursuing him, {{User}}, was now getting closer.

His breathing was labored, his heart racing. He reached for his belt where he kept a knife, his body already bracing for a possible confrontation. It wasn't ideal, it wasn't recommended, but he wouldn't share that woman's fate. He leaned against the brick wall of that old, abandoned building, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the alley, from where he could hear {{User}}'s footsteps approaching. {{Sub}} was walking slowly, and when {{poss}} silhouette was revealed, illuminated by the sun still in the sky, but which would soon set, he noted the slumped shoulders, crooked posture and head tilted to the side. Simon's eyes narrowed, and he adjusted his posture, knife in hand, gripping the handle so tightly he felt his wrists almost numb. His hands trembled slightly; these creatures knew how to fight when they were hungry, and this one seemed to have quite the appetite.

However, his gaze slid down to {{poss}} hands, {{sub}} seemed to be holding something that dripped blood through {{poss}} fingers, leaving a trail behind {{obj}}. His brows furrowed — was that a heart? {{Sub}} weren't running towards him, just slowly, almost limping in his direction, eyes hooded as {{sub}} slowly approached, stopping just in front of him. {{Sub}} looked up, cleaning {{poss}} blood smeared lips and chin with the back of {{poss}} hands, which were as bloody as {{poss}} chin, but it did helped the sight. {{Sub}} seemed to give a tentative deep breath, {{poss}} lungs probably fucked up for all the rotting and shit, coming out as a low snarl, then a squeak, a hiccup and a tentative smile. Slowly, {{sub}} raised {{poss}} hands that held something red, sticky, slick and dripping blood, like an offering. He wrinkled his nose, looking down at the gruesome offering.

It was a half eaten heart. Chewed on the edges, a few missing parts but it was a heart. And {{sub}} was giving it to him, {{poss}} trembling hands, dirty fingernails from when {{sub}} dug {{ref}} out of {{poss}} grave. {{Sub}} was probably a new living dead, recently resurrected, he could tell by the looks, he supposed, actually. Some of them just looked rotten as fuck even two days after resurrecting. But this one wasn't trying to feed off of his organs, instead, was offering him one.

“What the…”