Chapter 7
"Oh! I am sorry, it's just I am just happy that I am able to talk to other's face to face except my family, if this lockdown went for another month then I am sure that I would have lost myself." Natasha stated.
"I am happy for you then but please just let me rest for now" said Matt to which Natasha nodded her head and shut her mouth.
The next 2 hours of train journey was very peaceful for Matt as he didn't had to listen to the chatterbox at all and got to rest a little.
After the train ride, he went to the Dillon city and buyed some essentials such as combat boots and other protective gears that he forgot to buy earlier. After that carrying a small bag for show, he joined the tour guides who would be starting the last ride for the day for Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
But maybe it was Matt's bad luck that he once again met Natasha there.
"What are you doing here!?" this time Matt asked the question first as even though he knew that she wanted to tour the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, he himself came late so as to avoid her but here she is sitting beside him in the tourist vehicle.
"I came here to join the tour, didn't I told you about it in the train" replied Natasha.
"But! It's been two hours since we reach the city! What have you been doing till now!?" asked Matt again.
"Ah! about that I just looked around the city then came here!" Natasha smiled,"So you don't have a headache anymore huh! Didn't knew that you were coming here as well"
"So everyone is ready let's go!" said the guide as he started the Tata TL 4x4 which the Taj safaris have modified to be used as safari cars.
Entering the forest people started to take out there cameras and binoculars to look at the animals while Matt
As he knew that many animals here must have already started to mutate. It was only found out later in last few days before the apocalypse because anyone who entered the forest to look for the lost ones didn't came back after which all the National forest were closed, the Zoo Animals who mutated weren't made public by the zoo authorities fearing negative comments about their zoo, while the government kept their mouth shut as they thought that this one was a new virus affecting only animals and since the world has just fought a deadly virus just now if the citizens got to know about this new virus then it would create a great uproar.
The chances were if the world got to know about this virus a little early then they may have been ready for this one much better.
"If you look at your right then you will see the total area of the forest, encompa.s.ses much of the Tobacco Root Mountains and Flint Creek Range and parts of the Elkhorn Mountains; it straddles the Continental Divide in the Boulder and Highland Mountains" the guide started to inform the people but Matt just turned him mute and continued to look around the forest to see any mutated animal.
Matt saw a band of p.r.o.nghorns but none of them were mutated p.r.o.nghorns so Matt didn't cared about them but that wasn't the case for for others. The guide stopped the safari and pointed towards the band of p.r.o.nghorns to and started to explain about them.
"Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, p.r.o.ng buck, p.r.o.nghorn antelope, prairie antelope, or simply antelope because it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution." explained the Guide.
Matt was impressed by the guides knowledge which was at the level of wikipedia but he became vigilant after hearing one of the question a tourist asked "Mr. Guide, What are those band of p.r.o.nghorns running from is someone hunting them!?"
"There are wolves here as well, so they may be hunted by a pack of wolves" the guide said as they continued to look at the p.r.o.nghorns to see the reason for their running.
But what they saw surprised them all except Matt who felt his heart clenched as the one running after the p.r.o.nghorns were not a pack of wolves but a Black Bear.
"Oh! It's a black bear, This American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. Though at this time they don't eat that much meat" the Guide said.
"Smallest that f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.ds height is more than 200 cm and you say it's the smallest, f.u.c.k my luck it's a Level 2 mutated animal" thought Matt as he saw the Black bear whose maximum speed should be around 25 to 30 miles per hour (40 to 48 km/h) was catching up to the p.r.o.nghorns whose maximum speed was supposed to be 55 mph for 0.5 mi (88.5 km/h for 0.8 km).
"Oh! looks like this is a special black bear as he have almost caught up to p.r.o.nghorns which is generally impossible for bears in general." the Guide said making the tourist go 'Oh!' and 'Ah' but Matt could hear uncertainty in his voice.
*click* *click* the tourists started to take photos with their flashlights on.
"No don't!" warned Matt but he was a little late an the deed was done. The black bear stopped chasing the p.r.o.nghorns and turned his head towards them.
One important thing about mutated animals was that they became highly sensitive to sounds and lights such as flashlights, torches etc. The big fluorescent lights were one of the things that made them angry quite easily that's why they wouldn't be active in the day until they reach a high level where they could easily adjust their own senses to their liking.
"Raawwwwwrrrr!" roared the big a.s.s black bear and started running towards them.
"Mother Fu*k!!"