Chapter Four
Broken Image
Snow fell softly to the ground, covering it in white. The Creepers stood huddled in the cold, rifles and bows posed and eyes alert. We'd managed to open the large steel doors that marked the rear east entrance. We then spent half an hour wading through piles of ruble and debris until we came upon the crumbling opening to the shaft's tunnel and the warped security fences that were supposed to protect the compound from the out side world.
Now here we are, sentinels, scanning the horizon for danger, the perfect targets to bait the Breathers and the Runners, depending on which showed up first. However, so far everything seemed safe. "Okay kids, move out!" Harvey ordered, motioning us to start venturing into the unknown.
I strained my hearing, trying to pick up any unusual sounds that could signify danger. The crunch of snow and the howling of the wind were the only sounds to greet meet me.
We walked for what seemed hours, seeing nothing but forest and snow. This are was unfamiliar to us. We'd never ventured this way before. It was on the other side of the mountain.
So far we had found very little. Tony tried to shoot a rabbit earlier with a hunting bow but missed. Probably for the best. On foot, the smell of blood would make us easy targets. As for the vegetation, most were hibernating for the winter and the ground was frozen so hard that we couldn't dig for roots. Not to mention what edible bark there would have been on trees, had been stripped a long time ago. Surprisingly, this was a good sign. The more animal life, the less chances there are of Breathers or Runner's being in the area.
Suddenly I heard a slight humming sound. Quickly I recognized the sound of trucks. Cautiously, the Creepers faded into the trees. Two trucks with large snowplows appeared, one white, and one a black and gray truck, stripped of most color.
"Whoa!" Harvey walked out of the shadows of the snow and flagged them down. As they pulled to a stop I recognized the drivers. They were Bull Frogs. Abbey and Frenchie.
"Hey, how you all doing?" Abbey asked.
Harvey shook his head. "You?" she motioned to a dead buck wrapped in a blue tarp in the back of the truck.
"Well, guess what? You get a truck. The Rabbits found an old station a ways back and we filled the tanks." Archie grinned, stepping out of the beat up, dark truck, which made me groan inwardly. Although they had slapped on a new bumper, you could still see were the Runner had taken a nice bite out of it, from the Creeper's last jaunt out into the wide open.
Soon the other truck and the Bull Frogs were heading home and I found myself in the passenger seat with a Frog named Denise driving the truck. Every one else was walking on the outside, scavenging and acting as look outs for trouble. I on the other hand stared bewildered at the GPS system that flickered on and off before me. "We should be near an old service road." I informed Denise. Then I spent a few minutes hitting the piece of crap trying to get it to stop from going in and out.
"Hey cut that out! You're going the break it!" Denise yelled.
"I'm not going to break it!" I shot back annoyed. Suddenly the truck lurched forwards and landed with a large thud.
"I didn't do it!" Denise cried.
"You were driving the car." I pointed out, while I looked out the window at the world beyond. To my right I notice this mound of snow. Upon further examination I realized it was the wreckage of a car. "We found the road."
"Are you two alright??" Harvey came running up.
"Yeah, but we should probably start digging the truck out." Denise replied shakily.
"Fine. You okay Denise?" he asked. She nodded, "Great, but I want Beka to drive okay?" An hour later we were on our way, slowly plowing the snow and bouncing along the abandoned road. Every once and a while we would stop to load gathered vegetation and the occasional rabbit, bird or rat we were able to catch. Of course we ended up spending ten extra minutes wrapping eat dead animal in plastic and then making sure each package was properly sealed so the blood smell wouldn't attract unwanted guest.
The sky was getting darker and we were just getting ready to turn around when Denise decided to suddenly start a conversation, breaking the peaceful silence. "You know, you could lighten up a bit. We're all trying our hardest to survive."
"There's no fun in lightening up." I replied sarcastically.
"That is such a typical answer from you. The only reason you weren't booted out of the community when Van Zan showed up, was because Hector wouldn't allow it. Most of us were all for it."
"Yeah, like I believe that one." I scoffed.
"You shit. We wanted you out. You're father was fucking insane and bleed us dry. And as for you, you never pulled your own wait, just kept making trouble and making our lives hell. Why do you think you were assigned a group so young? If you die on a mission then we'd all be-"
"Shut up!" I was taking it worse than I should of. But something she said struck a cord.
"Hell the only people who would miss you would be Mika and Harvey, and that maybe and exaggeration. They're the only ones who really stood up for you." she was smirking now.
"Look if you don't shut up I'm going..." I began to threaten.
"You're going to what?" she interrupted me, challenging my next move. Before I could answer we heard a blood-curdling scream. In the blink of an eye we jumped out of the truck and were running towards the cries. Trees passed in a whirl and the forest grew darker.
When I saw the seen a part of me became paralyzed. A Runner larger than bull cow, had a human's body in its powerful jaws and it was swinging the body wildly. It was a woman, she was still alive. I was in a trance as I watched the carnage, until I heard the shots of a powerful rifle. I snapped my head to the right to see a figure dressed in a pile of rages and fur, emerging from the trees, firing blindly at the Runner. Soon we were all firing, trying to hit the eyes. The only soft spot on the monster.
Runners are smaller than Breathers, but they have the tough scaly skin that Breathers have. Their heads are thick, with ears far back on the heads and eyes close to the blunt snout. Hundreds of sharp, terrible teeth lined their mouths.
I aimed at the thrashing head, hoping to hit the beast and have the bullet count. But I couldn't concentrate with the screams of the woman echoing through my ears. I aimed low, and closed my eyes; I took the shot. Her cries suddenly stopped, as did my heart, and my soul. I tried to convince myself she was in a better place, like the good Reverend said. But, I couldn't believe in God. Not with those monsters destroying our world.
I don't know who hit fatal shot, but the beast hit the ground and the Creepers were all over it. Trying to kill it while it was stunned. I just stood there looking at the carcass of the woman. Her face had been beautiful once. Now a look of terror and pain was frozen on her features. I think I fainted then, because the world went black. I awoke some time later, finding myself in the back of the truck with a dead Runner at my feet.
"Welcome back Beka." Tony greeted me. "You went out like a light as soon as the thing was dead."
"Sorry." I whispered and smiled weakly.
"No problem." Tony replied. "You feeling okay. You look sick." I felt sick. I was trying hard to fight the nauseas that suddenly was trying to over come me.
"I'll be fine." I lied.
"Good, because we have to get this stripped of scales and ready for packaging before we reach the compound." he gestured towards the Runner that filled up most of the truck bed, leaving only a small space for the Creepers. I wanted to hurl. Food was food, we ate the Breathers or Runners that we could kill because they were full of mean and meat was scarce now a days. A running joke in the community is they taste like chicken.
Harvey had his foot on the pedal, making the truck shift left and right uncontrollably. Tony pulled out two hunting knives handing one to me. "Ready to start cutting?" I groaned.
As the others started butchering the Runner, skinning it. I adverted my eyes, only to see a stranger. Golden hair, dark brown eyes, wearing the same heavy furs and rags that the woman had been wearing. He had been the mysterious shooter. He was the companion to the woman. He didn't look much older than me and he had this blank, emotionless stare. I felt suddenly very sorry for him.
"Beka?" Tony was annoyed. I don't remember anything more than that, only turning and vomiting. Then there was black.
Broken Image
Snow fell softly to the ground, covering it in white. The Creepers stood huddled in the cold, rifles and bows posed and eyes alert. We'd managed to open the large steel doors that marked the rear east entrance. We then spent half an hour wading through piles of ruble and debris until we came upon the crumbling opening to the shaft's tunnel and the warped security fences that were supposed to protect the compound from the out side world.
Now here we are, sentinels, scanning the horizon for danger, the perfect targets to bait the Breathers and the Runners, depending on which showed up first. However, so far everything seemed safe. "Okay kids, move out!" Harvey ordered, motioning us to start venturing into the unknown.
I strained my hearing, trying to pick up any unusual sounds that could signify danger. The crunch of snow and the howling of the wind were the only sounds to greet meet me.
We walked for what seemed hours, seeing nothing but forest and snow. This are was unfamiliar to us. We'd never ventured this way before. It was on the other side of the mountain.
So far we had found very little. Tony tried to shoot a rabbit earlier with a hunting bow but missed. Probably for the best. On foot, the smell of blood would make us easy targets. As for the vegetation, most were hibernating for the winter and the ground was frozen so hard that we couldn't dig for roots. Not to mention what edible bark there would have been on trees, had been stripped a long time ago. Surprisingly, this was a good sign. The more animal life, the less chances there are of Breathers or Runner's being in the area.
Suddenly I heard a slight humming sound. Quickly I recognized the sound of trucks. Cautiously, the Creepers faded into the trees. Two trucks with large snowplows appeared, one white, and one a black and gray truck, stripped of most color.
"Whoa!" Harvey walked out of the shadows of the snow and flagged them down. As they pulled to a stop I recognized the drivers. They were Bull Frogs. Abbey and Frenchie.
"Hey, how you all doing?" Abbey asked.
Harvey shook his head. "You?" she motioned to a dead buck wrapped in a blue tarp in the back of the truck.
"Well, guess what? You get a truck. The Rabbits found an old station a ways back and we filled the tanks." Archie grinned, stepping out of the beat up, dark truck, which made me groan inwardly. Although they had slapped on a new bumper, you could still see were the Runner had taken a nice bite out of it, from the Creeper's last jaunt out into the wide open.
Soon the other truck and the Bull Frogs were heading home and I found myself in the passenger seat with a Frog named Denise driving the truck. Every one else was walking on the outside, scavenging and acting as look outs for trouble. I on the other hand stared bewildered at the GPS system that flickered on and off before me. "We should be near an old service road." I informed Denise. Then I spent a few minutes hitting the piece of crap trying to get it to stop from going in and out.
"Hey cut that out! You're going the break it!" Denise yelled.
"I'm not going to break it!" I shot back annoyed. Suddenly the truck lurched forwards and landed with a large thud.
"I didn't do it!" Denise cried.
"You were driving the car." I pointed out, while I looked out the window at the world beyond. To my right I notice this mound of snow. Upon further examination I realized it was the wreckage of a car. "We found the road."
"Are you two alright??" Harvey came running up.
"Yeah, but we should probably start digging the truck out." Denise replied shakily.
"Fine. You okay Denise?" he asked. She nodded, "Great, but I want Beka to drive okay?" An hour later we were on our way, slowly plowing the snow and bouncing along the abandoned road. Every once and a while we would stop to load gathered vegetation and the occasional rabbit, bird or rat we were able to catch. Of course we ended up spending ten extra minutes wrapping eat dead animal in plastic and then making sure each package was properly sealed so the blood smell wouldn't attract unwanted guest.
The sky was getting darker and we were just getting ready to turn around when Denise decided to suddenly start a conversation, breaking the peaceful silence. "You know, you could lighten up a bit. We're all trying our hardest to survive."
"There's no fun in lightening up." I replied sarcastically.
"That is such a typical answer from you. The only reason you weren't booted out of the community when Van Zan showed up, was because Hector wouldn't allow it. Most of us were all for it."
"Yeah, like I believe that one." I scoffed.
"You shit. We wanted you out. You're father was fucking insane and bleed us dry. And as for you, you never pulled your own wait, just kept making trouble and making our lives hell. Why do you think you were assigned a group so young? If you die on a mission then we'd all be-"
"Shut up!" I was taking it worse than I should of. But something she said struck a cord.
"Hell the only people who would miss you would be Mika and Harvey, and that maybe and exaggeration. They're the only ones who really stood up for you." she was smirking now.
"Look if you don't shut up I'm going..." I began to threaten.
"You're going to what?" she interrupted me, challenging my next move. Before I could answer we heard a blood-curdling scream. In the blink of an eye we jumped out of the truck and were running towards the cries. Trees passed in a whirl and the forest grew darker.
When I saw the seen a part of me became paralyzed. A Runner larger than bull cow, had a human's body in its powerful jaws and it was swinging the body wildly. It was a woman, she was still alive. I was in a trance as I watched the carnage, until I heard the shots of a powerful rifle. I snapped my head to the right to see a figure dressed in a pile of rages and fur, emerging from the trees, firing blindly at the Runner. Soon we were all firing, trying to hit the eyes. The only soft spot on the monster.
Runners are smaller than Breathers, but they have the tough scaly skin that Breathers have. Their heads are thick, with ears far back on the heads and eyes close to the blunt snout. Hundreds of sharp, terrible teeth lined their mouths.
I aimed at the thrashing head, hoping to hit the beast and have the bullet count. But I couldn't concentrate with the screams of the woman echoing through my ears. I aimed low, and closed my eyes; I took the shot. Her cries suddenly stopped, as did my heart, and my soul. I tried to convince myself she was in a better place, like the good Reverend said. But, I couldn't believe in God. Not with those monsters destroying our world.
I don't know who hit fatal shot, but the beast hit the ground and the Creepers were all over it. Trying to kill it while it was stunned. I just stood there looking at the carcass of the woman. Her face had been beautiful once. Now a look of terror and pain was frozen on her features. I think I fainted then, because the world went black. I awoke some time later, finding myself in the back of the truck with a dead Runner at my feet.
"Welcome back Beka." Tony greeted me. "You went out like a light as soon as the thing was dead."
"Sorry." I whispered and smiled weakly.
"No problem." Tony replied. "You feeling okay. You look sick." I felt sick. I was trying hard to fight the nauseas that suddenly was trying to over come me.
"I'll be fine." I lied.
"Good, because we have to get this stripped of scales and ready for packaging before we reach the compound." he gestured towards the Runner that filled up most of the truck bed, leaving only a small space for the Creepers. I wanted to hurl. Food was food, we ate the Breathers or Runners that we could kill because they were full of mean and meat was scarce now a days. A running joke in the community is they taste like chicken.
Harvey had his foot on the pedal, making the truck shift left and right uncontrollably. Tony pulled out two hunting knives handing one to me. "Ready to start cutting?" I groaned.
As the others started butchering the Runner, skinning it. I adverted my eyes, only to see a stranger. Golden hair, dark brown eyes, wearing the same heavy furs and rags that the woman had been wearing. He had been the mysterious shooter. He was the companion to the woman. He didn't look much older than me and he had this blank, emotionless stare. I felt suddenly very sorry for him.
"Beka?" Tony was annoyed. I don't remember anything more than that, only turning and vomiting. Then there was black.