Dog Days in the year of the Rat

THE WIND WHISTLED SHARPLY as the red dust coming in from the wrecked durable objects weakly blurred the horizon within the lines of the abandoned suburban. A multiple thunderous footsteps, echoes like chariots charging in. A young man running with all his breath away from the disfigured humanoids possesed with big yellow eyes like owl and nose like elephant hanging and swaying freely complete with horn on the top of their heads clearly emerges from their own skull. Knowing by sight, the creatures will catch up in his six soon in his current pace. It was impossible to think clearly and straight as his adrenaline keeps on boiling and was rising violently, instead, he lets out his body automatically respond in the situation. In a quick survey of the scene, his feet passively takes him in the middle of the road to scan any obstacles in his range. A loud hum vibrates the suburban in addition to the disturbing moans of the creatures and thunderous footsteps. He glanced at his six and saw an aerial vehicle that looks like a horse shoe crab floating and vibrating the ground where it hoovers. Heat from the vehicle totally irradiates below as the ear splitting vibration starts to increase its magnitude and violently shakes the area. A quick consideration of the situation made him to barge in inside structures for he concluded quickly out of his breath that its a lot safer beneath the covers thus increasing the chance of losing the unknown pursuers than running in the open. As he barges in the doors and windows with great force like a wrecking ball, he spotted a lots of bodies freshly mutilated in the span of days, scattered in every structure he dashed in. He keeps on dashing like a bullet through structures until the vibration and moans are getting weaker thus concluding himself that he's already safe and out of the disturbing radius of the unknown. Finally, the sounds are faints every second. Sweat drops like pulp as he leaned his arm to the wall, looks down on his feet while catches his breath the best as he could, within the stairs. "What you gonna do boy?" A hillbilly voice diverted his focus, "We're not just going to put lead inside of your head too quickly you know" The Leader, A Malnourished looking man in white undershirt stands tall before him under the single yellow light that flickers every moment. Five hillbillies hidden in the shadows, encircled with him in the middle. They were the loan sharks forcing to cash out money to pay the gigantic debt from his late father. As the only man left alive in the family, the hillbillies assumed that he's the only one who knows the secret of his late father's hidden stash. "I ain't heard an answer boy" He muttered and leaned his head closer, "spit it out or we will assume an answer" Eyebrows met and teeth were clenched, he really wants to beat them all together but his limbs were firmly tied and the only available part that can move with ease from restraint was his head. He swear to god that he really wants to spit the bastard's face but he can't as this act will lead nothing but tension and harm to his two important ladies in his life, his Mother and his Sister. He never said a word as he didn't even know what the hillbilly meant in the first place instead, nothing but a deadly gaze in the eye and clenched teeth was his response. A straight powered punch bashed his cheek bone coming from another swelled up hillbilly. "Boy" He replaced the malnourished one standing in front of him, "I like punching meat instead of punching bags" He would rather chose beating the life out of him than his ladies go in the world of pain and suffering but he knew sooner or later when he still won't talk, the worst will become inevitable. He used his remaining strength to simulate things in advance considering a one deadly mishap will cost his ladies' life. He considered telling out the truth, but a fear from his conscience told him in advance that they won't gonna believe his statement and he'll surely become a human punching and worst, they'll send the ladies in the depths of their Hell. Another straight jab in the opposite side made his nose slowly bleeds a thick dark blood. "Maybe" another hillbilly suggested, "he didn't heard you clearly like girl's eyes" Girls, his eyes widened as he heard the word. His heart pounds and breathes heavily. "Ah yes" The Fat one realized what he feared the most, "We'll going to ask them about the stash instead you home bwoy" Too soon. It was way too soon. He controlled his mind with great constraint as he don't want any hints of his weaknesses exposed. He was way too open from emotions. "I'll go check on 'em chicks" The Malnourished one attempts to go inside the cell where the ladies are held captive with grin, "I'll feed them with something from myself" Heart pounded way too hard that he feared they also heard it. One after another they stand and followed the Leader until- "My father told me something" He broke his silence for attention, "About a stash" The Leader halted and anchored his ground after he heard a familiar word. "You know" he added, "Its unwise to do something like that. A barbaric act if i may say so" It was a success. He diverted their attention and made the leader leaned and goes back to him as he said those words. The leader looked him straight in his eyes but he saw nothing but anger and fire raging from the depths of his Hell, ready to be unleashed any moment. "Hmm?" The Leader smiled in a cocky manner, "Prove it to me" "Release me first" He said it in a clear and crispy voice straight in the face of the Leader, "I can't read what the label says but i can draw it for you to believe me" The Hillbillies looked at each other with great question and doubt that something bad will happen to all of them when they granted his request. The Leader inspects the atmosphere wether he's speaking true or false. He reached his hands to his pocket and brought out his butterfly knife. Another straight jab came out of nowhere and totally knocked his head out and then his hands was released with a double gauge sawed off shotgun behind him. They totally prioritize their safety against this kid like he was a Lion but he knew that such action will lead him nothing but dead and suffering to the ladies. He looked down and draws in Chinese Characters in the sand. "**" The Leader's eyebrows lifts up to his forehead and eyes were widened. "Now" he grinned and slowly lifts his head and looks straight to him, "you believe me?" The leader smiled back as his response and again, straight jab came out of nowhere in his other side. Two holes from his nose drips down thick blood and he was quickly tied back by the leader. "Finally" the Leader said in front of his face, "Go on with some details" "Not so fast" He halted, "Not until i got guarantee and insurance" The Leader looks around his boys and released a hillbilly trademark, a chokeful of laugh and wheezes. He locked his eyes straight to the Leader's as a sign of dead serious. "'Kay boy" They began to recover their senses one by one, they even snort a ball of snot back in their filthy noses, "What're yer demands?" "I want them to be untouched" he demanded with a clear and crispy voice, like he's got a knife in his back, "not even a single dent both on their skin and mind" "Owkey" They nodded in response "Failure to comply on this Agreement" he warned with a deadly gaze, "Ill send yall to Satan himself" Laughs and wheeze plagues the room again. His rage meter fills the bar but he had to control his emotions as he already knew the meaning of hillbilly right from the day he learned how to read. "Laugh" he said, "This might be your last" Neanderthal like laughs fades away with the wind as they heard his threat. The Leader, finally lends his attention as they locked their eyes, staring at each other's souls. "Well" the Leader scratched his head, "We also want that kind of demand" "Go on" he held his head up, "I'm all ears" "You want your family back with no damages right?" He said with an annoying accent, "and we also want to get back to our 'Ma and 'Pa in one piece" "Looks like we got a deal then" He nod his head sideways, agreed to the deal, "Nobody touches nothing" "Yeah boy!" With full energy, he concluded, "Shake a cockadoddle?" He was not amused. Not even their clown accent can make his clench turn into grin. "Cut me loose" He demanded, "Let's get this show on the road" The Bully tried to loosen the shackles that they tied too firmly in his torso and limbs. He stared to the Bully as he struggles to untie his rope. "Ain't got all day pal" Annoyed by the Bully's inept skill and nose kicking odor, "Hurry up" "Hey big brother" The Bully asked the Leader, "Which loose end should i pull out from the Square Knot?" "Jesus Christ" he exclaimed along with his big exhale, "Are you serious?" A total knucklehead. A kindergarten trapped in a big muscle body. Total brainless, scratches his head out in his confused world. "Use your machete pal" He hinted, "Your machete" "My Knife?" He point his machete placed in the side of his hip, "This one?" "Pal" he sighed in great despair, "Just do your job" "I am" he pulls out his machete and cuts the rope in back and forth motion like a saw, "Almost there" As he felt his blood flows with no obstacles from his veins, he remained seated for a minute to recap his crucial thoughts earlier. As he stands up, he finally manages to catch up with his breath and controlled his pace from adrenaline surges. He surveyed the corridors and proceeds to the rooftop to gain a 360 degrees view of the area. Screams and explosions rumbled in the distance, Multiple Horse shoe crab hoovered above the bedlam. It didn't released any fragments but it constantly radiates microwave heat below where it hoovers until a sky scrapper collapsed and white to grey thick smoke covers the place below. He saw several disfigured humanoids that he also saw earlier, roaming in every direction below him. He took his time observing the creatures and situations that he's currently dealing with until a question from himself floats in his mind, "Which kind of circle of Hell is this?"