He Was Dying

Chapter Two

My eyes looked to the skies for answers. Ashes fluttered down from the treetops, carried by the wind.
So it is true.
A shriek of a woman sounded from behind me. I spun around, inches away from the Nurse. "It is time, Omega." I gulped.

"No."

"No?"

"I won't listen to you. Your words shall remain motionless in the air and represent nothing in my mind."

She floated in silence. The bag on her head shifted, the rope around her neck loosening. The bag slid off, landing on the ground with a soft thud, dust fluttered.

  I looked away, my knees buckling and my body shrinking away in fear. "Stop, Nurse.. Please."

  I didn't need to look up to know what was happening. Her jaw unhinged, a powerful light glowing from the bottom of her throat, a silent screech vibrating through the air and into my sensitive ears. I shrank to the grass, eyes shut tight. Her empty eye sockets stared at me, as if observing my soul. Nurse's wrinkled, grey skin cracked and fell like rotting leafs in autumn. My ears folded in on themselves, ringing like mad.

"Stop!" I shouted. "Stop, please! I beg you!" My paws shot to the sides of my head and over my ears. Slowly the pain evaporated. My eyes opened and she was gone.

- - -

  I crouched down, bending the yellow metal frame away from the machine. I was in front of a human automobile, but it was much bigger than the common sedans and pickup trucks scattered around the yard that I've torn apart for equipment and parts. I stood and bounded upwards, into the room filled with controls that ordered around the machine.

My large paws broke open a panel below the control grid, and I sniffed around, searching for a variety of parts. I yanked out a handful of wires, tossing the clump out a broken window. Grumbling, I rummaged around for my wrench. I swear I left it in here.

An explosion triggered my senses, and I hit my head on the control panel above me. I reeled back, gripping the top of my skull, hissing. Clumsy me.. Always getting frightened by loud noises.

  My long legs carried me out of the vehicle, thundering my body towards the ground. Ears shifting, I whirled around the machine and towards a generator, its bright red highlight causing my eyes to strain. The lights above it flickered.

With a blast, the engine hummed to life, the bulbs hanging above it suddenly inspired to glow. I darted behind barrels and crates, my spine shivering. That's never happened before..

  My confidence rose enough for me to step out of hiding and back in the way of the generator. The outline was now a dull orange. The brightness burned through my thick suit, causing me to sweat. I lifted my mask just over my mouth, sweat dribbling past my teeth and down my face.

This was normal. My body structure and system was not set up like a human's, so this caused body fluids like sweat and tears to fall from my mouth.

Mask back over my face, I sniffed every square inch of the machine. Two humans. Both male, I believe. My nose was fine, I just have never properly experienced these pests known as people. They kept messing with my stuff.

   As I followed after the scent trail, it appeared to be leading to another engine generator. What were they planning to do? Blind me? On the way, I couldn't help but be distracted by the increased amount of hookless beams. Jeez, humans were actually intelligent enough to accomplish that?

  Approaching the second generator, my assumption was correct. Two adult males, still rather young, crouched down opposite sides of each other. One in a blue hoodie triggered something, causing white electrical currents to bite at his fingers. He leaped away, using his arms to block the sparks from hitting his face.

The man stepped back, the other boy yelled at him from over the machine to get back to work. But he just remained crouched at the generator while the other ran.
  He bitterly shook his head, continuing his work, wiping his oil-covered hands on his red jacket.

As he carried on with his objective, I silently crawled behind him. I planted my palms on the white patchs on his shoulders of his jacket and yanked him away from the engine. He landed on his stomach with an oompf.
My fingers wrapped around his collar and I pulled the human to his feet. "Delirious!" He was shouting as I carefully snaked my arm around his torso. "Delirious, help!" He must be calling for that boy in blue.

  I curled my hand around his head as he began flailing his arms and kicking about. I tightened my grip as I felt him slowly slip away and he let out a breathless squeak. Oops.. too tight.

Zigzagging through the mazes of log piles and compressed vehicle walls, I've failed to figure out what to do with this human. He has practically given up at this point, out of breath and bedraggled.

"I got ya, Evan!"

  A man suddenly appeared in front of me, a red hood pulled over his head. With a determined shout, he yanked down a pallet of multicoloured planks, the loud sound of the clank echoing in the inside of the barrel it collided with.

I immediately leaped back, my arms extending infront of me as if to defend myself. The human fell out of my paws.
He darted away with a limp in his walk, being followed by the other man, who pulls the injured's arm around his own shoulder.

  Examining him, I stared at his face as he glanced back at me in terror and fear. His right eye.. was crossed with an X-shaped scar. But his eye.. was black? The sclera, from what I could see, was the same shade as darkness, and the iris was white. His left eye remained normal, I supposed.
The red hood of his sweater that folded over and around his skull casted a shadow over half of his face, giving him an intimidating look.

Suddenly something clicked somewhere in my brain. I dropped to all fours and darted after them, bounding over large wooden spools and pallets and towers of rotting rubber tires. I dodged past crumbling brick walls and lept through windows. I won't mention when I nearly ran head first into a tree during my adrenaline rush.

As my two prey spun around a corner, my ears twitched. I heard bandages being wrapped, and my uneven teeth gritted beneath my mask.
Something inside me didn't feel correct, and I knew exactly what it was.

I craved blood.