Washington D.C. What a shithole. Thought Damian, looking through the destroyed capital, nothing but a broken memory of it's former splendour. In addition to the hordes of raiders, super mutants, and all other manner of job hazards traders and merchants would encounter without fail, many of the pathways were blocked off by destroyed buildings. While someone might be lucky enough to climb over the rubble if they were daring or agile enough, it was impossible for a caravan with a Brahmin to even attempt such a feat.
"Son of a fucking bitch, how are we going to get to Rivet city at this rate?" Shouted one of his companions, recognising it as the voice of his eldest son, Maximillian. Though Damian considered Max his own blood, he was actually an orphan slave who he bought at an auction. Damian didn't much appreciate slavery, and would liberate them whenever he could. He had his fair share of scars from freeing slaves from slaver camps, but when he saw a young Max for auction, he didn't want to risk the life of the boy, and bought him. He had been with him ever since. He was now eighteen, tall and slender, with soft muscles. His long dirty blonde hair fell down to the butt of his combat shotgun, which was holstered comfortably to his back.
"We'll find a way. We always do…we could always swim the river?" This time the voice was that of his soft spoken wife, Sarah. Despite being almost fifty – a rare feat in the wasteland – she looked as though she was in her late twenties. The only features that betrayed her age was her long silver hair and the wrinkles around her eyes, which could easily be mistaken for smile wrinkles. She was easily the shorter and weakest of the group, but she lacked in physical strength, she made up for in intelligence and endurance. "It's a dangerous bet, but do you think we could manage it?"
"I don't think so," Damian said, shaking his head. "That water is irradiated to hell, and I doubt we have enough rad-x or radaway between us to make the trip."
"Plus the Brahmin would tire and drown before we got too far," Said Jane, Damian's only daughter. She was the spitting image of her mother, with the only exception being her softer features and her dark hair. She went up next to the Brahmin and rubbed its right head gently, causing the large cow to snuffle contentedly. "Bessie is a strong girl, but she even couldn't swim that trip,"
"And there's the mutants and raiders to consider as well," this came from their guide, a member of a mercenary group called Reily's Rangers they had hired. The tall guide was named Roger, and this was his first job for the company. "You thought they were bad in the wastelands, their numbers only get thicker the deeper into DC we go,"
"Well then, what do you propose we do then, Roger?" Damian asked.
"There is a network of old subway tunnels that run throughout DC. There is one entrance not to far off from here, and it should take us a couple of days to get to Rivet city," Roger stated. However, there was a lingering tone in his voice that the rest of the group easily picked up on.
"But…?" Max impatiently inquired, tapping his foot on the broken concrete, kicking up small puffs of dust with each movement.
"There's some raiders and ghouls down there. It's nowhere near as bad as it was since the brotherhood started up project purity a few years ago. But there's also the Dogman."
"The…Dog…man?" This meek little squeak came from a small figure clinging to Sarah's leg. Daryl, Damian's second son and the youngest of the group at nine years old.
"It's only supposed to be a story, but folks who have walked into those tunnels claim hearing insane giggling and seeing a man with a dog's head and s knife running around. The same people have claimed to have had their gear stolen and animals being lost in their sleeps. An unlucky few have even had loved ones go missing, only to find their bodies-"
"Shut up, you're scaring the kid!" Max barked at the guide, snapping him back to reality. He looked down at the child to see him shaking and clinging ever tighter to his mother's leg, who was shooting Roger a dirty look. Roger cleared his throat, and smiled, trying to reassure the child.
"But it's only supposed to be a story," The guide said, hiding the fact that the people who told these tales weren't exactly the type of people to lie. His words didn't seem to help the child, but Max's words and actions cheered up his little adopted brother. The tall teenager crouched down next to the kid and ruffled his hair playfully.
"Don't worry, lil' tyke. Nobody is going to touch my little bro while I'm around. They try and touch you, and big Maxie will go pow-pow-pow." Max made a gun with one hand and moved it as though he were shooting at something. This made Daryl giggle and smile, which eased up the group. Tensions solved, Damian turned back to the guide and made a motion with his head.
"Come on, Roger, where is the entrance then?"
"Just a bit south,"
"Well, then, let's get going," Damian commanded, and the group made its slow trudge forward. But as Roger was about to head off, Maximillian came up to him and grabbed him by the straps that were on his shoulders, lifting him up. Despite the thick heavier armour and the even heavier man inside the armour, Maximillian didn't seem to have a problem picking up the man.
"Listen here, you prick. You dare scare my fucking brother like that again, and I will make sure you have to crawl home, no matter what my dad or anyone else says. Capisce?" Whispered Maximillian in a harsh, threatening whisper. Though Roger had fought and killed bigger and badder things than the man who was threatening him right now, the low angry tone and bitter look in Max's eyes terrified David, who quickly nodded.
"Oh, we are clear. We are so, so clear,"
"Good…" Max whispered before dropping David back to his feet and slapping the ranger's cheek playfully, the snarl on his face replaced with a smile of false camaraderie. "That's a good boy. Now hurry up, we got a ways to go,"
oo0oo
The normal eerie silence was replaced by the growl of a mutated mutt, then its dying whimper as sharpened metal cut violently against its belly, spilling out its contents. After a few seconds of silence, an evil laugh followed. And then wet slurping as the Dogman dug into his latest feast, still on the edge of life. But then, the rattling of a cage door surprised him, and he quickly retreated into the safety of the shadows, carefully but rapidly making sure he didn't trail any blood. From the darkness, he watched as some new prey stumbled into his lair, and they all looked around his recently slain feast.
oo0oo
"Daddy, is it still alive?" whimpered Daryl, clinging ever tightly to his mother's trouser leg, both sickened and somewhat fascinated by the twitching, gory corpse.
"Yeah…Look away, Daryl. I'm going to put this dog out of its misery," muttered Damian. Even though Daryl quickly closed his eyes, Sarah also covered her youngest child's eyes with her hand. Crouching down next to the whimpering, dying dog. Damian hushed and stroked the dog's matted fur, comforting it in its last moments. Pulling a long blade from his belt, the glint of steel and scrape of metal against metal startled the dog slightly, but it was in no shape to do anything other than watch.
"It's ok, boy…shhhhh….it's ok…" Damian continued to pet the dog as he plunged the blade quickly into the dog's throat, ending its suffering. A few moments after its death, Damian continued to pet the dog, the slightest hint of tears in his eyes. Wiping them quickly, he stood up straight and wiped the bloodied blade on the edge of his trouser leg before sheaving the blade.
"Come on, let's keep moving. And keep your wits about you. Whatever did this cant be too far away."
oo0oo
The dogman watched as the new intruders left his prey dead on the floor and go into the subway system. Once their voices had disappeared into the darkness, he quickly crawled towards the downed corpse and continued to eat. As he munched and slurped on the raw innards, his mind thought only of the prey that stumbled into his web. And though the dog satisfied him for now, it wouldn't be long before he started hunting again.
The Dogman was always hungry.
So hungry…
(Notes: Ok, this story has been sitting in my documents for a while, and even though I already have several projects on the go, I'll upload this one as well, since I intend it to be fairly short. Pleasenote this character is not mine, but he is inspired from the web series "The DC Chronicles" on Youtube. You guys should check it out. It's pretty good. Hope you guys enjoy this story and ADIOS!)