The Hunter growled, lowly, upon hearing the commotion. He was hiding at the very back of the alley, behind the large dumpster there. He froze slightly, pressed against the wall and the side of the dumpster, when she stumbled into sight. He was obviously thinking she was going to shoot him...in his panic, he'd picked an alley with a dead end, and no easy way to jump out of.

He didn't notice that she seemed panicked.

Sam backed up deeper in the alley, looking for some sort of escape. Of course, there would be no freakin' doors here; of course. She weilded her bat as the low, hungry moans and angry grunts of the infected began to fill the alley, as more and more of them began to realize that there was food to be had in the alley. The sound was the equivalent of a "Good Eats" sign flashing brilliantly on the street; more and more infected came, and finally one of them made a charge at her.....

She swung her bat, preferring to save ammo. She began to look for some escape even more desperately, knowing that if she was trapped she'd never survive.

The Hunter realized, slowly, that she couldn't see him. She hadn't taken notice of him in his little hidey-hole, far too focused on the Common Infected pouring into the alley.

Another thought struck him at this point. They were trying to take his meal from him!

A low growl built up in his throat, and he leaped out from behind the dumpster, landing a few feet in front of her. He stood up on his legs, disregarding the usual all-fours stance he took, and roared at the attacking Common Infected. Intimidated, they backed off, but they did not leave the mouth of the alley...instead waiting there, to pick at whatever scraps the Hunter left behind from his meal.

A startled sound escaped from between Sam's lips as the Hunter suddenly jumped in front of her, scaring the common infected back to the mouth of the alley. She quickly drew her gun, sighting in- all she had to do was squeeze the trigger....

But she found she couldn't do it. She just couldn't stomach shooting someone when they had their back turned to her, even if that someone was dead and wanted to kill her. Now is not the time for chivalry, Samantha! Still, she couldn't do it, and the gun was shakily lowered to point harmlessly at the ground. She'd wait until he turned to attack her, she decided, her body tense as she waited, muscles screaming in anticipation.

The Hunter slowly lowered himself back onto the ground, back onto all-fours. He didn't turn to her, not yet. He was still feeling very crowded even with the Common Infected backing away...very paranoid...

Something was not right. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. And that scared him. He growled softly, lowering his nose to the ground, and he sniffed it. He sniffed the air, after that, and stopped all movement.

...Faint vibrations. The ground was vibrating, possibly the after-effect of something heavy hitting it. He recognized that sound, and the feel of the ground starting to slowly shake. He also knew that a few miles down, a large and territorial Tank had wandered into the area. He'd recently taken out a big group of Survivors all on his own. The Common had lured him here.

The Hunter made a soft, strangled noise of panic, and turned around to face her at last. He pointed to the ground, in a desperate attempt to make her notice the slight vibrations.

Sam jumped as he turned to her, but didn't raise the gun; he wasn't attacking her, but he was doing something with his face, pointing to the... the ground? She stared at him blankely, fear pumping adrenaline through her veins. It was silent for a moment, and then she felt it- tremors. Slight tremors in the ground.

"W-What is that," she asked, her voice high-pitched and tense, totally forgetting that the Hunter couldn't reply, totally forgetting that he was the enemy here. Whatever was making the ground shake was big, and something told her it was worse then anything crowding into the alley now.

The Hunter didn't answer her...he couldn't answer her. English was something he could just slightly understand, but couldn't speak. He knew that if this Tank saw them in the alley, both of them would die. His prey would be lost to the big behemoth.

He wouldn't let that happen. He bounded forward, grabbing her around the wrists and gingerly motioning for her to hop onto his back and hold on for dear life. It would take a lot of swift acrobatics to get them out of the alley...and if she didn't cooperate, she was going to be the Tank's mashed dinner soon.

Sam resisted as he grabbed her wrists, shocked and confused and scared. "What are you doing," she asked, her eyes wide. The ground was beginning to shake a little more, and as the Hunter tugged on her wrists she realized what he was trying to do- it would spare them both from being killed, and give her a chance to get away.

"This is freaking crazy," she said, but wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as tight as she could without trying to strangle him (she wasn't sure that was possible, but better not ruin her only escape from whatever was coming their way.)

The Hunter tensed his legs, and then, with all his might, leaped upwards, out of the alley. He just barely managed to hook one of his arms around the metal of a high-up fire escape, and he pulled them both up onto it. He quickly led the way up the fire escape. He was quite happy that Tanks were limited in their climbing skills.

Sam closed her eyes as they were suddenly launched into the air- she had never been a fan of flying. Or heights. She allowed him to lead her up the fire escape, getting away from the creature that was making the ground shake becoming her top priority. She could worry about killing the Hunter later; it seemed that, for now, they shared a cause. She stumbled and tripped on a step, falling hard; a soft groan escaped her lips as she pushed herself back up, her knee throbbing.

Once he reached the top of the building, the Hunter, panting and exhausted, scooted over towards the edge of the front of the building, nodding towards what was in the street for her to see...better to take note of things right now, to be prepared for them later. The shaking of the ground signaled the approach of a Tank.

The Tank itself, rather large and bulky, was making its way down the street, swatting away any Common Infected that got in its way. The Hunter had already nearly felt the wrath of this particular Tank when it had come rampaging through the area, driven wild by the smell of a small trio of Survivors in the area.

Sam hesitated a moment, then came over to the edge slowly, peering at the monstrosity that rumbled down the street. "Ugh, that's disgusting," she said, keeping her voice low in fear that he would hear them. She stepped away from the edge, shaking her head in disgust. She paused, studying the Hunter carefully.

"So... are you going to try and kill me again," she asked, almost wearily. It was almost like a game now, instead of a deadly hunt. Her hand dropped down to her waist band for the gun... and then she realized she had dropped it, back in the alley. "Well, damn," she grumbled, searching for her bat. That was gone, too. "Damn it," she said, a little more frantically. She looked up at the Hunter, the realization written plainly on her face- she couldn't defend herself. He could do whatever he wanted to do to her, and she couldn't do a thing about it. She began to carefully back away, looking for somewhere to run to, for a place to escape to should he pounce...

The Hunter sat there, on his haunches. He suddenly felt very empowered, noticing that the human's weapons were gone...and a tad guilty. He hadn't meant to make her lose either of her weapons.

...Had he?

For some reason, he had noticed himself acting odd around this human. Not bothering to kill her right away, even in the face of danger...helping her out...what was wrong with him? He made a face, then wrapped his arms up over his head. He looked frazzled, for just a moment.

Then, he relaxed, standing up on all fours. He began to make his way to the edge of the building, facing another building close by. He paused, then turned back to her. He was going to head back to his nest for the night...he was hungry, and tired. He didn't feel like scoping out any more food right now...and for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to attack her. He was silently offering to take her with him, to a safe place.

Sam stared warily at the Hunter, her nerves screaming as she waited for him to attack. Why wasn't he attacking? It left her baffled and more then a little frustrated; it wasn't like she wanted to die, but waiting was starting to wear on her last nerves. This was certainly one strange creature; he hadn't killed her, for some reason beyond her. It was making her rethink that the infected were all just mindless eating machines.

She felt her heart sink a bit when he turned to leave; she realized she didn't really want to be alone. It startled her, but she shoved it away, frowning. "What are you doing," she asked, letting her anger rise up and shove away all the uncertainty and fear. It wasn't just a question for the Hunter; she was questioning her own motives. "Why aren't you killing me right now? That's all I am to you, right? Just food?" She let her anger and frustration pour out into her rant, not caring that he probably couldn't understand. "This is absolutely ridiculous. We're not supposed to be like this. You're the Hunter, and I'm just the human trying to survive, and dammit all why aren't you trying to kill me? I don't understand!" Her outburst left her breathing labored, her cheeks flushed red as she stared at the Hunter.

The Hunter paused, upon hearing her start to speak. Her voice sounded angry, unhappy. He couldn't understand everything she said, but he got the gist of it...just not many details.

He turned around, squatting down on his haunches. She looked worn out from her outburst...her cheeks had colored red, and she was staring profusely at him. She seemed like a fireball of energy, much like he was when he was going in for the kill. His stomach grumbled, softly, but he ignored it.

He grunted and then growled at her, turning around again. He was waiting for her to make a decision. He didn't have a problem with her coming with him. But he wasn't going to wait around much longer for her to make her decision.

"What do you want," Sam asked, frustrated and worn out. "I don't understand." it seemed like he was trying to tell her something, or take her somewhere, or show her where Charlie the Unicorn danced to polka music, for all she knew. The "language" barrier (or lack of language, as it were) was driving her nuts.

Her irritation was driving him to become irritated, as well. He growled at her, his tone unhappy and a bit of a warning to cool down. He tapped his shoulders, where she had gripped him tightly the last time. He tensed his legs up, to signal that he was going to jump soon...in the direction he was facing, the only place to jump was to the building across from this one.

Sam stared at him, her eyes wide. He wanted to take her somewhere again? Probably somewhere where he can eat me in peace, she thought wryly. She sighed and shook her head; what a way to go. Then again, she was beginning to question how much she cared; she was tired, and hurt, and weaponless. She wouldn't survive one night, anyways. "I might as well," she said to herself, taking a slow, hesitant step forward. She was certain of only two things- that this was absolutely crazy, and that she was going to die. How long seemed to be the question hanging in the air.

She slipped her hands back around his neck, taking a deep breath. "This is crazy," she stated, before closing her eyes and waiting to go.

Once the human 's arms were securely around his neck, the Hunter launched himself forward, landing smoothly from one building to the other. He leaped from building to building, several times. He managed to make it past at least five different blocks' worth of buildings by doing this, until he reached a worn-out old office building more near the middle of town. He crawled down the fire escape precariously, making sure she wouldn't fall.

He fumbled with the window for a moment and then managed to push it open, squeezing inside of the room. It was the building's conference room, though everything was in disarray. He shrugged her off of his shoulders, onto the ground, and then prowled over to close the window. There was what looked like a mass of sheets and old clothing in the corner...the Hunter must have used those materials to make himself a bed.

As soon as they entered the room, she let go and backed away from him, scanning the room for a moment. It seemed like an old conference room, albeit a completely destroyed one. She backed up until she had her back pressed to the wall; with a sigh, she sank to the ground, her legs shaking slightly. She leaned her head back against the wall, watching the Hunter with a wary eye. He had saved her, and brought her somewhere safe... but she didn't trust him. Not all the way, although there was a small inkling of a thought in her head, that he wouldn't kill her just yet.

The Hunter glanced around the room, slowly, and then shuffled towards the door leading out to the hallway. it had been blocked off with what remained of the chairs and tables of the room. He could smell Common Infected outside, but not close enough to smell the human in the room. He ambled over towards his nesting area and pulled some of the cleaner, more recently-added materials out of it. He tossed them into the corner of the room across from him, indicating that she could rest over there and be safe.

He felt no more desire to kill her.

Sam stared at the pieces of cloth he tossed to her, then shook her head. "No, thanks," she murmured. Getting the cloth would mean having to get up, and she wasn't sure her legs would cooperate. She rested her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes against her better judgement. She hadn't realized how tired she was, and how much her body ached. She figured running through a dead city nonstop did that to a person.

The Hunter huffed, as if to say 'Suit yourself.' He had a basic grip on understanding spoken English, though he still could not, to this day, speak a single word of it. He circled around his nesting area a few times before settling down, curling up into a tight sort of ball and sighing contently.

He was a loner, by the looks of the conference room. Many Hunters, and other Special Infected, traveled in packs...but this one was alone.

Sam curled up against the wall, and within moments had drifted off to sleep. Her eyelids fluttered faintly as she was instantly attacked by nightmares of running, people dying, the tank chasing her, catching her....

"No," she gasped, waking herself up with a flail of her arms. She stared through the darkness at the Hunter- she couldn't tell if he was awake or not, or if he really even slept. She had only been out for a few minutes, and she was exhausted, but she knew if she closed her eyes she'd have nightmares again, asleep or not. So she sat in silence, her arms crossed over her chest and a very unhappy look on her face.

It seemed the Hunter was having difficulty sleeping, as well. He could sleep, and he did need sleep...especially when he was running on an empty stomach. At the moment, though, he was awake. His eyes, which shone slightly in the light of the slightly setting sun, were sort of menacing. He was staring out towards the window, wondering if it was worth it to head off in search of food for them both.

Now that he had somewhat unintentionally taken the human under his wing, he intended to provide for her like an alpha of a pack of Infected would.