Doomsday Hunter

by Eric Vall

  That’s a shame, Karla sighed. You could have really used a few more men for this one.

  “You’re telling me,” I agreed. “I guess we could try again tomorrow? Maybe he’ll be in a better mood if we’re not interrupting his mating session.”

  Suddenly, Natalie motioned for me to follow her. We walked a few feet down the shore, and when we were finally out of the earshot of Marcus, the blonde woman leaned in close.

  “Tell the voice in your head we won’t need to try again tomorrow,” Natalie interjected. “We’re going tonight.”

  “Beg pardon?” I chuckled. “The power plant is many miles away. Even if we started walking right now, we wouldn’t get there until at least tomorrow evening. And what about the Forest of Fallout? I don’t know what that is, but your leader made it sound like it wasn’t a place you wanted to be without backup.”

  “I saw how we worked together back in the Fallen Lands,” Natalie reminded me. “It wasn’t pretty, but we overcame terrible odds and made it back safely. Sure, it’s not ideal to go off alone… but if anyone can do it alone, I think it’d be us.”

  Let me guess, Karla’s voice spoke up, she’s trying to convince you to go right now?

  “Yup,” I confirmed.

  Good girl, Miss Nash snickered. I’m liking her more and more by the minute.

  I didn’t know… this sounded like a really dangerous mission. And, as much as I trusted Natalie’s skills and Karla’s guidance, going into it literally in the dark with only two people sounded like it was beyond risky.

  Then again, what choice did we have?

  Marcus made it obvious he wasn’t interested, and I doubted anything short of a miracle would change that. Sure, we could probably round up a few more members of the Scavengers and get them to come along, but that would just draw the attention of their leader.

  I could tell I was already on thin ice with this guy, and pissing him off even more was probably not a good idea, even if Natalie did have my back.

  “I guess we don’t really have another choice, do we?” I shrugged.

  “If we head back to my quarters, we should be able to scrounge all the supplies we’ll need.” Natalie nodded. “I doubt we’ll be gone for longer than twenty-four hours, so we should only need to pack the essentials.”

  “Twenty-four hours?” I questioned. “It’s gonna take us at least that long just to get there on foot.”

  “That’s why we’re not going by foot, Hunter.” Natalie just rolled her eyes and grinned excitedly. “We’re going to steal a vehicle.”

  Chapter 8

  “Aren’t your people like, badass warriors?” I chuckled nervously as Natalie and I made our way back to her tent. “I love your gusto… but isn’t stealing one of their precious modes of transportation and pissing them off a really bad idea?”

  “It is, but how would they be able to catch us?” Natalie joked with a sly smirk. “You said it yourself. We can’t walk to the plant, or we’d be walking forever. And if we were to move on foot, the rest of the Scavengers would be able to catch up to us in no time.”

  I guess she had a point. If you asked me to bet money on a race between a man and a dune buggy, I’d go for the dune buggy every time. Hell, even Usain Bolt couldn’t outrun one of those things.

  Eventually, we arrived back at Natalie’s punk-rock, patch-covered tent, and she threw back the door and marched inside while I awkwardly waited for her out on the sandy beach. Finally, the blonde woman poked her head back out.

  “For fuck’s sake, Hunter,” she sighed, “you don’t need an invitation to come inside.”

  Oh, right. I guess “knocking” and “personal space” also weren’t things the Nuclear Generation practiced.

  I wandered into the Scavenger’s tent and then tried my best not to be nosy. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Natalie kept everything inside of her dwelling nice and tidy and packed away.

  The walls of her tent were decorated with the same gaudy patches as the outside. Two battered mannequins stood next to the woman’s bed, each one dressed with an outfit that looked like it was ripped straight out of a Hot Topic. A simple cot with a blanket sat at the far edge of the tent, while the rest of the perimeter was lined with ammo boxes.

  “Are you… stockpiling bullets in here?” I gasped.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” the blonde woman chuckled as she bent over and flipped open one of the large metal tins. “I use these for storage after they’re empty. It really fits with my aesthetic, huh?”

  Couldn’t argue there.

  As Natalie rummaged through one of the longer boxes, my eyes wandered up her long, slender legs until they finally came to a halt on her firm ass. She was still in her combat pants, but they were so tight against her curves that I thought she was going to pop out of them at any moment.

  Finally, the blonde woman came up with two small, torn-up blue backpacks. She tossed one of them over at my feet and then nodded for me to pick it up.

  “There’s a supply house just north of my tent,” she explained as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. “It’s the one-story building with the crumbling green siding. Gather up all the supplies you can think of, and then meet me back here in an hour.”

  “Wait,” I questioned, “they’re not gonna just let me waltz in there and take anything I want, are they?”

  “You’ve still got a lot to learn, Hunter,” Natalie mused. “The door will be unlocked, and there aren’t any guards there at all. Scavengers don’t really give a damn about our generic supplies. A roll of toilet paper or a can of beans is shared with the community since we can always go out and scavenge some more. Now, if you tried to steal one of William’s vodka bottles or one of Marcus’ paintings? That would be another story.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I chuckled as I pulled the dirty fabric of the backpack strap over my arm. “Where are you going?”

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Natalie grinned. “But I get the fun job. I’m going to the armory to pick up all the weapons and ammunition we could need.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. “One hour?”

  “One hour,” Natalie confirmed, and then she motioned for me to head out.

  I flung the other strap over my shoulder, twisted around, and pulled the rucksack against my back tightly. Then I stepped out of the tent and back out under the night sky.

  I could see the house Natalie was referring to off in the distance. The sickly lime-green siding had certainly seen better days, but it still had just enough of a glimmer that its color shone through the darkness.

  It was almost like a tacky green lighthouse.

  I ambled up the beach until I eventually hit the spot where the sandy ground turned into overgrown grass and dirt.

  The supply house itself looked like it was in dire need of a good gardener. Vines curled all the way up the home’s porch beams, and the grass of the yard was so tall it nearly came up to my knees. There were also what appeared to be tangled heaps of wild bushes all around its perimeter.

  The roof of the house’s porch was completely caved in, and nearly all of the dwelling’s windows were shattered. Natalie was right, though. The front door was ajar, an open invitation for me to come in and take anything I wanted.

  According to Natalie, we had to go across the coastline and then pass through a thick forest to get to the power plant. And, if my calculations were correct, we’d probably need to hunker down for the night at some point.

  That meant I needed supplies to build a shelter.

  I’d seen it a million times on those survivalist shows I watched, and I’d even practiced it in my backyard a few times when I was really bored.

  All it took was some sort of structural support, a simple covering to keep the elements off our backs, and some sort of rope to tie it all together.

  We’d also need the essentials for night travel… Flashlights, lanterns, or glow sticks, matches and kindling to start a fire… Some sort of cooking supplies, whe
ther that was just a simple metal grate to toss over the fire or a cast iron skillet, along with some utensils for stirring and eating. Obviously, if we needed to take cooking supplies, we were also gonna need something to cook.

  Surely there would be some sort of canned goods I could take along with us. I really didn’t feel like hunting, especially when I didn’t know what was out there.

  Then there was the bedding. Unless we wanted to sleep on the hard, rocky ground, we’d need some sort of cots or sleeping bags or at least a blanket or two. Even if we had something as simple as some sticks tied together with twine, it’d be more comfortable than just laying down on the ground.

  Last, but certainly not least, we needed bug spray. I would never, ever go out into the deep woods without a trusty can of bug spray, unless I intended to be eaten alive.

  As I slid into the house, I realized I couldn’t see anything. So, I instinctively tried to turn on the light switch, but all I got was the click of the eroding plastic.

  Nothing.

  I felt around blindly inside of the door frame for a moment in the hopes I’d find another switch or a candle or something. Then my hand brushed past a long, cold metal cylinder.

  A flashlight.

  I snatched it from its holder on the wall, ran my finger up the metal until I found the rubber button, and then clicked it on.

  A soft beam of light cut through the darkness like a hot knife through butter and illuminated the wall straight in front of me. Then I slowly began to move the light around as I took in my surroundings.

  The Scavengers had converted the entire interior of this house for optimal storage. There were rusted metal shelves lined up all around the walls, and then a few more were pulled out into the center to make up a series of “aisles.”

  It was like a post-apocalyptic Walmart. Only maybe a tad classier.

  The rope was the easiest thing to find, since the entire shelf on the back wall was covered with it. Yarn, twine, nylon, and elastic string littered the racks along with several other types of cord I wasn’t familiar with. Eventually, I snatched up one spool of twine and one of nylon and tossed them into the backpack. The bug spray was right next to the ropes, too, though I could see most of the cans were half-used.

  There didn’t seem to be any blankets, pillows, or any sort of things that could be used for a makeshift bed. I assumed those materials didn’t hold up as well in the face of nuclear apocalypse, so anything they had was probably out in the Scavenger’s own dwellings.

  I guess we were sleeping on the ground.

  There was a large shelf filled with canned goods, instant noodles, essential baking ingredients, and military-style rations at the west end of the house, and I made sure to snatch up a few cans for the road. I also picked up a few essentials that would be multi-use, such as baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Then I grabbed a small skillet whose handle folded in on itself, two spoons, and a large metal canteen.

  My last stop on my Scavenger shopping spree was the fire-starting section, where I picked up a ton of what looked like dryer lint, some matches, and two metal zippo lighters. There was also a small horde of flashlights on the shelf above, so I quickly slipped them into the bag along with their corresponding batteries.

  My backpack was now fairly heavy, but I figured I had just about everything we could possibly need for a simple overnight trip.

  However, as I was leaving, I saw something I simply couldn’t resist.

  There, hanging on the wall, was an entrenching tool. Or, as the military liked to call it, an “E-Tool.”

  The model before me was the foldable kind, one that could be used as a shovel, a saw, and even a pick. And, if things became truly dire… it could also be used as a weapon.

  It was sitting next to the rest of the shovels and digging tools completely unfolded, which made me think the Scavengers simply didn’t know what they had.

  I’d always wanted one of these things, and there was no way I was going to pass this up. So, I grabbed the E-tool from its hanger, folded it up, and slid it into my already overstuffed bag.

  Once I was all done in the supply house, I made my way back down to Natalie’s tent. When I finally got there, I saw the blonde woman was already waiting for me with her hands sassily placed on her hips. The Scavenger had changed clothes, and my jaw nearly hit the sand when I saw her.

  Natalie now wore a pair of daisy duke jean shorts that had been ripped to hell and then repaired with multi-colored denim patches. The shorts matched her patched-up, sleeveless jean vest, the same one she’d been wearing before.

  However, her top was what really got to me.

  The blonde woman now had on what appeared to be a one-piece bathing suit, a sleek black number with a neckline that plunged all the way down to her bellybutton. Natalie’s perky breasts were covered only by a thin strip of leather on both sides, and her cleavage was a sight to behold. The entire garment was held against her body by a taut metal chain that ran around the back of her neck and attached itself to the fabric just above her breasts. Natalie also wore a pair of knee-high leather boots that clung against her soft skin.

  “What?” the woman mused with a raised eyebrow. “That other set of clothes was dirty. I needed to change into something more appropriate for this journey.”

  If this was “more appropriate,” then I really didn’t want to see what was inappropriate.

  “You kept the vest, I see,” I joked.

  “Of course I did.” Natalie shook her head. “I don’t go anywhere without this thing. It’s been my signature look since I was a teenager. But enough about our fashion choices… Did you get the supplies?”

  “I’ve got everything we could need right here in the bag,” I explained. “How about you?”

  Without saying another word, Natalie made a sudden motion and then flipped a large gun attached to a strap around her body and into her hands.

  I recognized it instantly as an AK-47. Its stock, handguard, and pistol grip were made out of wood that was surprisingly still sturdy, considering the condition of the rest of the world, but then again, AKs were known for being indestructible.

  “You tell me,” Natalie teased as she looked the gun over. “This thing may be old as shit, but it’ll get the job done.”

  “That’s funny,” I mused, “because from where I come from, that’s one of the models, some armies still use.”

  “Seriously?” the blonde woman questioned. “I just assumed you came from the same time period as me, just on a different timeline.”

  “What year is it here?” I questioned.

  “We quit counting a few years after Doomsday,” Natalie explained nonchalantly. “What year is it where you’re from?”

  “Two-thousand and twenty,” I admitted with a shrug. “Karla said this timeline and dimension was just a few months ahead of mine.”

  “Huh.” Natalie grinned. “I wonder how old you are in this universe?”

  “In this universe, I’m probably dead,” I laughed. “If I even exist in this universe. The people who sent me here really didn’t explain the whole ‘parallel universe’ concept very well.”

  “That’s a shame,” Natalie chuckled as she threw the AK back over her shoulder. “Because I have a million questions I want to ask.”

  “And I have approximately zero answers,” I sighed.

  Then Natalie pulled the backpack over her shoulder, unzipped it, and produced a black Beretta M9. She flipped the gun in her hands so she was holding it by the barrel and held it out for me to take.

  “For you.” She nodded. “I figured I’d start you out small, and then we’ll see what you can handle from there.”

  “Wow,” I teased as I took the pistol from her, “you are aware I was the one who fought off all the mutants with the minigun, right?”

  “I am.” Natalie shrugged. “But it is much easier to kill your targets when they’re huddled into a crowd, and with a gun that fires six-thousand rounds per minute. That isn’t always going to be the case, H
unter.”

  “I know that,” I admitted. “I’m just saying you should have a little more faith in me. I used to go to the firing range back home all the time, so I kinda know my way around a pistol.”

  “A firing range?” the blonde woman questioned.

  “Oh… I guess you probably don’t have too many of those out here, huh?” I laughed awkwardly. “It’s a place where people can go to test out all sorts of guns on stationary, non-living targets.”

  Suddenly, Natalie burst out laughing.

  “You’re pulling my chain, right?” she guffawed. “What good does that do you? How many enemies do you have who just stand there motionless and let you shoot at them?”

  “It’s better than nothing,” I argued.

  Natalie recomposed herself and then nodded.

  “I’ll give you that,” the blonde woman relented. “If we come across any stationary targets, I’ll let you handle them. You’re the expert, after all.”

  Were my ears deceiving me, or was Natalie… flirting with me?

  “Will do.” I saluted back to the Scavenger. “Though, I will admit, I usually only hit the outer edges of the outline… ”

  “I suppose that’s good enough for now.” She shrugged. “Normally, I’d ask William and Harrison to come along, but I don’t think they’re going to be doing anybody any good in their current states of inebriation.”

  I glanced over toward the roaring fire at the center of the camp and saw the distant outlines of the two loyal Scavengers. William and Harrison had locked arms and were stumbling around as they tried to dance and sing a merry song.

  Yeah… If this mission required stealth, they probably weren’t the right ones to bring along.

  “You sure?” I chuckled softly. “They’d definitely help lighten the mood.”

  “They’d get in the way,” Natalie stated matter-of-factly. “Even if they somehow were sobered up by morning, they’d be far too hungover to be of any benefit. As much as I hate to go off with just the two of us, it’ll have to do for now.”

  “Did you snatch up anything else from the armory?” I questioned. “Or do you think this is all we can carry?”