Chapter 21: Scarface
Out of his one good eye, he stared at the injured and bleeding human before him in pure white hot rage. Never before had he suffered such humiliation, such pain, and all because he played with his food.
Scarface heard the other two issue a light grunt before running off to safety. He could sense it as well. Their natural enemy, the Sun.
He had to leave, the same as his pack, or he would turn to dust if given enough time. But then, the human said something. Although Scarface could not speak their repulsive language, he could understand it.
"Come on you fuck! You wanna continue bitch?! Huh, Scarface?!" The filthy thing was... taunting him.
Scarface gritted his teeth in absolute fury. Even as the Sun began shining down on him, burning his armor and flesh, he refused to move. The pain was overwhelming, and pushed his mind to it's limits. His mouth opened and he started letting out groans in an effort to alleviate some of the pain, to no avail.
Could he do it? Run over right now and kill him before he died to this cursed light? There was no guarantee. Although he looks down on these inferior lifeforms, their small ranged weapons seem to be able to hurt him. Especially the older one. His was powerful enough to break through their armor, no matter how little damage it might have done it was still a major feat.
Scarface was beyond frustrated with his inability to kill this insufferable cockroach. He let loose one final roar that contained all of his pent up emotions before running off towards the direction his pack members went.
As soon as he entered the manhole and escaped the light, he began thrashing around in uncontrollable rage. Every punch cracked the concrete walls of the sewer and his roars would echo for hundreds of feet, alerting nearby Night Hunters that were also seeking refuge from the Sun.
The two Night Hunters that had joined him last night could understand what was happening. But that didn't stop them from looking at their 'brother' in contempt. To be injured by a weak human...
After calming down slightly, Scarface noticed the wounds on his body healing. The light from that big ball of fire in the sky would halt their incredible regeneration. The minor burns on his flesh and armor healed within a few minutes, but his eye would take far longer.
He could sense the gaze coming from the others. With that one look, he knew he had been expelled. His anger at that human intensified twicefold.
As the other two Night Hunters walked away, Scarface looked at their backs with his one venomous eye. He contemplated attacking them, but decided against it. One on one he was confident, but there was a good chance the other would join in. And that would spell death for him.
After an hour had passed, and a lot of itchiness, his other eye had fully healed. Touching it with his clawed and armored hand, he could still feel the pain of when it was ripped out.
He had the urge to remove it, to remind himself of the humiliation he felt and to keep him cautious against any prey. But he knew he had to keep it. Two eyes would always be better than one.
Scarface never wanted what happened last night to happen again. To feel so powerless, for the second time in his life. It was somewhat tolerable when facing those 'monsters', as they were superior lifeforms, but to feel it against a human? A weak, slow, worthless, and retarded thing? He couldn't stand it.
'Never again. Not even against... them.' Scarface gritted his teeth.
There was only one way he knew to gain more power. It was a feeling that came from within him, deep within. Something instinctual in not just Night Hunters, but seemingly all infected. Consume. The more they consumed, the stronger they became.
But going after the common infected would be worthless. The increase they bring is minscule. What he truly needed, were the special ones. Maybe that's how 'they' came to be?
Unfortunately there was plenty of daylight left, so the only ones he could currently go after were his own kind. However, that in itself would give him an advantage as most of his kind chose this time to sleep and replenish themselves. Even though he himself was a little tired, he refused to fall asleep because he saw this as the perfect opportunity.
Scarface went down on all fours and began moving in the opposite direction that the two Night Hunters went down. To a normal human, they would barely be able to see a foot or two in front of them in this dark tunnel. But Scarface and his people were different as natural night vision allowed them to peer into any darkness.
His eyes were constantly on the lookout, searching for the lone wolves. The lone wolves were Night Hunters that were without a pack and were almost always alone. But Scarface needed to be cautious when facing them.
Since they always had to watch their own backs, their ruthlessness, cunning, and strength were at an all time high. Even though they were better than an average Hunter, and rarely held back to play with their food, it was still more favorable than facing two on one.
However, besides the occasional deformed rat, he wasn't able to find anything. Just as Scarface was about to call it quits and retire for the day, he peeked around a corner to see a Hunter curled up in a ball fast asleep. His moment had arrived.
Slowly, Scarface approached the sleeping killing machine and tried to make his steps as silent as possible. Even his breathing became shallower. His eyes only left his prey for a brief instance to glance at the water running down the middle of the tunnel.
Once he was just a few feet away, Scarface suddenly lunged at the unsuspecting Hunter's neck with his clawed hand. Aiming for the gap in the armor, he struck with swiftness and precision. Unfortunately, just as he was about to land a lethal blow, the Hunter was able to sense the danger and opened his eyes.
Seeing the incoming strike, the Hunter was barely able to shift his body out of the way to minimize the damage. Scarface's claws sliced his throat open, producing a high amount of blood along with a scream of pain, but wasn't able to deal the killing blow. The Hunter kicked Scarface in the chest, making him slide a few steps back as he himself widened the distance.
Scarface was frustrated his sneak attack failed, but pressed onwards. He couldn't give the Hunter time to recuperate. His tongue shot out like a bullet towards the gaps in his opponent's armor, trying to distract him and cause more wounds as he closed the distance. The Hunter was slightly delirious and disoriented due to the lack of blood and being woken up, but was still no slouch when it came to fighting. Especially when it came to his own kind.
Although the Hunter saw through Scarface's plan, he acted like he hadn't noticed and suffered multiple slices across his flesh willingly.
Seeing everything work in his favor Scarface, while still using his tongue, struck out with his left clawed hand towards the Hunter's still open and bleeding throat. But then, something changed. His opponent who was seemingly completely overwhelmed, ducked out of nowhere and delivered a nasty uppercut to Scarface's jaw.
Due to the force of the blow, Scarface's body was sent upwards into the now cracked ceiling of the sewer headfirst. His skull was constantly ringing as he crashed back down to the ground.
Had he learnt nothing? The same overconfidence as before.
He got to his feet just in time to see the Hunter's angry face and wide open jaw clamp down onto his throat. They tumbled to the ground and rolled for several feet before stopping, with the Hunter on top.
Scarface screamed in pain as the Hunter tried to rip his flesh and armor out with his sharp teeth. Scarface tried punching him and scratching him with his claws, but he refused to let go and instead went deeper. Suddenly, he thought of a certain someone.
With his right hand along with some flexibility, he managed to reach around the Hunter's head and dig his two sharp fingers into one of his eyes. Finally, his throat was released as the Hunter roared in extreme pain while holding his bleeding eye socket.
Flipping the Hunter over so he was on top, Scarface began raining down elbows and punches into his opponent's head. It was all going well, until his right fist was grabbed mid swing.
The Hunter gritted his teeth in both pain and anger as he socked his opponent across the face with his other hand. He quickly got to his feet and rushed for the downed Scarface who was starting to get up. When he was just a few feet away, his head suddenly tilted to the left in order to dodge a wild tongue.
Taking the opportunity where the Hunter was slightly distracted, Scarface closed the distance and was able to wrap his arms around his opponent's waist. Using all his strength he threw the Hunter into the wall, which cracked severely upon impact.
Dazed, the Hunter tried to get up but was too slow. Scarface grabbed his head and roughly threw him into the water. The Hunter flailed around and tried to get back to the surface. He almost made it, but soon found two hands holding him down.
As Night Hunters did not have gills, the Hunter began drowning immediately. He tried fighting back any way he could, but found a lack of strength due to blood loss and his other injuries.
The Hunter thrashed around, desperately trying to push Scarface off of him. He didn't want to die. Not like this.
But Scarface didn't budge. Using all his strength, he held down the Hunter's head until he eventually stopped moving. However, after what happened last time, he didn't relent until over thirty minutes had passed.
Pulling him out of the water, Scarface looked at his new kill with no pride at all. Again he had let his guard down and nearly paid the price in death. Next time, would be different.
Leaving those thoughts behind, he started to dig in to his meal. Armor and all. After half an hour, the only thing left was a heap of bones piled on top of one another. Already, Scarface could feel the improvement. Strength, speed, eyesight, claws. Every part of him became better. Sharper. More lethal.
Of course, he didn't suddenly become stronger than most other Night Hunters, but it was still a good increase nonetheless.
As Scarface looked at the bones, he got an idea. The bones of a Night Hunter were very strong, currently better than his claws and teeth. If he could fashion them into a weapon...
However, that would have to wait. The battle left him exhausted and drowsy. He couldn't just sleep here on the floor or he would risk getting attacked, just like how he did it to the Hunter. Taking a few bones with him, he dragged his tired body over to a nearby pipe and looked inside.
It was just wide enough to fit his body and would also allow him to hide himself. Climbing inside, he curled up into a ball with the bones still in his hands and fell asleep within moments.
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Scarface's eyes opened from his dreamless sleep upon sensing night descend. He felt good, powerful. His wounds were fully healed and his energy was at an all time high. Climbing out of the pipe, he left the bones inside as he decided to make this his temporary home. Crafting them into weapons would have to wait until daytime.
Already Scarface could hear the roars of his kind as they woke up, ready for the hunt. Leaving his pipey home, he backtracked his way to the manhole he entered earlier. He jumped up and climbed through the opening, breathing in the delightful nightly air once more. And he wasn't the only one.
Multiple packs of Night Hunters left through the same hole he did and went off in search of prey. As for him, Scarface used his incredible parkour skills to scale the same building he lost his eye in. Arriving on the roof, he noticed the pool of blood Jason left behind from his many wounds.
Although the majority of it had dried, there was still some remaining in liquid form. Getting down to one knee, Scarface put two fingers into the blood and brought it up to his face to be licked. But as soon as he tasted it, he had a confused look to his face.
'It tastes, different.'
Unlike humans or infected, Jason's blood was far more delicious then anything else he had tasted. He even had an urge to start cleaning the roof with his tongue. Fortunately, the desire wasn't strong enough to make him do that. The strange thing was, he had tasted Jason's blood before and while good wasn't this addictive.
But Scarface didn't really care enough to continue thinking about this. He started heading down the stairs and was about to go further down to Jason's room, when he stopped at the 6th floor. Inside he could hear a voice speaking.
Sneaking his way closer to the voice, he came upon a room being illuminated by a bright light. Peeking inside, Scarface saw two familiar faces. One belonged to the fat meatball he briefly saw before, and the other was one he could never forget. His nemesis.
The instant he saw him, Scarface's gritted his teeth with murderous intent. He wanted nothing more than to rush in and kill the both of them but he waited, curious about what Zach had to say.
"And that's about what happened today. I don't even know why I talk to you. You probably don't even hear me." Zach sighed, but continued talking nonetheless.
"I'm really starting to think Lily doesn't like me. At least not in that way. But I won't give up! She'll fall for my determination!" Zach's fist pumped toward the sky, making Scarface doubt the intelligence and sanity of the fat one.
"Anyway, that's it for now I think. I'm pretty tired. I'll come back to talk to you tomorrow like this. I, um, hope you wake up soon. I miss you. Not like that of course!" Saying that, Zach got up and grabbed his flashlight.
When Scarface saw Zach get up and walk towards him, he looked around for a hiding spot. Instead of hiding in one of the rooms, he jumped up and stuck his claws into the roof. Using his fingers and toenails, he was held in place as Zach walked out of the room.
As for the man himself, he could have sworn he heard something. He used his flashlight to look all around, but failed to spot anything. Holding his head with his other hand, he started chuckling.
"I think I'm spending too much time with Jason. His insanity is rubbing off on me. But, this place sure is spooky at night though." With a shiver starting to go down his spine, he hurridely walked out of the 6th floor and went to bed. Not even knowing how close he was to death if his eyes simply turned upwards.
Jumping back to the ground, Scarface looked Zach's way with contempt and shaked his head.
'To not even check the ceiling for an enemy. What an amateur.'
He then walked into Jason's temporary hospital room and stopped just at the foot of his bed. Looking down at that disgusting face made his anger that had just died down, begin to boil once more. Scarface placed his clawed hand against the sleeping beauty's throat and began squeezing tightly.
Jason started suffocating as the hand around his throat refused to let up. Unconsciously, his brain tried fighting back any way it could by moving his body erratically. Almost seizure-like.
After a few seconds Scarface took back his hand and allowed Jason to breathe once more, returning to his peaceful rest. He wanted nothing more than to end this pathetic cockroach's life, but instead he chose a different path. One that would have lasting effects.
'Far too easy for you. I will make you suffer, such unimaginable pain that you will beg for it to end. Then, I shall grant you the mercy of death.' This was also the reason why he let Zach live. He wanted their relationship to be as thick as thieves and grow even stronger. Because only then, would his demise bring even more suffering to Jason.
After spitting a giant glob of snot onto Jason's face, which gave him a smile at last, Scarface left the apartment building by jumping off the balcony and onto the streets below.
For the next few hours, he searched high and low for any special infected to consume. Unfortunately, like the common ones, they too hide during the night to avoid the Hunter's gaze.
Although he did see one special infected, the chance of him winning against that giant beast without a pack of at least five to support him was zero.
Suddenly, he heard the screams of humans not too far away from his current position. He rushed towards the origin of the noise with glee. A good human meal would lift his spirits of this disappointing night.
When he came upon a big courtyard surrounded by buildings on all sides, he paused in confusion. In his sight, he saw at least fifty Night Hunters around the place. Some were standing in the courtyard, some were on the rooftops like himself, and a few were even in the buildings by the windows. But the common denominator, was that they were all standing still. As if waiting for someone, or something.
In the middle, three humans were being held in place by their arms and legs by Night Hunters. Strangely, no one was eating them or torturing them. It was only a few seconds later did Scarface understand what was happening and once he did, terror was written all over his face.
'An Alpha!'
Before he could leave, loud footsteps started coming from a dark archway to the left. Now, it was too late.
If Scarface were to leave right now, the monster coming would chase him down. Although he likes to think himself fast, he would be caught within three seconds if he was blessed by the Zombie Gods.
Finally, making it's grand entrance, was an extremely large female Night Hunter on all fours. As soon as she left the archway she stood upright, showing her massive height. Standing at 15ft tall, this Night Hunter made everything around her seem tiny.
Like her inferior counterparts, she was outfitted with biological armor. The only difference was the lack of gaps and increased thickness which boosted her defense heavily.
All over said armor were large spikes that covered her from head to toe. Her claws, teeth, and spikes were so sharp they glistened in the night, seemingly able to cut apart reality.
Although she had the genitalia and breasts of a normal woman, they were covered up by the armor like clothing. Underneath the armor unseen, were bulging muscles containing the power to break mountains to dust.
Not only Scarface, but all Night Hunters shivered in her presence. It was an instinctual fear towards a superior being.
Scarface had met two Alphas before. Each encounter left him with a greater fear towards them.
One was like the Night Hunter before him, and the other was an Alpha variant of the Juggernaut. He will never forget watching a large pack of ten Night Hunters try and take him down, only to have their bodies crushed into paste without effort.
The Alpha Night Hunter came before the three humans who were stunned speechless in horror and looked down at them. Suddenly, a snarl came from her. Then... she spoke.
"ONLY THESE?!" Her voice bellowed out with rage, making the Night Hunters closer to her feel extreme panic.
With a backhanded strike too fast for anyone including Scarface to see, an unfortunate Hunter was blasted dozens of feet through the air. He soared so far he crashed straight through a building, and did not come out.
Scarface knew the disparity between an Alpha and normal special infected was large, but seeing it again made him feel powerless once more. Which filled him with fury. Soon, he would become just as strong as them if not stronger. But for now, he would bow his head and swallow his pride.
"GO FIND MORE!" The Alpha screamed out her orders, making all Night Hunter start running except for the ones holding down the humans.
Scarface too started going, but in a different direction. While the Alpha focused on the humans, he would take a huge risk and find the fallen Night Hunter. Jumping through the hole in the wall, Scarface landed inside and looked around. He didn't have to look hard though, as another hole leading outside caught his attention.
"AHHHH! PLEASE STOP!" The glorious screams of a human made Scarface turn around.
What he saw was the Alpha squatted next to a human male. Her foot and a half long index claw was slowly slicing open the man from chest to stomach, a horrific smile etched onto her face. Of course, she made sure to take her time with it.
When fully opened, the man was forced to watch as the Alpha grabbed his intestines and pulled them out. Bringing them to her mouth, she began eating them as if they were spaghetti. And all the while, that man was still alive. Forced to suffer insanity inducing pain. The other humans were screaming and struggling to break free, but their puny strength was no match for the Night Hunters holding them.
As for their pleading, their crying? She relished in it, savored it.
Scarface decided to leave now before her sights set on him. Coming to the edge of the broken wall, he peered down to see the crumpled up body of the Night Hunter who was struck by the Alpha. Once he jumped down and got close, he was able to see the full damage done.
It's head that took the brunt of the impact was completely gone, like it was disintegrated. The limbs were twisted into unnatural positions and the bones were protruding out, fully broken. The armor, that Scarface thought powerful, was nearly destroyed.
'Just one casual punch did all this?'
Scarface then grabbed the body and carried it on his back while running home. Eating it here would risk incurring the Alpha's wrath and that would be... unwise.