All Is Lost

9.

"Those who know more," Vanessa mimicked the soldier as she sweated off the torturous layers and slipped on a tank top with skin-tight shorts. "If I can't join him, might as well beat his ass."

"Beat whose ass?" Jillian leaned against the door frame and blushed at the sight she accidentally walked in on. "Where are you going? Can I come?"

"There's an evening combat class I'm being forced to attend." Vanessa said, dropping her sweatshirt into a backpack. "I don't see why you can't come. You know any hand-to-hand combat?"

"A few moves." Jillian tugs on a pair of tight shorts. "My family was really big on martial arts and teaching self-defense."

"Interesting." Vanessa tosses her gym on her shoulder. "Ready?"

~W~

Vanessa's soldier friend gazes at her curiously from his spot underneath her legs as she towered over him in a defensive stance.

"You know, you never did tell me your name." He commented as she yanked him to his feet.

"And you never told me yours." She countered, teasing him before flipping onto his back. He makes an 'oomph' sound of surprise as his spine hits the mat. "Need a hand?"

"I take everything I said back....about you." He smiled at her. "I'm Connor, by the way."

"Vanessa. But Jillian calls me 'Nessa', sometimes." She stands her ground as he circles her, eyeing her like she was his prey. "What are you doing?" She challenged him, betting him to make a move.

"What do you..." He threw his fist toward her side and she caught his wrist. "-think. Christ, woman. Let me get one in."

"You snooze, you lose." She tapped him in the side playfully and he tackled her down to the ground. "Hey! That wasn't fair."

"The rabids don't play fair." He responded in a gruff voice as a soldier decked out in his armored gang leathers stalked around the gym area. "They're brutal killing machines. They won't spare you a second to think."

How he described them was partially true, but they certainly weren't brutal killing machines. They were like her, except they lacked the ability to heal if they were to be shot by a massive bullet or from a sunburn. Slowly the infection would kill them and their mental health would rapidly deteriorate.

"Have you ever actually gone head-to-head with a rabid?" She questioned, dissecting the gazes of each citizen down to the bone. They all had their eyes on her; she was the center of their attention. They needed to know the ruthless truth. "They're savage creatures who are just hungry. They're all trying to survive, but we keep killing them." She removed herself away from Connor. "If you want to call them ferals or rabids, then remove yourself from here mentally and listen to the truth of what I'm about to tell you."
She invited Jillian to join her and stand by her side. "Jillian here, is a victim of being caught in a room by these things. They could've broken down the door, but they didn't. I saved her and faced off with a horde of about twelve. All it takes is one turn-of-the-tables and you have them." She have the stalker a full-on glare. "They're just people. They were once human. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine if you were suffering through what they felt. The best thing is to leave them alone. If they attack you, then that's a reasonable excuse for why they're dead."

"Why are you telling us this?" One woman asked.

"Know thy enemy." She flips a Spider-Man-like Connor onto the mat as he attempts to sneak up on her. "And never lose focus." She laughs with him and everything returns to normal.

-W-

Jillian tossed her clothes into the hamper and jumped out of her skin when she felt a pair of warm hands on her aching shoulders.

"That was pretty brave of you." She mumbled, leaning into the massage. "I didn't think you'd actually tell them."

"It's better if they know what they're getting into." Vanessa shrugged, dragging the straps of Jillian's peach sports bra off her shoulders. "Are you sore?" She massaged her girlfriend's upper arms and pulled her flush against her half-human-half-vampire form.

"That workout was a killer. I think my partner definitely left a few bruises." Jillian winced as Vanessa massaged a little too rough along her ribs as she shimmied her pants off. "Definitely left a few bruises."

"I'll give your partner a run for her money." Vanessa's lips ghost over the curve of Jillian's ear and the brunette shivers as cold air is blown against her neck.

"Please don't cause any trouble."

"No promises."