Night had fallen and the warm breeze stirs up small clouds of dust from the highway's cracked surface. Being a good distance away from Crossroad City also means escaping the overbearing eternal winter that has become something of a signature feature of the place. The last I heard Crossroad City's department of tourism was trying to work never ending winter wonderland into their campaigns. Good luck to them in that endeavor I suppose.

As far as residents of the city go, this change in climate was a welcome relief. Most of the passengers were lounging about under the night sky, either chatting with each other or digging into a simple dinner of biscuits and distilled water. The remainder had opted to return inside the parrot bus, spending their time in fitful sleep. A pair of emergency lanterns had been set up outside the bus, offering us some illumination.

Sighing to myself, I crack my neck to relieve some of the tension. My heart had quietened down, but the point had already been made. Something out here wants to kill me. The highway is a flat featureless plain, a strip of asphalt cutting across barren earth. So I'll have plenty of warning before shit hits the fan. I cradle Love in my arms, the pistol now converted into its carbine form. Any monstrosity charging across the wasteland was going to be receiving a lead enema from yours truly in short order.

"Here's your dinner, Adam." the tout approaches me, offering the biscuit and water combo, "Thanks for offering to stand watch."

"No problem." I reply, setting Love on to the ground and accepting the food, "The animals sound frisky tonight."

"Uh huh." the tout agrees as a distant howl rolls across the plain, "Wild dogs most likely. Or maybe coyotes."

"You still think we're safe here?" I ask, munching on a biscuit, the crumbs falling like snowflakes.

"This isn't my first breakdown out in the middle of nowhere." the tout shrugs, "Getting noticed by a pack of dogs isn't really a big deal, y'know."

"How so?" I shudder involuntarily, "Someone might get mauled. Or worse."

"Right, you've got to change your thinking." the tout nods as he pulls out a piece of jerky and starts nibbling on it, "This isn't a Rift. Animals out here aren't as crazy aggressive as what you're used to, Mr Guild Man."

"They're already scouting us out." I comment, narrowing my eyes. Darkness prevails beyond the boundaries of our camp, making it difficult to see. But I can still make out small specks moving about in the distance.

"And that's all the dogs are going to do." the tout shrugs, "There're way too many of us for them to handle. So the dogs will sniff around and leave. I've seen it happen plenty of times before."

"Plenty of times?" I raise an eyebrow at that comment, "Sounds like your bus isn't very good."

"I've worked for many bus companies," the tout grins, "and all of them were pretty shit."

"No wonder you're so experienced at this." I mutter, casting my eyes around the impromptu camp.

Not only was the bus carrying a scanty but adequate amount of food and water, the tout had also quickly set to work after the breakdown was announced. We were organized into pushing the bus to the side of the road. After that the scout led the men to dig out a shallow trench some distance away to serve as a rough and ready toilet. Towels were taken from the passenger luggage and used as a modesty screen. And of course there was the battery powered emergency lanterns stowed away for the right moment.

"Pissed and scared people get hurt. Or hurt others." the tout explains, "So I learned to turn the whole thing into an adventure. It helps keep tempers in check."

"I doubt anyone here is going to sit in one of your buses ever again." I remark while tossing the biscuit wrapper away.

"Obviously, duh." the tout folds his arms, "But no one is quarrelling or fighting right now. That's the important part."

"I suppose." I concede, "Say, is it still possible for us to continue with our journey once we're picked up?"

"I checked the schedule." the tout leans against the bus, obscuring the cheerful parrot emblazoned on its side, "The earliest bus we'll encounter will be on its return trip to Crossroad City. Sorry."

"Damn. Sort of in a hurry here." I curse, kicking a pebble into the darkness.

"So is everyone else." the tout makes a helpless gesture, "Can't be helped."

The wind blows again, throwing even more dust about and causing me to sneeze. The tout pulls out a scarf and wraps it around his face in a practiced motion.

"Dust storm is coming." the tout remarks as he begins to pack up the emergency lanterns, "We should be getting back inside the bus."

"Yeah." I mutter, finishing off the bottle of water. My eyes remain glued on the plain, as more of the specks lope through the darkness.

"Alright everybody!" the tout claps his hands together and shouts, "Everyone back inside! We don't want sand in our underpants, do we?"

There's a smattering of laughter and the crowd begins to march back toward the bus in an orderly fashion. Keeping an eye on the approaching dog pack, I reluctantly join the queue of people.

"We're missing two people." the tout remarks as he performs a headcount.

"Debra and Cat went to do their business." someone in the crowd pipes up, "Should be back pretty soon."

"Debra! Cat!" the tout claps his hands in the direction of the privacy screen, louder this time, "Storm's here. Hurry it up!"

"Damn." I grit out, as an undulating wave washes out through the darkness. This isn't a simple pack of wild dogs. There's far too many of the blasted animals.

"They can't get past the bus's armor." the tout whispers to me before going back to yelling, "HURRY IT UP PEOPLE!"

The encroaching figures press forward, into the illumination provided by the emergency lanterns. And a collective gasp rises from the crowd.

A mob of snarling animals confronts us, drool dripping from bared fangs. At first glance, each of the creatures resembles a wild dog to a tee. But at this range, none of us can miss the hideousness each of the creatures sport. Oozing sores blossom all over the bodies of each of the animals, pulsating with a gentle rhythm. And mounted on the head of each beast is a sickly yellow third eye, staring at all of us with unblinking intensity.

"Rift Bioforms!" I shout in alarm, raising Love in readiness to open fire.

One of the bioforms rears up on its hindlegs, revealing an underbelly covered in those dripping sores. One of the sores explodes wetly as a tendril lashes out like a whip. Love barks in rebuke, tearing apart the bioform in a hail of bullets. As pieces of shredded meat are sent flying into the sky, the amputated tendril splats right in front of the crowd, eliciting a cry of horror and disgust.

"Its fine! The monsters are backing off already!" the tout tries to rally the crowd.

"They're not too tough." I confirm, "Bottom tier Bioforms. What are they doing outside a rift though?"

No one answers my question, but the bioforms obligingly melt back into the darkness, leaving behind a single bloody carcass. The unease I feel nevertheless keeps building.

"Good thing you're here Adam -" the tout begins but is cut off by a woman's scream.

Without another thought, the tout and I rush toward the makeshift privacy screen as fast as we are able. The tout tears aside the towels and revealing the lavatory trench in all its shit stained glory. The stench is atrocious, made worse by the fresh corpse added into the mix. What's left of a woman is left stewing in the trench, bite marks covering her entire body. There was a struggle, but it didn't last very long.

"Help! Help!" a voice cries out from the retreating pack of bioforms.

"Debra!" the tout yells as I recognize the passenger being dragged away by the creatures. Its the noisy woman who was complaining when the bus broke down. Debra's trussed up by a mass of writhing tendrils, the bioforms hauling her away like a trophy. I open fire with Love, gunfire echoing into the night.

"No!" the tout spins about in alarm as the bus's pneumatic doors slam shut with a bang. The rest of the passengers had piled into the bus while the two of us were distracted, and no prizes for guessing why.

The mob of creatures I had originally driven off were back, stalking around the bus cautiously. Several of the bioforms take turns headbutting the metal hulk, causing the bus to rock unevenly. The passengers inside desperately fumble with the controls on the bus's dashboard, finally managing to engage the armored shutters. The tout and I look on in horror as the bus locks down, turning itself into a secure bunker.

Leaving both of us stranded outside. With more and more bioforms emerging from the darkness. Far too many for me to fight.

"We can't go back." I hiss through clenched teeth.

"Then let's do the next best thing." the tout raises his lantern high and sprints off into the darkness, chasing after Debra.

I weigh my chances. Certain death or probable death?

And I run in pursuit of the fading lamplight, like a man being led off to his execution.