Risen

Chapter One

Danny shifted in her sleeping bag, the cold ground refusing to give her one night of peace. Sighing, she started packing up the camp. The broad sword slipped easily in its sheath as she put its on her back with her sleeping bag over it. From her belt hung twin short swords and a hunting knife, allowing her freedom of almost soundness movement. She was an undead soldier, walkers were like a day in the park for her.

Slipping soundlessly from the build, she made her way through the walker invested parking lot. Stupid creatures, she mused. They mistook her for one of their own, a monster with no soul or thought except for mindless hunger. Well they were right about the mindless hunger but she wasn't a monster.

There was only one reason she was still alive. She starved. She couldn't feed off the infected or she too would walk among their ranks. The few humans she did find were tainted or weak from hunger and not worth her time. Everyone strong and pure in this cruel world had been tainted and turned.

As she watched the strength of humanity fail, so too did her own strength. The lack of fresh blood was slowing her down and making her reaction time lessen. She was still far above a human's strength but she was fading fast.

Then she caught it, the scent of pure human blood. She growled and raced to the source of the scent, fangs bared and eyes glowing red. All thoughts of self control was gone as the cry for blood was too strong. Soon the body of a young girl came into sight. She could neither see her face nor the source of her bleeding. As she drew closer she could not tell whether the girl was alive or dead, but the scent of blood was getting stronger with each step she took. Her own breathing began to quicken, and as she felt something tight beginning to squeeze her stomach, she reached towards the girl with trembling hands. But something was wrong... she couldn't hear the beat of a human heart, nor the race of blood through her veins... was the girl dead? Fighting against the bloodlust, she turned sharply, fully intending to leave.

Suddenly, a trembling, weak hand grabbed her ankle, and with one, surprisngly strong tug, she found herself yanked sharly to the ground. Against her better judgement, she let out a high shriek, thus calling attention to both her and the girl.

In a weak, shaking voice, the girl let out a cry. "Please, please help me! Oh, god..."

The words sent a flare of panic through Danny's mind, but the wonder of the situation was slowly pushing through her hunger and despair. It didn't take much to purswade her to turn around, to inspect the cause of her sudden concern.

She'd.... Danny swallowed. The world seemed different somehow, turned upside down and sideways on its axis, and the chains that had once held her firmly to the earth's ground had seemed to... shift, in the direction of the girl's own slight, petite frame. Her long, muddy brown hair was held back into a tight ponytail, masked with a fading teal coloring.

Danny's hands twitched as she fought back the urge to run them through the thick, matted locks, and she swallowed drily. A warm stream of blood poured down her shirt; the girl was bleeding out!

Suddenly overcome with a sensation of sheer terror, she flipped the girl over onto her back. She started to panic. 'Shit, shit, shit!' She thought, the haze of panic clouding her better judgement. What was she going to DO?

The blood was singing to her, a sweet, delicate sound which made her senses tingle and her hair on the back of her neck stand up on end. She lifted her hand up- they were both covered in the stuff- and inhaled deeply.

Just one taste....

Just one taste. Nothing more .

Just one....