98 Small Trouble (1/2)

The dog had a large body and hovers around three feet tall. There were dark patches on its skin where there's no fur growing on. It also had an absurdly long neck for its breed and has razor sharp paws on all of its feet. There's a protrusion from its mouth which have two giant tusks that would cause a massive hole on anything that it bit through. The only resemblance it had with a dog was its body shape, the way it wags its tail and the way it move.

The dog move around an infected, dodging every attack going on its way, then playfully wag its tail. The infected would sometimes ignore it and it would bark to catch its attention.

Jun felt that he somewhat remembers this dog but couldn't pinpoint where and when he saw it. He watched as the dog barked repeatedly towards the infected until it got pissed for being ignored. The dog tackled the infected to the ground, then bit its neck off. It spat the head to the side and chewed on the infected's arms. When it noticed that there were people watching it, the dog growled as a warning, then dragged the body away.

After disappearing from view, Jun approached the spot where everything happened. A puddle of dark blood was in the middle of the road followed by a trail of blood. The trail took a turn after entering the alley and there's no way to see what's on the other side unless you venture inside.

Jun had a sudden epiphany after staring at the trail of blood. Since there weren't many dogs that he have met, he was reminded of the askal that he met on the city hall. It probably mutated after eating numerous infected flesh. Though that askal isn't this big, since it only reached up to his knees, Jun still couldn't help but compare the two. It even gave him some questions that he have to find answers for. Does mutation can improve a living organisms trait or physique? Are animals and humans alike able to adapt to this? Whether Jun would venture to this area of knowledge would depend after seeing more mutated examples.

They chose not to follow the dog because everyone knows what happens when a dog having its meal was interrupted. Jun poked the head with his sword and searched inside to see whether there's something in the skull. And ofcourse, it was empty. Mucus and brain matter slid down the sword as Jun pulled it out.

”Let's go. They're probably waiting for us now. Let's hope that's enough training for you guys, since there's a high chance that some of you could die.”

”Aren't you going to protect us?”

Jun looked towards the man's shoulders and saw the number fifteen. ”Getting scared now huh? Save it for later after we return.”

The man gulped and kept his mouth shut. Through repeated warnings from the squad leader and the scenes he saw earlier, he knew that this man could do anything that he wanted to them. They won't have any form of control on their bodies or would have any memories of what happened. He felt scared thinking that there would be a time that he wouldn't wake up only because he was actually dead. He lowered his head as an apology for everything that he was scheming for and no matter whether the man would forgive him or not, he would try to behave himself.

Jun looked up the gigantic apartment complex where they once saw a hanging infected on the balcony. He looked around trying to find any mushed meat along the fenced-wall but failed to find anything.

The group continued following Jun and halts when he stopped. They warily surveyed the area looking for anything suspicious.

Toby blew off the ash from a car's window, then peaked inside. He could see numerous items on the car. There were various kinds of small toys, a different variation of soft pillows and a baby seat attached on the back seat. There were other things inside but most of the items were for infants. After scanning the interior of the car, he noticed that the door from the other side of the car was slightly open. He backed up and saw another car nearby. He felt curious whether he could find some interesting loot and went to the other car. Right after he closed in towards the car's window, a rough blood-stained hand grabbed his shoulder.

His heartbeat rose as he quickly turned around and crossed his hands, ready to defend himself. After turning around, he immediately saw the confused gaze of the man wearing a black mask with a gray hoodie.

”The fvck dude! Don't scare me like that!” Toby said.

”Boss, were leaving.” the man said as he pointed towards the group already walking forward.

Toby gave a final look at the car, then jogged together with the man to follow the group.