"Just a simple snatch-and-grab, they'll be too busy going after those decoys we set up!" Yeah, and I'm gonna find a fully stocked grocery truck that has a charged battery." Achilles grumbled to himself, slowly slinking through a warehouse. Any path that kept one off the streets and out of the open was good, but there was always a need for precaution regardless. Much was learned of the creatures that beset the world, but no one wanted to really test anything for themselves outside of a controlled environment. And nothing was less controlled than the end of the world.

Scavenging runs were one of the most dangerous duties one could be assigned, and recently the weather didn't help, as the heat meant less clothing to keep cool, and clean water was hard to come by meaning dehydration was not an option one could afford with heat stroke being a risk. Achilles though aware of the risks didn't abide by the warning, opting to wear his favorite jacket. If he was gonna buy it out there he might as well have it on him, no way was he gonna let it be parsed out among his survivor community if he bought it. Of course the extra cargo space helped, and the material was rugged and offered a feeling of safety. Safety, something else that was increasingly hard to come by. But for now one item on his shopping list was armaments.

Ideally a gun shop would be the first option, but if anyone had barricaded themselves in then odds are they weren't going to part with so much as spent brass. Second option would be a sporting goods store, but if they were already targeted then all he'd find would be those rubber shoes with the holes and maybe some safety whistles. And the last best option was to find a shopping mall and its resident sword/novelty store, but a hotspot for people like the mall probably meant a pack was in residence. But the thought of the heat gave him an idea, that though it was preferable to keep one's distance from the creatures it didn't mean that a sharp edge wouldn't also do the job. And one place that carried tools one wouldn't think to look at was the local fire station.

Achilles had always wanted to go inside a fire station, maybe sit in the cab of an engine, and he finally got to, though not in a situation he'd find agreeable. There was a pair of the creatures roving the street perhaps separated from their pack or scouting for an area to group in. And not wanting to have to be out in the open Achilles took refuge in the nearest vehicle, quietly closing the doors and locking them. They were ugly things, vaguely recognizably as having been people at some point, all sinewy and leathery looking with no discernable features to tell what they were before changing. No one knows where they started or what made them this way, all that was known was that people didn't change from cuts or blood spray. But their numbers didn't seem to diminish, so either they didn't need to eat, though they liked to by how many bodies are found with bite marks, so how did it seem there was never less of them?

They passed slowly, tasting the air with their tongues like a snake or lizard, but continued on the road like feral dogs. Achilles waited another couple minutes before stepping out, slowly closing the garage door manually, as there was no way he was trying anything electrical. It was an older station, using old brick walls with station number and city name on the walls in fading color. He drew his flashlight and the baton he kept for indoors, slithering through the halls and slowly stepping into and out of rooms. The kitchen was still stocked, so he took a few canned items and a bunch of coffee packs, wondering if he'd be able to trade them for some good eats at camp. He thought of checking out the bunks, maybe snag a helmet or jacket before he continued looking for weapons. But there was something else giving the station a once-over.

He was back in the engine bay, heart racing and eyes darting around for the sight of the creatures. They were scrawnier than even the two on the street, no doubt hungry, but clumsy too. They skittered across the paved floor, sliding as Achilles weaved between benches, racks, and the vehicles. He caught sight of the wooden handle and the gleaming metal edge of an axe on one side of the bigger engine, reaching for it but having to kick away an emaciated beast as it lunged at him. With a grunt of effort he dislodged the axe and mustered a swing at the beast as it came at him again. It made contact, sending a spray of blood upwards and drawing the other beast out, a little larger than the injured one. Achilles didn't feel like being on the menu today, so backing up against the wall he readied for the next move...

This YCH was done by   osleepyevil

Achilles is Mine

(The monsters in this remind me of the description of the monsters from one of my favorite book series, The Extinction Cycle)