The Salvation

Chapter 30

|Andrew|

Shale was uneasy all day, irritating Andrew with his constant paranoia. But Shale's pacing was nothing compared to what Andrew let run wild in his mind. After Andrew and Felicia took the installation in Gateway City, Andrew skimmed through all the files on the computer in one of the tents. At first it was nothing, seismic data and topography on the Earth's changing surface. Then Andrew discovered positions for more outposts where machines would be set up to cause rain, to refill the oceans as best they could and alter the wastelands weather patterns. But Andrew stumbled onto files locked under a passcode, but hacking it was easy (Andrew acquired that skill with Aquarius) and inside there was a list of reported sightings of something called "The Apex". The first was in Facility 23-C, where it initially escaped its captivity. Andrew assumed that The Apex must've been the large thing that took off the night Nikolai was fatally wounded. But more sightings took The Apex north, however some conflicting ones said it had been seen west and some even south. The most common agreement on its possible location was headed towards the west coast, around California. It helped Andrew sleep at night hoping it was there, but it still plagued him.

The supplies did Glade more good than the information. Army rations were mixed in with the already prospering food storage and their "clean" water was locked in Andrew's attic for safe keeping. The guns and ammunition were handed out to only the best, men and women who proved they could use them efficiently and well. Felicia changed the rotations of their scouts and added more to their ranks, spreading her eye into the wasteland as wide as she possibly could. No one, or thing, would be able to make it to Glade in the open without being seen.

Trips to the lake slowed as more and more stonehounds began to prowl the are and wait for prey. Venelope observed that it was mainly other animals they ate, stray dogs or cats and even some form of bear with rotted skin that travelled in packs. They'd all agreed to name the bears Rotters, due to their rotten flesh and tendency to keep their food until it began rotting before eating it. They were fiercer than the stonehounds, which Andrew didn't like. Venelope managed to figure out that they don't necessarily become hostile to any creature until they're too close to a rotter, then they attack relentlessly and pursue until they get to sink their teeth into the preys neck. It wasn't a bear who's skin you wanted as your carpet, the smell was foul and they looked half dead with maggots clinging to their bodies enthusiastically.

From the sky there were Deaddrops, large scaled creatures with four wings. As intimidating as they seem, Glade needed only close all windows and doors until their swarm flew past. The creatures reminiscent of pterodactyls didn't bother to chase prey that wasn't exposed, and once you hid from them they gave up. The creatures were weak-limbed, skinny and easy to kill. One shot to any of the four decently sized wings left them on the ground and then another few shots easily pierced their bodies and they were done for. There wasn't much meat on them, they were vultures true and true who had to rely on easy prey and scraps, but their swarm was at least two hundred strong and stretched on for a mile. Andrew and Craig waited for the stragglers before taking their shots into the sky. Andrew could only guess how many swarms there were out in the international wasteland.

Beneath the ground, a predator to the stonehounds were these snake like creatures, smooth skinned with four scrawny feet on tiny legs. They burrowed in the ground and weren't a problem to humans, although they attacked Shale and if you took a child out of Glade's protection they'd likely emerge for them too. But the Wasteland Lizards or Crack Lizards as people called them via the radio, were somewhat gentle creatures who either slithered or walked up to you to observe (or see if they could take you down) and sometimes accept food. Venelope reported seeing a stonehound's spikes sticking up from the ground, but before she could act the stonehound was attacked by a Wasteland Lizard and constricted to death. The rotters took them as easy prey.