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As soon as Lolita was done spewing, he slung an arm over his shoulder, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her along with him through the muck. He was a strong character, Hume, but not so much in the physical domain; he was strong-willed and had a stomach of steel. The smell could be ignored. The blood could be ignored. If need be, he could ignore his own fellows. His focus was his strength and his will would get him there. Period.

"C'mon babe, don't start with that. We don't need sorries right now, we need you strong! C'mon, just to the other side! We're almost there!" Indeed, they'd waded halfway across. It wouldn't be much longer now. What occurred behind him was almost entirely beyond Karl's awareness; if it wasn't in front of him he didn't see it; if it didn't carry his name, he didn't hear it. Or rather, he heard and saw it all, but his mind was filtering, deeming this important and that as unimportant. It only mattered if it was critical to his survival.

As Hume helped to drag her forward, Lolita could only mutter under her breath, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her legs felt like molten lead. Heavy and unwilling to bear her weight. Her hand grasped around her knife, briefly toying with the idea of using that to end it right there. No. I won't. She started to move under her own strength again, Lolita's cold and tired feet pushing herself forward once more. She spared a glance back and saw Bill getting more and more...her legs started to wobble again. "I'm so useless...I couldn't do a thing then, and now..." Her vision blurred as she tripped, almost bringing Hume down with her. Lolita wiped away the tears, only to see a torn and tattered uniform. The name tag was still intact; she knew it all to well. Her mouth slowly opened, and it seemed a small eternity passed as she looked at the name. "Oh Shinji!" Her hands quickly grasped the remains and brought them to her chest; Lolita's feet picked her up again, and she kept moving forward.

But would determination be enough? The voice could be heard again, inside Karl Hume and Versa Nova. It was cut off from Lolita and Bill, however. "Stand and fight. Ern your right to come to me, child..." it coaxed, digging into the souls of the two men.

Lolita would notice more than the weakness. her body began to slowly grow more painful. Outwardly, Hume would notice she was starting to look like Bill had just minutes before. But where was Bill?

He was lying facedown in the mud, shaking and convulsing, he seemed to be in pain, but he had no voice anymore. The back of his uniform began ripping, and tearing, and a bluish looking sufrace cmae through, his body having completely changed. No longer was Bill a Terran, he had become one of those wolf-things. Blood seeped from the uniform as his old skin wore away, and he slowly rose to his feet, standing on all fours. he stared at Lo. And she knew that that was her fate.

"Lo, NO! ********! No!" Karl Hume dropped from the crater's wall and turned his knife forward, ready to attack and defend. For all his desire to rush forward and wrestle Lolita from the situation, he held back. Fine, you want me? "I'm right here! And I will cut you down, b***h, if you think you're going to stop me!" His eyes were set on the ominous vision in the sky, almost as if the gore upon which he stood were a bed of flowers, and Lolita was simply going to hug that thing that had once been Bill: both irrelevant.

"I'm right here! Show yourself!"

It didn't give a s**t about her, and went straight for Versa. She wanted to fight! She wanted to die! But it wouldn't even give her that much! But why? Was it because...of course. I"m so useless. I'm already one of them aren't I? Lo's self esteem plummeted even further. What was the point of even fighting now? Lolita searched desperately for any reason not to jam the knife into her own chest. 'Anything? Anything?' Her hand clutched at her heart. It felt like it was breaking all over again; it felt as though he was dying all over again, and she could do nothing! Shinji. What would he do? No. Wait. What did he want? What would he want? From me? It felt like an eternity passed as Versa tried to hit what was Bill. The pommel arched down slowly, so slowly. Lolita could even feel her heart slowly contracting as it pumped the burning blood. 'He jumped on the grenade. He wanted me to live. Bottom line. I...I...' She could wrestle a bear to death easy. She was the heavy gunner. She killed hundreds. What was one more to her? Lolita sprang up once more and chained her attack with Versa's. 'I WANT TO LIVE!'

Versa rolled back up to his feet, seeing now that mercy was not the way. He would not be allowed to simply incapacitate the beast, it would not work. The scout gritted his teeth, turning the combat knife around in his hands so he could use it properly. Bill had been one of their own, but now, he had become some kind of creature. As one, the three Lunged at what had once been their squadmate.

******

Bill's Eyes burned. His whole body did, as did his mind. Everything he saw was tinted with red. But he saw something, Hanging over his friends, attacking them. Those.. THINGS. They were about to take his friends! He pulled the trigger of his rifle, trying to get rid of the creatures. They ran for him, obviously diustressed at the things attacking them. Lo, he would wait for, she wasn't being attacked, but the other two, he could see the things, chasing them. He would save Hume first, he seemed the worst.

******

The creature launched itself at Karl, biting with teeth and jaws and slashing with its claws. It latched itself onto Kerl's shoulder, digging its teeth deep into the flesh and bone. Next to join the brawl was Lo, her vicious attack sinking into the creatures back. With the anger and the desperation, the will to live, the pain lessened.

Versa came last, knife digging into the haunches. The Creature reared, holding onto Hume, and pulling him up into the air, throwing Lo and Versa off, their Knives still stuck in its back.

As the monstrosity clamped down on Karl's shoulder, he drove his knife into its chest with a great howl of anger and rage. His fierce grasp on the knife had his knuckles paste-white.His free hand grasped the throat of his assailant weakly and his grip on the knife tightened as he was lifted off his feet. The claws were digging into his chest muscles, threatening to bury themselves beneath his rib cage and do some permanent damage. With all he could muster, Hume withdrew his weapon from its fleshy sheath and aimed to strike its throat. "DIE!" was the only thing Karl could think to shout at his opponent.