Wasteland Rules: Kill or Be Killed (The World After Book 1) (14 page)

June 12, 2029

Zinc Federal Bank Zinc, AK

  The inside was pitch black. No lights remained on
and there was no emergency lighting. The curtains covering the windows didn’t
allow any light inside. The only light was the small patch of sunlight coming
through the door. Derek pulled a road flare from his pack and struck it. It
flared to life and cast a dull red glow into the murk. He stepped inside
holding the flare in front of him and looked around slowly looked around. He
could see the curtains covering the windows had been secured to the walls by nails
or screws. Someone definitely didn’t want anyone to see inside.

  A teller line made of oak and marble ran along the
left side of the building. Big oak desks sat along the right side on the marble
floor. At the center of the room was a large staircase with brass banisters
leading down, the top of it opposite him on the other side of brass railings. A
second set of double doors split the back wall. There were probably more
offices back there and a staircase up the third floor. Ornate brass chandeliers
hung from the vaulted ceiling and even the support beams were carved wood. The
chairs and other furniture looked like expensively upholstered antiques,
although they were a little worn. At one time this bank must have been very
wealthy.

  Just like everything else the building showed no
signs of life. There were no corpses or skeletons, human or otherwise. The
inside looked pristine except for a layer of dust and cobwebs. Computers sat
untouched on desks and stacks of flyers sat undisturbed on the teller line. It
was like everyone had just vanished. Maybe Rora was right and they had let the
inmates go. As he moved further inside, the other two followed him, the
flickering red glow of the flare lighting their way.

  They were almost to the top of the staircase in
the center when he saw the first sign of danger. The date on the teller
stations was September 9
^th
, 2017; weeks after the project had been
abandoned. So they hadn’t been evacuated or let go. Someone had been here until
then. The second sign was the lack of cobwebs on the set of double doors in the
back and the lack of dust in front of them. Someone had passed through there
recently.

  Derek started to turn back towards the entrance
when the monsters exploded from behind the desks and furniture. They had
apparently been hiding quietly until their prey had gotten far enough into the
bank to cut them off. About a dozen of the things emerged from the shadows and
blocked their exit. It was hard to see them in the minimal light provided by
the flare, but Derek could make out the hairless, leathery skin and sharp
pointy teeth of the monsters. They wore dirty rags that at one time were
clothing and he could see the black slits of their eyes reflecting the dim
light.

  “DRINKERS!” He screamed in alarm.

   He could tell from the undisturbed dust that the
beasts hadn’t been behind the teller line. So he dragged Rora towards it
drawing his pistol and firing blindly into the now swarming creatures. He was
rewarded by several howls of pain as he threw Rora over the marble countertop
and jumped over after her. Tex flew over seconds later to join them, his eyes
wide with terror.

  “I guess we know what happened to the
inhabitants!” He yelled.

  Derek didn’t even waste time to respond. He popped
back up and started firing into the oncoming monsters. Two were already down,
and three more joined them but the pack kept coming. He kept firing and Tex
added the powerful punch of his .44 Magnum S&W revolver to the fusillade.
Five more of the monstrous creatures were knocked down but the other two
reached the line and leapt onto the countertop their clawed feet clacking on
the marble. Derek yanked out his double barreled shotgun and let them have it
with both barrels. At this close of a range it almost obliterated them, spraying
him with blood.

  He flashed back to the farmhouse in Montana where
all his friends had been killed by a Drinker ambush. He had left there alive
but covered in blood. He froze for a minute but was yanked from his reverie
when the double doors in the back burst open and a horde of Drinkers spilled
out practically knocking each other over in their eagerness to find fresh meat.
Spotting their next meal, the monsters came towards them in a frenzied rush of
limbs and teeth. Tex and Derek frantically reloaded as the mob rushed at them.

   The next few minutes were a blur of gunfire,
claws, teeth, and screaming. Tex and Derek killed the first wave, but the
monsters just jumped over their fallen pack mates and kept coming. Both men ran
out of ammo as the second wave reached the teller line and clambered over.
Derek drew his machete and combat knife and engaged the slavering beasts trying
to make him their dinner. He cut at the group in front of him trying to keep
them off of him, but he felt their claws tearing at him and teeth biting him.

   He desperately fought the attacking monsters his
blades striking flesh with almost every stroke. Finally the tide broke and he
realized there were no more Drinkers left alive. He checked on Rora and saw
that she was huddled under the teller line. She seemed terrified, rocking back
and forth, but otherwise ok. Tex was miraculously ok as well but was bleeding
from numerous cuts and was favoring his left arm which appeared badly mangled.
The bodies of the monsters surrounded them and there was blood everywhere.

   Tex started to speak but was interrupted loud
thudding that echoed throughout the building. It got closer and closer and
Derek recognized the pattern as being footsteps. He groaned aloud. What else
could this god forsaken hole have to throw at them? A true monstrosity
shouldered its way through the double doors and into the main room. A massive
Drinker standing over nine feet tall and heavily muscled with claws that had to
be at least a foot long turned and faced them. It looked at them and snarled in
anger when it saw the bloody bodies of its fellows.

  “We need to get into the light, now is our only
chance. Run for the door!” He screamed and Tex and Rora.

  He literally picked Rora up with one hand and
flung her over the teller line towards the entrance. He and Tex scrambled over
after her. The beast roared with anger shaking the entire building. It grabbed
a desk and flung it at them as they ran. The desk struck Rora a glancing blow
and knocked her down. She hit the ground hard and slid to a stop against the
front wall and lay there unmoving. The desk sailed on and crashed into the wall
next to her. As they reached her, Derek felt the ground shake and the monster
lurched towards them.

  He and Tex looked at each other and they knew they
couldn’t leave Rora. So they both turned and opened fire with their pistols
simultaneously. The oncoming creature shrugged off the rounds and leapt towards
them. Out of ammo, Derek dropped his pistol and pulled his shotgun. Reaching
them in one gigantic leap, the beast backhanded Derek’s shotgun away from him
and then struck Tex so hard he flew across the room. A quick glance told Derek
he was unconscious as well.

   The monster wasted little time and swiped at
Derek with his razor sharp claws nearly decapitating him. Derek swayed
backwards and circled away, trying to draw the thing away from Rora. He swore
the monster smiled at him as he drew his blades. It came at him tooth and claw,
and he was barely able to defend himself. Sparks flew as claws struck steel and
the monster forced Derek back. He continued to circle away from it but
eventually it cornered him along the front wall. This time there was no
mistaking the laugh that boomed from the creature. It was playing with him.

   Derek quickly pondered his options. He couldn’t
kill this thing with his blades. Rora and Tex were down, and reloading wasn’t
an option. A choke hold or superman punch were out of the question. As the
thing moved forward slashing at him wildly it came to him. There was one
weakness he could exploit. He ducked under the slashing claws and ran towards
the windows. He grabbed hold of the curtain and pulled it as he ran alongside.
The nails holding the heavy curtain gave way and it tore free flooding the room
with sunlight.

   The monster screamed in pain as the sunlight
blinded it. Derek took advantage of the momentary pause and grabbed his
shotgun. Moving back to the blinded behemoth he avoided the wild flailing claws
and blasted it point blank in the face. The thing toppled over backwards its
face a bloody ruin. Unbelievably it was still alive and started crawling away
trying to get out of the light. Derek reloaded his pistol and standing over the
ruined creature, he fire several shot into the back of its skull killing it.

  He quickly pulled down the remainder of the
curtains lighting up the entire room. The sun was still high in the sky and the
light would keep other Drinker’s from getting bold enough to attack them again.
The bright light revealed the extent of the carnage. Drinker corpses were
scattered throughout the large room and blood and gore covered almost every
surface. He examined some of the remains. They were almost all male, but most
interestingly a few looked like juveniles.

  Derek went over to Rora and checked her out. She
seemed unhurt except for a large bruise on the side of her face where she had
struck the wall. He sat her up and poured a little water from one of his
canteens on her face. She came around with a groan. He steadied her as she
shook awake.

  “What happened? What were those things?” she
mumbled.

  “Drinkers. Mutants that feast on human blood. They
generally stick to much more populated areas where there is more food and they
especially like the old cities. Their eyes cannot stand the sun and there are
lots of places to hide from the sunlight in the ruined cities.”  Derek replied
softly.

  “Why did they attack us?”

  “They are very aggressive and always hungry. We are
just food to them.” He explained.

    Groaning from Tex indicated he was coming around
as well. Seeing that Rora was ok, Derek moved over to him. He had moved to a
seated position against the wall. He was cradling his left arm and he was still
groggy from being hit by the giant Drinker. Derek bandaged the arm and made a
sling out of a piece of curtain. He handed Tex’s revolver back to him.

  “Thanks buddy. I guess we’re earning the money on
this one?” Tex chuckled.

  “Seriously. Those things do make good security
guards though. Nobody is robbing this bank.” Derek joked.

  Tex laughed and then groaned as the motion hurt.
“What was that thing? I’ve never even heard of a Drinker that big. I guess
eating all the townies bulked him up.”

  “I don’t think they ate the townies. I think they
are the townies.” Derek stated.

  Both Tex and Rora gasped at the same time. “WHAT?”
They both said simultaneously.

  “This place has too much security, is too remotes,
and wouldn’t have enough food to attract Drinkers.” He explained. “The dates on
the stations here were changed for several weeks after the Collapse. So the
inhabitants were here after the government left. Someone nailed up the curtains
to keep the light out in every building in town. Drinkers couldn’t have done that,
so it must have been the townies. Why would they do that? Because the light was
bothering their eyes, just like the Drinkers.”

  “Wouldn’t they have starved to death?” Rora asked.

   “I would say yes, but I think they found another
food source. Each other.” Derek saw Rora and Tex nodding so he continued. “I
think Project Eris made them crazy and violent and they turned on each other
when the food ran out. The strong ate the weak and culled the herd so to speak.
I also think that eating the already tainted flesh of the others made the
survivors mutate further.”

  “But it’s been eight years; they would have run
out of other subjects to eat after a while.” Tex pointed out.

  “My guess is that they tunneled out through the
basements, probably breaking into mining tunnels below us. The tunnels go
throughout the mountain. I bet there is a huge nest of Drinkers in the mine.
They go out collect food and bring it back to the nest. We know the things
breed and there are juveniles among the ones we killed. So it cannot be just
the original townies in there. Some probably moved on and spread out once the
food supply got scarce.” Derek theorized. “The first major swarm appeared in
Memphis about two years after the Collapse started. That would make sense if
they were working their way east away from the mountains. The big one there is
probably one of the originals. It got big eating other Drinkers and feasting on
blood for years.”

  “Are you saying my father created these things?” Rora
asked with a horrified look on face.

  “Indirectly the Collective created them, yes. But
I’m sure it wasn’t the intent of the project. People’s actions can have totally
unintended consequences.” Derek tried to sooth her, feeling her pain acutely.

  “Who cares who created them, let’s get this device
and get the hell out of here before it gets dark and more come.” Tex growled.

  Derek agreed. “Rora, go get in the truck and lock
the doors. It should keep any Drinkers out. We shouldn’t be long, but if we
don’t come back in thirty minutes get out of here.”