Trap

Adam approached the car and heard a muted growl coming from it. The Tainted struggled fiercely trying to free itself. It was futile though.

He observed the woman for a bit, wondering how to deal with her. Its behavior pointed to the fact that the Tainted didn't retain any of their memories, knowledge, or intellect.

The creature didn't know how to unfasten the seat belt or open the door. It seemed that it didn't even know what was holding it in place.

Adam decided to use his skill again to deal with it. He was a little worried that abusing it could have some adverse consequences, considering the pain he felt every time he used it, but the place was safe enough to test the limit of his abilities.

He concentrated on the Tainted and willed its blood to act. The pain knocked him off his feet as soon as he did that. He fell over and curled up into a fetal position, clutching his head in agony.

He waited for the pain to lessen a bit before dragging himself to the store in search of painkillers. Another hour passed before he felt good enough to approach the vehicle again.

Adam took out his knife and opened the car door. The Tainted began to squirm on the seat, trying its hardest to get out and attack him. He immobilized one of its arms and prepared himself to end it.

"I have no choice this time. I have to kill you," he spoke to the Tainted almost apologetically. His hand shook visibly when he reached for the woman.

Taking a deep breath, he drove the knife through the woman's eye. He felt a slight resistance before the knife went in with a sickening wet sound.

The Tainted trashed around madly for a while, throwing Adam away from the car before it lost strength and grew limp in the seat belt. Adam paled and covered his mouth with his hand seeing the monster's last struggle.

He waited for a few minutes for his stomach to calm down and then approached the corpse. He pulled out the knife, black blood dripping from the wound. The Tainted didn't move. It was dead.

Adam dragged the woman out of the car and grabbed a key fob from her pocket. He took her place in the vehicle and checked the dashboard. The car was outfitted with an electronic ignition system which worried him.

"I hope that it works. I've wasted too much time already." Adam held his breath as he pushed the ignition button. Nothing happened.

The car remained silent. Adam pushed it again to no avail. He cursed loudly, struck the wheel with his fists, and got off the car. He screamed, giving voice to the anger, desperation, and fear that took hold of his heart and threw the car fob away.

After Adam calmed down, he grabbed more water and took off. Every minute was precious in his mind and he couldn't waste any more time.

Adam stopped when the sun began to set. He just reached the top of a mild hill, from which he had a decent view of the area. It was a good place to look for a safe place to spend the night.

As he looked around, he noticed the trail of smoke again. They were much more numerous now, dominating the sky to the west. It seemed that there was a fire somewhere deep in the forest.

Adam recalled the message everyone had received before the Impact. It listed the possible places where the shards would hit, with one of them being somewhere between Tarnów and Kraków. As he looked at the smoke, he hoped that the fire wouldn't spread to the highway.

Adam continued the search and after a while, he spotted a little hamlet hidden between the trees. It was not far from the highway, with only a few dozens of houses huddled together around a narrow side road.

The place looked deserted from his position, but even if some survivors remained, Adam doubted they would deny him a place to rest.

Adam left the highway and ran down the hill. He quickly entered the forest around the village. The air under the trees was cool and moist, sheltered from the scorching sun. Adam appreciated the reprieve it offered after a day spent walking in the sun.

He didn't relax though. The village must have been inhabited and he was certain that at least part of its residents became Tainted.

Sun vanished slowly under the horizon. Adam reached the village and observed it for a while. He didn't notice any movement in or around it. No human presence. No Tainted waiting for a kill. It unnerved him. Something unusual must have happened there.

He cautiously entered the hamlet and began checking the houses one by one. They looked old and poor, built mostly from wood. Every house had a small animal enclosure attached to it.

Adam noticed signs of struggle in the houses. He saw destroyed furniture and occasional smudges of blood. There were no human bodies though. It seemed that the villagers ran away.

The pens told a different story. They were full of animal corpses. At first, Adam assumed that the animals died because of the Impact or the awakening that it triggered.

For some of the animals that must have been true. There were no wounds on them and it didn't look like they struggled before death.

What worried him were the other corpses he had found, strewn in the pens and between the buildings, mutilated beyond recognition.

It seemed that some of the animals survived the Impact and the awakening only to be killed by something else. He checked these corpses with his face covered and confirmed that they exhibited unnatural characteristics.

Some of the animals were bigger than they should be, some had additional horns, ears, or even eyes. These must have been the effects the awakening had on the animals. Some didn't survive it, but those that did underwent drastic physical changes.

The only question that remained was what had killed them.

Walking between the houses Adam didn't see any Tainted. Nevertheless, he doubted that the Tainted could slaughter all these animals. They couldn't be killed by the survivors either. The wounds didn't look like they were created by any weapon.

Adam finally came across a human corpse when he reached the road passing through the hamlet.

He didn't know if it was a survivor or a Tainted but it didn't matter. The body was mutilated and nearly ripped in half. Something had eaten out its organs and intestines. Most likely, it had been killed by the same assailant that had killed the livestock.

As he was checking the corpse, he suddenly heard a mournful, wolfish howl resound in the air. Multiple howls and barks answered it from all over the village when it ended. Adam immediately turned around but the path he used to reach the road was already blocked.

Two big dogs stared at him hungrily, saliva slowly dripping from their opened maws. Their fur was matted with dried blood, most likely belonging to the slaughtered animals. Adam finally knew what had massacred the livestock in the village.

One of the dogs snarled at him, curling its lips and showing its unnaturally long fangs. They must have awakened successfully. Adam slowly took out his baseball bat.

He had to deal with his assailants quickly and leave the village. Judging by the number of howls he had heard, the pack was much bigger. He wouldn't stand a chance if the dogs surrounded him.

As if sensing his intentions, the dogs backed away a little, growling at him menacingly. At the same time, Adam heard the mournful howling again, right from behind him. He turned abruptly and saw a beast that must have been the leader of the pack.

It was standing at the path's entrance, blocking the road. It was big enough to fill the space between the buildings. Long spikes grew from the sides of its maw, making it look like some kind of a monstrous boar.

It was a dog though. It howled again and the other dogs in the area responded to its call.

The beast looked at Adam intently as the pack gathered behind it. Its eyes shone with cunningness and cruelty. There was no rage in them though. These dogs weren't mindless beasts like the Tainted. No, they were true predators, and Adam fell right into their trap.

He stared into the leader's eyes while ignoring the other dogs for now. They wouldn't attack until given the order. He tried to look confident and deter the beast from the fight.

Not breaking the eye contact, Adam began to slowly back away from the pack leader. He heard the threatening growls from the dogs standing behind him but paid them no heed.

The leader moved. It maintained the same distance between them but made it painfully clear that it wouldn't let Adam go. Its fur slowly rose as it prepared to pounce. The fight seemed unavoidable.