I awkwardly stood up and propped myself against the wall.
I was kicked in the ribs and then fell from the second floor — so I was in a lot of pain, to no surprise. I shuffled my way towards the front of the house. When I rounded another corner and came to the porch I saw Dave as he was trying to break down the door, he looked rather winded while doing it.
He noticed my approach as he leaned against the door.
“Kid!” he ran up to me, his hand getting close to my shoulder before it inched away. “You look like hell! Did a bear break into the house or something!?”
I drew in a breath to say something but instantly winced as pain webbed through my side. With a hand that wasn’t holding my torso — I motioned for Dave to step aside as I wobbled to the door and opened it with the key.
We, by that I mean mostly me, were surprised by the sight of working lights — as they shone on all the broken boards, brick, and plaster. Dark spots among the destruction showed where the monster hit, and darkened cracked floorboards —where it walked.
“Oh … oh no … Jack will be livid when he’s back,” Dave turned away from the destruction to face me.“What … what the hell happened here?”
I still didn’t feel well enough to talk — so I walked towards the stairs, Dave taking that as a sign to follow. Now on the second floor, we looked out into the cloudy night sky as I shuddered and took a breath.
“That pile of bones down there? That’s all that is left of the monster that crawled out from under the TV,” I took another breath, the taste of acid in my throat building up. “Chased me from the living room, couldn't slow down on the way up here … then, it- it grabbed me, and then…”
The moment flashed before my eyes as I clutched at my sides and started throwing up. Dave rushed to me to keep me from falling outside, again. When I was done — he guided me back downstairs and sat me down on a couch before he slumped down beside me, a moment of awkward silence was all it took for him to grab the TV remote. The news report was still on — the counter going into seven digits.
“This … this is a nightmare … it can’t be real, I’m sleeping, YES! I just fell asleep at the station! Just have to wake up, please! Just have to wake up!”
“If it makes you feel better — I'm just as confused as you are,” I said as I was trying to keep my shaky hands still.
Dave snapped his attention back to me, it seemed that comment of mine was certainly not needed.
“YOU!” His eyes darted over me as his hard stare turned to concern. “You stay here! I’ll call for the doctor,” he said as he stood up and fumbled with his phone, pacing across the room while doing so.
My eyes felt heavy. I tried to keep them open for as long as I could, but they finally closed as I heard the dial tone stop.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
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A lingering smell of medicine prodded at my nose as I woke up — high sun shining through the window and the puke-colored walls were the only thing to greet me in the empty room. I tried to get up to get a better look — but my vision span every time I tried, so I decided to be still and rest.
It was in the late afternoon when people finally visited me.
A man in a lab coat was trailed by two men in suits, they were talking to each other before they noticed me awake and looking at them.
Men in suits tried to pass by the doctor, but he darted straight for me.
“Water?” He asked as he took a pitcher from the side table and an empty glass.
I nodded, suddenly hyper-aware of the dryness of my lips.
The doctor nodded and adjusted the bed into a more sitting position before he helped me drink the water.
“How do you feel? Any blur of vision? Disorientation?”
“A bit, yeah. I-I actually can’t feel my legs or arms, I struggle to even turn my head”
“That is to be expected, you sustained a concussion, a lot of bruises, and some minor cuts, thankfully your bones and internals are intact. I had to administer some painkillers, but they should wear out soon.”
I let myself relax a bit at his words.
One of the men standing by the door coughed, bringing the attention of the doctor.
Begrudgingly he took the hint as he walked out of the room in silence and closed the door behind him.
“Jonas Foltum, 18 years old. Arrived in the United States on May 23. Lived with his aunt in the State of Florida for the past three months until his sudden disappearance 2 days ago,” one of the men read from the phone.
The other one then approached.
“Along with you — 70% of the American population vanished in unexplained circumstances. The question now is — what is so special about you, that you were the only one to pop up miles from your spot of disappearance, the only one to be found so far?”
Thinly veiled fear tactics - check.
Black suits - check.
Similar haircuts - check.
If you also guessed they were some special service people — you’d be right.
As I mulled over their words, the man with the phone sighed before he spoke again.
“Look, we aren’t trying to blame you or anything — we are just trying to figure out what happened, and you are the only lead we have — any info you can remember could be of great help”
I looked at the men for a moment before finally talking. By the end of my retelling, the agents stood there silent for a moment before one of them walked out of the room and started calling someone.
“Thank you for your … cooperation,” the remaining agent said before he too left.
The doctor soon came back and sat down beside the bed.
“I’m sorry if they were tense with you, but you must understand … people lost lovers, parents, children … it’s chaos out there right now.”
“I can’t even begin to comprehend … I was in shock when I saw the evening news, I won’t even pretend I’ll understand how you people feel right now.”
Hearing that — the doctor lightly smiled and answered.
“For better or worse I don’t have anyone to worry about like that”
Our conversation came to an abrupt and awkward end. The doctor stayed with me for a few hours, before I started to regain control of my arms — which was good, at least I was able to eat normal food and not some nutrient paste.