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Prologue
"Is that all you got, shrimp?" the man sneered. The bones in the boy's leg splintered as he flew into the wall. Blood trickled down his face as his bright green eyes glared at him. He spat to the side, opening his mouth for a witty retort. He was suddenly cut off by the appearance of a dark figure behind the man. Williams' eyes widened, causing the man to look behind him. A size nine converse all-star swung out of the shadows to roundhouse kick him in the face. He slammed into the wall next to William, who was struggling to get up. The figure moved out of the shadows and grabbed the back of Williams shirt, dragging him to his feet.
William grinned. "Hey man! Long time no see!"
Jacob shook his head slowly, one ear tilted to the side. "William, William, William. What am I going to do with you?" The man was slowly struggling up as Jacob turned back to him, Williams' arm was thrown over his shoulder for support.
"I suggest you stay down. Lest you want The Wolf to find you!" He laughed viciously. His ears were pressed against his head, his fangs clearly visible, and his head thrown back as he laughed. William rolled his eyes and jabbed him lightly in the side.
"Are you insane, Jacob?! You're laughing right towards her den!!" A slim figure appeared at the front of the alley, ears pointed towards them. William sniffed at the air lightly, then growled.
"What do you think you're doing here PANA?!" Jacob roared. The figure flinched, and she, it was obvious from the scent that it was a female, took a step forward.
"I-I'm just lost, sir..." She took another step forward, illuminated by the single street light. Her eyes were large and fearful, her midnight tail twitching as her fight or flight response kicked in. William sighed as Jacob straightened when she called him sir.
"I'm William." He said calmly. "And this knucklehead is my half-brother Jacob." Jacob seemed apprehensive of his new label.
"M-my name is Aimi. I-its nice to m-meet you..." The Pana still seemed frightened. Williams' eyebrows drew together in concern.
"It's ok, you have no need to fear us, well, at least not me." He grinned slightly as Jacob jabbed him in the side. "And especially not my nerd of a twin brother. He's over there." Will pointed past the street light and towards a building across the street, through the single visible window of which the barrel of a rifle could now be seen.
Suddenly there was a disturbance in the wind and a blood-curdling howl caused all four of them to shiver. Wait... Four? The pale rifle-bearing form beside Jacob was the cause of the disturbance in the wind.
"She has our scent." the form said ominously.
"Jesus Matthew!" William had jumped two feet at the sound of his brother's voice. "How many times do we have to tell you not to sneak up on us like that?!"
"Sorry," Matthew replied coldly. He turned to Aimi. "Who are you." His voice seemed to demand an answer, rather than ask for one.
"I'm A-" Aimi was cut off by another, closer, howl. Suddenly she was flung over one of the boy's shoulder as they started running. The sound of paws could be heard behind them, seeming to gain on them.
"Let me down! I can run on my own!" Aimi yelled over their pounding boots. Matthew looked over at Will, who nodded. They seemed to have another form of communication. Suddenly Aimi was on the ground running. She leaped and morphed into her black panther form. The boys morphed as well, their tigers easily keeping pace. Aimi led them into a large building, a parking garage. They raced to the roof, looking out over their decimated city. Perhaps I should explain. Matthew, William, Jacob, and Aimi live in a post-apocalyptic Texas. Austin, Texas to be specific.
Chapter 1
The view was awe-inspiring. From the parking garage roof, I could see the destroyed skyscrapers, some still smoldering after years, signs of other survivors. In the streets, there were downed light poles, potholes in the roads, and cars strewn everywhere, abandoned in the mass panic that followed the Third Announcement.
The First Announcement stated that there had been an outbreak of a rare disease in Maine. Austin residents disregarded this Announcement believing that the CDC would have the outbreak under control. In truth, the CDC had been previously infected. The Second Announcement came the next day, bringing news that the outbreak had moved as far south as Virginia and as far west as Illinois. It also brought news of what the disease caused. Symptoms were stated as high fevers, nausea, vomiting blood, numbness in limbs and muscle spasms. It had been reported as lethal and airborne.
Still, most Austin residents refused to believe that the CDC didn't have it under wraps. I lost my family to the virus. I know first-hand what happened to the people it took. The virus... Changed... The infected brains. The neurons that registered whether or not something was edible were warped to change what they could ingest. After the change, they could only ingest human flesh and blood. The infected were called Vambos, a strange name developed by the mayor of the first infected town. They resembled zombies, with the elongated fangs of vampires.
The infection swept through the city like wildfire, the residents barely had time to react before the recently deceased began rising. Those that had died the week before rose, their bodies covered in mud from the recent rains. The virus had spread over the first week of January 2019. I now believed it to be March of 3000. Of course, none of the technology worked anymore. The vambos were smart, they retained the brain cells of their past selves, brought back to life by the virus. The vambos used the knowledge stored in these brain cells to shut down anything that ran on electricity; gas pumps, telephones, computers, electric car charging stations.
My ears were pressed against my head, my black fur glistening in the dim light of dusk. My tail twitched anxiously as the boys came up behind me, their ears swiveling, checking for any sign that they had been followed. The boy's striped fur melted away as they shifted back to hybrid form. I shivered, my crop top and shorts not providing much protection from the chilled fall wind. We should be safe now..... I said, my breath appearing in wisps in front of my nose. Matthew stepped up to the edge of the roof and looked down. William soon followed.
This was the first time I could get a good look at the boys. William and Matthew were tall and broad-shouldered. William had bright green eyes and shoulder length red hair. Matthew had dark brown eyes and medium wavy hair of the same shade. They were light-skinned but had the look of people who enjoyed their time outside. They were both wearing jeans with dusty plaid shirts. Jacob was the oddball. He was short and stocky, he had large, calloused hands and the sun-kissed skin of a farmer. His hair was kept short, it fell in shaggy layers to the base of his neck, where it met the collar of his button-down gray shirt. He had a pair of torn overalls over it. I looked down at my feet and found I was standing next to a puddle. My platinum blonde hair was windswept, giving me the look of someone much younger. My once bright blue eyes had dulled to a light gray due to the dirty air. I was of average height and didn't appear to be very muscular. My old band t-shirt was torn and tied off around my waist. The shorts were cut offs, old and worn.
There was the sound of boots moving over pavement and Matthew was standing next to me.
"Are you alright." His voice was devoid of emotion as he glared off to the left.
I looked up at him, startled. "Huh? Oh.. Yeah, I'm fine." I studied his face for a moment, but he seemed to sense me staring, as he turned to look back at me. I blushed and looked away, his dark eyes causing my heart to pound. My ears drooped and my tail twitched as I silently chastised myself. Matthew shrugged and walked back over to William. Jacob came to stand next to me.
"Don't mind him. He's always like that." Jacob said reassuringly, his deep voice warm and kind, "I don't think I've ever seen the poor guy smile. Something happened to his last girlfriend, something he did, and he hasn't been the same since." I watched Matthew walk away with a spark of wonder in my eyes, something I hadn't felt for a long while.
William turned back to Jacob and I. "We need to get out of the city. The Wolf knows where we are." My tail twitched anxiously, the wonder rapidly melting into fear.
"Where do we go...?" I asked quietly.
Matthew turned and responded, looking me in the eyes. "Our parents had an old ranch upstate. It's abandoned, but there should still be some nonperishables." His ears were perked and his tail twitched. His eyes were alight with excitement. It made me smile.
"Ok then." I nodded slightly, hugging myself and shivering. Matthew dug a coat out of a car and pulled it around my shoulders. Jacob watched a faint look of surprise on his face. Williams jaw dropped and Matthew glared at him.
"What?" He spat out. "She was shivering." William burst out laughing and we stared at him. Slowly Jacob started grinning, eliciting a growl from Matthew.
William sighed and grinned at Matthew. "Oh come on bro, can't we have a little fun?" Matthew sighed and shook his head slightly. I blushed slightly and mumbled thanks. Matthew looked down at me again and nodded. My mind melted as he looked into my eyes and I smiled slightly. William snickered, breaking me out of my reverie. I blushed even brighter and looked away.
"W-we should get moving..." I managed to stammer out faintly. Matthew nodded and shifted, his tiger form reaching to about my waist. I pulled my arms through the sleeves of the coat and studied it. It was a black leather duster, like one a character in my favorite book series wore. I looked back up and all three of the boys were staring at me, very human eyes peering out of feline faces. I rolled my eyes and shifted, hissing softly in annoyance.
We started out of the parking garage, Jacob in the lead and William bringing up the rear. Matthew kept a few tail lengths between us, his eyes focused on the path ahead. I would steal glances at him, admiring the strong muscles underneath his shimmering pelt. We hit the street, breaking into a run and heading north. The only times we broke pack formation was when we needed to get around an obstacle, such as a large pothole. We moved quickly, the occasional howl encouraging us to push harder. We did not stop for breaks often, preferring to put as much distance between us and The Wolf as possible.
It took us three days, and the moon was high when we finally made it to the ranch. The wintery edge in the wind made it impossible to shift in the open, so we spent the night camped out in the barn, curled up in a large cat pile. We woke with the birds, pale dawn light filtering down through the boards of the roof. I shifted, but immediately regretted it. The wind sliced through my duster like it was nothing, chilling me to the bone. Matthew came over and rubbed his head against my leg, his fur soft and comforting.
"I-I'm o-ok..." I had a hard time forming the words around my chattering teeth. William and Jacob shifted and offered to go into the farmhouse. I nodded and they left.
I looked around the barn, trying to get my bearings. The barn was huge. The southernmost wall had hay piled along it, and the western was covered with farm equipment, attachments for tractors, spare parts, old relics that hadn't been touched in decades. Sunlight played with the dust motes floating around, making the place seem homey. I moved across to the back, towards the dusty smell of horses. There were ten, maybe twelve well furnished, but empty, horse stalls. A few had the doors kicked in and reduced to piles of timber on the dirt floor. Some of the feeding trays had remnants of the horses last meals, molded oats, rotten apples and carrots. To my left was the tack room, dusty leather saddles hanging on pegs in the walls and rusted shoes and bits covering a table set against the wall. Most of the halters were tangled up in a pile on the floor, covered in dirt and rust. I walked over and placed a hand on a beautifully decorated mahogany saddle with a matching halter.
I looked over at Matthew, who had shifted while I wasn't looking. "Do you think any of the horses survived?"
He thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact, I thought I smelled fathers stallion off in the woods. It might not be the stallion, maybe a foal of his though." He nodded. "Actually, I guarantee that Marklo survived. And mothers mare was ready to foal about a month before the epidemic."
My face lit up, excitement making my blood rush. "Do you really think so?" Matthew chuckled slightly and nodded. "Could we try to find him? I've never had a horse of my own..." I looked back at the saddle fondly, my hand running over the leather.
Just then William and Jacob came through the barn doors, hauling pillowcases full of canned foods and bottles of water. They set the sacks by the door and strolled into the tack room.
William raised an eyebrow at Matthew, who shrugged in response. "We grabbed as much food and water as we could find. It should last us a few months." Jacob said, looking towards me as though I were the leader.
I nodded and turned away from the saddles. "I had a thought while you guys were gone. I was thinking maybe we could try and find any of the surviving horses, they would prove invaluable in our travels." William and Jacob thought for a moment, then voiced their agreement.
William stayed with the supplies while Jacob, Matthew and I went to look for the horses. It didn't take long to find recent signs of them. We followed a trail of hoofprints until it stopped at a small clearing surrounded by tall pines and oaks. As we broke through the line of trees we saw a small group of strong, mature stallions. They were staring at us, nostrils flaring. Matthew walked up to a gray dappled stallion, extending his hand to its face slowly. The horse stepped forward and pressed its nose against the palm of his hand, inhaling the scent of him. Jacob went up to a black and white spotted one and did the same. I looked around the group of horses, looking for one that called out to me. At the back of the group was a liver chestnut brindle with white feathering, an eye-catching and very rare coloration. He was watching me expectantly. I slowly walked up to him and extended a hand to brush his nose. He suddenly whinnied and reared, his front hooves pawing the air and coming down to my left. Matthews' voice was raised in a warning shout, telling me that this was a highly temperamental horse. No one had ever ridden his parents, nor even come close. I ignored him, instinct telling me that this was my horse. He was meant for me. He calmed and let me move a little closer. I slowly extended my hand, turning my face away from him. I felt his breath against my hand, then the warmth of his nose pressed against the palm of my hand. I smiled and turned to look at him, running my other hand down his soft muzzle.
Matthew and Jacob had found a horse for William while I was calming mine. We returned to the barn around noon, the sun warming our backs and the chilly wind keeping us from overheating. Williams' eyes widened when he saw me leading the brindle into the shade.
"How did you manage to catch that one?!" He stared at me in amazement, newfound respect in his eyes.
I smiled and replied, "It was simple. He was waiting for me." I laughed at the look on Williams' face when I brushed the brindle. We gave the horses some carrots found growing outside before we headed into the tack room.
"I think we should saddle the horses, it would be more comfortable for all of us." I proposed, the boys nodding in agreement. I immediately lifted the saddle I had inspected earlier off of its peg and grabbed the halter. The boys took a bit longer, arguing about the weight of the saddles and the texture of the leather. I set the saddle and halter on a crate in the main part of the barn and led my brindle over to them.
"Come on boy, let's get you saddled up and ready to go," I said quietly, stroking his neck calmingly. He whickered and tossed his head in annoyance. I gently placed the saddle on his back and started to tighten the straps. He pawed at the ground with a hoof and chewed a few pieces of hay. I shrugged and pulled the halter over his head, carefully removing the bit. By the time the boys came out of the tack room, I had already finished transferring my load of the supplies to the saddlebags.
I looked over at them and sighed. "Took ya long enough. Let's get this finished so we can start moving again. I know a good place to go. My grandparents lived in Oklahoma, they had several large generators and around a hundred years worth of gasoline to run them." We quickly saddled up the other three horses and moved the supplies. Within an hour we were ready to start moving. At the last minute, I thought to grab some camping supplies from inside the farmhouse, blankets, lighters, a few matchbooks.
We were lucky. I found a working compass inside the house, so we knew where we were going. We rode lightly for the rest of the day, the horses moving at a trot. We tried to follow the road for the most part, but the asphalt was hurting the horse's hooves. Around dusk, we found a small stream near a stand of trees, an ideal place to camp for the night. Jacob was sent to find firewood while I refilled water bottles and Matthew tended to Williams' leg. He wrapped it in cloth from one of the pillowcases then used some roots and branches to make a splint. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. |
CONTINUATION OF LAST POST
As I was refilling bottles, I heard a slight rustling off to my left, but when I looked, nothing was there. I inhaled slowly, tasting the air for unfamiliar scents. There was the sharp tang of canines. I inhaled again, disregarding any other scents. Five. There were five male canines hidden among the shrubbery. I don't think they realized I knew they were there. I continued filling the bottles, giving no indication I knew about them. I finished with the bottles and began moving back towards our small camp. The canines mirrored my movements, blending in perfectly with the brush.
I gestured for Matthew to join me outside the line of trees, putting the bottles aside. William attempted to rise and follow us, but Matthew pushed him back down. We walked over to a spot near the stream that was clear of trees for at least 20 feet.
"Canines." I spat out the word like poison, and Matthew growled.
"Where."
"In the trees, hidden. One of them was careless and rustled some leaves."
"How many?"
"Five." Matthew whistled and shoved his hands in his pockets. Just then Jacobs tiger form bolted out of the woods, followed by three vicious looking coyotes. Matthew shifted and ran to help him while I started packing up camp, tossing stuff into random bags. I helped William to his feet, pulling him over to the horses. Matthew and Jacob managed to reach us just as we were mounting, the coyotes injured but still moving. The horses reared as the coyotes neared, but Jacob and Matthew just leaped into the saddles, as though they had done it a thousand times.
We started the horses galloping, heading towards the north. After a while we lost the coyotes, their brown forms slowly fading into the background. After we lost the coyotes, we slowed down, the horses' sides heaving from the exertion. We ended up camping in the open, off the side of the road.
Around dawn we started moving again, stamping out our small fire and packing the saddlebags. We set our pace at a light trot and soon reached a large river, impossible to cross from this point. We eventually decided to try and find a bridge to the west. I had a vague memory of there being a bridge across the river near one of the smaller towns. We headed west until noon, then stopped for a short break.
"I hope we find something soon... The horses can't survive much longer on this dead grass...." I said, facing my horse and brushing him. Matthew was rubbing his horse's nose and watching me out of the corner of his eyes, a peculiar look in his eyes. I turned to look back at him, but he turned away, focusing his attention on his horse. I turned to Jacob, who shrugged. Jacob offered to scout ahead for the bridge.
"I figure, if I find it, I can come back. And while I'm gone, you guys can organize the supplies better." I thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Thank you for offering Jacob, that would be great." I smiled, and he smiled back. For some reason, when Jacob smiled at me, Matthew tensed. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just looked away again. I shrugged and began unloading the supplies off my horses back. I stacked the food and water in one pile, and gear, such as flashlights and batteries, in another. I removed the saddle from the horses back and used a bottle of water to give my horse a short bath.
"I know its not much, but it's all we have boy," I said quietly, pressing my face against his neck. The horse nickered and nudged my shoulder, making me smile. I looked into the horse's eyes and had a thought. "You need a name, dont you boy?" I thought for a moment, several names coming up, but none of them fit. "Hey Matt," I called. "Can you think of a name for this beauty?" I gestured to my horse as Matthew turned to look at me, a pained look in his eyes. "Please... Don't call me that..." He seemed so sad and distant as he said it, I couldn't help but agree. "Of course, I'm sorry, I just thought Matthew was too long.." I looked back towards my horse, shame covering my face.
He came over, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you Aimi." He put his hand on my shoulder, "you're very sweet, it's just... My girlfriend used to call me that." I nodded. I thought back to the story Will had told me while we were traveling about Matthew's girlfriend.
"She was amazing. Smart, kind, pretty. I was shocked when Matt introduced her to Jacob, Dad and I. I thought girls like her had died during the epidemic before we were born. They dated for a year, but then something happened. Matt changed. We were starting to become shifters like we are now. We grew more and more violent until we changed for the first time. His eyes grew dark at this point. She upset him, and he snapped... The first time he had ever hurt anyone. He tore into her. There was nothing we could do. She was gone. As he regained his senses, he was devastated. He closed himself off so much, he forced a shift. Dad was horrified. Matthew didn't have control over his animal form yet. He could smell dad's fear, and it drove him into a frenzy. Ever since he's never let anyone but Jacob and I get too close."
I was pulled back into the present by Matthew shaking me lightly. My eyes fluttered open, but I hadn't realized they were closed. "Gods above... You scared me Aimi. Don't do that again." I looked up into Matthew's eyes and realized I could feel his arm around my back, holding me steady. "What happened...?" My voice came out sluggishly, as though my tongue had swollen. "You fainted, you're lucky I was right there or you would have a nasty cut." I could see the fear and concern in his eyes, though he was trying to hide it. "You do care..." I mumbled softly, a small smile crossing my face for a moment before the world started spinning like a top and I almost toppled over.
Matthew laid me on the ground and felt my forehead. His brows drew together in confusion. "You're not running a fever..." I closed my eyes for a moment. "It's alright, it's just a dizzy spell, it'll pass," I assured him. It did soon pass, and Matthew helped me to my feet slowly. "Are you alright?" His voice was thick with worry. I nodded slowly, afraid I would get hit again if I moved my head to fast. "I think so..." I looked around, startled when I saw how low the sun had gotten. "How long was I out?!" I asked, horrified that I had wasted so much valuable travel time. "I'm not sure... I wasn't paying attention. He looked away, ashamed for some reason.
"What is it, Matthew? Why the strange face?" I tried to get him to look at me again, but he just shook his head. "Come on man, tell me." He rolled his eyes and looked back at me." You goofball, you know how to get me to talk." His face was warm, open. "I just cared too much, Aimi. So I wasn't paying attention to anything but you." I blushed a little and looked away, but he turned my face back, his warm fingers resting under my chin. I smiled a little and looked up into his eyes. "Whatcha gonna do Matthew?" I leaned forward onto my toes. "You gonna kiss me?" He grinned. "Do you want me to?" I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning against him. My heart was pounding so hard, I was sure he could hear it.
He looked down at me. I looked back up into his eyes, and my heart stopped when I saw the pain there. I put my hand against his cheek and stood on my tiptoes, still looking into his eyes. I waited for him to pull back, or to slap my hand away, but he didn't. He let me get so close we were breathing the same air. There I stopped. "Do you want this?" I whispered, my eyes flitting between his lips and his eyes. He pulled me the rest of the way against him, pressing his lips against mine and taking my breath away. He pulled back after a few seconds, his eyes bright. I blushed slightly and leaned my head against his shoulder. "You alright? Does your head hurt again?" Matthews' voice was fringed with worry. I shook my head, "Just enjoying the moment..." He smiled and held me close.
William limped over to us and cleared his throat softly. "Um, guys, Jacob hasn't come back yet..." Matthew and I spring apart, our faces bright red. "He hasnt?" I hugged my arms around myself and turned to look at William. William shook his head. "We should go look for him. I don't want to think what could've happened to him." I say quietly, shuddering at the images the thought brings to mind. I shake my head. "Come on boys. Let's saddle up."
Thanks for reading!! I haven't finished the story yet, and the rest of it is on my personal account, so it may be a bit until I can upload it. |
