How does one evade a highly determined vampire-sasquatch in an abandoned city?

Question

A Sasquatch-vampire is a rather formidable entity, whose physical characteristics I will list all of in case one is relevant to the question:

• there is nothing supernatural about them

• they vary from six to twelve feet tall, and 85 to 470 kilograms/187 to 1036 pounds; the one in the question is a small-to-mid-sized one, at eight feet tall and ~375 pounds

• they are covered in a layer of thick, wooly hair similar to that of a llama

• they are as intelligent as a human being; albeit these particular one is rather unpleasant, and looking to kill someone

• although nocturnal, they are not injured by, damaged by, or averse to light, although they get tired during the day, and are somewhat less physically capable, to the extent that a human could outrun one

• all of them have a tapetum lucidum, enabling them to see in low-light conditions

• they need to ingest approximately a teaspoon of human blood per day for its T-cell content (it has to be human blood, long story), but they get narcotic highs the more they ingest; moreover, this particular individual would rather take it all for social/personal/mental/ideological reasons

• they feed on blood via scraping skin off of the neck or wrist lion-style and lapping up the resultant blood; unsurprisingly, this is highly uncomfortable for unwilling humans on various levels

• other than the blood, they eat "normal" (as defined by a human) foods, albeit in significantly greater quantities than a human

• they are capable of regenerating trauma notably faster than a human (i.e. within days rather than weeks), although they can't do things like "regrowing limbs" or "fixing organs" - they die to the same things humans do, just on a larger scale

• they have a lot more neural activation than humans, meaning that they're proportionately stronger (I'd put it as "most of them can bench-press a motorcycle"), since they can "use more muscle per muscle"; the microtears/abrasions in their muscle tissues that are a result of this aren't really a problem due to their heightened regenerative ability

• they have a spring-loaded joint in their legs that enables them to vertically jump approximately three feet from a standstill without training

• they can climb walls gecko-style; yes, this is scientifically possible even if they weigh half a ton, and this one ain't half a ton

• they are burst/ambush predators, and (unencumbered) can run at speeds comparable to/faster than Usain Bolt for a few minutes

• they have airbag-like sacs between their ribs to reduce damage due to blunt-force trauma

• they have bones that are a mix of bone and nacre; meaning that they can take significantly more compressive force relative to their size in comparison to "normal" life

• their skin is bullet-resistant, if certainly not bulletproof

• while they can speak in human tones, they can also communicate in infrasound wavelengths between 20 and 0.1 Hertz

• they are warmblooded and appear on IR scanners

• their hearing and vision are probably describable as "peak-human", and their sense of smell is more like a dog's

• their joint fibers are made of resilin, enabling them to survive higher falls and forces with less damage than a human would withstand

One of these things is chasing after and attempting to catch another (human) character. This chase is occurring in an abandoned city the size of Long Beach, California; cars, household goods, etc. are still there, if in exceedingly bad condition. Basically, everyone vanished Rapture-style but left everything else behind. Don't ask why.

How can the human play keep-away for an entire night (i.e. when the vampire-sasquatch gets sluggish and can be ran away from)?

The vampire-sasquatch starts out within a hundred meters of the human, and knows they're in the city, but doesn't know specifically where. They're not going to give up and go away - they specifically hate the human and want them to die - and they're going to look for them all night.

Entering buildings is dangerous, because they're structurally unsound, inhabited by wildlife, occasionally feature bio/chemical hazards (rotting food everywhere!), the floors are caving in, etc.

Neither of them have any equipment beyond everyday wear.

Answer 1

The creature's main limitation is its size. At 8' and 375lb it's not going to fit through tight squeezes designed for average humans. Any large, densely urban city is going to have extensive tunnels just below street level, ranging from rain and sewage tunnels (typically separate), electric, gas, and steam maintenance (aka utility) tunnels, and often larger transport tunnels much deeper down. Depending on the climate of the city, the rain and sewage drainage tunnels could be plenty large for the creature, so they should be avoided. Utility tunnels, on the other hand, are just routes for cables and pipes to be routed through and just big enough for a human to squeeze along for inspections and repairs. This is your advantage.

The tunnels themselves are easily found and entered. Look for manholes and read their covers, specifically looking for one that has the name of a phone, gas, or electric company, or at least doesn't say "sewage" or "storm water". Open it, drop in, and start walking. Depending on the creature's shoulder width, they may not even be able to go down the manhole after you and will need to look for a larger access point, which is usually found at the far end of a tunnel's run, intended only for bringing in equipment for major reworks. Even then, if the creature can squeeze itself down the tunnel crammed with pipes and conduit, it'll be slow going.

If the creature attempts to follow from street level, you'll need to walk quietly. An abandoned city is likely quiet so frantic running may be audible if the creature follows the tunnel from manhole to manhole. Walking more quietly means the creature will be restricted to its sense of smell which will require it to go from manhole to manhole, open each one, and sniff. This lets you know precisely where it is while it can only be certain you're still in the tunnel.

These tunnels fork often, branching out to different blocks of customers. When you find a fork in the tunnel, wait silently and listen for the creature opening a manhole further down one fork, abandoning it because your scent is weak or even absent. Start down the other fork until you reach a manhole, breathe heavily to make sure your scent is there, and double back to take the other fork. This will buy you some time and let you make some distance.

These tunnels don't go on forever, but it doesn't matter much. Just keep moving and doubling back, trying to buy some distance between yourself and the creature until it is daylight. If the creature replaces manholes after sniffing, open them up as you pass them if you've got a safe distance from the creature. This gives you a better idea of the daylight levels and gives you a rapid exit when the time comes. When you think the creature is a safe distance away, climb out one of the open manhole covers and run for it.

Answer 2

How to Kill a Terminator (AKA 'squatch)

1. Oil slick

Your 'squatch is 2 feet taller and 2.25x heavier than a regular human, and can run at speeds exceeding Usain Bolt's 27 mph. However, as any former cross-country runner (like myself) can tell you, environmental hazards are a real problem. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," right?

Even accounting for the protection of bullet-resistant skin, thick fur, and resilin-enhanced joints (I'm not counting enhanced regeneration because it will not take effect within the given timeline), your 'squatch may still be doomed due to his neural activation; using 'more muscle per muscle' means he'll have more force going into his movements, making a fall worse than it would be otherwise.

Therefore, your crazed 'squatch is vulnerable to slipping, tripping, or otherwise falling. This could be easily accomplished by strewing rubble or spiky objects along a path, removing a manhole cover from a manhole, or pouring something slick on the ground (or doing all three), then walking into view as the 'squatch comes in.

Like any maniac, the 'squatch will charge after his intended prey, not even pausing to think about potential hazards, which will lead to (at least) a painful fall (and at worst) a crippling injury. "But they can jump so far though!"

Yes, however, the OP suggests this vampire is a maniac looking to kill something, he's not going to act rationally and check for traps, he's going to chase after the character the second he sees him or her.

2. Lonely Homes

If you can convince a 'squatch to go through a house to get to you, bam, suddenly your chances skyrocket. I mean, really; we've already determined this 'squatch ain't entirely rational, if he knows you're on the other side of a house something tells me he'll run through the house, not realizing it'd be perhaps faster to climb and/or jump over the house.

And, if you can pull this off multiple times, it's only a matter of time before this 'squatch ends up bringing a house down or falling through a worn-out floor into a (perhaps) inescapable pit. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you can cause something to fall onto, or fall out from, under your 'squatch in Long Beach given the OP's constraints.

3. Mind Games

#2 was all about punishing the 'squatch for coming after you. What's the best way to do that? Messing with his mind. What's the best way to do that? Misdirection, same as any street magician. This 'squatch is going to use scent to track you down, so why not rip off pieces of clothing and hide them as you go around to misdirect the murderous fool? Granted, this will require you to mask your scent....not sure how that could be accomplished....and I'm sure there are other ways to trick the 'squatch into wasting its time....

4. Floaty Time!

Imao, your human's in Long Beach. If they don't have swimwear, a life vest, or an inflatable, they're incapable of being saved. I don't care if it's the apocalypse, that doesn't eliminate the need for beach time. If anything, it'll increase it!

Here's why this is genius, though; with an inflatable (whether it's a pool toy or one of those floating pool boards) you don't have to swim, you can just get on and float away, leaving the 'squatch to swim after you. He won't have the endurance to come after you, what with your 30-minute head start, he can't even swim in, grab you, and swim back with his Usain-level speed bursts. (Never mind if he encounters a riptide =)...)

5. Ka-booze

In an apocalypse situation, a teetotaler like me has one use for alcohol: molotovs. They work on zombies, they'll work on 'squatches too. It's pretty dang likely that your human character knows where the nearest bar is, if he isn't already there, and that poses a great opportunity here.

If all else fails, you can throw molotovs at the 'squatch, or else try to barter for your life with the booze, but if you're fast and resourceful enough, guess what? Alcohol's explosive. And bars are full of alcohol.

In my mind, it shouldn't be hard to convert a bar into a firebomb. The key will be to wait until the 'squatch comes in, following your scent, and then light it up. This of course assumes looters haven't already raided the nearest bar, and that your human has firestarting equipment.

6. Carlot Catastrophe

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but from what I understand from occasional glimpses of certain video games, shoot a car in the right spot and it blows up. Therefore, coming to a carlot would set up quite the trap for 'ol 'Squatchie here. Just wait until he comes within range, then shoot a car and watch as your friends Combustion and Pressure Wave beat him up for you! Run to another spot, wait, rinse and repeat.

7. Final Gambit: Siren Song

Is your human female? If not, perhaps consider that. That way, you can use this whole scenario as an analogy of male-female relationships gone wrong and teach a valuable lesson to readers, or else attract readers with a hot protagonist on the cover.

Now, after looking at the related question, I know that the 'squatch is prejudiced against humans and is likely lonely, as A) there aren't many 'squatches and B) he's on his own and this can't be by choice. The OP says this 'squatch wants to kill, but then we have to consider that there's not many humans around either, and he needs humans to live. Also, one of the things I've learned from History classes is that when it comes to hormones, prejudice tends to fly right out of the window.

Granted, this is a horrible way to survive, and unlikely to work, but it is a possible last resort your character may go to if all else fails. Alternatively, since there are other kinds of monsters, perhaps the character finds and utilizes a Siren to distract/calm/put to sleep the pursuing 'Squatch? Or...perhaps the Siren finds them first....

Answer 3

From your description I'd say, it could be blown to pieces, right? So let me introduce you to a really out-of-the-box way of killing it - with only everyday items, that would make for a really great scene in a movie.

My brother learnt to be a baker and both of us are volunteer firefighters. Does anybody see a connection? No? Does "dust explosion" ring any bells (beside the ringing of your tinnitus after standing too close to one)?

Are bags of flour (or sugar should work too), matches/lighters and fans (those spinning things, not the football ones) everyday items? Yes? Perfect!

Find a house, find these items and prepare your trap. Best would be a place with only one single way of access, maybe a basement, where you know exactly where your enemy will come from. Aim the fan that way, prepare a heap of flour in front of it and think of a way to light that cloud from your cover (I'm thinking of an improvised blowgun which shoots burning pieces of paper into the dust cloud).

Yes, it's dangerous and in my current version you're likely going to die. But it's a fundament for more out-of-the-box thinking. Why not improvise a blast shield from a metal door combined with girders? Or maybe lure him into the basement filled with (flour) dust while you climb up through some chimney he can't fit through? All you have to do is to drop something burning down there and he's gone (depending on the safety of the building, so are you).

There's also a ton of other ways to create explosives or fires from everyday items. Would you call a jerrycan of gasoline an everyday item? Let your character find one and weaponize it. Gasoline does not explode like in the movies - but it certainly burns and it burns hot (around 400°C)! This makes it a very controllable weapon which would be very versatile.

• Pour it on the ground and light it when he's in the puddle (easy to escape for him, though)
• Prepare a trap where he falls into a container of gasoline and lite it when he fell into it (e.g. by having a hole from ground floor to the basement that you just cover a bit; then put a container like a bathtub or a paddling pull full of gasoline underneath - all you need now is a way to light it on fire)
• Use gasoline instead of flour dust to have an improvised flame thrower.

All of these ideas are very dangerous and likely going to kill you too.

But on the one hand we are fighting for our lives. If we don't try it we die certainly, if we try it, we could die but we have a chance.

On the other hand take them as a basis for further thinking: What could be done to make it more controllable? How could I protect myself while hitting my foe harder?

Answer 4

The VampireSquatch's primary tracking skill will be its sense of smell, so disabling that is job one. Find a single floor house with no basement, preferably with a concrete slab underneath Look for simple architecture, square wall patterns, small windows and a lightweight shingle roof. Houses like this should have the highest structural rigidity and therefore safety.

Inside that house find bags of flour, bottles of ammonia and bleach and something to use as a weapon, just in case. Unless the homeowner was a gun collector, it probably won't help, but it can't hurt.

Now take your loot, determine which way the wind is coming from and work your way upwind of your pursuer. Don't take too long because upwind is where you are easiest to track, so run. Yes, the VS will hear you but they will also smell you so... exposed is exposed. Run fast.

When you find a narrow street with a strong breeze pour a river of ammonia across it then pour the bleach right on top. This will release a wave of chlorine gas rolling down the street. It probably won't kill the creature but if you are lucky, it will mess up its sinuses pretty badly. Now tear open the flour bags and throw them up in the air. The goal is to create a cloud of flour particles which will coat everything, filling the air with more confusion to mask your scent.

Then while your enemy is adapting to the olfactory assault that you have staged, depart that location in a random direction (not windward). Make sure not to leave any footsteps in the flour.

Then find a drainage/sewer cover, open it, climb down and close it behind you.

Stay very still and silent as you hide in the sewer.

Answer 5

Walk away.

As the monstrous creature shuffled into the nearest building, the hero stood up, a black outline against the starry expanse above. He'd never seen so many stars from a city; their glint on the streets mesmerized him for a few seconds. A door slammed in the house, and he turned his back. Taking a deep breath, he carefully lifted a foot and placed it down. Then another. He ducked down an alley, putting a line of apartments between him and the monster. Then, gathering his courage for the effort ahead, he whispered under his breath, "This town is more than big enough for the two of us."

Cities are huge. Like, really huge. Like, 80 square miles huge (for Long Beach). In a game of hide and seek, the advantage is distinctly to the hider.

The ONLY hard part about this scenario is that the human and monster start within a hundred meters. If they were in random locations throughout the city, the human could just stay put until daylight with little chance of being found.

Let's assume the worst case, that the monster knows the human to be within a hundred meters. (If not, the same strategy outlined below works, just even better, as the monster may well explore in the wrong direction for hours.) However, the monster doesn't know which direction the human is in (otherwise, game over immediately). In that case, the human should pray like crazy that the monster chooses to investigate any other direction than the correct one (because, again, that would be a game over). But then, assuming the monster doesn't approach immediately, the human should just walk away. Literally.

If acting intelligently, the monster will keep searching that 100m radius until it finds the scent. But because this is a city, it's not a simple matter of walking in a 314m circle. No, the monster has to search every hiding spot within that circle, every van, sewer, closet, and rooftop, until it's satisfied that the human isn't there, or it finds the scent trail. It won't be running at attack speeds for this, so call it at least a 30-minute head start for the human.

In that time, at 4mph, the human should be two miles away. Realistically, after it's out of hearing range, the human could speed up to a light jog, increasing this distance even further.

What happens next? At some point, oh no, the monster finds the trail! But what then? Even if it immediately decides to sprint all-out down the scent trail for "a few minutes" (call it three) at 30mph, it's still over a half mile away from our still-walking human. And the human just keeps walking, in a straight line down the avenue, with that stubbornly annoying human endurance. With as much adrenaline as that human has, he'll keep walking all night, ticking off a mile every fifteen minutes or so.

Sure, the human will eventually get to the edge of the city, but then he just needs keep walking, either inside or outside the city. There are eighty square miles of land here, and as long as he has endurance, he'll just keep plodding along.

Yeah, he'll eventually slow down, but so will the monster. Mathematically, as long as the human keeps walking at the same pace as the monster, he stays alive. And that's pretty good motivation to get me through a short summer night.

Answer 6

• If there is a body of water (river, pond, lake) move across it to mask your smell and prevent being tracked by the sense of smell. If there is no water body available or you have to step out of it, consider showering yourself with some strong liquor, again to mask the smell (assuming the creature has your smell fingerprint)
• Once you have taken care of your smell, try to find a van or a truck with no windows where you can lock yourself in.
• Spend the night in the van doing as less noise as possible.
• Once the sun rises, run for your life.

The above plan fails if the vampire spots you entering/leaving the van: no matter how slow they are, if they are waiting next to the door for you to get out there is no running away.