It has been ten years since the collapse of society in western nations as we know it. Ten years since the Pales took over and ravaged cities and local wildlife in their lusting hunger. Cities lay barren and falling apart, cars left lying and decaying, with towns also deserted. In the beginning the Pales had large numbers of them banded together to feed and ravage cities. They have since separated into packs around the country. They were hurt by UV light so many survivors of western society had adapted to live in high places or behind large walls with UV lights to protect them at night or travel during the day. The Pales were frightening, the biggest stood ten feet tall and was a formidable entity. They had claws to tear their prey apart like a lioness tearing into their own meal. A Pale’s arms hung very long and their legs were lengthy as well. Their heads were big and narrow filled with razor sharp teet
I woke up to the shrieks and howls of the Pales, they were close. Possibly near the entrance to the highway to the city. I held my breath as they got closer. Then an ear deafening shriek was heard outside of the tank. I put my hands over my ears and gasped. They must have followed the scent of the blood from my wound! They were in a frenzy right outside screaming, shrieking and howling. I could hear claws scraping the tank, leaving gashes in the armor. I couldn’t tell what time it was but it must have been midnight. I assumed that the adult Pales had gone for a hunt, found nothing and resided elsewhere from their nest. That was the only explanation as they were not present when I killed the pups. Now they were in a frenzy having found their pups slaughtered. This went on for hours leaving me exhausted by morning. I decided I would spend the day in the tank sleeping tomorrow, as I would be too tired to ge
I wake up from a peaceful sleep; no shrieking, howling or screaming. I open my bag, grab my can opener from its pouch and select a can at random. Minestrone. I open it and drain the can’s contents into my stomach. I didn't need to drink water since it was soup. I’m saving the MREs for when I'm surely hungry and can't find much, there are only 3 of them. I put the can opener away in its pouch, strap on my backpack and go downstairs. I checked the first cupboard to find it empty, the second empty and the third had tomato soup. I take it and put it in my bag now noticeably getting heavier. I look outside and see rainy clouds. Fuck,I thought. Then I notice a closet I didn't see on the way in, I open it and see a dusty umbrella. My luck is too
I woke up to a nudge from one of the soldiers, “Wake up we are in city limits.” he said gruffly. I read the sign on the way in “BOSTON.” The sight that befell me stunned me as I looked on in silence. Nature has overtaken everything As we drive down the streets through the city I admire the beauty. I see birds flying around and vegetation everywhere, the subways are flooded at the entrances and I spot a few deer which take off as they hear the engines from the Humvees. Cars are stricken with weeds and overgrowth. The roads were grassey as well as the sidewalks, I see a few rabbits along the way eating grass and weeds, they too take off at the sound of us approaching. I almost become serene with the beauty. The soldiers smirk at the look of wonder on my face, seeming as they had grown used to this beautiful sight.
I woke up to a nudge from one of the soldiers, “Wake up we are in city limits.” he said gruffly. I read the sign on the way in “BOSTON.” The sight that befell me stunned me as I looked on in silence. Nature has overtaken everything As we drive down the streets through the city I admire the beauty. I see birds flying around and vegetation everywhere, the subways are flooded at the entrances and I spot a few deer which take off as they hear the engines from the Humvees. Cars are stricken with weeds and overgrowth. The roads were grassey as well as the sidewalks, I see a few rabbits along the way eating grass and weeds, they too take off at the sound of us approaching. I almost become serene with the beauty. The soldiers smirk at the look of wonder on my face, seeming as they had grown used to this beautiful sight.
Daniels POV I walked towards headquarters and entered the door, I was greeted by a few people walking in. Two staff sergeants started to approach me upon entry, Mikels and O'reilly, I should mention Staff sergeant is the highest rank on the base. They were both short men about 5’5, Mikels had shaved brown hair with brown eyes, he was about 40 years old. O’reilly was a shaved blonde man also around 40, with blue eyes. Both of them were in uniform as they walked up and I saluted them. Mikels then said, “At Ease Daniels.” “Yes sir!” “How was your patrol of the town?” Asked O'reilly. “It was quiet sir.” I responded. “But me and my team came across a civilian who has lived on his own for eight years, we have br
Zane’s POV It took about an half hour but Daniels came back and dismissed Richards. He then turned to address me. “Alright so your destination is barracks J, bunk four. There should be a pillow and blanket there but if not check the closet near the bathroom. I’ll walk you there.” “Alright, I’m probably gonna take a shower and do some laundry. Been eight years since I did either of those. I’ve bathed in lakes where I could, but no showers and no laundry. I’m excited to be honest!” “I bet you are.” Daniels said this with a big bright smile. We moved past the headquarters into the tented area in silence. We got past the tents and suddenly it hit me that I didn’t know the camp’s name. So I asked him as we move
I woke up to a loud ringing nose which was my alarm clock going off. I lay there a minute, my mind fogged, taking comfort in the presence my bed made, it was so good. I got up and turned it off, I started to undress and put my old clothes on, strap on my sidearm, equip my dagger and put my sword on my side. After this I added my trench coat and put on my combat boots, they were getting old I figured I should ask for replacements at some point. From there I exited my dorm and went down the stairs to proceed to the mess hall. I leave the dorm through the door and hastily make my way to the mess hall. I could smell food in the air, it smelled like oatmeal and some kind of meat. My stomach grumbled as I made my way over there. On the way inside I ran into Daniels. “Hey after you’re done head over to the armoury to get geared up!”
Zane’s POV I woke up to a nudge from Daniels’, I guess I had fallen asleep at some point in the Humvee. I looked over at him; tired as well as a little drowsy from sleep and asked, “What’s up?” “We are almost at an abandoned base a few miles away from boston. We had a hell of a night so it will be a great place to stock up and rest.” He said this very sadly. “What’s wrong?” I asked him directly. “Well I just lost my home man. I’m bound to be sad and depressed.” He said this very down and out. As if he had given up. He didn’t want to chat so I let it be. He had a point though. We were driving along the country backroads as highways would be congested in abandoned vehicles. I took in the beauty of the countryside. We were driving past a farm, the fields had overgrown and crops had either died or fought to survive against the weeds. Crops like corn and wheat were doing fine from what I could tell. It looked as if nature itself had taken over what was once tended to so tediousl
Smiths POV It was sometime after midnight when I heard the first Pales start to shriek. I didn’t know why the den hadn’t been cleared yet, this was the second night. The wall guards were tripled up this night, again I had no idea why. I was sitting inside the checkpoint station on a chair. My job was to sound alarms in emergencies, but none really ever happened. I stifled a yawn, it was going to be a long night. I couldn’t see anything eventful happening tonight. Except for the Pales being shot at. For the most part it should be a boring shift. The Pales shrieked and howled again, closer this time. It seemed they were approaching the base now. The guards up on the wall started shooting now. Letting out controlled bursts, the
Zane’s POVIt was a scary experience seeing an alpha for the first time. Those things were terrifying and seemed to be deadly. What I couldn’t believe the most was how massive it was. I was starting to doubt Daniels’ reassurances that the base was safe. We didn’t know how many Pales were in the mall in total; it could be hundreds or thousands. And that thought alone was terrifying.I was in my dorm stricken with these thoughts. I looked at the alarm clock and it was 5:20. I had eaten lunch earlier, with Daniels’ squad. There was a gag order issued on the topic of the alpha we encountered. The higher ups did not want to cause a panic I guess. I could understand that but all I wanted to do was talk about it, so I holed up in my dorm.I could handle an average Pale but this thing? Th
Daniels’ POV It was 04:30 when I stepped outside of my barracks. I had heard the Pales and gunfire coming from the perimeter wall. I had figured I’d check the wall out and see what was going on. I was walking past the tents when I saw Zane stumbling towards the barracks. I called out a greeting but he seemed to be in shock so I walked over to him. “Hey buddy, what's wrong?” I asked him. He stared at me for moment and spoke: “A Pale just took Talons from uptop the wall…” He said this very much in a daze. I could understand how shocking it is though. I have witnessed it happening myself a few times. “Yeah it happens from time to time when they come into town, I’ve lost a few friends myself.”I said glumly. “What use is a wall if they can just jump over it!” He shouted. “Hey, hey, hey calm down, it doesn’t happen often, just every few years. Besides they aren’t en masse enough to take the base out so don’t worry.” I tried to reassure him. “Are you sure this base is safe?” He asked.
Zane’s POV It was 9:00 now and Daniels had brought a crate of moonshine down from his dorm Carl, David, Anderson and Richards were all drinking moonshine from bottles. They were more like jugs than bottles but that did not matter to them they were getting as wasted as they could to drown their pain out. We were all in the common room of barracks A. It was very similar to barracks J. Couches and chairs were spread out in the area. We were all sitting down. There was a tv and a playstation and some games with movies near it. Anderson and Carl were sharing stories of Williams. They talked about his first deer kill. The time he got scared by a cockroach. The time he killed a turkey and how it was in mid-flight, like an old westerner cowboy. About another time that he got chased by a hive of bees. These stories made Williams seem like a badass.
I walked out the doors and accessed the scene that lay before me. There were bullet holes in the truck and as well on the transport. Most of the vehicle's bodies had been eroded away. Williams lay on the ground, dead. Anderson and Carl were slipping his body into a body bag. After they were done they loaded him into the back of the Humvee by the truck. It was a grim sight and very depressing, to see someone on your team being loaded into a body bag.“Alright, gather round everyone. Everyone, take a knee.” Daniels called out. We walked over to him, gathered in a circle and got on one knee. “Alright. I already contacted HQ and told them about the casualty and firefight, They said to come back to base, our patrol was pretty much over anyways. Tonight let's drink and celebrate his life.”With that we all
I woke up to a loud ringing nose which was my alarm clock going off. I lay there a minute, my mind fogged, taking comfort in the presence my bed made, it was so good. I got up and turned it off, I started to undress and put my old clothes on, strap on my sidearm, equip my dagger and put my sword on my side. After this I added my trench coat and put on my combat boots, they were getting old I figured I should ask for replacements at some point. From there I exited my dorm and went down the stairs to proceed to the mess hall. I leave the dorm through the door and hastily make my way to the mess hall. I could smell food in the air, it smelled like oatmeal and some kind of meat. My stomach grumbled as I made my way over there. On the way inside I ran into Daniels. “Hey after you’re done head over to the armoury to get geared up!”
Zane’s POV It took about an half hour but Daniels came back and dismissed Richards. He then turned to address me. “Alright so your destination is barracks J, bunk four. There should be a pillow and blanket there but if not check the closet near the bathroom. I’ll walk you there.” “Alright, I’m probably gonna take a shower and do some laundry. Been eight years since I did either of those. I’ve bathed in lakes where I could, but no showers and no laundry. I’m excited to be honest!” “I bet you are.” Daniels said this with a big bright smile. We moved past the headquarters into the tented area in silence. We got past the tents and suddenly it hit me that I didn’t know the camp’s name. So I asked him as we move
Daniels POV I walked towards headquarters and entered the door, I was greeted by a few people walking in. Two staff sergeants started to approach me upon entry, Mikels and O'reilly, I should mention Staff sergeant is the highest rank on the base. They were both short men about 5’5, Mikels had shaved brown hair with brown eyes, he was about 40 years old. O’reilly was a shaved blonde man also around 40, with blue eyes. Both of them were in uniform as they walked up and I saluted them. Mikels then said, “At Ease Daniels.” “Yes sir!” “How was your patrol of the town?” Asked O'reilly. “It was quiet sir.” I responded. “But me and my team came across a civilian who has lived on his own for eight years, we have br