Humanoid-Nuclear (Humanoid Trilogy #1) [ON HOLD]

8

Running became constant. Zyrites seemed to come out of the ground itself, ready to murder anything that it disliked. Whenever I entered a town, I would search everywhere, looking for any signs of normals. Zero have made an appearance so far. I would always mark a town on my map, and always put a tally mark on the signs so that if anyone was still living, they'd know I'd been there. I began to see crevices in the planet I lived in, as if explosions went off. My technology confirmed my suspicions, identifying the holes as previous nuclear weapon radiation, forcing me to put on my mask.

My shelter building skills became better too, as well as my hunting skills. I began to eat fresh meat each night, which was so much better than the packet food I had had to eat for years on end. Nights grew colder, and soon, frost covered the mutated plants. I made fires each night, getting brown smoke in my eyes constantly and waking up every thirty minutes just to see if my heat source was still alive.

I hadn't seen the creature at all, but I couldn't help feeling like it was always behind me. I would check--repeatedly--but there was nothing other than my shadow. When I wasn't running for my life, travelling, or trying to get as much sleep as I could, I would animate, and even draw. I would draw everything I saw, and I would write little excerpts about them. Though my drawing skills were not the best, I could still... kinda see what it was. If I turned it a certain way and squinted my eyes, I mean.

It was evening as I entered a town, my breath clouding up in the frosty air. When night fell, all the monsters would come out to play, hunting for little things like me. There was no cover other than this town, so I would have to spend the night there. I walked the vacant streets, used to the quiet by now, and looked for a home to rest in. My peace was short lived, as always. The sound of a zyrite's metal head sliding on its metal neck echoed through the streets, followed by the clank and thump they created as they stomped.

I bolted, not sure where to go. I rounded a corner, nearly getting a face-full of metal as I stopped myself from bumping into a zyrite's back, and turned the other way. A bullet grazed my shoulder, making me cry out in agony. All zyrites--I've realized--have some sort of instrumental weapon. This one had a trumpet, or, technically, a gun. Another bullet zipped past my calve, which would have definitely slowed me down if it landed. I spotted two more zyrites, who leapt into action as they noticed me. One had a small harp, which it used as a bow, along with a quiver strapped on its back, stuffed full with arrows. The other had a tuba, and it used that as a missile launcher.

As I ran, I pulled out a powerful E4X, which was basically a pistol sized machine gun. Cocking it, I began to run backwards, shooting wildly at the three zyrites. The bullets left holes, but it didn't seem to hurt them. I could see through the holes, too. All the way through the bastards. It seemed like they were invincible! The only thing I knew that could stop them was...

My heart raced as I thought about it. I shook the idea out of my head, continuing to run. I couldn't freak out. Not now. If I did, I would lose my life. A missile flew out of the tuba and exploded viciously to my far right. However, it was still close. So close, it set fire to my sleeve. Patting it out, I ran forward, dodging the bullets that rained down. A big building sat in my way, its doors waiting for me to open them. When I was close enough, I rammed into the rusty doors, flying into the building. I was a good fifteen feet ahead of the creatures, so I was able to block the door with a sturdy enough seater. I pressed against the doors for extra weight, body jolting as the monsters tried to break in.

What felt like an epoch later, they stopped, probably giving up. Still, I waited a few more minutes just to be sure, and was relieved when nothing came. Curious, I looked around. The building was an education institute of sorts, the hallways dreadfully silent. Metal containment units lined the hallway's walls, the tile floors a glossy white. It was black as pitch, and I decided to take out my camera and use its built in light system to lead my way. Taking slow, echoey steps, I went down the hall. The groan of metal bounced off the boomy walls, causing me to flinch as it reached my ears. I proceeded forward, receiving an unfriendly vibe from the whole place. Another groan rang in the cold, heavy air, this time higher in pitch.

What's causing that damn noise? I growled in the quiet of my mind. And another thing: where is it?! There came a fork in the hall, and I went right, as I usually do. I started recording, whispering to my camera every now and then so I didn't feel completely alone. I went through a door, entering a big room that smelled like... old sweat. Pulling out my device, I sighed when I saw the screen turn green. I felt Gerber's rubber face as I put my device back, smiling a little. Good, my buddy's okay. I pulled out my laser gun, its juice giving off a dim glow.

The big gym I was in had a wood floor, the pattern of a certain game-court painted on it. Metal beams held the ceiling up high above, keeping it from collapsing. Some ropes hung from hooks that were attached to some of the beams. A few rubber or other soft balls were trapped above in remarkably pinched places. The sound of metal came again, this time extremely close; on one of the beams, to be exact. Without hesitation, I shot at the beam I heard it come from, the laser creating a charred circle on the iron. The sound came again to my right, and I shot there. I could feel wind rush past my face, cold and rancid, and then the sound of something landing behind me. Trembling, I slowly turned.

First, I saw a blue tail. Next, I saw two glowing blue horns and eyes. Then, I could make out a body crouched on the floor, with two feathery wings on its back. I didn't shine my light on it, for fear that the mutant was terrible to look at. I couldn't see its face, or what clothes it wore, or if it was injured. I didn't necessarily care, either. As a warning, I shot my laser at its feet, creating a small flash, then dashed out of the gym. When I was far enough, I turned, hearing metal screaming again.

"Oh, God..." I breathed. "Why... Why is it... here?"

The sound of aching steel echoed through the halls, making me start to run again. The scent of puke infested the halls, causing me to gag. When I couldn't breathe, I stopped and put my hands on my knees, bending over and gulping in icy air. My camera was at twenty percent, beeping to warn me. I shooshed it, looking ahead. In a way, it was like a horror-projector-film. There was a trophy case, lit up by solar powered lights, and casting an eerie glow on the tiled floor. The trophies shimmered with their gold, silver, and bronze colors. The case was dusty, and sat fifty feet away from my darkened spot.

The stench of undigested lunch intensified, followed by the echoes of heavy footsteps.

A silhouette came into view, blocking the trophy case. It was at least 7'9", with broad shoulders and horns that curved forward. The horns were as long as my hand, and as thick as my calve. The wings on the beast's back were the size of a head pillow. The tail was long and bushy. It stared forward, motionless.

A whimper squeezed past my lips. A whimper of pure terror. I didn't mean for it to come out, it just did! I slapped a hand over my mouth, gasping in surprise, but it was too late. The sound spilled out across the floors and walls, floating to the mutant. Its head jerked to face me, glowing blue eyes jabbing into my spirit.

Then it began to run...

At me.

With a yelp, I rushed to the opposite direction, veering sharply at corners. A door to a classroom was wide open, and thinking I could hide in there, I ran faster. I reached for the door and tried to stop, but slipped against the tile, hitting my head against the hard ground. My teeth clattered together because of the blow, and pain spiked the back of my head. Before I could do anything, black enveloped me.

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