The Decay

Chapter 34 - A Mutant

34

“Is everything ready?” asked Mike, pointing at the backpack and duffel bag laying on the floor next to the main entrance. Anita nodded, “Yes. Are you sure you want to leave now? The doctor told you to wait at least another 2 weeks.” Mike looked at her and shrugged, “I'll be fine. We need to find John and he certainly won't wait till we show up to execute whatever he has planned.” Anita sighed and picked up the blue backpack. Inside it were supplies enough to last a few days. Canned food and water bottles made up most of the contents. The remainder of the space had been taken up by a rope, hook, flashlight, binoculars and a first aid kit.

Mike approached her and, after a quick peck on her cheek, moved to pick up the black duffel bag and, with some effort, raised it over his shoulder, securing it to his back. The duffel bag was their portable armory; it had a range of ammunition, 3 pistols, an assault rifle, a shotgun and 6 grenades. Both Anita and Mike carried hunting knives and a small revolver each in leg holsters in case of emergencies.

Earlier in the week, Mike had visited Christy and Sam stating their intentions. Sam was getting older and even he had to face that he could no longer be subject to the strain of long-distance traveling and potential shootouts. Christy, against her will, had been convinced to stay with him. With most of the village guards consisting of inexperienced locals, Christy and Sam were given the responsibility of command in the case of an attack.

The journey to the center of Boston, from where the search for John would begin, was about 13 kilometers long and would normally take a little less than 3 hours to complete. The harsh environment together with unknown dangers and their need to walk around large collapsed buildings, however, meant that it would take quite a bit more to get there.

“You know, there's something that bothers me,” said Mike. Anita looked at him inquisitively, waiting for him to continue. “How are we supposed to find John? I mean, it's not like we're just going to head into the dead center of Boston and there will be a sign with a big red arrow pointing to his hideout.” Anita chuckled. “Oh that would be nice, wouldn't it?” She sighed, meeting his gaze. “Look, one step at a time. Let's just get there first.” Mike sighed and nodded. “Right. Let's go.”

Leaving town, they made their way South onto the only path leading into the city. Barricades had been set up a few months back with rumors of mercenaries, slavers and a plethora of other people with bad intentions heading towards town. “Do you know how to get there?” asked Mike. “To the center of Boston? Kind of. We'll follow this lake until its edge moves west. We'll continue in the opposite direction. If we see what should be the ruins of Tufts University, we'll know that we're on the right track.” Mike chuckled. “See, this is why it's good to have you around after all.”

A few minutes passed before Mike stopped dead in his tracks. “Did you hear that noise?” he asked, looking at Anita, puzzled. She shrugged. “What noise?” Less than a second passed before ripples started to form in the lake. They both turned to face the lake. “What the...” began Mike, but before he could finish asking the question, a creature emerged from the lake in a splash.

The creature looked like a cross between a shrimp, a praying mantis, and a leopard, which had then been thrown into a blender. It was a little over 2 meters tall and had a strong orange colour with several large black spots. Its eyes were small and black, the mouth a perfect circle with tendrils sticking out. It stood on 3 legs arranged as a tripod with claws at their end. Its 2 'arms' were scythe-shaped and were no doubt extremely sharp.

“Okay, what the hell is that?!” asked Anita, alarmed. Mike stared at the creature incredulously. The creature shrieked loudly before leaping towards them. Mike tackled Anita to the ground, saving her from one of the blades. Rolling over, Mike pulled her up and pushed her in the opposite direction of the creature. “Run! Now!” Anita hesitated for an instant before running away from the lake.

Mike grabbed his revolver and dodged another swipe from the creature before taking aim and shooting it in the head. No effect. The bullets bounced off its armor-like shell. Mike turned around and ran away from the lake as well, praying that the creature would be unable to stay out of the water for long.

He was right, he had sprinted less than 50 meters before he noticed the creature had stopped giving chase and had headed back out to the lake. Catching up with Anita, he bent over, hands on his knees and breathed heavily. “Okay... what just happened?” Anita shook her head. “I've never seen anything like it. What was it, some kind of mutated shellfish?” Mike shrugged. “I... guess so? Whatever it was, I've never seen it before. Something's not right.” Anita agreed.

A few hours later, a little before sundown, they reached a big white sign. The black letters on it spelled out “Tu ts Un ve s t “, the remainder of the letters lying on the ground or missing altogether. “This must be it. Tufts University,” said Anita, happy that they had not got lost on the way. Mike looked at the large area in front of him which used to be the campus. Two of the buildings stood more or less intact, but the remainder had either been reduced to mere piles of rubble or had downright vanished. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I would never have guessed that this was where the famous Tufts University had been, if not for the sign and your conviction.” Anita sighed. “I know right? It's sad really. Everything is destroyed. I wonder what it looked like before, but I bet it was incredible.” Mike nodded in agreement. “Let's take a rest. We still have a long way to go,” said Anita. Mike agreed, happy she had suggested it. He was tired, and after the previous encounter in the early afternoon, he needed to rest.