And Then Came Daug — George O. Bancroft

It had been two months since the battle at Hemlar. Life was getting back to normal. Lou frowned as she stared down the hill at a small figure in the dirt. It was some type of rodent! Life was starting to return. She jumped to her feet and ran toward the creature as it darted into a hole a half foot away. She stopped and gazed down at the hole, and broke into laughter. The animals were coming back. They had never left.

But then they realized there was a problem. These were rodents and they were breeding fast. The team calculated that they only had three or four months before they would be completely overrun. There was no food chain between the rodents and the humans. The larger animals had not come back. They were the ones that had been mutated into the beasts. If they couldn't create the chain, the human population would be overwhelmed.

And then came Daug. The most vicious and powerful mutant they had faced.