Spear Bison

Removing the icky blood from my clothing turned out to be a hard task. We wasted nearly 10 minutes on the matter. Still, it served as an important lesson.

We continued venturing in the grassy areas. We occasionally ran into different kinds of mutants. Luckily these mutants actually had a reward for killing them. None exploded after death either.

"Let's take a break" I told Seamus and Hawk. The tall grass made it tough to move around making it extra tiring. It was necessary to take breaks often as a result.

They both nodded. Hawk's indifferent attitude had been toned down by this point. He was able to tell that I had value and that Kaiser's appointment was not unfounded. Of course, he definitely still held some hidden prejudice but it was at an acceptable level.

"When do we return?" I suddenly blurted. Kaiser had never mentioned anything on the matter. Continuing forward for multiple hours would definitely place both groups to far apart from one another.

"...ah" Seamus also seemed to notice this.

"We should just return when the sun starts to set" Hawk replied with his tough voice.

"That works" Personally I was up for staying out during the night as well. As I had night vision it made no difference to me. There were also bound to be nocturnal mutants that we might miss out on by only going out during the day.

The break ended after approximately seven minutes of lazing in the grass. We all stood up ready to leave but it didn't take long for our steps to be forced to a halt. There was the sound of something eating grass.

But it didn't seem to be a grass muncher. Those bug fellows were quite common but not the only thing capable of eating the baneful weeds that made up the Pray Prairie.

"I'll check" I said in a hushed manner. It would be unwise to alert the peacefully eating mutant creature right?

I walked slowly and carefully. The parting grass was impossible to conceal. Regardless, I did my best.

...But my best was not enough. The munching stopped.

It was a bison. It wasn't like the traditional ones, however. Its horns were long. Most importantly they seemed sharp. Incomparably so, they were like two deadly spears attached to the bison's head. That wasn't all though. With such a thing attached, it needed a hefty body. The bison was large. Definitely larger than the largest of regular bison.

I gulped. I was nervous. Because those two deadly spears were pointed right at me. The bison was inspecting me. The interloper who dared come near it.

I had seen a couple of wildlife shows. I knew a thing or two about bison. While they weren't predatory, they were certainly aggressive. One should always keep at least 25ft (7.62m) apart as a precaution. I was about 10ft (3.05m) away at most. That was enough to feel threatened and you see, when an animal feels threatened, it will attack.

The bison seemed to sense danger from me. Perhaps the way I managed to get so close was a definite no-no for it. It snorted. I could almost see steam come out of its nostrils in classic cartoon fashion. If I had a red cloth to wave around it would make for a fun show.

But instead, it started running. Panic had invited some of its family members for a pool party. My fight or flight instincts kicked in. There was only one logical and sane choice… run!

Well, fight. Would you outrun a bison? Odds are you wouldn't. But…! If a matador could have a bull narrowly miss it, so could I.

"Stay away!" I yelled to my two teammates who were not too far away from me. I hadn't done so at the first sign of danger as to not appear threatening but it made no difference now!

The bison kicked up dirt as it charged at me with its deadly horns. In less than five seconds, the beast was already upon me.

SWOOSH

Thanks to my altered senses and the creature's large body I was able to throw myself aside in time. The tough mutated grass didn't make for a comfortable landing spot but I didn't have any time to complain.

The thing slowed down slowly and turned around for another charge. I was in trouble. But somewhere deep within me, I felt all was still fine.

Kaiser gave me a flare that I had no intention of using. Firing bullets would attract the others towards us but I didn't have a gun. Kaiser had never lent me one never mind give me one.

Plus, adding more people would also mean more casualties. The tall grass made it hard to spot most things. If it wasn't for the bison's large body and the way the ground slightly trembled with its charge it might be nearly indiscernible.

Click

"Don't fire!" I yelled as I hurried to my feet. Having thought it would lead to needless casualties, how could I possibly allow it? If we were going to fire at this thing it had to be done precisely.

Rumble.

A second charge. The bison must have missed the gun cocking sound. That or it cared not for Seamus and Hawk. Would it only go after them once it had my dead body dangling on its sharp spear-like horns? I wasn't planning to stand around to find out.

I was more prepared this time. I was anticipating it. But that thing was simply too fast!

SWOOSH

"F*ck!" I still ended up having to throw myself aside though as I swore that thing got faster.

"Damn it, the distance was longer so of course it did!" I yelled in realization as I watched it retreating slowly coming to a halt. Under normal circumstances that would make things easier for me but... the bison had yet to reach its top speed!

I was sure Seamus and Hawk heard me and I wasn't sure how they were reacting but there was only one thing I could guarantee.

This thing was at least altered grade six! If I killed it I could go up a grade! Of course, that implied I not only survived but also killed it.