“If I had to guess,” I said as I racked my brain, “I’d say it put me somewhere on the west side of the city.”
There was silence on the other line.
It dropped you off inside of the city? Karla was trying to keep her cool, but I could tell by her tone that something was wrong.
“Well, yeah,” I chuckled. “You said it yourself I was going to Chicago.”
Hunter, you need to move, now, Karla’s voice warned. We didn’t think it was going to put you smack dab in the middle of the city. The Roosevelt was supposed to drop you off in the suburbs, far away from the danger.
“Danger?” I gulped.
Just start heading west, the woman hissed. As inconspicuously as possible.
At this point, I wasn’t going to argue.
So, I put my head down and began to head west.
This whole city, once the sprawling metropolis of the Midwest, was now a freaking ghost town. There was not a single human anywhere in sight, and the closest thing I found to civilization was the remnants of demolished dwellings that now spilled out into the street.
Coffee shops sat abandoned, their facades completely faded and decaying. Shattered glass littered the street everywhere I went, and I had to take extra precautions to avoid any unstable sewer grates on the sidewalk.
There were still a few cars parked along the side of the roads, but their owners were long gone. Their paint had been chipped off, windows were broken, and rust threatened to devour their entire exteriors.
Just how long ago had this Doomsday happened, anyways?
Then I heard something. The distinct sound of falling rocks.
I spun around to check my surroundings, but there was nothing there.
What’s wrong, Hunter? Karla asked through my microchip. You’ve got to keep moving.
“I just thought I heard something,” I admitted. “But it’s nothing.”
Hunter…? the woman’s voice trailed off. Run. Now.
However, before I could make a move, I heard something swishing through the air, and I immediately ducked down just as an arrow stabbed into the wooden telephone pole five feet in front of me.
If I hadn’t been so quick, that would have been my damn head.
I turned around to face my assailant and instantly felt fear overtake my body.
There, standing at the intersection about one-hundred feet down the road, was a figure.
A figure that definitely wasn’t human.
Its skin was a sickly gray tone, and splotches of rough bumps dotted along its bare arms, chest, and legs. Its cranium was about a foot taller than any human’s, with large tumor-like growths budding from all angles. The creature wore some sort of cloth sack as a makeshift tunic, and slime dripped from its gnarly yellow teeth as it snarled in frustration.
“I thought you said these things were just crazy humans?” I asked Karla.
They’re not… the woman on the other line warned. They’re mutants. And you’re currently trespassing in their city.
Chapter 4
Crazed humans would have been bad enough, but mutants? Like, honest-to-god mutants with boils all over their skin and deformed faces?
“Any particular reason you didn’t tell me about these things?” I asked Karla through my earpiece.
We did, the woman shot back. We may have left out some of the more… gritty details, but we also didn’t think you would be coming face-to-face with them so soon.
“Iktuna!” the mutant’s gargled voice screamed at the top of its lungs, and it pulled another arrow from its quiver.
I had no idea what he just said, but I wasn’t going to stick around and see what happened next.
I whipped around and took off at a full sprint down the sidewalk and began to serpentine sporadically back and forth. Thankfully, this guy only had a bow and arrow. As long as I didn’t fall into a predictable pattern, I might just stand a chance of getting out of here alive.
I ducked around the corner of a crumbling building just as another arrow swished past my position.
“Iktuna!” the monster growled once more, this time much closer.
As I ran down the alleyway, I looked for anything that could possibly be used as a weapon or hiding place.
“Talk to me, Karla,” I panted. “What should I do here? Hide?”
Hiding would only be a temporary solution, the voice in my head admitted. Even if by some miracle they didn’t find you, there would be a time when you’d have to come out. You can’t complete your mission if you’re stuck in a dumpster for days.
Fine. Hiding was out of the question.
“What do you suggest, then?” I questioned as I came to the end of the alley and turned left onto the next street.
If it were me, I’d try to fight my way out, she said matter-of-factly.
“Fight?” I chuckled. “I’m a Pest Control Technician. Unless these things can be killed by a can of Exterminix, that’s not exactly an option for me.”
You asked me for advice, Karla grumbled. Also, I think you doubt your own abilities, survivor-man. You’re going to have to fight eventually, you know…
“Well, when that time comes, I guess I’ll—” I started, but then my eyes went wide as I saw the mutant come around the corner of a nearby building with his bow at the ready.
The ugly creature released his string, and I only had seconds to duck as the deadly arrow rocketed toward me.
I fell down to the ground just as the projectile shot over my head, and as I started to get back to my feet, I realized I had a new problem.
The mutant was charging straight at me with a dagger in his hand.
Shitshitshitshit.
I needed something, anything, to try and keep him away.
Right next to me was a crumbled building facade, nothing but stony rubble, some shattered glass, and a few metal letters that made up the writing on the building’s front.
Wait… that might work.
I leaned over, picked up the metal “o” and “l” from the facade, and held them in my hands like a sword and a shield.
I took a swing at the mutant with my metal club, but he caught it in his left palm instantly. The makeshift weapon was yanked from my hands and thrown unceremoniously to the side, and all I could do was throw up the metal “o” helplessly.
The mutant’s dagger struck the metal “o” with a force that knocked me flat on my butt. However, the makeshift shield held up.
I was still in one piece.
But not for long.
The mutant’s blade had pierced through the metal of the “o,” and it now stuck out about a foot from my stomach.
“Karlaska!” the mutant hissed, and then his mouth contorted into a grotesque grin.
Now that this guy was up close, I could see just how ugly he really was. What few teeth the mutant had left were rotting out of his mouth, and large drips of drool spilled from the spaces where his pearly whites used to be. His flesh was all cracked and filled with pus, almost like his skin had been turned into a full-body scab.
His breath was also something else. It reeked of rotting meat with a mixture of tooth decay and a little bit of morning breath thrown in for good measure.
This guy could be the poster boy for why mouthwash is important.
The smell itself made my eyes water and nearly brought me to my knees, but I stayed the course.
At least, until he threw his full weight against me.
As we both toppled to the ground, I used every ounce of my strength to keep the mutant’s blade from stabbing through my stomach. The muscles in my arm screamed in agony as they absorbed the impact of the fall and yet still held back the hideous creature’s assault.