After yesterday’s shitshow, I was depressed, restless and uneasy. It wasn’t just the withdrawals from the alcohol and the damned pills. Neither was it, I had to admit, the knowledge that I’d gotten all those people killed. No, what really fucked me over big time was the knowledge that Headquarters was sending someone to assist me. Well, strike that. They were sending me a damned watch dog. I knew what they’d said, and I knew how they worded it, but I damn well knew how they’d meant it.

I couldn’t sit still all morning. As much as I tried to calm down, I paced my shithole of an apartment. God, I hated the entire thing already. Minutes turned to hours. When my phone rang, I hoped it was another signature for the first time in, well, forever. Of course it wasn’t. The monotone, computerized voice informed me that my new friend had just landed and was on the way to my humble base of operations. For a moment, I considered downing another bottle of booze and getting wasted before whatever asshole they’d sent would get here. Then, I grew nervous, itchy even and put the bottle back. If I did that, my new partner would most likely inform Headquarters about it and it would be added to my ever-growing list of transgressions. Instead, I forced myself to wait patiently. It wasn’t long before I cleaned up the trash around me, but I gave up as quickly as I’d started. Not like it was any use, I thought, sighing.

When the doorbell rang, I cringed at the sound. My head was still throbbing, and I wasn’t in the mood to be goody-two-shoes with anyone. As quietly as I could, I inched toward the front door and took a glance through the spyglass. When I noticed a woman with long black hair standing outside, I felt myself relaxing. All right, calm down and be friendly. She’s probably a new neighbor who wants to introduce herself. I had to admit she wasn’t bad looking at all. I took a deep breath, combed through my hair, and straightened my shirt before I opened the door.

“Hey there,” I said in my smoothest voice and gave her a little wink. “Can I help you with something?”

She stared at me and squinted her eyes. A frown showed on her face before she took out her phone to check something. All the while, I stood there, leaning slightly against the doorframe. The smile on my face didn’t waver. When she spoke up, however, it vanished instantly.

“Exterminator 7D11087, I presume?”

I heard the words, but failed to understand them. No freaking way. My eyes wandered from her face, down to her feet and up again. By now, her face had changed to a mixture of annoyance and disappointment.

“Eh, ehm, are you-?” I started, but then took a step aside to let her pass.

Shit, so much for first impressions. How the hell was I able to fuck up every single thing these days?

“I’m Exterminator 4B98344, Sandra Petrova. As you’re aware, Headquarters sent me here to assist you in your exterminations and to observer your general attitude and diligence on the job.”

I listened, but I could only focus on her number, 4B98344. Here’s the thing. Those numbers aren’t given randomly. No, they are given by rank. The lower the number, the higher the rank. This chick here was way above me in rank.

“N-nice to meet you,” I mumbled and extended a hand to greet her.

Her eyes wandered from my face to my outstretched hand before they returned to my face. No other part of her moved. My hand dangled in the air for a while longer before I let it drop.

“I assume this is your... base of operations?” she continued, and I saw her scanning the room.

Once more, her disappointment was visible as she took in the general chaos that was my apartment. Her eyes came to rest on the empty bottles of booze and she sighed.

“We need to make a few arrangements. For now, though, I’d like to have a look at the status of your equipment.”

“Sure thing, it’s right over here.”

With that, I led her to my small storage room.

“Open Sesame,” I joked as I pushed the door open for her.

As she took in the chaotic state of the room, an exasperated look appeared on her face and I heard her mumble an unintelligible curse.

“Well, you know what Einstein said,” I began, “orders for idiots, but only a genius-“

“I’m well aware of the quote, Exterminator 7D11087. However,” she continued, eying me once more, “someone like you definitely needs order.”

All right, this chick was a freaking bitch.

“You know, maybe I like it this way? Maybe that’s the way I run shit around here.”

She grinned.

“Well, that’s unfortunate, Exterminator 7D11087, but Headquarters has put me in charge of this entire operation. From now on, we’re running shit my way.”

With that, she pushed an official document in my face, which stated exactly what she’d just said, only in more professional terms. Before I could so much as retort anything, she continued talking.

“In my briefing, Headquarters informed me about the cryptic writings and symbols you discovered during your last extermination. To analyze the general situation, I’d like to assess all the data of your recent activities. For that, I’d like to have a detailed look at all the areas in which signatures occurred.”

She took out her phone, pressed a few buttons, and went through a list of my latest misadventures.

“I think it’s best we visit all those places in order to see if there’s any hint of other symbols or writings. We’d best start with the sewer tunnel at-“

“Yeah, that’s all nice and fine,” I cut her off, “but there’s no way we’ll find anything in those sewers, or even the sewers.”

She gave me an inquiring look. I answered with a shrug.

“The sewers are pretty much gone. Took care of the whole damned infestation with a few of those beauties over there.”

With that, I pointed at the stack of standard issue grenades. I’d blown the whole fucking place up after I was forced to go back there. Sandra just stared at me. Disbelief distorted her face before she opened her mouth again.

“You... blew them up?”

“Believe me, sweetheart, the fuckers had it coming.”

At the word sweetheart, her face grew visibly angry. I couldn’t help but smile a little when I saw it. Oh, I could tell this was going to be a fantastic partnership.

In the end, there wasn’t much we could do. The apartment complex where I’d encountered the humanoid type was still closed off because of an ongoing police investigation. The park in which I’d taken care of the swarm type had been torched. As for the urban development area, she’d already been provided with a visual analysis of the cryptic writings and symbols.

While Sandra was busy arranging a few things with Headquarters, I went back to the couch to waste away. As I sat there, I could hear her stern, anger-filled voice as she cursed at Headquarters for sending her here. The entire call lasted almost half-an-hour.

“We’re going to relocate to a new location within the next few days,” she spat at me when she returned. “This place here’s too cramped and too much in a state of disarray for anyone to work at any level of efficiency.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“All right, lady, how about you talk like a normal fucking person for once? What’s it you’re trying to say?”

“We’re going to move to a different apartment. This one’s too small, and it’s a dump!”

I took one look around my apartment. I stared at the dirty dishes and the empty bottles of booze. To be honest, she had a point. The place really was a dump, but it was my dump. I liked the place.

“Where’s that new place even going to-?” I started, but was cut off by Sandra’s phone.

“Shit, what now?”

She gave me another angry stare before she picked up the phone and listened. After not even half a minute, the call ended, and I knew what was going on.

“Let me guess, we’ve got work to do, right?”

This time, she only nodded.

“Get your equipment ready. We’re moving out ASAP. It’s only a D-class signature, so we should be able to finish things quickly and efficiently.”

“Sure thing, boss,” I said as I suited up.

I put on my protective armor, got a hold of my trusty gun, the combat knife and a handful of grenades. As I filled my pockets, Sandra couldn’t help but stare at me.

“Exterminator 7D11087, as I mentioned, it’s only a D-class signature. I believe there’s no need-“

“You know what, you might be in command, lady, so I’m doing whatever you tell me, but listen, if I’m going out there, I’m going prepared. If you’ve got a problem with that, you can fuck right off.”

Sandra gave me a frustrated look before she mumbled a ‘whatever’ and we went on our way.

“So, what kind of horror are we up against today? Vermin? Beast? Humanoid?”

“D-class, presumably a parasite type.”

Fucking fantastic. If there was anything I hated more than any of the other fuckers out there, it was parasites. I always had, but after that shitshow at the daycare, I always hated encountering them.

“The signature’s origin is about two kilometers away from here in the city zoo. The place is put under lockdown as we speak and all personnel are under order of evacuation.”

“Lockdown? Evacuation? You said it’s D-class.”

“It’s under article F.57b of the codex that we’re to evacuate any public areas in which an incident occurs.”

Fuck the codex, I thought, but didn’t say it.

“Yeah, but don’t you think this is a little,” I began, but my voice trailed off.

There was no way I could discuss anything with this stuck-up bitch. As I stared at her now, I saw she wasn’t wearing any armor and carried no weapons.

“Yo, lady, you sure you want to go out like that?”

She eyed me curiously.

“What are you talking about?”

“No armor, no weapons. You got a death wish?”

Sandra gave me a condescending smile.

“I can handle myself, Exterminator 7D11087. Anyway, today I’m only here to observe how you handle the situation.”

“Great, so I get to do all the dirty work while you sit back and enjoy the show?”

Her answer was another sigh.

While we made our way into the zoo, Sandra took out her phone again.

“Visitors have been evacuated. The staff have been told there’s an emergency and have been accounted for. Except for one person, that is.”

“Shit,” I cursed. “Do you know anything more about that?”

Sandra shook her head. I cursed again. It meant we most likely had to handle some sort of infected freak who was causing havoc around the zoo.

As we continued on our way, I took out my close-range scanner. The thing was acting weird, and I soon found more than one signal. I knew what it meant: sub-hosts. The fucker must’ve already infected some animals and had created a cluster. That’s the real danger of a parasite type. Once those fuckers have found a suitable host and taken over its body, they infect other, nearby life-forms to create extensions of themselves, all under the control of the host body.

My eyes were glued to the moving positions on the close-range scanner when Sandra stopped me. I looked up and saw she was pointing at something ahead of us. It was the battered remains of an animal. I couldn’t even tell what it had once been. Sandra went to check on it, but I stormed right past her.

“Exterminator 7D11087, we don’t even know what-“

“It’s Dylan, by the way, and we got no time for that shit! That thing’s out there and it’s creating a cluster!”

With that, I hurried on, my eyes on the close-range scanner. I saw three, no four signals, but there was no guarantee it was all of them. I heard Sandra curse behind me before she came after me.

“We don’t know what we’re up against, how can you just-“

“Doesn’t matter what we’re up against, does it? We’ve got to take the fucker and its cluster down.”

As I ran, I noticed more animal carcasses around us. For a moment, I caught something ahead. It was a shadow up a tree, but it was gone before I had any chance to see what it was. Guess it already knows we’re here, shit.

A minute later, I realized the missing person couldn’t be the host. His battered remains were right in front of us. The only thing that showed he’d once been a human being was the now bloodied shirt with the zoo logo on it. Ahead of him, I saw what we were up against. The bent open bars of the monkey enclosure left no doubt.

“Fucking hell. All right, where are you, you fuckers?”

I hit the close-rang scanner once more, but before I could even have a look at it, I heard the twisted, screeching yelps of monkeys. I saw four, five, shit, way too many. In a moment, the gun was in my hand, ready to blow them away, when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. One of the creatures was right above Sandra. Its fingers had turned into ghastly little claws and its mouth was wide open, revealing a row of sharp little teeth. When I saw it descending upon her, I moved by instinct. Sure, she was a bitch, but damn, I wouldn’t let those fuckers kill another person. My body collided with hers and she was thrown out of the monkey’s path.

The creature landed right on top of me. Its feet got a hold of my arm and I barely avoided it as it tried to scratch my eyes out. It screeched as it sunk its teeth into the protective armor, but its jaws weren’t strong enough to penetrate it. Grinning, I got a hold of it and smashed it into the ground in front of me. One shot of the gun was enough to finish the beast off. Behind me, Sandra had gotten back to her feet, cursing heavily. Yet, I didn’t turn around. The rest of the monkeys stared first at me, then at her. I grinned. Those fuckers knew I was covering her.

“Exterminator 7D11087, what are you doing?” she asked as I stepped in front of her.

“Shut up. You’ve got no armor and no weapons. They’ll tear you apart in seconds. Just stay back and enjoy the show!”

She protested, but I didn’t listen to her anymore. Instead, I focused on the beasts in front of me. They were fast, way too fucking fast. I hit one, then a second one, but the rest quickly retreated. They were waiting for another chance. I tried to hit them from afar, but those fuckers avoided all my shots.

“Guess I’ve got to lure them in,” I said with a grin.

I put the gun away.

“Now then, why don’t you come and get me?” I called out, but they didn’t come any closer.

I took out the combat knife. A damned parasite might control them, but I knew one thing. An infestation is always a symbiosis, especially with animals. Their instincts always remained. In one swift motion, I got a hold of a dead monkey, rammed the knife into it and started cutting it to pieces right in front of their eyes. They didn’t like it one bit.

“Yeah, you like that, don’t you?” I called out to them.

As if on command, they rushed me. Shit, no time for the gun. I threw the remains at the first beast, toppling it over, but another one was right upon me. I felt its claws getting a hold of me, but before it could do anything else, I rammed the combat knife into its head. By now, though, the rest had arrived as well. I made quick work of a second one that tried to come for my face. The combat knife went through its body like through butter. I was covered in gushing monkey blood and, for a moment, I was blind. I could feel one of them, or better its claws, as it tried its best to work its way through my protective armor. Cursing, I shook my leg while I rubbed blood out of my eyes only to see another one jumping me. Its claws tore over my cheek before I could finish it. That’s another three down, two more to go. The one on my leg went down quickly enough.

Where was the last one, though? Shit, don’t tell me... Yet, when I turned around, Sandra was unharmed. I dropped the knife, took out the gun, and scanned the area.

“Where the fuck are you?”

A second later, I saw it. It had made its way to one of the other enclosures nearby, and before I could take it down, it vanished inside.

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me,” I cursed when I saw the monkey had already made it to the animal inside.

It was a freaking rhino, of all things. Even worse, it had wasted no time. Its claws had dug into the rhino’s head and a multitude of tendons had already pushed into its body. It was the freaking host, and it had just created another sub-host.

The glassy, bloodshot eyes of the rhino focused on me. I saw its body tremble. Its muscles twitched and pushed outward. A moment later, an ear-piercing shriek cut through the air. Sandra was near me, yelling, but I didn’t understand a damn word. The gun was in my hand, but when I saw the rhino charging forward, I knew it wouldn’t do a damn thing. It crashed against the wall of the enclosure. Stone and concrete exploded outward.

“All right, not good, not good at all!” I screamed as I ran.

Shit, I didn’t have long. With each passing moment, it got closer. Finally, my hand closed around a small piece of metal. There you are, I thought before I threw the grenade behind me, right into the path of the symbiotic abomination. The thundering explosion threw me off my feet. I tumbled forward and came to a stop half a meter ahead. When I turned around, I saw nothing but giant chunks of meat. The beast had been obliterated, and I knew the parasite with it.

“That’s what you get! That’s what you fucking get!” I screamed at the remains behind me.

I turned to look at Sandra, who stared at me open-mouthed.

“Told you I’d get the job done,” I said with a grin on my face.

At that, the look on her face changed from disbelief to anger, and then to outright rage.

“You think that’s getting the job done? First, look at the destruction you caused. Second, that rhinoceros wouldn’t have been infected if you’d handled the extermination with proper diligence. Why didn’t you focus on identifying and exterminating the main host right from the start?”

“What the hell? You’re yelling at me right after I saved your sorry ass? No thanks for saving you? Nothing at all? That thing would’ve torn you to pieces if not for me!”

She didn’t like me mouthing off. As she tore me a new one, screaming and belittling me like I was an utter idiot, my thoughts drifted off to a better time, a time when I was working on my own.

Fuck monsters and fuck this bitch!