Creatures

As the gate closed behind her, she felt her skin crawl. Quickly, Rachel made her way into the house. The house was barren, it’s windows shattered and door hanging off its hinges. The bricks had been eroding for years and were turning grey. Ivy and vines stretched over the front of the house, the plants seemingly dying themselves as they clung to the rotting building. Gently, Rachel pushed the door open, sliding inside. The stench hit her immediately. The smell of rotting wood and rust filled the air, and a pungent scent of death lured amongst it. Covering her mouth and nose, Rachel continued into the house, feeling the mirrors that lined the walls watch her. As she entered the living room, she stopped as she reached the centre. A tap in the corner startled her and she spun on her heel, catching a glimpse of the figure as it raced past the doorframe. Rachel narrowed her eyes and her hand drifted to her knife, which was held close against her waist. She gripped the handle and walked slowly over to the doorframe, careful to not lean against it. She peaked around the corner and held her breath as her eyes landed on it.

The creature was small, no larger than a twelve-year-old child. It was naked, except for the tattered bit of cloth that hang from its waist. It was thin and lanky, with its long, bone-like limbs stretching out from its shoulder. Its legs were similar, long and pointed, but its feet were large, as if swollen. Rachel’s eyes slowly lifted to its head, or what was left of it. The left side of the creature’s head had been blown off by a shotgun, taking its eye and part of its skull with it. Rachel smiled when she recalled the moment. Its lips were curled back in a snarl and its partially missing nose was sweeping the hallway, searching for her. It could smell her. Rachel pulled herself away silently and took in a deep breath, quickly filling her lungs back up with the pungent air. She stayed still as the creature slowly moved away from the hallway, disappearing into the house. Rachel checked her watch. As she did, the second hand struck twelve, and she heard the door creak open and the shuffling of feet. She sighed and smiled, shaking her head and Adam’s head popped around the corner.

“Hey!” he whispered loudly, grinning wildly at the blonde. Rachel sighed again and patted the wall beside her. Adam leapt towards her and stood against the wall.

“Always on time,” she muttered, looking into his green eyes. Adam nodded.

​

“Ever known me to be late?” he asked.

“Once,” she muttered. Adam sighed and shook his head, his grin still plastered on his face.

“Traffic was bad,” he argued.

“I'm not having this argument again,” she said and Adam scoffed. Rachel rolled her eyes and turned back to the doorframe, hearing the creature snarling in the distance. Adam noticed and unsheathed his knife, holding it to the dim sunlight that was leaking through the boards on the windows.

“Is it here?” he asked. Rachel nodded without looking back. Once Adam had patted her shoulder, signalling her he was ready, she slowly moved away from the doorframe. They crept along the hallway, the snarls and sniffs of the creature echoing throughout the house. As she passed the staircase, Rachel looked up the collapsed, rotten stairs. The creature, or someone, had fallen through, creating a hole in the centre of the stairs, wood splinters pointing downwards. Carefully, Rachel moved into the kitchen, its doorway adjacent to the stairs, its door on the floor and paint peeling. Rachel stopped, now unable to hear the creatures sniffs.

“It’s found us,” she whispered. Immediately, Adam turned and pressed his back against hers. Unsheathing her knife, Rachel’s brown eyes scanned the room, looking for the pale creature. Suddenly, Adam was pulled through the floor. Rachel jumped away as a flailing arm reached for her, its long, sharp, yellow fingernails tearing through her trousers. She sliced at the arm, missing it, as it plunged back down into the basement below. Quickly, Rachel raced to the new hole in the floor, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Adam, but he had vanished.

“Shit,” Rachel muttered, holding her knife to her palm and wiping it of the dust and debris that had since gathered on the weapon. Her eyes landed back on the hole, its inky blackness almost welcoming. Reluctantly, Rachel stepped towards the hole and jumped in. It was a shortfall, but the ground caught her by surprise, causing her knees to buckle as she hit the debris-covered floor. She quickly got to her feet, brushed the debris off herself and turned her shoulder-mounted flashlight on. The beam of light pierced the dark. The light illuminated the basement and allowed Rachel to see its horrors. Fragments of bone littered the floor, some ribcages and skulls embedded in the walls, pushed against it with great force. She turned further, gripping her knife harder, praying she wouldn’t find Adam’s lifeless corpse lying amongst the bones.

Once she had turned completely around, Rachel chose one of the rooms and walked towards it. The room was somehow darker than the one previously, the light seemingly not penetrating to the other side of the room. Rachel pressed on, knife poised for attack. She stopped, her ears searching for any sound other than her breathing. Nothing. She was surrounded by silence. Carefully, she turned on her heel, trying to see the rest of the room. As she began to spin, she heard a crack behind her. She froze, swallowing her fear and centring her mind. Then, she heard a low snarl. In a flash, Rachel spun around and swiped at the creature which was a few inches away. The creature roared and snarled at her, its singular beady eye staring at her. Rachel ducked a swipe from its lanky limb and rolled to her feet, jumping over the creature. As she landed, she didn’t have time to move. The creature jumped onto her back, its stinger aimed at her eye. Rachel gasped and violently threw herself at the wall, crushing the creature’s arm against it. The creature roared in pain and collapsed to the floor, desperately trying to stand, but Rachel was faster. She raised her knife above her head and brought it down into the creature’s head, piercing the brain. After a little more fidgeting, the creature lay still, dark red blood oozing from its new wound and its jaw slack and open, its tongue falling from its mouth.

Rachel took her time to analyse the body. The creature’s stinger was small and protruding from its elbow, rather than its wrist. Rachel frowned and she took the shoulder-mounted flashlight off and placed it on the floor, enveloping her and the body in divine light. Gently, she lifted the creature’s arm and looked at its bone structure, healthy for its age, but small. Rachel sighed and shook her head, unable to understand why this creature had been so different to ones she had battled in the past. A shuffle tore her attention away from the body. Swiftly, Rachel rushed to her flashlight and reattached it, adjusting her grip on her knife. She moved to the doorframe and looked out at the room Adam had been pulled into, small, narrow beams of light filtering through from the kitchen above. The shuffle broke her concentration again. She held the knife close to her chest and held her breath, unsure where the sound was coming from. Then, Adam limped into the light, the light only just illuminating his tousled blonde hair.

“Adam,” Rachel sighed, rushing over to the bleeding man and wrapping him in a tight hug. The man grunted and buckled in her arms, falling onto her. “Adam? What’s wrong?” Rachel asked, her brown eyes full of concern. Slowly, Adam looked up at her, his green eyes brighter than before. Tears started rolling down his face and his mouth slowly opened.

“I don’t know,” he said through sobs. Suddenly, he arched his back and screamed in pain. Rachel fell backwards, her knife falling from her hand. Adam continued to roar in pain, screaming as his body folded and changed. Slowly, his body morphed into one of the creatures. Rachel’s eyes widened in horror as she watched Adam double back on himself, his back-breaking and arms extended upwards. Slowly, through his already agonising pain, a stinger grew from each elbow. Rachel covered her mouth as tears fell from her eyes. Once the stingers stopped growing, Adam fell silent, his body remaining in its contorted appearance. After a few moments, Rachel collapsed into her hands and sobbed, feeling her tears soak through her skin. After she wiped her tears dry, she turned and looked for her knife, keeping her eyes away from the horrific display behind her. It was lying atop a beam which had fallen from the ceiling after having rotted for years. It had peeled the paint off the ceiling with it, leaving the ceiling a horrible shade of yellow, mixed with the growing mould that plagued the ceiling. Behind her, Rachel heard a crack of bone. She froze, the thought poisoning her mind. The crack was followed by another one, and another one, until they finally stopped, and low, heavy breathing echoed throughout the darkened basement. Gradually, she turned and her eyes fixed on Adam’s hunched, pale figure. His eyes were no longer green and hopefully, they were now stained black, with a small white pupil staring back at her. Adam didn’t seem to move, but seemed to watch her, as if intrigued.

“How?” Rachel whispered, captivated by the transformation. “No human has ever survived the transformation, unless,” she stopped, her worst fears creeping into her mind. “They’ve evolved,” she muttered. The creature that was once Adam cocked its head, seemingly understanding. A wry smile stretched across its features and Rachel gripped her knife tighter. Then, it leapt for her. Rachel ducked under its swipe and rolled to her feet, her mind still racing about her revelation. It swiped again, missing a second time, trying to get used to its new body. Rachel grunted and tripped over the fallen beam, the creature stepping over it with ease. Hurriedly, Rachel got to her feet and waited for the creature to swipe again. As it did, Rachel ducked and rushed forward, slicing its torso and covering her hand in dark red blood. The creature roared and snarled at her, its smile vanished and rage-filled eyes locked on her. It attacked again, this time catching Rachel’s sleeve and throwing her across the room. She flew through the wall, pieces of splintered wood and cracked plaster cutting her skin. Before she could stand, the creature was on her, piercing her skin with its stingers. Rachel screamed in horror and pain as the creature slowly moved off her, retreating into a corner.

Rachel lay there, thoughts racing through her mind. Time seemed to stop. Her knife fell from her hand and clattered to the floor. She raised her hands to her face as her vision started to blacken, the light from her flashlight now almost gone. She looked beside her, seeing Adam now dragging the other creature’s corpse from the other room, as if laying it to rest. But her thoughts were soon changed as Adam started devouring the creature, tearing into its flesh and organs, shovelling it down its own throat, until nothing but the legs and head remained. Adam looked up at Rachel, his eyes seemingly kinder now, as if she now understood him. She turned away from him and balled her fists tightly, as the pain started to creep over her body.