The sun filtered through the open curtains of the room as Markus groaned loudly. His sleep in the night had been hard, constantly waking up and falling back to sleep every once in a while which left him feeling drained. Markus slowly blinked his eyes open, squinting against the morning light that spilled into the room. The remnants of dreams and the disjointed sleep lingered in his mind as he rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the lingering grogginess.
With a heavy sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Rubbing his eyes slowly to get the gunk out of them, Markus pulled himself from the bed and slowly went to the bathroom. Yellowing tile shined in the light as he stood in front of the sink, twisting the faucet to turn it on yet as he did so, nothing happened. Markus furrowed his brow, staring at the lifeless faucet. He turned it off and on again, but the result was the same – no water. He sighed in frustration, realizing that the motel, like any place in the countryside, could be prone to occasional quirks.
"Guess it's just one of those days," he muttered with a resigned shake as he made his way to the bedroom to retrieve his overalls. The faded denim garment hung on a hook next to his bed along with other pieces of clothing. Putting on a simple white shirt and a pair of trousers, Markus reached for the overalls and pulled them on. Once he made sure everything was right, he made his way to the door to head downstairs when he stopped. He had almost forgotten his keys. Markus turned back to the bedroom with a slight chuckle, realizing he had nearly left without his keys. Retrieving the keys from the dresser with a slight chuckle, Markus reached the front door and turned the knob.
Light poured in, blinding him momentarily as he shielded his eyes from the light. The sunlit parking lot stretched out before him as Markus stepped outside, the door closing with a soft click behind him. Walking down the hall and past the empty rooms, Markus’s stomach growled as he reached the stairs. Perhaps he could grab something to eat from town? It was only ten minutes away from the motel and there was a great diner there he had visited a lot.
The motel's parking lot opened up before him as he stepped outside, the sunlight casting long shadows across the pavement. Markus took a moment to appreciate the quietude of the morning. Pulling himself into the driver's seat of the truck, he twisted the keys in the ignition and before long, he was cruising down the road to John’s house.
The ride didn't take that long all things considered, and the roads were almost empty save the occasional car parked on the side of the road. Maybe they are hunting? I heard that was a pretty big thing this time of the year he thought as he drove, music echoing from his car's speakers as he drove and eventually, The gravel was crunching beneath the tires as Markus pulled into John's driveway.
Stepping out of the truck, Markus looked around as the wind whistled around him. It flowed through the trees and against the house yet as he looked around, he realized how… quiet…it had become. Usually, John’s dog would have been wandering around yet as he walked to the front porch, he couldn't see the dog. Rather, he couldn't see any sign of life around the area, not even the mooing of cows that could usually be heard from behind the farmhouse.
A subtle unease settled over Markus as he stood on the porch, the silence more pronounced now in the absence of the usual sounds of life. The wind whispered through the trees, creating eerie sounds that seemed to underscore the stillness. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it creaked open slowly, revealing the dimly lit interior of the farmhouse.
"John? Mary?" Markus called, the unease growing in the pit of his stomach. The air felt heavy as he stepped inside, the creaking door closing behind him. The inside of the house was now very dim, the lanterns that were lit yesterday now having been put out or having been burned out. Walking through the house, it was eerily quiet, even more so than it was outside as the only thing Markus could hear was his footsteps. Eventually, he decided to look upstairs.
Moving up the stairs, the wood creaking loudly with each step, Markus walked through the hallway before eventually standing before the door to the room Mary was in. Markus hesitated before the door, a growing sense of dread accompanying his every step. The air was thick with an overpowering metallic scent, and the trembling of his hand betrayed his apprehension as he slowly turned the doorknob.
As the door creaked open, the sheer intensity of the smell hit him, and Markus recoiled involuntarily. The room, unlike its rather cozy-looking appearance from yesterday, had been transformed into a nightmare. Blood coated every inch of the space. It dripped down the walls, pooled on the floor, and clung to the ceiling. The sight sent shivers down his back as he backed away, bile quickly rising in his throat, but it was what was in the center of the room that truly horrified him.
His gaze fell to the center of the room, and the sight there struck him like a physical blow. Two skeletons lay intertwined, their forms eerily blending into the pools of blood around them. Even just looking at the two as they held each other in their embrace, Markus knew it was Mary and John there in the center of the room, but the question still sat in the air around him: What in the hell happened???
Taking a deep breath and blocking his nose with his shirt, Markus stepped into the room. With each squelching step, Markus moved toward the center of the room. The blood on the floor seemed to cling to his shoes, marking a path like he was walking through a field of mud. Eventually, Markus stood next to the skeletons as he knelt to look at them.
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Although he could sort of see it, the blood obscuring much of the view, the two organs were still present as they sat in small piles below them. Just looking at them sent a shiver down his spine but as he looked, he noticed something glinting in the pile of gore. Although he didn't want to do it, he knew he had to see what it was and after Closing his eyes for a moment, he steeled himself before reaching his hand into the mess. The sensation was chilling, to say the least, the hot and slimy texture writhing around his hand sending waves of revulsion through him, even more so when he grasped the object hidden within. Pulling his hand out and opening his eyes, Markus saw that in his hand, he held a small silver watch, its tarnished casing stained lightly due to the blood. Why would there be a watch of all things be he-
Click*
…eh?
The click, quiet as it was, echoed in the bloody room as Markus turned slowly toward the door. Standing in the doorway was quite possibly the oddest and the most terrifying thing he had ever had the possibility of encountering. Standing there was a creature, and by any account of who could have ever seen it, it resembled some kind of humanoid-looking lizard. Thick muscles many times larger than Markus’s head pulsed underneath scaled skin while bright red, beady eyes stared directly at him. In size, the thing towered over Markus, its head almost touching the roof of the ceiling. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, an almost otherworldly fear racing through Markus’s heart as he stared at it. The creature did not move, nor did it blink, it just…stared.
It felt like an eternity passed as they stared at each other, not moving an inch as if they were sizing each other up when, ever so slightly, the lizard thing leaned forward. In that heartbeat, a surge of adrenaline shot through Markus like a lightning bolt. Without a second thought, he propelled himself toward the window, his movements fueled by a primal instinct to escape.
The shattering of glass echoed through the room as Markus crashed through the window, landing with a thud on the roof outside. The world outside the farmhouse greeted him with open space and the cool morning air. The adrenaline coursing through his veins dulled the immediate pain of the impact as he scrambled to his feet, desperate to get away from whatever the hell that thing was. Glancing back at the shattered window as he pulled himself up, his heart raced 1000 times more than it previously was as he saw the humanoid lizard creature already attempting to squeeze its way through.
Roaring and screeching as it clawed at the wood, splintering it as it did so, shivers rolled down Markus's spine in constant waves. Fear propelled him forward, and with no other choice, he leapt from the roof to the ground below. The world blurred around him as he fell to the ground and, contrary to what he had been expecting, he landed with a controlled roll. The impact sent a jolt through his body as the adrenaline, still coursing through his veins, dulled the immediate pain. Regaining his senses after the roll, he swiftly scrambled to his feet just as a deafening crash echoed behind him. Markus's heart raced as he sprinted towards his truck, the adrenaline pumping through his veins, drowning out the cacophony of roars behind him. The monstrous lizard creature, now freed from the confines of the farmhouse, pursued him with relentless determination.
He reached his truck, fumbling for the keys with trembling hands. The creature, hot on his heels, leaped from the rooftop, claws outstretched. Markus's fingers closed around the keys, and with a frantic twist, he threw open the door, leaping into the safety of the driver's seat just as the creature landed with a thunderous crash behind him.
Twisting the keys into the socket, the engine roared to life, and Markus peeled away from the farmhouse as fast as he could. The lizard creature, undeterred, pursued him with unmatched speed. As he sped down the desolate road, Markus's mind raced. What in the actual hell was that thing? What the fuck is even going on? Questions swirled in his mind, but there was no time for answers. Survival took precedence above all else.
Markus's hands gripped the steering wheel, whitening as he gripped it hard, and his eyes darted between the road and the rearview mirror, catching glimpses of the creature's scaled form in pursuit. The landscape outside the window blurred as he pushed the truck to its limits. 40…50…60…the truck moved faster and faster yet it seemed as though the lizard was moving just as fast if not even more yet as Markus pushed the pedal as far as it would go, it seemed the lizard began to slow down. Perhaps due to exertion or maybe even just losing interest in a prey hell-bent on escaping, the lizard thing slowed down and eventually, it was just a speck in the rearview window.
Once he was certain the lizard had disappeared from view, Markus took a deep, steadying breath. He let go of the tension that had coiled within him, exhaling a sigh of relief. Markus knew he had to get into town and let the sheriff, hell, maybe even the national guard know about whatever the hell that thing was.
Looking back in the rear-view mirror once again to make sure the lizard was gone, Markus failed to notice a much smaller lizard-like creature wandering onto the road in front of the truck. Its size made it almost inconspicuous compared to the earlier behemoth with it being under half of its size. With a sickening crunch, the truck collided with the smaller creature, sending it flying a few meters as it rolled in the dirt.
Markus slammed on the brakes, the screeching of tires echoing around the area, as he snapped to attention to see what the hell he just hit. The truck shuddered to a stop, and Markus's heart raced as he peered through the windshield, his eyes widening with shock as he realized what he had just hit. Looking at the lizard as it failed to move, Markus hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the truck to assess the damage. The creature now laid in a crumpled heap, its scales smeared with dirt and blood. The front of the truck was just as mangled with the steel bumper almost completely caved in from the impact.
Cautiously making his way over to the lizard creature, Markus realized that he now actually had a good look at what the lizard creature looked like up closely. Grey and black scales shined in the light and as he ran his hands along the scales, some parted ways to reveal smooth skin underneath. Looking at the creature now, Markus had the faint feeling that it looked…human. It was unnerving to look at but because of the circumstances, he was left with no other choice and so with great effort, Markus picked up the creature and put it in the back of the truck. The creature felt heavy, much more so than he had been expecting, and it took a few minutes to slide it into the bed of the truck.
Once he was sure it was secured, Markus quickly got back into the truck and with great haste, drove down the road to town. He had to tell someone, anyone, what he had just seen. Yet as he drove off from the scene of the impact, Markus failed to notice the small blue window as it floated above the ground.
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