Go For Stories

It was not a human scream. This was a scream that battled itself with the rage and raw hunger that spurred it. It was a scream that brought memories of things that never happened and things that never would. It was a scream that froze animals in the headlights and prompted prey to relinquish itself to its predator; there was no point fighting. This was the perfect scream.

They paused for an eternity, considering their lives and all that had happened in their time on this Earth. They stared at nothing in particular and cherished every part of it. They recognised this moment for what it was; their last moment on Earth. The beast screamed and fought to reach them, its body snaking out of the vent.

They languished and then, as if breaking from a spell all at once, they ran. The only sound Nigel heard now was the harsh scrabbling of the creature fighting to reach them, tearing itself out of the vent in an attempt to tear them out of their skin. Jacob led the escape. He sprinted past the banks of computers and the shelves of parts and shot around a corner, barely visible in the low light. They followed as close as they could, there would be no losing him as that would mean death to them all.

They ran through more racks of parts and equipment: heavy, large machines at the bottom and lighter bits and bobs higher up. Another scream hit them from behind. This was further back and only staggered them. The thing was still caught, but it wouldn’t be for long. They surged past the racking and into a larger, open space. Nigel had been here once, when he had first started this job. It was so long ago, that he hadn’t even remembered it existed. This was the workshop where any spare parts or new equipment was manufactured. There were chains hanging from the roof and racks of metal and benches lining one wall. Each bench had a series of lights hanging over them and large drawers underneath. When Nigel had last been here, there were workers everywhere, welding and cutting and lugging heavy loads. Now, there was only emptiness. They had been underground for too long. The creature screamed again, it was free.

Damned if I’m dying here, thought Nigel. He raced to catch up to Jacob, pumping his legs hard. As he drew level with him, he pointed to a stack of old wooden crates. Jacob nodded and they veered to the side. The other two followed at their heels. As one, they all leaped behind the boxes and Nigel arranged them like a cocoon as the others scrabbled back into the corner. He scooted back to be with them and leaned against the wall. He tensed, ready for almost anything. Almost.

There was a gap between the crates. Just enough that he could see into the workshop. He held his breath as a white blur appeared around the racking and shot into the middle of the space. Here it stopped and spun around. When it found nothing, it backed up to the opposite wall and reached back with its four arms, bending them backwards at an uncomfortable looking angle.

“Four arms?” whispered Nigel. Milly pinched him. He turned and she held a finger up to her lips.

He nodded. The creature grabbed onto the wall. No, it was more like grabbed into the wall; its fingers and toes pierced the concrete and it pulled itself up off the floor. It crept backwards up the wall like a convex spider, so fast it was difficult to track. Once in the top corner, it stayed. It stayed and twitched.

Nigel leaned forward to get a better view. He brushed Milly’s hand off his arm and peered at the albino creature. Its body was in constant motion, rocking back and forth like a praying mantis. Its muscles rippled up and down its body and it moved its head from side to side. It twitched and writhed. Writhed and shuddered. Its skin was smooth and white, there was no evidence of genitalia or other ‘untidy’ features. Its body streamlined straight down to its elongated toes. Beyond the four arms and the featureless body, the thing that stood out most to Nigel was the bulging yellow eyes. They looked familiar. There was a definite similarity with the eyes of the floating eel, but it was something else. Nigel couldn’t quite pick it. He stared at the thing as it quivered and shook, back and forth, back and forth. It was a mesmerising and terrible sight.

Milly reached out and pulled him back. He went with it this time and sat back against the wall. She held out her hands as if to ask what was going on.

“It’s crouching,” he whispered and pointed up the far wall, “Up there. It won’t stop moving.”

Anne held a panicked finger up to her lips and backed further into the wall.

“I don’t think it can hear us too well,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to have any ears.”

Jacob leaned forward. “Best not to push it, though.”

Nigel nodded his assent and leaned forward again. Milly joined him and he moved across to let her see. She let a small gasp escape her lips before clamping her hand over her mouth and watching in stunned silence. The creature continued its writhing movement and shifted from side to side. It was no longer looking for them, it was merely marking the time, or so Nigel guessed. Whatever had spawned such a beast had clearly passed on a certain level of anxious fury that must be released. Why else would it carve through hundreds of people in such a barbaric fashion? What purpose did it serve? If it was to sate some unearthly hunger, why did it leave the bodies where they fell? No, this creature had some sinister purpose, only Nigel couldn’t begin to guess what it might be.

They sat behind the crates for hours, waiting out the creature which, anxious though it be, seemed in no hurry to move on. Jacob slept in the corner, unfazed by the threat of potential dismemberment and certain death. Anne had managed to relax; her breathing had evened out and she had recovered the determined look that Nigel was used to seeing from her. Milly cuddled up to Nigel for comfort while he kept his eyes locked on the albino beast. After the third hour passed, he found his guard dropping and his eyelids drooping. Sleep fought his desire to stay alive, battling it out in the arena of his mind.

He shook his head in an attempt to stave off sleep and glanced over at the beast. As he watched, its head snapped to the side, as if it had heard something from afar. A second later, another of those horrific screams came from elsewhere in the complex. While Nigel couldn’t pick the location exactly, he was sure that it had come from either in or near the plaza. In response to this scream, the creature stiffened and then scurried off, scrambling across the wall and out of view.

Milly sat up and Anne moved forward to see what the noise was. Nigel straightened up and mustered his courage before standing. He held his breath and waited for the slashing heat of sharpened fingernails slicing through his throat. He could imagine his body cooling down as the life drained from him in a few seconds that felt like an eternity. He could picture his body laid-up on the floor as his eyes stared, unblinking.

Thankfully, he didn’t experience that particular sensation. Instead, he felt encouraged and emboldened. If the creature had scurried away, there was a chance they could either find a way out of here, or find a safe place to stay until they could come up with a plan. He gestured for the others to stand, which they did. Jacob yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

“Is it gone already?” he asked, bleary-eyed. “I was hoping for a couple more hours.”

“A couple hours might be all we have,” said Nigel, “unless we can think of a plan to get out of here.” He wracked his brain to think of something. The excitement had taken its toll on him, however, and he was at a loss.

“I don’t really have a way out,” said Anne, looking far more in command of herself now. Nigel looked over, keen to hear what had brought her back out of her shell of fear. “But I do have a plan.” She straightened her clothes and gave a sly smile. “We need weapons.”