Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 49 - Teaser (Patreon)

Odyn nudged Vesna sharply, and they turned away from the overlook, retreating into the skeletal remains of shattered homes and collapsing storefronts. The night was treacherous as Screamers were everywhere—limping, wandering, and muttering in their feral way. As the wolves passed the edge of an alley, a deep, thunderous bellow rolled across the city blocks like a hammer blow. A second answered… then a third. They were far off, but unmistakable roars of Bellowers.

They pressed onward, keeping to alleys and shadows, avoiding anything that moved, living or otherwise. They were moving fast, faster than hunters and most things on four legs, yet every second felt too slow because the hunters were spreading out. Covering ground with the confidence of people who had no fear of the monsters roaming these ruins.

Odyn slowed at a crossroad for just a moment, long enough to gauge direction, and that’s when Vesna froze. There was a twitch in her nostrils, her ears were high, her tail stiff and her head snapped in the direction of the scent. She smelled something, but not Screamer rot, hunter sweat or the chemical stink of the mist.

Bellona.

Her blood was sharp, metallic, and fresh enough to cut through everything else. Vesna gave a short, urgent bark that she kept strangled to a whisper of sound. Odyn spun, inhaled once, and then their bodies moved as one, bursting northward. Away from the hunters and the campus, deeper into the broken heart of Toledo.

The scent trail strengthened with every bound, gaining clarity until it was the only thing their bodies understood. They darted through alleys like shadows given muscle, dodging piles of debris and slipping between collapsed cars. The night seemed to press in tighter; the buildings leaning close as if trying to swallow the narrow streets whole.

They crested a fallen billboard and slid down the other side… and froze again. Half a dozen Screamers shambled in a loose ring around a collapsed storefront, their heads jerking, sniffing, and twitching. Drawn to the blood that had come out of their friend, bringing them here… to Bellona.

Somewhere just beyond them, her scent pooled thick and unmistakable. Vesna’s throat vibrated with a low, warning growl, and Odyn’s lips curled back, fangs bared. They’d found her, but so had the monsters, and the hunters weren’t far behind. The wolves exchanged one look: simple, primal, and certain.

They would not lose her.