Wind and Windigo

Chapter I - Almost Is Enough

Autumn of 2029

Thinking to hard would get you in worse shit than if you didn't think at all. And right now Casio was thinking too hard about not thinking at all. He made the foolish mistake of having too much weight on his shoulders. Literally. Casio figured there'd be no harm in taking a bit more than he could carry while looting. That "no harm" thought racing around his head resulted in him tripping over the threshold of the door and dropping to the ground. Rather harshly, him and his things scattered across the floor. All of which caused a hell of a lot more noise than he would've liked. Not that he would've like making any noise in this given situation.

Casio froze in his position on the floor, slowly climbing back to his feet. His eyes roamed around the house searching for any movement that could cost him his life. He zoned out as his ears searched further for any disturbance. He spared a glance at the items at his feet and contemplated his next move. Cautiously, he began to gather his things, stuffing as much as he could in his bag without over doing it. His head perked up at the creak from behind him. For someone so clumsy, there was no doubt he had a certain awareness of his surroundings. Turning ever so carefully he peered over his shoulder to see an absolute hideous sight. A Lurker.

A bloodthirsty, crazed creature. It's a bit of luck that they don't have eyes, but they easily make up for it with their other senses. Their hallowed out eye sockets just make them more of a grotesque thing to look at. Casios fingers found their way to his knife, slowly wrapping around the handle. He didn't dare to take his eyes off the Lurker in fear of where it would wind up next, perhaps with its teeth latched onto his arm.

It stepped closer. One foot than the other. Time dwindled for Casio to make a decision. Run and hope for the best. Or fight it, and pray to whatever god is left that he can come out alive and untouched. A single scratch from its nails could kill him and turn him into one. A bite would do the same.

Without thinking any longer Casio gripped the handle of his knife tighter and spun around shoving the Lurker into the wall. He lifted his arm plunging his knife into its skull. Casio took a sharp breathe and yanked it out catching the body before it could drop to the floor and attract more unwanted attention. He considered himself lucky he only had to deal with one.

Casio stood still for another moment before shoving the rest of his things in the bag. He slung it over his shoulder standing back to his full height. His eyes gave the house one last sweep making sure nothing to valuable was being left. With a swift nod to himself he pulled up his hood and trudged out the front door.

The boy continued his walk home listening to nothing but the music of the wind. But he didn't whistle or hum along.

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Casio made it back to the lone house in a field. He eagerly moved up the walk way towards the door. He longed for the comfort that could only be provided by his couch. He fished through his pocket for his key until he felt the cold metal against his hand and pulled it out. He unlocked the door and with a twist and a nudge, it rasped open.

Casio stepped in the house and flipped the lock on the door. Before he could turn around he felt a gun pressed to the back of his head.

"That's quite the warm welcome for the person who has your dinner." Casio tsked.

"Well how about you don't leave for 4 hours without any notice then walk into my house with your hood up." The man behind the gun replied, not having a single thought about yielding.

Casio turned himself to face the man. An annoyed expression plastered on his face. "Next time a warm embrace or even a simple "hey Cas" would suffice." He said with a faux smile.

"Hey Cas." The man said blandly.

"Hey Orion, I'm glad you're as enthusiastic as I am to see you!" Casio exclaimed he tone coated in sarcasm.

Orion groaned, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. "One day. That's all I ask of you is one day without the sarcasm." He sighed flopping his hand back to his side.

"I can't. Sarcasm is my only defense." Casio gave his brother a grin as he walked past him and to the closet. He slid open the door and put his knife and axe in their respected places.

"How'd it go?" Orion questioned making his way over to the couch and setting his gun on the coffee table.

"Pretty good considering I almost got mauled by a Lurker." Casio joked but his brother didn't seem as amused.

"Almost?" Orion questioned giving Casio a concerned look. But he couldn't help the relieved smile that came over him. ""Almost" works for me as long as you're okay."

Casio smiled kindly at his brother and took a seat next to him. "The run turned out pretty good. I got a decent amount of stuff." He tossed his backpack into his brothers lap.

Orion unzipped the bag and rummaged around looking at each item. As his eyes landed on something he took it out and gave his brother an unimpressed look. "Really?" He said holding up a coonskin hat. He turned the hat around inspecting. "Where the hell did you get this?" One look at his brother and the two men were laughing.

"I found it in some old guys house. Seemed like it'd be on our 'must have' list for an apocalypse. Sooo i grabbed it." Casio let out a breathy laugh.

"You definitely have an eye for eyesores." Orion grimaced as his nose caught the scent of the hat. "And this is definitely staying in your room."

"Absolutely not." Casio hopped up from the couch before the hat could be handed back to him. "I got it for you dear brother. By all means you can keep it." He ran off to his room shutting the door behind himself.

"Goodnight Casio!" Orion said, loud enough for him to hear but not to loudly. He heard a faint "goodnight" muffled by the door. Tossing the hat on coffee table, Orion stood shuffling towards his own room. He kicked off his shoes and slipped into his bed, soon falling into a blissful sleep.

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Word Count: 1120