FSE

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Sophie stood, frozen in front of the young boy. The machine in her paw indicated that he was infected, but he was not showing any signs of aggression or change. The only thing different about him were his eyes-- sharp gold mixed with blood spots in the iris. As she stared at the boy, she could see him staring back at her in fear. Usually, the blood spots did not show up in the eyes until the infection had completely spread through the body. It was obvious that the boy was overtaken by the virus at an alarming rate, but he was still calm and seemed, for the most part, unaffected.

"Andy, I need you to come with me." She said softly.

As the boy rose to his feet, Sophie felt her heart pounding faster in her ears. She was taking a big risk for something as small as a hunch, and although she was putting herself into danger, part of her knew she was doing the right thing. She slipped the gun back into its rightful pocket after turning the safety back on, and she slowly reached out her paw to the little boy. Since the boy had been hesitant before, Sophie almost jumped out of her fur when he took her paw almost immediately.

"Stay close to me. Do you understand? If you don't stay close, the men that are looking for you might shoot. Stay behind me at all times." Sophie said in her motherly tone to the young boy.

"I understand Sophie." Andy said as he tightened his grip on Sophie's paw.

With a nod, Sophie began moving to the door once again. The men were most likely on their way to this side of the building already, and Sophie knew she had to get to the mother that had been with the boy. She needed to talk to her before the infection to over.

As she started walking down the hall, she kept the young boy tucked behind her. It wasn't long before she could see lights dancing in circles on the hallway wall. As she walked towards them, dark figures appeared behind the beams, and she knew the men had put on their protective suits in case of an attack.

"Stop!" One yelled as he saw Sophie in the hall, lifting his gun in her direction.

Standing her ground, Sophie tightened her paw and pulled the boy closer to the small of her back. The men wouldn't hesitate to shoot her if they thought she was infected. She knew that for a fact, but she had to try to get by them.

"It's me, Sophie," She said urgently. "Please lower your guns. I need to talk to the woman or man that came in. Please!"

As she spoke, Andy poked his head around her waist enough for them to see his eyes. The little boy had been curious, but Sophie knew what was coming. Quickly, she pulled him back behind her as the shot was fired, and within a second, a sharp pain erupted in her body. It was hard not to just scream and fall to her knees, but she was stronger than that. Looking down, she could see blood starting to flow out of the new hole in her jacket. The pain was almost unbearable, but she kept holding onto the boy, refusing to let go.

As they all stood in silence, Sophie realized that if the boy was infected, he would try to bite at her arm. The infected loved the smell of blood, but as she imagined the boy attacking her, the little boy just hugged to her back, whimpering. He was scared, and Sophie took another step forward, making the men take one step back.

"Let me through ass holes." She said in an angry, almost demonic, voice.

Pain was still vibrating through her muscles, making them ache, and she knew she needed to get her arm tied up soon. She could bleed out if she didn't do anything at all, and the thought of Nate alone crossed her mind, almost bringing tears to her eyes more than the stinging pain.

"Don't take another step or we'll shoot!" The male in the front yelled.

"Let me by." She hissed.

"The boy is infected. We have to kill him."

Taking another step forward, Sophie dared the male to take another shot at her. Blood was dripping down off of her fingertips as she stood in the hall, making a small puddle begin to form. She couldn't move her arm without getting light headed, but she held onto the boy with her other paw. As the male lifted his gun once more, Sophie stood her ground. The male's finger rested lightly on the trigger, and he slowly started to pull.

"What the fuck is going on?" Came a deep, booming voice.

The voice was very familiar to Sophie, and as a male stepped through the crowd, she could see that she was correct. It was David, one of Nate's longtime friends.

"Captain, this woman is h-holding the escaped boy behind her. He is infected, and we must kill h-him." The male who had fired the first shot said with a stutter.

As Sophie looked past the bright lights, she could see the male that shot her was a feline just like herself, but as the male looked up at the tall wolf, he seemed to be terrified, and for a good reason too, David didn't earn the nickname Captain for nothing. He was considered the alpha male of the colony.

"You shot her? Don't you know who this woman is? She's our doctor you fuck, and as soon as Nate finds out what you did, you'll be a dead man. I'd sleep with one eye open. Give me that gun!" David said with a deep growl as he ripped the gun from the small feline's paws.

Sophie let out a soft sigh of relief. David had been a friend to both Nate and her for a long time, and she knew if anyone could help her, he would. As she stood with the boy, her head started to feel light. The adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins before was beginning to drain, and she was feeling the side effects of blood loss. As she looked down to the ground, she could see that blood had pooled on the floor, and she hadn't realized that she had lost so much blood until she could see her paw covered in crimson.

"Come on Sophie. Bring the boy too." David said. Slowly, he walked to her, and he started to lead her to one of the medical rooms. Luckily, she walked into one that did not have any other patients, and she immediately walked to the medical cabinet. David locked the door as they walked in, and he picked the boy up, placing him on the table.

"Is it true? Is he infected?" David asked in a calm voice.

Instead of answering him right away, Sophie tied a piece of medical tube around her arm, right above the shot wound. She was starting to feel the world tilt with every move she made, and when she tightened the tube, she felt hot tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She needed it tight to stop some of the blood flow, but the pain only increased.

"David I need you to get this bullet out of my arm. It won't heal if it gets infected, and it can't heal with metal in it." Sophie said in a serious and quiet tone.

Knowing she was right, David walked over to look at her arm. Sophie had removed her jacket, and he could see the swollen, raw skin around the bullet hole. There was a lot of blood, but Sophie was trying to stay focused despite her head starting to fog. As she sat on the counter, she reached over to the cabinet to pull out the scotch, and after taking a big swig, she nodded to David.

"Disinfect that knife and my arm. Once you get the bullet out, put some more iodine on the wound ok?"

Nodding, David picked up a knife and quickly poured a bit of iodine on it to make sure it was sterile. Trying not to think about the pain, Sophie picked up a cloth that was on the bar and rolled it up. Placing it into her mouth, she bit down hard and closed her eyes to brace herself for the pain. David took that as his cue, and he moved the knife forward. He loved Sophie as a dear friend, but he knew he couldn't go easy on her, because it would just cause her more pain in the end. So, he pushed the knife into her arm, feeling the tip hit the edge of the bullet. Sophie screamed through the cloth as she bit down, and she clenched the counter with her other paw.

As she kept her eyes closed tight, she could feel the knife cutting her skin more, but as David flicked the knife up, she could feel the bullet moving backwards. The feeling made her stomach churn, and she thought she was going to puke. It took every ounce of her concentration not to get sick, and David worked as carefully as possible.

Looking up, David could see she was in pain, and he stopped for an instant. As he opened his mouth to speak, Sophie shook her head from side to side.

"Don't stop. Get it out." She said in short, panting breaths.

David didn't like hurting her, but he quickly looked back down at her wound and started wiggling the bullet out, and as David went back to work, Sophie could feel hot tears rolling down her cheeks. As the room began to tilt again, she knew she was going to pass out if he did not hurry, and just as she felt her eyes starting to close, she heard a metallic clink in the sink.

Slowly, Sophie felt the sickness going away. She had to stay professional, and as she turned her head to look in the sink, she could see the small bullet, still dripping with some of her blood. David finished putting more iodine on her arm, and she smiled a bit as he started wrapping her arm in medical gauze.

"Don't use too much. The patients need it more than I do." Sophie whispered.

"You need it." David said with a stern voice.

"That tone only works when Nate does it." Sophie said with a soft smile.

With a smile of his own, David chuckled at her words and continued to wrap her arm. Tying off the gauze, he made sure it was nice and tight. There were several seconds of silence as they all sat in the room, and Sophie looked over at the young boy, smiling softly to reassure him that she was ok. As she looked at the boy, David began to speak.

"Why did you risk your life for him? That was really stupid. What if I hadn't come along? You'd be dead right now because of those idiots." He said a bit angrily.

Smiling, Sophie knew she would have heard the same tone of voice from Nate. She probably would still hear it when she got home.

"He's different. The virus has completely taken over his body, but he doesn't even seemed phased by it. He said he was born with his eyes. What if, and this is a big what if, he was really born that way? That means his mother was infected before his birth, and his body adapted to the virus. He could be holding a cure in his white blood cells. If his white blood cells can contain the virus, we could get an antidote."

As Sophie finished speaking, she could see David's eyes getting a little wider. She could have possibly found a cure in this small boy, but he was still skeptical and so was she. She really had no idea what she was going to do.

"Sophie...he could just have a mutated version of the infection. It could be adapting, and he could snap at any moment to kill us all. Viruses change too, and even if he is immune, why is he the only one? Wouldn't there have been more children with the same situation?"

"Of course there could have been other children, but no one cared when the virus started. They just shot anyone with golden eyes, and the children also could have been eaten by their infected parents. I need to talk to the woman or the man that came with the boy. Please?" Sophie pleaded.

As they spoke, Andy sat silently on the hospital table, looking down at his shoes. He seemed so small there, and Sophie knew he must have been terrified. She also knew that he was listening to them talk about him as if he was a monster. Walking to him, Sophie lifted Andy's chin with her good hand.

"I won't let anyone hurt you. Okay?" She said reassuringly.

For the first time, Andy smiled up at her and nodded. She had already taken a bullet for the boy, and she knew he would understand she wasn't there to hurt him either. Now, it was up to David to get her to the white room where the infected were held.

__

As Sophie pushed open the large metal door, she could see the dim light hallway in front of her. At the end of the hallway was the room where the infected were kept, and as she walked down the hallway, the echoes of her footsteps made her feel uncomfortable, as if someone was watching her every move. Goosebumps rose under her fur, and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck starting to rise, making her shiver.

As she got to the end of the hallway, the lights flickered on, and she could see the glass wall in front of her. The wall was made of thick Plexiglas, and it was the only thing separating Sophie from the infected on the other side. Looking into the room, Sophie could make out one male lying in the corner with his face in a puddle of crimson. He did not seem to be moving, but the woman was sitting on the floor, rocking herself like an infant with her hands clutching her knees.

"Miss, my name is Sophie. I need to talk to you about Andy, and I need answers quickly." She said in a calm tone, hoping to get a reply.

Since Sophie had gone alone to the infected room, David had volunteered to stay with the boy. Sophie did not want him to see his parents like this, and as she was about to say something else, the woman snapped her head up, locking eyes with Sophie. Her eyes were a bright gold, and Sophie cringed a bit at the sight.

"My Andy? You know where my Andy is? Andy. Andy. Andy."

The woman was beginning to twitch, causing her shoulders to move back and forth as she spoke in a crazed tone. Sophie knew she had to hurry and talk to the woman because the infection was spreading quickly.

"Was he born with those eyes?" Sophie said urgently, trying not to raise her voice.

As Sophie spoke, the woman tilted her head slowly from side to side and smiled, stretching her lips out until they cracked. It was a disturbing picture, and Sophie was trying to maintain her composure. In one swift motion, the woman snapped her head back in a straight position, and she began to laugh hysterically, the sound biting at Sophie's ears.

"Oh Yes! Yes! Those eyes are his! His mama died infected. I'm no mama. I'll never be a mama. Mama? I took him in," The woman snickered, nibbling at the skin on her fingers. "I raised him good. I did! Those creatures never bothered him, but they got me. Yes sir. They got me! Bit me they did. I feel it you know. I feel it in my skin--in my blood. It's like honey. Honey in my veins!" The woman began laughing hysterically, grabbing her sides as she flung her head back.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Sophie said quietly. "You're too far gone for a cure."

"Yep! I don't want a cure! I feel amazing. I feel powerful. I feel--"

The woman paused for a moment, looked at her hands and then back at her dead husband in the corner.

"I feel hungry. I ate him, and soon I'll eat you. I bet you taste wonderful. I'll do it fast. You won't feel a thing!"

As Sophie listened to the woman, she became terrified at what she was saying. She was turning into a monster, and as Sophie turned to leave, the woman continued.

"I bet you taste good. I bet you do. I'll eat you first! Eat you first--"

Sophie quickly ran down the hall to the large metal door, and she did not stop until she was safely on the other side. She knew the woman's body would give in to the infection, and she would be dead soon, but she couldn't help feeling scared. The only thing that calmed her was knowing the boy had been born infected, and he could hold the key to an antidote.

__

"Who the hell did this to you!?" Nate growled loudly.

After visiting the infected, Sophie had been escorted home by David. Now, she stood in the living room, staring up at an angered white tiger. Nate was rather protective of her, and as soon as he caught a whiff of her blood, he had demanded to know the cause.

"Nate, you're not going to kill him. Just stay calm, okay?" She said with a smile, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips.

As she kissed him, Nate wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her back, trying not to touch her wounded arm.

"It was Needle Nose."

Snapping her head to the side, Sophie glared at David. He had told Nate who shot her, and she knew the male would be in serious trouble.

"Needle Nose did this? That fucker! I'll kill him for this. He's nothing but a trigger happy moron." Nate said angrily.

As Sophie shot David another glare, David just smiled.

"Sorry Sophie, but he is one lousy soldier."

Sophie just shook her head, and she watched as David and Nate went into a different room. As the males left, Sophie looked over at the couch to see Andy. Andy was the first thing she had explained to Nate before letting him examine her arm, and he understood what she was trying to do. Taking the boy by the hand, she led him downstairs where she had a small lab set up. She was going to try to find an antidote, and she needed to start as soon as possible.

After they walked down to the basement, Sophie took Andy's hands and helped him sit down in a large chair. All she needed was a bit of his blood, and she could test it. Thanks to David, she had a very nice little lab in her basement, and as she began preparing her work station, she wondered what life would be like if the antidote worked. Shaking her head, she realized she was daydreaming. There was no guarantee that the antidote would even be possible, and she knew she shouldn't be thinking about the future and getting her hopes up.

"Do you have any strange urges to bite, tare, maybe even kill?" Sophie asked softly as she fixed a needle to take blood.

"No, I've never wanted to hurt anyone." He said innocently, watching his shoe laces sway as he moved his feet back and forth.

"That's good. Now, I need to take some of your blood. I won't hurt you, and it will only take a few minutes, okay?"

Nodding, the little boy pulled up his shirt sleeve for Sophie.

"Yeah, you can take what you need Mrs. Sophie."

Hearing the boy be so kind, Sophie smiled a bit at him. He was a brave little boy, and as Sophie got the needle close to his arm, she slowly pushed it into his vein, watching as Andy hardly even flinched. With the needle inside his arm, Sophie could see his blood starting to travel through the tube and into the small bag at the end. It reminded her of the blood going down her arm and dripping from her fingertips.She tried not to think about it, and as she tried to find better thoughts, Andy interrupted.

"If you find a way to fix people, what will happen to me? I know my aunt and uncle are dead. They got bit, but where will I go?" Andrew said sadly.

Looking over to him, Sophie could see the sadness in his eyes. He was so young, and yet, he was so mature for his age. He talked just like he was an adult, and he understood a lot more than she would have thought. Smiling at him, she reached over to rub his cheek with her paw.

"If you want, you could live here. You could live with Nate and me. I've always wanted a child, and I would be glad to have you." She said in a motherly tone while taking the needle out of his arm and applying a cotton ball to the bead of blood.

"Really?!" Andy shouted excitedly.

It was a bigger reaction than Sophie had been expecting, but she was happy to see Andy really smiling. He seemed overjoyed to get to stay with her, and she simply nodded to him. Looking back at her work area, she knew it was going to take a little while to find an antidote, but she hoped, and for the first time in a long time, prayed that it would work.

__

As Sophie tucked Andy into the guest room bed, she could hear someone in the doorway. She didn't have to look over her shoulder. She knew it was Nate, and she knew what he was thinking. It was probably the same thing running through her head. Slowly, she stood up from the bed, and she turned around to see Nate leaning on the door frame with his arms tightly folded in front of his chest.

"It's not that I don't want to you know." He said softly, looking at Sophie with his bright blue eyes.

Nodding, Sophie walked to him and slowly closed the door behind her. She didn't want to wake Andy after she had just gotten him to fall asleep. After the door clicked, Sophie began walking down the hall only to feel Nate grip her good arm and turn her around to face him. His eyes were saddened, and Sophie let him hold her there without a fight.

"I really would give you a child if it wasn't for our situation." He said, holding her arm a bit tighter. "You know that don't you?"

"Yeah, I get it Nate. That's why you convinced David to go on another mission tomorrow isn't it?" Sophie hissed.

After David had left, Nate told Sophie he was leaving the next day for another mission. Sophie knew it wasn't David's idea to go. No, Nate wanted to leave, because Sophie was going into heat tomorrow. Her scent had already started to get stronger, and her body was already starting to rise in temperature. Nate always left Sophie alone when she was in heat, and it broke her heart to know that's why he disappeared.

"Sophie, you know I can't be here when you're in heat. It's not that I don't want a family with you. I do! I love you with all my heart, but I can't bring a child into this world." Nate said with sadness.

Pulling her arm out of his grip, Sophie looked up into his eyes.

"I get it Nate, but my scent used to drive you wild. You used to come home and want to be with me. You were rough and passionate all at the same time, and you always told me you wanted to start a family with me. Now, you don't even act like I effect you at all."

Sophie was trying not to make her voice too loud. She didn't want to wake Andy, but she was so angry with Nate for leaving her when she needed him the most. She understood why he didn't want a child, but the more he denied her the more she felt she would never get to be a real mother.

"Sophie, I love you. Don't you know that? I want nothing more than to be with you, but I can't," He paused for a few seconds, trying to collect his thoughts. "I'm sorry." He finally whispered.

"It's okay." Sophie whispered back as she began to walk down the hall.

Once again, she felt Nate grab her arm, but as she was about to protest, she felt his lips press hard to hers, and her cheeks flushed. She hadn't been expecting a kiss from him, but it definitely calmed her. She could feel his soft lips pressed to hers, and as he wrapped his arms around her waist, she pressed her body closer to his.

After several seconds, she slowly pulled back from him, and she sighed a bit heavily. Looking up into his eyes, she reached up and placed her paw on his cheek.

"I understand everything love. I just don't like it." With a smile, Sophie patted his cheek and slowly took his paw in hers. "Let's get some sleep."

__

"Was she pissed again?" Dante asked with a smirk.

Shifting his head to the left, Nate gave Dante a hard gaze. The crew knew everything about each other and that included quarrels with mates.

"Of course she was. I get why though. She's always wanted to be a mother, and I always leave her when she's in heat." Nate said with regret. "I really did want to stay this time."

After Nate spoke, the others were quiet for several minutes. The only sound was the loud hum of the helicopter blades, carrying them to a nearby town. The town they were going to was actually a bit closer than the last one. It was a small town called Lawrenceville on the upper portion of Maine.

As the helicopter started to descend, Nate grabbed his gun, and placed it over his shoulder. It was just another standard mission. They were supposed to look for supplies and survivors. Once everyone was out of the helicopter, they teamed up as usual and split the town into two halves to search. David stayed quiet next to Nate for the most part., but as they entered a building, David patted his shoulder.

"When you get home tonight just be with her. She's close to finding a cure, and even if she doesn't it won't hurt for you two to start a family. It's something you both want. I know that. Don't torture yourself, okay?"

Listening to David, Nate nodded and smiled a bit. What could it hurt to be with her? So what if she got pregnant, it would just bring some sunshine into their life of gloom. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to give Sophie a baby after all.

As Nate was thinking, he lost track of how many buildings they had been through. The town was pretty much destroyed, and they were not finding very much supplies at all. If they didn't find anything soon, they would have to call this mission a dry run, but just before David gave the order to turn around, they saw a small building that looked relatively unharmed.

Walking into the building, they could see that it was an old clinic. Smiling, Nate knew Sophie would be so happy to get the supplies from the building, and he went to work getting as many things into his bag as he could. As he filled the bag, he heard a loud bang come from the next room. It sounded as if a metal table had been turned over. The sound was soon followed by David yelling in frustration for Nate, and Nate grabbed his gun, running into the next room as quickly as possible.

As Nate entered the room, he could see David lying on the floor. At first, Nate had no idea what had happened, but as he looked over to the other side of the room, he could see an infected creature crouching in the corner. There was a large amount of drool dripping from its muzzle, and its eyes snapped over to Nate in an instant. David had been thrown across the room by the monster, and as Nate realized the creature was moving, he lifted his gun and began to fire.

Bullets shot from Nate's gun, hitting the creature all over its body, and he could see the bullets enter through the fur, leaving behind small holes in the flesh, but it didn't seem to faze the creature. The beast just kept walking forward, snarling at Nate in a defensive manner. From the looks of it, Nate could tell it was starving, and it would stop at nothing to get something to eat. As if it had been listening to his thoughts, the creature pounced from the corner and landed right on top of Nate, expecting a meal.

Thinking quickly, Nate held his gun over his head and shoved it upwards into the creature's jaws. Nate thought it would prevent any biting, but as he lost grip of the gun, the infected thrashed its jaws and sent the gun flying into a nearby wall.

As the creature brought its head back to the center, It locked eyes with Nate and growled loudly, letting saliva hit his face. The creature opened its jaws to bite Nate's neck open, but David had regained his footing and began shooting. The creature squealed in pain and jumped off of Nate, running for the next opening. Quickly jumping to his feet, Nate went for his gun, but a large, ugly wolf head shoved through the hole in the wall. The creature had run behind the wall, and now, he was biting, snapping his jaws at Nate.

Retrieving his gun, Nate shot the creature in the head and breathed a sigh of relief. The creature was dead, but Nate could still feel his heart pounding in his ears. From the other side of the room, David began to laugh, and as the adrenaline pumped through his veins, Nate began to laugh too. It was nervous laughter, very nervous.

"Can we head back to the helicopter now?" Nate asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah, that's enough excitement for today. Let's get out of here." David replied, picking up the bag of supplies and throwing it over his shoulder.

Quickly, David began heading for the door, and Nate was right behind him. It didn't take too long to get back to the chopper, but as David went to put the supplies in the back, Mutt and Dante were already back. They had found a great amount of food in a storage unit, and David praised them for their find. As the others were in the back, Nate leaned against the helicopter side door, leaning his head back on the metal. Slowly, he closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. Moving his hand to his arm, he pulled up his sleeve and looked down at his arm. On his arm were several teeth marks, all moving to make a crescent moon shape. No blood was coming out of the wound, and Nate shivered. When the creature had shoved its head through the wall, it had managed to bite into his arm, and Nate had tried to hide it from David. Luckily, the scent of his sweat and must masked the smell of blood, but the infection was already spreading, moving through his veins in an eerily slow motion like jelly sliding down the side of a jar. He knew it was only a matter of time before the infection took over, and as he pushed the sleeve of his jacket back down, David came around the helicopter to get inside.

"You alright man? You look a little pale." Mutt said as he followed behind David.

With a smirk, Dante laughed. "He probably doesn't want to go home to nagging."

"Shut up Dante. You're an ass hole." David said with a bit of a smirk.

Without saying anything else, Nate got into the helicopter with the rest of the men, and he knew that he had to go say goodbye, but most importantly, he had to say goodbye to Sophie.