Descent into Madness (Private)

[Kyle Crane]

The skies were overcast, threatening rain most of the night. By the time dawn hit a downpour was soaking the entire city and countryside. The hordes of undead didn't care, their groans and moans a low rumble as they shuffled back and forth in response to the thunderous cacophony raindrops made on tin roofs. As the storm passed overhead, the worst of the rain slowly crept from one area of the slums to another, though as the winds died down the storm all but stalled out above the remains of the once proud city.

 

All the areas of Harran were caught in the deluge, though the slums were taking the worst beating. Some of the deep gullies started to flood, flushing the biters and virals out of them and into the streets, making them even more crowded than normal. With the influx of virals from incidents caused by Rais' men, it was far more dangerous than normal to be in the streets.

 

Far from the Tower, but still in the slums, not far from what remained of Rais' skyscraper, a lone figure hunched its shoulders against the rain, huddled down with its back to the water as the water splashed off the building and hit the hood, baseball cap, and patchwork leather duster of the man hunkered down miserably.

 

He'd come back to himself not long before, near the lowest levels of the basement, and had scaled his way up and out of the towering building. Hopping a fence and dragging himself up to the lower rooftop of the building closest to the massive former HQ for Rais and his men, the Hunter wasn't sure how long it'd been since the Mother had forced that phial of liquid down his throat.

 

But he was all too aware of what had happened as he'd climbed out of the sewers just as the sun went down. How many sunsets since then? He'd lost count, let himself operate on instinct during daylight too - it lessened the pain - but the rain... there was something about it that dragged the small scrap of humanity left in his brain to the forefront.

 

He hated it.

[Jade Aldemir]

She shouldn't have been out in the rain, not like she was. She still wasn't fully recovered, even now. The virus raged in her system, strong and ever since she'd almost turned, it'd been more obvious. More irritated, more feral when under high stress, but the longer she kept Antizin in her system, the longer she went without getting that close to that knife's edge, the more Jade felt more like... herself. It was something weird to think about. Later. If at all.

 

The worn baseball cap kept most of the rain off her face, her ponytail threaded through the opening in the back. Still, the deluge soaked through her clothes and she was glad for the leather jacket that not only kept her safer from biters, but it also kept her warm and somewhat dry, even if it wore thin in some places. She stopped on one of the metal rooftops, panting slightly. The Scorpion was tired of bedrest and staying close to the Tower. She wanted to exercise, to be useful, to make use of this second chance Crane had gifted her. A pang tore at her heart at the reminder. Kyle... She'd missed a chance at something with him, but she was grateful they got to be an influence on each other's life, even if just for a small amount of time.

 

Her radio crackled to life and she glanced at it where it was tucked to her shoulder. "Jade? Jade, do you copy?"

 

She pushed the button to answer the doctor on the other end. Wouldn't do any good to worry her more then necessary. "I copy. What's up, Lena?"

 

Her voice still somewhat hurt, but it just meant her throat was healing. There was a pause as the transmission went through, but then the doctor answered. "Thank God. Get your ass back to the tower this instance. We have too few runners as it is and you're still recovering."

 

Jade looked around, trying to find shelter from the rain. She was a distance away from the Tower itself, and she caught sight of one of the safe zones Crane and the others had managed to recapture. It'd be easier to talk when the rain wasn't directly hitting the radio. Still, that restless itch tickled at her. She didn't want to go back. Not yet. "I'm a bit far to make it."

[Kyle Crane]

The crackle of a radio in the distance caught his attention, though his head felt fogged and it took far longer than he would have liked to focus in on where it was coming from. It wouldn't do to be found, not like this, not at all. There was something familiar about both the voice that was speaking nearby and the one coming in through the radio. Why couldn't he place them?

 

Shaking his head to try and clear it, a low growl escaped his guard, causing a mental cursing spree. He really hoped nothing he was doing would attract attention - especially not whoever the survivor was he could hear. When she spoke again his eyes widened. Jade... He paused, forgetting the obvious - she was dead - until he'd raced and scrambled over and through several building.

 

When his mind finally caught up he stumbled to a stop, his brow creasing as he processed the information his brain had taken far too long to supply him. Jade was dead. But if that was true, who was this person talking with the tower? The familiar voice, the concern from Lena - all that and more he'd grown used to before his world had started to crumble in the city. The worry from Lena was something he'd heard a lot just before the signal between Harran and the Countryside had failed entirely. Back to who was speaking... Jade - she was dead. So who the fuck was this?

 

He'd let his mind wander again, and by the time he'd snapped himself back to the present he'd been on a nearby rooftop, scrambling to not slide off it into the street below. Well, shit.

 

[Jade Aldemir]

Even over the rain, something hitting the metal rooftops stood out, as it was different then the familiar pattering she was used to. Movement from the corner of her eye made her head turn, and she was sure she could feel the blood race away from her face as terror wrapped itself around her heart. She stood there, rooted in place for a second, before like a rabbit evading a fox, she sprang into action and bolted for the nearby safe zone she'd been eyeing as it was.

 

Whatever it was dove into a building, and her heart rate spiked higher when she lost sight of it. Shit shit shit! Her palm slapped against a ledge, and her body pivoted to vault over it. That kind of speed... it wasn't a viral or a volatile, but she had no idea what it was, either. Something new? She hoped not! Her feet hit the ground, and she felt the jarring pain ricochet up her calves as she crouched to absorb some of the impact.

 

Jade had no idea when the thing stopped. She didn't dare look back - her eyes needed to be on what was ahead of her so she didn't run into something dangerous, or slip off a roof. She slid to a stop and turned, and a small part of her was amused at the thing scrambling to keep itself on the rooftops like she was struggling to do. She didn't wait long though, launching from the roof to the chain link fence and scrambling up and over into the relative safety of the UV lights.

 

Regardless of their safety, her eyes still didn't appreciate the sudden brightness and she held up a hand briefly to block them out. Something in the back of her mind growled, and there was a slight itch to her skin where the lights actually met it. More signs of her more advanced infection. Damn it. Again, the Scorpion turned and looked toward the creature, hoping it didn't chase her into the safe haven.

[Kyle Crane]

As she continued to run after spotting him rush toward her, a deep sense of shame, of self-hatred, washed over him. But under that, the urge to chase after prey fleeing from him tried to claw to the forefront. Only a huge mental effort, aided by the sudden shock of another metal rooftop refusing to let him grip it with clawed hands and worn out boots.

 

This time he didn't manage to keep himself in place, and the loud metallic screech was painful to his hyper sensitive ears. Flailing, his instincts not as in control due to it being far enough after sunrise, he couldn't seem to get his tentacles to listen as they remained firmly hidden inside his wrists and thicker arms. Slamming through a cloth awning and then through a rickety wooden rooftop below that, he groaned and rolled over onto his hands and knees.

 

Fuck that hurt...

 

At least the fall had shocked him fully out of the instinctual need to chase the running figure, and after kneeling in the street for a moment, his eyes found her inside the nearby safe zone, protected by the UV lights. Good. She was safe there, as it was far too painful for him to venture inside without even more coverings to protect his skin than he already had.

 

He remained knelt where he was for a moment that stretched into minutes as the downpour continued unabated above him. Finally, he pushed to his feet and jumped up to grab a window ledge, then pulled himself up onto a low roof. He still had a good view of the safe zone from the perch - better than the ground actually - and hoped that it might give him a better view of the person who his scattered mind had mistaken for Jade.

 

The heavens decided to be assholes right as he settled onto the slick surface and pulled his knees up to his chest, opening up even further, almost like a wall of water just pouring down on top of them both.

[Jade Aldemir]

The woman's dark eyes remained trained on the person... creature... whatever it was, and she couldn't help but give a short laugh as it fell and hit the ground. Not taking her eyes off of the creature, she finally responded again to Lena, who she realized was talking to her still, more and more frantic. "Sorry, Lena. Had to get away from something nasty."

 

"I will leave you to it, then. Come back soon."

 

The radio went silent, mercifully, though she knew she was in for it when she got back to the Tower. Still, she stood in the rain, just in reach of the UV lights, watching the creature to see what it'd do. It took a second to get off the ground, before scrambling up the wall again and perching, staring at her in kind. She didn't like the intelligence with which the infected was watching her, and she straightened her posture, lifting an eyebrow in challenge at whatever the heck it was she was looking at. The Scorpion was drenched to the bone, her hair limp against the back of her neck and shoulders and driving her crazy.

[Kyle Crane]

The self-hatred continued as he stared back at her, his innermost thoughts wishing that he'd never tried to take the phials, as that had been his undoing. He worried about how many people he'd killed at night, when he had no control - and most of the time no memory of the time either. It was a complete blank until the predawn light started to creep in. Usually he found himself holed up in the depths of one of the caves, the lower levels of a building, or outside the city in one of the caverns that connected back to Harran proper.

 

This morning had been no different. He'd woken, feeling exhausted, like he'd run himself ragged in pursuit of food. And that probably wasn't too far off. He'd had fresh blood staining his claws and the shirt under his coat. The rain had washed it all away, not giving it any time to dry and add to the smell previous meals marked him with.

 

He himself didn't smell bad - more of a deep musky woodsy smell, like he spent time in the deepest forested areas sometimes, but his clothing? It was horrible. Luckily this overcoat was of a material that he could rinse easily and he'd found an entire stash of fairly undamaged clothing that fit him. Those had gone into what he'd taken to calling a den. It was in the basement of one of the larger buildings - not a skyscraper, but one of the ones constructed for the games - and had an entire suite for him to make use of.

 

One room far away from the others had what looked almost like a volatile nest, with dead bodies spread around. On the other side, opposite the kitchen was the bedroom, complete with an intact mattress and a makeshift dresser - a couple of milk crates full of clothing he could replace if his current gear became too damaged or bloodstained for him to wash clean. It had amused him to find himself waking up on the mattress, still completely devoid of blood and entrails one morning. Apparently his feral instinctual self liked the feel of the clean-ish mattress and room too.

 

Coming back to the present as some of the water hit the roof just right to go splashing up into his nose, he spluttered and coughed, backing up from it. After swiping at his face in annoyance, he adjusted his hood and baseball cap, then pulled up the scarf so as little of his face showed as possible. He hated how he looked now. He'd risked a mirror once. Only once. In a fit of rage he'd destroyed the mirror and most of the surrounding area. Once calmer he'd immediately gone and stolen the various sorts of scarves, so he wouldn't ever have to look at himself again.

 

Right. I can sit here staring at her just outside the UV light, avoiding that pain and the memories of Jade too, or I can man up and force myself into the light so I can get a closer look. He knew what his choice was before he'd even finished the thought, and hopped down off the roof, though he hit one of the broken bits of street just so, resulting in him windmilling his arms and splashing into an undignified heap. Well. Still just as clumsy as ever when not doing parkour.

 

Pulling himself back up, he headed to the chainlink fence around the safe zone, eyeballed it for a long moment, his claws gripping it as he did. Finally, he made two quick movements, scaling it. Dropping to the other side, he pulled the hood further over his head, trying to shield himself from those fucking lights as much as he could. Every step that he took brought him closer to this stranger who'd reminded himself so much of Jade. Jade, who he'd felt something strong for, though he'd never had a chance to tell her, to see if there might be a chance... His shoulders slumped as his thoughts continued to carry him down that depressing line of thought. Why did he torture himself like this?

[Jade Aldemir]

What was going through the infected's head? It just stared at her - and with all its clothes, it was hard to tell what gender it was to properly refer to it by. After a few minutes, it sputtered for some reason and backpedaled, before yanking something up over its face in a way too human manner for her liking. It jumped back down to the ground, and her body tensed, one foot shifting back. She was safe, but she also was only at the edge of the life saving lights. Dark eyes narrowed. As it landed, it didn't seem to nail it, windmilling in place and falling on its ass. Jade smirked, not daring to take her eyes off this unusual infected.

 

Instincts screamed to run into the building in the safe zone, to run fast and shut the door behind her, but it wouldn't be that stupid, would- yes, yes it was. She took a few steps back as it clambered over the chainlink fence opposite her and landed on the other side with much more grace then when it dropped to the street originally. Its shoulders slumped as it approached, much more... human in the gesture then anything else did. Eyes a weird mix of red and yellow gleamed out at her from behind a multitude of scarves, and she could see hints of his (distintly his) skin reacting to the UV where he wasn't able to shield. Still, she backed up a step with each one of his toward her until her back pressed into the side of the building they used for shelter.

 

Why wasn't she running? Why?

[Kyle Crane]

As he approached her, the worry in the back of his mind started to push forward. That worry was one that he'd fretted about off and on - that he was slowly losing his mind and the hallucinations suffered during the original change were back. He'd hallucinated Jade, and then her turning and trying to strangle him. This though...

 

This was different.

 

As she took one step back, and then another, and another, he matched her pace, until he was standing directly in front of her, no more than a foot between them. The sizzle of his skin burning in the UV distracted him for a moment, but no more than that. When he returned his gaze to her, his brows furrowed in confusion.

 

One clawed hand came up, reaching toward her, as if to cup her face, before hesitating and resting on the wall next to her. The other one followed suit, until he was leaning forward and down toward her, their noses only inches apart. The pain he felt was noticeable in his breathing - no matter how hard he tried to keep it hidden.

 

"I... it can't be. You. Y-you're dead. I saw you die. I felt you die."

 

His voice was rough, the roars his feral side gave out straining his vocal cords and leaving him hoarse. His eyes searched hers, his hands clenching into fists as he tried to keep his emotions under check. The pain he felt made it difficult though.

 

He took one last searching look at her, arms trembling, then took two steps back and turned to run.

[Jade Aldemir]

Exposed flesh sizzled under the glare of the UV lights, and still the infected in front of her seemed to ignore it, at least for the most part. He caged her in, but there was no real aggression there, either, and that scared her more then if it'd just attacked her. Eyes that held far too much intelligence for her to feel comfortable bore into her, and... was that confusion on the beast's face? It was like he'd been the one seeing a zombie for the first time.

 

A large clawed reached out for her face, and she flinched, dark eyes slamming shut, but instead of actually touching her, he reached past her to the building at her back, completing the cage he'd enveloped her in. When she opened her eyes again, the infected was mere inches from her nose and she sucked in a foul tasting breath. His breathing, this close, was one of rotting flesh and ages old blood, and was the only indication he was in any pain whatsoever with how rapid it was. And then... the thing in front of her spoke, and her eyes widened considerably.

 

Recognition sparked in her eyes as she stared up at him. There had been only one person she knew for sure had been there when she'd slipped into what amounted to a coma. One person who was supposed to be on the other side of the mountains, looking for a cure for this damned disease that took everything from her. Those dangerous claws scraped at the brick as he clenched his fists. "K-Kyle?"

 

And just as quickly as he'd closed the distance between them, he'd pulled back, shaking, and quickly backpedaled away from her, as if she was the one infected and not him. He turned to leave, and her mind raced, trying to make sense of everything suddenly dropped on her. "K-Kyle!"

[Kyle Crane]

She said my name. His thoughts were frantic as he stumbled away, uncharacteristically clumsy now as he wasn't focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It couldn't be her. It couldn't. But she called me by name!

 

He managed to grab the fencing and haul himself back over, but flubbed the landing and staggered into the lowest floor of the building on the other side. No biters were there, at least, and it got him out of the UV. His thoughts were racing almost as fast as his heart was. What was going on?

 

There'd been no sign of Jade, no word from her, or from others about her. He'd gone on to deal with Rais, had dealt with the punks in the countryside and saved as many there as he could. He'd also dealt with the Mother - fuck Jasmine for what she'd done to him. Everything since had been due to her. The virus had spread beyond containment because of her.

 

He scrambled backward, crouching in the corner of the room, clawed hands clutching at his head in distress. If it was her... for her to see him like this? This monster he'd become? Kyle shuddered. It wasn't fair, either way. Hallucinations seemed less cruel now. Far less. What waking nightmare had he found himself in, if Jade had survived and he had turned... Cautious, luminous eyes stared toward the open doorway as he waited to see if she'd followed.

[Jade Aldemir]

The creature - Kyle - but it couldn't be Kyle - stumbled back further when she said his name. Her heart slammed into her throat, tightening her voice until she couldn't speak. It couldn't be Kyle. He was in the countryside. He wasn't as graceful, as purposefully as he hurried clumsily back to the fence around the safe zone.

 

She couldn't xall out, adrenaline screaming for her to move, to run, to do something other then stand there like an idiot. In two fluid motions, he hurled himself up and over the protective fencing, and he failed the landing in spectacular fashion, limping like a beaten dog into the closest building.

 

It was only then, when the predator was hidden away in the building that she finally felt safe enough to breathe. Fucking hell. What was going on? She couldn't back up any further, her back pressed to the building behind her like it was. She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out again, then did it again. And then those eyes gleamed out at her.

 

If it was Kyle, which shouldn't have been possible, and he was that infected... Sneakers hit concrete slowly, one after another, towards the fence the infected had vaulted. Her fingers curled in the chain link, and she stared right back at the man across from her, hidden in the shadows like a nightmare.

[Kyle Crane]

Kyle gave out what could only be described as a whimper, though due to the strange makeup of his jaws - both upper and lower - it sounded garbled, almost alien. She'd slowly followed after him, and was staring at him through the chain-link fence. Oh god. She was looking at him, while he was in the shadows, which meant she was seeing his eyes and that godforsaken glow.

 

Despair rolled over him again and his back hit the corner where the walls met. He slowly sank the rest of the way to the ground, pulled his knees up to his chest, and hid his face in his overly large clawed hands. The longer he had to focus himself, to drag his humanity to the surface, the more certain he was that he was not hallucinating.

 

A low hissing noise overlayed another sound. Soft, choked back sobs that he tried to keep hidden, silent tears being much preferred, kept slipping past his guard. God damn it! He'd been pushed too far, been put through too much in far too short a time. Something finally just... snapped and he couldn't hide the pain, the grief, and the utter misery he felt.

[Jade Aldemir]

As she watched, the creature's eyes vanished into the darkness, and her adrenaline spiked. Was he coming after her? She had no idea how the thing worked, and a low, panicked growl escaped her without her thinking about it. She fought back the instincts that clawed at her since her near turning, and that just left running. Before she could make it more then half a step back, however, a strange noise drew her attention back to the almost empty structure across from her. Dark eyes searched the shadows desperately, trying to find the source. Was he... crying? Infected didn't really cry. Virals came close, but that was brief moments of humanity before the virus took over again.

 

What the hell was going on? He was crying. Kyle Crane didn't cry. He got emotional, yes, but he didn't cry. Then again, she'd only known him a matter of a couple of weeks. What did she know about him, really? He kept things close to his chest. It'd taken him so long to tell her about working with the GRE... then again, with how she'd stormed off after -

 

That train of thought screeched to a halt and into a ditch. No. She didn't want to think about that. Not now. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to get her thoughts back on the present moment. Jade couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up and up before escaping into the infected filled streets at just the lunacy of the situation, the absurdity of it all. Slowly, she dropped to her knees, the absurdity giving way to loss and grief as the wall broke down. It was all too much, and she could only hold on for so long before something gave. "Look... look at us... a couple of..."

 

Her words failed her, her forehead resting against the chain link as she sobbed. The rain washed any immediate trace away, like in those sad American movies she'd sometimes watch as a girl. Fuck... what was wrong with her?

[Kyle Crane]

He flinched at the sharp laugh, hurt, luminescent eyes coming up to look at her out of the darkness. His shoulders still shook from his own tears, the choked noises he made as he tried to shove all his own emotions back down where they weren't on display becoming more and more strangled as the fight proved harder than expected.

 

Her own sobs shortly after the laugh had told him enough, as had her words. They were a sorry pair, sitting opposite each other, the chain link still a barrier between them. Kyle was reluctant to come out of the shadows, sure he looked even worse than he normally did, what with the broken sobs he'd been giving.

 

The rain and thunder, the harsh drumming of the rain above everything else, it was all a bit too much for his ears, but it wasn't safe to go anywhere far, even if the day was overcast. And he was reluctant to leave Jade when she cried like that, even though he felt it was his fault she was crying in the first place. Maybe if he'd been able to be honest from the start, once he knew that Brecken wasn't the man he'd been hunting...

 

But what ifs wouldn't do either of them any good now. Everything had happened, both of them had ended up in a state they'd not anticipated ever having to deal with, and now they stared at each other, infected and turned, though he hated calling himself that. It took a long moment of slow, deep breaths that were supposed to be calming (they were not) before he was able to speak. "I... it's me. I wish I wasn't me, but..." he sighed. "It's Kyle."

[Jade Aldemir]

Grief tore at her heart and into her very soul as everything crumbled around her, and thank fuck for the rain. She missed the look shot at her, of the hurt in those luminescent eyes because her own gaze was on the ground as she tried her damnedest to get the tears under control. Ahir, Rahim, her own near death, all those lost... The idea that Kyle had potentially died... it was so much that she'd tried to keep at bay, and it was taking all she had to shove it back behind her walls to function better.

 

Jade flinched as a crack of thunder announced itself, and her breathing cut off breathing as she tried to breathe and sob at the same time. That's not how this works, dumbass. She tried again at the breathing thing, taking deep breaths in, then out and wrestling back any sobs that tried to break free. So many people, so much sorrow. She couldn't be of any help when on the groud bawling like a child. Finally, she asked one of the most important questions she could think of.

 

"What the hell happened to you, Kyle?" Not the gentlest, but when was she ever gentle? She slowly lifted her head, sniffing back snot that threatened to get away from her. Ew. Her eyes burned, and she was miserable and drenched in a thunderstorm, which darkened the skies further and instinct had her glance first one way down the street and then the other for problems, but so far, it was safe.

[Kyle Crane]

Her question was harsh, but then this wasn't exactly an easy situation to wrap your head around. He had a similar question for her. How the hell was she alive? Kyle took a deep breath, though there was a low clicking noise as he did so. He really hoped she couldn't hear that over the rain and thunder.

 

"My answer may not make much sense, unless you know what I was doing in the Countryside." His voice was gruff, with an underlying hoarseness due to the changes to his throat and jaw structure. He hated it. "I'm going to assume Lena told you about the man who found his way to us in the Tower, and the ramblings about the Mother."

 

Fuck Jasmine, he thought angrily, before turning his focus back to Jade. The rain had to be uncomfortable. Did he offer to brave the UV for her, or did he ask her to risk being in the dark but dry building with him? Both were bad options for one of them.

 

"We should choose a spot, either in here or back with the strongest of the UVs for you." Once they'd decided that, he could tell his story, and ask some hard questions of his own.

[Jade Aldemir]

She was getting tired of struggling to hear him over the rain and thunder, but she definitely didn't hear the low clicking. It was too quiet over all the noise. She nodded at the question she could hear. Yeah, Lena had told her about that guy. He hadn't lived much longer past when Kyle had left the Tower to find out about that 'Cure' the poor guy had talked about.

 

A shiver ran down her spine and back up as the rain started to chill her to the bone. She looked one way, then another, checking again for the streets to be clear before she finally just crawled up over the fence and landed on the other side. She carefully stood and once again looked around, before sprinting across the alley toward the dark building.

 

Again, what the hell was she doing? Being stupid, that's what she was doing. She tucked around the doorframe to hide, and to keep her well away from Kyle all the same. She shivered, but not because of fear. Because of cold. She had made her decision and acted on it before she could change her own mind. Besides, she could easily get away, right?

 

"So we're not yelling back and forth and drawing something nasty in." Jade fronted as her reasoning. Still, her instincts were alert and aware of the predator across the room from her.

[Kyle Crane]

He was actually quite surprised when she chose to come into the building with him. Granted she was right beside the doorway, as far as she could get from him, but the fact she'd come in where he was? What was she thinking? Thank God that he didn't lose himself in dark areas like Jasmine. Clearing his throat, the noise hoarse, he spoke again. "Surprised you came in here. But uh, yeah, not yelling would be good. Though-"

 

He glanced down at himself and sighed, then stood up to his full height - he wasn't nearly as large, bulky, or tall as a demolisher or even a goon, and he wasn't as misshapen as a volatile either - not in quite the same ways, anyway, but he was larger than he'd been as a human. Maybe 6'6 or so. And heavy enough to damage things when he landed on them. "Nothing here actually stays around if I'm nearby. I don't know about at night - I'll tell you about that in a moment - but during the day, if I growl at something, it goes away."

 

He moved further into the shadows, away from the door and where Jade stood, hoping to give her a bit more space and reassurance. He then turned a portable lantern on, setting it down next to him. It flickered, but stayed on, despite having a fairly large dent from him falling on it. He crouched, sitting on the balls of his feet, then rolled a UV flashlight to Jade. "Not sure if you've got yours on you, and I don't really need this now, but... if it'll make you feel more secure."

 

He'd tried to smile, but with the scarves up, she'd only see his eyes crinkle, if that. Right. Time to get to the details of what he'd been up to until his life had come crashing down on him. He made a chuffing noise, though it was more of a sigh than a chuckle - some human noises just didn't translate well now. Ugh. "I'd gotten a lot of answers - found out the military was up to something out there. Think the whole virus, the infected, it's all because of them working with the GRE to weaponize it. I knew there were files - those obviously got released, but I'd thought they were taking something already there and weaponizing it. Now? I think they made the whole fucking thing."

[Jade Aldemir]

Kyle seemed surprised she'd approach, and honestly, so was she at her own behavior. She'd have skinned her brother for similar in the past, and here she was, being stupid and not being safe. He agreed that not shouting was good, but... up and up he stood and the petite woman's eyes went wide in the shadows of the room. When did he get so big? He wasn't so tall and broad before. She shifted her weight but pushed down the instinct to run. He wasn't being threatening, just proving a point. What is wrong with you? Calm down, she reprimanded herself.

 

He wasn't a volatile, not quite, but then what was he? Something new. Something entirely new, and that scared her. Toads spat, bombers exploded, virals threw tantrums. Kyle? She had no idea what would happen if the lights went out. She knelt down, scooping up the UV flashlight he rolled her way. Hers was busted on her hip, more for show then anything to make sure the other survivors at the Tower didn't worry. It wasn't the batteries, but rather the bulb itself that was busted, and she wasn't sure how many of the tiny flashlight bulbs anyone had at this point.

 

She stood back up and folded her arms over her chest, the light still in her hand as she turned her attention back to him, the light he turned on flickering and casting eerie shadows across his already eerie silhouette. It made it difficult for her eyes to discern if he was moving or not, and it put her on edge. Dammit all. Still, his eyes crinkled behind those scarves - at least, she thought they had - and he made a strange noise akin to a sigh before he started talking.

 

The woman shivered as now that she was out of the direct rain, what had already soaked her sank further into her bones, chilling her. She paid it no attention though, her attention fiercely focused on the man across from her. Her face screwed up into a confused though disgusted expression the more he talked, though. "Why would a humanitarian group do something like that, though?"

[Kyle Crane]

Crane fiddled with the scarves around his face, then slid the lamp halfway through the room so it would light both of them up fairly well. Hopefully. He flopped down fully this time, legs outstretched in front of him. While he could still move faster than she could, she didn't need to know that. "They weren't as much a humanitarian group as they seemed. They just represented themselves that way, but with governments funding them, was easy for military to have 'em in their pockets."

 

Sighing, that chuffing noise again, he shook his head. So much pain and death could have been avoided had the greed of governments not convinced the GRE to research ways to weaponize rabies. He was fairly certain it'd been spliced with the flu or something of the sort, though he'd not taken time to read the whole of the files before heading to the countryside to search for a more immediate cure than the one being worked on.

 

"The 'cure' wasn't one at all. It's what turned me into... this. It's the reason I am still myself. Though that's only during daylight hours. I need to be far away before we even hit sunset." He shifted, clawed hands scraping on the floor as he did so. The 'cure' had been a curse, nothing more. He hated himself, hated what he'd become and hated that he'd failed so many.

 

Kyle was almost afraid to ask but he needed to know. "How... how are things back at the Tower. I overheard some chatter about being good on food and water, as well as having a fair stock of antizin, but... really - how's it looking?" It'd been a couple months since he'd last talked to anyone, before Jasmine had damned him to this fate.

 

This wasn't easy for him, but he knew it was probably even less so for Jade. This was her home, not just from the time of the outbreak on, but where she'd grown up. "I can tell you more about what happened out there, or I can tell you about... about..." He took a deep breath, fighting with his emotions. His voice was still hoarse, and you could tell he'd been crying. "...what I am."

[Jade Aldemir]

He messed with the cloth around his face, as if thinking, before he shoved the latern further into the room. Now, instead of casting him in shifting, flickering shadows, the shadows now danced and writhed across the walls and ceilings like twisted, harmless versions of a child's bad dreams. The man-beast across from her flopped down hard on the floor, and her shoulders relaxed again. Jade hadn't even realized her shoulders had been so tensely knitted until that moment, not until they ached in protest to how tightly they'd been held. Still, her eyes narrowed at the idea of the GRE being in the pocket of her country's military. "Seriously?"

 

Again, that strange noise - a chuff or something- and he shook his head thanks to everything that followed the government's decisions. At least, that's how she interpreted the action at any rate. A growl threatened to claw free from her throat and she instead cleared it to dispel that need. Her brows furrowed more, lending her an all too familiar scowl she often had when dealing with certain people around the Tower and around town in general. There was a hint of concern there too, though. What did he mean by he needed to be far away before the sun had set? And how did that tie in with what had happened to him physically? And then he had the guts to ask about the tower. How did she answer?

 

"With that bastard Rais gone, things are doing better. We have food - the gardens are helping a lot, plenty of water, and the GRE's started dropping Antizin once in a while again. Morale, though..." She trailed off, her lips quirking to the side in frustration. The longer this went on, the more UV bulbs burned out, broke, or otherwise went missing. Being confined to a single building - even if it was a huge 24 story high building - drove a lot of people stir crazy, especially the kids. Her heart broke quietly in her chest for them and the lost innocence they'd never get back. "People are getting antsy and worried. Dr. Camden is still working on things, but... a lot of people are starting to wonder if a cure, a proper cure, will be found."

 

It was a depressing thought, but it was better to be honest, especially with him. She eyed him still, trying to make out details past all the layers of clothing he wore to hide himself. The Scorpion jumped when a particularly bad peal of thunder rolled through nearly over their heads, but she otherwise didn't say anything about it. "What did you mean by you were still yourself and needed to be far away before sunset?"

[Kyle Crane]

Kyle stared upward toward the sky, his eyes baleful as he squinted at the storm in frustration and some irritation. Overcast skies he could get behind, as it was far less bright, far less painful on his eyes. He was glad that the GRE was at least giving them antizin, to bolster their supplies. The news that their garden and other attempts to try and make things livable were working was good news, but he knew the place was a bit of a powder keg. Especially now with Spike and some of the others gone.

 

She wanted to know about him, specifically about what he'd said about being himself and being far away before sundown. She needed to know, and he'd started that conversation already. "My mind is not my own after dark. I become no better than the nightmares that already prowl the streets."

 

He shuddered, closing his eyes in shame. "Because of that, I try to be out in the countryside where I know only Rais' men or bandits are, or I position myself near the largest of the areas Rais men still have in the city." Dropping his head to his chest, he wouldn't look at her. "I've done terrible things as the night hunter.

 

"I know the monster is me, but it doesn't feel like me. I don't remember the nights. I just wake up in the midst of shattered lives and dreams."

 

He hated it. All of it. Cautiously looking up at her, he hesitated. Did he dare? She was likely to run away if she saw him and he wasn't sure he could bear that. "Do you want to see what I look like so that you know what to look for after dark?"

[Jade Aldemir]

Terrible howling screams echoing across the city. Shredded bodies, glinting bones shining in morning light. Panicked pleas cut off midword, leaving nothing but static on the airways. He was laying claim to it all, with sad, sad eyes that wished he wasn't. Jade stared, her mouth slightly agape in shock. No better then the nightmares that already prowl the streets. His words echoed in her head, bouncing off the walls like some twisted corridor.

 

How many? How many people had he taken out after he'd turned? That chism made itself known, loud and clear in her mind. The Kyle she knew and remembered and the monster he'd become. Her shoulders tensed, her spine stiffened. And then he closed his eyes and looked away in what she could only assume was shame. It was hard to read his body language, given it was so different then what she was used to dealing with. A slight smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, though, when he told her where he tended to go as it neared sunset. Served those men right. But still, he refused to look at her, to meet her gaze anymore.

 

Jade didn't know what to do. She never was good at this kind of thing. Reassuring and comforting hadn't ever been her strong suit, and so she just awkwardly stood there, her arms folded over her chest. Carefully, he finally looked at her and she tried to make her face as stoic as possible, though curiosity piqued at his question. No better then the nightmares...

 

She nodded.

[Kyle Crane]

Though he couldn't bear to look at her at first, he'd been able to sense the change in her energy. Plus he could hear Jade's heart hammering in her chest. Her breathing had also increased, though it felt like she was trying to keep her fear under wraps. Unfortunately, his strong sense of smell gave her away - a sickly, almost acrid smell, fear. And while it was faint at the start, now it was almost a punch to the face.

 

And even with that, she wanted to see what he looked like. His own fear surged, his heart thudding hard and fast as fear spiked. But he had to keep that under control, so he didn't lose control of his instincts. He wasn't sure how he'd respond to Jade. Taking a deep breath, he began to unwind the various scarves.

 

"I generally hide these away so I can come back for them in the morning. That way they stay relatively intact." His voice was becoming less muffled as the innermost layers of scarves came off. Next came the hood that he kept firmly in place usually. Keeping his jaws snapped shut, he pulled it down, trying not to look up and see Jade's reaction to the horror in front of her.

 

He pulled his fingerless gloves off, and then the hand-wraps were next, and took even longer to undo than the scarves had. As he loosened them, the changes to his arms became more apparent, even though he kept the hands and arms tightly closed.

 

"This is what I look like. I think there are changes that happen once the sun goes down, but as I'm not me, I have no real way to confirm that. Just split seconds of agony in my feet, arms, and back." He gave a shrug, his shoulders hunching as he waited for her reaction, expecting an unpleasant one.