The decision was taken away when the snowbank charged at the group with only the soft crunching of the new-fallen snow under its soft paws.
“Mutie!” Dean cried and fired, both rounds missing. Hot pipe, that sucker was fast.
The rest of the mixed group spun as the snowbank leaped on Ann, the blow shoving her off her horse. The girl hit the ground, rolling with the thing, blood spurting from deep gashes in her chest. Instantly, everybody had their blasters out, but withheld firing. The girl and mutie were so entangled it would be impossible to shoot one without hitting the other.
“Shoot it!” Ann screamed, beating at the snowy white creature with both fists. Her blanket was ripped, taking most of her clothing with it, and she pulled the big flintlock from her belt and fired, the boom echoing along the crags sounding like a hundred blasters. The discharge cloud masked the two until the wind pushed it away. Shapeless white covered her neck for a moment, then went away and blood fountained into the air from severed arteries as her throat was neatly removed. She gurgled horribly, her hands at the ragged flesh of her neck, then the snow mutie moved to her belly and once more hot blood spewed.
“Ann’s dead, chill the fucker!” Ryan ordered leveling the Steyr and firing. The round missed striking the dying girl and only startled the creature.
As the companions fired a barrage of lead, the creature turned toward them and Ryan could only see a vague outline of a bestial face under the blood; the rest was only shapeless white. Good enough.
Working the bolt, he aimed between the eyes and pulled the trigger. The mutie flipped over sideways and hit the snow, green blood pumping onto the ground like a chem spill. Framed by its own blood, the thing was now an easy target. Mildred used the shotgun, tearing the carcass apart with a full charge of flechettes. Dean got it in the face again, while Jak, Doc and Krysty aimed for the chest. Facing the opposite direction, J.B. was sweeping the wintery landscape with the Uzi for any more of the strange creatures.
Dismounting, Mitchum and Ryan slowly approached the mutie with drawn blasters, the others holding back, controlling the scared horses and reloading their assorted weapons. The strained breathing of the creature could clearly be heard, but even at ten feet away it was difficult to focus clearly on the thing. It was a blob of fuzzy white floating in green—that was all. Jacking in a fresh round, Ryan fired the longblaster at point-blank range. The creature bucked from the impact and went still. The puffing of its breath disappearing for good.
“It’s aced,” Mitchum reported, holstering his piece.
“Something local?” Ryan asked, looking over the thing.
The officer frowned. “Never saw or heard anything like it before. Must be a newbie.”
“A new mutant,” Ryan translated.
“Yeah, sure, get them all the time from the north.”
The direction of the Bikini Atoll where the American government tested all those nukes in the past. Made sense.
Sliding off her mount, Mildred passed the reins to J.B. and hurried over. The physician burned with curiosity to see the mutation closer. Moving past the men, she stepped into the blood and crouched near the body, running her hands over the cold corpse. It couldn’t have lost body heat that fast. It had to be cold-blooded, like a lizard. But then, how could it move so fast?
The body was huge and draped with gossamer-fine fur as pale as the snow. It was broad daylight, but the sun didn’t reflect off the hair filaments. The nose, even the eyes, were as pale as ice, and the entire body was draped with a fringe of the translucent fur, including the face.
“Some sort of cat, like a cougar,” Mildred said, lifting a paw for study. The claws were six inches long, as sharp as knives and a smooth dull white where they weren’t coated with blood. She opened its mouth and noted that even its gums and tongue were white, only some plaque on the lower teeth adding the smallest tinge of yellow. It was the most amazing natural camouflage she had ever seen. Made stick-bugs and chameleons pale in comparison. No way this was a result of natural selection; it was much too perfect. Designed was the word that came to mind.