《MAD Wendigo》Prologue
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Reid turned the stick and the fire stirred. A slight breeze breathed life into the glowing embers for a flickering moment before it died. The sudden warmth radiated from the pit and Reid pushed his hands closer.
They’re late. The others should have been back before the sunset, at least three hours earlier. Reid wasn’t worried about Laurence or Tish and he didn’t really care all that much about Shannon. They each had more than enough experience in the wilds to stay alive, even if they were split up. It was waiting alone by a lit fire that tensed his shoulders and had his hand checking for the knife at his hip.
There wasn’t much beyond the crack of the fire to give him pause, but Reid scanned the trees around him anyway. He knew beyond the forest lay a few farmhouses, barns, maybe a general store and a gas station. All abandoned. All forgotten by everything but the overgrown brush. He didn’t hunt the darkness for people or animals. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a raccoon or a squirrel. No, he watched and listened for the shuffle, the groan, the guttural warnings of what used to be men.
After a few minutes of silence in the winds dying he leaned back into the fallen log and stretched his neck.
The whole pursuit was a bust, the others just hadn’t admitted it yet. Weeks trudging through the brush, backpacking their way up the Rouge Valley hunting the origin of one cryptic radio message. “She’s here.” That the four of them up and leapt at the chance to track her down hadn’t exactly been the shining testament to their forethought. But they’d tried. They did something. That sure as hell beats sitting around just waiting for nothing.
Reid let go of a heavy sigh. “Fucking waste of time.” He tossed a small clump of dried pine needles to the flames and they crackled on the ember bed.
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The plan had been simple: find the source of the signal. Sure enough, they did without much fuss. But the bunker wasn’t much by the time they got there, abandoned or overrun, Reid couldn’t tell. But it had been picked clean. Not an ounce of water, supplies, or ammo to pillage. After, they tried to pick up a trail, something that told them where she would be.
All for a fucking myth. He kicked the stick and the fire turned, small puffs of thick smoke trailing to the sky. A pipe dream. Nothing more than a hollow promise of safety out of the infected zone. Find the girl, find salvation, they said. As if anywhere in the world had escaped the virus.
Reid closed his eyes and he could see it. Life before infection. Cities, streets, people everywhere and with them came the noise. Just so much sound forming a gentle hum of electricity, voices, engines that followed him everywhere he went. And that smell - refuse, sweat, and filth. The stink of civilization overpowered memory. After the chaos settled all that was left was that quiet. That suffocating unending silence and the stench of blood he could never seem to get off his hands.
The fire cracked and his eyes snapped open.
She’s long dead, he decided. That or turned into the things that walked in people’s skin. And even if by some weird luck she was alive, Reid had no doubt they wouldn’t find her. They weren’t the first to go looking and they wouldn’t be the last. Not to mention Laurence and his “tracking”, like some guy who lived his whole life in the city could find anyone outside of it.
They should have made it back by now. The wind turned and the trees groaned. Their camp wasn’t too far from the small hamlet where they’d found the bunker and the camp shouldn’t have been hard to find. He toyed with the idea of kicking apart the fire, a beacon in the night could draw all kinds of unsightly things. But the trees were thick. The sky cloudy. Despite that, Reid picked up the stick and knocked the logs apart just to be safe.
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He felt the steel before he saw it. The cool metal glided delicately across the skin of his neck. Just a touch, no blood drawn. The kiss of the blade coupled with a warm hand covering his mouth.
“Make a sound and you bleed.” The woman’s words dripped from lips barely above a whisper, so quiet yet clear against his ear. Her hair tickled the back of his neck and she brushed his cheek with a hot exhale.
“You and your friends will be gone by morning. If I see anyone near here again, I’ll find you, gut you, and leave you for the wendigos.”
Reid’s chest raised in nervous breaths and he ached to move. But the sharp and steady knife pressed to his throat kept him still.
“Don’t nod. Don’t scream. Don’t call for help.” Her hand unclasped from his lips. “Just say you understand.”
“I understand.” He wanted to turn, needed to see. As he heaved in his breaths he dared to turn his head, only a little just to catch the shape of her. To see the ghost.
“You’re actually her, aren’t you?” he whispered.
The knife retreated. Her shadow merged into the trees. He considered standing, jumping her, reaching out to take hold of what they had hunted for but Reid remained paralyzed. The others had the guns. His hunting knife was within reach, but they needed her alive. Doubts plagued him as his fingers flexed at his side. What if he wasn’t fast enough? What if he couldn’t find her? I didn’t even hear her come up.
“Whatever you think you came for doesn’t exist.” Her voice echoed from the dark. “Pack your shit up and leave before you end up like the last ones that came here.”
“The others won’t-”
“I wouldn’t mistake it for a suggestion. You stay, you die.”
If I don’t at least try, we die. Reid took a quick breath and steeled his nerves. He gripped the handle of his knife and turned to face her.
There was no one. Nothing but the flickering shadows from the low fire. The tree’s around him rustled in the wind, drowning all sound. Not a trace of her remained.
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8 164Tales of the Animists
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8 205The Mighty Fountain
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8 103FEVER
Trent Setter, a tired young man, finally gets a well-deserved break from his desk job at an innocuous cabin owned by his childhood friend. However, things rapidly go awry as this solo vacation spirals out of control.
8 124Sector 27
It wasn't until June 3, 2101 that World War 4 ended. This was not a war that ended in peace treaties or truces; this war ended with disease. The atomic war caused plague and disease that crippled major countries. The generals and great leaders of the countries at war died from the radiation that penetrated every part of the globe. It was only then that humanity realized what they had done- what they had created. The first ever mutant was publicly executed the very day the war ended, and a new war began: the war against mutants. The surviving nation of Japan quickly rebuilt their country by dividing it into safe zones, or Sectors. There are currently 26 livable sectors in Japan; Sector 1 is the richest sector and the only sector that has completely rid itself of all radiation left over from the war. In fear against the threat of mutants, the once small section of the police force grew until it became the main police force in Japan. After all, humans shouldn't be blamed for crimes when the real threat to society is mutants. This police force that goes by their motto: Special Treatment Against Mutants (STAM) is comprised of agents that go about their work to capture and detain all mutants. Sector 26 is the poorest sector that humans can barely survive in; but there is one more part of Japan. This "dead zone" has such a high concentration of radiation that if a human were to step inside the barrier, they would die in mere moments. But within this dead zone, this 27th Sector, there lies a secret organization of mutants that fight against STAM and protect all mutants from their grasp. The Mutant Recovery and Protection Agency (MRPA) operates to hide mutants in society and allow them to live human lives. The only thing that stands in MRPA's way is STAM and its agents who hunt them down ruthlessly, so MRPA has their own set of skilled agents. And the battle rages on...
8 130The Daily Life of Akashi Takabi (Draft I)
A teenage boy- Myself- was isekaid into another world during his sleep one night. They were born, and than orphaned a mere few hours later, left all alone in largely hostile world. Join them as they start the long and arduous journey to eventually make their way back their original world while still trying to live happily and fix the world around them. This is just a draft. Completely unedited with a lot of unnecessary things. (Probably) Please give any and all opinions. It'll really help. I promise not to take anything personally. If you have suggestions, DM/PM me. I'll at least consider it. I'm quite aware I have a lot of typos and misplaced words in my work. It would be very much appreciated if you were to comment or DM me regarding any Misplaced words. As for Typos, if you're especially annoyed, please do the same. Otherwise, typos will wait for draft II.
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