The Atlantian System: Creation

Afra picked up the walkie talkie and shouted into the microphone. “Koa! Boggies are in range. Be ready.”

“Roger that, Afra.” came the affirmative from the vehicle in front of them.

She put the walkie talkie away and called backwards, “Okay, Normie! Grab a crossbow and get those doors open! You’re firing at the Night Mares.”

“What!?”

Vigo nearly bit his tongue as the minibus hit an incline at such a speed that when they suddenly leveled out, the car flew a few centimeters from the ground.

“Your friend is strapped in and I need Huda up front for navigation. You’ve got to open those doors and take out as many Night Mares as you can before they get in range to attack.”

“One minute! On our left!”

Vigo’s head snapped to the side to see what looked like a stampede of a dozen or so horse larger than any he’d seen before cresting over a hill, their eyes glowing an ominous green that could be seen even from this distance through the trees.

Afra’s call of “hurry up” pushed Vigo to crawl towards the back of the minibus, shaky fingers gripping the back latch.

The loud click of the lock was followed by a sudden ‘whoosh’ of air as the doors flew open, the sudden wind pulling at their hair and anything loose, like tiny fingers trying to drag them out.

Vigo blinked several times against the sudden dryness, only to scream as the stampede reached the road meters away.

They truly were the stuff of nightmares.

Their bodies were somewhat close to equestrian in general shape, with long necks and horse like skulls and chests. However, instead of hooves, their feet ended in dragon-like paws that tour up the ground beneath them in a spray of dirt. A monstrous mouth that stretched from just under one eye to the other, leaving a gaping maw full of thick canines and a throat that glowed green with flames as the creature let out an unnatural sound that was more beastly growl than horse-like groan.

The herd was a dozen strong, making the noise of their reptilian paws cutting up the dirt ground sound like an oncoming avalanche.

“Holy shit!” Vigo's fear-filled scream was nearly drowned out by the wind as he fell onto his rump in shock.

“Shoot them! Shoot!”

Vigo didn’t know if it was Huda or Afra that called at him, but he found himself scrambling to pickup up the crossbow and took wild aim.

His first few shots were too high, and he had to reload the crossbow, his finger slipping slightly on the string with nervousness.

“Give it here, son.” Theodore shouted over the roar of whipping wind, “I’ll load. You shoot.”

Vigo didn’t hesitate to throw the man on the gurney with the spent weapon and quiver of bolts as reached for one of the other weapons.

“Hold them back! Huda! Speed it up!”

“I’m hurrying!” Huda hissed as her deft fingers worked to assemble the weapon, a feat that was made extremely difficult due to the rough and uneven terrain.

By the time Vigo had the second crossbow up, the Night Mares were practically on top of them. If he leaned out of the back door, he could reach out and get his fingers bitten off. They were so close. The bray of the lead creature was like two boulders hurtling into each other as its mouth opened wide, baring its thick teeth.

Vigo braced his feet against the side of the gurney and the vehicle as he fired once more, focusing all of his efforts on that one in the front that seemed as if it were about to jump into the minibus with them.

His first bolt grazed the top of its skull and sailed off into the trees, but the second and third ones lodged deep into its neck.

Its shriek of pain echoed through the forest as the fourth bolt managed to wedge itself deep between cervical muscle until it hit something important, hissing spittle flying from its mouth as it lost its footing.

It toppled into the dirt, its body twisting grotesquely from its momentum before being further trampled by the Night Mares behind it, who continued to stampede forward with the single-mindedness of rabid dogs presented with a feast.

“Here!”

Vigo switched his empty crossbow with a freshly loaded one from Theodore and began firing once again into the bellowing horde.

Between reloads, he’d been able to hit five of the creatures but only managed to kill three when Samuel’s voice came over the speakers. “We’re about to hit the main road! Hard left!”

Afra shouted behind her to the two humans in the back of the minibus, “Brace yourselves! We’re coming in hot!”

Vigo didn’t have time to react when suddenly it felt like the force of gravity had shifted to the right side of the minibus, the crossbow slipping from his fingers as he was flung into the vehicle’s side door.

He was screaming for dear life as his feet left the ground, his fingers white-knuckling the line connecting him to the roof handle, his literal life line keeping him from ejecting out the back door.

The smell of the tires burning as the brakes miraculously kept the vehicle in motion and not careening into a tree.

The Night Mares were agile on their feet and continued their break-neck pace, the deceleration of the minibus as they turned, allowing them to catch up. The vehicle hadn’t had a chance to straighten out yet when a scaly, vaguely horse-like shaped head lunged forward, its wide mouth nearly taking a bite out of Vigo’s kicking feet.

Vigo wasn’t proud about the shrills scream of “Oh, fuck!” that came out of him, but had little time for anything else as he wildly scrambled further into the vehicles interior as the creature’s long neck stretched forward, the green flames in its mouth intensifying as if in anticipation of a meal.