Pack Animals [An Undead Post-Apocalypse Thriller]

by Cain, Kenneth W.

  Most of them nodded, at least those who seemed capable did. Franklin and Huggins were the eldest in their group, her in the middle, with both Izzy and Pacino barely twenty years old. The latter two were green as could be, and they looked it now. If she took the time to inspect them up close, she wouldn’t be surprised if one or even both had pissed themselves. They had gathered in a circle, studying the dense fog, ready for anything. At least that’s what she believed.

  “Fuck!” Pacino cried out.

  She turned fast, and that was when she got her first good look at it, an awful abomination that made everything else she had seen these last few months trivial. For the first time in a long time, Karen felt afraid. She froze, unable to say anything, just standing there, gun in hand, watching that…that monster attack Pacino.

  The creature—for that was what she believed it was—looked like a giant caterpillar. Whatever it had been, it had mutated, but she had never seen one quite like this before. The hideous beast had no legs or feet, just arms with gnarled fingers that hung from the limbs like bunches of bananas. Its elongated torso seemed to have no ribcage, stretching like thick rubber, the muscles bulging from the mass like mounds of clay that had been packed against its form. It had a face, but the head was twice as big—if not bigger—than hers, and its mouth as wide as any she had ever seen. Inside that gaping maw she saw rotting teeth, some pointed and some not, the entire mess of it all firmly planted within engorged purple gums. Its lips, crusted with scabs, bled steadily, a thick red foam hanging from its chin. With several of its arms wrapped around Pacino’s body despite his kicking and flailing, it twirled him about as if he were a rag doll.

  Someone pawed at her shoulder. “What the hell is that thing?” It was Huggins.

  She just shook her head.

  “Radcliffe!” Franklin said. “Hey! You in there?”

  She shook out of it but didn’t respond. But she shouldn’t have to. Still, she yelled, “Kill it!”

  They opened fire, doing their best not to hit their comrade and succeeding. Bullets struck the creature’s limbs, puncturing the dead flesh with ease, yet still it held tight to Pacino. It even seemed to grip him tighter, as if constricting him. Still they fired, riddling any exposed flesh they could find with bullets, reloading when necessary, then right back at it.

  The creature roared.

  What the fuck?

  She hadn’t even realized she had taken a step back when it did that. Huggins had stopped firing, standing there trembling, looking unsure of himself. Then, to her surprise, Huggins took off running. For a very brief moment, she considered joining him, but there was no way she was leaving a man beh—

  Crack.

  “Ahhhhhhhh!” Pacino cried out. “Get the fu— Argggggllllll….”

  He began to choke on the blood gurgling from his mouth. The creature had crushed him, constricted upon his body so hard that it cracked ribs and likely more. A bone must have punctured an organ, considering the way he started bleeding out. Because of that, she wasn’t sure if he’d make it out alive, but she had to try.

  The creature, obviously not interested in feeding on Pacino, tossed his fragile body aside. He struck the frozen earth with a thud, lying there unmoving. She took a split second to observe him, trying to see if he was breathing or not—he didn’t seem to be—before turning her attention back to the creature. It stood before them, exposed, fully vulnerable, yet appearing unafraid of their weapons.

  She fired, dotting a line of bullet holes from the middle of its stomach to its chest. “Rawwwwwrrrrr!” After the scream, she fired again and again, blasting the thing up and down, left and right, anywhere she could in hopes of finding its weakness. “Die fucker!” She fired rounds into its neck, its face. The creature roared and came at her, but she didn’t falter. Not now. “Die!”

  Three feet from her positon, the creature fell to the ground. They didn’t let it get back up either. All of them, even Huggins who had returned to the fight, shot so many holes in that thing, she was certain it would never stand again by the time they finished.

  They stood around the corpse, the ends of their guns smoking in the cold, waiting to be sure it didn’t move. Once she was certain, she hurried over to Pacino.

  “Hey,” she said, kneeling beside him. “You alive?”

  He groaned.

  “Good. Don’t move.” She waved the others over. “We have to get him out of here.”

  Without instruction, they began constructing a makeshift stretcher out of wood they found lying around. Rudimentary at best, but it would do the trick. Carefully, they maneuvered Pacino onto the stretcher, then Huggins and Izzy carried him while she and Franklin took the lead in case there were other muties to fight off.

  They walked for about an hour making slow but steady progress, until they came to the next city on the way back to base. Something curled around the top of the building and she caught a glimpse, but already she knew what she had seen.

  There’s more than one.

  “On your toes,” she said, “we’ve got company.”

  “Where?” Huggins asked.

  She nodded to the top of a nearby building. “Get Pacino to shelter. Over there.” She pointed to a garage. “We need to keep an eye on him, but we can’t get him back to base with that thing on our tail. We have to—”

  Boom.

  The creature had flung itself to the ground. Since the fog wasn’t as thick here, they all saw it well. A cloud of snow burst around it, drifting in the air. This one was larger than the last, which bothered her. How many of these things were there? And, if there were others, how big did they get?

  I hope this is the last one.

  They opened fire, but the creature evaded them, snaking behind a nearby building. Bullets trailed its escape.

  “You see that?” Franklin said. “That thing’s fast as all get out.”

  Huggins nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

  “Listen,” she said, hoping to motivate them, “it’s the same as before, just a little bigger and a little quicker. We fill that thing full of lead and it will be deader than a doornail in no time. We just have to stick together, attack as one force.”

  Without another word, they moved as a unit, tracking the creature. Its path was obvious enough, the snow a mess in its wake. When they came around the other side of the building though, those tracks ended abruptly.

  “It must have gone up,” Izzy said.

  They scanned the building, which wasn’t so tall. She suspected it might be on the roof, likely waiting there to see if they would come after it. If they dared, the creature would have the advantage. There would be few places to retreat, should the need arise. Maybe the stairwell or a nearby room, but she didn’t think that would be in their best interest given the tight space. The creature might even find a way to block their escape, and that would spell the end for all of them.

  She motioned with her hand. “Iz, you stay with Pacino, keep him safe. You two are with me. Let’s take this thing down.”

  Franklin and Huggins trailed her to the door of the dilapidated building. Huggins held the door open while she led the way. Finding the stairwell, they ascended without any notion when or where they might encounter the creature again. They took their time, being as quiet as possible while checking each floor. It wasn’t until the fourth floor that they actually found anything of note. At first, she didn’t think much of the darkness on this floor, although it was certainly darker than the last three, and, if nothing else, that alone warranted a closer inspection.

  “Stay together,” she whispered as they ventured deeper into the void.

  It seemed something had blockaded the windows to keep any light from entering. This could mean many things. Perhaps actual humans had sought refuge here and done so to keep from being seen by the creatures. Whether they succeeded at living or not was another story, but she hadn’t seen a single living soul since arriving, so she doubted—if it had been the living—that any of them had survived. To make matters wo
rse, Franklin, despite his years of service, made a rookie mistake and flicked the light attached to his helmet on. Instantly, the scene before them unfolded. There, against the far wall, a pile of refuse had been transformed into a sort of nest. And resting in the middle of that nest, clearly tending to its wounds, was the creature.

  Franklin leaped back. “Holy—”

  “Kill that motherfu—” She cutoff when the thing lunged for them.

  Three smaller creatures, just like their mother, rose from the nest. They only appeared curious at first. Then, in a flash, they attacked.

  Just like before, Huggins took off.

  Weak minded fool.

  She’d never cared much for the guy. He was the sort who acted tough, but when the time came to nut up or shut up, he was always the first to zip his lips. Now, when their lives were on the line, he abandoned them. It was important they stand as one, yet here he was, likely dropping a load in his pants as he sprinted for the stairwell. Before he got there, one of the younger creatures tracked him down and pulled him to the ground, where it maneuvered on top of him.

  Karen swerved her gun to his aid, riddling the young creature with bullets. Franklin maintained fire on the mother, while the other two young kept their distance. Eventually, they took the creature on top of Huggins down. That was all that mattered. When its body slumped to the side, off Huggins, the mother roared. Suddenly, all three creatures came for them.

  “Huggins, get off your ass!” she said. “We need to get out of here, fast!”

  Huggins jumped to his feet, gun in hand, and ran for the stairs. Franklin brought up the rear, pausing momentarily to let her go before him. They filed down the stairs, beating feet as quick as they could. Behind them, she could hear one of the smaller creatures bounding down the stairs after them, occasionally losing its footing and crashing against a wall. Each time it knocked into a wall, a shower of stone and metal rained down around them. She worried the building might collapse with them still inside if that continued and they didn’t hurry.

  Around the second floor, one of the smaller creatures fell from above. It landed on the stairs on its back, rolling to its feet, where it stood, blocking their path. All three of them unloaded on the creature, blasting its face to bits in seconds. Still, it attacked.

  “I’m out,” Franklin said.

  She was nearly out herself. Thinking fast, she withdrew her pistol and tossed it to Franklin. He caught the gun, cocked it, and aimed at the creature. With each round he fired, he took a bold step toward the creature, hitting the chest, its neck, the face. With each new hole, the creature visibly weakened, and even before it was fully dead, they could hear its sibling barreling down the stairwell behind them. They pushed their way around the dying creature in favor of escaping the building before the other got to them.

  Where’s the mother gotten to? That concerned her most of all.

  Huggins burst out through the door in front of her. There, he stopped, dumbfounded. Her and Franklin followed close behind, and they both saw why he hadn’t kept running. Izzy had his buck knife out and was on the mother’s back, hacking away at its spine. Any damage he inflicted didn’t appear to faze the creature, as it stood over Pacino, finishing the job it had started. Pacino was still alive too, crawling toward them with the one arm he had left. The other arm lay in the snow, staining it a bright crimson. The creature had Pacino’s left foot and was pulling him back.

  She didn’t know what to do, not with Izzy on the mother’s back like that. Neither did the other two evidently, as all of them just stood there watching, forgetting about the young creature trailing them until it was too late. The stone surrounding the doorway exploded outward as the young creature burst through the opening, rock raining down all around them. It tackled Franklin from behind. He had her handgun out, twisting it over his shoulder and firing blindly. All of his shots missed their target.

  Huggins, with nowhere to retreat, did the only thing he could. He turned and fired on the creature that had tackled Franklin, perhaps thinking more about clearing a path than saving anyone. She shook out of her daze and did the same. Together, they took that young creature down within seconds, but not before it landed a deadly blow to Franklin. One of its clawed hands had slapped Franklin’s face and her handgun went flying, lost to her. The impact of the blow had torn most of the flesh off one side of Franklin’s face. Despite his bony grin, Franklin managed to pull out his knife and began thrusting it behind him, trying to make contact. He landed a blow or two, but it was too late by that time. The thing was already dead. When Franklin realized this, he slumped to the ground, the creature’s weight still on him. She wanted to see to him, to make sure he was okay, but if she did that she would likely be sacrificing the others. Instead, she turned her attention to the mother.

  The mother now had Izzy in its clutches. Because of Izzy’s continued attacks, it held him at a distance. His knife struck several arms, its chest, its face, but the creature seemed to take it all in stride. She worried it would rip him in half, but instead, it merely lifted him, reached back, and thrust him outward. Izzy struck the side of a building with a thud, falling to the ground where he lay gasping for air. He was hurt, but she didn’t have time to check on him. Not with the creature so vulnerable.

  She opened fire. Huggins joined in. Together, they fired on the creature until it fled once again. This time they let it go, intending to conserve ammunition for when they really needed it. She had no doubt that time would come soon enough, but hopefully not until she had assessed their situation.

  “Gather weapons and ammo,” she said to Huggins. “I’ll check on the others.”

  He did as he was told, thankfully.

  If Pacino wasn’t dead, he would be soon. Izzy hadn’t budged since landing on the ground. The only one still moving was Franklin. He’d always been one tough son-of-a-bitch, and she somewhat admired him for it. She tended to him first.

  When she saw his face, she nearly puked. Choking vomit back, she flung her rifle over her shoulder and grabbed both of his hands. With some effort, she pulled him free of the creature’s weight. Once she had him in the open, she rolled him over to better assess the damage. When she did, he gurgled, turned his head, and threw up blood.

  That’s not good.

  “Just rest,” she said to him. “Don’t move. We’ll get you back to base and you’ll be up and running before you know it.”

  He smiled through the pain. “Liar.”

  And that was the truth, wasn’t it? She had been lying to him, to all of them. No way they all got out of this alive. She knew that the second she saw the nest, and all those creatures. Even then, she had held hope, but her consciousness would never allow her to remain positive in the face of such hopeless odds.

  “Stop that,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her instincts had been right regarding Pacino. He was gone. She yanked off his tags and pocketed them. If possible, they would bury him, but she doubted they would get the chance. Izzy was barely breathing, and even then, each time he exhaled it came with a painful sounding wheeze. She was no doctor, but something inside of him was badly broken. If she had to guess, one of his ribs had snapped and punctured a lung. But she didn’t know for sure. Would he live? Likely, and that was half the battle. Before she could worry about their chances, she had to ensure they got out of here alive. That possibility seemed to grow slimmer by the second. They couldn’t waste much more time here if they wanted to live.

  “Huggins, what’d ya get?” she asked.

  “Not much. I’ve got half a clip and my handgun. Izzy was on empty. No idea what happened to Pacino’s rifle. It’s missing. But I got his handgun. Franklin emptied yours.”

  “Give me one of the handguns.”

  She realized they wouldn’t have time to give Pacino a proper burial, but she couldn’t risk losing anyone else.

  “Okay, listen. No more taking off, you hear me? I so much as catch you thinking it and I swear, I’ll shoot you down myself.
”

  He didn’t respond.

  “We each take one—you take Franklin and I’ll take Iz—and we get the hell out of here. Got it?”

  He nodded again. Reaching down, he got Franklin up to all fours and hefted him over his shoulders. She did the same with Izzy, who thankfully was the lighter of the two. Side by side, the two injured men barely alive on their shoulders, they trekked back the way they came, toward base camp. If they could get there alive, they could come back with reinforcements and take that creature down for good. Maybe then they could tend to Pacino. That thought accompanied her for the next couple miles, as they trudged past building after building, all of them destroyed to the point of near toppling. Her thoughts centered on keeping their distance from those buildings for fear of getting hurt herself, or losing the others by accident. But she never considered the one notion she should have, the anger of a mother who had just lost her three children. That was her greatest mistake.

  When they saw it coming, Huggins didn’t hesitate one bit. He shrugged Franklin off his shoulders, dropped him right then and there, and took off running.

  “Motherfucker,” she yelled.

  Even with Izzy over her shoulders, she tried to get her gun out to shoot him, but to no avail. He vanished into the fog before she got a handle on the gun. By that time, the creature proved a viable threat. She was going to have to go this alone. But she couldn’t leave these two out in the open like this.

  Spotting some debris that formed a makeshift lean-to, she hurried over and quickly lowered Izzy from her shoulders. She went back, grabbed Franklin’s arm, and pulled. Despite his weight, she managed to tug him bit by bit to Izzy. Then she was on her knees and rolling them both into the shelter. She considered leaving them a gun to defend themselves, but neither was conscious. When she turned back around and hurried several feet away, the creature was already in the air, leaping for her.

  She dove to her side, rolling in the snow, getting her gun up right away. The creature landed, skidded to a halt, and immediately came for her again. She pushed up to all fours, fired, stood, and fired again.