Emily didn’t pay much attention as she hobbled through the night, as fast as her pained and aching body could take her. Her eyes were fixated on the light on the horizon, flickering and flashing erratically as she got closer and closer. She was so focused, so intent on her desperate escape, that she didn’t even register the bangs, pops, and screams that crescendoed as she came ever nearer.
Soon it was a cacophony, reverberating through the ground and buildings and filling the air, but still Emily didn’t notice. She saw the pack of people ahead of her, locked in their struggle, and saw her salvation. Among the crowd she would be alone, a nameless face in a sea of others just like her. No one would be able to find her; she’d be safe at last.
Her bubble of hope popped as soon as she reached the outskirts of the mob, and a sudden shriek rang out right behind her. It was high and inhuman, halfway between a screech and a howl. Emily didn’t need to look back to know what had made the sound, she already knew. Still, she couldn’t resist a look over her shoulder as she stumbled forward, more desperate than ever to get away.
Gone was the beast of claws and fangs that had nearly taken her life such a short time ago. Now, sprinting at a breakneck pace toward the densely packed mob, was a beast of a radically different kind. Its body was covered in coarse, dark brown fur that was blackened in places as though it had been burned. It moved on all fours, with powerful legs ending in massive hand-like appendages. Each hand was tipped with wickedly curved claws that dug into the cement as the creature sprinted down the street.
All sounds of combat died as the monster charged, a gleeful expression stretched across its wide, toothy maw as it surveyed the veritable feast that was spread before it. The mob just stared at the thing, slack-jawed and befuddled at the sight of the freak. No one had ever seen anything like it, and no one knew what to do. The only motion outside of the creature’s sprint was Emily, pushing through the paralyzed crowd, more desperate than ever to just get away.
The ice broke in a single shattering instance. Emily didn’t see it, still pushing her way down the street as was. Still, there was no mistaking the pivotal moment, and the chaos that exploded from it.
Bones cracked audibly as the freak collided with its first target, ripping simultaneously into the poor person’s flesh and tearing it to shreds. For a split second there was no other sound outside of the vicious evisceration. Then, someone screamed. People moved, firing guns and throwing objects and firing energy blasts hoping to land a quick-killing blow.
It was hopeless. The creature was too fast, dodging what projectiles it could and ignoring those it couldn’t. The screams and gurgles of the wounded and dying filled the air in a twisted cacophony of combat that made the previous struggle seem like nothing more than a morning picnic.
Emily found herself swimming upstream as the crowd rushed against her. It was a unified front of protestors and officials alike, all bent on stopping the monster’s wild rampage. She had to admire their bravery even as she fought through the pack. She didn’t know where she was heading, not for certain. She only knew she had to break free.
She pressed for a long time, too long. She was already exhausted and had lost a lot of blood. Her vision was starting to get hazy and her body was slowing down, when she noticed the crowd was starting to thin. She was almost there. Behind her the screams were growing louder and more numerous, but she didn’t care she was almost there. She could see the open space and the looming mansion ahead of her, and she finally had hope
Then it hit her, a massive force in the back that flung her face forward and sent her skidding painfully across the ground. Flooded with adrenaline and covered in fresh blood, Emily twisted, intent on facing her would-be killer head on. It wasn’t what she expected.
Up to this point, the freak had always been relatively small, in the tank, lurking in corridors, and sprinting toward the crowd. Now the lithe creature, with razorlike claws, was nowhere to be found. Replacing it was a massive beast, taller than even Zach and built with an equally impressive amount of muscle. It stood on two, powerful legs that were covered with a plate carapace. It was pockmarked with scorch marks and bleeding wounds that Emily could only assume it had acquired during its rampage.
Staring straight at her face, was a horrifying visage of eyes and a massive, beak-like maw filled with teeth. It seemed to pay no heed to the mutilated bodies around it as it stared her straight in the face, as though daring her to fight.
Slowly, Emily closed her eyes, letting her head drop gently against the ground. She’d tried, but now it seemed it was time. She couldn’t run away any more. It was over. If only she’d been faster or had a little more time.
She smiled when she thought of how she’d almost made it to the mansion. It probably wouldn’t have saved her, but something about it seemed almost poetic. She’d been struck down before reaching the hope of freedom in her mind. It was a pity, she was so close.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the slow almost lazy approach of the beast’s maw toward her prostrate body. It was as if it was taking its time, savoring its kill. Its jaws opened, blasting out the rank breath of freshly devoured flesh and revealing the creature's bloodstained teeth in all of their hideous glory. Then, they were closing.
For Emily, it felt as though the world was collapsing in on her, falling away to a dark, rotten void. In an instant it would crush and consume her, and it would all be over. Except, the moment never came.
Before the jaws could snap shut, the air was rent with the sound of crumbling stone and splintering wood. The maw jerked forcibly away from Emily, as something collided with the creature. Emily blinked rapidly as the dim light of the darkened courtyard rushed back into her eyes. Hauling herself up into a sitting position, she looked frantically around trying to figure out what had happened.
It didn’t take long for her eyes to land on the culprit, and when they did Emily couldn’t stop the exhilaration and hope that flooded her body.
“ZACH!” She shouted, a broad grin stretched across her tired and blood streaked face.
He was standing on the head of the crumpled freak, tall and powerful, his muscles in full flex as he swung mercilessly at a bearded, elderly man who grinned through broken and bleeding teeth. Zach’s body was covered in cuts and bruises, with both hands drenched in blood, and he looked exhausted. There was a deadly serious expression etched on his face as his head snapped toward Emily at the sound of her voice.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Emily…” He said, his voice almost a whisper. It was as though he couldn’t quite believe it. In an instant, his muscles relaxed. Still clutching his foe by the collar, he slowly made his way off the fallen beast.
“Look at me doing all this work to find you, and you’re just sitting there taking a break. You couldn’t put in a little more effort on your end?” He jabbed with a grin as he approached her. His face was stoic, but Emily thought she could make out tears at the edges of his eyes.
“You’ve obviously got it handled.” Emily returned with a grin. She uneasily made her way up to a standing position. It hurt but she barely felt it as she looked into the eyes of her uncle, filled with joy and hope. She wanted to run to him, to throw her arms around him in a massive hug.
There was no time, though, as suddenly there was a massive rumbling sound. Behind Zach the freak had changed once again. Its body ballooned in size, covering itself completely in thick plates of armor that were covered in jagged spikes. Several clawed appendages sprouted at odd angles from various parts of the creature's body, and its maw became elongated and alligator-like.
“Zach…” Emily warned as the creature lunged from behind him.
There was no time for rational thought, as the creature came down ready to snap shut on the man who’d taken it by surprise. Without hesitating Zach took the old man, still gripped in his clutches and hurled him straight into the gaping mouth of the beast.
He crashed through the jagged teeth like a cannonball but only bought a moment’s time as the powerful jaws snapped shut on the hapless man. Even his natural born resistances weren’t enough to stop the snapping and popping sounds that emanated from the beast’s mouth as it turned him into mulch.
Still, it bought Zach enough time to launch himself at the creature, slamming his fists in a wicked combination of blows between the beast’s armored plates. He aimed for the joints, the knees, elbows, anything that was exposed. It had a clear and devastating effect, but it was short lived.
The freak seemed immune to pain as it lashed out with its various clawed limbs. Zach was forced to lunge away, narrowly avoiding a swipe that would’ve disemboweled him on the spot. He landed gracefully out of the creature's range, but it pressed the attack; forcing Zach to stay on the defensive.
It adapted as it struck, growing its limbs longer or shorter, actively adjusting its muscle mass for maximum effect. It was impressive to watch, but Zach wasn’t pleased as he quickly realized he was in over his head.
He wasn’t defenseless. His initial barrage had proven that, and there was no perfect defense, but it didn’t matter if he could never manage to go on the offensive. It didn’t help that he was tired. The governor was tough, and attempting to beat him into submission had taken a lot out of him. He didn’t know how much of this he could take. He could already feel himself slowing down; it was only a matter of time until he made a mistake.
Emily saw that as she watched her uncle leap over a leg sweep made by a new fleshy appendage before having to dodge a similar swipe at his head. She needed to do something, but she didn’t have any idea what. Frantically, she searched around, desperate to find something she could use to turn the tide of the battle.
Her eyes quickly landed on something metallic glinting in the moonlight by a mangled pile of corpses. She couldn’t tell what it was, but she knew what she hoped it was. She shambled over to it, completely ignored by the two combatants locked in their life and death struggle.
It was nothing, a mere glint of light off a shattered wristwatch. Quietly, Emily fumed as she began to scour the bodies looking for a tool, a weapon that she could use to help. She didn’t even notice as Zach took a raking barb across the forearm, tearing the flesh along it and leaving him scrambling frantically away.
Before he could recover he was struck by a powerful blow that sent him colliding with the ground, where the beast tried to desperately stamp out the last vestiges of Zach’s resistance. He rolled away from the strikes and onto his feet again, blocking a glancing blow from a long arm that would’ve taken his head off. He then retaliated with a strike of his own, smashing his fist into the arm before it could retreat and reducing the bones inside it to powder.
The freak roared in pain, retracting the arm and growing several more in its place, but these were deformed and flopped uselessly; as though the prior damage had stayed with them in the transformation. That was good; it wasn’t unbeatable. Still, what morale boost Zach obtained from that information was quickly snuffed out as the beast, now a bloated mass of writhing limbs, lunged at him once more.
It was surprising how quickly it could move, with its size and bulk, but it was almost on top of Zach before he knew what to do. In an impressive feat of gymnastics he was able to avoid it, but only just and not without being scraped by several rapidly growing spines on the way.
Inwardly, Zach was thankful that the creature seemed oblivious to the idea of creating a poisonous addition to its repertoire or else he surely wouldn’t stand a chance. Instead, the thing seemed to favor more brute force methods of decimating its prey, and if that hadn’t been Zach’s own area of expertise he most certainly would’ve been dead.
Still, it was faster and more powerful in virtually every respect, and he was slowing down; his vision growing hazy as he lost more and more blood. Another blow came flying at his head, that he ducked only to realize that he’d played right into the creature’s metaphorical hands. A powerful mass of flesh sprung from the creature, ramming into Zach like a piledriver. He’d only had moments to raise one of his bleeding arms into a defensive position before it landed, and it hit with an audible cracking noise as it smashed the offending limb and sent him skidding onto his back.
The freak was on him before he could move, pouncing with claws extended for the kill. Before it could land, the air was rent with a sudden bang, followed by another, then another. The creature skidded to the side in shock at what had just happened and the sudden, newfound trickles of blood that leaked from between the plates of its already marred flesh. It wasn’t hurt, not really, but it whipped its head rapidly around in search of the newfound threat that had hurt it.
It didn’t take long to find. Standing not far off the two combatants was Emily, a smoking gun in her hands. The creature roared in irritation at his puny prey and pulled back on his haunches, preparing for a massive leap.
Before it could, though, Zach suddenly sprang up from where he’d been downed. Moving with a speed that only adrenaline could provide with his state, he leapt onto the creature’s back. Digging his fingers in between the creature’s plates with his good arm, he wrenched. It flew off in a spray of blood, causing the beast to writhe in agony; nearly sending Zach flying.
Desperate to stay on, Zach reached inside the now gaping hole where the armored plate had been, grasping hold of the tender flesh beneath. It was a poor handhold and came tearing out with ease. Desperate to steady himself, he instinctively squeezed with his thighs; cracking the carapace beneath them.
As fast as he could, with as much concentration as he could muster, he began to dig into the wound he’d created. The creature was doing its best to shift it and close it as much as possible, but it took time and energy, neither of which it had in spades at the moment. Instead, Zach used his powerful grip to pull pound after pound of flesh, tendon, and bones from the creature. It wasn’t long until he was up to his shoulder in the beast. Then, his head was submerged, and still, he dug deeper.
Emily watched it all happen, helpless once again. Her breath caught as she watched Zach disappear inside the creature even as it attempted to spawn long, barbed tentacles to plunge into the gash after him. It didn’t matter. It was too weak to summon many of them, and the ones that it created were feeble. Bit by bit, the freak’s movements slowed to a crawl until, at last, it stopped moving entirely. Finally, it was over.