August 18th, 2279

Zack had been traveling for most of the night. The only companion was the sound of his boots hitting the dirt with each step. He had been making good distance this night. He noticed a rather large steep hill with a few dead trees overhanging on the side coming up on his right. He did not take any special interest in the hill, just another landmark in the Arizona Wastes. It was not till Zack had traveled about halfway past the hill when he heard a scuffling sound. He paused where he stood with his head cocked to one side, trying desperately to comprehend what had caused it. He heard the sound again coming from somewhere on the hill, and saw a few small rocks roll down, taking some dirt along for the ride.

"What could it be? A Rad Scorpi-,"

Before Zack could finish his thought, he was struck by something that hit his lower back and caused him to stagger forwards a bit. He quickly turned around while he moved the right side of his duster aside, withdrew his revolver and aimed in into the darkness. From his left peripheral, he saw a grayish blur about as big as a medium sized dog run off into the shadows of the night.

"Damn, its worse, Jackal Rabbits."

Jackal Rabbits in pre-war times had been just known as Jack Rabbits. They were desert dwelling animals that were small in size, had brownish fur that covered their bodies. They usually were solitary creatures until they found a mate and had offspring. They were herbivores, only eating vegetation that they were able to scavenge. In the pre-war days, if a Jack Rabbit was approached by a human, they would skitter off and hide somewhere. They had once been called cute animals, but with the radiation from the fallout from Phoenix, they had been mutated into these horrible creatures, Jackal Rabbits. They had grown twice in size. Only small patches of grey fur speckled their body, the rest was covered by the pink of their skin. They could now jump very far and high. Their eyes had become a feral greenish color, allowing them easier visibility in the night. With the lack of vegetation they had evolved to carnivores, their teeth became long sharp instruments for ripping flesh. They would usually hunt as a group of three or more, attacking any prey they thought they could take down and Zack was next.

By the time Zack figured out what he was up against, he got hit again from his right. A sharp pain filled his forearm, and he felt the warm stickiness of blood. The initial pain had caused him to drop his revolver. He quickly pulled his combat knife with his left hand. The Jackal Rabbit that had caused the wound was already out of sight. Zack crouched down slowly reaching blinding for his gun while he glanced around. Before he could find his gun, he saw movement, jerked his head left and saw one of them coming at him. It was running at incredible speed, and when it got about six feet from Zack, it leapt, mouth open ready to bite. Zack quickly rolled backwards swinging his left arm outward as he rolled. He felt the combat knife make contact. He heard a low gurgling moan, and the sound of the beast's feet as it ran past.

Zack got back up into a crouched position and saw his revolver. His heart was beating rapidly and he could feel the beginnings of sweat forming on his brow. Zack grabbed his weapon and stood back up. He heard another one coming down the hill now behind him, causing small avalanches composed of rocks and pebbles. He turned to that direction and saw it just as it jumped at him. While it was in mid air, he aimed carefully and fired his revolver. The blast from the spent round, echoed in the night, the Jackal Rabbit fell to the ground, its body limp.

"One down, who knows how many more to go." He thought grimly.

Zack turned around, and spotted two of them running towards him side by side. He raised his revolver again and took a shot at each of them. The one on the right took the round in the chest, and went down, permanently. His other shot went a little wide and impacted the dirt as the Jackal Rabbit ran on. It sprung up at Zack, but he was able to move out of the way fast enough to dodge its attack. He spun around just as the animal landed, and he shot at it once more, hitting it in the thigh of its hind leg. Even wounded, the creature was still quick, and it ran off. Zack spent a few moments surveying the area, and listening for any more of them. The attacked seemed to be concluded.

"Guess the others decided I wasn't worth getting killed for."

With revolver still in hand, Zack walked to where the one he had shot in the chest. It was gone however. He looked down at the ground and it looked like it had been dragged away, opposite of the way it had been attacking.

"Whoa, I didn't take them desperate enough to eat their own."

Zack turned back towards the hill, and saw the other one he had killed there. He placed his knife back in is sheath. He started walking over to the body while he released the cylinder latch on his revolver. He opened the cylinder, taking out the four empty casings putting them in his duster pocket, and loaded new ones from his holster's belt. He pushed the cylinder in and heard it click. He was standing over the body of the Jackal Rabbit. Zack heard movement to his left and he turned his body with his revolver pointed out ready to fire. Zack's face was in a scowl. He saw a young woman standing there. She had tanned light skin, with auburn hair which was worn long. She was clothed in dirtied up garments, tan pants with a grayish white shirt. She raised her hands quickly with a terrified look on her face.

"Please don't shoot, I mean no harm. I heard the shots and just came to see if anyone was hurt." She said with a soft voice.

Zack relaxed his face. "She probably thinks I'm some psychotic wastelander."

The young woman looked down at the corpse at his feet, her eyes went wide. "Wow, I have never seen one so close up, only running as a pack in the distance. They are so fast, how did you manage to kill one?"

Zack looked over her a moment, and decided she was not an immediate threat, and placed his revolver back in its holster. "Trust me, it wasn't easy." He felt his forearm throbbing a bit. "I did get two of them but one of them was dragged away by the others."

"Do you think they'll come back?" She asked now lowering her arms and walking towards him.

"No, I believe they are done for the night. Mind if I ask you what you are doing out here all alone?"

"Oh, I'm not. My boyfriend David is on the other side of this hill." She gestured behind her, "There is a path that leads through it a little ways back. My name is Amber by the way." She was now smiling. "If you'd like, we have camp set up back there. You could bring that," she pointed at the body at Zack's feet, "we have some beans and dandy boy apples to add to the mix as well. We could cook them up and all share a nice warm meal."

Zack's stomach growled at the words, warm meal. "That sounds like a good plan Amber. The name's Zack." He bent down and picked up the animal and carried it by its legs.

"Pleased to meet ya." Amber turned happily. "Follow me."

It only took about five minutes to travel to and through the path that cut through the hill. Zack and Amber came to a clearing where a small fire was burning. There was a blackened dead tree nearby that overhung the fire. Zack figured it was what they were using to fuel it. A man that had been sitting with his back to the tree quickly stood up, no doubt from the sound of Amber and his footsteps. His hair was messy, and he was dressed very similar to Amber, but with a green jacket on. He was branding a hockey stick, and had a scared look in his eyes.

"W-wh-who's there!" The man said quite loudly, his arms tensed as he was poised to strike.

Amber responded first. "David, its ok it's me."

David stood ready for an attack. "Th-there is someone behind you. Who is it?"

"This is Zack. He was on the other side of this hill. The gunshots were from him. He was attacked by a pack of Jackal Rabbits. He killed two of them and the others fled."

Zack stepped forward. "Hi David, Amber has invited me to your camp so we can share a meal. I brought the main course." He dropped the carcass on the ground.

"O-okay, that sounds good." David lowered the hockey stick and laid it against the tree. "Sorry about that. You can never be too careful out here."

"Understandable." Zack responded.

They all sat down around the fire, Zack on one side, Amber and David sitting close on the other. Amber opened two cans of beans, and placed them by the fire to warm them. Zack leaned against his pack and tended to the wound on his arm. It was still bleeding a little bit, and the rest of his forearm was caked with dried blood. He rinsed it off with a little water first. He then stuck his combat knife in the fire, left it there for a few minutes, then pulled it out and cauterized the open wound. The pain was sharp, but only lasted for about a minute as he held it there. After being satisfied with it, Zack searched for a couple of good sized rocks which were able to hold his metal plate upon over the fire. He used his combat knife to cut strips of meat off the carcass. He placed three large pieces on his plate and placed it over the fire. The aroma filled their nostrils and their stomachs churned in anticipation. They all sat in silence, patiently waiting for the meal to be ready.