Hyena-Man Fights Zombies

The Zombies milled about in what used to be the City of Ottawa, Ontario. From Bank Street to Rideau, from Vanier to Gloucester, from Kanata to Stitsville, the Undead were everywhere. Once upon a time, a million friendly, cheerfully, polite and passive-aggressive Canadians called Ottawa home. Now, it's Zombie central. When the Zombie outbreak started in Detroit, Michigan, it soon crossed over to the Canadian side even though Canadian border services blew up the bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit. The Undead don't respect borders, all they crave is human flesh. Driven by that hunger, they invaded Canada.

After consuming much of America and Canada, the Zombies soon crossed over into Mexico. The only thing which prevented the rest of the world from being consumed by Zombies was drastic action taken by Russia, China and North Korea. How about that? The dictatorial states combined their military might to drop nukes on America, Canada and Mexico, thus curtailing the Zombie outbreak. The continent of North America has been written off as Zombie central. There were small outbreaks in Latin America and the Caribbean but those were contained.

The Alliance of Defenders, spearheaded by Russia, and which includes China, Nigeria, Ethiopia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Iran and the United Republic of New Britain, now controls the world's resources. The Zombie plague didn't just wipe out most human life in North America. It also turned geopolitics on its head. With America and Canada gone, the world moved on. What hope does freedom have in this current state of affairs? Humanity gladly sacrificed freedom for safety when the ravenous dead began walking the earth.

What am I doing in Ottawa? What does any of that have to do with me? Hmm, long story. Let's start with some basics, shall we? The name is Ramon Salvador, and I was born in the City of Oaxaca, Mexico, to a Mexican father, Estevez Salvador, and a Nigerian mother, Jamila Adewale. I was eighteen years old when the reanimated dead began devouring the living. My relatives and I got separated during the chaos that followed. I survived, and eventually made my way to Africa. I arrived in my mother's ancestral homeland of Kano, Nigeria. I've been living there ever since.

Life isn't so bad in Kano. I adjusted fairly well to life in Nigeria and mastered several local languages including Igbo and Hausa. I also gained Nigerian citizenship. I work for the Nigerian Police Force and it's a decent gig. My direct supervisor, Captain Omar Boulaye, is a decent man. I've learned a lot from the man ever since I started working for the Nigerian Police Force. I've adjusted fairly well to my new life in Nigeria, which is about as different from Mexico as one can get. There is one snag, though. I am not exactly one hundred percent human. No, I am not a Zombie. I am something else entirely.

If you were to look at me, you'd see a six-foot-one, broad-shouldered and brown-skinned, curly-haired man. I am half Latino and half African, and my features reflect it. You might notice that I have a bunch of tiny spots all over my skin, and think it's some kind of birthmark. You've got no idea how right you are. I am different, and it's a genetic thing. Not much I can do about it. I was born this way. What am I talking about? Let's get down to it...

Folks, have you ever heard the term Bultungin? Hmm, probably not. In the myths and folklore of many West African and Middle Eastern cultures, a Bultungin is a mythological creature that's a cross between a Hyena and a man. Unlike the werewolves of European and North American folklore, a Bultungin, also known as a Were-Hyena, isn't a person who transforms into a supernatural beast. Nope. The Bultungin is an inhuman monster that goes about disguised as a person. Big difference there, folks. Werewolves are transformed humans. Bultungin were never human to begin with.

The Hyena-People, also known as the Bultungin have been living in Africa and the Middle East since the ancestors of man were hairy little things that clung to trees. Mother nature made them ride the fence between animal and man. There is nothing supernatural about the breed. I am living proof of that and damned proud of it. We are a species just like elephants, tigers, lions, parrots and crabs are different species. There are many of us living in Africa and the Middle East, hence our influence in local folklore and legends. There's always a bit of truth behind every myth, folks...

I am half Were-Hyena because my mother Jamila Adewale was one of them. I was leading as regular a life as I could in Kano, Nigeria, until the shit hit the fan. Just like that, I found myself thrust out of my mundane existence and into unwanted adventure and peril. An envoy from the League of Defenders came to town, and demanded to speak to me. I was quite shocked but played it cool. Perhaps they had the wrong man, you know? Post-apocalyptic dictatorships still got bloated bureaucracies to contend with, after all...

"The High Council wishes to speak to you," said Captain Omar Boulaye. I looked at the tall, dark-skinned and taciturn Nigerian policeman and frowned. The Captain looked worried and this in turn worried me. Two officers I was quite familiar with, Corporal James Adewale and patrolman Lucian Ajoku, escorted me out of the barracks and into the Command Center. I expected to be brought forth before the Nigerian Police luminaries, but instead found myself facing two white men whom I had never seen before.

"Thank you officers," said the white man, a tall blond-haired fellow in a suit, and Ajoku and Adewale filed out. I looked at the foreigner, and frowned. I detected a Russian accent, which wasn't surprising. The Russian military and their intelligence services are everywhere nowadays, filling the void left by America and Canada. I sniffed the air, and from the man's scent, I realized he'd spent quite a bit of time on an airplane. The man didn't seem fatigued, though. Jetlag seldom bothers those who fly for a living, or so they would have us believe.

"Greetings, Comrade, what can I do for you?" I asked, and the Russian man smiled. He introduced himself as Officer Karpov, of the Russian intelligence agencies. Hmm, Karpov is probably not his real name but it sounds pure Russian, just like Sergei, Ivan and Valentina. I tried not to smirk while privately hoping that Karpov would declare this a misunderstanding and leave. Of course I wasn't so lucky. The dude hadn't come all the way from the Russian federation on a social call...

"Mr. Salvador, you're a difficult man to find, but of course you Hyena-folk usually are, I have a job for you," said Karpov, smiling wickedly. I looked into the Russian's pale blue eyes and cursed the Nigerian Government for being in bed with powerful foreigners like the Russians and South Africans. Nigeria is the third most populous nation in the post-apocalyptic era, after China and India. We should be writing our own ticket. Sadly, the Nigerian Government isn't being ambitious enough. They are seemingly content with being a middle power in the new geopolitical scheme. It's frustrating, as you can imagine...

"I serve the people of Nigeria, and their Government, not Russia," I replied firmly. Karpov grinned, and then assured me that he had the full cooperation of the Nigerian Government. I really, really don't like it when humans get arrogant with me. It would be like a rabbit taunting a wolf. It's unacceptable. briefly considered ripping Karpov's head off of his shoulders, but then I'd have to kill fellow Nigerian policemen as I fought my way out of the Command Center. I had no desire to do that. I am quite fond of the humans...on most days. I sucked in my teeth, and forced myself to be calm.

"The fate of humanity will depend on what you do, Mr. Salvador, there is a cure for the Zombie plague but it's in Canada, only a being of your abilities can retrieve it," Karpov said evenly. I sniffed the air, and listened hard. When humans lie, their heart rates often fluctuate, it's barely noticeable but my hearing is better than that of any human so I know a lie when I hear one. I sighed, disappointed. I'd hoped to catch Karpov in a lie, but no such luck. The Russian spy believes what he is saying. Total bummer, dude...

"Alright, what's in it for me?" I asked, and Karpov grinned, then turned on his laptop. He beckoned for me to come closer, which I did. Karpov played with a few keys and then a video began to play. On the screen, I saw several men and women, on a rooftop somewhere, and they were surrounded by the Undead. The Zombies swarmed the humans, and even though they were heavily armed, they were fatally outnumbered. All seemed lost, until...

"Behold," said Karpov, and I frowned as a trio of gigantic, hairy and spotted bipedal creatures leapt on the rooftop. My heartrate quickened as I recognized the creatures. They were Were-Hyenas, two males and a female. Larger than the males, the female Were-Hyena led them on an all-out assault against the Zombies. In mere minutes, the Hyena-folk slaughtered over a hundred Zombie. The humans cowered as the creatures drew near.

"Don't be afraid," came a female voice, and the Were-Hyena female began to change. I gasped as the Hyena leader morphed into a tall, dark-skinned woman with silver hair. Karpov's eyes locked onto me and he gauged my reaction. Mother, I thought. I never thought I'd see my mother again. Even for us Hyena people, the Zombie apocalypse is an unmitigated disaster. We've lost friends and allies to the Undead plague, just like the humans have...

"Mother," I said, and Karpov nodded gently. On screen, the other Hyenas resumed their human forms. I did not recognize the two young black men who accompanied my mother Jamila Adewale. They were Hyena-people, and evidently members of her pack, and that was good enough for me. Among the Hyena people, the power structure is matriarchal. The gun-toting humans exchanged looks of pure shock as the Hyena people joined them. They didn't shoot them, which was no small feat. Panicked humans tend to shoot first and ask questions never...

"This footage was obtained via satellite, in Ottawa, precisely where a top secret lab containing the cure happens to be," said Karpov. I paused as I considered all of this. Last time I saw my parents, they were in Oaxaca, Mexico. We were trying to escape to Europe via the United States. The Zombie plague was ravaging Mexico and Canada but America was holding its own at that point. We were months away from the fall of Washington, New York and Massachusetts, which would be followed by the collapse of the American Government. We still had hope...

"If I agree to do this mission for you, I'm going to need that footage and any other pertinent information you've got," I said firmly. Karpov smiled at me the way snakes smile at mice. The Russian spy had me right where he wanted me. We shook hands, and that's how it all began. Karpov introduced me to other spies, both Nigerian and Russian, and military types. Those men and women would be essential in helping me complete my mission.

"North America is a dead zone, literally, and believe me, superhuman or not, you're going to need all the help you can get," Karpov assured me. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but arrogant as I was, I thought I could handle it. After all, I can transform at will into an eight-foot-tall, bipedal monster with superhuman strength, speed and durability. I am more than a match for any human and any Zombie. Of course, the universe was about to test my mettle...

The Alliance of Defenders would fly me and a special team made up of soldiers and scientists from Kano, Nigeria, to Ottawa, Ontario. Once there, we would be dropped into one of the most Zombie-infested areas of the North American continent. A million people called Ottawa-Gatineau home before the Zombie plague hit. A million Zombies reside in the Ottawa Metropolitan Area now. A million Zombies against a Hyena-Man, ten soldiers and five scientists. On a scale of one to ten, how dead are we?