The Reaver's
Story by Cederwyn Whitefurr on SoFurry
No one would have believed, in the last years of the 21st century...that humanity would destroy itself in the hell fires of nuclear armageddon...
"No one would have believed, in the last years of the 21st century...that humanity would destroy itself in the hell fires of nuclear armageddon..."
The Reaver's,
© Cederwyn Whitefurr
10th August, 2019
All Rights Reserved
No one living remembers the night it happened – how people had been on the edges of their couches, watching the news as it flashed around the world. Two great countries went to war – the reason? Who remembers... All that was left of their war was a world – once pristine and beautiful, burned, charred and turned to a radioactive wasteland.
In one horrific night, the world was obliterated in the fiery hell storm of the nuclear weapons. Who shot first? Nobody remembers – but the news reported it, until one by one, they fell silent – decimated under the bombardment of multiple warheads that levelled cities, scouring them from the surface of the earth.
Countries ceased to exist – erased as if they'd never existed by the weapons that brought such devastation and destruction – or by the fallout and later – the radiation storms that swept the globe.
Not even Australia – so isolated from the global catastrophe could escape the fate of madness and horror. It's cities were bombed and ruined, billions around the word died either during that one night – or in the days, weeks, months – even years afterwards...
Those precious few, a few thousand souls, eked out a miserable existence in this ravaged, blasted and twisted land. Banding together, they took over an old military base that had underground bunkers and here they stayed for the next hundred generations. They sealed themselves off, using sensors and what few CCTV cameras could be brought back online to wait and watch for a day when the earth would begin to recover from the madness that humanity had wrought upon its surface...
They lived, they died and countless scouts and scavengers made their way out of the bunkers to find what they could find...most met a fate worse than anything imagined...
For the Radiation hadn't been kind to most of Australia's wildlife – much of it had perished and passed into ancient history by the survivors...all but one – the Grey Kangaroo's...
They had been mutated by the fallout and the radiation, becoming neither human nor animal; possessed of opposable thumbs on their paws and human-like intelligence – but above all – they viewed humans as the enemy – and would hunt them down, torture them and leave their flayed and skinned corpses where they knew they'd be found. This served both as a warning – and as a trap...
Finding weapons and armaments, these creatures, who become known as the Reaver's – learned quickly how to use the military grade firearms and eventually explosives...which they used to lethal and cunning effect. They evolved from their mutated, feral roots – into violent, cunning and feared creatures who adapted human combat armour to their own usages – and even had learned how to use the old radios to communicate and plan their murderous assaults on the handful of human enclaves that were left.
It was only a matter of time, before the Reaver's grew to enough numbers – and brought the curtain down on the last of humanity....
*
Gasping, the wounded scout clambered over debris and rubble, feeling her precious life blood spurting from the wound in her leg. Behind her come the cracks of rifle fire as bits of concrete and stone were chipped from where her head had been seconds ago.
Snatching up her portable radio, she screamed into it in a breathless panic.
"Scout Alpha-four, calling base, Alpha four calling base, come in base..."
A crackle come from the radio.
"God damn it - " She swore, a she pelted down a devastated alleyway.
Overshadowing her were the derelict and destroyed buildings, their glass blown out and half of their facade twisted and melted by some unimagined heat. Passing a twisted and melted pile of scrap, she sheltered behind it for a moment and tore an emergency bandage from a vest pocket. Tying it around her wounded leg, she swore and snatched up the radio, before it fell from her nerveless fingers.
Three Reaver's seemed to materialise from out of the very air itself, their pale muzzles wreathed in looks of predatory rage. One who was closest, pinned his ears back as he held her covered with his rifle. Their eyes shone with blood lust and pure murderous intent, whilst the other two moved to flank her. They held military grade assault rifles, the vests that were worn filled with pouches and an ammo bandoleer. One carried a portable radio strapped to its back, the antenna bent near the top.
"Go on, you fucking beasts...get it over with!" She snarled at them.
They merely stood their ground, staring at her, almost like statues.
"You're going to kill me, so get it over with you heartless pricks!"
With a flick of an ear, the middle one lowered his rifle, then used it to gesture at the equipment she carried. When she refused, the others lifted their rifles and clicked off the safeties, ensuring the point was well received.
"Fine...fuck the lot of you..." Snarled the Scout, as she began unbuckling her vest and emptying the pouches.
Six magazines, her rifle, a water bottle with recycled water her radio and a small first aid kit were piled before her, as she placed her hands on the back of her head in submission.
Gesturing with his gun, the lead Reaver made her stand and turn about. Obeying, she swallowed, expecting at any second to get a bullet in the back of her head. They didn't take prisoners...often.
A sharp thrust from the rifle barrel made her stumble forwards. Again, she was pushed and stumbled again, before the Reaver growled in a frightening voice...
"Run..."
Scout A-4 didn't hesitate – she fled...
*
Inside the security room in the base, motion sensors detected movement. Camera's frizzed with their video feed as they seen a human running towards the base perimeter.
"Scout A-4..." One of the Security grunted. "Why is she unarmed and..."
Her lips moved, but the cameras were not equipped for audio. She looked terrified as she closed to within ten yards of the entrance....before her head exploded like an overripe melon and she staggered then fell to the ground.
"What the..." One of the horrified security gasped.
Three Reaver's appeared, one shouldering its rifle, before they stared intently at the camera, before two of them gripped the lifeless body of the scout and dragged her away, leaving a blood trail in their wake...
"Those...bastards, they're going too - " Gagged one of the men.
"We know what they'll do...just be grateful it wasn't you..." Said the other security guard, as he shuddered and looked away. "At least it was quick for her...."
To Be Continued...