The mutant began to gnash his teeth as he tried to use his leverage to drive the knife into my body, and bits of his gnarly spittle sprayed onto my face.
I would have thrown up if I wasn’t so hopped up on adrenaline.
Hunter? Karla’s voice crackled in my head. What’s going on?
“Not know, Karla!” I hissed. “I’m kinda trying not to get stabbed here.”
“Sliktra Iktuna,” the mutant’s raspy voice wheezed as he pushed harder against the other side of the “o.”
I couldn’t hold out forever. I could already feel my arms getting rubbery, and soon they’d give out completely. If that happened, I was as good as dead.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I could see a pile of rubble was just within my reach.
I had to make a move, even if it meant risking getting skewered.
So, in one quick motion, I threw all my strength into my shoulders and shoved as hard as I possibly could.
The mutant was pushed up onto his feet as I released my grip on the metal “o.” Then, quick as a flash, I reached over and grabbed a chunk of concrete from the heap beside me.
I swung as hard as I could as I came back around, and there was a wet crunch as the concrete struck flesh.
The mutant let out a shriek as he crumpled to the ground and writhed in agony. The entire left side of his head was now covered with crimson blood, as was the piece of concrete in my hand. His skull looked like it had been split open, and he was wailing like an animal in a trap.
Before I could even give it a second thought, I leapt on top of the mutant and slammed the chunk of concrete into his face once more.
What remained of his teeth sprayed out onto the road along with a deep red mist of blood and saliva.
I smashed the hard chunk into his head again, and his voice went silent as the concrete broke through the front of his skull.
The mutant’s body twitched sporadically as his brains oozed out of the newly-created cavern in his head, but I knew the deed was done.
He was deader than a doornail.
Hunter? Karla’s voice now sounded concerned. Come in, Hunter!
“I’m fine,” I panted. “Things looked pretty grim for a second there, but I’m fine now.”
Did you eliminate the threat? she asked.
“Yeah,” I admitted, “the mutant’s dead.”
I knew you had it in you, Miss Nash’s voice chuckled. Now, if I were you, I’d try to loot his body and then be on my way before any more of those things come and find you.
“Roger that,” I noted as I looked down on the corpse in front of me.
I may have been playing it cool, but I felt like a fucking mess right now. Sure, I’d killed countless insects and rodents, but this was the first time I’d taken a life that was human. Or, at least, somewhat close to being human.
What the hell did I even take off this guy? I guess his bow and arrow was kinda nice, but I hadn’t shot one of those since I was at summer camp, all the way back when I was in high school.
His knife might come in handy, though.
I was on high alert as I reached down and picked up the blade the mutant had tried to kill me with. Next, I pulled the quiver from his body, and slung it behind my body. Then I slipped my left arm between the string and riser of the bow as I slid it up to rest on my shoulder.
“Should… should I take his clothes, too?” I asked Karla awkwardly. “That’s really the only other thing he’s got on him. Could I use those as a disguise?”
It wouldn’t matter, Karla explained. If the mutants look significantly different than regular humans, you’ll stand out like a sore thumb no matter what you do.
“Then I guess I’m the proud new owner of a bow and arrow.” I shrugged. “Wait… ”
As I squinted down at the mutant’s waist, I noticed a small black square tucked into the pocket of his tunic. A walkie talkie.
Now, that could definitely come in handy.
I plucked the device from his body, clipped it on to my belt, and then began to head west.
After about ten minutes of walking, the walkie talkie sprung to life.
“Krag?” a garbled voice demanded. “Wak darm zartram?”
The sudden sound echoed through the empty streets, and I quickly fumbled at the black box so I could turn it down. The voice turned to a whisper as I twisted the knob, but now I could barely hear over the sound of my own heartbeat.
“There’s somebody on the other line of this walkie talkie,” I whispered to Karla.
Of course there is, she oh-so-helpfully pointed out. People generally don’t have walkie talkies unless they intend to communicate with them, Hunter.
“Really don’t need the sarcasm right now,” I reminded her as I pushed myself up close against one of the nearby buildings.
Just for safety.
The mutant you killed was probably on patrol, Karla noted. That would explain why he attacked you and why he had a walkie talkie. That’s probably just his friends checking in on him.
“Wait, these ugly fuckers are smart?” I gasped.
Well, smart enough to set up a patrol and use technology to communicate with each other, she sighed.
Crap.
“Do I answer?” I questioned.
Do not answer! Karla hissed. You’re already at a disadvantage here, Hunter. The last thing you want to do is alert them to your presence. Just keep moving and pray they don’t come looking for their friend.
I couldn’t argue with that.
Unfortunately, the mutants on the other line weren’t going to let the silence stand.
“Krag?” the voice asked again.
I quickened my pace as I continued down the road. How far outside of the city did I need to go? Was this going to be hours of walking? And even when I got outside of the metropolitan area, then what?
It wasn’t like the mutants were going to go away just because I crossed some magic, invisible barrier that didn’t really exist.
“What exactly can you see, Karla?” I asked the voice in my head. “Like, are you seeing my visuals, or do you have satellites pointed toward me, or what?”
Interdimensional satellites? Karla scoffed. Don’t be ridiculous. Those don’t exist.
“Oh, right,” I snarked.
It’s somewhat difficult to explain, but you appear on my father’s computer as a blip in the space-time continuum, the voice elaborated. Thankfully, because you’re in a place that is similar to one in our dimension, we are able to overlay a current map of Chicago over the IFDR’s display. Think of it as somewhat of an interdimensional GPS. One where the roads aren’t fully mapped out yet.
“Have I mentioned this interdimensional travel stuff is confusing?” I chuckled. “Where am I right now, and how far away do you think I need to be before I’m safe from more tall, dumb, and uglies?”
You’re still near downtown, Karla clarified. You probably won’t be safe until you’re at least out of the Garfield Park area…
“Is that far?” I sighed. “You’re my eyes above, Karla. You gotta work with me here.”
There was a brief silence, and I knew the scientist’s daughter was probably biting her tongue.
It’s still quite a ways away, she finally spoke up. But it’s your only hope. If you stay in the city, my father calculates you’ll be dead by nightfall.