Urban Survival: Chapter 2 part 2

He stuffed his face, he hadn’t eaten good food, or even real food in five days. The most he had, had to eat was some MREs and although they were filling, he was not a huge fan.

When Max had finished he walked over to the window and looked out. The window over looked the city street which used to be crowded with pedestrians and cars but now there was nothing more than the street itself and some rubble.


Max could see rain drops falling daintily past his prison window, “at least the rain is beginning to let up,” he thought to himself.

He turned around and looked around the room again, while resting against the wall. Max then closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He wondered how his squad was and hoped they had made it back to the safe house all right. They probably thought he was dead.

Max slid down the wall into a sitting position, resting his arms on his bent knees. He was so tired. He hadn’t had a full nights rest in a week.

The wonderful feeling of sleep was creeping up on Max but he didn’t fight it, instead he let it engulf him.

However, someone shaking him and calling his name suddenly woke him. Max tried to scramble to his feet quickly out of instinct but someone held him down.

“Max! Max, everything’s fine it’s just me,” a female voice said laughing.

Max looked up at her face and saw that it was Aeila.

He looked around, “How long was I out?”

“I don’t know? I was only gone about, maybe twenty minutes.”

Max looked at her confused. He could have sworn it was longer than that but then again he had been asleep.

“Come on, get up. I found Marcus, so now you’ve got to go see Jaq. I’m sure he’s already grown impatient.”

“Who is Marcus?” Max asked still sitting.

Aeila laughed, “Get up and I’ll show you. He’s right outside.”

Max got up slowly. Aeila watched him carefully as if she were studying him, Max pretended not to notice and walked over to the desk where he had left his canteen. Picking it up, he clipped it to his belt and turned around. Aeila was still watching him but then she saw that Max had noticed she looked away quickly and blushed.

“Sorry. Are you ready to go?”

Max smiled. He was beginning to think Aeila liked him but he didn’t mention it, “Do I have a choice?”

“Unfortunately, no. Come on.”

Max followed her through the open door and stepped out into a hallway. The hall was lit by floodlights at random intervals. He could hear the faint humming of the generators that were powering them. The two guards that had been watching Max’s prison were nowhere in sight but Max did not think anything of it.

Standing in the hall was an Ayra who looked a bit older than Max. The Ayra was also shorter than the others, just like Aeila.

“Max, this is Marcus” Aeila said leading them down the hallway, “I believe you met him earlier in the parking garage.”

Max nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement following her, “oh, you mean one of the ones who left you to die?”

“Yeah, I told her I was sorry. But Fal would have told the guards to raise the bridge if I didn’t tell them to wait for her. Aeila always finds a way out of trouble.”

Max immediately knew which Ayra it was when he heard his Australian-like accent, “Yeah and if I wasn’t such a nice guy she would be Cree chow.”

Marcus looked at his feet as Aeila lead them through a door to some stairs, “I know what I did was wrong. I just… panicked.”

“It’s okay Marcus, I understand,” Aeila reassured him.

The three of them descended the stairs in silence. They exited through a door marked with a big number seven.

When Max saw what was on the other side of the door his jaw dropped.

“Max. Welcome to our safe house.” Aeila told Max when she saw his face.

They were in a huge room that would have originally been full of cubicles but now had a huge hole in the center of the floor with smoke rising up through it into a vent hole in the ceiling. Small huts had been erected along the edges of the room. Max walked over to the edge of the hole and looked down.

The hole went through three floors to where Max could see four floors below him. On the floor farthest down, there was a large bonfire which was what was creating the smoke.

On each floor, there were randomly shaped huts and a bunch of Ayra walking around and talking with one another. Across the room on the floor below him Max could see a group of Ayra kids kicking around an old soda can.

“Come on,” Aeila said grabbing Max’s arm and leading him around to one side of the hole.

A rectangular section of the floor had been cut out and set up like a ramp down to the next floor. The two Ayra led Max through the mini town and down multiple ramps until they had reached the floor with the bonfire. All the Ayra men and women smiled and waved when they saw Max, Aeila and Marcus walk by.

At first Max thought they were waving to Aeila and Marcus but when he looked a bit closer he saw that Aeila and Marcus were not even acknowledging them. Then Max also noticed that the teenaged Ayra girls were staring at him and giggling as he passed.

Max was really confused, he had no idea that Ayra could be so… friendly. But then again the only Ayra he had ever dealt with before were the POWs captured during the War with the Ayra. And those Ayra were extremely unhappy campers.

Up ahead, Max could see a set of double door that they were headed towards and he wondered what Jaq was going to tell him. But before Max could think any farther their path was blocked by a cocky looking Ayra and two larger cohorts.

“Hey, Aeila. What do you got there? Is that you’re new boyfriend? You know humans are never up to any good.” The Ayra said, his voice trying to sound smooth and sly.

Aeila shifted her weight to her right leg and crossed her arms, “neither are you Syler. Not get out of our way!”

Max noticed that all the happy, cheerfulness in her voice present when she had talked to Max was now completely absent in the words she spoke to Syler.

“Whoa ho-ho! Come on Babe…”

Syler tried to lean in and kiss Aeila on the cheek but before he got anywhere Aeila punched him in the gut with all her might. Syler winced as he sucked in sharply for air.

“You’ve always be a strong girl Aeila, but you’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.”

As Syler stepped towards Aeila, Marcus placed his hand on Syler’s shoulder, “Dude, leave her alone.”

Syler spun around and threw Marcus to the ground. One of Syler’s cronies tried to tell him to calm down but Syler just told him to shut up.

Turning back to Marcus, Syler yelled, “You don’t tell me what to do Human! I don’t listen to people like you!”

Max looked awkwardly at Marcus. If he was human that would explain his Australian accent. And if he was human Max couldn’t help himself. This was one of the moments when Max felt he needed to help someone who was in trouble.

As Syler turned back to deal with Aeila he stopped suddenly, almost surprised, when he saw Max standing between him and his prey.

“Then maybe you’ll listen me,” Max said squaring his shoulders.

He had no intention of actually fighting but just in case a fight broke out he didn’t want to be caught off guard.

Syler laughed, “That’s cute Human. Now get out of my way.”

The Ayra stepped towards Max to shove him out of the way. But as Syler’s hands touched Max, Max threw his hands up and broke Syler’s contact with him.

Stumbling to catch himself from falling forward, Syler’s face changed from amusement to anger.

Once he regained his balance he again commanded, “Get out of my way!”

Slyer emphasized ‘way’ by swinging his fist at Max, but Max easily deflected the blow. Slyer swung a few more fists angrily, which Max effortlessly blocked. Growing increasingly more aggravated with each blocked punch, Syler threw a low blow.

Max caught Syler’s arm with both hands and twisted so that Syler was forced to turn his back to Max. Max then kicked him in the back sending Syler sprawling. When Syler got up the sight was pathetic. He looked frustrated and embarrassed as if his pride had just been pried from his clutches.

As Syler charged Max desperately, Aeila turned to Syler’s crony who had tried to calm him down and asked, “Brale, would you please stop Syler before he hurts himself? We need to get going, orders from Jaq.”

The muscular Ayra nodded, “Sure thing Aeila. He’s getting out of hand anyways.”

Brale walked up behind Syler, as he attempted to faze Max, and picked him up. Brale lifted Syler off the ground and away from Max.

“What are you doing you idiot!?” Syler yelled at Brale trying to hit his own man.

Marcus walked over to Aeila, “are you alright?”

“I should be asking you that,” Aeila laughed, then turned to Max, “Thank you. Again.”

Max nodded, “It was nothing.”

Smiling Aeila led Max and Marcus back down their original path. As they walked through the double doors Max could hear Syler yelling at Brale.

“Well that was fun,” Max said to himself sarcastically.

Urban Survival: Chapter 2 part 1(first draft)

Max opened his eyes slowly. Everything seemed extremely bright, so he had to squint but doing so made his raging headache even worse. For a second he couldn’t remember what had happened, but when he tried to hold his head he realized that he was tied up. Everything that had happened sunk back in and Max hit his head on the ground, angry at himself, ignoring the extra pain he had just caused.

“God Max, what did you do?” he asked himself out loud.

Once he had gotten used to the light, Max looked around. He was in a small room full of old janitorial supplies. There was a door in front of him and a small window in the corner of the room that let in the dull light that Max had thought was so bright at first. From his position on the ground Max could see the faint glare of the sun through the cloud cover and guessed he had only been out for maybe an hour.

He heard the muffled talking of some people outside guessing that they were probably guards stationed outside of his ‘prison’. Max was beginning to regret following that female Ayra, of whom he could not quite remember the name of. Everything still seemed a little fuzzy.

Max’s attention was drawn to the door as it suddenly opened and a very attractive young woman in her early twenties entered the room carrying some kind of tray in her hands. Her slender body was clothed in Human garb; a black tank top and black skinny jeans. Her brown bangs were brushed over one of her ears.

She was also shorter than the other Ayra, like the one he had met earlier in the parking garage and then he wondered if all female Ayra were shorter than the males. She also looked more Human with her height. Max had seen Ayra without their armor before but he didn’t know that Ayra could be so… beautiful.

Two guards followed behind her, but when she saw Max tied up she stopped and turned to the guards, “Untie him.”

“But Jaq said…”

“I don’t care what, Jaq said,” the young woman said, interrupted them.

“Sorry Aeila, we were told to tie him up. Orders are orders.”

“Wait, Aeila? You’re the one who got me into this mess,” Max muttered.

“Well don’t go pointing fingers, but yeah, I helped you stay alive,” Aeila answered, then turned back to the guards, “What? You afraid this one Tiny Human is going to be able to get through two, Big and Strong Ayra like yourself? Come on, for me?”

Max didn’t like how she exaggerated the word tiny, or big and strong for that matter. He looked at the two guards, they weren’t that big, Max could easily take them bare handed even if they were taller than him. But he kept quiet.

The two guards looked a little uncomfortable with the way she said it as well, but one replied, “Well okay, I guess if you put it that way…”

“Thank you,” Aeila said as the two guards passed her and walked up to Max.

They each pulled out a blade and cut the ropes around Max’s wrists and ankles. Max sat up, massaging his wrists and staring at Aeila.

She nodded towards the doors, “you can leave us.”

The two guards looked confused, “But, Aeila…”

“That’ll be all,” she interrupted, again motioning to the door.

The guards reluctantly left the room. Max watched them as they did so, then he turned his attention to Aeila as the door closed behind her.

There was an awkward silence. Then Aeila spoke, “I brought you some food.”

Max waited to see if she had anything else to say. She didn’t.

“Is that all?” he asked and Aeila just stared at him blankly, “I mean, you guys hold me at gun point, knock me out, tie me up and throw me in a janitor’s closet. And now you’re bringing me food?”

“Yeah, yeah that about sums it up.” She answered him with the hint of a small smile on her face.

“Oh, okay cool,” He said, still confused.

Max stood up and stretched but suddenly felt light headed and had to catch himself on a small desk that was nearby.

“Are you alright?” Aeila asked taking a couple steps towards Max and setting the tray on a self next to her.

Max waved her off, “Yeah, I’m fine. Did you bring me some water? I could really use something to drink right now.”

“Oh, I had your canteen filled,” she said grabbing his canteen off the tray she had set down.

Max took it gladly and gulped down half of the canteen’s contents, but he was still careful not to let any of the water drip out of his mouth. He had made it a habit, years ago to not waste any food or water, and get as much as you could, while you could.

When Max finished drinking he stared at the desk he was leaning on, taking deep breaths and thinking. He looked down at himself and just then realized that he had been stripped of all his gear, down to his undershirt and pants. Aeila stood there in silence watching Max.

Max then turned to Aeila with a puzzled look on his face, “Why being so kind to me, a Human?”

“You saved my life.”

“That can’t be it, can it? Everyone else thinks I was the one to endanger your home. However many that may be, but…”

“A few hundred,” she said interrupting.

“What!”

“Yeah, there are a few hundred of us.”

“Huh, well that’s just great! So hundreds of Ayra, want me dead?” Max asked, freaking out.

“Oh no, no, no over half of them don’t know you’re here. The ones that know, like Jaq, they just want you to fix it.”

Max stared at her awkwardly, “Fix it? Fix what? What did I possible do now?”

“Well nothing, but they’re just blaming you for it.” Aeila stated slowly.

“It? Are you ever going to tell me what It is?”

Aeila smiled, “Sorry no, um, Jaq wants to tell you himself.”

“Oh, what is he my buddy now?” Max asked sarcastically.

Aeila laughed, but then her smile faded, “Well you’re not going to like what he has to say.”

Max looked seriously at Aeila setting his canteen on the desk and then pulling himself up onto it in a sitting position, “come on, you can’t give me a hint? Is it life threatening?”

Before Aeila said anything she cocked her head and stared at Max intently. This made him squirm uncomfortably in his seat.

Max didn’t like the silence and felt relieved when Aeila finally spoke, “You’re bleeding.”

“What? Don’t change the subject!”

“No, your cheek, it’s still bleeding.”

Max reached up and felt the cheek that Jaq had smacked with his pistol. He winced when he touched the large gash on his face. He pulled his fingers away and looked at them; there was wet blood on his fingers.

“It’s nothing.”

“No, let me take a look at it,” said Aeila walking up with an hand outstretched towards Max.

She tilted his chin up and leaned in closer for a better look. She grabbed Max’s open canteen and poured some water on the wound making Max jerk away slightly. Aeila opened a small pouch on her belt reaching in and pulling out a piece of cloth. She dabbed the gash gingerly but it still made Max cringe.

“Ouch,” he said emotionlessly when she wiped the gash one last time.

She smiled, “sorry.”

Aeila pulled some kind of bandage out of her pouch and placed it over the wound. She pressed gently around the edges of the adhesive part of the bandage to make sure it stayed.

Closing the pouch, Aeila stared once again at Max.

“What?” Max asked uncomfortably.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Aeila looking at him it was just that it was a little awkward.

“Sorry, nothing. It’s just you… you remind me of someone I used to know,” Aeila answered looking away.

“Stop apologizing. It’s okay, really. It’s just… Well, a little awkward.”

“No, I… I understand, sorry.”

Max rolled his eyes and smiled when she said sorry, then all went quiet. Aeila walked over to where she had set down the tray and picked it up.

Walking back over to Max she set the tray down on the desk, “I convinced Jaq to allow you to live with us. But first you have to do something for us, the safe house. I can’t give you any details. Despite what you saw when I came in I really do listen to most orders. Eat up, and I’ll be back to get you. I need to find someone first.”

Max didn’t answer and watched as she walked towards the door. Without another word she knocked on the door and the guards opened it. Before she walked out she turned and took one last look at Max then she was gone as the door shut behind her.

Max shook his head and began eating the food Aeila had brought him.

NEXT

Urban Survival: Chapter 1 part 2(final edit)

The two brutish looking Ayra walked off towards the ramp to the next level of the parking garage; weapons at the ready.

“Fal, why are you sending those two Jokers to take care of it?” The Ayra in the skull armor asked. “They’re stupid and clumsy. They’ll probably attract more of those things.”

Max could not help but notice how the Ayra’s voice sounded like he had an Australian accent, which he found… strange. Nevertheless, listening to what the skull armored Ayra had said, Max looked at the two Ayra walking up the ramp. One thing that he noticed first was their rifles. Neither of them was silenced and this worried Max, a lot.

“Fal, or whatever your name is, he’s right,” Max said nodding towards the Ayra who now disappeared through the opening in the ceiling. “They have unsuppressed firearms. If they shoot at the Cree, others are bound to hear it. They could attract a Murder. I’m sure their own pack is already on its way, don’t make things worse.”

Fal jabbed the barrel of his gun harder into Max’s chin, “I’m going to murder you if you don’t shut up! ...What is a murder?”

Max flinched as the cold metal barrel dug into his skin.

“Bad,” The skull armored Ayra answered him, “It’s a horde of the Cree.”

Aeila appeared as if she was going to say something but she was interrupted by two loud screams and bursts of gunfire. The four of them looked around.

The two brutish Ayra fell through a hole in the ceiling where the concrete had given way to the weather. They landed in a heap but quickly scrambled to their feet aiming their rifles up and through the hole. Max could hear their loud and heavy breathing.

“What happened?” Fal asked, yelling at the two oafs.

“It just… snuck up on us,” the large one panted.

“How did it possibly sneak up on you in the light?”

They didn’t answer but instead let off a few more rounds through the hole. The shots rang and echoed off the buildings in the city.

Fal only now realized how loud they actually were and yelled, “Stop shooting!”

The two Ayra ceased fire and backed away from the hole. The smaller of the two backed up into the open wall that faced the street. All was quiet, too quiet.

Unexpectedly hands grabbed the Ayra from behind clawing at the Ayra’s armor. The Ayra screamed as a pale head tried to gnaw through his helmet. As the angry and hungry Cree clawed at the Ayra’s chest, it hit something that started beeping.

“Get off of me!” the helpless Ayra cried.

The Ayra finally managed to pull away from the Cree’s clutches. The Cree however kept hold of the beeping object, which had detached from the Ayra’s armor, and began to gnaw on that instead.

“Get down!” Fal yelled pulling Max to the ground with him, purely as instinct not because he wanted to save Max’s life.

The Ayra all dove for cover as the beeping continued. Max threw his hands over his head and tensed up. The beeping stopped abruptly and all seemed deathly quiet.

The whole of the parking garage shook as the device in the Cree’s mouth exploded, sending flames and shrapnel everywhere. What was left of the Cree toppled to the streets below. Pieces of concrete fell scattering on the ground around Max.

He looked at where the explosion had taken place and assessed the damage. Dust hung heavy in the air and caused them all to cough and wheeze. There was now no longer a wall or floor within a six foot radius of where the detonation had taken place.

“Holy crap!” Max gasped

The female Ayra, Aeila, was the first to get up. She ran over to check on the Ayra who had been attacked by the Cree, but he waved her off pushing himself up off the floor. As everyone slowly got to their feet, a horrible shriek rang out from the streets.

Fal ran over to the wall where Max had originally climbed over and peered out onto the street, “Oh no…”

Cree were running at the parking garage from every corner of the street, there were hundreds of them.

“Told you so,” the skull armored Ayra mocked.

Fal turned and glared at the Ayra, “Shut up! Let’s get out of here.”

He then began to sprint toward the ramp and towards the upper levels of the garage. The others followed.

Max was about to follow until he watched the first Cree jump out of the hole the two Ayra had fallen through and attack Aeila.

The momentum of the Cree threw them both over the edge and through the hole in the floor the explosion had made. Aeila barely managed to grab onto the edge of the hole but was able to keep her grip.

Aeila cried out for help but the other Ayra kept running, ignoring her. The Cree that had attacked her clung onto her legs clawing at her armor, trying to find a way to tear at her flesh. Max saw that the other Ayra were just going to leave her there to die.

Although he had, had his differences with the Ayra, he would sooner save one than let a Cretin kill one. And maybe it was a flaw, but whenever someone was in danger, he felt an urge to save them.

Max ran over to the edge of the hole and stuck out his left hand to offer his help. Aeila gladly took it for she was struggling to keep her grasp on the cold concrete, and the thrashing Cree on her legs was making things twice as difficult.

Although her visor was dark and Max could not see her face, he could sense how terrified she was. Pulling her up until her elbow was over the ledge, Max drew his pistol. He pointed it at Aeila and she said nothing.

“Duck!”

Aeila quickly ducked her head and Max pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its mark. Lead projectile ripped through the forehead of the Cree assailant. The Cree’s expression went from anger and desperation to a calm nothingness as its limbs went limp and the Cree crashed to floor below.

Max helped Aeila the rest of the way up onto the solid ground.

“You… Saved me?” Aeila asked, breathing heavily.

“Now is not the time, we’ve got to go!”

Aeila looked out at the street. The Cree were now upon the garage and beginning to climb the walls of the building. “Right sorry, come on!”

She dragged Max towards the ramp to the next level and he followed quickly. They ran through each level until they reached the roof. As they ran through the opening to the roof Max could feel the rain patter against his helmet again. He had gotten used to the dry shelter of the parking garage, so the rain almost stung as it hit the bare skin on his face.

As they set foot on the roof, the first thing he noticed was that Fal and the other Ayra were not there. Aeila lead Max to one of the sides of the building. It was facing a twenty-story building, and he noticed that there was a large makeshift bridge that Max had not seen from the street. The bridge extended from the twenty-story building to the parking garages roof. Aeila stepped onto it but stopped when she noticed Max had.

“Come on!”

“What is this place?” Max asked, hesitant to go into the building if it were full of Ayra.

Aeila turned back and grabbed Max’s arm, pulling him onto the bridge, “It’s a safe house. Now come on!”

Max was still hesitant on whether or not he should follow the Ayra, but a loud screech from the Cree pursuing them made him think again. He decided it was better to live than to be ripped to pieces by the angry Cree, so he followed Aeila.

The bridge extended from a room in the building where the windows had been cleared, leading to a single door guarded by two Ayra soldiers. Once Aeila and Max had reach the end of the bridge, and set foot into the room there was a loud creaking noise and the bridge began to rise. It worked like a medieval drawbridge; two large cables reached down from higher up in the building and connected to either side of the bridge. These cables pulled the bridge up and away from the parking garage.

The two Ayra guards raised their weapons at Max when they saw his uniform but Aeila told them to lower them, so they did.

Max could see from around the bridge the Cree come sprinting into view as it came to a stop flat against the building. Hundreds of them came pouring out onto the roof of the parking garage and even as they reached the edge of the building, the Cree behind them continued forward shoving the Cree in the front ranks over the edge and falling to their doom.

Behind him, he heard the door open and he turned around. An arrogant looking Ayra walked through staring at Max. In his hand he carried a rustic looking pistol. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and his short brown hair looked ragged. He looked like a human in his mid forties without the helmet on.

More Ayra soldiers walked past and two of the soldiers grabbed Max’s arms restraining him.

“Jaq, he’s alright, he saved my life.” Aeila pleaded with the arrogant Ayra.

But Jaq just shook his head, “Aeila, it doesn’t matter. He’s human, we can’t trust him! At least, not now, not after he almost let those things into our safe haven.”

“Sir, that wasn’t my fault, and I didn’t come here to fight! I came here to survive!” Max told the so-called Jaq.

Jaq struck Max across the face with his sidearm. Starbursts erupted in Max’s skull and his vision began to blur. He would have fallen over if it were not for the two Ayra holding him up from behind.

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” Jaq said.

Grabbing Max by his cheeks and forcing Max to look him in the eyes he continued, “Lucky for you I can’t afford to let you go. You know where we live. However, since I’m such a nice guy your wish to survive will be granted… for now.”

Violently letting Max’s cheeks go, he stepped back. Aeila continued to plea for Max but Jaq ignored her. He motioned to the soldiers holding Max, but before Max could look behind him, more starbursts erupted in his skull and his vision went black.

NEXT

Urban Survival: Chapter 1 part 1(final edit)

Max stood there in the rain looking up at the third story of a parking garage. There was a dull red orange glow of a fire, only just visible in the dark gloomy light of the sun.

His tattered, urban BDU’s were hardly protection against the heavy onslaught of rain that pelted the destroyed war torn streets. He had traveled light for his mission four days ago so that he would be able to get out faster if things went wrong. More or less things had.

Knowing that he had to get to shelter soon, Max decided he would check out the camp, hoping that it was some friendly human survivors. Unfortunately, a closed, metal security gate blocked off the only entrance. He surveyed the area and saw a low wall that sloped up almost to the second story.

Before he thought about it, he began sprinting towards the garage. The assault rifle slung over his back bounced against the Kevlar plating strapped around his torso. His breath was hot in his scarf wrapped around his neck and chin.

He leaped up on to the wall and ran along it, his Kevlar helmet keeping the rain out of his eyes. Diving forward and grabbing the ledge of the wall to the second story. Max pulled himself up and over it. He landed in the empty parking lot and pulled out his silenced pistol. Looking around he saw nothing; a few abandoned cars and some rubble.

He cursed under his breath when he saw that the floor and the ramp to the next level had collapsed into the first floor making it an impossible entry way. Double-checking the gray-lit floor to make sure there was no hostile or dangerous being, he turned around and looked out onto the side of the building. There was a pipe that ran up the wall to the top of the building.

Max closed his eyes and sighed, “Great.”

Although it was a possible entrance Max wanted to see if there was a more practical way to get to the next floor. With his pistol at the ready he examined his surroundings more carefully. He hadn’t been in a parking garage in over twelve years but he remembered that there were always stairs that led to each floor in buildings like this.

Peering around a parking column where the ramp used to be, Max rolled his eyes, “Of course.”

There were two cars blocking the door to the stairs. One had T-boned the other in what Max guessed had been to kill a Cree, because as Max got closer he saw the skeleton of some being wedged between the fused metal of the two cars.

He couldn’t believe it had already been twelve years since the first outbreaks of the Cree. The parasite had spread like a disease taking over one human after the other. The remaining scientist had done studies on the survivors and there was some hormone that the blue-eyed trait secreted which stopped the parasite from, well turning you into a Cree.

Max had been lucky that his parents had passed him the trait, but unfortunately his parents and brother weren’t so lucky.

Max put his memories to the side for now and started walking the perimeter of the garage looking on the outside for a service ladder. He finally found one but he let out another sigh of dismay when he saw its condition.

The ladder had fallen loose of its bolts and was hanging uselessly out and against the building across the ally. Checking the ground in the ally to be sure nothing had seen him looking out over the ledge Max holstered his pistol.

Max walked back over to the ledge with the pipe. He checked the street for any Cree but didn’t see any thinking that they must be in their hive to escape the rain.

He then climbed up onto the ledge of the wall and jumped over to the pipe. He climbed hand over hand until he was straight across from the third story parking lot. Luckily it wasn’t too much farther up because the bolts securing the pipe to the wall as well as the pipe itself were rusty and coming loose.

Max let go with his right hand, shaking it in order to get blood flow into his cold numbing fingers. Then doing the same with his other hand, he decided he was ready.

He leapt over to the ledge and pulled himself up just enough so that he could see over it and into the garage. Max ducked down quickly, however, when he saw that there was a small group of four to five Ayra huddled around a small fire eating something that looked like canned food. Although he had only seen the figures for a second that was all he needed to see the blue and gold armor of the Ayra.

Max looked at the ground below and cursed when he saw a Cree walking across the road past him. It must have turned a corner while Max was climbing the pipe. The Cretin’s growls and heavy breathing could be heard through the noise of the rain. He hoped that it hadn’t seen him but knowing his luck so far he knew that was probably unlikely. But know he knew he could not go down there either though. Even killing the Cree could cause a murder. So He hugged the cold, slick wall until the Cree had turned the corner and disappeared into the other ally.

There was some sixth sense that the parasite gave the Cree. They wander around by themselves or with a small group during the day but as soon as a few of them sense that there is a possibility for food the others in their pack can feel it and the whole pack comes running to the source.

If there is any extremely loud noise near a pack, they see it as a threat to their hive and they all go to attack. In a place like a city with multiple Cretin packs, they all come running and you’ll have a murder on your hands.

Max took a deep breath and decided to deal with the Ayra. Although they were enemies he needed food and water and this could be his last and only chance for that. His wet hands grabbed the rifle in anticipation of conflict.

He placed the rifle on top of the ledge. Twisting his feet for better grip, he hoisted himself up and over. One of the Ayra unfortunately saw him out of the corner of their eye before Max had even made it half way over and yelled, “Human!”

Throwing down its food and shutting the visor on its helmet, it raised its rifle and aimed it at Max as the other Ayra scrambled to their feet.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa I’m not here to fight,” Max lied in a calm tone, stepping over the wall and holding both arms and his rifle near his head as a sign of surrender. “I just need some shelter. I… I was also hoping that you could spare some food.”

He watched the Ayra’s trigger finger so that at the slightest sign of movement he would have a chance to get out of the path of the bullet. Three of the five Ayra took a few steps closer to Max weapons poised. The other two had lowered their weapons as if they decided Max was not a threat. They were both closer to Max’s height of five feet ten inches as opposed to the average height of Ayra at six feet two inches. One of them was still intimidating however. It had used some kind of white paint to draw the rough shape of a skull on its helmet and visor. This made it look like some kind of beast.

“You alone?” a large and bulky Ayra asked.

His voice was deep and strong. Max looked at all the Ayra then back at the one who addressed him, “…Yeah.”

“Let’s kill him.”

“Wait… I don’t believe him,” the first Ayra said putting a hand out, stopping the large Ayra from stepping towards Max.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s lying, that’s what I mean.” The Ayra said with hatred in his voice, “I bet he has a team out there on standby, sent here to take us out.”

This Ayra stepped over to Max himself relieving him of his rifle.

Max almost winced, thinking, “so much for the fighting idea.”

Then the Ayra looked past him and at the surrounding buildings, “I bet he also has snipers ready to take us out!”

The Ayra took a few steps back away from the open wall, his voice got louder and faster with each word.

“Fal, you’re paranoid. Just look at him he looks horrible and hungry,” one of the other Ayra said.

The voice was that of a young female. She was one of the Ayra whose weapon was lowered. Max was glad that at least one of the Ayra was taking his side. Maybe they were not all bad. Max was still a little worried though, for he still had three rifle barrels in his face.

“Look at what he’s wearing! He is wearing the uniform of the humans Army. I don’t care if he looks horrible, he’s the enemy!”

“No. You’re wrong…”

“Shut up!” Fal yelled at Max, then continued talking, “and besides, shouldn’t you be paranoid in a wasteland like this?!”

Max unexpectedly, even to himself, answered Fal’s question, “No… you shouldn’t. Paranoia leads to panic. Panic leads to hesitation. That means death on a ‘wasteland’ like this. I know. It’s happened to me.”

Fal looked at Max with a glare, “I said, Shut. Up.”

All was suddenly quiet except for the constant drumming of the rain. This only lasted for a few seconds though, and then a horrible and terrifying sound could be heard echoing in the parking level above them.

Max’s heart stopped cold when he heard the sound, he knew exactly what it was. Cree tend made the noise constantly whenever they stalk their prey. They did this to strike fear into the mind of their quarry, and it works.

Every time the Cretin breathed in or out, it sounded almost like slow purring. The noise had always freaked Max out. It sent chills through his body causing goose bumps to form on his skin and the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Fal dropped his rifle, letting it hang on the sling around his shoulder. He drew his side arm and stepping towards Max, grabbed the neck of Max’s body armor and stuck the barrel of the gun under Max’s chin.

“You led it right to us!” He yelled.

“Fal For all you know, you could have led it here with all of your yelling…”

It was the female Ayra again. He knew that Fal was the one of the reasons for the Cree’s presence but he also knew that it was him who had probably shown the Cree a way to get to them. Cree are extremely fast learners, and are very smart.

The Cree that Max had seen probably saw him too, however wanted to surprise Max by sneaking up on him but then it saw all the Ayra and decided to take the higher ground.

Fal’s constant and very irritating yelling brought Max back to reality, “Shut up Aeila!”

Fal took a last glance at Max and then continued, “Syler, Brale… Go check it out.”

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