Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 02

It opened with a pneumatic hiss, breaking the seal it had maintained and let Ben outside. Ben took a deep breath and smelled clean air for the first time in a long time. He could feel and smell no discernable difference in the air, other than that it felt better, lighter almost. It was almost as though there was more oxygen in the air to breathe, as opposed to poisons and toxins because of air pollution.

He looked back at the door, which had automatically shut and panicked for a moment until he saw the keyreader he assumed was there. He dug out the keycard and used it on the reader, which opened the door once again. Ben smiled at this and let it close as he put the card back in his pocket.

Turning back to the area behind him, Ben saw it had grown quite wild in the time since he'd first arrived. There were various plants and flowers that Ben recognized, but they seemed to have grown in unpredicted ways. He also noted that there were several trees that had grown in the cleared areas around the house and barn. Ben guessed the squirrels had also survived and were continuing to bury whatever nuts they found.

Ben looked over at the barn, or what was left of it, and was suddenly glad that he decided against using it. The structure had not withstood the test of time as well as the house had, as it had collapsed and rotted away. Most of it was an unidentifiable ruin, with bits of wood still showing and a web of plants and ivy had crawled across the floor.

Walking over, Ben could see that it had fallen quite some time ago and figured that it had done so not long after the bombs had dropped. Seeing that most of the old planks had rotted away, the only thing he could do was clear away the detritus. It would have to be a job for another day, as Ben still didn't know enough about his surroundings yet.

He turned away from the barn and took a quick walk around the property, while staying away from the forest. He checked the ground, looking for tracks of any kind, hoping that he would find something. This area was clear, as Ben could find no sign of animals or anyone passing through. Ben nodded thoughtfully to himself and saw this as both good and bad.

It was good in the way that since nothing and no one had been around, which meant that this place was safe and relatively hidden. The unpleasant side of it was that there were no animals nearby, so if he was going to find something to hunt, he'd have to go further afield. Ben swept the area once again, to be sure that there were no hidden surprises lying in wait. His second search pattern yielded nothing, same as the first time, so Ben headed for the road.

Of all the things that had been left behind, the road looked to be mostly intact, albeit with a few cracks where nature had pushed through. Some cracks seemed to be larger than was possible, then Ben remembered that Ontario winters were harsh. Five hundred winters where the roads were constantly shifting and no one to maintain them, some sections of them were bound to be wrecked.

He walked down the road, keeping his eyes open and watching for anything that was coming from the woods. He was more than halfway down the road to the small town that wasn't far, if Ben remembered it right. The sun was shining brightly today, with little to no cloud cover, giving Ben a good line of sight on anything that would come at him.

As he traversed the ruined road, Ben swore he heard something nearby. It sounded like an errant clicking sound, and he wasn't sure where it was coming from. He looked around the edges of the road and around his feet for the source of the sound. All he saw was shoots and grass coming through the asphalt and heavy thickets by the edge of the forest, but nothing else.

The feel of the sun beating down on him lessened, and that was when Ben heard the clicking sound get louder. He turned and saw something coming at him, screaming ferally as it leaped for his throat. Thinking quickly, Ben drew his machete and swung hard, catching the thing right across its torso. It squealed in pain and Ben saw burgundy blood spray away from his swing and it thudded to the ground.

Ben managed to get a good look at the creature that attacked him. It was the size of a small child, with a pinkish hide, much like that of a pig, but with hardened calcifications on top of it, almost like armor. Its underbelly was pale, almost slug white, but softer than the pink areas. Its feet and hands looked like eagle claws, but bone white and razor sharp by the look of them.

Ben stepped closer to it, and he could see that he'd wounded it severely, as the road was covered in its blood. Its head was almost human in shape, but with a larger nose, a wider mouth that was full of sharp teeth, not too unlike that of a shark. The weirdest and oddest thing was that it appeared to have no eyes, but it had ears, if the holes in its head could be called so.

It growled and yipped, struggling to stand but failing to keep its guts inside itself. Ben moved away from it carefully, thinking it couldn't see him. It was looking for him, but in the wrong direction. Then Ben tripped over a small pebble which rattled along the road, and the creature suddenly snapped its head over, staring right at him.

Before Ben could move or curse, it craned its head upwards and screamed. It unleashed several of these screams, almost like it was calling to others of its kind. Seconds later, the beast was answered by other screams, much like its own. Some of them were higher in pitch, while others were lower, but they were all close by.

Fear rose within Ben, and he continued to back away, minding his footing. Other creatures, like the one who attacked him, suddenly burst out of the treeline, screaming in bloodlust. Ben saw that some of these creatures were bigger than the one he gutted, while many others were smaller.

Looking around fearfully, Ben waved his machete threateningly, thinking he'd scare them off. This served only to antagonize them as they all growled and screamed at him, their long tongues lolling out, licking their teeth in anticipation. They closed in on him, and the looks on their unnatural faces spoke of only one thing: hunger. Ben breathed heavily, knowing that if he survived this, he was going to have to be more careful in the future.

He then felt the sun on his face once again, which Ben supposed was a minor comfort given his situation. The creatures then hissed as they all shrank away from Ben, trying to get away from him. Ben was puzzled at this sudden shift in behavior until he saw the one he cut open scream as the light touched it. It howled in agony as its skin burned and smoked, like it was slowly melting away.

Seconds later, after it screamed, its skin then caught fire, and it gave off one last howl before it collapsed. Ben could tell that it was now truly dead, as even its blood caught fire, igniting its insides. The rest of the creatures distanced themselves from it, not wanting to be anywhere near their burning comrade.

Ben took this as his cue to put some serious distance between him and those beasts. He turned around and took off as fast as he could, his legs covering the ground quickly. Ben looked over his shoulder, hoping that he'd shaken the creatures off his tail. His hopes were dashed when he saw they were pursuing him but sticking to the shadows. If they feared the sun that much, then as long as Ben was in the light, he'd be safe.

He kept running, trying to increase the distance between them and him. These things were obviously fast, as they kept pace with Ben's stride without too much effort. He moved as fast as he could, trying to outpace them, but found it to be a futile effort. Ben continued to run, as he was determined to survive this day, no matter the cost.

He could see the town in the distance and how it was more open that the road, which would allow him to lose these beasts. He ran, hoping that he'd reach it soon, as his lungs were straining to keeping him going. Ben's hopes were dashed as he saw a couple of large trees that had fallen in the middle of the road. The logs were piled high enough that it was going to take him a few minutes to get over it, but the creatures would have him by then.

The moment he reached the logs was the very second that another cluster of clouds moved to cover the sun. Ben turned and thought to use his bow and arrows, but there were too many of them to kill before they reached him. He had his machete in one hand, and he pulled the hatchet with the other and set himself ready to fight. Though he wasn't overly skilled with these weapons, he knew enough that he wouldn't go down easily.

They all came right for him, safe under the cover of the clouds, and leaped, hoping to make it a quick and easy kill. Ben swung with a backhand, catching one beast in the neck, nearly decapitating it. He didn't stop with that stroke and kept moving, spinning around and swung his hatchet, catching another in the chest. Its breath caught as it was suddenly short of breath and deprived of all strength.

Ben moved both weapons in an X, opening up the chest cavity of another. He then brought the weapons down in an inverted V. The motion took another two of them down, lopping their arms off at the elbow. He then whirled, spinning his weapons around him and creating an impromptu shield as he moved.

Some larger ones had backed off, having sensed his movement and knowing that Ben would not be an easy kill. The smaller ones continued to throw themselves at him, and they were quickly cut down. Ben wasn't flawless in his moves though, as more than one had gotten through his defense to either nick or cut him. Each attack was enough to have its head lopped off or its jaw removed, but Ben was slowing.

Many of the smaller ones scurried away from him, realizing that he would end them all if they got too close or too eager. They backed away and kept their senses trained on him, waiting for Ben to falter. He was breathing hard, which made it easy for them to track him, but he was calming down, which would soon make it harder for them to sense him.

Ben kept his focus, and despite the many cuts he'd already sustained, he was still good to fight some more. He hoped they didn't call for more help, or he was screwed. They appeared to be ready to do just that, until the cloud cover broke, bathing the area in sunlight once again. The group, which numbered just over two dozen, sensed the light coming and scattered.

A few of the smaller ones didn't head to the treeline fast enough and got cooked within seconds. Those that were dead and dying lit up like funeral pyres, the flames reaching high enough to startle him. Ben knew he didn't have long, as he saw another batch of clouds heading over towards the sun. He prayed to whatever gods that existed that these things couldn't climb and clambered over the fallen logs.

He got over quickly enough, and he heard the beasts growling on the other side. The sun was still shining, but Ben didn't let that stop him and he kept moving, eager to be away. He put some serious distance between him and the log barrier and was maybe eight hundred meters away when the sun was again blotted out. He turned back at that moment, expecting to see those creatures bearing down on him, only to find nothing there but an empty road.

Sighing in relief, Ben fell to his knees and laughed hysterically, overjoyed to be alive after that close call. His voice cracked and Ben then realized that his mouth was dry. Chuckling, he grabbed the canteen he had and took a deep pull. Nearly half the canteen was gone by the time Ben took it away from his mouth.

Sealing it up again, Ben got to his feet and set himself, looking back towards the log barrier. He was damn thankful that those things couldn't climb and went about cleaning his hatchet and machete in the dirt. Once the blood was scrubbed off the metal, he sheathed both weapons and took up his bow, nocking an arrow into it. He was stupid, thinking there was going to be no threat this close to where he woke. He would not make that mistake again and kept his eyes open.

He walked towards the town, keeping his eyes focused on the shadows, looking for more of those creatures. If nothing else, he was going to make sure that nothing and no one got the drop on him again. He kept looking around as he made his way towards the town of Mulmur. So far, everything looked clear, but Ben kept looking and, more importantly, listening.

Straining his ears, Ben listened, but thankfully heard nothing. No clicking sound echoed on the wind, no growling, no thumping or skittering. Just the sounds of birds trilling and bugs buzzing about, which Ben was thankful to hear. Despite the nuclear bombs falling and the chemical warheads detonating, life found a way to carry on.

As Ben approached, the ruined town and all he found, was rotting and devastated buildings. These structures didn't suffer from nuclear fire, but the slow decay of time. He looked around and found the decaying bones of some of his fellow human beings lying in the streets. The bones looked as though they had been slowly falling apart after all these centuries. Entire sections of the skeletons were gone, either pulverized into meal or taken by scavengers.

From what Ben could see, the bones weren't charred at all, but it was as though the people here had died at the same time. He supposed small towns like this one were destroyed with chemical weapons, killing everyone in the vicinity instantly. He could only pray that they had died a quick death and bowed his head, taking a moment of silence. Ben then raised his head and turned to search the town.

The moment he turned around, Ben was staring at the chest of something green, humanoid, and huge. He looked up to see a human-like face staring down at him. It grinned before it swung its huge and meaty fist at him, smashing it in his face. The blow sent Ben sprawling, and he crashed to the ground, his bow flying from his grip. He tried to sit up, but the punch dazed him, and he passed out from the pain.

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Well, that wraps up that chapter! I do hope everyone has enjoyed it and is eagerly anticipating the release of the next one! It might be a while, due to how the Writer's Gambit is going to play out. But, because of what the first Writer's Gambit is going to be the first time out, every story I write will be getting extra chapters!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I do hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please feel free to rate and comment on my work down below. If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share, though your views, ratings and comments are quite enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!