Mr. Mark moved forward, and I followed him. We crawled slower and slower, with frequent stops, and at some point we became observers of an orange glow with barely perceptible warmth.
The smell of burning and smoke almost filled the lungs, preventing the body from catching its breath in the narrow space of the metal trap.
"Сough, cough."
The neighbor coughed.
The vibration, which had stopped five minutes earlier, resumed with renewed vigor. Something heard us and knew where we were. Ahead of us, there loomed a precipice, with a raging fire burning beneath it, and unknown creatures lurking inside the mine.
Everywhere you look, there are not very good prospects. Looking back for the last time, I noticed two burning dots that were approaching, just as the vibration itself doubled under us.
The snout, with its eyes glittering like a snake's, relentlessly pounded against the walls, getting closer and closer to us.
With a trembling hand, I slapped my neighbor on the thigh and whispered:
"It's behind us."
Its claws ripped through the iron walls while its nostrils flared, creating a thunderous sound that echoed in the shaft. A long tongue wriggled before my eyes.
My ears were pierced by an unusually loud howl, and I felt the putrid breath of death on the back of my neck.
The roar.
The neighbor fell out of the ventilation shaft, and a few moments later I too.
My shoulder hit the broken table hard and I gasped in pain.
I looked up, where sharp claws began to appear, and then the muzzle of an exceptional freak itself.
Horrified by the thoughts and scenes outlined by imagination, I pressed my back to the floor.
The creature's muzzle was able to pass through the entrance, but the rest of its body was outside the metal box, scratching the iron edges, unable to get out, it howled in frustration.
Steam was noisily escaping from the noseless holes filled with needle-like bones, the tongue protruded through razor-sharp fangs, veins swelled under the uneven skin from the effort.
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Turning away, I scanned the lights around me, finding nothing where we could barricade ourselves.
The heaps of rubbish that had resembled sustenance and shelves just hours earlier were now emitting toxic, black smoke.
My eyes were watering and it was getting harder and harder for me to think about anything.
A wet rag lay on my face, waking my sleepy mind, and I looked up to see a neighbor who was talking about something and tied a shirt over his head, covering his mouth and nose.
Tying a piece of cloth on the back of my head, I somehow fenced myself off from the acrid smoke.
The neighbor had already run a few meters, his back seemed to be a saving light leading to the desired freedom.
Exhaling, I quickly got up, but before I could take a couple of steps, something landed behind me, the concrete cracked from the weight of the creature, without looking back, I already ran after my neighbor.
Every step echoed in my head, and I was sure that if I got to the exit, I would have a chance to become strong and survive in a new world. I can get retribution.
But I couldn't get far, sharp claws dug into my pant leg, and for a moment I lost my balance, flattened on the floor with my stomach down. Feeling no pain but despair, i tried to push off with his feet from the creature. I didn't want to give up.
I was sure that soon I would be devoured, there would not even be a wet spot left of me. Alive, lying on a destroyed gas station, I will be food, a snack for hungry monsters. That my plans, behind which I have shut myself off from the present, will turn into a piece of paper torn by the claws of a nightmare.
Raising my hands, I wanted to grab the burning beam and catch the vanishing hope with the last remnants of my mind. The heat enveloped my face in thick steam, two wet streams rolled down my cheek, and I shuddered for the last time and screamed at the top of my voice.
- AAAH. Bastards. COME ON, ATTACK! - putting my hand on the hot tile, I exhaled weakly, it seemed that I had used up all my energy.
If this was the end of everything, then I would prefer to summon the creatures and distract their attention so that Mr. Mark would have at least the slightest chance of salvation, my last breath was heroic, my short life was filled with meaning.
Consoling myself with such thoughts, I stopped resisting, the creature felt it and broke away from his pants, sharp fangs almost dug into the flesh.
Lowering my hands, I fatally relaxed my limbs, closed my eyes, and waited for a new portion of pain.
A shot rang in my ears, something fell nearby and out of the corner of my eye I noticed sharp fangs the size of my fingers.
My neighbor grabbed me by the shoulder blades, and I could not think clearly, watching as a huge dark gray creature writhed in agony in the same place where we fell. The cervical artery had been punctured by the bullet, causing purplish fluid to flow out in frequent spasms. The huge body was shrinking like an old raisin, maybe the creature consisted only of blood?
The bottomless eyes that had lost their luster looked at our disappearing silhouettes, and for some reason I felt a little sorry for him. But immediately correcting myself, I began to increase the speed.
The shot and my scream have already marked our location.
As footsteps drew nearer from the stairs and the fire grew stronger, the blazing shelves littered the entire space, leaving us with almost no escape route. We eventually came to a dead end and were forced to turn around.