Alexander didn’t know how much longer he would be able to move. Every step he took seemed to just leach what was left of his strength and soon his own weight would be too much for him to support. His breaths were ragged and short and his heart seemed to struggle to fuel his body. Every attempt he made to place his injured ankle against the ground was met with an agonizing sensation running up his leg. Moving even a few metres from the ghoulish body took double the time it should have, and the pace he was setting was only getting worse.

Alexander kept his ruined arm slung and clasped close to his body and though the bleeding had slowed to the barest of trickles he knew it was a ticking time bomb. He had done what he could, tightening the fabric with a scrap he tore from the white t-shirt he wore underneath his hoodie, but that could only do so much. The boy had been taught enough by his father to know the deep wounds would need stitches, and he doubted the mutant behind him would allow him to bring out the thin twine he kept on hand. With both his arm and ankle injured it was a wonder he could move at all, and the effort it took to barely scrape by was quite visible.

What had once been neatly combed hair lay in slicked strands, sweat caking them just as it ran off his skin. The hair obscured his vision, brown locks wavering with every shake in front of his eyes. If had the energy to spare he would have pulled them back, tugged them behind one ear, but as tired as he was he was forced to deal with the minor annoyance. If he lifted his hand from the wall he feared he’d never find it again. Some illogical instinct of his took solace in the cool stone, the solid nature of it giving him both guidance and support as he struggled to keep himself motivated.

Alexander wasn’t stupid, he knew how screwed he was. He could hear the crunching noises behind him, as one mutant dined on the remains of another. He knew that once that meager morsel ran out, the beast would simply catch up to him. Every crunch of teeth on bone met his ears as if he was still trapped beneath the body, the sickening slurping noises as every scrap was brought within whatever the mutant considered its mouth. It was those noises that the boy had even managed to travel this far and each one gave him a reason to not pause. Giving up, even resting for a moment, brought him seconds closer to being just another meal for the creature. His flesh and bones were next, and some hateful spirit within him wanted to spite the beast, make it work for his body as much as possible. If it wanted to eat him, it’d have to travel another step further, another small distance in the tunnel.

As the tunnel curved before him, he finally saw the first glimmers of the goal he had sought since falling into the maze that surrounded him. In the distance he could see thin strands of light, the last dying signs of the fading sun above. The strands were thin but they were a beacon to the boy, fueling him with a strength he doubted he could muster any other way. What had once been a slow, ponderous and pained trundle deeper into the darkness became once again frantic. Every hop came quicker than the others despite how much it taxed his now screaming muscles, a smile lighting up the boy’s face. The grin didn’t fade even as he stumbled, scraping his clasping hand on the wall by his side, sunlight reflecting in the blue pools on his face.

The boy was never one to show his emotions much but he couldn’t help himself as he finally stumbled onto the former platform. A screaming laugh filled the empty chamber, the high pitched noise sending scurrying rodents to their holes. Alexander felt and acted like a madman as he felt the warmth of the sun sink into his body. The sight sent his joy soaring to new limits. For what had seemed like hours he had been trapped underground kept away from all the light and hope of the surface. He had never thought he’d see or feel that warmth ever again but now he couldn’t imagine anything else. It was a glorious sensation and he couldn’t help but laugh aloud and express it.

All this noise seemed to annoy the beast deeper in the tunnels, that or it had finished its meal, and the boy heard it howl. A bestial noise that echoed and clamored around him but seemed to be drowned out by his joy. Even a potential threat sprinting towards him didn’t sour his mood. Stumbling ever forwards he fought to get closer to the hole in the wall that had brought the sunlight deep within the platform. Though much of the cement and tile structure had been spared, the entrance to the tunnel bore scars of earlier weapons. Bricks and scraps of metal were scattered about, and the cracks around the hole indicated something large had broken through at one time. Whether it had been a type of vehicle or merely a large creature the steep incline it had left led directly to the surface.

Alexander huffed, making sure to bring as much cool and clean air into his lungs as possible. Every gasp was tinged with the foul tasting contaminants of the green fog that seemed to flow everywhere, but to Alexander it was the best tasting thing he had ever experienced. Hearing a hissing and scraping noise he turned to face the low tunnel he had just exited. Low set eyes peered at him from the dark as a growl echoed around the small space. The beast had finally finished its meal, and in his celebration he hadn’t heard it catch up to him.

The creature he saw in many way differed to the one he had just killed. Though surely it had been human at one point it had lost almost all of the distinguishing characteristics. Its body was pale and naked, skin hanging in loose flaps along its side and limbs. The former hands it used to climb onto the platform were stubby with short claws, and the feet that followed were not much different. It looked like a creature used to clambering about on all fours, and as it began to lope towards the boy his suspicions were confirmed. Pink froth escaped its mouth, remnants of its recent meal, and dripped down onto the crumbling floor. Looking into the black eyes that peered at him, the boy saw no signs of intelligence, no malice or anger, just unceasing hunger. This was a type of mutant he was more accustomed too. It was barely above a beast, and though it looked and seemed dangerous it was something he could probably out smart.

Under the ideal circumstances he would have had time to set up a trap, or simply figure out a way to hide from the beast. Most creatures you found out in the wastes lacked simple things that humans had in spades. Patience was one of them. If you climbed high enough, or made your tasty insides similarly unavailable most simply lost interest. They’d stay nearby, watching and snarling, but they would wander away eventually. He wasn’t sure that would work against the strange one he had just fought but the one currently bearing down on him was a different case.

Alexander’s scrambling picked up speed until he eventually found himself at the surface. Finally brushing the hair from his eyes he looked about gasping for air even as he planned his next move. Alexander didn’t have a lot of time, but he knew he had at least a handful of moments. The creature below would avoid the setting sun for some time as the harsh rays would burn it, but that wouldn’t last forever. Mutants only avoided the sun because it hurt them, and though that pain would deter the freak scrambling at the tunnel for some while it wouldn’t last forever. It had his scent, the scent of a meal, and Alexander knew it would pursue him through unimaginable pain to attain his flesh now. It would eventually become stubborn enough to fight through the sun that lashed at it, but it gave him enough time to catch his breath.

Alexander’s eyes peered through the fog around him, gazing into the vaguely hazy shapes and attempting to identify them. He was looking for some place to hold up in, to reload his gun while he waited in relative comfort. Stopping to do so now was a horrible idea. He couldn’t use his bleeding arm to help cradle the weapon while he loaded shot into it, he needed a place to sit. He could have crouched and done so where he currently stood, but judging by the scraping noises behind him the boy could tell the beast was already squeezing into the crack he had fled by. Eventually he spotted a suitable location.

While the hollowed out shell of a car could only protect him as long as the beast below forgot it could clamber through the smashed windows it should be able to buy him some much needed time. Making his decision the boy instantly launched into motion. His foot kicked up small clods of mud as he began hopping once more. He reached and entered the shell just as the mutant reached the surface, and both regarded each other silently.

Two sets of eyes glared at each other, one black as the night and squinting in the harsh light, the other a deep blue. Alexander should have watched what his hand was doing as he began to load the rifle, but he also knew that he had practiced the motion a million times. If Alexander screwed up the reload now he’d never let himself live it down. He had slipped bullets into the rifle his underarm now cradled since he had been a child. He had been raised carrying this weapon and every day he spent with his father he had cleaned and used it. It was like another part of his body, another limb.

He hefted the gun to the console of the car that now served as his current shelter. He and the beast continued to watch each other. Until one finally broke through the searing pain that lashed it and charged at the vehicle. The mutant moved with a grace the boy would never be able to replicate. A brain that had once been human and had once held emotions other than hunger was now devoted to feasting upon the flesh of its cousins. Sections of that brain that had been dedicated towards loving another now moved limbs. Gone were the memories of a childhood lost to nuclear fire. It was a beast of pure evolution, suited to the wastes and to its task of hunting humans perfectly. Each limb it slammed into the ground perfectly ramped up its motion, bringing it from a loping jog to a full on sprint as it slammed against the metal of the shell that protected the boy.

Yanking himself backwards, Alexander could feel the entire body of the car shift below him, only to slam back down as the creature scrambled onto the hood. Short claws tore at the metal as it dragged its way forwards, a mouth full of serrated teeth making its intentions clear. Alexander waited silently, holding his breath and his final motions until he was sure they would be effective. Lowering its head the creature peered into the window, thrusting forwards once again with all its strength as it finally found the access to the boy it had fought hard for.

The boy took that as his signal and lifted the muzzle of his rifle off the dashboard as against the beasts now exposed stomach, placing the butt of the gun against his stomach. Alexander fired once into the mass ahead of him, gore splashing out and coating him and the wheel he had used as cover. He fired again a moment later his eyes peering into the beasts as he saw a shudder run through it. It snapped at him, gnashing teeth inches from his face, and for a second the boy could almost see pain in its dark eyes. For a moment he could see the human behind it, the tortured screaming of a mind trapped in a beast’s body.

Suddenly filled with an anger he couldn’t comprehend the boy fired again, a fierce yelling meeting the muted thump. Alexander stared into eyes that would have killed him in a heartbeat and lost himself in a rage he hadn’t been prepared for. That this beast even dared to attack him, that it had scared and worried him so, all of his feelings came out in the scream that tore at his chest. He had almost died in those fucking tunnels. And now the boy was face to face with a creature that would have gladly eaten him in the dark. The joy at seeing the sun had sickened into a twisted anger. This beast would have deprived him of this, of the light that still warmed him. It would have dashed his hope without a second thought and it wouldn’t have even spared a moment to gaze into his eyes like he had.

It wouldn’t feel sorry for the person behind them, it wouldn’t have cared for the boy he had once been, but try as he might Alexander could not forget those things. The scraps of children’s clothing that hung off the tortured frame was enough to make the rage consume him all the more. He hadn’t seen them as he had been chased, or even as it had scrambled onto the hood of the car. They were so incredibly small, but now that the gnashing teeth were inches from him, the heat rolling of the body as close as it could possibly be, he could see the frayed fragments peeling off the limbs tearing at the air around him. Little yellow ducks, printed on a blue pattern and wrapped around one limb, belonged to pajamas that had long left the rest of the body.

Thoughts of his own sister now fueled every shot that Alexander drove into the creature above him. Alexander knew that what had happened to this beast could have easily happened to him or Macy. Not every child was able to live through the fog like he could. Not every baby that was born grew into a human. Some devolved into the slathering beast he was now screaming at. Gnashing his teeth he shoved his gun forwards, shoving the now wounded beast back onto the hood.

Weakly scrabbling it tried to keep itself upright, only to slide off the cool metal and into the muck below. Alexander followed it, hobbling from the destroyed vehicle, his mouth a grim line as he lowered his rifle again. He had already wasted enough bullets on the creature. The dark red blood that pooled and mixed with the muddy ground was more than the boy knew it could survive without. Another shot rang out in the silent ruins, silencing the frantic cries the beast was now producing instantly.

When the rage cooled all that was left behind was a cold landscape. The sun could only warm him so much as he gazed at the body below him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the blue fabric. Shaking he stumbled backwards and began to lean against the now torn up hood. Taking a deep breath, and then another, the boy forced himself to calm down. It was hardly the first mutant he had killed, and it would surely not the last. He knew this. He knew what they were, but something about the beast had bothered him. Whether it had been the pain he could sense in its eyes as he shot it, or just the remnants of the fear that clung to him in those dark tunnels, the image of those damn ducks burned themselves into his mind.

Steeling himself he let out a gruff noise, and gave the side of his head a whack. “Fucking blood loss,” Alexander grumbled, his hand wavering before he let it drop to his side again. He was getting loopy, and with his wounds it would only be getting worse from this point on. Dragging himself to his one good foot again he hopped forwards once again. Alexander didn’t glance at the beast again, he refused to, as he began to hop his way towards the setting sun.