Chapter 244 - Ruin

Once both are 'sure enough' that more of those green zombie things weren't going to start sprinting down the hallway, Afton took a closer look at the monster they had killed...

Its skin was green and bark-like, and spores seemed to constantly be created and emitted by the creature... Whether or not this was just it decomposing or a method of reproduction Afton couldn't tell.​​

On its back were spike-like protrusions that helped camouflage it while it was hiding in the foliage. They looked stiff, but Afton wasn't sure if they had any other functions.

What worried him the most was the fact that it had obviously BEEN human at one point. Meaning that the fungus could indeed infect humanity... Though he couldn't tell if that had been premortem or postmortem.

Other than its intimidating looking jagged teeth, the creature also had large sharp claws attached to each hand. It looked similar to a Deathclaws, but different.

Afton rubs his face and takes a couple samples from it, using some of the vials he'd received from Dr Hildern, and also acquired from Klaus's laboratory. With that done he takes a glance at his companion to see how she was doing, sure enough, Anja was sending him a look that meant, 'We should get out of here while we still can'...

"Thoughts on this Anja?" he asks.

She frowns, "Other than we should leave here immediately? I think this place is going to get worse and worse the closer we get to the bottom floor. How many residents do you think lived in this Vault?" she asks pointedly.

Afton shrugs, "Well, in order to prevent inbreeding over the course of two hundred years they'd need around a tho-sand... Ahh, shit..." he groans after realising what she was suggesting.

"And you want to fight a thousand of those things... Just for some caps?" she presses.

...

Afton sighs and shakes his head, "Unfortunately, I suspect leaving isn't really an option for me anymore..."

Anja raises a brow, "What do you mean?"

Afton simply points at the creature, "People don't just suddenly mutate into these things, there had to be a cause. The most likely suspect would be the spores in the air, spores that I accidentally breathed in at the entrance..."

"So both of us are fucked?" Anja asks, a scowl on her face.

Afton shakes his head, "Not completely, if I can my hands on this places research then I might be able to create a cure, or at least... Some sort of pesticide that targets the fungus. Either way, we are both already compromised." he states.

"I think I hate you... Sir."

Afton nods and reloads That Gun, "Funny, I'm starting to hate myself for coming here... Unless there's something else, we should get moving." he says, Anja nodding as he steps over the monster's corpse.

The duo continue onwards and almost immediately spots many places filled with thick foliage. No doubt there'd be more monsters hiding within them, so, as Anja gets ready Afton fires a warning shot into the plants.

The bullet whizzes through and connects with something fleshy, a spray of green blood coating the wall behind the plants as two of those humanoid creatures reveal their heads above the plants and turn in their direction.

Similarly to the last one the creatures move at almost inhuman speeds as they crawl up to the duo. Their movements are fluid, yet restricted in some way... As if their joints had been locked at certain angles for some reason. This caused the creatures to use their upper bodies to compensate for it, making aiming for their heads incredibly difficult.

As such, Anja sprays her 9mm Submachine gun at the right creature, stuffing as much lead into its chest and legs as possible. Unfortunately, they don't seem to feel pain, and Afton was somewhat sure their internal organs had been drastically altered by the fungus.

The only thing that stopped the creatures approach were the injuries Anja had caused to its legs, forcing it to use its front limbs to crawl.

Afton had used VATS to help predict the leftmost monster's movements, allowing him to eventually score a headshot, blowing most of its head clean off. He then turned his weapon to the monster that was almost upon Anja and finished it off as well.

[Challange progress, Abominable : kill 3/50 abominations]

He ignores the challenge notification that appears and double-taps the monsters' bodies just to make sure they wouldn't be getting up again. Thank you Zombieland survival rules.

Once done Afton peeks through the cloudy window on the left leading to the next room, squinting at a figure sitting inside? he wasn't sure to be honest...

Afton opens the door and backs up as a wave of spores wash through the area, he tries to ignore it and peeks inside the room, spotting the figure... Greasy black hair, stubble, and a thin build. They wore combat armour and had a plasma rifle propped up to the chair they were sitting in... "Mark Dowager?" he asks, not having expected the man to still be alive at this point.

Of course, even if he was alive, Mark probably wouldn't live for much longer. His skin had a green tint to it with black veins clearly visible on the surface, Afton could swear he saw that the veins were writhing in a rather disgusting manner under his skin.

"W-who is it? W-who's there?" the man gingerly asks.

Afton was confused, Mark's eyes were wide open and looking in his direction, yet he couldn't see him? "Mark it's me, Afton Parker... We met not long ago."

"Hhak! Hah! Haaak!" the man coughs loudly, a cloud of green spores being forced from his lungs, "Ah, the kid?... L-listen, you... You need to get out of here, it-it's too late for me already."

As much as Afton wanted to reassure the man, he was definitely infected. Even if Afton managed to create a cure, Mark would be long dead before its completion. "What happened to the rest of your group?"

Mark breaks into another coughing fit, it sounded incredibly painful but there was nothing Afton could really do about it. "The boys? Dead, all turned into monsters... We killed quite a lot of them, but hadn't realised we were getting infected. By the time we realised it was too late. I lost them on the lower floors... I tried to escape to the surface but, I don't have any strength left... Kid, you need to get out and warn everyone. The shit happening down here can't reach the surface!" he starts coughing again from overexerting himself.

Afton sighs, deciding not to answer the man, "Do you want to die a human, or a monster?" he asks simply, pressing the barrel of his weapon against the man's forehead.

"Human." Mark states, using the last of his strength to push against the cold metal.

Afton nods, "Very well."

*Bang!*