District 71: Battle Earth

Chapter 3 - Bloody Monsters

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DISTRICT 71

BATTLE EARTH

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Chapter 3: Bloody Monsters

Ana and one of her officer went after the direction of the pack that carried the bodies of her platoon members. They were at least forty meters away from the East gate. They heard a howling and growling noise not far away. It was possible that those were the pack of monsters that they were after. Silently and in full alert, they sneaked towards the origin of the noise and they found one human body five meters away from them. From its appearance, it was brutally murdered which no human can do, and as a matter of fact, only an animal can do such thing. Ana’s officer Dizon, saw the murdered body and was not able to hold back the contents of his stomach from going up to his throat. He threw up seconds later.

“Dizon, hold yourself or you will get us killed.”

In a low firm tone, she commanded her officer. But Dizon could not hold himself and made a noise that the growling creatures heard.

“Oh shit!”

Ana instantly returned the guns inside her side pockets and retrieve her butterfly swords again. She swayed them at the same time two monstrous creatures lounged at them.

With trembling hands, Dizon aimed at the wounded creatures and shot them that almost hit Ana.

“Dizon! Are you trying to kill me!”

“Sorry Captain!”

“Hold yourself Dizon or I will kill you myself!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The officer wiped his face and focused at the attacking monsters.

Ana run towards them and slashed the first monster that she met using her right hand and finished it with a clean swift cut from her left. Behind her back was another monster ready to claw her. Dizon fired two shots that were enough to blow the monster’s brain apart.

“Thank you, Officer Dizon!”

“No problem Captain!”

There were only four visible creatures left and they were fierce and ready to attack at them. That pack was most likely wolves before the World War 3 but now they were huge and fiercer. They have four legs but they can use two legs to walk and two legs to claw a victim. Their claws were very strong, long and sharp –enough to cut your skin and organs at the same time. They now have black and spiky fur but once you take a closer look at its skin, you will notice the rotting and bloody flesh. In some of them, you can already see bones coming out and you will wonder how were they still able to become so fierce and fast –so fast. They have red bloody eyes and their teeth were much longer and sharper. These were just few of the effects of the nuclear aftermath. The World War 3 created these monsters.

Few years back after the World War 3, the government has killed human-monsters, thousands of them. Those were humans who survived within the radius of the nuclear bomb explosions. They were infected by the radiation that transformed them into zombie-like creatures. The government had no choice but to exterminate them. They were burned. Only few survived from the infection and they were treated but they did not last long. All of them suffered from the radiation effects. They either died from cancer or from complications. Whatever was left from the human race, they were all living inside the districts and whatever was left outside the districts were all monsters.

“Captain!”

Dizon shouted as one of the monsters jumped over at Ana.

Ana was already ready even before the monster jumped. She threw one of her sword and pierced the attacking monster at its stomach. Ana run towards it and pulled the sword back and using the other sword in her hand, she swiftly beheaded the monster. The three remaining creatures lounged forward and Dizon aimed and fired at the monsters before they could attack Ana. It only took Ana seconds to finish the battle.

After making sure that the area was clear from the monsters, Ana took another round and cut the heads of the monsters. That was to make sure that they were dead and would not regenerate nor heal. Dizon gathered dried materials like wood and piled them so that they could make a fire and burn the bodies of the monsters. He waited for the order of the captain to fire the pile.

Meanwhile, Ana offered silence and prayer for her unlucky platoon member whose body had been mercilessly murdered by the monsters. Not far away, she saw another body which no doubt their other casualty and hoped that it’s the last from her platoon.

She stood up and cleared a spacious area. She took dried branches that were scattered on the ground and started covering the bodies.

“Captain, what are you doing? We should fire this up and go back. We don’t know when will the other packs find us here.”

“Dizon, could you give me a hand here?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Since they won’t be able to carry the bodies back to the district, they just have to give them a humane burial by cremation. They cannot just bury the bodies because the monsters may just dig them. When everything was ready, Ana removed the rings, military tags and insignia from the bodies and kept them inside her pockets.

A few minutes later, cloudy smokes rose up the sky.