Danny was moving while throwing up, his need to get out of the murderous house was unbelievable; he’d run on needles to get out of this horror. As he got to the last step, he fell over, put his hands out to stop him from landing of his face. He looked back towards the top of the stairs to the door where he had just come from. The nightmare was real, right in front of his eyes, right under his nose, everything was just too much for him and he screamed.
His voice croaked as he had been using it too much. He felt like a girl as he screamed, thinking whether his heroes would cry, his idols, or his dad. Danny expected his dad would tell him off for acting like a coward. His dad always had preached about not being a coward. But Danny knew he was a coward, nerd, and worse of all he was unsociable which plagued his life at school; although, he knew he no longer needed that skill.
He walked towards the front door and opened it like it was a desperate opportunity. As he got outside, the red, boiling, and devilish sky had infinite meanings and he seen the beauty in it. The world had turned into hell – literally – Danny thought. The thing that he once loved had disappeared into the abyss and Danny had followed it.
He continued to stare at the red devilish sky, pondered on the fact that everything was surreal, unrealistic but it was all real. Danny couldn’t stop thinking about how his safety would fit into this world, would he see the world for much longer? Did he enjoy life to the fullest? Did he worry about his bullies too much that he became consumed by it? He freaked at the thoughts and possibilities. Until he saw another winged creature.
The acceleration of his flight caught Danny off guard, he thought a creature so humongous would never fly so fast. He thought about going inside, and the dread in his stomach rocked around the world. He stood his ground, thought about his heroes, and imitated them. But by pure chance the winged creature took off and left Danny’s eyeline and disappeared like a magic trick. His anxiety left him for a second.
Danny thought about his family, especially his mum. The chance that his mum would not return to him. He will never hear her sweet voice again, just a croak with vile intent, raging at him like he was now a disappointment and only a disappointment with no silver lining, even being her son felt like nothing now.
His dad begins to come into his thoughts. Danny thought he could depend on his dad in that murderous house, but he doubted himself, doubted his dad. “But should I?” He questioned himself, “he has always been there for me.” Though he thought about how awful his dad would treat him – how quick he would turn to anger – anything would set him off.
But he had to depend on his dad; he had no one else. He moved towards the gate, put his hand on the lock, but a scream could be heard from the next garden.
Arthur walks on a broken road like tanks had been driving on it. He begins to think how much fighting would have caused this. how strong the opponents are? His feet hurt inside his tight boots as he walks on rubble. He sees grass so decides to walk on it. The smooth, yet damaged, grass is a pleasure to walk on due to his hurting back, legs and feet. He thought the fall that he took was awful and wonder how long he can go for; he just didn’t want to let the kid down. The one thing he was prepped on was saving people, though he was prepped on taking lives too, that was the fact he hated horribly.
He walked over a hill while struggling. As he reached the top he seen the start of a highway, it was demented, deranged, and disturbed. It had been ruined like a war had been fought there. The cracks in the floor were the size of an elephant’s leg. There were scatters of rubble across the floor which made it hard to walk on. Cars were smashed and broken down, with dust covering the colour. Dust was all around him, like it was snowing dust, it choked him and made him gag. He takes his jacket off and puts it around his head to cover his mouth, though his eyes were feeling the brunt of it. He wished for goggles like it was all he needed to be happy.
As he began to move again, he seen an underpass, and he celebrated while running towards it. As he reaches it, the lightness becomes darkness, and the dread seeps into him. He doubts going into the darkness, he had seen so much that anything could be in there. The highway seemed empty with no creatures that could harm him, but he thought about using the underpass so he could avoid the dust. He had enough of all the trivial things that would anger him.
He ducked down into the gap, where a panel had been smashed in the corner, creating an opening for someone, Arthur worried who that someone was. He easily moved through the opening and had a look at his surroundings seeing nothing but the dark abyss. Arthur felt terror that gave him a great desire to quit and hide in his bunker. As he sat staring into the space of pure tenebrosity, he tried to think of anything that would make him brave, just as brave as he was in the past.
Nothing would help him. Not his mum, his dad, or his daughter. They had all been dead, so it just gave him despair as he thought of the memories of his family that was no longer with him. The sadness was overwhelming, and it hadn’t been too long, so the pain was still surreal. A thought came to his head that brought him back to reality, the thought of saving another family.
He lifted his head off the ground and knew what he had to do, whether it would kill him because he believed he had no one left to love him. He thought, saving the family was the last important thing he could do before leaving this forsaken planet.
Arthur lifted himself up and moved forward. The pain, tiredness, and responsibility of saving them weighed him down like a rock on his back. He pressed on into the dark. His eyes seen nothing, only the blackened area standing around him. He turned his head back at the opening and regretted ever taking on the challenge. His hairs stood up his neck, lips dry like the desert, eyes swelled from how tired he was. He couldn’t handle what was in front of him, he doubted himself with every step.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The darkness would not let up, he had only been walking a short while, though it felt like an eternity. He walked and his body slammed into something, it was hard, spacious and crumbles were dropping from it. He froze waiting for his death, he waited, waited, but nothing happened. Just a silence, a never-ending silence that was looming over him. He broke his minds silence, what the fuck am I doing?! I need to get a grip of myself. I will not be saving anyone acting like this.
He quickly pushed himself off the hardened object and immediately it felt a lot like a wall. He was angered by his coward act, so he followed the undetermined object and walked brazenly, not even thinking that he could walk into something else.
The gravel on the floor was the only noise, with every step it grew louder. The fear no longer gripped him like before, he felt an inner peace that drove him on. The next step was a clumsy one, a pothole where his foot dropped in. His body hit the floor while his hands rescued his face from hitting the sturdy floor.
He started to have hope that he was going the right way, he had been going straight the whole time. He focused on the floor because he knew that another fall would mean a rest on the floor, he thought. His large steps were desperate to avoid the rocks. He had been blind for long enough; he had to reach sunlight soon.
As he moved further, his body impacted on a tough object and for a second, he felt scared, but it felt similar to the other object he hit; sturdy, large but no rumble this time – it had not been ruined – Arthur guessed. He put his hand on what he thought was a wall and walked along it, followed it till he came across a small passageway. He felt as though he had an idea on where to go.
He felt like the walls were closing on him, compared to how much space he had a minute ago, though he carried on through what seemed like a corridor, and as he went further a small object hit him like no other. The only thought that crossed his mind was dead bodies but he noticed that the smell was slightly different. He had smelled enough mangled corpses to know it was different, he hated that he knew that fact. With every step the smell got worse, almost like he was heading right for the area with the stench. The only thing that made the smell bearable was his experience back in the days.
The days where it he seemed free and flying with his friends with no worries, just the profound feeling of joy that had no end until it had an end. The feeling of meeting people that had no mask was the most concrete feel he had. No one could have taken it from him until he took it, leaving him with the emptiest feel he had ever felt in his entire life. The feeling of dancing with friends and everyone was in synergy, and that’s what his old days felt like, heaven on earth. He felt Invincible until he didn’t. He was left as a weak coward screaming in and out of nightmares and sweat riddled his body. He had no fear, only might. He just wished he had that same drive he once had.
He grew a massive trepidation about opening the door, though his curiosity went wild. He walked closer to the stench of a lifetime, pushed his hands out to reach the tough object. His hands touched a door which had rust covering the entire door. His hand clipped a handle and he grabbed and pulled it down with force which was required.
The door opened and his eyes were bleeding from the smell. He gagged thoroughly with snot running down from his nose to his mouth; the taste of snot did not help him. He was glad he was still wearing his makeshift mask as he held it with his hand, putting pressure on it. The only silverling was the lights beaming from the control room. Though the sight was not worth it, he thought.
Everything was bloody, bloody control panels, bloody walls, bloody floors, everything was bloody with a darkened red that spread around the room like it had been used as a killer’s basement. There were no organs, no body parts, just blood. Arthur hated what might of caused it, he knew they had been dangerous but didn’t think they were this gratuitous. He stepped inside, seeing a wall with nothing but blood on it, he wanted to run away from it. His feet were consumed by a puddle of blood, he could not ignore the horror that took place in the room.
He turned his head and seen another door on the other side of the room. It had deep scratches which covered the entire door like a lion had been locked in the room. He didn’t dare open it; he couldn’t bear the thought of what might be behind the door. Would he become a puddle of blood on the floor and that’s all his existence would contain. Arthur’s mind raced.
He regained his composure, thinking whether he could survive the horrors and save the family in need. The composure made him look at the control panel that had buttons with labels but was drenched in blood.
His eyes were matched with words that said, “light,” he didn’t contemplate anything whatsoever, just pressed a button. As he pressed it, fear came into his body. He thought how irresponsible it was and but at the same time, he realized that he needed to overcome his fear of decision making, or it wouldn’t be unruffled for him.
He wondered what his actions did. He began to figure it out. Until a smashing bang proceeded on the door, opposite to the door that he entered. His inner voice screamed, his heart beating with loud palpitations, sweat drowning his face. He couldn’t face what was behind the knock.
Danny fell to the ground as the violent scream rocked his ears. The frightful, squealing bass of a scream came every few seconds. Danny braced himself every time the thing stopped screaming, it almost felt like it knew Danny was there when it stopped. He wanted to move so badly but couldn’t. He sat on the smooth grass with the feeling of despair, his ears began to hear crunches that sounded like someone munching on something hard and the dread of knowing what that something could be put the fear of God in him.
He knew he had to move and as he did, his head turned to face the fence. A decent sized hole was in the fence, causing Danny to see the excessive, savage and brutal horror. A man with pale skin that matched rotten milk and long teeth that were bouncing on top of someone skull. Danny freaked out and tried to ignore the pale thing biting into soft skin, which caused blood to squirt into his mouth, covering his whole face. The pale man only had trouser on with blood all over his chest and he was swimming in blood.
Danny put his hand on the gate’s lock and prayed it was silent as he moved it. He opened the gate and tip toad out the garden. A scream happened as he left, Danny prayed it wasn’t because of him, though he could still hear the crunches. He thought of his dad and began to hope that his dad was alright and would help him. He lightly jogged trying to be quiet. Danny hoped he would reach home.