Post by howlingskinwalker on Feb 19, 2017 21:45:21 GMT
The swamp was foul, it was the most disgusting putrid place imaginable. The stench that perforated every inch of the sodden wet landscape was disgusting; algae blooms, rotting organisms, chemical waste and millions of tons of sewage all rolled into one, rising from the greenish-brown water like some form a odours radiation. And that was only the smell.
The foul water lapped around their waders, each step fighting against the sucking mud. Beneath her thick boiler suit and overalls, Carlisa was sweating in droves. Her gloved hands gripped the rifle tightly, keeping it in a ready position in order to quickly shift into a firing stance. Ahead of the young panther waded two more of her comrades, each shifting between the flooded Cyprus trees and stumps of wood. Insects buzzed loudly through the air, bouncing harmlessly against the mud-splattered fabric of their suits. Birds called through the clumped trees while strange unnatural noises came from deeper areas of the swamp.
"Watch your footing" growled the lead figure, adjusting the strap that held the arrangement of pipes, tanks and tubing that made up the flame unit by his side. "It gets pretty deep around here". Indeed, the scummy water had reached to his thighs and waist as he pressed forwards. Carlisa held her rifle higher as she waded behind him, feeling with every step for firm footing; lest she tumble into the stinking water.
After a few unstable steps, she made it across the deep patch and the trio headed to an area of higher ground. Their boots sunk into the dirt, crunching on animal bones, sticks and other detritus of the swamp. It was lucky they all wore masks or respirators. To the side lay a dead corpse; some feline anthromorpic by the looks of it. The bones had nearly been picked clean, the few remaining scraps of bloated rotten flesh writhed with maggots and larvae, while a shiny black isopod slowly crawled out one of the ruined eye sockets.
"How far now?" Carlisa asked, sitting down on a rotting long, wiping away the thick covering of yellowish mould. Her legs ached after the trek through the difficult ground while fat swollen lumps on her neck and stomach itched; the results of the ever-permanent mosquitoes.
"Not far" encouraged Hyrum, the third member of the trio. The lynx patted her on the shoulder before giving his shotgun a quick examination. "We should be back soon, don't worry"
The second gave a scoff, his long reptilian snout hidden behind a modified gas mask. He looked down at the skinny panther behind the glass lenses and shook his head. "Unless the bugs eat you alive" he taunted. "Chew you apart piece by piece"
"Shut up" Hyrum told him "No one is finding you funny". The monitor lizard only gave a short croaking laugh and held a single gloved finger up at the party's leader.
As they rested, Carlisa scanned across the still algae-filled water. Long broken tree stumps poked out the glassy surface amongst huge mounds of mud and raw sewage. Patches of high ground gave an indication to the varying depths of the marsh floor, while fallen trees created dark shapes under the muddy water. It was almost all she had know, miles and miles of endless stinking swampland. She could barely remember the overcrowded slum she had been born in, barely having time to grow before her parents took their family and moved to the swamps. They said the city had been dirty and dangerous, filled with fighting gangs, drugs and government violence. Her mother told her that she had been assaulted wile her father was in danger of loosing the crumbling three room apartment that they lived in to the armed gangs that ruled the backstreets. They told her they didn't want to end up on the streets like so many others and had left as a result.
As she reflected, her eyes caught upon something in the muddy water. A single yellow eye flecked with gold. The black, slitted pupil flicked about, watching silently before the armoured eyelid slid shut and the eye disappeared under the water with barely a ripple.
"Guys" the panther said nervously, clutching her rifle close to her chest "I think we're being followed"
Hyrum ran over, pulling the stubby pistol from his waist and crouching down beside her "Why, what is it?"
She raised a finger, pointing over to the area where she had seen the eye, around twenty meters away. "I saw an eye come out the water, crocodile or gator" she told him.
"Was it one of the big ones?" her leader asked, backing away from the water's edge.
"I think so" she nodded "Its hard to be sure" All three now pointed their weapons at the water's edge, Carlisa's gloved finger clicking the safety on her rifle off and ready to fire. It had been crudely waterproofed against the wet and humid conditions and pressed against her fabric mask as she looked down the iron sights.
"Okay" Hyrum told the assembled trio "We're gonna make a dash for it. Keep an eye on each other and keep as long as you can on the high ground. If he comes close, blast him fulla holes"
They nodded in agreement and dashed to the far side of the small island. As their boots started to hit the riverbed, they kicked up splashes of dirty water that sprayed them with hundreds of droplets. Underneath her layers of clothing, the already sweaty Carlisa was soaking herself with perspiration. She waded as fast as she could, the mud sucking at her feet like quicksand. Several times she felt crawfish or gars brush past her legs in their hurry to get away. She prayed that her suit had no holes of rips, otherwise she'd have to spend ages prying the fat leeches out her fur after they dined on her blood.
They ran up another bank, feet crushing dead isopods and rotten branches beneath them. Low hanging branches whipped and swatted them as they crawled upwards before sliding downwards into a shallow pool. The panther cursed as she felt sticks and branches jab her in the side, rolling about in the water before finally regaining her footing and wading onward. She had fallen behind the other two, but raced to catch up with them. A quick glance behind her revealed a pair of yellow eyes following twenty meters behind her that dived underwater within a second.
Fuck, fuck she thought to herself, going cold with fear. she picked up the pace, desperately trying not to get her feet stuck in the sucking mud and fall forwards. The reptile would be much faster than her in this kind of environment and was surely closing in. The odds were stacked against her. The amount of times that alligators had claimed victims in the swamps paid testament to their cunning and strength. Feeble guns weren't much help in the reptile's home turf.
"Come on!" yelled Hyrum, climbing over a half submerged tree and getting smeared with mould and fungus in the process. He watched the panther run towards him, a ragged row of spines following close behind.
After covering the couple of meters to the tree, she grabbed hold of the slime-coated branches and hauled herself up, rifle clattering against her chest.. Hyrum gabbed hold of her collar as the water boiled.
With a huge eruption of water, the alligator burst forth. Its huge jaws snapped shut, the powerful muscles snapping through several branches and showering the all in splinters and fragments. Its powerful armoured body must have been around seven meters long and looked saurian as it tried to pull itself up with its clawed feet. The two anthromorpics yelped and leaped off the tree, landing with a splash amongst the water. As she landed, Carlisa fumbled for her rifle and managed to bring it to her shoulder She pulled the trigger thrice and the butt kicked into her shoulder three times in succession. Her shots impacted amongst the armoured plating of the alligator, chipping and splintering the hard scales. The monstrous beast thrashed about, pulling itself back under the filthy water.
"keep going!" Hyrum told the panther as the pair ran through the knee deep swamp, making for the next patch of high ground. There the third member waited, kicking down the thorns and brambles to ensure safe passage. By now their overalls were splattered with mud and smelly filth. Carlisa's crude facemask had fallen off, leaving her black snout bare to the horrific stench of the bayou.
"You good?" the monitor lizard asked as they climbed up to join him.
"In one piece" panted Carlisa, rocking backwards and forwards as she breathed in deep lungful's of the marsh air. "I pricked him in the side a few times"
"We're at a big patch of solid land" flamer guy told them "Should keep your new pal away"
"Good" sighed Hyrum, pulling up his goggles and rubbing his eyes "I don't want to see another damned gator for as long as i live"
"Don't count it out" the monitor hissed back, scanning warily across the brown water "We loose more to gators than anything else in this dammed swamp. Last week Will was out repairing nets. Three of the fuckers took him under the water"
They headed across the drier ground. Here the dumped sewage had dried into a thin crust that crunched under their boots as they made their way across. The rotted corpses of birds and crows lay around them, rats scurrying away into the undergrowth once they were scared from their food. They wrinkled their noses in disgust despite the sight being commonplace. Amongst the tree roots and patches of brush were large musky fungus and toadstools that Hyrum couldn't resist plucking and stuffing into his pocket. Carlissa watched in fascination, not fully learned in which fungus was edible yet. Her stomach was empty and growling, her thoughts naturally turning to hot shrimp soup and roasted fish.
"Did you hear that?" asked Hyrum, pausing. His long lynx ears twitched as the scanned for the source.
"No...no I didn't" she repiled, shaking her head. "Why what was it?"
"I though I heard.." Hyrum began only to be cut short by the beating of wings. From the bushes and the swamps surface they came. Big ugly insects, with buzzing wings and long proboscises. The mosquitoes were born from the irradiated soup of the bayou, growing to a size that none could imagine, bigger than a clenched fist, some even larger than some birds. The gathering swarm billowed out the brush, speeding towards the trio as fats as their thin wings would carry them.
Carlisa and Hyrum threw themselves to the floor, landing amongst the dried mud and sewage. The panther wrapped her arms around her vulnerable head and waited, praying.
The monitor lizard's clawed fingers flipped the valve allowing the fuel to rush into the central chambers. He gripped the main trigger and ignited the rush of fuel, turning the spray into a billow cloud of searing hot flames. The blast flew into the incoming swarm, going over the other two anthro's heads and burning every insect in its path to a charred crisp. He kept it up, moving the flame backwards and forwards, flaming mosquitoes dropping to the ground where they writhed in agony as fire consumed them. Finally every single bug was charred to a crisp, smoke pouring from their black corpses to fill the noses of those present with the smell of burnt chitin.
"Fucking bugs" the monitor hissed, switching the fuel supply off and cutting the ignition flame. There was silence apart from the crackling of burning insects and the hissing of smoke.
"Shiiit" groaned Carlisa, picking her face out of the dirt "That smells awful"
"better than getting drained of every drop you have" Hyrum grumbled beside her, coughing to get the flakes of ash out his throat. The pair got up and brushed themselves down, their clothes even more soiled and dirty than before.
"The boats should be waiting for us" the monitor told them, strapping his flamethrower back onto his shoulder. "I suggest we get the fuck outta here before more show up"
"Good idea" nodded Carlisa "Fucking fantastic idea"
The walk to the boat had been short but treacherous,: another wade through waist deep mud and waste that stank so much, Carlisa had to once again fight the urge to be sick. Bugs scurried over the mud, some crawling up their overalls and having to be crushed by a quick swipe. But they soon came to a wider stretch of the river, a curving tendrils some six meters wide and coated in mats of thick greenish algae. Beside a huge toppled tree, sat a large rusted launch. Its prow was streaked with corrosion while the majority of its rear was taken up by a large ramshackle Aether engine, blue light emitting from vents alongside a low hum that echoed around the quiet swamp. Two figures sat in the boat, keeping a wary eye out for any of the returning party of violent wildlife. As the trio clambered over the messy tangle of roots and sunken branches, the figure standing by the stern rose up and waved.
"Good to see you!" the cougar yelled huskily, waving his aged shotgun over his head as his comrades waved through the knee deep water to reach the boat. "Any luck?" he asked from behind the filthy cloth wrapped around his mouth.
"Some bits and pieces" Hyrum told him, pulling a threadbare pack of his shoulders and placing it on the boats deck. "We got jumped towards the end"
"What by?" asked the driver of the riverboat, a stumpy boar who's clothes barely contained his muscular body. He walked over to the side and Carlisa allowed him to haul her over the side and set her down on one of the seats.
"A bigass alligator" she told him, nodding in thanks "We got away from him then got jumped by a load of bugs", her own pack was taken off and set down by her mud-splattered feet, the contents clattering about loudly.
"I had to burn up a fair bit of fuel on the bugs" growled the monitor, checking his flamethrower and examining the metal tank that was attached to the underside of his device. "So you'd better see if you can get us some more on the next trip"
"Sounds gnarly" the cougar grunted, hauling the final member up and sitting back down by the prow. "Lets get the fuck outta here before they show back up". The boar sat at the helm and yanked on the ignition lever, channelling the aether energy to the modified engine, making the propellers whirr into life and start to pull the boat off down the river. They headed down the flooded landscape, weaving through the trees and following the channels deep enough for them to pass. On banks piled high with bones and sewage, the huge saurian bodies of crocodiles and gators sat, basking the late morning sun. A few turned their heads to hiss at the passing boat but none could be roused to enter the water after them.
"Better be worth it" grumbled the monitor, opening one of the bags and rifling through. They had departed that morning to scour the swamp for waste and debris that drifted in from the ocean of from the cites nearby, picking through the mud and filth for anything worth using or repairing. His scaly hands sorted through algae encrusted pipes, a broken electric razor, old cans and tins, small sealed boxes and a few trinkets plastered in stinking mud. Not much, considering. He squinted at a filthy penknife before sealing the bag back up. Everything could be used in some way. Tins and cans could be cleaned and sterilised to hold food and become drinking cups; piping used to repair damaged sections of the outpost and trinkets could be cleaned and repaired to be sold or traded amongst each other. Ruined electronics could be disassembled and the salvageable parts used to repair other appliances. Even filthy fabrics could be cleaned to some degree and used to manufacture clothes or bedsheets.
"I'm sure you'll get something for it" shrugged Hyrum, leaning back on the boat's side and watching the miles of swamp go by, legs crossed over each other at a jaunty angle. "You can sell anything, someone will make use of it somehow"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" he grunted, drumming his clawed fingers "I just want to sink my teeth into some lunch already"
"I'll hit you up for some stew" offered the cougar, his shotgun spread across his legs. "Come to my place once we unload"
"Fair one" the monitor replied "I'll take you up on that"
It took around half an hour of riverboat travel to get back home, the whole time spent scanning the dingy swamp for predators or the roving bands of river pirates that plied the rivers. They past some at one point, three anthro corpses nailed to the branch of a low hanging tree. The single bullet hole to the head told of their crimes: their bodies shrivelled by the heat and riddled with greenish mould and millions of writhing maggots and bugs. The eyeless sockets watched the boat pass before the meandering bend took them out of sight. After navigating the sandbanks and mounds of tangled shrubbery, they finally came within sight of the hell-hole they called home. It was a large circular building that rose out of the brackish swampwater: the towering concrete walls that had once been white were now stained grey and brown from decades of exposure to the elements. The tangled vines and plants creeped up its sides, alongside large patches of sickly-looking mosses and moulds. At the front, a makeshift dock had been constructed, allowing several launches and boats to be tethered by the large sliding doors. They pulled up, past a guardhouse put together out of metal sheeting and housing a single machinegun, the gunner giving them a bored wave. The boat's prow hit the bank and the cougar quickly chained their craft to the railing. They each stepped off, onto the mossy dock and grabbed their scavenged supplies. Their weapons were unloaded and switched to safe as they carried on down the dock.
Set in the wall was a massive reinforced doorway. Hyrum walked over and knocked several times on the steel. There was a few seconds wait as they were verified before the gear grinded and the huge entrance slowly opened. The five of them walked on through, entering a large room that terminated in a second double door. They set their weapons and supplies down, then all walked over to a set of grates, upon which sat buckets of filtered water. Carlisa stood over the grating and let Hryum pour the water over her feet and legs, washing away the foul muck of the marshes. He scrubbed her down with an old brush, having removed his primitive facemask and smiling up at her.
"Thanks" she smiled nervously- rather put off by his forwardness, before unstrapping her overalls and pulling them off. Beneath the bulky waterproofs and boiler suits, she was a rather spindly panther clad in a faded T-shirt and shorts a size too small. As usual, she checked her body over. Inflamed bumps rose up on her stomach and neck from insect bites during the night, while a quick inspection revealed that she was thankfully leech-free: the fat bastards got everywhere: pits, legs, arms and groin. Leeches were things she had a fair experience with. She undid her messy black hair, letting it fall about her shoulders and went to pick up her rifle and backpack. Hryum followed her, showing himself to be skinny and clad in a shirt and trousers sewn out of a variety of worn fabrics. Having been decontaminated, they both walked to the door and were let out.
Their home had been a power station before everything fell apart. Now it had been cleaned and colonised into a bustling semblance of a home. The main hall that once housed the turbines and generators was draped in crude tents and gazebos. Tables had been crafted or pillaged from the swamp, upon which residents cleaned scavenged refuse with brushes and sinks filled with dirtying water. The space that once housed the massive turbines themselves had been cleared and filled with soil, transforming the space into a makeshift farm while a huge Aether generator rumbled from across the wall, allowing the weak neon lights to illuminate the dingy interior. Power lines took the much-needed electricity to the water filters, air purifiers, door controls and the massive black boxes that glowed blue with pure Aether energy. Every few minutes, an insect would be attracted by the bright light and fly through the protective cage, only to be charred to a crisp within seconds with a loud crackle. There was little noise aside from the quiet hum of conversation. There wasn't usually much to be happy about, with the wildlife, weather and viruses conspiring against them.
The pair headed to a large blue tent that marked the armoury. Inside sat a single Lynx, rifle over his knees. On tables and piled around him was the scavenged ammunition and weapons that the group had traded or found in the massive expanses of the marsh. Despite how big it seemed, it wasn't much at all. With weapons and ammo in such a short supply, it was imperative that everything was handed back in one piece. Carlisa prayed that her rifle hadn't been damaged by her trip through the swamp and filth, lest she be punished for it.
"You want to come round to my place?" Hyrum ventured, unloading the pistol and setting it and the magazine down on the table under the guard's watchful eye.
"I'll have to say no" she politely and quickly declined, setting her own rife down and thanking the armourer. "I have plenty of things that need doing and I really don't have the time" she threw him a sympathetic look and cocked her ears.
The older Lynx smiled awkwardly, grinding his teeth with disappointment "No worries" he shook his head and patted her on the shoulder. She gave him another smile and started to back out the tent "Thanks for everything Hyrum, have a nice night" she quickly turned and headed out. Her thin slippers padded on the concrete floor as she hurried along, heading towards a set of old steel stairs that headed into the higher floors of the facility. Those who lived a semi-nomadic trading life had set out stalls in the hallway, in order to try and sell wares to the inhabitants. It was a risky business, as most people living in the settlements had very little to trade, most of their scavenged supplies being desperately needed back home. A unscrupulous looking toad gave her a wide grin as he offered homemade cigarettes and hallucinogenic mushrooms that she sternly refused before speeding up. She passed long racks of pale mushrooms, impaled on wires and hung over heaters to dry while workers removed dried specimens or pierced fresh produce to dry. As she left the drying racks and headed up the stairs, the eyes of traders and travellers following her as she ascended.
Up the stairs lead to the maintenance halls that served as living quarters, the hallways strewn with washing hung up to dry. It was grubby and smelt strongly of sweat but was a far better alternative to the filth and stench of the Bayou. Even the grimy toilets were preferable to the Bayou, despite how much some people complained. Babies cried faintly, machinery whirred nosily contributing to the general din. Still, she reckoned, it was home. Carlisa stepped over leaking pipes and discarded rubbish to reach a rusted door, set between two concrete buttresses and a twisted maze of tubing. The faded sign on the front read "maintenance" as the panther gently knocked before pushing the door open with the scrape of aged metal on concrete.
Inside had been a small maintenance rest room, the walls having previously been lined with lockers and shelving. Now it had been converted to house a family, clothing and bedsheets hanging from the ceiling to dry while a small pile of old cans and containers rested by the wall alongside a tiny camping stove. Makeshift beds laid against the walls, alongside old boxes that substituted for furniture in their lives.
"Carlisa? you back ?" murmured a weak, low voice. On the concrete floor lay a patched sheets, upon which lay Lyida. Carlisa put her bag down by the door and hurried over to her older sister, sitting down beside her bed and resting a hand on her forehead. Lydia was older by a couple of years, the panther girl looking thin and dishevelled. Her black fur was matted and soaked with sweat, occasionally showing the pink swell of an insect bite that angrily rose across her body. Her long luscious hair had been done up in a long braid to try and keep it out the way, while aside from a few strategically placed bedsheets, her sister was nude.
"Yeah sis, I am" the younger smiled, stroking the other girl's cheek reassuringly. "Sorry to have worried you, some alligator tried to bite a chunk out my ass"
Her sister laughed weakly, her lips glistening with thick spittle that Carlisa quickly wiped away for her. "I hope you... blew his scaly hide fulla holes- give him somethin' to think about"
"I sure did. Poking him full of a few!" they both shared a giggle, before Carlisa dipped a cloth and laid it across her sibling's forehead, trying to cool her down. Her sister had contracted one of the fevers that infested the swamps, a crippling affliction that robbed her of her strength: forcing her to spend the day lying prone on the floor, sweating profusely as her joints ached and burnt. Violent stomach cramps, vomiting and terrible migraines only made it worse. All that one could do was lie for weeks in pools of their own sweat, barely able to move their arms and endure the pain. Carlisa had it once, but luckily it had passed quickly. Her sister seemed to be having a worse time. Indeed, it was bad timing indeed, getting the fever only two months after the birth.
As if on cue, a quiet whimpering sounded from a bundle of old clothes a few feet away. Carlisa left her sister for a second to go and pick up the bundle. Looking down, she saw the little black infant mewling inside, kicking with her tiny legs. The baby girl was mostly panther, but its unusually long ears and much shorter tail gave an indication to the Lynx that fathered it. She was a cutie, only two months old with little legs and arms that kicked and waved about. She was a hungry one too, constantly demanding milk that her ill mother could barely provide.
"Has Hyrum even been in recently? I mean....to see her?" she asked tentatively, as she set the mewling kitten down on the bed, beside its sick mother.
"No" Lydia sighed dejectedly, allowing the child to crawl under her sweat-soaked sheets to suckle from her. "He hasn't been over for nearly a week and a half now.... I should've expected it"
"He tried to get me to come over to his" Carlisa confessed, stroking the bulge in the bedsheets that the baby made as it clung to it's mother bosom. "I managed to get out of it"
"He's started on you that quickly?" her sister grunted, shaking her head in disgust. She was too weak to get angry so settled on slumping back onto her bed and glaring at the ceiling. "He'll just want you as a sex toy. If that bastard tries anything with you, you cut his balls off and feed em' to the gators"
"I will" Calrisa chuckled, stroking Lydia's hair to try and calm her "You just focus on gettin' better so you can beat his ass yourself" It pained her to see her sister in such a state, as weak and helpless as her newborn daughter. A dry cough sounded from Lydia's lips before she lay back and sighed, grunting in pain as a cramp wracked her body.
"Mama's back soon from the farms with lunch, mind getting me some water while we wait?"
"Sure" Carlis a promised, backing off and heading to a large plastic container. It had held cooking oil many decades ago, but had been cleaned out and currently held their allocated water for the day. She grabbed a half-melted plastic cup and dipped in into the clear, distilled liquid before carrying it over to her prone sister. Lydia was clutching her sucking baby with as much strength as she could muster, stroking its furry back. Her breathing was as laboured as ever rattling loudly as she inhaled. Carlisa wished so much that her happy and energetic sister could return, playing loudly and happily with her new daughter, not a wheezing shell on the floor.
The cup was placed against her sibling's lips which gratefully sucked at the cool liquid, as the door creaked open to reveal thier mother.
Marie looked very similar to her daughters, rounded ears and smooth black fur. She too, had a skinny underfed body, thin arms and fat insect bites marring her skin. Her gait had a pronouced limp, excentuated by the food she carried in an old buiscuit tin. She was also visibly older, taking her time as she placed the box down and greeted her youngest daughter.
"Hello darling" she smiled wearily, embracing Carlisa tightly. Her ragged nails were stained with dirt from the struggling farms that she helped culture. "Glad to see you made it back safely"
"Thanks mama" Her daughter smiled back, rubbing her mother's tired back muscles to try and soothe her. Hours spent in a stooped over position had ravaged her back, making the muscles burn in pain. "Is Lyida getting any better?"
"Not just yet" Her mother admitted, settind down her food supplies and examing her prone daughter. She lifted up the sheets and gave a sad smile when she saw her grandaughter clinging tightly to Lydia. The two girls had been born before they had moved to the swamp, but in the time they had spent in the marshes, she had fallen pregnant twice more, both times the babies died within the womb: the most recent of the two with only days before delivery. As a result her daughter's pregnancy had been a nightmare of worrying for her, made worse when Lydia contracted the fever.
Carlisa brought out the small heater as Marie shelled the shrimps before mixing them with water, chopped mushrooms and shellfish to create a sort of stew. The pitiful meal boiled and cooked quickly and was ladled out into three cups that had in a previous life been soft drink cans and boxes for microwave meals. Carlisa picked up her grimy spoon and dug into the hot salty stew, scooping up the white clumps of meat and chewing them down. Her mother lifted her sister so she was propped up against the wall and gently spoon-fed her, trying hard not to spill stew all down Lydia's chin. It was a pitiful sight indeed. Made more so by the absence of their father. He'd been assigned to help oversee a fishing outpost closer to the coast a few months back. The crew had embarked to rebuild then vanished and no attempt had been made to confirm their deaths. It was all too sudden.
"I heard they're planning on a new settlement" Marie said nonchalantly as she pushed the spoon through Lydia's lips. "Zoe told me someone found someplace in the swamp that they're planning on clearing out. They want people to go and occupy it. The usual emphasis on baby-farms"
Lydia gave a weak chuckle, dripping stew down her lips. "I don't think I'm really in either the mood or the health for that sort of thing"
"As If I would let you" her mother smiled, dabbing away with a cloth. Carlisa simply ate the slop silently, mulling it over with every salty bite. Since their father's disappearance, her mother had been watching them even more closely, keeping a tight leash on the last remaining children she had. It was hard enough trying to get past her gaze to meet up with her friends.
Once dinner was finished, they licked the bowls clean and spent an hour trying to scrub some refuse that Carlisa had brought in clean. It was hard work, trying to get the thick mud out of every nook and cranny in whatever object it was, sometimes scraping the thick crust away only to find the electrical parts were too corroded or the can was filled with holes. Anything that was too damaged to be cleaned and reused was thrown into a bucket to be traded at the smelter. Lydia simply lay in bed, trying to play with her baby and watching the process with boredom. Her sister scrubbed away at a tin can with a scrap of cloth and ruined toothbrush, the pile between her legs now consisting of a few cans, bullet casings, aged mobile phones, stainless cutlery and a couple of toothbrushes. A decent haul for some. Her mother set down what had once been a microwave and examined it with a sigh before setting it down. "Lets hope we can get something for that" she said dejectedly "I scrubbed some of the circuits out, maybe it'll get something for the wiring"
"Here's hoping" Carlisa nodded, setting her salvage down and stretched her arms with a yawn. She washed as much slime off her hands as possible and dried them on her shirt. "Shall we try and get some sleep Mama?"
"Sure" Marie nodded, giving a tired yawn. She rubbed her eyes wearily and the two began to clean up. The preparations for be meant tidying everything away before making a trip to their area's decrepit toilet, in the case of Lydia, she had to be carried and sat down before being carried back. They changed into worn bedclothes and retrieved the bedrolls from the wire cage in which they were kept. The three handstuffed mattresses were laid side by side and the three women climbed in, pulling the thin blankets and insect netting over their heads as they readied for bed.
"Night Mama" Carlisa whispered, kissing her mother's forehead and then her sisters. The baby snuggled up against it's mother's chest, already falling asleep in her embrace. She climbed into her own bed and pulled the netting over her face, turning over and closing her eyes.
The foul water lapped around their waders, each step fighting against the sucking mud. Beneath her thick boiler suit and overalls, Carlisa was sweating in droves. Her gloved hands gripped the rifle tightly, keeping it in a ready position in order to quickly shift into a firing stance. Ahead of the young panther waded two more of her comrades, each shifting between the flooded Cyprus trees and stumps of wood. Insects buzzed loudly through the air, bouncing harmlessly against the mud-splattered fabric of their suits. Birds called through the clumped trees while strange unnatural noises came from deeper areas of the swamp.
"Watch your footing" growled the lead figure, adjusting the strap that held the arrangement of pipes, tanks and tubing that made up the flame unit by his side. "It gets pretty deep around here". Indeed, the scummy water had reached to his thighs and waist as he pressed forwards. Carlisa held her rifle higher as she waded behind him, feeling with every step for firm footing; lest she tumble into the stinking water.
After a few unstable steps, she made it across the deep patch and the trio headed to an area of higher ground. Their boots sunk into the dirt, crunching on animal bones, sticks and other detritus of the swamp. It was lucky they all wore masks or respirators. To the side lay a dead corpse; some feline anthromorpic by the looks of it. The bones had nearly been picked clean, the few remaining scraps of bloated rotten flesh writhed with maggots and larvae, while a shiny black isopod slowly crawled out one of the ruined eye sockets.
"How far now?" Carlisa asked, sitting down on a rotting long, wiping away the thick covering of yellowish mould. Her legs ached after the trek through the difficult ground while fat swollen lumps on her neck and stomach itched; the results of the ever-permanent mosquitoes.
"Not far" encouraged Hyrum, the third member of the trio. The lynx patted her on the shoulder before giving his shotgun a quick examination. "We should be back soon, don't worry"
The second gave a scoff, his long reptilian snout hidden behind a modified gas mask. He looked down at the skinny panther behind the glass lenses and shook his head. "Unless the bugs eat you alive" he taunted. "Chew you apart piece by piece"
"Shut up" Hyrum told him "No one is finding you funny". The monitor lizard only gave a short croaking laugh and held a single gloved finger up at the party's leader.
As they rested, Carlisa scanned across the still algae-filled water. Long broken tree stumps poked out the glassy surface amongst huge mounds of mud and raw sewage. Patches of high ground gave an indication to the varying depths of the marsh floor, while fallen trees created dark shapes under the muddy water. It was almost all she had know, miles and miles of endless stinking swampland. She could barely remember the overcrowded slum she had been born in, barely having time to grow before her parents took their family and moved to the swamps. They said the city had been dirty and dangerous, filled with fighting gangs, drugs and government violence. Her mother told her that she had been assaulted wile her father was in danger of loosing the crumbling three room apartment that they lived in to the armed gangs that ruled the backstreets. They told her they didn't want to end up on the streets like so many others and had left as a result.
As she reflected, her eyes caught upon something in the muddy water. A single yellow eye flecked with gold. The black, slitted pupil flicked about, watching silently before the armoured eyelid slid shut and the eye disappeared under the water with barely a ripple.
"Guys" the panther said nervously, clutching her rifle close to her chest "I think we're being followed"
Hyrum ran over, pulling the stubby pistol from his waist and crouching down beside her "Why, what is it?"
She raised a finger, pointing over to the area where she had seen the eye, around twenty meters away. "I saw an eye come out the water, crocodile or gator" she told him.
"Was it one of the big ones?" her leader asked, backing away from the water's edge.
"I think so" she nodded "Its hard to be sure" All three now pointed their weapons at the water's edge, Carlisa's gloved finger clicking the safety on her rifle off and ready to fire. It had been crudely waterproofed against the wet and humid conditions and pressed against her fabric mask as she looked down the iron sights.
"Okay" Hyrum told the assembled trio "We're gonna make a dash for it. Keep an eye on each other and keep as long as you can on the high ground. If he comes close, blast him fulla holes"
They nodded in agreement and dashed to the far side of the small island. As their boots started to hit the riverbed, they kicked up splashes of dirty water that sprayed them with hundreds of droplets. Underneath her layers of clothing, the already sweaty Carlisa was soaking herself with perspiration. She waded as fast as she could, the mud sucking at her feet like quicksand. Several times she felt crawfish or gars brush past her legs in their hurry to get away. She prayed that her suit had no holes of rips, otherwise she'd have to spend ages prying the fat leeches out her fur after they dined on her blood.
They ran up another bank, feet crushing dead isopods and rotten branches beneath them. Low hanging branches whipped and swatted them as they crawled upwards before sliding downwards into a shallow pool. The panther cursed as she felt sticks and branches jab her in the side, rolling about in the water before finally regaining her footing and wading onward. She had fallen behind the other two, but raced to catch up with them. A quick glance behind her revealed a pair of yellow eyes following twenty meters behind her that dived underwater within a second.
Fuck, fuck she thought to herself, going cold with fear. she picked up the pace, desperately trying not to get her feet stuck in the sucking mud and fall forwards. The reptile would be much faster than her in this kind of environment and was surely closing in. The odds were stacked against her. The amount of times that alligators had claimed victims in the swamps paid testament to their cunning and strength. Feeble guns weren't much help in the reptile's home turf.
"Come on!" yelled Hyrum, climbing over a half submerged tree and getting smeared with mould and fungus in the process. He watched the panther run towards him, a ragged row of spines following close behind.
After covering the couple of meters to the tree, she grabbed hold of the slime-coated branches and hauled herself up, rifle clattering against her chest.. Hyrum gabbed hold of her collar as the water boiled.
With a huge eruption of water, the alligator burst forth. Its huge jaws snapped shut, the powerful muscles snapping through several branches and showering the all in splinters and fragments. Its powerful armoured body must have been around seven meters long and looked saurian as it tried to pull itself up with its clawed feet. The two anthromorpics yelped and leaped off the tree, landing with a splash amongst the water. As she landed, Carlisa fumbled for her rifle and managed to bring it to her shoulder She pulled the trigger thrice and the butt kicked into her shoulder three times in succession. Her shots impacted amongst the armoured plating of the alligator, chipping and splintering the hard scales. The monstrous beast thrashed about, pulling itself back under the filthy water.
"keep going!" Hyrum told the panther as the pair ran through the knee deep swamp, making for the next patch of high ground. There the third member waited, kicking down the thorns and brambles to ensure safe passage. By now their overalls were splattered with mud and smelly filth. Carlisa's crude facemask had fallen off, leaving her black snout bare to the horrific stench of the bayou.
"You good?" the monitor lizard asked as they climbed up to join him.
"In one piece" panted Carlisa, rocking backwards and forwards as she breathed in deep lungful's of the marsh air. "I pricked him in the side a few times"
"We're at a big patch of solid land" flamer guy told them "Should keep your new pal away"
"Good" sighed Hyrum, pulling up his goggles and rubbing his eyes "I don't want to see another damned gator for as long as i live"
"Don't count it out" the monitor hissed back, scanning warily across the brown water "We loose more to gators than anything else in this dammed swamp. Last week Will was out repairing nets. Three of the fuckers took him under the water"
They headed across the drier ground. Here the dumped sewage had dried into a thin crust that crunched under their boots as they made their way across. The rotted corpses of birds and crows lay around them, rats scurrying away into the undergrowth once they were scared from their food. They wrinkled their noses in disgust despite the sight being commonplace. Amongst the tree roots and patches of brush were large musky fungus and toadstools that Hyrum couldn't resist plucking and stuffing into his pocket. Carlissa watched in fascination, not fully learned in which fungus was edible yet. Her stomach was empty and growling, her thoughts naturally turning to hot shrimp soup and roasted fish.
"Did you hear that?" asked Hyrum, pausing. His long lynx ears twitched as the scanned for the source.
"No...no I didn't" she repiled, shaking her head. "Why what was it?"
"I though I heard.." Hyrum began only to be cut short by the beating of wings. From the bushes and the swamps surface they came. Big ugly insects, with buzzing wings and long proboscises. The mosquitoes were born from the irradiated soup of the bayou, growing to a size that none could imagine, bigger than a clenched fist, some even larger than some birds. The gathering swarm billowed out the brush, speeding towards the trio as fats as their thin wings would carry them.
Carlisa and Hyrum threw themselves to the floor, landing amongst the dried mud and sewage. The panther wrapped her arms around her vulnerable head and waited, praying.
The monitor lizard's clawed fingers flipped the valve allowing the fuel to rush into the central chambers. He gripped the main trigger and ignited the rush of fuel, turning the spray into a billow cloud of searing hot flames. The blast flew into the incoming swarm, going over the other two anthro's heads and burning every insect in its path to a charred crisp. He kept it up, moving the flame backwards and forwards, flaming mosquitoes dropping to the ground where they writhed in agony as fire consumed them. Finally every single bug was charred to a crisp, smoke pouring from their black corpses to fill the noses of those present with the smell of burnt chitin.
"Fucking bugs" the monitor hissed, switching the fuel supply off and cutting the ignition flame. There was silence apart from the crackling of burning insects and the hissing of smoke.
"Shiiit" groaned Carlisa, picking her face out of the dirt "That smells awful"
"better than getting drained of every drop you have" Hyrum grumbled beside her, coughing to get the flakes of ash out his throat. The pair got up and brushed themselves down, their clothes even more soiled and dirty than before.
"The boats should be waiting for us" the monitor told them, strapping his flamethrower back onto his shoulder. "I suggest we get the fuck outta here before more show up"
"Good idea" nodded Carlisa "Fucking fantastic idea"
The walk to the boat had been short but treacherous,: another wade through waist deep mud and waste that stank so much, Carlisa had to once again fight the urge to be sick. Bugs scurried over the mud, some crawling up their overalls and having to be crushed by a quick swipe. But they soon came to a wider stretch of the river, a curving tendrils some six meters wide and coated in mats of thick greenish algae. Beside a huge toppled tree, sat a large rusted launch. Its prow was streaked with corrosion while the majority of its rear was taken up by a large ramshackle Aether engine, blue light emitting from vents alongside a low hum that echoed around the quiet swamp. Two figures sat in the boat, keeping a wary eye out for any of the returning party of violent wildlife. As the trio clambered over the messy tangle of roots and sunken branches, the figure standing by the stern rose up and waved.
"Good to see you!" the cougar yelled huskily, waving his aged shotgun over his head as his comrades waved through the knee deep water to reach the boat. "Any luck?" he asked from behind the filthy cloth wrapped around his mouth.
"Some bits and pieces" Hyrum told him, pulling a threadbare pack of his shoulders and placing it on the boats deck. "We got jumped towards the end"
"What by?" asked the driver of the riverboat, a stumpy boar who's clothes barely contained his muscular body. He walked over to the side and Carlisa allowed him to haul her over the side and set her down on one of the seats.
"A bigass alligator" she told him, nodding in thanks "We got away from him then got jumped by a load of bugs", her own pack was taken off and set down by her mud-splattered feet, the contents clattering about loudly.
"I had to burn up a fair bit of fuel on the bugs" growled the monitor, checking his flamethrower and examining the metal tank that was attached to the underside of his device. "So you'd better see if you can get us some more on the next trip"
"Sounds gnarly" the cougar grunted, hauling the final member up and sitting back down by the prow. "Lets get the fuck outta here before they show back up". The boar sat at the helm and yanked on the ignition lever, channelling the aether energy to the modified engine, making the propellers whirr into life and start to pull the boat off down the river. They headed down the flooded landscape, weaving through the trees and following the channels deep enough for them to pass. On banks piled high with bones and sewage, the huge saurian bodies of crocodiles and gators sat, basking the late morning sun. A few turned their heads to hiss at the passing boat but none could be roused to enter the water after them.
"Better be worth it" grumbled the monitor, opening one of the bags and rifling through. They had departed that morning to scour the swamp for waste and debris that drifted in from the ocean of from the cites nearby, picking through the mud and filth for anything worth using or repairing. His scaly hands sorted through algae encrusted pipes, a broken electric razor, old cans and tins, small sealed boxes and a few trinkets plastered in stinking mud. Not much, considering. He squinted at a filthy penknife before sealing the bag back up. Everything could be used in some way. Tins and cans could be cleaned and sterilised to hold food and become drinking cups; piping used to repair damaged sections of the outpost and trinkets could be cleaned and repaired to be sold or traded amongst each other. Ruined electronics could be disassembled and the salvageable parts used to repair other appliances. Even filthy fabrics could be cleaned to some degree and used to manufacture clothes or bedsheets.
"I'm sure you'll get something for it" shrugged Hyrum, leaning back on the boat's side and watching the miles of swamp go by, legs crossed over each other at a jaunty angle. "You can sell anything, someone will make use of it somehow"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" he grunted, drumming his clawed fingers "I just want to sink my teeth into some lunch already"
"I'll hit you up for some stew" offered the cougar, his shotgun spread across his legs. "Come to my place once we unload"
"Fair one" the monitor replied "I'll take you up on that"
It took around half an hour of riverboat travel to get back home, the whole time spent scanning the dingy swamp for predators or the roving bands of river pirates that plied the rivers. They past some at one point, three anthro corpses nailed to the branch of a low hanging tree. The single bullet hole to the head told of their crimes: their bodies shrivelled by the heat and riddled with greenish mould and millions of writhing maggots and bugs. The eyeless sockets watched the boat pass before the meandering bend took them out of sight. After navigating the sandbanks and mounds of tangled shrubbery, they finally came within sight of the hell-hole they called home. It was a large circular building that rose out of the brackish swampwater: the towering concrete walls that had once been white were now stained grey and brown from decades of exposure to the elements. The tangled vines and plants creeped up its sides, alongside large patches of sickly-looking mosses and moulds. At the front, a makeshift dock had been constructed, allowing several launches and boats to be tethered by the large sliding doors. They pulled up, past a guardhouse put together out of metal sheeting and housing a single machinegun, the gunner giving them a bored wave. The boat's prow hit the bank and the cougar quickly chained their craft to the railing. They each stepped off, onto the mossy dock and grabbed their scavenged supplies. Their weapons were unloaded and switched to safe as they carried on down the dock.
Set in the wall was a massive reinforced doorway. Hyrum walked over and knocked several times on the steel. There was a few seconds wait as they were verified before the gear grinded and the huge entrance slowly opened. The five of them walked on through, entering a large room that terminated in a second double door. They set their weapons and supplies down, then all walked over to a set of grates, upon which sat buckets of filtered water. Carlisa stood over the grating and let Hryum pour the water over her feet and legs, washing away the foul muck of the marshes. He scrubbed her down with an old brush, having removed his primitive facemask and smiling up at her.
"Thanks" she smiled nervously- rather put off by his forwardness, before unstrapping her overalls and pulling them off. Beneath the bulky waterproofs and boiler suits, she was a rather spindly panther clad in a faded T-shirt and shorts a size too small. As usual, she checked her body over. Inflamed bumps rose up on her stomach and neck from insect bites during the night, while a quick inspection revealed that she was thankfully leech-free: the fat bastards got everywhere: pits, legs, arms and groin. Leeches were things she had a fair experience with. She undid her messy black hair, letting it fall about her shoulders and went to pick up her rifle and backpack. Hryum followed her, showing himself to be skinny and clad in a shirt and trousers sewn out of a variety of worn fabrics. Having been decontaminated, they both walked to the door and were let out.
Their home had been a power station before everything fell apart. Now it had been cleaned and colonised into a bustling semblance of a home. The main hall that once housed the turbines and generators was draped in crude tents and gazebos. Tables had been crafted or pillaged from the swamp, upon which residents cleaned scavenged refuse with brushes and sinks filled with dirtying water. The space that once housed the massive turbines themselves had been cleared and filled with soil, transforming the space into a makeshift farm while a huge Aether generator rumbled from across the wall, allowing the weak neon lights to illuminate the dingy interior. Power lines took the much-needed electricity to the water filters, air purifiers, door controls and the massive black boxes that glowed blue with pure Aether energy. Every few minutes, an insect would be attracted by the bright light and fly through the protective cage, only to be charred to a crisp within seconds with a loud crackle. There was little noise aside from the quiet hum of conversation. There wasn't usually much to be happy about, with the wildlife, weather and viruses conspiring against them.
The pair headed to a large blue tent that marked the armoury. Inside sat a single Lynx, rifle over his knees. On tables and piled around him was the scavenged ammunition and weapons that the group had traded or found in the massive expanses of the marsh. Despite how big it seemed, it wasn't much at all. With weapons and ammo in such a short supply, it was imperative that everything was handed back in one piece. Carlisa prayed that her rifle hadn't been damaged by her trip through the swamp and filth, lest she be punished for it.
"You want to come round to my place?" Hyrum ventured, unloading the pistol and setting it and the magazine down on the table under the guard's watchful eye.
"I'll have to say no" she politely and quickly declined, setting her own rife down and thanking the armourer. "I have plenty of things that need doing and I really don't have the time" she threw him a sympathetic look and cocked her ears.
The older Lynx smiled awkwardly, grinding his teeth with disappointment "No worries" he shook his head and patted her on the shoulder. She gave him another smile and started to back out the tent "Thanks for everything Hyrum, have a nice night" she quickly turned and headed out. Her thin slippers padded on the concrete floor as she hurried along, heading towards a set of old steel stairs that headed into the higher floors of the facility. Those who lived a semi-nomadic trading life had set out stalls in the hallway, in order to try and sell wares to the inhabitants. It was a risky business, as most people living in the settlements had very little to trade, most of their scavenged supplies being desperately needed back home. A unscrupulous looking toad gave her a wide grin as he offered homemade cigarettes and hallucinogenic mushrooms that she sternly refused before speeding up. She passed long racks of pale mushrooms, impaled on wires and hung over heaters to dry while workers removed dried specimens or pierced fresh produce to dry. As she left the drying racks and headed up the stairs, the eyes of traders and travellers following her as she ascended.
Up the stairs lead to the maintenance halls that served as living quarters, the hallways strewn with washing hung up to dry. It was grubby and smelt strongly of sweat but was a far better alternative to the filth and stench of the Bayou. Even the grimy toilets were preferable to the Bayou, despite how much some people complained. Babies cried faintly, machinery whirred nosily contributing to the general din. Still, she reckoned, it was home. Carlisa stepped over leaking pipes and discarded rubbish to reach a rusted door, set between two concrete buttresses and a twisted maze of tubing. The faded sign on the front read "maintenance" as the panther gently knocked before pushing the door open with the scrape of aged metal on concrete.
Inside had been a small maintenance rest room, the walls having previously been lined with lockers and shelving. Now it had been converted to house a family, clothing and bedsheets hanging from the ceiling to dry while a small pile of old cans and containers rested by the wall alongside a tiny camping stove. Makeshift beds laid against the walls, alongside old boxes that substituted for furniture in their lives.
"Carlisa? you back ?" murmured a weak, low voice. On the concrete floor lay a patched sheets, upon which lay Lyida. Carlisa put her bag down by the door and hurried over to her older sister, sitting down beside her bed and resting a hand on her forehead. Lydia was older by a couple of years, the panther girl looking thin and dishevelled. Her black fur was matted and soaked with sweat, occasionally showing the pink swell of an insect bite that angrily rose across her body. Her long luscious hair had been done up in a long braid to try and keep it out the way, while aside from a few strategically placed bedsheets, her sister was nude.
"Yeah sis, I am" the younger smiled, stroking the other girl's cheek reassuringly. "Sorry to have worried you, some alligator tried to bite a chunk out my ass"
Her sister laughed weakly, her lips glistening with thick spittle that Carlisa quickly wiped away for her. "I hope you... blew his scaly hide fulla holes- give him somethin' to think about"
"I sure did. Poking him full of a few!" they both shared a giggle, before Carlisa dipped a cloth and laid it across her sibling's forehead, trying to cool her down. Her sister had contracted one of the fevers that infested the swamps, a crippling affliction that robbed her of her strength: forcing her to spend the day lying prone on the floor, sweating profusely as her joints ached and burnt. Violent stomach cramps, vomiting and terrible migraines only made it worse. All that one could do was lie for weeks in pools of their own sweat, barely able to move their arms and endure the pain. Carlisa had it once, but luckily it had passed quickly. Her sister seemed to be having a worse time. Indeed, it was bad timing indeed, getting the fever only two months after the birth.
As if on cue, a quiet whimpering sounded from a bundle of old clothes a few feet away. Carlisa left her sister for a second to go and pick up the bundle. Looking down, she saw the little black infant mewling inside, kicking with her tiny legs. The baby girl was mostly panther, but its unusually long ears and much shorter tail gave an indication to the Lynx that fathered it. She was a cutie, only two months old with little legs and arms that kicked and waved about. She was a hungry one too, constantly demanding milk that her ill mother could barely provide.
"Has Hyrum even been in recently? I mean....to see her?" she asked tentatively, as she set the mewling kitten down on the bed, beside its sick mother.
"No" Lydia sighed dejectedly, allowing the child to crawl under her sweat-soaked sheets to suckle from her. "He hasn't been over for nearly a week and a half now.... I should've expected it"
"He tried to get me to come over to his" Carlisa confessed, stroking the bulge in the bedsheets that the baby made as it clung to it's mother bosom. "I managed to get out of it"
"He's started on you that quickly?" her sister grunted, shaking her head in disgust. She was too weak to get angry so settled on slumping back onto her bed and glaring at the ceiling. "He'll just want you as a sex toy. If that bastard tries anything with you, you cut his balls off and feed em' to the gators"
"I will" Calrisa chuckled, stroking Lydia's hair to try and calm her "You just focus on gettin' better so you can beat his ass yourself" It pained her to see her sister in such a state, as weak and helpless as her newborn daughter. A dry cough sounded from Lydia's lips before she lay back and sighed, grunting in pain as a cramp wracked her body.
"Mama's back soon from the farms with lunch, mind getting me some water while we wait?"
"Sure" Carlis a promised, backing off and heading to a large plastic container. It had held cooking oil many decades ago, but had been cleaned out and currently held their allocated water for the day. She grabbed a half-melted plastic cup and dipped in into the clear, distilled liquid before carrying it over to her prone sister. Lydia was clutching her sucking baby with as much strength as she could muster, stroking its furry back. Her breathing was as laboured as ever rattling loudly as she inhaled. Carlisa wished so much that her happy and energetic sister could return, playing loudly and happily with her new daughter, not a wheezing shell on the floor.
The cup was placed against her sibling's lips which gratefully sucked at the cool liquid, as the door creaked open to reveal thier mother.
Marie looked very similar to her daughters, rounded ears and smooth black fur. She too, had a skinny underfed body, thin arms and fat insect bites marring her skin. Her gait had a pronouced limp, excentuated by the food she carried in an old buiscuit tin. She was also visibly older, taking her time as she placed the box down and greeted her youngest daughter.
"Hello darling" she smiled wearily, embracing Carlisa tightly. Her ragged nails were stained with dirt from the struggling farms that she helped culture. "Glad to see you made it back safely"
"Thanks mama" Her daughter smiled back, rubbing her mother's tired back muscles to try and soothe her. Hours spent in a stooped over position had ravaged her back, making the muscles burn in pain. "Is Lyida getting any better?"
"Not just yet" Her mother admitted, settind down her food supplies and examing her prone daughter. She lifted up the sheets and gave a sad smile when she saw her grandaughter clinging tightly to Lydia. The two girls had been born before they had moved to the swamp, but in the time they had spent in the marshes, she had fallen pregnant twice more, both times the babies died within the womb: the most recent of the two with only days before delivery. As a result her daughter's pregnancy had been a nightmare of worrying for her, made worse when Lydia contracted the fever.
Carlisa brought out the small heater as Marie shelled the shrimps before mixing them with water, chopped mushrooms and shellfish to create a sort of stew. The pitiful meal boiled and cooked quickly and was ladled out into three cups that had in a previous life been soft drink cans and boxes for microwave meals. Carlisa picked up her grimy spoon and dug into the hot salty stew, scooping up the white clumps of meat and chewing them down. Her mother lifted her sister so she was propped up against the wall and gently spoon-fed her, trying hard not to spill stew all down Lydia's chin. It was a pitiful sight indeed. Made more so by the absence of their father. He'd been assigned to help oversee a fishing outpost closer to the coast a few months back. The crew had embarked to rebuild then vanished and no attempt had been made to confirm their deaths. It was all too sudden.
"I heard they're planning on a new settlement" Marie said nonchalantly as she pushed the spoon through Lydia's lips. "Zoe told me someone found someplace in the swamp that they're planning on clearing out. They want people to go and occupy it. The usual emphasis on baby-farms"
Lydia gave a weak chuckle, dripping stew down her lips. "I don't think I'm really in either the mood or the health for that sort of thing"
"As If I would let you" her mother smiled, dabbing away with a cloth. Carlisa simply ate the slop silently, mulling it over with every salty bite. Since their father's disappearance, her mother had been watching them even more closely, keeping a tight leash on the last remaining children she had. It was hard enough trying to get past her gaze to meet up with her friends.
Once dinner was finished, they licked the bowls clean and spent an hour trying to scrub some refuse that Carlisa had brought in clean. It was hard work, trying to get the thick mud out of every nook and cranny in whatever object it was, sometimes scraping the thick crust away only to find the electrical parts were too corroded or the can was filled with holes. Anything that was too damaged to be cleaned and reused was thrown into a bucket to be traded at the smelter. Lydia simply lay in bed, trying to play with her baby and watching the process with boredom. Her sister scrubbed away at a tin can with a scrap of cloth and ruined toothbrush, the pile between her legs now consisting of a few cans, bullet casings, aged mobile phones, stainless cutlery and a couple of toothbrushes. A decent haul for some. Her mother set down what had once been a microwave and examined it with a sigh before setting it down. "Lets hope we can get something for that" she said dejectedly "I scrubbed some of the circuits out, maybe it'll get something for the wiring"
"Here's hoping" Carlisa nodded, setting her salvage down and stretched her arms with a yawn. She washed as much slime off her hands as possible and dried them on her shirt. "Shall we try and get some sleep Mama?"
"Sure" Marie nodded, giving a tired yawn. She rubbed her eyes wearily and the two began to clean up. The preparations for be meant tidying everything away before making a trip to their area's decrepit toilet, in the case of Lydia, she had to be carried and sat down before being carried back. They changed into worn bedclothes and retrieved the bedrolls from the wire cage in which they were kept. The three handstuffed mattresses were laid side by side and the three women climbed in, pulling the thin blankets and insect netting over their heads as they readied for bed.
"Night Mama" Carlisa whispered, kissing her mother's forehead and then her sisters. The baby snuggled up against it's mother's chest, already falling asleep in her embrace. She climbed into her own bed and pulled the netting over her face, turning over and closing her eyes.
