Man-eating crows have a tracking prowess that’s off the charts.
They can sniff out a scent from hundreds of miles away and hunt it down, no sweat.
It soared over crumbling buildings, zipped through desolate streets, whizzed past survivors scrapping with zombies, and skimmed above hordes of zombies on the prowl.
It locked onto a military vehicle tearing down the road and flapped its wings, picking up speed to catch up.
Michael Joke was gripping the steering wheel, his face darker than a storm cloud.
He’d scoured several nearby blocks but Billy Jean was nowhere to be found.
Where on earth had she skedaddled to?
Didn’t she promise to stick with him through thick and thin?
Suddenly, a knock rattled the car window.
“Dong dong...”
Michael Joke whipped his head around and slammed on the brakes.
The tires screeched like a banshee, kicking up a cloud of white smoke.
Thanks to inertia, his body lurched forward a bit.
Michael Joke cranked down the window and eyeballed the leader of the man-eating crows, his voice laced with anxiety.
“Is it about Billy Jean? Where is she?”
Seeing the crow show up, he had a gut feeling it was Billy Jean–related.
“Caw caw...”
The man-eating crow cawed twice and then took off.
Michael Joke got the message.
It wanted him to follow, so he fired up the car and tailed the crow.
“Coo... Damn that crow, what’s taking it so long."
Zompige was on pins and needles.
She saw blood seeping through Billy Jean’s skin.
Before long, Billy Jean was drenched in blood, looking like something out of a horror flick.
The bone pain inside Billy Jean hit a crescendo.
With a blood-curdling scream, she felt something busting out of her body.
“Ahhhh...”
When Michael Joke arrived, he got an eyeful of the scene.
His pupils dilated in shock as he watched white bones jutting out of Billy Jean’s body, with sharp white spurs sprouting from all over.
A powerful aura blasted out like a shock-wave, and the wandering zombies nearby started backing away.
Zompige also felt an invisible force bearing down, making her cower on the ground, shaking like a leaf and bowing down.
Even though man-eating crows weren’t zombies and couldn’t feel that pecking order pressure, they could sense danger.
They usually steered clear of risky business when hunting.
Michael Joke stared at Billy Jean’s eyes, pitch-black and swirling, like a tempest.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
His thin lips moved, and he mumbled a few words.
“Mutant.”
As Michael Joke’s voice faded, Billy Jean’s eyes fluttered open.
The cloudy look was gone, replaced by a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.
Faint red patterns danced in her pupils, drop-dead gorgeous.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was rocking some fancy colored contacts.
The spurs on her body also started to retract, slow and steady.
In a blink, her skin was smooth as silk again, like the whole thing was a mirage.
Billy Jean kept eyeballing her palms, her face a mask of disbelief.
She clenched her fist, and presto, five sharp white spurs shot out of her knuckles, gleaming like ice picks.
She gave a curious, gentle swing at a nearby tree, and whoosh, five deep gouges appeared in the thick trunk.
With a “crack" the tree started to keel over.
“Damn it!!”
Billy Jean watched the tree coming down on her and scrambled sideways like a scared rabbit.
“Boom...”
The tree crashed to the ground, kicking up a yellow dust cloud.
“Cough cough...”
Billy Jean waved her hand to clear the air and hacked away.
Just then, through the dust, she spotted a behemoth alpha wolf closing in.
Its fur was as black as night and shiny as a new penny, its fangs were dagger-sharp, its claws were like steel, its wolf eyes were fierce and bulging, and it was growling up a storm.
Clearly, this was a mutant wolf.
Billy Jean realized her vision was sharper than a tack.
She could even make out the mosquitoes buzzing around the wolf’s head.
At that moment, the mutant wolf crouched low, its legs coiled like springs, and charged at Billy Jean full throttle.
Its hulking frame made the ground quake.
“Boom... Boom...”
“Damn! It’s spoiling for a fight!”
Billy Jean said, then noticed her speech had improved.
Now she talked as fast as anyone else, and the stiffness and hoarseness were history.
Michael Joke eyed the bull-sized mutant wolf with a frown.
“This patch must be its turf. You showing up ruffled its feathers, so it’s coming to duke it out.”
Michael Joke sidled up to Billy Jean and said,
“Step back. I’ll take care of this.”
Billy Jean locked eyes on the fast-approaching wolf and was itching to mix it up.
“No, I wanna test my new moves.”
Michael Joke didn’t push it.
“Then be careful.”
And he stepped aside.
The mutant wolf barreled over and bared its huge jaws to chomp down on Billy Jean’s head.
Billy Jean’s blood-red pupils flared.
She dropped into a crouch and slid under the wolf like a greased eel.
A bone blade materialized in her palm.
She whipped it around, and the blade spun like a top in mid-air, slicing through the wolf’s legs like a hot knife through butter.
The whole shebang was as smooth as silk.
“Awwww...”
The mutant wolf yelped in pain, and its massive body crumpled.
Billy Jean rolled out from under the wolf, and the bone blade zipped back into her palm.
The bone blade had just lopped off the wolf’s legs, yet it was as clean as a whistle, not a speck of blood on it.
It was as white and pure as jade.
Billy Jean eyed the blade in her palm and flashed a satisfied grin.
Not too shabby.
“Awww...”
The mutant wolf suddenly threw its head back and howled.
“Uh-oh.”
Michael Joke’s face twitched.
“Billy , finish it off quick. Don’t let it call in reinforcements.”
Hearing that, Billy Jean hopped onto the wolf’s back.
The bone blade in her palm vanished.
She clenched her fist, and whoosh, sharp spurs sprang from her knuckles.
She punched the wolf’s head, and the spurs, like five steel needles, stabbed into its noggin.
The mutant wolf whined softly, and a torrent of blood gushed from its mouth.
Then its eyes glazed over, its head hit the ground, and it lay still.
Michael Joke stared at Billy Jean, standing tall on the wolf’s back.
The gentle breeze played with her long hair, her face was a vision, and her red pupils were hypnotic.
“phut phut...”
Apart from the wind whispering, all he could hear was his own heartbeat.
Billy Jean pried the crystal core from the wolf’s head, gave it a wipe, and casually popped it in her mouth, crunching away.
The crystal core instantly morphed into a jolt of energy, streaming down her throat and filling her up.
Her fatigue and aches vanished in a puff of smoke.
Her pale skin glowed like pearls in a flash.
That crystal core was like a supercharged energy drink for zombies.
Billy Jean hopped off the wolf’s back, aiming for a graceful landing.
But she stepped on a pebble and dropped to her knees.
Michael Joke:!!
Billy Jean’s face tightened a bit, and she forced a smile.
“This is my new secret weapon, the knee-drop. I use it to fake out the enemy and then strike.”
Michael Joke was silent for a long spell before saying,
“Well... that’s quite the move. Creative as heck.”
Billy Jean dusted herself off and stood up.
As long as she didn’t feel sheepish, nobody else would.
“By the way, why’d you come?”
“ The man-eating crow led me here.” Michael Joke said.
Billy Jean knew it must’ve been Zompige’s call.
She glanced at Zompige and did a double-take.
Was this the same sassy Zompige?
She saw her huddled up like a scaredy-cat, trembling like a leaf.
“Roar... Zompige, what’s wrong with you?"
“Coo... No, no, I don’t dare. You’re the boss. You’ll always be my boss."
Zompige said, her voice as meek as a mouse.
Billy Jean:!!
