• ..."Bah, another looted body," Nikov cursed under his breath. Today was not his lucky day, but he was still alive. He sighed as he picked up his rifle. "At least he had a few extra clips in his ruck. Surprised nobody got to them by now." He glanced up and down the road. As usual, it was a cloudy, dark day. Nothing special. "Might as well hike it to the next town," he said.

    Nikov Rentosky was like any other survivor. He was just one of the more fortunate ones. He was in the military when "it" happened, so he had access to weapons, armor, and other useful survival items when he decided to leave. Sometimes he regrets leaving his home, but that quickly passes as he comes across the many dead. It wasn't the best life, but he was living, and he was very proud to be.

    He checked his Geiger counter. No activity. He then checked his gas meter for anything odd. "Hmm, high carbon percent around here. Better check my filters." He pulled out two filters from his backpack, and checked the little meters on the back. "60 minutes each, nothing horrible. I still have four hours of oxygen, but its a last resort." He lowered his gas mask and attached the filter, then took a quick breath. Working like a charm. He peered at the town he was heading towards. He noticed a smoke pillar rising high into the air. "Better be careful. Those act like more of a signal then a deterrent." He quickly check his two weapons. He had a Mossberg 20 gauge shotgun, and M14 semi-auto rifle with EOTech sight. for close encounters, his Mossberg had a little electrical saw as a bayonet, just in case.

    Approaching the town, he smelled a hint of blood in the air. "This might get real bad, real fast." he said, as he came in on the suburbs. There were a few dead animals around, and he went to check one for specific wounds. he walked up to a dog that was utterly slaughtered. His stomach was completely scooped out, like someone did it. his ribs were split apart in uncanny positions, while his legs were completely missing. The dogs face was locked in a horrified look. "Loarthers. Today isn't my day." Nikov Cursed under his breath. He got up just in time to spot a Loarther before in lunged at him. They were human utterly affected by the fallout, driven feral beyond reason. Their skin was sensitive to light, but the sun rarely shown. It was also very gray, like a sidewalk color. The canines on them were overgrown, reaching out of the mouth like fangs. As it lunged at him, Nikov took a step back and hit it with the butt of his shotgun. As it collapsed on the ground, he put 2 slugs onto the Loarther. It let out a bloodcurdling screech, something almost inhumane, before it died. Screeches rang out around Nikov, and he knew he was in trouble then...