Afterworld: Venomous Murder-Squirrels

They really were about the size, fluffiness, and general proportions of squirrels, except for the very tips of their tails, which were equipped with stingers -- and their teeth, which spiked carnivorous instead of Rodentia. Mary fell back with Ishanna, still breathing out feline predators, but I got taken by surprise and missed everything else. 

Also, the damned little things could jump. 

So I flung my right arm up to protect my face, used my left arm to catch and crush the murder-squirrels, and took a couple of bites and stings in my right thigh while I was at it. I didn't worry too much about trying to kill things with my right hand; I was mainly using the knife to protect it, and my arm to protect my exposed head. My right leg went numb and I staggered, but I managed not to fall. I was wearing armor -- after a fashion -- but it wasn't enough.

One squirrel... another... another... Plucked off my leg or chest, crushed, and flung aide. The chain mail shirt wasn't doing nearly enough to stop the stingers, which was going to be a problem. They couldn't sink in deep, but that venom felt like the kind of shot a dentist gives you before she starts drilling on your teeth. I could feel the numbness spreading. 

I caught the last of them with my left hand, crushed it, and reached for another before realizing there was nothing else on my body. 

The forest had gone silent. The attack was over.  

I sheathed the fighting knife that I'd been using to protect my fingers -- it had knuckle guard of sorts, which wasn't enough for this but was better than nothing -- and started picking up my other weapons, in case anything else was coming this way. We used the guns as little as possible, not just because ammunition was scarce; they just attracted too damned much attention.