The Dark King

by Steffen Schmidt

  Dudian and the others who were new to this felt a little nervous. They took out their weapons as Scott had done previously. Everyone vigilantly began to scan the surrounding environment.

  As Scott entered the middle of the street, Dudian saw a new wooden sign on the roadside. There was a blood-red 'eight' written on it representing the area number eight under Mellon Consortium.

  Dudian vaguely saw a large lump of green vegetation covering an object on another part of the street far away from them. From the shape of object he identified it as a scrapped car.

  He was excited at sight. If there were cars then he could find generators too. Naturally in the last three hundred years because of the ultraviolet effects, rain and corrosion most of them would have turned into scrap metal. But there was a chance that he would find some well-preserved parts. There can be a well-preserved generator at some underground shelter too.

  Scott whispered: "These green vegetation are covering some large-scale materials. When we return we have to think of way to take them back. For now the first is to find a foothold to live for the next ten days. So we should get a base campe and the separate to search for the materials."

  They passed by the cars that were covered by the greenery. They were totally unaware of a pale and dry hand that stretched out of the windows of one of the cars that was covered in thick vegetation. It was struggling as it tried to reach out to the crowd that had gone.

  ...

  ...

  At the end of the street on crossroads Scoot looked up and picked a slightly complete three story building: "This place should be fine. Let's clean-up the place" He went towards the building.

  "Ah!" A girl's scream sounded out from behind. She pointed out to the ground close to the building in horror: "Blood! Blood!" She was shocked and trembling.

  Everyone looked to see a pool of blood on the ground. Although it had dried up but the color was visible. It was clearly left in here recently. After all rain would have scrubbed it away in the last three centuries.

  Dudian's remembered Scott's words regarding the monster. He subconsciously clutched his waist where gunpowder was kept.

  Other children were tense as they saw the blood pool on the ground.

  Scott frowned: "What are you making the fuss for? I've already said that there were monsters in here. Obviously hunters have killled them. Do you expect them to clean afterwards? Do not be surprised as we may see sights like this a lot. Ah! I hate working with rookies!" His patience was clearly not as high towards the others as with Dudian.

  Mia, who was next to him, pushed forward the door of the building. The door was made up of the glass but had been broken. It seemed to be a shop. Vegetation had spread inside the building.

  Dudian entered behind Scott. There was thick accumulation of dust everywhere. After the long time, it had dried and had become as hard as the layer of earth.

  Scott with a handle of the dagger poked the vegetation on the counter. There was a glass cabinet. His eyes brightened. Immediately with the hilt of the dagger he broke the glass and grabbed the jewelry that was inside. He wiped the dust above the jewelry with a fabric and exposed the golden luster. There was surprise exposed on his face.

  Dudian quietly watched. He knew that Scott will get extra commission from the jewelry that he had picked up. After all, nobles loved gold. Especially the ornaments such as these were very hard to find.

  Chapter 44: Corpse

  "It is gold!" Macon and Zach also noted the jewelry in the counter. Their faces showed a bit of excitement.

  Scott heard their excited shouts. There was a faint smile on his face as he turned back and said: "I would like to remind you all that although we are a group but the person who picks up the materials keeps it. This is the rule and all the consortia are very clear about this point. I'm not deliberately bullying you." Then he pointed towards the twenty scavengers from the consortium.

  Mason who heard this had an ugly look on his face. A slim youth from the consortium scavengers nodded in affirmation of Scott's words: "He is right. Do not be lazy, as whoever picks up the materials owns it. The one who is capable and have luck on his side will pick up more than others."

  Mason was frustrated as he heard them talk. Scott was the first to find the gold jewelry so it was naturally his. Unfortunately they won't be getting any commission or royalty.

  Dudian was disappointent with the rule too. But soon their spirits rose. In fact for newcomers like them it was a fair rule. In sense it protected them too, at least they wouldn't share their findings with others. In this case, Scott's luck was good. As he randomly selected a foothold which happened to be gold shop.

  Scott cracked all the glass containers in the room and took out all the jewelry. He piled them in one of the cupboard's and again clenched his dagger: "Alright, we should clean up this place." Dudian and others began to clean the dirt in the room. Scott added: "Do not attemt to steal or use other dirty ways to seize other's loot. If the owner of the materials is killed in the process of scavenging then the materials that he had picked will belong to the consortia and will not be shared."

  Dudian knew that Scott was telling the newcomers not to be greedy and use crooked methods to acquire materials. He also secretly appreciated the consortium to set such a rule. To a large extent, a rule like this, would make scavengers to avoid killing each other in the wilderness.

  Scott and Mia took the lead and walked up the stairs as they finished cleaning the first floor.

  The corridor was covered in corrugated thick vegetation. There were few things scattered on it. Dudian's recognized them at a glance, it was a woman's shoes and a wallet. It seems riots had occurred while the disaster outbroke.

  Consortium's scavengers followed after them but a middle-aged one collapsed down because of stampede in the stairs. He fell on to the ground. Fortunately it was first floor and his body was 'blessed' by God so he was not injured. But newcomers were scared the shit out of them because of this sudden occurrence.

  Scott looked back and frowned: " It is extremely dark on the second floor. The windows have long been covered by the vegetation so there is no ventilation of air and sun can not penetrate inside. As a result the ground is a bit wet, be careful when walking!"

  Scott lit a torch. He carried the torch as he walked in front. The corridor was dimly illuminated by the burning torch. He stood before the first room in the corridor. The door of the from was half-covered. Scott gently pushed the door. Suddenly an air was blown outwards that almost extinguished the torch.

  Scott had a dagger on his right hands while he lowered the torch a little with his left hand. He slowly entered the room. The floor was cluttered. The chair was knocked onto the ground, the curtain was torn in half, the windows were broken and dense vegetation covered everywhere.

  Kacha~

  From the depth of the room came a slight sound.

  Scott's face changed and immediately lifted the torch according to his instincts. Dudian saw that it was a bathroom. The curtain had collapsed onto the ground. Two pale withered thighs were hanging out of the bath tube. As the torch's shine illuminated the surround they saw the thigh's owner. It was rotten woman's face which was pointing to them. The sound came from her chest.

  On top of her tummy there was a huge black rat that was constantly kicking onto woman's chest. Dudian's could observe the scene from the gap of Scott's arm. His pupils narrowed.

  It's size was as big as a hound. It's hair was colored black and its tail was as thick as a a finger. It was eating the woman's body.

  "It is the monster!" Scott was the first to react, by throwing the small dagger at it.

  The rat that was feeding on woman got aware of the fire behind it. It turned its head towards the fire. It's eyes were blood red, full of violence. It's sharp mouth was stained with sticky blood. Few very long hairs which seemed to be its beard were fluttering slightly. As if knowing that it would be outnumbered by the enemy it suddenly stepped on the side of tube and jumped outside th
rough the windows.

  Scott and Mia's attacks all come to nothing. Everyone was focused on extraordinary rats movement as they heard Scott's words.

  Scott whispered: "It run away." Then he leveled the torch down according to dead woman's head. It was as if she was staring at him with her pale green eyes.

  "Good god," Mason covered his nose because of the rancid smell.

  Dudian had forgotten about breathing. His heart was in shock as it was no trivial matter. In the last three hundred years of the nuclear radiation, the rats which had lived in here from generation to generation had gone through a terrible gene mutation!

  His eyes fell on the woman. The other one was naked. Her chest was carved out by the rat. Half of her heart was bitten. However his eyes fell on her eyebrows. There was a finger thick blood hole, which seemed to be... ... a bullet shoot?

  Dudian was startled but then rejected the possibility of the bullet. Rather more likely it was an arrow that had caused the damage. After all, there was no significant tearing or destruction which had to be caused by the power of bullet.

  But he still couldn't understand that if the woman died by an arrow shot, then a person had killed her. "What kind of people will shoot her with an arrow?" Dudian thought. Suddenly the hairs on his whole body stood erect. He had neglected a point while thinking through.

  This woman, obviously was in the process of bathing while she was killed!

  However, the water supply system in this house, should have long been broken!

  Moreover the people in this world rarely liked to wash themselves naked. So even if hunter or a scavenger, they would try to avoid taking a bath in the ten days that they went out for the task.

  " Was she killed three hundred years ago? Did she die while taking bath? If so... ... her body should have rotted!" Dudian was frustrated. Mia crouched down and picked the curtain to cover dead woman's body. Even it was wilderness Mia didn't want woman's body to be kept exposed. However when Mia raised the curtain to cover her, Dudian inadvertently saw the woman's arm... ... There were sharp claws!

  Instead of nails there war sharp, long, thorny claws. Five spikes slightly bent. It was difficult to imagine being gripped by such a palm. What kind of harm it would cause!

  "Mutated humans?" Dudian stared speechless as his mind confused.

  Chapter 45: Undead

  "Undead's corpse!" Scott muttered. He saw Mia carefully cover her face with a trace of a of loss: "Clean up the room! This thing must be burned otherwise it will be a source to nurture the other monsters! "

  Mia's mouth was fretting. She silently got up, looked at this woman rotten face and turned around to clean up the room of other available materials.

  Dudian heard Scott's words. His heart was startled. He couldn't help but ask: "What is 'undead' ? "

  Scott looked at Mia's back and saw her silently picking up the materials on the ground and table. He sighed and replied to Dudian: "Undead's are a type of monster which are extremely powerful and similar to human being. They like the taste of the blood so they will hunt and eat any living being which they detect. They suck the life out of body by eathing the flesh and drinking the blood. As more they feed on animals and humans, more powerful they will get"

  "How did they come about?" Dudian asked.

  Scott sighed: "They were infected by the devil. Before death these undead were human beings. Unfortunately they could not withstand the temptation of power offered by the devil and eventually abondoned their soul for it. Although they gain eternal life and unlimited power, but they loose their personality and memories. In short they turn to devil's minions."

  "Infected?" Dudian naturally didn't believe in the 'devil' version of the story, so he asked more: "Is the infection direct result of the radiation?"

  Scott did not think that Dudian would want to go to the bottom of the hole for the answers. He looked at him and shook his head: "Of course not! Radiation damages the body distorting its shape. But they will never become such bloodthirsty monsters. However in this case, it's the devil that agitates them by exchaning their soul for power. Moreover it is like a plague disaese which can be transferred to others if they bite someone off. It's like the previous 'bone rat' which was a low-level monster that could infect others by biting."

  Mutual infection, ha? Isn't this a virus? .

  However, how the virus come to be?

  Could it be three hundred years ago, after he went into frozen storage capsule other things had happened?

  Scott sighed and said: "These 'bone rats' like hiding in the darkness. Hunters would normally ignore them. Although with our power we can kill them but you all should be careful not to be bitten by them. In case your skin is scratched then you will turn into an undead!"

  He looked at Mia who was silently picking up materials and said: "Mia's husband was bitten on the arm by a rat monster..."

  Bang~

  The metal object in Mia's hand suddenly fell onto the ground.

  Scott was startled. He didn't say anything anymore to Dudian. He changed the topic: "We should separately clean the rooms. Remember to be careful. These monsters can smell our body's odor and blood. Although the 'bone' rat ran away but it still is hovering in the vicinity. Be carefully as they hide in the darkness. So check corners and dark places before going in. The best is team up into groups of four so that you can take of each other in case of emergency!"

  He was mainly talking to new scavengers. Those consortium scavengers were not as good as the regular scavengers but they had rich experience.

  Hearing Scott's instructions, the people began to scatter away. Mason, Zach, Sham and others were shocked by the terrible appearance of the undead. Moreover the previous 'bone rat's' huge body had made their minds uneasy. They had never seen such a bloody and dangerous scene! Most of them had forgotten their studies in the training camp and at the momemt just to wanted to hold together close to Scott.

  Scott looked at these children's pale faces which was the result of shock. He slightly frowned: "Haven't your instructors told you that being a scavenger is not a simple job? If you continue to follow me, you will lose your chance to pick up anything valueable. By the way, there is a quota set by the consortia. If your scavenging results are lower than that for several times you will be expelled from the consortium!"

  Expulsion? Mason, Sham, Zach and other turned paler. They fought back the fear in their hearts, clenched their weapons and turned to leave.

  Dudian was about to turn away when Scott called out, "You do not have to follow them, just follow me. This time, I will give you one third of everything that I will pick. However the next time you will be on your own."

  "I'd like to go alone. If there's something wrong I'd call for help!" Dudian frowned.

  Scott looked at him in surprise and said: "Well then, be careful."

  Dudian nodded slightly and turned towards Mason and the other two: "Let's go!"

  Mason secretly gave him the thumbs-up and left the room with them. Dudian saw that all the rooms in the second floor had already been occupied by small teams for search so he said: "We are going to go to third floor."

  Mason and the other two didn't object. They had come to unconditional decision that Dudian's decision would be final say at all times.

  The third floor was also the top floor. Vegetation was sparse. Gray cloudy shadows shone in from the broken windows. The floor was piled with a thick layer of dust while blood was scattered on the walls and the corridor. There were corpses along the corridor. Some were cut at different parts of the body while the others had their heads crushed. There were traces of blade scars on the walls. The hunters had been here and a vicious battle had taken a place.

  Dudian noticed that all the corpses had sharp claws instead of fingernails. Although he didn't know where the virus originated from but there is no doubt that to have such amazing effects it had to be created at world's top biological institute. Maybe, not, most likely it was made by 'those guys'...

  Mason and the othe
r two swallowed their saliva when they saw the bodies on the ground. During the training they had killed snakes, lizards and other animals. They have cut them into pieces, taken out their organs and seen their blood flow out. But at the end of the day, human is human. Witnessing a human corpse in front of the eyes was totally different to killing an animal and dismembering it.

  Mason, Zach and Sham felt a sense of fear. Their limbs went cold as if these dead bodies will suddenly get up to claim their lives.

  Dudian was equally afraid, but he tried to keep calm. Through illumination of the sunshine he came to the first room in the corridor. The door of the room was open, and the lock was broken. There was a violent intrusion and traces of the battle that had happened not long ago were still engraved on the walls of the room. There was a pool of blood on the ground and two more corpses. The dead bodies belonged to a young man and a woman. Their complexion was unusually pale. The green veins appeared on their body and their feet were dry and lean. It was as if the body fat was drained and only the muscle tissues was left.

  Dudian put on his mask and spoke in a low tone through it: "Do not touch the corpses. Look around for useful materials."

  Hi eyes swept the whole room. He saw a laptop covered in dust.

  Dudian cleaned the dust off the laptop. He gently pressed down the power button. Apparently the spring connecting the button had rotten and was unusable. He took it back so that later on to dissemble it to see what parts were functional.

  Chapter 46: Assault

  Mason, Sham and Zach were separately searching for materials in the rooms, but were doing their best to avoid those two dead bodies on the ground. Even though bodies had no life in them, they were still afraid of them.

  Mason and the other two found some metal objects from the room. They didn't know the roles of the items that they had picked. But according to their logic any metal object must have some kind of value.