They'd been sheltering in the remains of a helicopter for over an hour and their company hadn't left yet. They couldn't see the creature itself, they were impossible to see in direct sunlight, but they could see the depressions its feet left in the ground and they could hear its laboured breaths circling them still.
It was supposed to be simple recon - go to the church, scout for potential survivors and get back to base without alerting the creatures around the area but one of the newer members of the team (freshly picked up from a broken fridge inside the remains of a supermarket) broke the rules. You were supposed to carry iron with you at all times but they frantically declared they'd "forgotten" theirs after expressing interest in getting up close to a creature.
The rest of the crew debated between each other in a series of looks as to what they should do with their new-found liability. One was suggesting they knock him out and use him as a diversion so that the rest of them could escape, after all the chances of them getting past the creature when it had caught the scent of the unprotected man were slim-to-none.
Another was suggesting they shoot at the creature and try to frighten it off. though they couldn't see its full height and therefore couldn't accurately estimate if it was full grown or not, the footprints let them guess it to be between four and five hundred years of age - mid juvenile. Not an easy target but less likely to attack than a full fledged creature, at least they hoped so.
The unprotected man had his eye pressed to a hole in the helicopter's shell, desperately trying to glimpse the creature yet maintain an air of worry so the rest of the crew would believe their mistake to be genuine. Fear and excitement mingled inside him, leaving his body trembling faintly, unable to stop a smile from worming its way onto his face.
The sunlight that had been shielding the creature was briefly interrupted by just enough cloud to reveal the faint outline of it reared directly over the crew's hiding place, vestigial arms gently resting on the remains of the helicopter's blades as its long wiry legs began to poke through the open windows. Before the crew could fully comprehend their situation the creature had pierced the unprotected man through the base of his neck, its serrated calves digging into his spine as it whisked him up to its awaiting mouth.
The rest of the crew ran back to base, blessing and cursing the man's foolishness in the same breath.
It was supposed to be simple recon - go to the church, scout for potential survivors and get back to base without alerting the creatures around the area but one of the newer members of the team (freshly picked up from a broken fridge inside the remains of a supermarket) broke the rules. You were supposed to carry iron with you at all times but they frantically declared they'd "forgotten" theirs after expressing interest in getting up close to a creature.
The rest of the crew debated between each other in a series of looks as to what they should do with their new-found liability. One was suggesting they knock him out and use him as a diversion so that the rest of them could escape, after all the chances of them getting past the creature when it had caught the scent of the unprotected man were slim-to-none.
Another was suggesting they shoot at the creature and try to frighten it off. though they couldn't see its full height and therefore couldn't accurately estimate if it was full grown or not, the footprints let them guess it to be between four and five hundred years of age - mid juvenile. Not an easy target but less likely to attack than a full fledged creature, at least they hoped so.
The unprotected man had his eye pressed to a hole in the helicopter's shell, desperately trying to glimpse the creature yet maintain an air of worry so the rest of the crew would believe their mistake to be genuine. Fear and excitement mingled inside him, leaving his body trembling faintly, unable to stop a smile from worming its way onto his face.
The sunlight that had been shielding the creature was briefly interrupted by just enough cloud to reveal the faint outline of it reared directly over the crew's hiding place, vestigial arms gently resting on the remains of the helicopter's blades as its long wiry legs began to poke through the open windows. Before the crew could fully comprehend their situation the creature had pierced the unprotected man through the base of his neck, its serrated calves digging into his spine as it whisked him up to its awaiting mouth.
The rest of the crew ran back to base, blessing and cursing the man's foolishness in the same breath.
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