Once Upon An Extinction

Although it was farther than the little monster cared to go due to travel time, she led them to a warehouse district of the city. The little ghoul knew that the shops closer to home had clothing that had be ravaged by time or were inappropriate for children. The warehouse district was sure to have a stockpile of surviving packaged dresses, or so she thought.

For most of the day, the three searched through the abandoned buildings with little result. Office supplies, furniture, expired drink and food, but no clothing. Blood grew frustrated and kicked at a stack of boxes next to her in the dimly lit structure. Fiend had been opening the large bay doors for the light to enter while they investigated. The limits of the hybrid's strength were difficult to measure.

As the dust from the box lifted, reacting to the little strike Blood administered, the incoming light rays illuminated the particles a dull orange. She looked at the specks blankly for a moment. They floated mindlessly at the whim of the air. It wasn't until Blood looked at Maev that she realized her blunder. The sun was setting and in their eagerness to locate clothing, none had paid attention to the time of day.

The trio looked out the open bay doors and to the failing light. The sky was a dark orange and panic began to set into the mind of Maev. The human held her sword at the ready as she spotted an enemy she had only just noticed. A poorly fed undead stared them down, standing outside the warehouse in the direction of the sun.

The leathery figure twitched and chattered its teeth, blinking quickly with large eyes. Blood and Fiend stood at the ready to defend the human, the larger one standing directly in front of Maev. The undead seemed to do nothing for a moment, increasing the tension of the encounter, before suddenly looking up to the sky and screeching loudly.

Blood recognized the action immediately and charged the creature. The undead's yell was high and piercing. The noise bothered the ears of Maev but she held firm. When the little monster reached her target she sent her cleaver into the leg of the undead and crippled it to the ground. The creature fell and attempted to flail in defense but Blood was quick to chop down through its neck. The body twitched its final movements as the ground turned red with blood and the head rolled away.

The screeching stopped but the monsters knew it was already too late. A brief glance exchanged between Blood and Fiend before the hybrid took Maev up in his arms. Maev squeaked in surprise as the monster quickly ran over to the other and allowed the little ghoul to climb onto his back.

With great speed and whining motors, Fiend sprinted past the warehouses and attempted to leave the district. As he ran they spotted more undead on approach. Between the large buildings, running in the distance, climbing fences, and coming straight at them, the undead had the upper hand. The trio had been in far greater danger than they knew and things looked very grim.

If Fiend continued his path, he would have to attempt to push right through a crowd of bloodthirsty undead. It was a reasonable situation on his own, but Fiend was currently carrying a life in his hands. With a powerful sudden jump, the hybrid put himself on top of a large shipping truck and looked to the roof of a building for escape but a few undead looked down at him in waiting.

In a panicked decision, Fiend moved back to the ground and quickly tossed his passengers into the open cargo space of the truck. Maev and Blood thankfully had their wits about them and kept their weapons away as they landed. They tumbled against dusty boxes and recovered just in time to catch Fiend's face as he pulled down the rolling door.

Fiend paused as he fastened the locking handle to the cargo door. He hoped his decision was for the best. The hybrid turned to face the growing crowd of animated corpses. Skin and bones controlled by very basic assembled thought, twitching and wobbling as they gathered. Fiend had a couple yards of breathing room in a half circle around of the truck. He would stand his ground for as long as he was able.