by Laeser, Nico
“It’s okay. Haley’s fine,” Gary interjected. “Looks like you and the fire were competing for oxygen, and the fire was winning.”
I looked around at the smoldering mounds of blackened meat amid the glowing red wire. “Are they all dead?”
“Most of them. The rest fled,” Gary said. “They’ll probably lick their wounds, and maybe try to find an easier meal. They’ll come back eventually, when they’ve forgotten what fire feels like.”
“Where’s Haley?” I asked.
“She’s inside. Come on,” Randall said and took my arm.
The two of them helped me up and walked me to the house. I stepped over the threshold, and before my eyes could adjust to the dim light inside, Haley threw her arms around me. She loosened her grip as I got down to my knees, and then we held each other tight and wept.
Over Haley’s shoulder, I saw one of the hideous beasts lying dead in the corner of the living room. The creature was riddled with holes, as was the red-spattered drywall behind it. Lamp light highlighted the long, badly blown glass-needle teeth, set into the exposed bluish-pink gums stretching far back on the thing’s face. While I stared, it seemed to stare back, its open eye flashing like a silver coin with each slight movement of my head.
“Are there any more inside?” I asked and turned to face Randall and Gary.
Gary nodded toward the kitchen. “Just these two.”
“So they can be killed with bullets,” I said.
“They’ll go down the same as any large animal,” Gary said. “Now that we know what we’re fighting against, we may stand a chance.”
Randall moved to the open door and stood, silhouetted against the carnage outside. “The world is going to be very different for the survivors. We will be hunted daily. We have to adapt, learn how to defend ourselves against these things and their built-in weapons. We’ll need armor strong enough to survive a swipe from those claws, rigid enough to avoid being pierced by those needle-like teeth. We need to take these things apart, study them, find out where the bone is thick or thin, where their vital organs are, where their weak points are, and figure out the easiest, quickest ways to kill them. Whether this is a war for our survival or a war to win God’s favor, the war has begun, and we have no other option but to fight.”
46 | Survivors
Present day
At the time of this recording, it has been three days since our stand against the creatures. I see more of them each day through the scope of the .308, but they mostly remain out of range, perhaps waiting for the rest of the pack to regroup or for reinforcements from the camp. I don’t know if the people from the camp survived or if those who managed to get onto the train made it to anywhere more secure, but I am hopeful we will see some of our friends again. While asleep, I dream about Sam and our father, and about Powell. While awake, I wonder if there will be another wave, another convergence, another chance to see all of the loved ones we have all lost.
There is a vehicle in the distance, headed our way, but it’s still too far away to make out the driver through the scope. The rifle’s bi-pod rests on the hood of my dad’s truck. My finger rests on the trigger, and the safety is off. I will no longer hesitate to pull the trigger at the first sign of a threat, but if we are to survive, then we will have to learn to trust in one another, to trust or hope there are still good people in the world. We will need to find the survivors, and we will need to work together.
We have talked about the possibility of finding somewhere more secure to call home, but we have burned up most of our fuel reserves. For now, we will have to stay and fortify the house, leaving only to replenish our supplies. In time, we will strengthen our numbers and our odds for survival. Then together, we will need to hunt these creatures to extinction before they do the same to us.