After the End: The Escape

After collecting the Zards bodies and getting ready we began cutting there skins off and piling them I looked at Flarea who’s hands were bloody with Zard blood and said “Do you see them watching us she looked up and saw some Zards peeking at us and said “Look that one is holding something” I stood up and walked to the back and saw a hole and a bunch of zards ran and crawled under the walls and then I looked in the hole and saw 4 eggs and reached in picked them up and looked around and saw blood really dried blood but it was there and saw some bones there were clothes on them.
After looking at them closer I noticed they were guard outfits from the town old ones but my father had some and I remember when he came back the last time and talked about losing a guy. Looked around and was astonished and realized that this is where my dad got the sickness and it was that Zard that killed them and that it bit two guards and they went running. I walked back with the eggs and Flarea looked at me and said “You okay you look pale and what are those.” “There Zard eggs unhatched and that zard was the one that bite my dad and got him and my mom sick and die there is an old dead guard body in the back.” She kept skinning I sat the eggs in the pile of the skins and wrapped them up “Why you keeping those” “Idk it be kind of cool to have them as pets or just sell them in town” “okay we will see” it took a few hours but we got them all skinned.
We sat the eggs in the skins to pad and keep them warm as we drove back threw the woods and the sun began to set as we saw the town walls and drove up and flipped around to go threw the gate and the cars near by looked smashed up proubly cause the guards where scarred as hell and driving back. They opened the gate and the deputy said “Well your back okay and with skins the soldiers drove by about an hour and a half ago in a hurry and went back the way they came.” We walked in and went to the store.
We walked into the store and I said “Hey Eliza I got those skins and even got the alpha’s” “Oh really well I guess I promised you that outfit well lets see what’s your neck size” she walked over and started measuring Flarea then said “ Okay I got some idea’s ill make some improvements to yours just come back in like five day’s ill work the whole time for them and hey here is some money for your help too” She handed me 2 red chips and 5 blues. “Is this a lot” “Oh your really new you don’t know the ratio’s” “No I can assume white are less blue then red” “There are also blacks and that is true They go white ten of them make a blue then ten of those make a red and ten of those make a black.” “Okay thanks.” We walked out and went back to the inn and I said “ You know the town is proubly in danger right” “Yeah I wish we had a way to warn them” “Maybe we sneak up to the wall and leave a letter on the wall” “And be ambushed and taken back no thanks” we went to are room and sleep we then woke up and walked around the town we ran into the sheriff and I asked him “ how much danger is are old settlement if two guards where bit by and alpha zard and went running back” “Well if they don’t know how to quarantine them then a lot” “Well that’s what happened and I learned that’s the alpha that got my dad sick and killed him and my mom” “Wow they do live long zards can live around fifty years but rarely make it three that’s why there not that big usually but you do see the ten year olds there a bit bigger and Alpha’s usually become that strong when they turn eight-teen we don’t know why only an alpha’s bite can give the sickness but they do” “Well I got these they worth anything” I pulled the eggs out and showed them to him” “well you got these from an alpha’s nest” “Yeah” “That means that Alpha was a female” “is that strange” “Yes the females usually die before they reach two because of breeding the male kill them when the eggs hatch” “Wow brutal” “Yeah these could be different keep a hold of them maybe the hatchlings will be different” “Okay I rolled them back up in my bag and said “Thanks for knowledge on Zards” “Common hunter knowledge if you want to be one”
We kept looking found a good old Shop that had actual seemed to taken the hunting shop’s sign and put it up Walked in and the man said “hello how are you two” “Good we just got time to spare while Eliza uses the zard skins we brought her” “Oh starter hunter’s” “Yeah we killed the nest out north in some store” “Oh wow even the alpha he must be forty-three years old” “She actually” “Really yeah I got four eggs she was watching” “Wow nice” so this hunting supplies I guess” “Yeah we got weapons and traps.” We looked around and found a shelf with knives and blades I found a nice machete and said “How much this thing” “about 8 blue chips” we will take that and what do you recommend for hunting close distance and or for people trying to attack me” “Well I got a good boomstick around here id part for it and the machete lets say 2 reds and 9 blues.” Deal” I handed him them and counted out what I had just 4 blues and 2 whites left over. We walked out with the boomstick a machete and he even gave me a box of 24 shells. We still had about 12 bullets for the handgun.
So newly loaded up we decided to go and prepare for more hunts but we wanted to wait tell we got the hunting gear so we just spent the next few day’s milling around town and then we walked over to the store and Eliza looked up and said “Oh im so glad you’re here I got your stuff I used the pelt of the Alpha to make this for you Flarea” she pulled up a cloak and said “It will protect you from blades and claws well most.” And then she pulled up some standard gear for her and said “Shady I have some new stuff like your hat I made a new on here” she handed me a Zard skin hunter’s hat I put it on and said “Sweet thanks Eliza” We left and walked over to the hunting store and I asked him “Is anyone around looking for hunter work we could use some chips” “hmmm let me see here people do come in time to time looking for pelts or wanting a certain creature killed” he riffled threw paper’s and said “hmm well I have an outland farmer he has said something about his live stalk vanishing and the ground near his farm getting pushed up and don’t know exactly what but sound’s like a Purple Worm so be careful and keep your ears open.
We hopped on are bike and drove out to the farm and as we pulled up a older man with a big shotgun walked out and said “You hunters” “Yes we are we believe you may have a purple worm in the area from your reports” “Oh no I know purple worms it was here a few hours ago and I got a good shot they are something I haven’t seen in this area” Flarea said “you said They” “Yes there strange and have groups that burrow a tunnel swarm out of a hole and then grab one of my Borka’s then digs away” “We will watch over your Borka’s and wait for them you can go about your normal schedule” He walked off and Flarea said “What are Borka’s” “I don’t know put we should find out they did say cattle so some cow like creature.” We walked around the bend and saw large creatures that resembled Ox’s but where the large in size and kind of just muttled around making little noise like standard cow’s.
We just found a good place to sit and wait on the fences and watch and listen we just sat for hours “These creatures smell terrible” “What do you expect when all its shit gets stuck in the fur” “Wow really you had to say that” “Ya its true” Then a low grumble coming across the desert. “Do you hear that” I grabbed my boomstick and ran threw the heard and then saw a up hole breaking up I just put it at the end of my barrel. Then a strange creature broke the ground looked at me as I fired blowing its head off and it dropped then there were squeaks and things moved away from us in different directions “Flarea get ready there splitting up” We shot every time the popped up and it was easy but they began focusing on us instead of the Borka and I grabbed my machete and began chopping at them then the ground quaked a bit and another hole came up a big one then I saw a larger arm and claw and one of these creature’s came up but it was double the size and just roared at me “Shit I guess you’re you take the borka” Then it dug down again “Shady I think we scared them” “Flarea how do the still one of these creatures in the first place” “What do you mean” Then the earth under me quaked and started to collapse into a large tunnel and I could see them all over and above me was wood with a large layer of dirt and I grabbed my boomstick in one had and my machete in the other and said “Come get me basterds as they ran at me some went down from gun fire and Flarea was up top shooting I pumped shells into a few of them and slashed others and kept going and they kept coming.
Then the big one stepped up to me and I said “So you going to run away again” It roared loud and shook its body as it did so I said “Bye Bitch” and fired my boomstick straight into its mouth and blowing its brains out the back then looked up and yelled “Go get the farmer tell him to come see this” I sat in the hole for awhile and the man came out and said “What the hell is this” “How they steal your Borka’s they drop the wood floor from what ever this tunnel is it falls then they drag it down here” “How Is this here I never built this” “Well it looks pretty old im going to walk farther down this tunnel and see where they took your borka’s” Flarea jumped down and said “We will” “Okay so watch the hole and when were done you shouldn’t have any more trouble fro what ever these are” We walked threw the tunnel it got pretty dark down a way’s and then became light by torches “They can lit fire” “Yeah looks that way Flarea which means there not primarily subterranean” We walked for hours and then it began to head up slowly and then sun shinned threw a wooden door and I creaked it open and it was in a larger quarry and there were small structures built and in the bottom bones of Borka’s.
Well we know why they took them but this is a large settlement I think we should collapse the tunnel that should stop them for awhile long enough for the farmer to come up with a better place for them” “Okay how do we do that” “See that shed” “Ya is that a sign of..” “Yes explosives shed lets go we snuck out and opened the shed to fine large pile of dynamite charges and I loaded up and ran back to the entrance and we began to set up along the walls and got quite a few and then I had a great idea “Hey think we will get these Borka’s to the town through this tunnel we sat and waited then about twenty-five ran toward us I pushed the plunger down and said “run” We booked it and the cave was collapsing behind me and crashing down they were crying and screaming as we ran. It all stopped after awhile and we slowed to a walk and just slowly went down Intel we saw sunlight again and yelled “Hey can you toss a rope down” took a few minutes but a rope came down and we climbed out and I said “Hey we couldn’t kill them all but about 20 miles away is an old mining quarry they have a large settlement and that’s how the got this tunnel we collapsed it and that should stall them maybe move the cattle away from this or do something with the hole.
He nodded his head and said “Okay well maybe I can move the heard to another area where this mine isn’t assessable thanks for your help maybe we can take care of the creatures completely in the future here is money for your help” He handed me about 2 blue caps I also grabbed one of the critters to show the sheriff and hunting store owner. and we hoped on are bike and roared off.
We got to the gate got flagged in and then I pulled off and said “Where is the Sheriff I got a new critter we found out there and the farmer had never seen them” “He is out on a Drell run they usually go on runs to were them down they will be back in a day or two” “Okay well hey tell him I got something for him to see ill proubly leave it at the hunting store.” We drove off parked are bike off and walked inside and I said “Hey Mak got something interesting for you” I threw it up on the counter and he said “What is this” “The thing hurting the farmers cattle it would collapse a tunnel and they would fall be slaughtered and drug off then they would fix the ceiling of the cave.” “They all gone” “No we collapsed the cave near there home its an entire quarry there must be a couple hundred in there I think we need more hunters to take them all on I mean there weak but they got muscle, there are bigger ones that are kind of about double the size and maybe have more stuff.”
“Never seen one of these before you mentioned the structures they must have been there for awhile and just learning and then found the cattle and thought easy food that’s odd well hey thanks Ill hang it up in my back and tell other hunters here thought you could use more ammo, I mean your planning on joining the drell hunt right” “Huh didn’t hear anything” “Oh well everyone is going out and im paying a blue chip for every Drell you kill and bring me the Right tusk” “They have tusks” “ya they have a right and left but right is tilted left a bit that way no one try’s to cut both off one and bring it also check in with Eliza she kind of wants to prepare for winter and might want some pelts” “Winter I remember it getting colder in the walls but nothing bad” “Well the plains freeze over and becomes a whole new world out here your old society must have had a way to keep the cold out good” “Okay yeah were going to rest then maybe head Drell hunting so how hard are they to actual take down just got know where to shoot it” “Yeah okay got any hints” “Well when the howl they lift there heads and you can get a shot threw the tender under there mouth and aim for there soft belly’s” We walked out and went to Eliza and I said “Hey Eliza heard you might want some Drell Pelts” “Oh your hunting them great love you guys trust you way more than other hunters” “Okay so what you looking for exactly” “Well same deal as last times I mean your staying threw the winter right its in a couple months” “Okay yeah so we get some money and you will make us winter hunting garbs” “Exactly no just try to get me some good clean cut pelts off them and ill do the rest and don’t forget the right and left tusks” “Mak only wants the rights” “yeah and I can make something out of the tusks just see if he will let you keep the rights after you show him” “Okay thanks Eliza” “Bye bye for now” we walked toward the inn and Flarea said “Damn she has a super sunshine personality” “Yeah but I guess someone in these wastes has to be a happy person.” “I guess but its kind of creepy” We got inside and just nodded to the lady at counter and walked up stairs and fell back on the bed and went right out in the morning we woke up and Flarea was already awake and I said “You wake up early” “Ya couple hours “ I looked at her face and she was kind of down “What’s wrong” “I don’t know kind of miss life behind the wall sometimes” “Really yeah I mean im still nervous out here but I don’t know” “Well I would escort you back there if you wanted I bet they would let you in” “God no I guess as a thought its ok but I would never want to go back” “Im glad I haven’t had to kill anyone that came after us” “You did stab that one guy” “Oh come on he had a gun I call self defense” “Okay but yeah I wonder what happened when they ran” Then suddenly there was a cracking sound “Wow what was that” I looked over at the wardrobe and it was shacking a bit I opened it and there were four little zards inside “Hi fella’s Flarea they hatched” “Oh there cute when not leaping at you mouths open” I reached in and picked two up and said “Oh well lets see you guys I sat them on the bed and Flarea brought the other two and they just looked at us and bobbed back and forth and then I said “Guess maybe name them lets see” I looked the four of them over and noticed something about them were different then the alpha we fought the had a streak from middle of there eyes down there back and tail. “These two must be boys and these two girls” “Oh these one’s are s cute” “Well we got to find someone to watch them or just bring food and come back every night instead of staying out there hunting” “Okay ill run get food you think of some names” Flarea ran out and I leaned back in my chair and watched them and I think they believed we were there parents so id now name these guys” I sat for about ten minutes then a knock at the door I opened it and there was Eliza “Flarea said the eggs hatched where are the cuties” “right here trying to think of some names” She pushed in and said “Oh there adorable and hey that’s funny ive seen baby Zards these little guys are bigger than normal maybe that happens when an older female lays eggs” “Yeah I don’t know well but yeah I guess we are leaving them here and we will come back tomorrow to leave more food and then head back out hunting” “Well I can drop some food off if you leave it with me and ill make you guys some stuff for these cuties so they can go on hunts with you.” “Okay like what it have to be something they cant get out of so they don’t get eaten by bigger things” “I got some ideas for a leather Drell fur pouch with a metal bar top that you can lock.” “Okay well we will leave some food and give you some and you just drop it off tomorrow” Flarea came in and I said “Hey Eliza will help us during the hunt by watching them we will spend about three days out there hunting” “Okay cool here is some meat guys and flopped a big slab on the table and they went for it and began eating” “Fresh meat right after hatching that’s crazy” “Yeah that’s why they are throughout the entire waste spread fast” “Names” “Nope didn’t thing of any but maybe simple ones I mean you saw this one I picked up one of the males and said “this guy was pouncing around and just leaped for the table Im thinking jumper” “How do we tell him and the other male there stripes are different see his is a bit orange and the other will be Scraps” “Why that” “Look at him eat” She glanced and he was just scrapping the food off and I said “His stripe has a little purple in it, Then the girls” Then Eliza said “This little beauty is Bell” “We turned and it was in her arms and she said “She is so adorable and has Blue eyes” I walked over and said “Yeah she does what about her” Flarea picked her up and said “Lily her eyes are a nice spring green” “Okay all named now you guys behave and be nice to Eliza and we walked out and I said “Thanks Eliza we will make sure to bring you lots of Drell Hides” she waved as we walked out and I said “Okay I want to go have Mak sharpen my knife real quick got to have a sharp one” Walked in and said “Mak can you sharpen are knives up” “Yep” He quickly started sharpening them on a wheel and walked up and said “There you go good hunting out there” We Hopped on the bike and roared out of town and turned quickly into the woods and flew down the road and got close to a turn and I said “Hey lets fly by the store where we killed the alpha and see if the dead Zards attracted Drell” We pulled up and I heard something inside and grabbed my gun and Flarea did the same we walked in and saw the bodies we left all eaten up and we walked around a little and heard digging in the back room snuck up and looked inside.
There was a big drell digging the burrow up and it seems he found some Zards still in there I carefully aimed and his belly and fired a shot it threw him back a bit he turned and went to howl let some off then Flarea opened fire and put two shots in his head he fell and I looked at Flarea and her heart was pounding I said “Okay hurry he howled any others near by will come now we got to get ready to kill more” I ran to the entrance and climbed on top a rack and laid down and Flarea got behind the dead on and used it as cover we waited and could hear howls then one scurried in and sniffed around and howled I blasted it and these things weren’t hard to kill if you knew where to shoot” then I saw one come up to the dead one and get real low like it knew not to lift its body. It walked right under me and was sniffing and saw the on in the back and then its sight narrowed in on something must have seen Flarea I pulled out my knife and hopped on top of it and stabbed its eye and trusted around and tried to get it off but my knife was deep in its eye it was whining and then threw me off I slid down the way it just growled at me and turned and ran. “Shit damit they seem to get smarter” We grabbed the one by doors body and dragged it in back.
I sat down and said “Okay lets stay here for hunting and we can make this back room a little more secure and skin stuff back here” “What about that Drell he really doesn’t like you right now” “Oh because I stabbed him in the eye and he made the blade twist around” “What” “It grinded his eye up bad” then said “Okay start skinning these guys up a little and im going to go and pull some of those shelves out here and make some kind of door” I walked into the store front and started to grab stuff and pull them over set them up around the entrance to the back and as I pulled the second one over Flarea said “Shady what kind of store is this anyway” “Idk I think farming or something when my dad was here they found the seeds and fertilizer supplies to start the farming in the walls” “Im going to look around for anything useful” “Okay keep your ears and eyes open for any creatures” She walked off into the store and I started to look around and needed to come up with some type of entrance to the back room and looked around and saw something I never thought of ran outside and grabbed some vines that were growing around and pulled them inside and set the racks up with the vines so they were harder to see threw and then got them to hang over a part that you enter threw so it was a camouflaged entrance and then ran outside and draped vines over the bike so no one see’s it and I looked up and across the street and saw the Drell standing there just watching me he turned and walked off.
I went back inside and Flarea was standing there with a big red like carrying case and said “where is the entrance” “It works great” “What” I walked and pulled the vines apart and walked right in she said “Woo it keeps me out” and walked it “What’s in there” “It’s a blow torch” “What” “yeah there is a huge tool section and there was a bunch of knocked down shelves and It was under it” “Nice maybe I can melt these shelves to the wall tight so they cant be moved.” “Okay but hey don’t burn those vines” I grabbed the blowtorch outside and started to weld the metal Shelves to the Wall and began to make it sturdy and probably safer because of it.