C.S.U.D. (Cannibalistic Sharkanoid Underground Dwellers) (Horror)

 

C.S.U.D. (Cannibalistic Sharkanoid Underground Dwellers)

Originally posted on FA on: Jan 30, 2021

CW: Blood, Death, Implied Self Harm, Violence, Zombies and Mild Sexual Content

Written for Whiskywhiskers

An ex cop is called to the seen of a grizzly murder which threatens to spiral into something worse.

A pub owner wishes her girlfriend good night as she stays to keep the shop open late.

A couple of friends sit down for a cozy dinner while another comes looking for help.

Though none yet know it, these events are merely the prelude to the darkest night of there lives as below the quite streets, something sinister swarms through the sewers...

-

This story is obviously based in part off of C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic. Humanoid. Underground. Dwellers.) However... Well there's a fair scoop of Evil Dead II in here with at least one of the characters turned into a bit of an action hero through much of the story and a lighter, more comedic sensibility threaded throughout. Also Night Of The Living Dead and Day of the Dead what with the zombies and two major deaths being call backs to Helen Cooper and Captain Henry Rhodes.

 

C.S.U.D.

(Cannibalistic. Sharkanoid. Underground. Dwellers.)

-

Sammy

As the sun begins to slowly creep towards the western horizon, a lone woman ducks under a strand of yellow police tape and turns her gaze towards a second figure knelt down by an indistinct mass of dark matter. She sighs, feeling the dread which had been slowly growing within her harden into a knot of indescribable certainty.

A certainty that a doom which had long hung over her head is now preparing to finally fall.

“Detective.” She raises a hand as she approaches, slowing her gate as the officer turns to give her a suspicious glare, hand dropping to a holster strapped to his hip. “Woah there! I'm Sammy Hooper, your chief said he called ahead to let you know I was coming?” 

“Oh.” The wolf man’s hand drops from his hip, but his face does not soften. “I’m sorry Ms. Hooper, however you should have known better than to enter an active crime scene without first identifying yourself. If something had happened…”

“Then it would have been my fault for ‘threatening’ an officer, sure.” Sammy sighs. “Funny how often sharks ‘threaten’ people just before they are justifiably shot, isn’t it?”

The officer’s scowl deepens, but he says nothing, just moving to the side to allow Sammy a better view of the crime scene. Grimacing Sammy withdraws a cloth mask from her pocket and pulls it over her face before stepping in to examine the body. “Fuck me, what happened to… Him?”

“Him.” The officer nods. “Young sand tiger male, possibly early twenties, just under six foot and wearing nondescript clothing.” He curls his lip back in disgust. “Lab boys say the bite marks were pre mortem so the killer or killers began to eat him before he expired.”

“Fuck me...” Sammy repeats, feeling a wave of nausea pass over her. She fights back the urge to wretch and focuses on her training. Eventually the feeling passes and she swallows before asking in a slightly shaky voice, “How long has the body been here? Are we thinking it was dumped or has it just been hidden for awhile?”

“Less than a day.” Comes the response. “And best as we can tell, that’s also when the murder took place.”

“Bullshit!” Sammy gasps. “He looks like he’s been rotting for a week or more! No way was he walking about looking like THAT without anyone noticing!”

The detective shrugs. “I’m just telling you what I’ve been told. We are hoping finding the culprits will fill in some of  the gaps in our understanding. That, I believe, is why the chief wanted your help. The locals can be a little… Reticent to speak openly with us normally, but a resident-”

“Can talk to people without having doors slammed in their face.” Sammy finishes sharply. “Funny how not terrorizing people can have that effect.”

The detective glares, but nods his head in affirmation. “Something like that. Given the seriousness of the crime the chief believed you would be willing to see past your personal issues with the police and assist us in finding these perpetrators before they can add yet another victim to their list.”

“That a confirmation that the other disappearances have been related?” Sammy asks.

“It's a confirmation that we have not precluded that as a possibility.” The detective responds. “Now then,” He looks past her to a group of men and women in white bio hazard suits. “I believe the cleanup crew has arrived, so shall we be off? Daylight's burning after all.” 

-

Varuna

“I’m heading home honey!” Maru calls as she walks through the kitchen, pulling her blue, black hair from its bun as she goes.

“Oi! What’d I say about keeping yer hair up while you're in my kitchen ya eejit?” Varuna growls, bringing the blade of her cleaver down onto the neck of a large tuna with an ominous twack as she does.

The white shark pokes out her tongue, but dutifully pulls back her hair, holding it in place as she quicklys steps over to kiss the hulking great white on the cheek.

“Aye, you're lucky you're so damned cute, you ken it lassy?” The larger shark woman growls, but her glowing cheeks and roofle smile belies any harshness to her words.

“I know.” Maru smiles back, patting her girlfriend with her free hand. “I’ll see you at the apartment.”

Varuna sneaks a peak after the retreating woman and feels her smile grow as Maru’s tail flicks upwards, showing the briefest flash of her skirt and something else just beneath. “I’m a lucky one, no doubt about it.” She waits till the door closes before turning back to her work. She reaches for the fish, but the sight of a head poking through the order window makes her eyes go wide and her heart too leap into her throat.

“Hey Varuna!”

“FUCKING HELL SAMMY, WHAT THE BLUE BLAZES ARE YA DOING IN MY KITCHEN!?” Varuna raises her cleaver menacingly. “You blasted wankstain! I swear I ought to chop your damn fool head off for raising me blood pressure like that! And it’d be your own damn fault ye feckin eejit!” 

Sammy ducks her head back out of chopping range, but her smile only grows as Varuna slams the blade down, driving it a few solid inches into the cutting board. “Funny you should mention that, you're actually the second person tonight to suggest I might be murdered for poking my nose around without telling folks. If it happens a third time, I think it might just happen.”

Varuna scowls at the tiger shark woman, though her initial rage fades alongside her fear. Sammy might be a nuisance at times, but it was hard to stay mad at her for very long. Instead she leans forward, resting her mighty bulk against the order window and letting her scowl melt into a tight lipped smile. “So, I take it you have a new friend then?” She nods in the direction of the window where a strange wolf stands, glaring in at the two steadily. “He looks like polis. You about to get dragged out of here in cuffs or saving that for tonight?”

Sammy snorts. “Come on Varuna, you know he’s not my type and so far they haven’t made being impossibly good looking a crime yet.”

Varuna laughs. “Aye, not that you’d have much to worry about even if they did.” She shakes her head. “Come on Sammy, you cannae tell me ye came in here just to fuck around with yer mates while some crabbit eejit stands around outside me window starin’ at us like we’re about to commit murder. So whatcha come in here fur anyways?”

Sammy’s smile fades and she lets out a pained sigh. “Right, well shit… I actually did come here because I have to ask if you've seen anything odd recently.”

“Odd?” Varuna asks. “Defining in a way, I assume, that doesn’t include this evil looking mutt fuck’in glaring at me?” 

“Ya.” Sammy agrees. “Ignoring fuck face for a second, have you seen anyone else snooping around today? Someone maybe bleeding or bloodied?” 

Varuna’s eyes widen. “Fuck me sideways, now that ya mention it, there was a man in’a hockeymask carrying a machete who wandered by a few hours ago holding the severed fuck’in head of a wee blond haired bimbo while chasing down another gore splattered tosser who was screaming bloody murder! Aye, it's the daftest thing, I didn’t really think much of it at the time, but since you bring it up, it strikes me that that WAS rather odd, wasn’t it?” 

“You're hilarious.” Sammy remarks.

“I’m a fuck’in laugh riot and don’t you feck’in forget it!” Varuna snaps. “Why the fuck you going and asking something that stupid if you dinnae want a stupid awenser?” 

“There’s been a murder just off of main street.” Sammy explains, voice losing any trace of mirth as she pulls out one of the restaurant's chairs and sits heavily upon it. “Something tore up some young guy bad, took a few bites out of him and left what’s left of him to rot in an alley.”

“You serious?” Varuna asks, torn between the seriousness of the statement and a lingering suspicion that Sammy may yet me pulling her leg. “That where the pup come from?”

“That’s about the shape of it.” Sammy nods. “He’s the detective assigned to the case, asked me to help him find whoever did this and put a stop to it.”

“And you agreed?” Varuna demands, eyes narrowing. “I thought you weren't with the police anymore?”

“I’m not!” Sammy shoots back, though her voice is more tired than defiant. “But this is serious, really serious. I get the impression they are treating this as some sort of ‘rogue shark’ scenario and if they start pinning this kind of crime on us as something we might just do, rather than the work of a lone serial killer or cult…”

“Then we’re dangerous and need to be kept an eye on.” Varuna finishes, face twisting into a stormy scowl. “Basterds!” She turns her hateful expression onto the police officer. “And now they have you on the hook for them… Bunch of worthless bloody pricks! Fine, in that case, I did happen to see something, but I’m telling it for your sake and not his, you understand?”  

“I appreciate it.” Sammy smiles weakly. “I really do.”

“You can show it by fixing my boat's motor.” She laughs, a humorless sound. “Damn things been acting up and I’ll not have it stranding me out at sea again! Last time Maru near enough threw a fit when I did make it back. Anyway,” She points past the detective and down the darkening street. “I saw someone slip into the sewer a few hours back. Didn’t get a good look at em, but they looked dirty. Sort of figured  it was just normal filth, but… Well maybe it was the blood you were yammering about before.”

“Sewers huh?” Sammy muses. “Could explain how they got away after butchering someone in the middle of the day. Also might be able to explain why the victim was so rotten looking, maybe he was homeless and just looked and smelled so rough due to living down in the muck.” 

“Fuck’in rough way to live if he was.” Varuna shakes her head. “Folks living like that, its a fuck’in disgrace! If the authorities would spend half as much time trying ta help folks as they do busting their heads, this whole bloody mess wouldn't have ever gotten this bad to begin with, mark my words!” 

“Can’t argue with that.” Sammy sighs as she stands. “Anyway, thanks for the help Varuna. You ought to close up a bit early though and head on home. I got a real bad feeling folks ought to stay in tonight.” 

“Aye.” Varuna shrugs and turns to head back into her kitchen. “But I ain’t closed early since I opened this joint and I ain’t about to start now. Besides, if there’s trouble brewing, I’d rather folks be able to come in here where it's nice and safe rather than sticking around out on the street.” She glances back at Sammy and with no small amount of pride flexs one of her huge arms, the muscles rippling under her scarred grey skin. “And iffen some mangy fuck comes round looking to have a bite outa me, I’ve got more then enough meat to make’im chock on it!” 

-

April

The polar bear sets aside their fork with a contented sigh. “That was delicious, thank you love.”

The shark sitting across from them shrugs as she swallows the last of her own meal. “Your welcome, but all I did was reheat it, you should be thanking Varuna, she’s the culinary wizard responsible for it being so tasty.”

“But you heated it up so good!” The polar bear chuckles. “Come on, just take the compliment April.”

“Alright, alright.” The shark smiles. “I’ll admit it, when it comes to putting refrigerated fish on a pan and warming it up, I’m second to none! Suck it Varn it was all me!” 

“WHA WAS THAT YE SAID?” A low voice suddenly roars from just outside of the door, causing both shark and bear to jump, the shark actually falling fully from her chair. “YE WANT TO SAY THAT TO ME FACE!?”

“Fuck fuck fuck!” April’s face drains of all color as she hurries towards the door. “Shit, I thought she was still at work! I shouldn't have said that so loud!” Then continuing in a higher, slightly strangled tone, “SORRY! COMING!”

“I should hope so!” The voice shouts, though it begins to crack at the end as the speaker tries to hold back laughter. “I’ll be… Right proper pissed if ya leave me waiting much longer, me hearty!”

“Me hearty?” April’s cheeks flush as color rapidly returns, “Oh you mother FUCKER!” She grabs the door handle and throws it open, revealing a tall, soft shark woman who’s white, black and pink body shakes violently as she finally gives in to a fit of hysterical laughter. “MAYHEM! You- I nearly had a goddamn heart attack, what the fuck!?”

“The look on your face!” The shark woman gasps. “Goodlord, it's bloody priceless! Seriously, you look fit to burst!” 

“It’s because I thought I was going to be fucking murdered!” April shouts, leaning on the door frame as she waits for her pounding heart to slow. “Don’t do that!” She glares. “And your Varuna impression is shit, by the way.”

“Good enough to fool  you, love.” Mayhem snickers as she passes April, patting her on the back. “Is Sasha in?” Catching sight of the polar bear her smile broadens to a grin. “Oh and who’s  this then? You having a cheeky one while the Mrs is away?” 

“Sasha is out for the weekend.” April says with a sigh. “And no, DJ here is my friend. My platonic, not cheating on my girlfriend type friend!”

“Hi.” The polar bear smiles, clearly amused. “Friend of April and Sasha’s I take it?”

“You could say that…” Mayhem smirks as she removes her jacket and casually tosses it over the back of one of the chairs before lowering her hands to unbutton her jeans. “I come by to visit them every couple of days, strip down and have some hot, wet fun.”

“By which she means that she showers here sometimes because the water heater in her part of the building is old and unreliable.” April adds, blushing even harder as she catches Mayhem’s pants. “And will you PLEASE wait till you're in the bathroom before undressing?”

“Oh, this must be the same Mayhem from the beach!” DJ remarks, snapping their fingers. “The one with the bikini top that-”

“YES! That’s her!” April’s purple face goes bright crimson. “A story I infinitely regret sharing!”

“Oh, I’m famous?” Mayhem calls just before closing the bathroom door. “Here, take this as a souvenir darling!” She ducks inside and then emerges just long enough to hurl a t-shirt back down the hall. “I’ll sign it after I get out!”

“NO YOU WON’T!” April snaps, but her words are drowned out by the sudden roar of water as the shower turns on. “God damn it… I should just stop letting her do this crap. Sasha’s not exactly charmed by her behavior and sometimes I kind of feel like she’s not just messing around with some of her flirty bullshit.”

“So why don’t you just tell her to fix her shower?” DJ asks. “It sounds like she’s been doing this for like, awhile now. So why put up with it?”

“Oh, well…” April shrugs as someone knocks on the door. “You know me, I can’t say no to someone in need. I’ll just keep giving people extra chances and excuses till someone steps in and makes me stop or it literally kills me.”

She opens the door and freezes as a blood drenched shark woman with long, matted blue, black hair staggers into her, clutching at her with her one good arm. The other arm hangs limply at her side and to April’s horror she sees gleaming white bone visible through a ragged hole where part of her forearm had been. Maru’s golden eyes glisten with tears of pain and fear as she looks up and in a horse voice whispers, “Help me!”

-

Sammy

Sammy’s flashlight beam swings across the dank, dripping walls of the sewer in widearchs, her senses all straining for the slightest sign of danger. In her other hand she feels sweat pooling in the thin space between her palm and the grip of the revolver, forcing her to squeeze tighter to avoid risking a slip. The feeling of impending doom had grown in the time since she and the detective had first dropped into the sewer from a steady hum to a screaming bell, clawing at her mind with an intense panic which she keeps down with only the greatest of effort.

“Seems your tip was a dud.” The sneering voice of the police officer scrapes against her frayed nerves like sandpaper and Sammy has to work hard to avoid screaming as he continues, “There’s nothing down here, but putrid water and hobo trash.”

“Things homeless people use to live,” Sammy corrects, “But no homeless. Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”

The wolf shrugs. “Probably just off at a soup kitchen or panhandling. Even transients don’t want to spend more time down here then they have too.”

“You see any homeless folks out on the street?” Sammy hisses. “Because I sure as shit haven’t. Not for days! And if they aren't up there and they aren't down here, but all their stuff still is, then where the hell are they?” 

“Alright, I’ll bite, where are they then?” The detective asks as he rolls his eyes.

Sammy’s flashlight beam falls upon something white bobbing in the sewer water and she feels her skin crawl as she answers, “Same place as the alley victim’s missing parts, the bellies of the sick fucks who are behind all of this.”

“Jesus fucking christ!” The detective gasps, holding a hand to his mouth. “The other victims, they must be coming out now because…”

“Because their normal food source has been used up.” Sammy finishes. “They ate everyone society won’t miss and had to move onto folks who the police would. God knows how long this has been going on without the department being any the wiser.”

“Bastards!” The detective growls, raising his service weapon and pushing past Sammy. “Come on, these sick fucks are going to pay!”

“Come on man, this is way above your paygrade!” Sammy calls, jogging to keep up. “Lets just get the fuck out of here and tell your superiors about what’s going on. No need to go all action cop on me!”

The wolf snarls, bearing his teeth as he checks his ammunition. “If my superiors learn there’s some sort of cannibal shark cult operating in this town, you're going to have a lot more trouble to deal with than a handful of crazies.” He looks back at her, a predatory glint in his eye. “So you can either help me hunt these freaks down and get a little payback or you can wait for the chief to have this whole miserable burg put under police lockdown. Choice is yours, but if I were in your shoes I’d be thinking of ways of thanking me for helping, maybe even of sweetening the deal so I don’t have to write anything to… Sensational in my report about this afterwards.”

“Fucking creep.” Sammy growls, but raises her revolver. “Alright, lets go!”

The sounds of the pairs pounding feet echo through the sewers, the noise soon joined by another, much louder chorus of skittering claws as something moves to intercept them. Sammy slows and raises her revolver as silvery eyes appear out of the darkness, many, many sets of eyes and many more sharp, gleaming teeth. Above the hoard, something else shifts, a massive, bloated something who’s eyes burn like twin red coals in a face totally obscured by shadow.

“What the fuck is that?” Sammy breathes, her hands shaking as she takes aim at the hulking form.

“Whatever it is, it's dead!” The detective howls, squeezing his trigger and flooding the sewer with a deafening roar of light and sound. In the flash Sammy see’s pale, drawn faces, smeared with blood and bodies covered in tattered rags. She also sees the form of the creature behind them and the sight of the misshapen monstrosity causes her to lose all sense of herself and scream. Her eyes stream as she raises her revolver and fires blindly, still screaming as the nightmarish thing lifts one gnarled arm and bellows a command in a voice like that of a demon from the darkest pits of hell.

“KILL!” 

The hoard charges, voices raised in furious snarls as they rush forward, heedless of the bullets which rip their fellows apart. The detective lets out his own warcry in answer and reloads as his pistol clicks empty, hands moving as fast as lighting. The roar of gun fire rings nearly continuously, but only from one source as soon as Sammy’s six shots are fired she begins to back away, numb horror clouding over her mind.

“COVER ME!” The detective bellows as he loads a third magazine into his pistol, the slavering shark like creatures closing fast upon him. “I’m almost out, I need my spare magazines!” When he does not hear an immediate response he turns to see Sammy turning and fleeing back the way they had come. “COWARD!” His eyes blaze and he turns his gun on her. “I’LL KILL YOU YOU-”

The detectives words are cut off by a scream of pain as the first of the creatures reaches him and without a moment's hesitation bites down onto his shoulder, jagged teeth ripping through cloth, skin and mussel before with a jerk of its head, it pulls the flesh free, bringing with it a geyser of blood! The detective staggers, but before he can do anything another one of the creatures grabs a hold of his head and pushes it to one side, biting down on his neck.

The last thing Sammy hears of the detective is a gurgling wail and the crunching of bone as he is eaten alive.

-

Varuna

Varuna sets the baked fish falay down on the table with a broad smile as she gives her final customer of the evening a wink. “Enjoy!” 

“You spoil me Varuna!” The old man beams, digging into his meal with gusto.

“Hardly, if nae for your help with the boat while I take care o’ things here in the pub, I’d hardly be able to keep things running smooth as I do.”

“Ah, you could just buy fish from the market though.” The old man replied. “That’s what most places do after all.”

“And have me loyal customers gamble on their fish by relying on some soft handed dandy who’d not know quality from a hole in their hull?” Varuna snorts. “Bugger me with a marlin, the day I let that happen will be the day hell freezes over! I’d sooner chew on a sea urchin then entrust my food supply to someone else!”

Just then a rap at the door draws the huge shark's attention and she frowns at the sight of a pale, thin woman wearing tattered clothing pressed hard against the glass door of the pub. “What’s this then?” She raises her voice. “OI! What are ye, some sort of eejit lass? Dinnae sees the doors a puller not a pusher?” She frowns as the woman, apparently ignoring her words, continues to paw at the glass, her sharp claws scraping lines in its clear surface. “Aye, that’s how ye want to be play’in it then? Alright then…” She looks to the old man. “Andrew, be a pal and fetch me a cleaver would ye?”

“Sure thing boss.” The elderly hammerhead pushes himself away from the table and hurries to the kitchen as his employer strides to the door, rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck as she goes. Sammy’s warning had remained clear in her mind, but she doubted a single, half starved woman would pose much of a threat to her. The cleaver would just be there for if she needed a little added threat to clear off.

“Alright lass, time for you to be movin’ along.” She reaches for the door, barely flinching as the stranger hisses and snarls when she does so. She wraps her hand around the push bar and loudly calls, “Last chance!” The woman growls and Varuna shrugs. “Right, dinnae

say I didn’t warn ye.”

The door swings open with enough force to send the pale woman flying, a movement which draws the attention of the five other silvery eyed creatures which had prowled the streets near her. Seeing the intimidating shape of Varuna emerging into view, they all hiss and begin to ready themselves for an attack. Watching them impassively the great white merely cracks her neck and clenches her hands into fists. “Alright then… Cleaver it is.” She reaches back just in time for the elderly hammerhead to press the familiar weight of the knife into her hand. “Ta, now best run along back to the kitchen Andrew. Tonights lookin’ like it might get a wee bit rough.”

The ghouls screech and charge, but their speed is nothing compared to that of Varuna who’s massive body explodes with a burst of speed that would make a marathon runner blush. The silver flash of her blade is soon joined by the crimson spray of blood as the first ghoul falls, its silver eyes turning grey as its head detaches from its body. Without missing a beat the shark turns, dodges a slash from the next monstrosity before awensering in kind, metal hacking through bone and brain as easily as it would butter. Her quickness however cannot fully account for the advantage of numbers and she growls as a clawed hand digs into her side, drawing blood and leaving an opening for another ghoul to dart in, jaws open and ready to bite!

“GET OFF!” Varuna roars, bringing the handle of the cleaver down atop the biter's head hard enough to shatter its skull and send a spray of teeth flying in all directions as its head collapses in on itself. The creature which had grabbed her fares little better, its last sight being that of the shark's free hand closing over its face before squeezing tightly enough to burst it like an overripe melon. Finally turning her attention to the last of her adversaries, Varuna roars again and leaps forward, catching both and driving them into the asfalt hard enough to splatter their pasty bodies into so much gore.

As the last ghoul dies, Varuna takes a moment to catch her breath and steady herself before looking about for more threats. As she scans  the street, her eyes land upon a familiar manhole, now uncovered, its lid gouged by deep claw marks and tossed aside. Seeing this her eyes widen and she breathes, “Sammy, my god!” She pushes herself back to her feet and charges forward, cleaver in hand. “HOLD ON MATE, I’M COME’IN FOR YA!”  

-

Mayhem

All the stress and tension of the day drains from Mayhem’s body as rivers of steamy water flow over her skin. She tilts her head back, singing softly to herself, enjoying the way her voice trembles and rumbles as droplets of water hammer against it. One hand drifts down her body, streams of decadently warm liquid gathering and sliding to either side of her fingers as they reach for a warm and welcoming place between her soft thighs.

Suddenly the warmth of the shower is tempered by a gust of cold air as the door to the bathroom is flung open and a panicked bear bursts in, looking about with a wild, frantic energy that sends a pang of fear into the shark woman. Mayhem reaches for the shower head, but before she turns the knob to cut off the water, the soothing heat tamps down her concern and she moves to mask her momentary loss of composure with a mask of playful sensuality.

“Hello there love.” She calls, catching the bears attention for only a moment before they turn to start ripping towels off the rack. “What's the rush? The waters nice and I promise, I don’t bite.”

She had intended to wink suggestively, but as the bear swings their head back the look of fear and rage on their face causes Mayhem to reflexively take a step away, her back coming up against the showers wall. 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET DRESSED!” DJ screams before racing out of the bathroom without bothering to close the door.

“But you… Have my pants and all the towels.” Mayhem mutters. The water had lost all of its soothing warmth for the shark and so with a sigh she cuts it off. “Could have at least left something.”

“Alright, I’m coming out, but since you didn’t leave me with anything to dry off with, you have no one to blame, but yourselves for the fact I’ll be wearing wet underwear till you get me a… Towel.” Mayhem trails off as she takes in the carnage of the living room. DJ had taken the towels they had swiped from the bathroom and used them to attempted to cover one of Maru’s arms, though even the absorbent fabric of three of the fluffy things had done little to stem the flow of blood which pooled across the floor like an inky black mirror reflecting the horrified faces of the two person amature medical team. Maru is still conscious, but her eyes have gone dull and her mouth moves silently as she mouths a message no one can hear.

April, who’s ashen face and gore soaked front would have made her look like the victim of some horrific attack under any other circumstances glances up from where she kneels, holding Maru’s one good hand and in a tone as calme and dull as Mayhem had ever heard remarks, “Oh Mayhem… Good. Can you be a super pal and go get that first aid kit I lent you?”

“O-Oh, yes of course!” Mayhem stammers. “B-But do you need help with-”

“No.” April says shortly. “The cell receptions out. If I don’t have that first aid kit then…”

“I get it!” Mayhem shouts, panic already starting to set in. “Hold tight loves, I’ll be right back!” And with that she turns and sprints out the door, racing back across the building towards her flat. Her mind spins as fear grips her heart, the images of what she had seen back at April’s place flashing before her mind's eye in sickening detail. She doesn’t notice the looks she gets from other residents drawn by the sound of her running feet, nor does she hear their scandalized mutterings. She knows what they all think of her, what they whisper about behind her back when they think she cannot hear and she doesn’t care. Her friends, April and Varuna and Maru, they are the only people whose opinions truly matter and if anything happened to them… No! She won’t think about that! She can’t! She can only act, act to stop THAT from happening! 

Her flat, the door crashes open as she slams into it. Had she unlocked the door or merely barreled through it? She can’t remember, it doesn’t matter. She shoves the trash which had covered the first aid kit aside and grabs the pretious box before turning back to leave again, heedless of anything else.

A blur of doors, disapproving faces, someone moving to stop her, complaining about her lack of modesty. Her knuckles flare with pain and the impact of her fist against his face sends a shockwave up her arm, but she doesn’t stop or slow as he crashes to the ground. She flies up the stairs two at a time then bolts into the flat where her friends are waiting.

“Oh my god, your hands bleeding!” DJ cries.

“Not my blood.” She replies, handing the medical kit over. “If some wanker comes complaining, just tell him to bugger off and that I’ll give him another if he’s not satisfied yet.”

“Thank you Mayhem.” April looks up, gives her a tired smile. She smiles back, a small, warm feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. “Here, come hold Maru’s hand while me and DJ prepare.”

She hesitates for only a moment, she wants it, wants to help, wants to hold Maru’s hand and tell her it will all be okay.

Wants to believe it.

“Can’t, sorry.” She looks down at Maru, see’s the life slowly draining from her eyes and feels tears welling in her own. “Varuna… Varuna should be here.”

“Right…” April whispers, her smile fading as the little color which had returned to her drains away. “Good thinking.”

“And!” DJ interjects, obviously trying not to let the mood dip too far. “She owns a pub, that must mean she has a landline! If you can call an ambulance, then… Everything will be alright!”

“Y-Ya!” She smiles, though she has trouble making it seem anything, but hollow. “You hear that Maru? I’m gonna get Varuna and a doctor and you're going to be just fine! Just hold tight a bit longer and I’ll be back before you know it!”

She feels DJ’s warm hand on her shoulder and nearly lets the tears she’s been holding back flow as a jacket is pulled around her. “Be careful out there, okay?” The polar bear says. “Maru said she was jumped by some pale looking guy in tattered clothes so if you see anyone like that, you just run, alright?”

She doesn’t trust herself to speak, if she tries she knows the tears will start and once they do there will be no stopping them, so instead she nods. She hears April say something, it sounds like, ‘Thank you Mayhem’, but she’s not sure. She just has to keep moving and everything will be alright.

Down the stairs, out the front door, no shoes so the pathment feels rough under her bare feet, but that’s good, something to focus on, something to keep her sharp. The air is cool, almost cold against her wet skin, but the night is mostly empty, no one to see her run. 

Ahead she sees a light! THE PUB! It’s so close now, she can almost hear Varuna’s voice asking her why she’s so worried… Varuna who will know what to do. Varuna who always finds a way to fix things!

She feels a sharp pain in her foot as she steps on a shard of glass and it's all she can do to hop away before she steps on another. Blood smears onto the asphalt. A broken window, someone tried to break into the pub, someone who was bleeding pretty heavily by the look of it. Still… They would not have been able to stop Varuna. Varuna wouldn’t be stopped so easily, she never let anything stop her. She’d fix things, she always does.

The door opens easily, inside all is quiet. She feels her heart race faster, where is Varuna?

“VARUNA!” Her voice cracks, she tries to tell herself it's just stress, but she knows it's the clawing, gnawing fear that’s poisoning her words as they leave her quivering throat. “VARUNA WHERE ARE YOU!?” She looks around and begins to ring her hands. “No no no no no no no… Varuna... Where are you dear?” 

A sudden tinkling crash as a piece of the window falls from its precarious place and smashes onto the ground jerks her from her panic with a yelp. She clutches at her chest and lets out a strangled laugh, “Holy shit…” She breaths. “Bloody hell, that scared me… Okay, okay this is fine. Don’t panic Mayhem, Varuna’s out, but that doesn’t mean anything necessarily…” She looks to the kitchen and perks up slightly. “Because the phone! I can still call an ambulance! I-I still have this! Don’t worry Maru, I’m not going to let you down!”

She hurries, one foot limping as the sting of the glass sends jolts of pain up her leg. It's fine though, it’s far less then her friend has suffered and something she can attend to after she calls for medical help. All she needs to do now is make it to the phone and all of this will be over.

A thick, coppery smell hangs heavy in the kitchen as she enters, the by now far too familiar stench of blood causing her to recoil in horror even before she sees what is on the floor. When she does catch sight of the rotting, half eaten figure, hunched over the body of old man Andrew, face buried in his opened guts, it’s all she can do to avoid vomiting. Yet even her muffled exsulation of palpable disgust is enough to cause the thing to lift its dripping head from its nightmarish meal and hiss at her.

She staggers back, but too late as the thing that had killed Andrew lunges at her, grabbing at her injured foot with clawed hands and dragging her towards its bloody maw with terrifying strength! She grabs for a knife from the table as she falls, screaming in fear and pain when the thing’s sharp claws dig into her already damaged foot. The creature bites down and she screams again, a high, terrible sound that fails to capture even a fraction of the agony of her mussel being torn slowly from her bone.

Blinded by pain, lost to the world, she lashes out with the knife, drawing a flaming line of pain across her own leg with one wild swipe before connecting to the things head with another. Her screams of pain turn to cries of fury as wildly she stabs again and again, cutting herself more than once, but striking true more often till with a shutter the thing biting her gives up the fight and collapses, dead upon her ruined limb.

Sobbing she pushes the creature off herself, letting go of the knife as she does. The blade is stuck so firmly in what was once a shark's face, she doubts she could get it out again, even if she had the strength.

Slowly, painfully, she turns her head to look up at where the phone rests on the far side of the restaurant and lets out a tiny, sobbing laugh. “Oh… Dear.” She lets the tears flow freely at last, finally allowing herself the luxury of breaking down. She had failed after all, it wasn’t like there was much of a point in keeping it together now…

Mayhem had pushed herself past all of her limits, done things she would never have imagined herself capable of before this night, yet here, at the very end, she finds herself stymied by a mutilated foot and a dozen feet of kitchen floor.

She looks up at the phone through teary eyes and as a hysterical laugh bubbles up in her throat calls out, “Andrew, be a dear and fetch the phone, would you?”

Suddenly a dark shadow falls across Mayhem and she turns her gaze to the silvery eyed, unblinking visage of the old hammerhead man himself, his guts still hanging from where the creature had been feeding.

“Andrew?” She asks, feeling a sense of unreality wash over her. “You're alive?”

The old man hisses, baring his sharp teeth as he descends on her, eyes gleaming with an unnatural hunger even with his stomach having been torn from his gut. 

Mayhem's mind screams at her to run, fight or even just call for help, but she cannot. By now, she’s just too tired and her final thought is merely a hopeless prayer for it all to just end quickly. 

-

Sammy

Hitting the ground hard, Sammy twists herself around ignoring the flare of pain as her tail is crushed between her body and the sharp lip of the sewers side. Her hand dives into her coat pocket and fumbles out two bullets which she jams into the open cylinder of her revolver and then slams it home.

The first ghoul screams in rage as it dives at her, but the roar of the gun silences it forever, the back of its head exploding into a shower of skull fragments and brain matter. But no sooner does the monster start to fall, then it’s corpse is shoved aside by two of its fellows, neither seeming the slightest bit perturbed by the fate of their companion. 

The second shot is less well aimed and the bullet merely rips through the shoulder of one of the remaining creatures, sending it staggering backwards, but not ending its blighted existence. The third meanwhile pounces, giving Sammy no time to try to reload again. She only has time to kick out a foot and that serves only to slow the monster as it falls upon her, gnashing, blood flecked jaws kept mear inches from her face. The despart shark swings the but of her weapon at the creatures head, but in such an awkward position, chipping a tooth is all she can manage.

The injured ghoul recovers in the meantime and with a snarl rushes again, its outstretched claws and silvery eyes looming large in Sammy’s vision as the trapped woman realizes her doom, long awaited, has finally found her.

Just then, as the ghoul is about to strike, a blur of silver flashes before Sammy’s eyes and the monster crashes to the ground, its head split open by a large cleaver. Before she can process this, the creature on top of Sammy is ripped away as a massive arm catches it under its chest and hurls it back down the sewer. It lands heavily and tries to regain its feet, but before it can Sammy’s savior leaps through the air fist first, catching the monster in a devastating punch which drives it back onto the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Ye doing alright there Sammy?” Varuna asks as she rises slowly, glancing back at the stunned tiger shark. “You look like ye’ve hav’in bloody pissah of a time.”

“God Varuna…” Sammy gasps, sitting up. “You're a lifesaver!” 

“Tell me something I dinnae ken.” Varuna laughs, though it's a slightly tired sound. The great white, Sammy now sees, is soaked in blood and viscera, her hands covered in small cuts and large bruises and her cleaver, which she rips almost casually from the head of the dead ghoul, is dented and chipped.

“Busy night?” Sammy asks.

“Allot of angry, hungry buggers look’in ta have a go at the town.” Varuna snorts as she walks over to lift Sammy back to her feet. “Would have been here sooner, but like hell I was going to let 'em have at it.” 

“Well I hope you're not completely worn out yet.” Sammy sighs, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing the last of her bullets. “Because there’s something leading them and last I saw it was still alive and kicking.” She reloads her revolver and grimaces. “It’s big, it's mean and it scared the shit out of me so bad I damn near ACTUALLY lost it for good! Took a fair bit of running before I had enough sense back to actually start fighting back against the things chasing me and even then I’d be as dead as that detective if not for you!”

To Sammy’s surprise, a grim smile spreads over Varuna’s face at the news. “So,” She says, wiping the blood from her cleaver. “There’s a leader aye? Sounds like killing it should solve our troubles a lot more cleanly than having to hunt down each of these wee bastards one by one through this damn sewer!” 

“Well… Good.” Sammy slams the cylinder back into place and spins it, taking a small measure of comfort in its clacking. “Because I’m pretty sure it's been following me.”

The sound of skittering and low panting growls cause the two to turn their attention towards a pair of large, red eyes slowly approaching from the darkness. The hulking, twisted shape hisses as it nears, though it’s movements seem labored.

“It injured?” Varuna asks, raising her cleaver. “Because it's not lookin so hot ta me.”

“I guess I did… Shoot it a lot.” Sammy admits, raising her gun. “Me and the detective both. I just sort of assumed… It wouldn’t mind being shot so much, given how resilient these things are.” 

“Can’t say I know of many who’d not be slowed a wee bit by a hail of bullets.” Varuna remarks as the creature drags its form into view, its body clearly shaking as it tries to advance, despite bleeding from a dozen not so small holes peppered about its body. “I think ya might have been a little premature in running so hard from it lass.”

“There were a lot of the normal ones too!” Sammy snaps. “Besides, I think having to travel so far is part of what got it so much less… Intimidating now.”

“Right.” Varuna nods, glancing to Sammy. “So… Care to kill it then? I’ve got things ta do in the morning, if ye don’t mind?”

“Right.” Sammy nods and raises her revolver, pointing it at the monster's head. “Guess this ones for the detective.”

One last time that evening, the sewer is lit up with the flash of a muzzle and the roar of gun fire.

Then all is silent. 

-

Varuna

The large great white pulls herself from the open manhole with a grunt before turning to help her tiger shark companion with her own climb, both breathing hard from the effort. Without the constant flow of adrenaline, neither woman has much strength left in her, but so close to the end of their harrowing night, neither is willing to admit defeat.

Still, the night is not yet fully done with them as turning Varuna curses, low and tired. “Hell…”

“Sorry about the window.” Sammy says, reaching up to pat her larger friend on the back. “But I’m sure it can be replaced. Shit, I’ll pay for it myself, I owe you for saving my ass back there anyway!”

“It’s not the window.” Varuna groans, her voice cracking slightly as she stares into the pub, a look of growing weary horror spreading across her face. “Look inside.” 

“Fuck me…” Sammy mutters as the sight of an elderly hammerhead ghoul and a much younger, much less dressed pink and black haired shark stagger about within the establishment. “Are they… Do you know them?”

“Andrew.” Varuna mumbles, tears welling in her eyes. “He works fur me… I told him ta stay here, that he’d be safe.” She rubs at her eyes. “And Mayhem, damn it girl… She live’s in my building. Used to annoy the hell out’a me and flirt with me girl Maru, but she didn’t deserve this. She was just a big kid…” She rubs at her eyes again, though only manages to smear the tears across her cheeks. “She must have come running to me for help like she always did when she got in hot water, but I wasn’t here… I wasn’t here for either of em.”

“Hey…” Sammy squeezes Varuna’s shoulder. “You saved my life, you stopped this thing from spreading any further then it did and you might have saved the whole town by doing so. Why don’t…” She clears her throat. “I have two more bullets left. Why don’t you just stay out here and I’ll make sure they don’t suffer?”

Varuna nods, swallowing hard. “Ya I… Thank you Sammy. That’ll do just fine.”

Sammy leaves her hand on the big woman’s shoulder a little while longer before with a sigh she loads the last of her ammo and enters the building. Varuna meanwhile sits on the curb, feeling the throb of pain from her battered hands and tries to ignore the stab of guilt that drives into her heart as first one, then a second shot is fired.

She cries then, alone in the darkness, silently weeping for the lives of her lost friends while inside of her pub Sammy drags the lifeless bodies into the freezer to wait till morning when proper arrangements can be made. Her body shakes and shutters as she buries her face in her bloody hands and tries to not think of what might have been different had she stuck around.

Finally, as Sammy returns, Varuna lifts her bloody, tear stained face from her palms and in a shaky voice asks, “How will I explain this to Maru?”

“I’ll help.” Sammy replies simply and wraps her arms around Varuna’s shoulders. Varuna returns the hug, gripping Sammy tightly.

The hug ends abruptly when from a nearby building a voice screams out, “VARUNA! HELP!” 

The two turn to see a purple shark woman waving frantically from an open window, a nervous looking bear standing just behind her. “April?” Varuna asks quietly. “What in the world…?” Then her eyes open wide. “Maru! If they're in trouble, then there might be ghouls in the flat!”

“LETS GO!” Sammy shouts, jumping back and taking off at a sprint, but she is quickly past by the great white whose own weariness vanishes in an instant as she barrels straight through the front door and hurdles herself up the stairs in a series of long, bounding strides.

All the world falls away from Varuna as she runs, her only thought of Maru. She had lost so much already and she would be damned if anything happened to her beloved now that she was back and here to protect her!

She passes the door belonging to April and Sasha for the moment, moving straight to her own flat, flinging the door open and rushing inside to find her missing love. Only upon seeing no sign of her does she consider that, should something have happened while she was away, it would only make sense for her to go to one of her friends for safety and with Mayhem… Well that would have only left April and Sasha in the building.

Varuna charges the door to the couples flat and bursts it open without bothering to check if it had been unlocked. She then stands in the doorway, her heart frozen in her chest as she sees the bloody, pale blue and white shark woman who slowly turns her blue, black haired head to stare at her with silvery eyes.

“Maru…” Varuna breathes as the love of her life bares her golden teeth in a snarl. “Not you… Anyone, but you…”

Maru raises her one good arm and hisses as she lurches forward, mouth dropping open as she roars. Varuna meanwhile simply stands and stares in mute despair. The cleaver falls from her numb fingers and she makes no move to fight back as her girlfriend lunges forward, jaws ready to snap close upon her neck.

Varuna closes her eyes and winces only when a spray of blood strikes her face, however when no pain accompanies it, she opens them once again to see a light grey, striped arm pushed between her and her beloved. Blood spurts and pools around the arm as Maru’s teeth slowly squeeze further and further into the flesh, but the owner of the arm does not move or scream, merely gritting her teeth and clutching at the elbow with enough force to somewhat stem the flow.

“Sammy, what are you…?” Varuna asks, voice dull and lifeless.

“Giving you… Time!” Sammy grunts through her teeth. “To wake up and stop her!”

“But your arm…” Varuna’s thoughts begin to clear. “You're- Your going to lose it if you don’t…”

“IF YOU DON’T!” Sammy barks. “I’m out of bullets! YOU HAVE TO END THIS!”

“Right…” Varuna mumbles, reaching down and picking up her cleaver. The weight of the weapon seems far greater than it had at any point before in the night. “I’m so sorry…” She whispers, but to whom, even she is not fully sure. Then she raises the weapon high and with one last swing brings it down, the crunch of bone as Sammy’s arm breaks accompanied by the cracking of Maru’s skull as the final ghoul meets its end.

A door opens somewhere and two figures rush to apply a makeshift tourniquet to Sammy’s arm and clean Varuna’s badly damaged hands, but everything is a blur to the great white as she slowly sinks to the floor and closes her eyes. She presses her head to the cooling corpses and there allows darkness to take her.

-

Sammy

A week later Sammy steps out onto the dock, adjusting her sling as she goes. The doctors had assured her that some feeling and basic motor functions would return someday with enough physical therapy, but she had ducked out of the hospital as early as she could. The doctors meant well and were probably right about a good many things, but there was something more important than getting the use of her hand back that she needed to do.

“Damn knots…” Varuna mutters as she fiddles with the thick ropes, her own bandages making it hard to make much progress on the fishing boats tethering. “Why does every bloody thing have to be so hard?”

“Need a hand?” Sammy calls, causing the big shark to look up at her, obvious surprise on her face. “I still have the one after all.” 

“Sammy, why aren't you in bed?” Varuna demands. “Your arms barely attached to your damn body still!”

“Could ask the same of you.” She points out. “Pretty sure you’ve got a couple infections still floating around your bloodstream.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Varuna mutters, grabbing a knife and slashing at the ropes with a bitter scowl. “I’ve got things to do.”

“So I see.” Sammy remarks. “Though, you know going out on the water without any crew like that’s a pretty good way of getting yourself lost at sea.” Varuna grunts, but offers nothing else in reply so Sammy continues. “Besides, your engine still needs to be repaired. Far as I remember that was something else we discussed.”

“If you're looking for work, I’m sorry.” Varuna grumbles. “I’m taking off today so you’ll just have to wait till I get back. I recommend waiting in the hospital.”

“I have a better idea.” Sammy says and hops into the boat. “I’ll come with you and work on the engine whenever you cast your line. That way if anything happens, I’ll be right here to help!”

“Sammy…” Varuna growls. “Get out of my boat! I’m not going for a pleasure cruise and I don’t want a crew!”

“I know.” Sammy sighs and sits down. “Going out there with someone else, the chances of something going wrong and someone else dying as a result, that’s not a risk you're going to take, is it?”

“Sammy…” Varuna’s face darkens. “Be careful lass. Your treeding on thin fucking ice.” 

Sammy glares back and defiantly puts her good arm over the side of the boat. “I’m not going. If you're going to do what I think you're going to try and do, then I’m not moving. You saved my life and I’m returning the favor whether you like it or not. And if you think you can just slip away in the night, you better think again because if anything happens to you, I’ll be going out day and night in a flimsy little dinghy till I bring you back safe!” 

“That’s… Suicidal.” Varuna sighs. “Point taken.” She throws down her knife and trudges over to sit next to Sammy. “No getting rid of you, is there?”

“I’m very persistent.” Sammy shrugs, flinching as the motion aggravates her injured arm. “Ow! Fuck!” 

“Alright, alright.” Varuna grumbles, though despite herself she cannot help, but smile a little. “Then if neither of us is going out on the water, we might as well both actually go back to the hospital. After all, the doctors said I could lose a few fingers if I didn’t take my treatment seriously.”

“Funny, they said something similar about my arm.” Sammy grimices. “Hey, if that happens, do you think you could use your remaining fingers and my one arm to do all the same things we used to by teaming up?”

“Depends on what ye mean by ‘all the things’.” Varuna nudgs Sammy’s good shoulder. “Because I’d be valuing my remaining digits too much to go sticking them into actively running engines.”

“That was one time!” Sammy laughs. “One time and I didn’t even lose the thumb!”

“Oh THAT is reassuring!” Varuna chortles as the two wander back into town with the dawning of a new day.  

THE END