The Hellraiser's catipiler treads moved on the road, leaving behind pulverized bone and rusted steel in its wake as it plowed through a zombie hoard that was to slow to react to the tank crushing them all. Another police cruiser was crushed a few moments after the hoard as they drove on the road. Alara glanced at the crushed police car behind them, saying.
"Raven why are so many of these Copper things stuck in their vehicles?" Alara asked, sipping her wine as she moved the tank left to run over another twisted police patrol car.
Raven watched out front windshield with idle interest as she responded saying. "Alara some zombie evolutions require more than just time and eating the nucleus cores of other zombies. For Coppers, they need a police cruiser to finish their evolution. It's like a nest for them. It feels like home."
Alara blinked. "You're saying for zombies their environment shapes what they become?"
"Exactly. Combine that with who they were before they died, and you get specialized zombie species. Brutes, for example are usually bodybuilders or gym addicts in their old lives. Their muscles become armor on their bodies. A person's obsessions as a human count a lot for twoards what they will evolve into as a zombie, but Brutes lose what little speed once had. They are easy to outrun, but hard to kill. Coppers, on the other hand? They cling to authority. Once they reach a police cruiser, they start evolving into something more dangerous than the basic zombie."
Alara drove over a sedan, its frame folding under the Hellraiser's treads. "Have you ever wondered why?"
Raven exhaled responding. "Honestly Alara? I think it's a reflection of what they valued in life. Muscle, authority, greed. Zombies chase what they used to love. Some just want to feel like themselves again even if they are monsters now."
Alara glanced at her reflection in the side mirror. She didn't speak for a while. Raven didn't press her. Her girlfriend Alara has always been different from other zombies. Conscious even before evolving. Aware of herself and her identity. It's not natural, not even in a broken world like this.
The Hellraiser drove over a beach dune, the distant glow of water reflecting off the sun ahead. The snow that once covered the coast has melted to welcome spring. Alara stopped the Hellraiser on the edge of the beach sand dunes.
Raven opened the hatch, letting in the briny ocean wind. "We're here. Let's test a few new toys out!"
Alara hopped out, stretched her arms, then sent the Hellraiser back into her system space. The tank glowed for a second and then vanished. Alara turned and joined Raven at the oceans edge, both of them now wore thick sweaters and sweatpants. Having changed out of their earlier assult gear.
Raven sat down and pulled out a folded bundle of bright pink fabric from her system space. She flattened it on the sand and brushed her fingers over the material. It shined faintly in the afternoon sun.
"Time to make something ridiculous," Raven said. As her fingers began to glow with soft gray light as her Technomancer energy spread around her hands to cover them then she said to Alara. "You want armor and fashion? So let's make Bikini Armor."
Alara crossed her arms under her chest as she said to Raven. "Pink armor, huh? You got that from Fabulous Fabrics didn't you?"
"Of course," Raven replied. "They have the brightest clothing dyes this side of the east coast."
The fabric began folding itself in midair, responding to the shaping energy generated by Raven's hands. Her Technomancer core surged as she infused the bikini top with enhanced softness and resilience. The threading was done using her own energy, her own technomancer power woven into each seam is a silent gesture of her love for Alara.
After thirty minutes of work, the pink bikini top was complete. She moved on to the lower half, reinforcing the material and enhancing its fit using a combination of stitching and advanced stitching control. Once Alara's was done, Raven began working on her own a deep navy blue one.
Alara sat beside her, watching the process, her eyes thoughtful. Raven worked in silence, occasionally glancing up at her before focusing back on her work.
An hour later, Raven set both sets down, brushing sand from the edges. "Done. You get the pink one as usual. I get blue one which is a suprise to no one. And before you ask Alara, no, I am not letting you turn everything in our tactical gear arsenal pink. We need to have some minimum standards."
Alara rolled her eyes. "Sure. Standards that apparently involve war-time lingerie or as you call it bed time lingerie."
They both stepped into Sanctuary for a quick change of their outfits. When they reappeared moments later outside Sanctuary, the wind shifted, carrying the promise of warmer seasons to come. The sun sat high in the sky.
Raven and Alara stood in the sand barefoot, staring out at the slow rhythm of the ocean tide. Raven turned to Alara, saying,
"What's on your mind, honey?"
Alara didn't answer at first. Her eyes followed a bird flying overhead, its white feathers moving across the sky.
"Just thinking," she said softly. "Raven we have done so much in just a few months time together. Surviving, fighting, killing, and loveing each other. It feels like me meeting you in that mall is the real start of my life."
Raven's expression softened as she asked Alara. "But what about before you became a zombie Alara? What if you have a family? What if they're out there somewhere looking for you."
Alara turned to Raven her tone serious. "Then we will find the answers about my life together. But the truth is, Raven, you're the only family I recognize now. I don't think I can care about other humans the way I care about you."
Raven raised an eyebrow in question.
"When I look at humans," Alara continued, "I just see insects. Weak, disgusting things. I have to fight the urge to kill them. But I don't because of you. You're my anchor. The only thing keeping me in control of my urge to kill everything."
Raven tilted her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You're such a smooth talker. Stop watching those late-night romance movies. They will rot your brain."
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