Bullhead City
The city's usual calm was replaced by screams, loud gunshots, beastly growls, and other chaotic noises.
Battered but determined, two silhouettes fought their way towards the parked vehicles.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Dammit. There's no end to these bastards." The death hounds tried to swarm them.
"Look, Uncle Dave. The vehicle is right there." Aden pointed at two red Power Wagons parked ahead.
Bang!
One of the death hounds on lead was shot in the head.
"Finally. Listen to me, boy. Grab that bazooka. I'll cover you." Dave assigned a task, trying to keep the hounds at bay.
"Okay." With Dave to watch his back, he swiftly made his way onto the cargo bed. The first Wagon's cargo bed turned out empty. As his hand reached for the second vehicle's latch, he heard Dave's agitated voice.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Boy, get inside the car. Now."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He heard multiple gunshots before he could process the event, forcing him to run for the passenger door.
Thud! Thud!
Both doors closed simultaneously.
"Damn these abominations. There's no end to them." Right before their gaze, multiple hounds circled.
Thwack! Thwack! Krrrrrk!
The hounds tried to get inside, be it by scratching or chewing on the vehicle. It was a ghastly sight.
"We would've been in a lot of trouble if not for the vehicle," Aden muttered, speculating about the worst-case scenario.
"Let's go, boy. I'm getting tired of seeing these things." Dave turned the keys, stomped on the accelerator, and took control of the wheel.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Once in motion, most of the hounds tumbled. However, a stubborn hound was on the side of Aden's door with its left claw lodged in.
"Oh! One managed to latch on." A moment of amazement later, he grabbed one of the knives and lowered his window.
"Looks like someone's in a pickle. Let me help you."
Swing!
He slashed at the hound's wrist, expecting to slice it in two. However, the knife couldn't cut through bones.
Ughh!
"I almost forgot. You are no longer normal." He slashed again. However, this time, he aimed at the joint between the paw and the wrist.
Despite the accuracy, it took five swings for a clean cut.
Thud!
The vehicle streaked through the city with a paw lodged on the right, and the death hounds on its tail.
A-woooo!
The injured hound howled in agony.
***
Somewhere near the reservoir,
Huff! Huff!
"I don't remember the reservoir being this far." Leo thought to himself as he lurked behind a cafe. "Have my memories worsen, or have I grown too weak to run?"
"Leader, dodge!" a shout from a nearby rooftop alerted him.
Fwoosh!
Shortly after, a massive, sharp tail soared at him at incredible speed. Fortunately, the early warning gave him enough time for a dodge.
Rat-tat-tat-tat
He returned fire, to no avail. The assault rifle bullets only grazed the tail with no signs of significant harm.
"Dammit!" He couldn't help but curse.
Fwoosh!
The tail soared again and lunged at him.
Whoops!
He dodged the tail again, taking cover behind a pillar.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The tail clashed against the pillar in front of Leo. His adrenaline-sharpened reflexes allowed for the second dodge.
"I can't keep up with this." He faced the team member in the building and asked. "Do you see the reservoir?"
"Yes, leader. It's five buildings ahead on the left," the person replied.
"I knew it. My memories are fine, and I'm not getting weak either," he mumbled. "I'm going to lure it to the reservoir, cover me."
Immediately, he pulled the pin on the smoke grenade and tossed it nearby.
Fwoosh!
The white smoke spread rapidly, enveloping the area with a diameter of 5 meters within 7 seconds, and was spreading even further.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thinking of smoke as the signal, the veteran on top shot at the overlord.
Rrrraaww!
The beast let out a violent roar in response to the veteran's pestering.
Meanwhile, Leo quickened his steps toward the reservoir under the cover of smoke, leaving the bellowing beast behind.
Owing to the smoke's cover and the veteran's cover fire, he was able to pass through one of the buildings.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Suddenly, a high-pitched sound passed through his body, his body hair stood up in response, followed by elevated heartbeats. His instincts kicked into overdrive and screamed to get out of the place.
Before he could make sense of the situation, the veteran on top screamed with his lungs out. "Leader, be careful. The overlord has disappeared."
Shortly, Leo noticed a movement within the smoke, followed by a loud crunch.
Scrunch! Scrunch! Scrunch!
It was an unsettling sound, and it sounded like bones being crushed under a hydraulic press. His instincts screamed with an intensity that defied measure.
Scrunch! Scrunch! Scrunch!
An oppressive aura locked onto him, accompanied by the feeling of a hair-raising chill, and shortness of breath, freezing him to the place. The sound grew even closer, but he couldn't move a muscle.
Seconds later, an enormous head popped out through the smoke.
"Fuck." That was Leo's first response after seeing the overlord, at least its head.
Its head looked like an unholy mix between a pug, a blobfish, and a naked mole rat. Beyond its bizarre composite appearance, its truly terrifying features were the megalodon-sized fangs, black skull-like armor covering its head, and black goo oozed from its mouth instead of saliva. Like all Death Hounds, its eyes were hidden beneath flaps of loose facial skin, rendering it blind in the conventional sense, an unnerving sight.
Its physical build wasn't the only factor that induced dread amongst whoever it came across. The smell also amplified it: If you mixed raw sewage, Surströmming (the world's smelliest fish), stench soup, thioacetone (one of the most unpleasant compounds), and somehow managed to make it worse 10x, that was the level of smell Leo was dealing with.
He was about ten meters away from the overlord, but it felt like he was right beside the beast. The fact that he was conscious was no less than a divine miracle.
Every passing second, the rest of its body made its way out of the smoke. Its body was no less intimidating; the black armor covered its entire body. Protrusions in the armor, like a spike, gave it the feeling of a spiky armadillo. The tail was no exception, it was thick like an underwater cable, encased in black armor and a sharp, knife-like structure at its end. As for its overall size, it was comparable to the Power wagon they used.
Scrunch! Scrunch! Scrunch!
Leo only had one thought. "I'm fucked."
The beast was only a few meters from him, but the smoke was dissipating at a visible rate.
Bang!
A bullet pierced through the air as it soared towards the beast's tail.
Rrrraaww!
It shrieked in fury. Someone dared to bother during the hunt.
The distraction was enough for Leo to be free from the frozen state. Immediately, he took out the stun grenade he had obtained from the armory, pulled the pin, and tossed it toward the beast. Then, he covered his ear and turned away.
The overlord sensed Leo's sudden movement and re-focused on him. But it was too late.
BOOM-FLASH!
A couple of seconds later, a blinding light discharged from the stun grenade, followed by a deafening noise, and a pressure wave. It emitted intense light of 1 million candela and a loud explosion of 170 -180 decibels.
Rrrraaww!
The overlord slumped to the ground in agony. While the blinding lights had no effect, the pressure wave and deafening sound sent the beast reeling, its balance momentarily shattered.
Despite following the procedures, Leo wasn't left intact either. His vision blurred for a couple of seconds. His hearing had turned muffled, replaced by a constant ringing noise, and a feeling of dizziness enveloped him, causing him to stagger at every step.
"Come on, Leo. This is the best chance to escape death." He moved, motivating himself as he staggered further from the beast. However, the assault on his senses crippled his progress, making it feel as if he were trying to return home drunk.
Rrrraaww!
The overlord was still writhing in agony with its essential senses temporarily fried.
Scrunch! Scrunch! Scrunch! Thud!
It tried to stand, only to lose its balance and fall.
About ten seconds later, most of the effect had subsided for Leo, allowing him to recover his speed, but it wouldn't be long before the beast would be on his tail.
He sprinted, crossing the space of another two ruined structures. Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound.
Rrrraaww!
The overlord, on its legs, approached him like a raging bull.
"Not now! Not now!"
He could sense the previous dreadful feeling resurface. This time, he could even feel a deathly aura closing on him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rat-tat-tat-tat
More team members ganged on the beast to distract it, to no avail.
As seconds passed painfully, Leo was able to see the edge of the road, he could even make out the opening of the reservoir. He was only six meters from the reservoir's edge when the dread hit him like a physical blow, stopping him in his tracks: almost frozen solid.
"This feeling again! I guess this is how I die." He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate with open arms.