The Permutation

Homeostasis (Part 1) Albert

The man's face turned an amusing shade of red, and Albert wished he could have replicated the man's insolent smirk that he had been displaying seconds before.

"Why you little sh-" Tony said, but an elbow to the kidney interrupted the man's sentence.

"Hands off, you creep. You don't want to add animal cruelty to your list of offenses," Lisa said.

Rage warred on Tony's face, as he more than likely contemplated the best way to shut Lisa's mouth for good. The tension from his face in slow increments until the slick persona regained control.

"Of course, of course. You're right sweetheart. Thanks for looking out for me. Daddy's going to remember that."

Although the words were silky and saturated with calmness, Albert could sense the implicit threat in the statement.

A thud against the glass on Albert's side of the car cut off whatever Lisa's reply may have been.

Albert turned to see a human woman snarling at him through the window. A streamer of black saliva trickled down the edge of her mouth as she slammed her head against the glass again. The impact didn't do the truck any harm, but it did work well as a distraction.

Tony lunged forward, and before anyone could react, he had curled his hands around Vyth's neck and twisted. The Being's head bent at an impossible angle, and his eyes locked onto Tony's before glazing over. As if punctuated by the snapping of his neck, Vyth's body started to lose its shape and deflate like a balloon. Whatever force had held the man together, left with his last breath. Albert couldn't see over the seat and was glad to be spared the sight of the man.

Without a moment to spare, Albert pressed a button on the door to his left. A window started to squeak downward.

Tony had turned his ministrations on Lisa, but Albert knew if he tried to help her, he may as well have been signing his own death warrant. Maybe he deserved it, but his instinct to survive overwhelmed any sense of bravery.

Tony's head tilted backward slightly, but it was enough for his peripheral vision to catch Albert's attempt to escape. The man's eyes darted between Lisa and Albert trying to decide which was a bigger threat, and the man's eyes settled back on Lisa.

It would appear kidney punch trumps dog bite.

In his haste, Albert had completely forgotten about the female predator that would have liked to make him an hor dourve if given half the chance. The window had descended halfway by the time he realized his mistake. A reaching arm snaked its way through the opening Albert had created. It did not have enough maneuverability to be a real threat, but that wouldn't stop her for long.

Albert watched the expanding opening with anticipation, dreading the moment where he would need to leap out the window and into the arms of the waiting predator. He shivered at the thought of her mindlessly groping hands rubbing his fur the wrong way, truly an abhorrent sensation. Humans possessed only a fraction of the senses, whereas Albert experienced everything in vivid detail. For instance, judging by the scent of oil on the woman's hand, she had not washed in over seventy-two human hours.

Even before the parasite, this woman's negligence of hygiene was criminal.

Albert pressed his body flat, everything but his one paw pressing the button was pressed against the seat waiting for his moment.

He could hear the fighting of Lisa and Tony next to him and thought about turning to help the woman, but Albert had already made his decision. It was far too late to change his mind.

Albert chanced a glance upward to see the predators hand thrashing back and forth was now dangerously close to brushing his fur. He scooted backward while holding his chest and buttocks firmly against the seat. When he felt he had created enough distance from the limb, Albert bunched the muscles in his haunches and leapt towards the window.

The predator adjusted its position accordingly, easily shifting position to match Albert's trajectory. The dog landed in the woman's waiting arms. Her hands were more like claws as they clutched his fur and dug into flesh. Albert writhed, in her grasp, gyrating his body, making it hard for her to get anywhere near his mouth.

The woman removed her hand to get a better grip on his throat, and Albert seized the opportunity. He flung himself out of her hold and landed on the ground, leaving a chunk of his hair and skin behind. The predator responded with an inhuman agility, lunging for Albert, but the dog scurried out of her reach, desperation quickening his reflexes. Physical exertion had never been a strong suit of his, but now he felt more spry than a pup.

He heard a crack and a thud from behind him. Albert turned to see Michelle standing over the form of his pursuer She looked radiant in the glow of the streetlights, like a heroine straight out of the comic books.

Sadly, heroes are for stories. In this world, heroes don't last long enough to make a difference.

As if on cue, a brilliant light penetrated the sky, blinding Albert for several moments. The smell of burnt metal wafted through the hour, and the air almost seemed to crackle and pop. Albert put two and two together. The trigger happy Blujh had fired off a shot of his damnable weapon and hit something dangerous, possibly a vehicle.

With his eyes scrunched shut against the glare, Albert trotted in a direction he thought might offer a modicum of shelter. He did not like the thought of being out in the open, a sitting duck as it were. He would feel much better with a building at his back, where he could survey the events as opposed to being a part of them. That position complemented his skillset better.

Whilst he ran, A deafening roar accompanied by a rushing wave of heat lifted him off of his feet and hurled him into the air. He careened end over end, unable to determine what direction was up or down. The world snapped back into focus when Albert's head collided with a brick wall.

Sometime later, Albert hoped it was just seconds. Time passed differently for Albert; he lifted his head to survey the carnage that had transpired. The truck Lisa, Vyth, and Tony had been occupying now ceased to exist. In its place was a pool of melted metal and rubber with flames licking the air around it. In the area surrounding the blast, smoking pieces of half-liquified metal littered the streets and sidewalks, but there was no sign of the truck's occupants.

That being noted, there was no shortage of dead bodies filling the streets. Albert scanned the wreckage to see if any looked familiar, but these humans were either burned beyond recognition or unfamiliar to him.

The sun glowed a muted, yellow light that provided little warmth or illumination; it felt superficial, like the sun had been replaced by a fluorescent bulb. Albert sighed and pushed himself to his feet. A booming pain pounded in rhythm between his eyes, but the rest of him appeared to be in working order. He glanced to his right and to his left, trying to distinguish which path he should take. Desolation and emptiness stretched in either direction as far as the eye could see. It felt strange to not have a human tell him which way to go.

He supposed he could wait.