by Eric Vall
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.
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.
Oh, how encouraging.
The mutant voice on the walkie talkie started up once more, and this time it sounded like the ravings of a lunatic.
“Krag!” the gargling voice screamed. “Venktrak mik!”
I didn’t know what he was saying, but it was obvious he was pissed.
It was only a matter of time before that mutant’s friends knew he was dead. I only hoped I had enough of a head-start on them.
“I can’t believe these things can communicate with each other,” I admitted as I walked. “It even sounds like they’ve got their own language and everything.”
Not surprising, Karla agreed. If the virus simply caused human beings to develop mutations, it makes perfect sense they’d retain some of their more… human tendencies. They aren’t mindless zombies. That’s another timeline.
“Cool,” I joked. “If I make it out of this one alive, maybe that can be my next adventure.”
Next adventure? The woman’s voice was curious. I thought you were only doing this once?
“Sarcasm,” I explained with a sigh. “Say, I wonder if there’s like, an entire mutant social hierarchy. Like, do they all bow down to a mutant queen, or are there a bunch of different clans? What does the political structure of mutated humans even look like?”
A good question, Karla chuckled, but we’re going to hope we don’t get you into the position to find out. Just keep moving forward.
I walked on for another hour as I made sure to stick as close to the buildings as I possibly could. I took back alleys whenever possible, but that only made the trip take even longer.
The whole time I walked, I wondered what was going on with the mutant I’d killed.
Had they found him yet? If they had, I would have assumed the whole city would have been on high alert by now.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a familiar sound.
Footsteps. Lots of them.
I scanned my surroundings and saw there was a dumpster just down the alley to my right. I dashed off toward it at the speed of light, hopped up over the edge, and then landed in the pile of trash and rubble inside.
Something rattled underneath my body when I hit the garbage, and when I looked down, I realized I was lying on a human skeleton. The empty eye sockets stared blindly up at me, and I instantly leaned over and heaved my guts out onto the pile of rotting trash.
I didn’t know how long ago Doomsday happened in this world, but these bags had to have been sitting in here for years. I didn’t even want to think about what was in here with me.
Once I finally regained control of my insides, I peeked my head out over the top of the dumpster just in time to see a group of figures march by.
Mutants.
There were at least six of them, from my count.
They all wore the same loosely-tied tunics as the one I’d killed, but they had a much larger variety of weaponry. Some of them held clubs, while others had bows and arrows, and others carried machetes. Even though they were marching in unison, they didn’t have any sort of uniform formation. In fact, they looked just like a street gang from an old-timey gangster movie, waddling around town looking for some poor sap to beat up.
They passed out of view quickly, and I waited a few minutes before I dared to climb out of the dumpst
er.
God, I smelled awful now. As if I wasn’t already worried about getting caught… now there was a chance they could smell me, too.
“A bunch more mutants just passed by,” I whispered to Karla.
I’d bet money it was the patrol for this area, she observed. Did they look upset?
“Well, they were all brandishing their weapons and walking around like they were about to throw down with the Warriors,” I explained. “So yeah, they looked really pissed.”
Then they’ve found your dead mutant. Karla’s tone was grim. Proceed with caution, Hunter. If you can take any of them out stealthily, that may be the best option.
“Stealth kills?” I guffawed silently. “I don’t have any sort of training for that.”
Don’t your survivalist books and shows tell you how to make traps? the voice asked.
“They do,” I admitted, “but I don’t happen to have any of those with me, now do I?”
Improvise, Karla sighed. Is there anything around you that can be used as a weapon?
All around me was debris. Chunks of concrete and steel, shattered glass, random household objects from a time long gone…
Maybe I could work with this.
I rummaged through the debris in the alley and found a two-by-four, along with a few pieces of rebar that had been snapped off at the ends.
Jackpot.
I balanced the board on the edge of the dumpster and pressed the pointed end of the rebar against it. Then I picked up a chunk of concrete and began to hammer the rebar through, one-by-one. When I’d finally finished, I had the deadliest two-by-four I’d ever seen.
“Walk me through the process of making a trap, Karla,” I requested politely. “Particularly with a board with nails sticking out of it.”
That’s easy, she explained. Do you have any sort of rope? Or anything similar? You could set up a simple trip wire…
I looked around once more. There was a back door to the buildings beside me. Maybe one of them would have what I was looking for?
“Give me a minute,” I explained as I slunk over to the first door and carefully pulled it open.
There were no lights on inside, but luckily the entire left wall of the place had been knocked down. The sun shone through the opening and lit up the many desks before me.