He could feel his heart racing, as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Everything suddenly became more evident, sounds cleaner, and smells sharper. He could spot the dust particles in the air from the end of the hall, which was now brighter than before, hear the crickets chirping louder, and smell the concrete on his clothes.
He pulled himself out of the wall and examined himself. No broken bones. The only indication of being thrown against the wall was the hole in it and the dust on his clothes. He breathed in deeply, preparing himself mentally and physically. The quiet footsteps at the end of the hallway drew his attention. He was ready to fight.
As It crept closer, fear began to infiltrate. Darkness loomed around It like a plague, ready to devour anything that It encountered. His legs began to tremble as he stared into Its deep red eyes, while in his mind, the only thing he could think of was to run away.
“You need to run, Alex!” someone screamed behind the darkness.
“You’re gonna get eaten alive if you just stand there! RUN!” it continued to shout, but he couldn’t move. He was frozen, too scared to move as It was inching closer. He thought with the new powers gifted to him, and he would finally be able to take It on; to kill It, but the closer It got, the more impossible it seemed.
As It closed in, now only inches from his face, the shaking stopped. The smell of death coming from the darkness was too much for his newly sensitive nose, but that was what made him move. He weaved around the shadow and ran down the hallway, leaving It behind. He could still hear It behind him as he exited the building. He felt as if he were to turn around, he would be greeted by Its fangs.
He passed the damaged grounds where they encountered it earlier. Craters with viscera and blood where It slammed his friends to the ground. Damaged street signs with blood splattered across them, crushed police vehicles with their lights on still present even though their drivers were not, and distant noise of news reporters speaking of what may be going on behind them.
“If only they were closer to see all this carnage...” were his thoughts.
He continued running, only to realize that he was now spinning out of control. He slammed against a brick wall, then to the floor. His vision consisted of the earth, followed by the sky, then the ground again. He felt no pain due to the adrenaline, so he could not make sense of what was going on.
“What’s holding onto my ankle? Did It get me? Am I going to die?”
Being slammed to the ground once again, It drew blood. Alex got up and wiped the blood off from around his mouth. It crept in, inches from his face again, only to be thrown back and crashing into a cruiser a few meters away. He lunged forward to have It inches away from his face still, then gave It another punch. The car flew back and crashed into the building.
He could hear the news reporters talking about the crash he just made happen and sirens closing in. He had to disappear before they arrived, but he had to kill It before anything else. It lunged itself out of the wreckage and uppercut him into the air, then launched Itself into the air, leaving a crater behind. It took hold of him, ready to sink Its fangs into him again as they fell back to the ground. They pierced in deep, spilling blood into the air, as he screamed. Adrenaline could not numb this pain. He punched and kneed It, but It would not let go. They crashed to the ground, making him take the full-impact. He could hear the reporters again as he tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t move. His vision blurred as he watched It leap away.
“Wait... It’s not gonna kill me?” he thought. His body grew heavier and heavier, his vision growing black.
"Damn," he thought, as the police sirens grew louder. He had to leave, but his body felt too heavy to move. The stench of death was getting weaker, the sounds of crickets growing faint. He didn’t want to believe this was the extent of his power, but he couldn’t deny the results of this encounter. He could see the police lights now, even with his blurred and blacked vision. He felt a tug on his arm, his vision changing color, from the grey concrete to green.
“We need to get you out of here,” someone said. He was too weak to talk but could hear the sincerity in her voice.
“I’ll take to somewhere safe. Trust me.”
All he could do was a nod.
He woke up to bird songs and sunlight. Bandages were covering a third of his body as he sat up on the bed. The room had late 1400's paintings along the walls. He could hear a few people below him, mumbling about what to do about him.
"Who was the person that saved me? What day is it?" he thought. The door opened, and as he made eye contact with those amber eyes, fear began to set in.
"Welcome to the family," said the Demon, as Alex sat petrified on the bed.
"I know you may have a lot of questions, but we have plenty of time to discuss what occurred the night prior," he spoke again, as the door closed behind him.
Written by Roman Hahn
Content is available under CC BY-SA
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