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[call_me_snake]

Plissken had only heard of the mutagen to this point. He could believe a lot of the government but this seemed absurd even for them. He'd heard the plant that worked on the development leaked into the water supply. There were rumors that those who lived there had suffered more than the Crazies but just as slow. The concept was something Snake couldn't wrap his head around. How could anything be worse than slowly going crazy and becoming an animal? Thinking that there could be something worse sent shivers down Plissken's spine. Everyone should be afraid of it.

The whole idea had the quality of a train wreck. No matter how much he didn't want to know there was a deep seated need to see what was happening. His mind had settled there as he approached the area that was supposedly affected. No one was on the streets but it was still early in the day. The plant was miles away, upstream and almost out of mind. Movement burst into the road. Plissken slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting the deer that raced across. Game was a rarity with all the gas. The instinct was to grab his gun and get food. Food was too scarce. Snake had his rifle and a hand on the door when he froze in place. The deer was looking directly at him from where it stood in the road. The rack, which might have been fourteen or more points, was gnarled like the roots of a tree. Those were the least of the problems the animal had. Green rubbery looking growths seemed to ooze on its skin. The hair didn't look quite right either.

For several minutes Snake was riveted in place by disgust, revulsion and fear. Learning something wasn't a rumor often led to wishing that you could go back to the bliss of not knowing the truth. His senses returned when the deer that were in the road walked off into the forest. Only then could Plissken manage to close the door. With a vigorous rub of his good eye he tried to sort out if that had really been there. The inability to deny seeing the mangled deer wasn't a welcomed feeling. Though it peaked a sick curiosity. If the deer looked like that what had happened to the people?

More time passed as he sat there staring down the road. What was at the end of it he had no idea. There was a town there, not that Plissken knew the name of it. It was rural Illinios and not a place he'd spent much time. The impending dread fell to curiosity and Snake started back down the road again. He didn't make it far before he had to stop again. A bridge had collapsed over a stream. Snake cautiously left his car to investigate. The channel wasn't wide or deep but the water was another story. Gazing at it int he rising sun a bright greenish haze eddied through the water. There was no clue to what it was but any idiot should know it wasn't normal. He entertained the idea of fording it but the thought of dragging that green shit all over on his tires wasn't something he was eager to do.

Back at the Hummer Snake pulled out his binoculars and climbed up on the hood. He could see a few houses on the other side of the field that filled the far side of the river bank. His eye focused on the houses looking for movement. A few people stood with their backs to him working on building something or another. He watched the hammer swinging but they were too far away to hear the sound. Snake stayed intent on the few he saw moving among the houses. Still he hadn't got a good look. Flies were bothering him as he stood on the hood. Plissken swatted at them and kicked toward one that was brushing against his leg. The kick hit softness. Snake jumped and looked down at hands reaching toward his legs. All he could think of was Crazies though he tried not to panic.

A face turned up to him. At least Plissken thought it was a face. The skin sagged down on the one side to the point that the eye rested down by where the rubbery lips were flapping to form words. What words were coming out was lost to shock. All the skin just sagged there like a bulldog hanging below the chin. Snake had never seen anything so grotesque even among the Crazies. The whole look was amplified by the yellow-green jaundiced look to the skin. It, it only because man or woman was impossible to tell, it reached out for him and Snake fled from its grasping hand. Still gazing at the horror it intensified as twisted fingers moved toward the rubbery mouth. The fingers were like the antlers, rough and deformed with a brownish calloused look to them.

Unable to endure the horror Snake jumped down and crawled in the passenger side. He jammed the key into the ignition before he'd settled into the driver's seat. The thing with the floppy face was still motioning at its mouth. He stared at it while fumbling with the clutch. Damn the stick shift. Damn it to hell. The Hummer slipped into reverse. As soon as the gear clicked Plissken spun the vehicle around to put the saggy faced thing behind him. He didn't dare look back to see where it was. He just drove. There wasn't any other time he could place when he'd driven this fast. Not even running from the cops in Jersey. Panic not escape pressed his foot down to the floor boards.

The drive flew past in what seemed to be only a few minutes. Back on the main highway Snake pulled to the berm to try and collect himself. The government was really doing it. Mutation with chemical weapons. As if the Crazies weren't bad enough now they were putting freaks out on the streets. Snake rubbed his temples as he felt a migraine come on. That stream went to who knows where. Pressing away the pain he pulled out the atlas to see if the stream was listed. Sure enough it was and flowed right down into the Mississippi. Snake had no idea about chemical dilution or anything that would help determine the risk farther downstream. However he did know someone who would know. It would mean a foray into a government lab to speak to them but in this case it was worth it. The government had finally, truly gone mad.



....To Be Continued.


Words: 1,112