[headquarters]

Date : 20.10.19 Time : 0635hrs Temperature : +1 C*

Lt.Benito Tecumseh Pain took care in not waking any of the three comrades- in-arms that were sleeping fitfully on their bloodstained mattresses in the filthy cellar. They were hiding out .Nobody had seen any pursuit yet -but to move on with the severlywounded would be akin to killing them outright.
The cellar had no windows and only an old and dilapidated wooden staircase led up to the kitchen trapdoor .

He stepped gingerly over each of them and collected his gear without a sound.Upstairs ,he heard the silent footsteps of Grease , as he paced from window to window looking for would be assailants on their little retreat.He nodded curtly to him as he reached the front door.They had already agreed upon him going out .

Supplies were needed.

He hefted his VSK-94 and snook out the door,keeping to the shadows alongthe walls .After a a few minutes of intent listening he was satisfied that noone was about .He proceeded to crossing the yard and upon reaching the rotting crop adjacent to the yard , he hunched down and repeated his listening post .

Nothing.

Although technically morning , it was still very dark .With no NV-gear ,he had to rely on his senses alone.Not easy when inside a gas mask .Carefully a stealthed a path through the withered stalks,his carbine sweeping a 290 degree arc all around him .Being out here alone certainly was more interesting than he enjoyed.

He found an overturned wheel barrow, and stooped down to check it . A badly mauled corpse was laying next to it in drab work clothes.God only knows what had eaten from it .

He resumed his advance ,and hunched down several times sifting through the dirt with his gloved hand to recover some tubers or roots that could be edible.No luck.He finished one field and crossed over into another .The whole thing repeated itself .The fields was dead and rotting.

"I just need to find the right crop" he told himself inwardly.There had to be something edible left in this area.High yield farms lay on all sides.

Suddenly a sound drew his attention .It came from the far side of the fields , ely audible in his suit and mask.It sounded like a wet ,rythmic throbbing .First he withdrew rapidly for a few yards aiming in th direction he heard it from .Then he reconsidered and moved towards ,cautiously.Pushing plants away with the barrel of his carbine. The sound reminded him of something.

But he wasnt sure just what.He drew nearer ,finger on he trigger .Every step careful and deliberate not to make a sound on the treacherous cover of dead stalks and leaves.A mere 25 yards or so left ,but he couldnt see anything through the rotting vegetation.

Then it struck him what it was .It was chomping .Something with a big mouth was making loud,slurpy chomping sounds straight ahead of him .

The realization made him almost jump for a second.Just a brief second loosing his concentration -but enough for his foot to catch on a stalk with a slight snapping sound.

The chomping immideatley ceased.He held his breath -eyeing the direction of the sounds over his VSK-94 intensly.

Then a deep ,rumbling snarl sounded .It was a sonorous ,wet growl that rose in volume in an agressive tone.Abruptly the growl ended and violent thrashing in the vegetation ahead of him was heard-closing in fast !

"In the name of the Skull and the Chain" he gasped steeling himself and pulling the trigger back to a hairs breadth of a burst from his 9x39mm silenced carbine.The rustling in the dead crop suddenly changed direction .He thought he saw a massive shadow flicker past .But he couldnt be sure that he hadnt blinked and was just imagining it .The crashing sounds of vegetation breaking moved further away and it became eeirely silent .He considered advancing and checking out the scene further but was stopped dead in his tracks.

A blood curdling howl unlike no other he had ever heard rose from a the direction of a thicket some 100 yards ahead .It revebrated across the fields and rose to a pitch ,almost like a desperate scream of frustration.

"OK-thats it -I am out of here " he thought to himself with studied off -handedness. Breathing hard and focusing on keeping his cool ,he carefully retraced his steps,increasing his pace all the while he was retreating .

He reached the yard at a full run and screaming the password at Grease,flung himslef through the door and skidded acros the dirty floor.

"Lock the door! Close the door!" he yelled.

"Whats going on "a drugged, drowsy voice demanded from the basement.
Lt.Pain Jr ripped the mask of his face and sat with his back againstthe wall .He was sweating profusely.He was panting from his run and his heart was beating rapidly.

A feeling of sheer terror had spiked through him at the sound of that howl .

"yeah-what was that " Grease asked, nervously gripping his rifle .


" I am damned if I know " he said flatly.

Outside the dark and silence lay once more undisturbed.