[h1][color=crimson]Veronica Marlowe (Red)[/color][/h1]
[hr]
A new Red. All grown up.

Veronica and her child had packed up what little there was in the hideout. A few small bags of food, some crates of sealed jars of sludge, and some blankets all wrapped and stuffed into various sacks, which Red had slung over his shoulder. Veronica walked behind him, wrapped in her old wool robe, head lowered. Her dirtied feet pressed on every little puddle of filth on the sewer floor, and the flowing of the putrid waters eased her some. After the intrusion of those five Fiends, she decided her last hideout wasn’t safe. She feared they’d come back for her.

So they moved.

The sewers of Verthaven were such a maze. It was as if the architects were geokinetics with eyes for design. Dim, but with lights strung above to guide the way for service workers. Something somber, and peaceful about it. But it still drew all the nasty types.

The two walked through an open chamber. Support columns running up and down, runoff tunnels dotting interior, drains on the floors… a place so wrought with filth, yet it seemed so eerily pleasant to reside within. It wouldn’t make for much of a suitable haven but, passing through was nice. Veronica and Red continued weaving through the chamber… but they stopped as a sound emanated from the distance. Like a…

[i]Laughing hyena?[/i]

Red grit his teeth, but Veronica backed away towards a column away from the central isle. Red followed her, and they ducked inside one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica peeked her head out to see a group of Fiends entering the chamber. One of them was holding a chain leash attached to a… she wasn’t sure what to call the thing other than a meta-human. Some kind of… man-dog? It was humanoid, but its legs were long and slender, like a dog’s. It had a wild head of dark brown hair, unwashed and pulled back over its canine face, with a flat nose, a jaw hanging down and lips peeled back. It had a pair of red goggles strung over its eyes, and it was wearing makeshift pads of armor wrapped in tattered cloth rags. And its arms… the right was gangly and fitted with sharp nails, and the left was just a stump above the non-existent elbow. A metal collar was fitted around its neck, and the skin underneath was red and flaky.

The man-dog looked as if it was attempting to pull away from its leash. But the brutish Fiend holding the chain, with a submachine gun in his other hand, seemed intent on keeping him close. “Dog!” He yelled out, tugging the chain. The beast yelped before turning and barking at the Fiend angrily. Another tug, with the Fiend yelling more angrily, “DOG.” The Fiends behind him were keeping a bit of distance, though some looked to be goading their leader into further berating the man-dog. He tugged the chain, pulling the beast closer and smacking his snout with his own helmeted head. The beast reared back, whining a bit. The rest of the Fiends whooped and cheered a bit. The leader turned towards his subordinates, calling out, “SHUT IT.” They all piped down as he continued, “Spread out. Mark points. Kill anythi-”

The man-dog lunged at the Fiend, kicking him down, knocking the gun out of his hands. In a matter of seconds, it picked up the SMG, raised it up, aimed at the leader still on the floor, and fired a volley of bullets upon him. The other Fiends reared back and watched as the beast began cackling before raising the gun at them. It didn’t fire, but it was certainly threatening to. It turned the gun on the chain and fired a few bullets, severing the link. It looked at the Fiends once more and barked, turning and waving the gun towards his direction, beckoning them to follow him.

Taking the role of the alpha male, as it were.

It took a few moments to register but, the Fiends started to follow him. Some of them even began to imitate its barks, not even minding the outright murder of their leader. One of them called out in an almost celebratory manner, “Broken Hyena!” Some of the rest said the same, waving their weapons about happily. These Fiends, they were [i]all[/i] man-dogs.

The group exited the chamber through one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica sat and waited, keeping her cool, while Red knelt down and remained as still as he could.

The Broken Hyena. One more hunter in the sewers. And he had a posse.

They had to keep moving.