Wasteland Survivor – Targets - ch14
#15 of Wasteland Survivor
Back again, more helpings of WS, would you like seconds?
So hungry!
I looked around the house again, rummaging through the pantry and all the cupboards and found one last tin of dog food at the back. Grinning I brought one of my clawed 'legs' up to bear on the top of the can, tearing a hole in it easily, then I lifted it up in what was left of my hand, a three clawed spindly limb and sank my fangs into it.
My razor sharp main teeth penetrated the can, reflexively spraying venom into it, then my remaining teeth fixed to the side of the can and I sucked the contents out through the hole I had ripped earlier.
The meal was more filling that it should have been, since the change I don't need to eat anywhere near as much as normal.
I found a nice cabinet that I could fit in and squeezed myself inside, pulling the door shut behind me, all my instincts said that after a successful 'hunt' I should rest and hide from things that might try and hunt me.
I was woken with a start, I could hear engines outside the house, without moving a muscle I strained my hearing and could just make out the putting of petrol engines, shit it was those bastards with the guns back.
I heard them start to search the front rooms of the house and started to shake a little, if they found me like they did the others I had seem them catch, well, it wouldn't be a quick death.
Then a sound cut through the fear that had become my world and I was aware someone was firing a gun outside, and not one of those hunting rifles, this gun sounded over and over again, like a machine gun, but only in very short bursts.
Curiosity may kill me, but if those bastards were distracted I might be able to slip away.
"What the fuck is that, Ray? Go see what's going on!" One of the voices from the front said.
"Screw that, sounds nasty, lets hole up in here till its over." The other responded.
It was then a lot of things happened at once.
I spotted the two men about to climb the stairs about two rooms away.
I heard heavy booted feet coming in the front door and a voice that almost had a growl to it saying, "Two more came in here, spread out and watch your six'es, take it room by room."
And I realised one thing, the two men had seen the soldiers and were raising their rifles, and here was me with a mouth full of fangs and unable to make any noise above a whisper, unable to warn the soldiers, whom I assumed were 'good guys' since they appeared to be fighting these 'demon hunter' men.
My voice may not be able to warn the soldier men, but there was one thing I knew that could stop them from getting hurt, reflexes...
-
We had followed the last two 'demon hunters' from this group into a house, I had just given the order to spread out and deal with them, when a rifle shot sounded toward the back of the two story home.
I registered that the wood above my head had just been hit with a bullet, but knew it would be best for me to take any shots rather than my squad, I could take them and heal fast, they couldn't. Unless the bastards were using silver, or so I can guess.
The sight that greeted me as I brought my steyr around the last corner to where I thought the shooters were shocked me.
One of the men was on the ground, frothing at the mouth and trying to grab at his throat, the other had a hybrid by the neck, and I swear the thing was about eight foot from feet to head, very spindly, obviously some arachnid type.
Bringing the man's head to bear under my sights, I yelled "Drop 'em and put your arms behind your head!" And noticing his grip shift tighter I added, "Now!"
"Fuck you, he killed Mike. shit would have killed me too if-" He didn't get another word out, the spider hybrid managed to lever his arm off, fouling my shot in the process, but turned its head and bit the man on the hand.
The man screamed and fell to the ground, frothing and grasping at his neck like the other had been. I glanced back at the first gunman, they were very still, and very obviously dead. I hope I don't have to test how well that poison works on werewolves.
"Hold fire! This one is neutral." I ordered my squad, they eased back from the threat of immediate violence, I lowered my rifle a little.
"So, are you neutral or friend? Thanks for stopping those bastards from taking my head off." the hybrid might not realise that a bullet wound wouldn't kill me, but its definitely the thought that counts in my book.
A quiet sound came back to my ears, barely audible.
"You having problems talking?" I asked, and received a nod of acknowledgement, "Ok then, stay calm, I am going to change a little so I can hear you better, don't get freaked out now ok?" I got another nod and the most puzzled look I believed an arachnid could give.
I shucked off my combat harness, stripped off my fatigues top and let the change flow over me, it wasn't painful, the opposite, it felt right to be in this form, more right than it should.
"Ok now." I told the my erstwhile saviour, "Lets start with your name? Mine is Sergeant Nicols."
"Kevin, Kevin Scott. Uh, Mr Nicols, do you know what's happened with the world? Is it going to stay like this?" The very quiet voice responded and I knew all of a sudden something that made my blood chill, it was a kid, angry that a world would make a kid have to live like this and kill to survive I continued.
"Well Kevin, as far as we can tell its going to be like this a while. The main thing we have to do is keep everyone we can safe and sometimes, that means we have to do things we would rather not." I said, gesturing toward the two bodies on the ground, the second man faring no better against Kevin's poison than the first.
"I... I don't feel bad about having killed them," the kid said, "I just didn't want them to hurt you. You are the first real people I have seen since this all started."
"Hellen, you listening?" I sub-vocalised.
~"I am now. What's the hold up?"~ The Captain replied.
"We got a young arachnid hybrid, he might be in shock, he saved me from taking a shot but in the process killed the two 'hunters'" I replied, equally silent.
~"Crap, the poor kid, anything you think might help him deal with it?"~
"Yeah, see if you can get Fox and Drath down here, if we can distract him from the trauma and show him that he is not all that freakish he may pull through without any scarring", I had dealt with cases of young soldiers not ready for their first active mission a few times, all part of the job.
I re-focused my attention, "Ok Kevin, we have some more clean-up work here, but I have called in a few friends to give you a ride back to our camp, we are set up at the airport, and-" I cut off when I heard the mind-voice of the dragon.
~"I understand you have a hachling that has left the protection of his nest too soon and needs some coddling?"~ He reminded me that his thought patterns were very non-human every now and again, usually with statements like that. ~"Well don't fear, I have brought a very hyper active vulpine to distract them"~
"Speaking of which." I said, and gestured Kevin to precede me out the front.
"Holy crap! Is that a real dragon?" The boy said very quietly, apparently both Drath and Fox have honed enough hearing to pick it up.
"Drathnial, the big guy I am leaning against, would like to confirm that yes, he is a real dragon and wants to know if you get air-sick?" Fox said with a grin, the boy was already over running his clawed hands lightly over the dragons scales.
~"I did not you whelp, I said 'Is that a real bug?', now translate for the hatchling properly"~ Drathnial said, although obviously only toward myself and Fox.
"He's awesome!" The boy said, oblivious to his first faux pas.
~"Well, I guess he can ride since he seems reverent enough, now get on little sister, we are running late!"~
-
For someone who asked so many questions when mounting the dragon, he was extremely quiet whilst flying, I turned to see why and found the poor kid a horrible shade of green, it seems my comment earlier was a little too on-the-mark.
~"Drath, try and keep it even, Kevin is not taking to flight very well at all"~ I begged of the dragon.
~"Its understandable, normally the only time a spider gets to fly is the seconds before a bird feeds them to their young"~ He replied, but complied with my request.
We landed near the terminal, Crystal and the Captain had been busy getting 'work crews' together to make the place more liveable. As the boy dismounted I noted his colour improve the moment he made contact with the ground.
"Wow, are you a spider?" A youngish voice came from behind me as I was dismounting.
"Yeah." Kevin replied, both full of nerves and quiet.
"Well we got three insectivores in there, let me hide you real quick before they start drooling all over the place." The young girl replied with an impish grin, easy for a cat hybrid, and took his 'hand' and they ran off to a bunch of other kids, leaving the 'adult' behind.
~"Thanks Lyl."~ I thought after her.
~"I would say you owe me one Fox, but he is pretty cute, so this ones on me!"~ The teenager laughed back into my mind and I lost sight of them.
"Looks like he landed on his feet." was all the warning I got before I was caught up in a hug.
Returning it with interest I replied, "He has had it hard or so the Sergeant said, he deserves to just be a kid for a bit more before he has to grow up."
"Thats what, over a dozen solos we have found hiding around the place, there has got to be an easier way to get them to safety." Crys thought out loud.
"Well, I was talking with the Captain about that, and I think we worked out something that might just work." I pulled back a little to make sure it was my idea she was focused on and not other things, "How would you like to go for a drive? We figure if soldiers armed to the teeth can get a few people to trust them, two babes riding around town with the stereo blasting should be able to fill this place to the rafters!"
She laughed, "Crap, that just might work. And I can protect my baby from any not-so-friendly fire."
"The only question is now, what music to play?" I replied
Yes, as usual, music inspired plot, this time "Isolated" by Chiasm.