The Townhouse

The dog runs ahead, barking continuously, leading the way to a row of townhouses. Bee- lining to one in particular, it dives inside through a doggie door. T.L.D. and Her Highness try to keep up, all the while noticing the growing darkness and the movements within. Reaching the house, Zesiro struggles with the door. Taxchan covers her, slaying dozens of the feral creatures; first with his revolver, then with a Tommy gun. Giving up, Zesiro shifts into a jackal, and goes through the doggy door as well. Choth fires steadily for several minutes, his frame diminishing as he does, until he is small enough to squeeze through after them.

Attacked!

Huddled in the corner are perhaps a half a dozen men and women. The clothing they wear is tattered, unwashed and almost non existent on some. Their skin has paled to a sickly vein-filled white, and their movements, though slight, are feral, almost inhuman. Zesiro commands them to respond to her, but gains nothing for her efforts save a few, flurried movements. Taxchan keeps a steady bead on the creatures as Zesiro speaks with them, while the sun sinks lower on the horizon. Suddenly, the largest male of the group springs to attention! His muscles tense, he stands unmoving while staring past his gore-matted hair and beard with overly large, blood-filled eyes. Opening his fang-filled mouth, he issues a primal, furious scream! Choth implores the Queen to move away, and she turns haughtily, walking towards the exit. The others, stirred by the sound of the scream, begin to cautiously advance on the pair. As the Queen exits, the inhuman creatures hurl themselves forward, knocking over shelves and bursting through glass. The Last Dinosaur, P.I. opens fire with his revolver, dropping two of the creatures, and the Pharaoh’s sorcerous flash of light sends a third fleeing to the darkness. A fourth creature dashes forward from the pack, almost to Choth, before it realizes the sun is burning its skin, and it flings itself screaming under an abandoned car. From the many buildings and alleyways nearby erupts similar furious screaming and Zesiro and Taxchan turn to flee after the already running mutt.

The Store

Taxchan and Zesiro follow the dog through the streets of the abandoned city. No signs of life greater than rodents are apparent. The dog leads them to an abandoned storefront, but then growls at the pair as they approach the door. Taxchan steps back, and laying an egg in the street, collapses to the ground, lifeless, after his effort. Before Zesiro has time to show her concern, the egg begins to crack, and from it emerges the smell of cheap booze and cigarettes. A man then kicks his way out of the egg, smoking a cigarette as he dusts small pieces of shell from his trenchcoat. Zesiro moves to stand behind him as he draws a revolver, and they cautiously move forward. As they enter, the pair notices movement in a dark corner, behind a tall counter covered in items left behind by the looters that had obviously ransacked the store. Zesiro calls out, but it is to no avail. The duo moves cautiously to the counter, straining slightly as they lean forward just enough to see behind it.

Through the Painting

Taxchan Choth steps through the painting into a barren urban landscape. The dirty, brown mutt increases the volume and rapidity of its barking as it dashes to and fro. A scintillating array of prismatic colors bursts from the sky, from which emerges the Goddess of the Floating Nile, for once without her ever-present guards. The streets are abandoned; no signs of life save yourselves and the mutt. The air is heavy. It's cool, but not cold, breezy and moving quickly toward dusk. After a few moments, you notice a fine, red dust being exhaled as you breathe. This seems to affect the queen more than the giant iguanadon, causing an itching in her throat and an occasional cough. The dog dashes spasticly, barking in a loud, carrying pitch the entire time.