He watched the breath leave his lips into the air, single individual droplets of snowflakes falling over his head onto his toboggan. The radio forecasted this would be one of the coldest winters to date he thought but he knew better than to speak it out loud as They could be watching, they were always watching and the crisp crunching of snow beneath his boots. He grips his rifle strap tight around his shoulder with one hand and a container of water in the other. A vicious roar comes from the distance, echoing between the bone crackling winds and dead trees with body carvings on them, he stops for a moment setting his container on the ground putting his only free hand up against the barked flesh of the body in the tree. He had been throw this forest a thousand times but never seen this tree, the body carving almost looking crucified yet both arms up to the elbows and legs up to the ankle were sunken into the tree itself.
Another screeching roar came causing him to turn and look but in the dead-leaved forest way in the hills, nothing put trees surround him. The soft cold breeze tingled his spine as he stared back, he couldn’t put his finger on it as he bit his bottom lip but it made him unsettled to think about those creatures. Their long heads and no eyes, praying mantis-like claws with a snake mocking slither, he shakes the thoughts from his mind to hasten further ahead. Curling his thick leather jacket around him tighter as the snow picked up “Damn it, next time-next time I’m bringing a mask “, his footsteps grow sluggish as the snow on the ground begins to pile up putting weight on his feet but he pushes himself through the cold freezing his fingers, through his cold toes and chapped lips.
He should’ve bundled more, he knew that, he even second-guessed himself on whether or not to wear another jacket but he knew too many layers makes you suffer as well, from lack of agility or simple movement. Even with the snow turning his fore-sight white, he knew he was reaching the landmark, using his mitten to wipe the snow off the side of a human-sized piece of machinery a logo on the side reveals itself in a blue, red, and white scheme on the side. Reading it to himself ‘N.A.S.A’ both sides of the trailed path expanding several massive football fields of satellites “Mass technological graves” he says softly to himself, chuckling at his father’s words. The roar was muffled by the vicious winds but he hears it, it is the piercing, charged, and chambered roar of the beast. How far behind was it? He thought, they never stay still for long, they were swift creatures that need the experience to adapt but unlike most creatures, it was rather smart only taking a few days instead of several generations.
The rumblings were already starting which means it was getting close. No way he could make the trail before it caught up, he immediately darts over to the satellites jumping into the snow and crawling on all fours. Scurrying through at a quick pace, his heart racing, his forehead begins to sweat as his mouth becomes dry almost forgetting the cold freezing his hands and knees. The rumbling gets more hectic, heavier, and intense; The satellites grew eager as the creature slithered it was towards the trail. He didn’t look back, he could feel the rumbles. He only kept his focus forward as he sees something shine through the snowstorm, it was bigger than any other satellite around, foil looking and texture, cylinder-shaped. As he goes with the vigorous speed his rifle gets snagged on a satellite, he scrambles trying to get it to lose but turning around only made him see the creature was closer than he anticipated but in the snow storm there is no way he could see him unless he was towering over him and not in this cluttered field he thought. He also knew he had to leave the gun or risk worse, as he sprints off towards the larger satellite, as he crawls around it looking for any kind of opening all the while listening to the rumbles on through his palm. There it was, under the damn thing he hurried knowing any longer and he would suffer either two fates, Death or Death, one possibly more peaceful than the other.
Making his way inside, he notices the rumbling fades seconds to how dark it truly was inside. “wow, I’ll just stay for a few minutes to let the storm pass.” A cold chill runs up his spine as he jumps out of his skin with the sound of flame eating oxygen as he slowly turns around it was a girl in the far corner sporting a black leather jacket, short buzz but hair with baggy sweats, and boots. Her hand engulfed in flames, she says nothing only lighting up her cigarette as he stands there shy and nervous giving a slight chuckle before raising his hand softly “Hi, I’m Dublin.”
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