FSE

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The stock was almost dry when James finally opened the trapdoor. He squinted to see through the foggy lenses and steadily breathed through the filters of his gas mask as sand poured on the stairs. Light flooded into the cellar when the trapdoor opened awakening everyone; Josh, Sasha, Astar and their dragon. One by one, they left the cellar behind James to take stock of the damages. If the land around the house was fertile before, it no longer was. All of the grass was burned and had given way to sand. The trees were all burned; an entire forest burned into a dead husk. All because of the actions of a select group of men and women who sought to control the land. One glance at the house would reveal some burns on the wall leaving a hole that covered two floors. More damage, overall, came from decay and vandals and looters. Windows were broken, furniture seemed to have been tossed around. Many of James Scale's possessions had been stolen, except for what he had brought into the cellar. He went back in the cellar and bent over his cot. There was a longsword, of Anglo-Saxon origin, with the head of a phoenix for a pommel. He grabbed the sword, stood straight up and went back up the steps into the sand. " We need to leave," he said loud and slow through the gas mask filter.

Suddenly, all of them heard a loud pop. James turned around to see that they weren't alone. He faced the figure and pointed the end of his sword at them. He could see a pair of red eyes in the shadows within the house. " Who are you, and why are you here?"

He stood between his kids and the stranger. His gas mask hid the tension showing in his face not knowing what would happen. Then, their dragon stepped forward next to his ankle. Silence is all they were answered with " I'll give you ten seconds to talk before I skewer you."

James and the dragon took two steps towards the figure as James counted, " One, two, three, four, five..."

He saw the figure emerge and begin eyeing a tree, possibly contemplating escape. " Six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" Upon finishing counting, he approached the figure ready to strike. To his dismay, it climbed up a tree to a point he couldn't reach. His dragon stepped forward and cringed as if he were suffering stomach pains. Then, the hatchling hiccuped fire at the figure. As the figure jumped to another tree, the hatchling followed them still breathing fire. Then, he ran out of breath, and when James looked up the trees, the figure was gone. He scooped up the hatchling and shouted, " If there's a good time to get out of here, it's now."

He led the way along the sandy, bleached road through the woods. He knew there was a town, but he didn't know what state it was in, or if anyone within was still alive. If there was someone living there, he had no idea if they were hostile. Apparently, the town was closer to the blast zone; more buildings had much worse burns than the house. Sand was everywhere, including some of the cars. Bodies and body parts littered the ground staining the sand with blood. James reached in one of the cars, through an open window, and turned the key. They could hear the engine huffing in an attempt to start. It had, apparently, been too long, and it wouldn't get going whatsoever. They approached one of the nearby buildings and ducked down next to the door.

James stuck his head in to see if there was anything moving inside. It was dark, but it looked like nothing was moving within the shell. He turned to his kids and pointed inside. Josh was the first one in, then went Sasha, and finally, Astar.

As they went in, they all heard a roar, and James went inside. All four of them sat on the sides of the door. James stuck his head outside and saw a gigantic lizard, like a komodo dragon. He looked at Sasha and Josh, both on the other side of the door, and put a finger between the filters of his mask.

When the thundering footsteps grew weak, he took a peek outside. This time, he saw small lizards following the massive one picking at bones and bodies. He got on his hands and knees and explored the interior of the building. He looked back to see his kids still at the door. He looked in another room in the building and found nothing. The place was completely empty, sacked. Everything stolen. He crawled back to the door and checked outside to see if they were alone. Across the street, he noticed someone in one of the houses. He beckoned to his kids and crept outside. As they crossed the street, James kept his eyes out for the giant mutant and on the lizards. It was when they were across the street when James recognized the figure.

He stopped and stuck a hand out in front of the kids as the thing seemed to give a quiet snarl. Suddenly, something flopped in front of them; the dead, eviscerated body of a human. Under their masks, James jumped and the kids let out screams. He took a deep breath and slowly approached the figure with his hands up.

He felt wetness on his shoulder, and he stopped and looked up. Staring down at him was the head of a mutated wolf. He lifted his gas mask and took a deep breath, that was when he noticed the thing opening it's jaws. " Ok, we can leave and never meet again. Hows' that sound?"

As the thing gave a snarl of apparent decline, the small lizards made squeaking type noises. Then, they could feel a tremor, one that was all too familiar. " Everyone, run!" The kids bolted north followed by James screams being muffled by their masks, yet still audible. James heard footsteps behind him and ran faster. They stopped and turned when they noticed the dragon step in front of them and open its mouth. As they ran, they noticed a new figure armed with a grenade launcher and wearing a gas mask.

Without asking anything, they ran behind the armed figure, who raised their firearm and took aim. The monster stopped once it noticed the grenade launcher in the figure's arms. " I suggest you leave, monstrosity!"

In response, the thing let out a roar like a jet getting ready to take off. James stuck his fingers in his ears to avoid letting them bleed out and rupture. The figure pulled the trigger on their firearm releasing a grenade at the thing. It hit the thick scales on the monster, and it stepped back before walking away. Then, the figure lowered their weapon, turned to the Scales and said, " are you all okay?"

" Yeah."

Then, some of the small lizards came to eat the flesh and scales blown off the monster. " Come on. Let's find a safe place to hold up."

James grabbed his sword, which he dropped in order to plug his ears, and him and his kids stood up. They then wandered through the dead streets searching for a specific place. " What's your name?"

" I'm James Scale. My daughter's Sasha, the blue one's Josh, and the dragon's Astar."

" Nice to meet you."

He put his mask back on and looked down to see the hatchling scrambling to catch up. Then, he noticed larger lizards, closer to raptors, staring at them. Their savior gave the things a look and said, " They won't attack. Scavs, the lot of them."

" Good."

After the scavs ran off, they came across a house that was mostly intact, save for some burns on the walls and roof. " come on in. Air is clean."

Upon hearing that, James and his kids took off their masks. Their savior also took off his mask revealing himself as some sort of goat person with many scars. James opened the door and went inside. The host went in to scout the place, and the kids followed soon after, along with the dragon, and Astar was the one to shut the door.

After the host put his grenade launcher down, James dropped his mask and sword and went to explore the house. He opened a cabinet and found a small stack of documents. He grabbed one of them to find a map of North America with a line drawn going from their location to what was Texas. He approached their host and said, " What do you know about this?"

Without looking, he replied, " Original evac plans. Base in Texas is gone."

He turned the map over and found where the ink seeped, with a difference. The state of Texas was crudely drawn on this side, and someone had written, 'leave earth.' There were drops of blood on the corner of the sheet. " Looks like someone had something different in mind."

" Really?"

" Yeah. Leave earth, is the space program still working?"

" No. Nothing."

" Then, why-" Before he finished his sentence, a scream could be heard. The host grabbed a rifle, and they both looked outside. A street lamp shows a different scavenger than the glowing throat, the victim was covered in frost as the scavenger ate her body James refused to look as the host shot at the Scav. " What is it?"

" A Frost Raptor."

He took another look at the map and said, " Do you suppose a space shuttle could still operate these days?"

" NASA is gone. So I doubt we could use one."

" Maybe, with some fuel and repairs?"

The host snapped his fingers and said, " The military base! I could pilot one of the Pelicans."

" Do you know the way?"

" It's a week walk."

" Alright, we can rest here before starting the journey."

The dragon hatchling laid down on the floor, and James said, " So, where do we sleep?"

" Anywhere."

The kids searched for a place to sleep as James parked himself next to the front door. It took a while, but James managed to fall asleep. Several hours later, James opened his eyes and stretched. As he did, he gave the type of snarl a zombie might do, a habit he had formed to get rid of phlegm. Upon hearing this, the host jumped to his feet and grabbed his gun.

James raised his arms and said, " It was just me! Sorry, it's a habit. Everyone else still asleep?"

" Yes."

He got up and headed to the food storage. Once there, he immediately noticed a whole new breed of wasp, ones with blue front ends. He ran from the storage and slammed the door shut. He took a moment to breath and calm down, and then searched for the kids. Upon finding them, he knelt down and lightly shook them awake one by one. " We need to go," said the host. " Way ahead of you."

" I have no spare filters."

" How bad is the air outside?"

" Still pretty bad."

" Alright, masks on." The Scales all grabbed their masks and put them on. The host went to put on his mask, but the Scales heard him say, " Damn it, my filter is done."

" Does that mean you can't leave?"

" Sadly, I can try but I'll die of asphyxiation."

" So, was it Fort Lewis you had in mind?"

The host sighed and said yes. Then, he approached James and handed him his last firearm. " Thanks."

" Good luck. I'll be here, until the scavs get me."

He bent down to grab his sword and added, " Oh, watch those wasps in the storage room."

" I don't plan on opening it."

James looked outside and saw a red Scav, a royal Scav, watching from below the dead street lights, barking at its allies. " Speaking of scavs."

" Go. Take the back."

He nodded and gave a quick salute before herding the kids and the hatchling out back. " Oh, almost forgot; what's your name?"

" My name isn't worth remembering. If we meet again, which I doubt, I will tell you. Now, go!"

" Understood."

As the man dared the scavs inside, James and the kids knelt down and he opened the door. After the kids went outside, James slung his sword, in its scabbard, over his shoulders, grabbed the hatchling dragon and went outside. He held the doorknob before shutting the door to avoid letting the latch click. If the host looked through the window, he could see the Scales running. " Good luck. you guys."

They hopped a fence, Astar needing to be lifted by James. While running along the street, they came across another car that seemed to be in decent shaped. James smashed the window with his elbow, reached inside and tested the key. He could hear the man's cries of agony as he was poisoned and torn limb from limb. A lone royal Scav wandered off and began eyeing the Scales. They could hear the engine huffing, and James muttered, " Come on, come on!"

He released the key, kicked the side of the car and tried the key again. His spirits rose when the car made the familiar noise indicating that it worked. A loud clicking noise from the 6th royal was heard, but it retreated to the meal inside. He opened the driver's door, sat inside and unlocked the rest of the doors so the kids could get in. Josh and Sasha ran to the other side of the car to get in while Astar got in behind James. Once they were inside, he shifted the gear and drove away from the horde of Scavs.

They could see that the royal Scavs saw them, and yet, the reptiles ignored them for the kill in the house. James glanced to the side for a second and saw the dismembered body of their host. " Don't look!" he shouted at the kids, and they all immediately shut their eyes. The wheels screeched as he drove them out of the town. As they drove away, the kids peeked outside and fully opened their eyes. Astar looked over James' shoulder and said, " Dad?" " Yes, Astar?"

" He's dead, isn't he."

" Yep, very dead."