Max stood there in the rain looking up at the third story of a parking garage. There was a dull red orange glow of a fire, only just visible in the dark gloomy light of the sun.
His tattered, urban ACU’s were hardly protection against the heavy onslaught of rain that pelted the destroyed war torn streets. He had traveled light for his mission four days ago so that he would be able to get out faster if things went wrong. More or less things had.
Knowing that he had to get to shelter soon, Max decided he would check out the camp, hoping that it was some friendly human survivors. Unfortunately, a closed, metal security gate blocked off the main entrance. He surveyed the area and saw a low wall that sloped up almost to the second story.
Before he thought about it, he began sprinting towards the garage. The assault rifle slung over his back bounced against the Kevlar plating strapped around his torso. His breath was hot in the scarf wrapped around his neck and chin.
He leaped up on to the wall and ran along it, his Kevlar helmet keeping the rain out of his eyes. Diving forward and grabbing the ledge of the wall to the second story. Max pulled himself up and over it. He landed in the empty parking lot and pulled out his silenced pistol. Looking around he saw nothing; a few abandoned cars and some rubble.
He cursed under his breath when he saw that the floor and the ramp to the next level had collapsed into the first floor making it an impossible entry way. Double-checking the gray-lit floor to make sure there was no hostile or dangerous being, he turned around and looked out onto the side of the building. There was a pipe that ran up the wall to the top of the building.
Max closed his eyes and sighed, “Great.”
Although it was a possible entrance Max wanted to see if there was a more practical way to get to the next floor. With his pistol at the ready he examined his surroundings more carefully. He hadn’t been in a parking garage in over twelve years but he remembered that there were always stairs that led to each floor in buildings like this.
Peering around a parking column where the ramp used to be, Max rolled his eyes, “Of course.”
There were two cars blocking the door to the stairs. One had T-boned the other in what Max guessed had been to kill a Cree, because as Max got closer he saw the skeleton of some being wedged between the fused metal of the two cars.
He couldn’t believe it had already been eight years since the first outbreaks of the Cree in 2012. The parasite first infected insects and small bugs taking over their bodies and spreading to humans and Ayra through their bites. Most of the Ayra already had immunity to the parasite but there were those who didn’t.
The parasite spread like a disease taking over one human after the other. Most of everyone believed that it was the end of the world. People like Max knew better, although there were times where he thought otherwise.
The remaining scientists even still are baffled as to what causes some humans to turn you into a Cretin and prevents others from not. A little over three fourths of the Earth’s human population into aggravated psychopaths.
Max put his memories to the side for now and started walking the perimeter of the garage looking on the outside for a service ladder. He finally found one but he let out another sigh of dismay when he saw its condition.
The ladder had fallen loose of its bolts and was hanging uselessly out and against the building across the ally. Checking the ground in the ally to be sure nothing had seen him looking out over the ledge Max holstered his pistol.
He walked back over to the ledge with the pipe. He checked the street for any Cree but didn’t see any and thought that they must be in their hive to escape the rain.
Max then climbed up onto the ledge of the wall and jumped over to the pipe. He climbed hand over hand until he was straight across from the third story parking lot. Luckily it wasn’t too much farther up because the bolts securing the pipe to the wall as well as the pipe itself were rusty and coming loose.
Max let go with his right hand, shaking it in order to get blood flow into his cold numbing fingers. Then doing the same with his other hand, he decided he was ready.
He leapt over to the ledge and pulled himself up just enough so that he could see over it and into the garage. Max ducked down quickly, however, when he saw that there was a small group of four to five Ayra huddled around a small fire eating something that looked like canned food. Although he had only seen the figures for a second that was all he needed to see the blue and gold armor of the Ayra.
Max looked at the ground below and cursed when he saw a Cree walking across the road past him. It must have turned a corner while Max was climbing the pipe. The Cretin’s growls and heavy breathing could be heard through the noise of the rain. He hoped that it hadn’t seen him but knowing his luck so far he knew that was probably unlikely. But now he knew he could not go down there either though. Even alerting the Cree could cause a murder. So He hugged the cold, slick wall until the Cree had turned the corner and disappeared into the other ally.
There was some sixth sense that the parasite gave the Cree. They wander around by themselves or with a small group during the day but as soon as a few of them sense that there is a possibility for food the others in their pack can feel it and the whole pack comes running to the source.
If there is any extremely loud noise near a pack, they see it as a threat to their hive and they all go to attack. In a place like a city with multiple Cretin packs near each other, they all come running and you have a murder on your hands.
Max took a deep breath and decided to deal with the Ayra. Although they were enemies he needed food and water and this could be his last and only chance for that. His wet hands grabbed the rifle in anticipation of conflict.
He placed the rifle on top of the ledge. Twisting his feet for better grip, he hoisted himself up and over. One of the Ayra unfortunately saw him out of the corner of their eye before Max hadn’t even made it half way over and yelled, “Human!”
Throwing down its food and shutting the visor on its helmet, it raised its rifle and aimed it at Max as the other Ayra scrambled to their feet.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa I’m not here to fight,” Max lied in a calm tone, stepping over the wall and holding both arms and his rifle near his head as a sign of surrender. “I just need some shelter. I… I was also hoping that you could spare some food.”
He watched the Ayra’s trigger finger so that at the slightest sign of movement he would have a chance to get out of the path of the bullet. Three of the five Ayra took a few steps closer to Max weapons poised. The other two had lowered their weapons as if they decided Max was not a threat. They were both closer to Max’s height of five feet ten inches as opposed to the average height of Ayra at six feet five inches. One of them was still intimidating however. It had used some kind of white paint to draw the rough shape of a skull on its helmet and visor. This made it look like some kind of beast.
“You alone?” a large and bulky Ayra asked.
His voice was deep and strong. Max looked at all the Ayra then back at the one who addressed him, “…Yeah.”
“Let’s kill him.”
“Wait… I don’t believe him,” the first Ayra said putting a hand out, stopping the large Ayra from stepping towards Max.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s lying, that’s what I mean.” The Ayra said with hatred in his voice, “I bet he has a team out there on standby, sent here to take us out.”
This Ayra stepped over to Max himself relieving him of his rifle and throwing it to the ground out of Max’s reach.
Max almost winced, thinking, “so much for the fighting idea.”
Then the Ayra looked past him and at the surrounding buildings, “I bet he also has snipers ready to take us out!”
The Ayra took a few steps back away from the open wall, his voice got louder and faster with each word. Max couldn’t help but laugh at the Ayra’s antics but when he did the Ayra glared at him, or what Max figured was a glare. He couldn’t see the Ayra’s face.
“Fal, you’re paranoid. Just look at him he looks horrible and hungry,” one of the other Ayra said.
The voice was that of a young female. She was one of the shorter Ayra whose weapon was lowered. Max was glad that at least one of the Ayra was taking his side. Maybe they were not all bad. Max was still a little worried though, for he still had three rifle barrels in his face.
“Look at what he’s wearing! He is wearing the uniform of the humans Army. I don’t care if he looks horrible, he’s the enemy!”
“No. You’re wrong…”
“Shut up!” Fal yelled at Max, then continued talking, “and besides, shouldn’t you be paranoid in a wasteland like this?!”
Max unexpectedly, even to himself, answered Fal’s question, “No… you shouldn’t. Paranoia leads to panic. Panic leads to hesitation. That means death on a ‘wasteland’ like this. I know. It’s happened to me.”
Fal looked at Max with a glare, “I said, Shut. Up.”
All was suddenly quiet except for the constant drumming of the rain. This only lasted for a few seconds though, and then a horrible and terrifying sound could be heard echoing in the parking level above them.
Max’s heart stopped cold when he heard the sound, he knew exactly what it was. Cree tended to make the noise constantly whenever they stalk their prey. They did it to strike fear into the mind of their quarry, and it worked.
Every time the Cretin breathed in or out, it sounded almost like slow purring. The noise had always freaked Max out. It sent chills through his body causing goose bumps to form on his skin and the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.
Fal dropped his rifle, letting it hang on the sling around his shoulder. He drew his side arm and stepping towards Max, grabbed the neck of Max’s body armor and stuck the barrel of the gun under Max’s chin.
“You led it right to us!” He yelled.
“Fal For all you know, you could have led it here with all of your yelling…”
It was the female Ayra again. He knew that Fal was the one of the reasons for the Cree’s presence but he also knew that it was him who had probably shown the Cree a way to get to them. Cree are extremely fast learners, and are very smart.
The Cree that Max had seen probably saw him too, however wanted to surprise Max by sneaking up on him but then it saw all the Ayra and decided to take the higher ground.
Fal’s constant and very irritating yelling brought Max back to reality, “Shut up Aeila!”
Fal took a last glance at Max and then continued, “Syler, Brale… Go check it out.”
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