Go For Stories

The beast’s slavering jaws hung loose in anticipation of its meal as they all fell backwards. It struck at Milly, missing her by half a hair. She screamed as its sting flashed past her face. It reared up, stretching out its arms and fingers, framing itself in its wings and letting out a deep roar born of hell. Milly scrambled back on her hands and feet, turning only when she was clear of the strike. Nigel, backing up, kept his eyes on the creature. There was something familiar about it; a glint in its eyes. It wasn’t just bloodlust that brought it here, Nigel guessed.

“What do you want?” he shouted, doing his best to keep his voice level. “Why are you here?”

“I want to feed,” it said. Its deep voice echoed on itself, like three voices fighting to be heard. The ethereal quality to its voice did nothing to still Nigel’s thumping heart.

“No.” He wasn’t going to take this. Not in his last moments. If he was to die at this things hands, or sting, then he would know why. “You’ve got plenty to eat. I’ve been to your world. I’ve seen what’s there. Why are you here?”

Its confusion was somehow more menacing than its roar. It was unstable now, more likely to tear them to pieces than to kill them swift.

“To feed.” It shook its head and snarled. “To consume.”

That was it. To consume. It wasn’t here to eat, so much as to destroy, to consume the planet and everyone in it. Satisfied that it had answered the question, it lunged forward without warning. Nigel dived to the side. It spun mid-leap and focussed on Nigel again. Nigel grabbed the nearest object he could and brandished it. It was a silver clamp that had two arms with hooked fingers on the end. He thrust the rib spreader towards the beast and a strange rumbling came from its throat.

It was laughing. The thing was laughing at Nigel.

Nigel looked for his friends, who had made it past the cages and out of the room. Milly stood at the door leading to Research One and waved for him to follow. Her face shone with sweat, giving her a vibrant, yet panicked, look. Nigel looked back at the beast. Inky black drool ran through its fangs and glooped to the floor, released by the humoured shaking of its chest.

“Laugh at this, you ugly motherfucker,” Nigel said, and threw the rib spreader.

It sailed wide of the mark, missing it by half a foot, but it was enough to distract the creature. He dashed past it, imagining it claws raking through his spine as he did. He made it past and rushed through the cages. Animals squealed, shrieked and shook their cages as he passed. Some spat and others tore at their own flesh in anguish. He would feel bad for them later, for now it was them or him. He ripped cages from their stands, dropping them in the beast’s path. The rending and clattering of steel clashed with the throaty roar behind him.

“Proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion,” said the computer voice.

“Oh, shut up!” shouted Nigel as he flew through the door and Milly pulled the door shut behind him.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him through the hallway between the bathrooms.

Together they sprinted out of the hallway and into the banks of desks in Research One. The Albinoids still hung around the glass in a writhing mass, waiting for their chance to feed. Bec and Jacob bounced from foot to foot near the glass wall, ignoring the albinoid crush behind them. Their were bigger fish to worry about.

“Great, you made it,” Jacob said. “Now what?”

“I don’t know.” Nigel’s lungs hurt and his brain ached. It had been a very long day and he was ready to drop. “I don’t know.” He looked around the room for a side door, an exit, a hiding place. Anything.

“Too late,” Bec said.

Nigel turned to see the beast racing towards them through the lab, sweeping through the desks without so much as a breeze. While bulky, the beast could move. Its wings fanned out over the medical equipment either side of it and its sting hung poised for attack, glaring straight at Nigel. Bec was right; there was no time left.

“Nigel, no.” Milly reached for his arm as he stepped forward.

The beast did not slow, but at least it would reach Nigel before the others. Perhaps he could buy them more time. Perhaps the beast would be satisfied with him alone.

It swooped upon him and Nigel saw everything in slow motion: its gaping mouth, the wings billowing like a pair of black sails, the sting rearing back before the killer strike. More than anything, Nigel noted the look of triumph in the beast’s eyes.

Nigel held his breath as it descended upon him …

* * *

… and phased through his body like a silent breath; sending a dark warmth through his flesh but leaving him otherwise unharmed.

He let his breath out and turned to his friends. The beast stood amongst them, slashing its claws and striking its tail to no avail. Bec, Milly, and Jacob all stood aghast, their hands up in defence and their faces aglow with fright. They too remained unharmed. The beast spun, consumed with rage. It narrowed its deadly eyes at Nigel and swept its claws towards his face. Nigel felt the same warmth, but nothing worse. The beast was incorporeal. Unable to touch him.

“Hah!” Unable to contain his excitement, he stopped just shy of a double fist-pump in the air.

The beast raised its face to the ceiling and roared its disapproval before fading out of sight, leaving an uneasy tension in its wake. Milly was the first to come out from behind her arms. She blinked and looked around, unsure of what had happened. She nudged Bec, who opened her eyes and in turn nudged Jacob. They all stared at the room, nervous and confused.

“It’s okay guys,” said Nigel in a shaky voice. “It wasn’t real. At least, it wasn’t really here.”

“So where was it?” asked Jacob.

“Well, here, but … not. It was … that is, I don’t …” He shrugged. “Somewhere else.”

“You know,” said Bec, “you’re going to have to tell us what’s going on in your head one day.”

“Have to be today,” said Jacob. “We’re dead in a couple of hours.”

“Really?” Milly slapped him across the side of the head.

“Ow.” Jacob rubbed his temple with the flat of his hand. “Sorry.”

“Look, I’ll tell you, but it’s not easy and …”

He stopped as he looked through the glass at the front of the lab. Where once there was a horde of hell-creatures, there was now a clear landing. They had gone, every last one of them.

“What are you looking at?” asked Bec, turning towards the atrium. “Oh. What?”

“The beast. It must have scared them off.” Milly allowed her excitement to show. She smiled and dashed towards the glass. “I can’t see them anywhere. They’re completely gone.”

Nigel joined the other three as they pressed their faces against the wall. Milly was right; they were nowhere to be seen. There wasn’t so much as a white foot seen disappearing around a corner, or a big white head poking up from behind a bannister. They must have fled the second the beast came out of the hall. While encouraging, this only confirmed Nigel concern about the inhabitants of the other side getting through. If the albinoids were scared of that winged nightmare, then they were doing the right thing disabling the stabilisers.

“Warning!” said the speaker. “Core destabilisation imminent.”

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Nigel turned to Jacob. “Can you please, just, do something about that?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I think I can.”

“Don’t think, just do, mate,” said Bec.

Jacob jabbed at his watch a couple of times, frowning. He shook his wrist and held it up to his ear. He jabbed it a couple more times, then thumped it.

“… destabilissation imminenn. Thee facillilee is nooo loongaaa sssssssss…”

“Hmm.” Jacob studied his watch with a furrowed brow. “That was odd.”

“And so is that,” said Nigel. He stared through the glass wall, over the balcony and up the atrium, many levels above them. He stepped as close as he could to the wall.

“What is?” Milly moved over to join him, following the line of his eye with her own.

“I just saw something. Up there.” It had been a dark shape, nothing more than a blur. But a blur that did not belong. He watched for it to reappear.

“Something?”

“Yeah, maybe someone, but it didn’t move like a human. It was by the window. I think it’s in my office.”

“So,” said Bec, joining the ever-growing line of spectators, “Not human. Was it white?”

He shook his head and stared at the empty office. “Not albinoid.” He jumped back from the window and looked to his cohorts. Something had occurred to him and he felt the blood rush to his cheeks, warming them with excitement. “We have to go,” he said, blurting the words out. “We have to go now.”