The Warmest Cold

"We couldn't let you go alone." Donovan explains nervously. He's afraid of me. In his hand is another tree branch, a thicker one this time. "Thank you for…trying. I'm sorry I was rude to you before." The college aged boy lowers his branch and extends his hand. "What's your name?" Standing there, I shake his hand this time, if nothing else, then for Yin's sake. As she learns more about becoming a Hunter she'll need people she can trust to party with.

"I'm Lin." I say simply. "Bring me some wood and I'll make a fire so we can dry off." The three males go to gather wood while Yin stares at Crassia for the longest time. The pink haired girl comes over to me while we wait.

"Hi, Lin. I'm Rui! It's nice to meet you!" She says warmly. It's a stark contrast to how she treated me last time. "You saved our lives. Even if you couldn't help Crassia, I'm glad we met you!" The girl gets a little too close for my comfort. "How'd you become so strong? Do you want to protect me?"

"…" I shy away uncomfortably as she presses her body uncomfortably close to my elbow. Undeterred, she sidles closer again. Through my wet coat-sleeve, I can feel her soft body pushing against my arm. She intentionally brushes against me and it feels too much like Crassia's body did, too soft. I'm saved when the others return with wood. As I walk away, I see a glint of annoyance in Rui's eyes.

"Here." I take out a piece of flint and strike it a few times with my cleaver. Sparks fly and catch on some of the tinder the boys have prepared. Bending down, I blow on the embers until they ignite. A roaring fire soon comes, spreading welcome warmth and chasing away the shadows. This deep in the forest, I'm not too worried about anything coming for us because the trees should block the light. "The sun will be coming up soon. I recommend sleeping in the morning while the undead are also asleep. That way, at night, you'll be awake when they come out."

"That's smart." The darker skinned boy with dreadlocks smiles as he comes by the fire to warm up. "You know so much man. If we were as strong as you are, it'd be so much easier to survive." To this, I can only sigh. I'm not strong anymore. You guys are just too weak. The fire burns and my clothes begin to dry. At some point, the others move away, clustering together to sleep. I don't go towards them. Instead, I go and find a slanted tree trunk to put my back against. It's still nighttime, and though I don't think there's any evil nearby, it doesn't hurt to be careful. To my surprise, Yin walks over after a while. She stands shyly next to me before sitting.

"Do you need something?" I ask. However, she just shakes her head. Together we watch the fire burn down to empty cinders. When the last log crumbles to ash, she suddenly leans against me. Her long black hair tickles my forearm as her body comes to rest against my shoulder. I stiffen, but I sense no malice in her.

"Thank you." She whispers to me, her head snuggled onto my chest. I hear a sniff and a warm tear lands on my dry shirt. "You came from nowhere. You saved me. I'm just…without you…we all would have…" Sobs break out and I feel her hands searching for mine. Though I know I shouldn't allow myself to get close to her, I can't resist. In this world, without Sasha, or James, or the others, I've been all alone. I shouldn't let myself hope, but in this moment, I really want to believe that the world will be a better place. I wrap her up in my arms, and rock her to sleep as the moon begins to set. Without realizing it, once she has begun to snore gently, like a purring cat, I begin to nod off myself.

Yin, your name might mean cold, but right now you are the only warm thing to me!

#

I'm awoken to voices in the darkness. A twig snaps in the distance. I struggle to get up, but there's something on me. Yin mumbles in her sleep as I try to get out from under her. Then something smashes into my head.

*Crack*

I'm just a Lvl. 1 Hunter. A rock to the skull is still very much lethal. My world explodes. Yin awakens and shrieks as she sees my blood in the moonlight.

"What are you doing!" She screams as Donovan raises the rock again. The other girl with the pink hair…what was her name again…Rui. She kicks my hand, knocking away the butcher's knife. The dark skinned boy and the other one whose name I don't know drag Yin off of me. The warmth of her body leaves me and I'm empty. Cold. The only heat on me comes from my head and the rapidly cooling liquid flowing from my skull. I let me guard down. "He saved us! Why are you…MMMF?!" The dark skinned boy stuffs a piece of cloth into Yin's mouth and she can do nothing but stare me with terrified regret in her eyes. Her fingers dig into the dirt as Rui leers down at me.

"Donovan, wait." She leans down, my butcher's knife in hand. The pink haired girl crouches by my head, placing my own weapon on my neck. The blade feels ice cold. She grins, a sick, lecherous smile. "I heard you back there. These Hunters, I've always wondered how to become strong like them. Like you…"

"Is that so?" I say angrily. However, with the boys stepping on my hands and legs, I can't move. Red is covering the edges of my vision and my blood pounds painfully, growing worse with every second. My brain is filling with blood. "You're going to regret this. Just walk away. You still have time." The little pink haired pixie girl only grins wider. She leans in, her breath sickly sweat over my face. Her hair forms a curtain over me and I feel my knife pressing deeper into my throat.

"Hahaha, as if I would be that stupid! I know you lied!" Rui laughs as she begins to draw the blade across my jugular. "You told Yin you were Lvl 1. But that's impossible, you know so much. You must be a higher level, and when I kill you, I'll take it all!" Over by the side, I can hear the Yin's panicked struggles, her attempts to shout through her gag. Somehow she must have gotten it off.

"Please don't!" She cries. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know! You have to believe me, I didn't…!"

*Splurt*