Mutated Humans.

In the middle of nowhere an old farm stood. It was surrounded by a five-foot tall scrap fence. The farmhouse looked a bit decrepit and worn. But unlike other buildings, it looked relatively untouched, and the ground around it was orangish gray in color.

"Raht!"

Bert put force into his arms as he pulled the hoe back. Forcing it through the dirt.

Old music was heard playing in the background as he tried to cultivate his small farm's soil.

3 Years. He's been working on this farm for 3 years. Not once has it ever yielded food. The soil here was terrible. The soil everywhere was terrible.

When the bombs fell he was right on the edge of one of the blast zones. His body was bathed in radiation and after he woke up in a ruin, his skin had already flaked up and he turned into some kind of disgusting mutant. At first, he was in terrified denial, but as time passed he was forced to accept the cruel reality. He was some kind of zombie. Though, being a mutant wasn't all that bad. If he was still human, he would have longed starved to death. Well, he doubted any humans could possibly survive the sheer amount of radiation bathing the surroundings long enough to actually starve. He knew he was practically immune to radiation. Not completely, but just about. He remembered a few times when he witnessed his skin slightly glowing. But after a long enough time passed the glowing would always disappear. Thankfully he was one of the lucky few mutants that kept his sanity. He doesn't need to drink, doesn't need to eat. Still need sleep though.

If he doesn't need to eat then why was he trying to cultivate a farm? Well, even though he didn't need to eat didn't mean he didn't want to eat. It's been a few years since the last time he ate anything. He refused to go into any of the surrounding towns. He wasn't about to go and be eaten trying to find some canned dog food. He's seen others die for similar reasons. One poor guy even died trying to grab a Grognak comic book or whatever it was called. Guy was torn to shreds by a small pack of wolves. And boy were they strong. Much stronger than they were before the bombs fell. They must have been mutated like us. Only their mutations increased their endurance and viciousness. But they still seemed to require food. How they manage to find any beats him. Probably snacking on each other every now and then.

"Can you shut that damned music off already? That radio station has been playing the same songs over and over again for 12 damn years. Aren't you sick and tired of it yet?"

Bert, who was using his old hoe, stopped and turned to the crispy voice. An equally flaky skinned woman came into his sights. She's been here for as long as him. Both were in a similar situation, but Bert accepted his fate much easier. Though eventually, she did get over her skin problems.

"Jill, Why do you keep asking me that question? Isn't it better to hear something rather than nothing? Even if the same song has been playing over again and again, isn't it better than mute silence?

His voice was raspy. Both their voices were. Actually, he couldn't really remember how his old voice sounded. Unfortunately, after his body mutated his insides became just as flaky and shriveled as his outsides. His voice sounded like it came from a terrible chain smoker.

The women just stared at him with what he's come to recognize after all these years as dull lifeless eyes. Well not lifeless but more like, The eyes of someone who's sick of dealing with everything.

"Why the hell are you still working on this farm anyway. Not like we gotta eat, And even if it's just for the taste it's been 3 years. The soil just isn't fertile."

"Ruaht"

Bert just pulled on his hoe and continued tilling the soil.

"Still beats doing nothing. And besides, what if we encounter a human? They'll need food to survive."

Hearing that, a sneer appeared on Jill's face.

"In case a human appeared? Don't make me laugh. Normal humans went extinct 12 years ago. Those vaults wouldn't be able to protect them against something like this. The only way I could see them surviving is by leaving this godforsaken rock. Even if some of them did, they'd never be able to survive this level of rad poisoning. Only an unlucky few would turn into things like us. And why do you refer to them as 'Humans'? We're humans, aren't we!?

By the end of her rant, her words contained a bite to them.

Bert stopped tilling and just stood still.

"Jill... Ignoring the fact we're constantly bathed in radiation. We don't need to eat. We don't need to drink, we barely need sleep and I'm pretty sure we've stopped aging. Can you really call us humans anymore? We look nothing like our old selves. Even the sounds we make can't be called human.

The previous anger in the female mutant's eyes slowly faded and was replaced by an empty stare.

"But"

The voice of Bert sounded off in her ears as he started plowing the dirt again.

"Hraht"

"I know you've seen it…. The radiation levels have been dropping in recent years. If those vaults truly did protect the humans from this poison in the air then in a few years they may be able to survive outside. And if that time does come, not only will I be able to eat good food." Bert stopped plowing again and looked at the women with a lighthearted smile. "I'll be able to share it with them too."

....

....

....

"That's naïve thinking. There's no way people would accept us with the way we are. Hell, even the few other mutants we've met were disgusted with our appearances, Even though they were just as bad themselves."

"Hraht!"

"Maybe when civilization comes back we can find some way to cure ourselves."

"Hraht!"

"How stupid can you be? Civilization? Hehehe. Yeah right. Radiation levels are really starting to go down. If anything really did survive in those vaults, we should start preparing our defenses. If not, then in a few years some might show up and wipe us from the face of the earth in the name of cleansing."

Bert didn't respond and just kept swinging his hoe. What she said was probably right. He used to be a government employee. He knew. Oh, he knew. Just how racist and corrupt the higher-ups of the government were. And that was against normal human beings. But even then he couldn't allow himself to dwell on such thoughts. His optimism was the only thing keeping him sane. The only thing stopping him from becoming feral."

"Sigh"

Jill released a sigh and walked over to the foolish man kneeling beside him.

"Alright, you idiot. How about this? I'll help you with this little dirt patch of yours and later when the others come back you'll help us try and put up some better defenses around this place. Our current ones aren't bad, but they're only good enough to keep out the mutated animals. And with your past experience, we would feel more at ease with your input."

"Jill, I really don't think it's ness-"

"Even then, It wouldn't hurt to be careful. Even if you say everything will be alright can you be absolutely sure nothing bad would happen?"

"..."

"Please Bert."

The mutant was silent for a while. Just when Jill thought his silence meant refusal a sigh in the form of words broke out of his mouth.

"Fiiiiine….. But you're helping me with my farm. Even if there's no yield. I don't wanna hear any complaints you hear?"

For the first time in a while the ragged-skinned women had an actual smile.

"Alright, Alright. You win. What should I do?"

"Hmm. Ah, just dig and turn the dirt like this. There should be a small garden shovel in the lockbox under my bed. Why don't you go grab it and we can get started.

A few hours passed, and they were making some serious progress. But it was really more of a waste of time than anything. They were just trying to fertilize dirt that Bert had already tried fertilizing time and time again. It wouldn't grow any food. But either way, Bert seemed to be content.

*Ding, Ding*

Their work was interrupted when a noise sounded out from the front of the small farm.

Bert and Jill got up from their positions in the dirt and made their way to the front. But before that, Bert shut the radio off. Then quickly followed after her. Obviously, they had to let the others inside.

Jill approached the gate and peered through a crack on the side. After confirming who it was she nodded towards Bert who was behind her and moved over to a large wooden plank barring the gate and with the both of them they lifted the wood out of its place. Allowing the doors leading to the outside to be pushed open.

The scrap gate made a creaking noise as it slowly swung back revealing a small group of 5 Mutants like them. They made their way through the gate which was pushed closed behind them. It was a rule to never talk when the gate was being opened, open, or being closed. There was a time in the past when they were too slow in shutting the gate and a beast managed to ram itself through the gap. A few of their comrades died that day. And out of respect, they made this rule. Never waste time opening or shutting the gate.

Immediately, when the wooden plank was back in place the silence ended.

"Did any of you guys run into trouble?"

The person who spoke was Jill.

"Sigh…. Has there ever been a time when we haven't run into trouble? Every time we go out. There's always a new damn problem."

It was the leader of the expedition group. Marcus. Although he led the group when they went outside, he wasn't their "official" leader. But, he was a retired soldier before the bombs fell. So he was naturally the person in charge when it came to dangerous situations like going outside.

The other four mutants looked either depressed or agitated.

Their names were Carly, Jacob, Bruce, and Tommy. In all, there were six of them. There used to be more. But most that appeared would usually end up dying at some point in time.

Bert looked at them in concern

"What happened? You don't normally sound so depressed. Is it something serious?

"Yeah. It's serious alright. There was a stampede. Monsters of all sorts just suddenly came running outside of the nearby forest. I didn't even recognize most of them. Hell, Some of them even looked strong enough to easily bulldoze our flimsy gates."

Both Jill and Bert were frozen when they heard this news. Carly walked over and placed a hand on Jill's shoulder but it didn't help much.

"Honestly, that isn't the problem. We most likely won't have to worry about them."

At Marcus's words, not only Jill and Bert but the other four looked up to him in surprise and confusion.

"What do you mean Marcus? You saw their numbers right!? Or were you looking somewhere else? Many of those beasts have the capability to wipe us out. How could that not be a problem!?"

Bruce asked the man with a bit of anger in his voice.

Marcus just stared at him in silence for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

"Most of you probably didn't notice, but some of them definitely spotted us when we were in the alley."

Everyone knew just how vicious the animals of the wasteland were. To see them and not attack was strange. Carly muttered out a question.

"But why?"

Most already had a guess but none voiced their thoughts to the group.

"Obviously they were running….. From something….. And whatever it was made them run like chickens."

A dangerous gleam flashed through his eyes.

"And whatever it is, It's coming in this direction. Hopefully it doesn't notice us. Because if it does and it has bad intentions we're as good as dead.

Most of those present grew incredibly tense. And Bert couldn't help but lick his flaky lips.

"Even then, we should still prepare. I actually regret not strengthening our defenses earlier. Since there were no real disasters we grew too lax. If we manage to survive, fortifying our farm will be the top priority.

Marcus turned and started walking towards the farmhouse. All the others were following him.

"Now, let's start preparing just in case whatever is coming does find us."

"Jacob, Bruce, you two act as lookouts. Tommy, Carly, Jill, Gather all the guns. Grab the ones that are in the best shape first and their respective ammo. Get me the Sniper rifle and give the two ARs to Jacob and Bruce. Bert…."

Bert puffed up. He was ready to do as asked. Though he isn't really a great fighter. He usually just stays on the farm. But if a monster comes he'll defend the farm with his life. It did belong to his parents after all.

Marcus looked at Bert for a few moments.

"Just... Stay sharp."

Hearing that Bert nearly deflated like a balloon.

"Now let's hurry up! There's no telling how much time we ha-

*BOOOSHHH!!!*

A loud boom sounded out as the earth beneath their feet shook.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Nobody knew who screamed out, but they all thought the same thing in their minds just then.

They were probably going to die today.

Their front gate practically exploded off its hinges. Not only throwing it into the air but a massive amount of dirt and dust went up as well, creating a smokescreen in front of where their gate used to be.

*Hrrrrrrahh,Hrrrrrrahh,Hrrrrrrahh,Hrrrrrrahh,Hrrrrrrahh,Hrrrrrrahh,*

The only thing that sounded in everyone's ears was the huffing of a beast.

Slowly from the smoke cloud, a huge clawed hand appeared and gripped the side of the wall the door used to be connected to, deforming it in the process. The menacing hand sent a shiver down the spines of everyone there. Most of the mutants fell back in shock. Even Marcus instinctively took a few steps back.

The sheer aura coming from the smoke was practically suffocating.

Then.

Before everyone's eyes.

The face of the monster appeared.

It was massive, at least two times their size. White skin with blood-red eyes that screamed malice. Teeth that could rival even the sharpest of swords, Hide that looked like it could easily shrug off bullets and curved Satanic horns on top of its unholy head. And through the smoke, they could barely make out a tail covered in thorny spikes.

It was terrifying. It was the most terrifying thing any of them had seen. None of the wasteland creatures could compare to this Monster…. No, this Devil.

The Devil didn't hesitate and stepped through the opening. A primal fear immediately engulfed all the Ghouls present. If they could cry most of them would have tears going down their cheeks.

It walked forward to the closest gray thing. Which just so happened to be Marcus.

Marcus felt a strange feeling inside his chest well up. It was a feeling he felt before. He never felt it when he was a soldier battling the Chinese. Nor did he ever feel it when he fought the creatures in the wastes. No this feeling, he only felt it once in his entire life. The only other time he felt this way was when he saw the bombs drop. At that moment he knew, he and his family would be consumed by the blast. That feeling….

That feeling was despair. When both your body and mind know there is no chance of survival and the feeling of hopelessness consumes you. That was what he was feeling right now.

The Devil approached him and every step it took he took a step back. But it was useless. Soon the beast was in front of him. He tried to take another step back but fumbled and fell back like the others.

It held something out in front of him but he was too focused on its red eyes to pay any attention.

The beast opened its mouth and just as he believed it was about to eat him a menacing tone sounded out in his ears as words flowed through its teeth.

"SAVE OR DIE"

End of chapter 15