Amokoliopha - The Apocalypse

Paul stared into the lifeless eyes of the Amokoliopha. He breathed as he felt the comforting grip of his shotgun on his sweaty palms. In his pocket, was the reassuring bumpy feel of a grenade. He dared not waste his valuable ammunitions. It would only attract more of those beasts anyway. Their hearing was incredible, their speed inhumane, and their strength was unmeasurable. Paul had to stay still as possible, it was his only defense mechanism. After 2 long minutes the creature seemed to lose interest in him, he had won this battle, but the war was yet to be fought. His first task was almost an impossible one, to try and get to U.S. colonies on the moon. It was his only hope. The only way to get there was to go to NASA space station in Houston, Texas. A distance away from Dallas. Taking a car was not an option, the beasts were attracted to sound. He had to trek it; a journey that would take him at-least 2 days. Every day he spent on this planet increased the risk of death.

The U.S. military had lost a quarter of a million men in the World War III, a genetic scientist had proposed to make a genetically engineered killing machine. His idea was to mix a shark's power, a lion's ferocity, a crocodiles jaw strength, a cheetah's speed, and a dog's smell. The result; an unstoppable monster. He created a 4 foot creature with razor sharp teeth, a strong jaw, and impeccable pride, but it's most valuable asset was the ability to sense fear. They went rogue and wiped out most of the world's population in less than a six months.

Paul assumed he would meet more people on his way to Houston. But for all he knew he was the last man on earth. He could use strength in numbers. Paul hauled some mud and slathered it all over his body. It smelled terrible, but that's what he wanted. It would cover his scent. Only his wits could get him through this, one mistake and he was dead meat.

Paul trekked through most of the night, and by dawn he had traveled all the way to West, TX. So far his tactics had worked, he had avoided the Amokoliopha. He had seen to what extent their destruction could reach. He had seen just about everything dead, even bees. The trip from Dallas had drained him, he had to stop somewhere and rest. After another 30 minutes of traveling Paul found a little shack that suite him. It was made of rusted metal, which should cover his smell. It was also caked in mud on the inside, which should keep his snoring undetectable. After patrolling the perimeter he finally decided to get some REM sleep.

Paul woke up to some heavy breathing on his ear. He bit his inner mouth, it was all he could do to stop himself from screaming. Oh not again, he thought. Another encounter with the infamous Amokoliopha. He could feel his veins throbbing out of fear. The smell the creature produced was very pungent. The ugly beast was covered in slime. Its skin was a dirty green color, and from a closer look it was covered in scales. The sun reflecting on its scales was almost blinding. The creature didn't have a neck or shoulders, and right in the middle of its body was a 2 foot wide mouth. For a millisecond Paul almost considered fighting back, but he knew that would have been stupid. The creature could have destroyed him with just one snap. From the growling of the beast, he knew the beast had sensed his presence. There was almost no hope of survival. Paul had watched enough discovery channel to know that he if he pretended not to be scared, the creature could runoff.

He did the most ridiculous thing he could have possibly done; he started growling too. If he was lucky the animal would be scared off, but most likely the animal would feel threatened in its territory and attack him. Even though the odds were against him, Paul still continued. After a long, agonizing 30 seconds, the creature's growling ceased, and it stared at Paul thoughtfully. That's when Paul realized that this one was different. It was 1 foot bigger than the others, and it didn't have that animal look on its face. Was it possible that this creature had evolved so fast? I'm dead, thought Paul. The fact that it may had actually have some intelligence in it, made it twice as dangerous.