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“North!” I yelled.

At my warning, he spun and fired. The bird-like creature was quick, darting side to side and avoiding the laser fire. I pulled my knife and waited, waited…

I tossed it. It hit the monster in the face, and it went down, squawking. North stood over it and fired. It slumped to the grass.

“What the hell was that?” I retrieved my knife and wiped it on the grass.

“Looks like it has some emu DNA in it,” he said

I shoved the knife back in its sheath.

The others were fighting close by in the middle of a mob of monsters.

“Take that, you assholes,” Marc yelled.

The Talon flew overhead. A large laser fired from the turret, cutting into the largest monster in the group. Its big body shuddered.

“Help me.”

The faint voice made me turn. I scanned the darkness and trees.

“Please, help.”

“North, do you hear that?”

“Yeah, come on. The guys have got this.” He broke into a jog.

I followed. “Be careful. I don’t like this.”

“I don’t think monsters can speak.”

“Not as far as we know,” I muttered. My nerves were tight. This really didn’t feel right. I touched my ear. “Sasha, we hear someone calling for help. North and I are going to investigate.”

“Acknowledged. Watch yourselves.”

We came out on a street on the other side of the park. There were no monsters, just mounds of rubble from destroyed buildings, and several overturned cars.

We walked cautiously down the street.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Help! I’m over here.” A gruff male voice.

I spotted a shadow on the road. As we got closer, I saw that it was an older man lying on his side.

Gasping, I ran toward him, still scanning our surroundings for monsters.

The man looked like he was in his late fifties or early sixties, with gray hair and, oh God… My stomach revolted. Something had chewed on his legs, leaving them mangled.

“Hi, there.” North crouched beside the man. “I’m North. This is Jess.”

“Hunter Squad?” the man asked in a shaky voice.

“That’s us.”

“Thank God.” Air shuddered out of him. “You’ve got to help the others.”

“What’s your name?” North asked, opening his backpack.