Shadows of JiangXi

[mtjsmith]

Chun hobbled and stumbled across the road, his legs failing him, his mind betraying him. A pack of wild dogs were up ahead, so Chun unholstered his weapon and fired two rounds into each. However, when he ran to their position to check if they were still alive - There was nothing there. Nothing. Was he losing his mind? Maybe he missed and they ran off.. Yes.. Yes that's likely. Maybe.

"Father, Mother, Home, Cold, Wet..."

He kept walking until he saw another mutant black bear.

"Not this time, I can't waste ammo."

The Bear was real. It growled, screamed and swung at Ling. He instinctively ducked and the bear ripped into his right arm. Ling screamed in pain, the bear had gouged into his arm and had smashed his radiation meter off it.

Chun staggered to his left and with his left hand unholstered his pistol and shot wildly at the bear. The first two shots missed, the third struck it in the mouth as it growled. The fourth and fifth shots struck the bear in the arm and leg respectively. Chun's aim was all off, the sixth and final seventh rounds struck the beast in the chest. None of them were kill shots however, and the beast slumped to the floor. Overcome in pain it screamed and howled. Chun pulled the trigger to a click, and another click. Putting the pistol back in its holder. He tried to grab his Jian. With it on his right side, he was in agnoy as he had to instead - use his left arm. Unsheathing the blade, he ploughed it into the bear's skull and slumped down next to it.

"Hmmerrgh... Ow.... "

He looked down at his right arm. He had three tears in his suit from the bears claws. All three had ripped into his arm. Blood was pouring out, an artery must have been hit.

"Why were you real, you were not meant to be real."

He began to feel dizzy and sickly. He struggled to get the bear skin off his back and backpack. He sliced the fur into a strip and covered his wound, he then placed his arm around the strip and tied a one ended knot above it and prepared himself for the anguish his next step would take. He yanked at the knot and it tore downwards just above the wound and into his arm.

"ARRRGGGHHHH!" - He screamed at the top of his lungs.

The strip seemed to have worked, the bleeding slowed. He cut another strip, and this time did the same below the wound. He screamed again. He checked the first aid kit. He had only a couple of bandages. He tried to dress it as best he could, but it took him several attempts as he felt more and more woozy. The makeshift dressing seemed to hold. He placed what was left of the bearskin over his arm and tied it above his left shoulder - effectively making a sling. He had one injection needle, he was unsure of what was in it - but now was as good a time as any to make use of it.

Finishing his repairs to himself, he looked at the radiation meter. It was in at least 3 bits - unrepairable. Now Chun had no way of knowing what was going to kill him first, his superiors, beasts, radiation or bleeding out. He allowed himself a small laugh, this was not turning into the trip he expected.

He looked at his assault rifle, it would require two arms to fire - but he had exhausted his pistol ammo. He still needed it, that and his Jian and he still had that one grenade. Sipping from his water bottle, he ate a ration bar.

"The capital is normally an hours walk away from home, I've been walking.. well.. 50 minutes maybe.. It should just..."

Chun walked a few hundred yards and he saw it. New HangZhou. The road he was walking on was one of the old highways. It would take a half a day to walk across the city, under normal circumstances. In his condition, it might as well be weeks. He stumbled over to a burnt out bus taking up part of the highway. The road onwards entered a tunnel. Considering the monsters of the jungle, Chun did not want to venture in there during the night. He set his watch for two hours. He would try and rest if the pain would allow.

All of his worst nightmares, were coming true.

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