Marie woke up alone. She stretched carefully and moaned softly when every muscle protested. Empty space beside her was already cold. She sat up and rubbed her eyes little groggily. Yawned and stretched again, quilt falling from her shoulders and pooling around her hips.
“Good morning.” Scent of coffee wafted to her nose. Logan was standing at the doorstep, leaning against the doorframe, holding a ceramic cup in his hand.
“What have you been doing?” Marie asked, taking in his appearance. Covered in black soot from head to toe, wearing worn and tattered clothes.
“Checked the chimney. Was going to start with the truck next. Coffee?” Logan asked, lifting his cup. Marie nodded.
“Pot’s in the kitchen. Help yourself. There’s bread and meat, too if you’re hungry. I’ll be in the garage,” Logan said, eyes wandering briefly over her exposed body before he turned and left.
He had woken up few hours ago, still nestled against Marie’s warmth, face buried against the back of her neck. Scent of honey, sleep and ever-present slight arousal had first made him nuzzle closer to her and close his eyes. He had given her shoulder a careful lick. A quick one. But not quick enough to fool his body. He had gotten up reluctantly, before little stirring in his crotch would have turned to a problem.
Cold shower had helped him to get rid of the last vestiges of sleep. Cup of coffee later he had been inside of the chimney, scraping his elbows and banging his head in the darkness. He wasn’t at ease with narrow, enclosed spaces, but it had to be done. Leaving the chimney unchecked was asking for trouble. Luckily everything had been okay, and he could crawl out from there when he heard Marie waking up.
Now he was practically running from her. Running from the sight of her bare skin and sleep tousled appearance before his screaming instincts made him to crawl back to bed with her. He had taken her virginity and they had slept together, but it didn’t change the fact that he needed more time. More time to get used to her before they took this to a deeper level.
She dressed up and ate her breakfast quickly. Then she followed Logan to the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. Logan was practically assaulting their truck, tearing it to pieces with his bare hands. Feral gleam in his eyes, panting harshly, cutting the frame with his claws rather than using any of the tools that lay scattered on the floor. She sat on the workbench, deciding it was safer to observe than to try to help him.
It took him a while to realize that he was being watched. Marie. Coffee. Honey. Curiosity. Hint of fear. The last one made him stop and retract the claws.
“Slept well?” He had intended it as a polite question. It came out more like a growl, an interlude to interrogation. Scent of fear hitched up a notch, but when he turned to look at her, it didn’t show on her posture. She sat relaxed, taking a sip from her coffee and smiled.
“Better than well. You?” She asked.
“Fine. You ate already?” He asked, raking fingers through tangled mess of his hair, sweeping stray strands back from his forehead. His fingers left greasy, black smudges above his brows. He stepped closer to Marie. More fear. He tilted his head.
“Are you afraid?” Marie wrinkled her forehead in confusion. Afraid? What the hell was Logan talking about?
“I’m not afraid. I just thought it would be better to stay out of your way…” She didn’t get to finish her sentence. Logan grabbed her arm and yanked hard, sending her flying through the air. She collided against the truck and slid to floor. Furious growl made her ears ring. Sound of scuffle made her ignore the pain on her side and she sat up.
A Destroyer. A fucking Destroyer. A mutant with the ability to turn invisible. How the hell he had missed it this long was a complete mystery to Logan. Now that he had spotted it, the presence of it was as clear as a day for him. Disgusting stench of fear, hunger and desperation told him exactly where it was. Claws tore their way out as he struck. He managed to graze his unwanted guest, and shock of it made it loose it’s cover.
It was a tall woman. Taller than Logan. Completely naked. Some letters and numbers tattooed to her cheek. As Marie watched, woman’s face started to melt. Skin, bones and muscles shifting and flowing. Before her transformation was complete, Logan kneed her to her stomach, and when she toppled over he decapitated her with a swift slice of his claws.
“Shit, shit, shit…” she had nearly gagged when disfigured head rolled past her. Now Logan was running after it, spewing curses. He picked it up. Sliced the skull open, splattering brain matter over his clothes. Claws retracted and he discarded the one half, turning the other over like a bowl and started scooping out what was left of the brain. Finally he seemed to find what he was looking for. Something small and metallic. He dropped the remains of the skull and lifted the item to closer inspection. After a moment he let out a low groan, almost a whimper.
“We have to leave. Now.”
“Take this.” Logan handed her a backpack. It was quite heavy, but once she got it on her shoulders, and straps secured around her waist it was relatively easy to carry. Logan carried a backpack much similar to hers. In addition he had dug up an array of weapons, small firearms, and strapped them to his sides and thighs. Five all in all.
“What just happened?” Marie asked. Now she was genuinely afraid.
“That fucker had been tagging along with us the whole fucking time. Tracking chip in her was still active. When I killed her it triggered an alarm, and now every fucking unit within hundred kilometers will be coming to see what happened. We have to get out of here before they arrive.” She wasn’t the only one afraid. Logan seemed to be terrified.
“Will we get away in time?” Marie asked when they run towards the stairs. Logan stopped at the bottom of them, and opened a small box attached to the wall, flicking down a row of switches.
“I don’t know. It depends… If she was a runaway, we have time. If she was still in active duty… We may have company waiting for us when we get to surface.”
“Stay behind me,” Logan whispered when they stopped behind the door that blocked the front entrance to the bunker. He opened the door carefully, scanning their surroundings. Forest was quiet. No signs of intruders. He let out a shaky breath.
“We got lucky. Nobody’s here, yet.”
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