This is my first shot at an apocalyptic story scenario. It's very short but I hope to build this into something bigger. This is also me trying to get back in practice because I haven't been quite as able to write stories lately.

As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome. Enjoy!

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It was late afternoon on a hot summer day. The woods were eerily quiet as they always had been since –they- had appeared from underground. The stronghold had since been finished after many arduous weeks and the finishing touches were being completed. Everything that was essential had been finished and the security details were complete.


A yellow lab/wolf mix looked at the sun for a brief moment, checking how long until it would set.


“Hurry up, Roger! It’s almost sundown!”


Roger heard Sig as he finished the repairs on the gate.


“Alright, it’s done, Sig!”


“We better get back before they come out,” Sig spoke loudly but without yelling.


The pair jumped into the jeep and sped back to the compound. The sun was slowly falling under the horizon but it seemed like a very short time to the inhabitants of the shelter.


“Are sharp shooters in position?” asked a voice over the radios.


“Aye, Rewnan is in place,” answered the white furred Scottish wolf with the tiger stripes.


“So am I,” replied Penelope, the grey furred wolf in the dark jumpsuit and boots.


Sig drove the jeep into the garage and shut down the engine. With that, the garage door closed and was locked up tight. Everyone was inside except for the snipers and their spotters but there were backups who could easily get to the towers without being exposed.


Those inside the compound began pulling down the armored shutters over the windows, all of them except for the windows with the bullet resistant glass. Sig was one of the guards whose job it was to keep a watch through the glass and put the compound on complete lockdown in case things should get very bad. In that situation, the snipers had triggers to detonate a series of explosives and they could climb down a ladder into an underground tunnel that would be sealed shut on two ends after they got back inside the compound.


The snipers were armed with M40A5 rifles. They had more available to them but that particular rifle worked very well and was chambered in a reliable round for the range they needed to keep watch on. Both weapons had night vision scopes on them since they were on the night watch.


The sniper towers had steel cages over the nests with slots that were just big enough to give the snipers an unobstructed view of the area. The cages were also electrified so the snipers had to be careful not to touch it, even though it wasn’t at a lethal voltage. The reason such precautions were taken was because –they- were not very strong, but could jump and climb at amazing lengths and speed. If one were to scale the tower, there would be trouble.


“Ronan tew base. All clear sew far.”


“Pene to base. All clear.”


The pair gave their routine status reports. The guards inside the compound heard and each replied.


“Copy, all clear,” Sig responded.


That night, all was quiet. Some nights were eventful, others weren’t. A sign posted on the gate that Roger and Sig had repaired earlier ominously read in large, bold text “THOSE WHO COME SEEKING SHELTER WILL ONLY BE GRANTED ENTRANCE FROM 0700-0500. ANY WHO COME LATER THAN THE TIME POSTED WILL NOT BE GRANTED ENTRY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.”


Night was always very dangerous. The snipers have had to kill refugees seeking shelter before because they were trying to break down the gate and force entry in to get away from the creatures. That was why the gate needed repairs before. The bodies from furries and monsters alike were thrown into a ditch where the smell wouldn’t bother the inhabitants of the compound.