The Corrupted Soul

Chapter 16

Sketch swiftly darted past me through the thick underbrush. Damn that kid was fast. Though Victor beat him by a long shot, at times I couldn't see the guy through the trees. Cap and Tank trailed behind us, but Cap was gaining on me quickly.

We had decided to return to their nest for the time being. It was quite a long way off, and what started as a swift sprint turned into a bit of a race. It was strange, but in some odd way it reminded me of the handful of times I had run with small packs of Crawlers back in the apocalypse. It put our instincts at ease in some strange way.

Tank came up beside me, panting lightly. I side eyed him while grinning, "You sure you're even a Crawler? You're barely managing a human run!"

He chuckled lightly at my jab, "Look who's talking. You're not managing much faster!"

I growled mockingly, "I live in a city. You lot chase wild deer through the woods, you should be outrunning me easily."

"Is that a challenge, ma'am?"

My grin grew wider, "Oh, I lived with nothing but Ferals around for months. I picked up a few tricks I doubt Maria and Harris figured out."

He pulled ahead of me as he pressed for speed. I hissed lightly. Challenge accepted.

Suddenly I lowered down to the ground so that my chest just barely grazed the short ferns and bushes. Tank gave me a questioning look over his shoulder since it seemed like I was getting ready to pounce at something, and my momentary pause caused the others to all pull ahead of me by a long shot.

I began running again, but staying low to the ground. The downside of doing this was I had to dodge small plants I otherwise would pass over completely, but the added speed was well worth it. As I was lower down and my Crawler legs were half retracted, each stride was shorter, but faster. I also used my hands to pull myself forward, and my legs to kick off the ground at times. It was now as if I had ten limbs aiding my speed instead of six.

I easily pulled ahead of Cap, and Tank too was soon struggling to keep up with me. I heard his shocked gasp just barely as I ran past him. I had seen several infected children - nicknamed Crawlets - run like this, and had originally assumed it was just because they were faster than an average Crawler. It wasn't until I tried it myself on a whim that I realized just how effective it was to run like this. It was much more tiring than a regular run though, I could run for hours normally without tiring, but like this I would be surprised if I lasted fifteen minutes.

I was gaining on Sketch, to my surprise, and he looked over his shoulder with a shocked expression. I almost keeled over in laughter after he attempted to lower himself down like myself, but promptly forgot to check where he was going and ran directly into a pyracantha bush.

My struggle to keep from laughing slowed me somewhat as I fought for breath. I dared not look back incase I ran into something myself, instead I kept watching Victor from up ahead. That guy was definitely built for speed.

I caught a strange yet familiar scent. I was barely able to identify it before I was hit with an invisible brick wall and my limbs tried to stop me without my input, thus sending myself sprawling across the ground. I rolled several dizzying times before I finally came to a halt, I lay on my back somewhat dazed as I tried to recall which direction was up while my head throbbed from the sudden burst of instincts that had, until now, been calmed.

Sketch quickly ran to me, visibly worried, "Oh geez, what just happened? You clearly didn't just trip, you okay?"

I hissed lightly at him before quickly shaking my head. I could see he had several lightly bleeding scratches on his face and hands, and many more tears in his jacket from colliding with that bush. I probably didn't look much better, though instead of superficial wounds I was undoubtedly covered in snow and pine needles, "Let me take a wild guess and say, we just entered your pack territory."

Cap and Tank had caught up with us, and Victor stood up ahead, watching us. Cap seemed intrigued, "Yes, actually, how can you tell?"

I stood up and brushed the dead needles from my clothes, "Well for starters any territory has a scent to it, and you can feel when you pass the barrier. Any and all nests or packs had the same barrier tenfold. My Crawler mind basically just tried to force me to run the other direction the second I passed the wall."

Tank growled lowly and stepped backwards a few times, shaking his head, "Suddenly I really hate the thought of you being here..."

I tilted my head, "Mentally, Physically, or Instinctively."

"Uh...instinctively, I think."

I shrugged absently, "Well that would be why. You know I'm not a threat and all, but your instincts only see a strange Crawler in your territory. Not to mention one you could kill easier than a blind pheasant."

That last sentence had been muttered in such a fashion I doubted the others made out the words. I'm glad I have speed over that guy, it's my only saving grace and definitely my only chance of survival if he goes off the hinges.

Sketch stood on his Crawler legs, "Well, at least now we know. The longer you stay here, the less on edge we will all be, I'm sure!"

He didn't wait for anyone to respond before darting off. Cap followed close behind him, and Tank stared me down for several moments before swiftly following. I stood where I was, watching them run off. Squinting, I realized I could even see their nest from here, though it was hazy in the distance. Seeing it gave me a very bad feeling, I started to second guess myself.

Was coming to their territory a good idea? We needed to know more about them, but was it potentially worth my life? I had only gone into a nest once before, and that had not ended well for me, though this group was Sane. They had to be different than mindless Ferals.

I reluctantly trudged forward through the snow.