You Never Go Back; Gain ✖ Vincent
Slim fingers traced over the ivory of her balisong, eyes darting back and forth as she tried to collect her breath. Cobra defenses had always been particularly tight, but every run was completely worth it. Being the most brutal of the clans, they had always been particularly rich in resources. Every step she took brought her closer to the epicenter of danger, the brink of her greatest and only fear ---- death. But staying out in the ruins with the scarce food or water she had left would be, of course, a considerably worse idea.
Slipping through the urban landscape had never been a challenge for the loner; her days as a prostitute had taught her how to look for proper escape routes. She had to be particularly careful this time, though --- her last expedition had almost led to her capture. And she knew, of course, that sometimes having humans as captors was much worse than zombies.
Ducking behind a long-abandoned car, Gain stifled the urge to curse under her breath. In the stillness of the day, she couldn't risk even the slightest whisper. She couldn't possibly take her chances and raid during the night, as she had learned so painfully the first few times she had attempted this stunt. Her balisong was still closed, ready to swing the blade out with extra impact. The fingers covering the handles where whiter than usual, knuckles jutting out. She could pretend to be fearless, but there was no need. She was afraid, after all. That was the only way she had survived.
Perhaps an extra few seconds of hiding would have kept her safe. Out of an impending sense of anxiety, Gain had simply peeked over hood of the car, keeping her body low to the ground. She didn't see the figure at first, raising her body enough to dart over to the side of another vehicle. Right as she began to lunge forward, however, her eyes focused in on the man. Instinctively freezing in place, she skidded her foot against the cement to keep herself from moving. That itself was enough; the man's eyes were on her in an instant.
She immediately turned around, running past the car she had momentarily used as a hiding place to scramble around a building. She had been lucky enough to sneak through the wall this time --- there was no way she could go back empty handed. If she was going to die, she sure as hell wasn't going to do so from starvation.