madmanic999's fiction

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:: Sunday, January 6, 2008 by madmanic999

The air rushes past my ears...  I am moving as quickly as the strangers chained to me will allow.  Fish remains nearby clutching his rifle close to his chest... The others have run so far ahead I can barely see them.  For a moment it feels as though all is in slow motion.... I hear them only yards behind us... Don't look back, I tell myself... There is no good that can come of it, but we can not run forever, not like this, not chained.  I can here the snarling of savage things... they are close enough to smell our fear... I here the strange woman wimper like a child, the old man's breathing is becoming more and more labored... she knows he will not last much longer.  I glance back and see them for just a moment, but long enough to fill me with a terror so solid it has it's own weight, a weight that makes me stumble and almost fall flat. 

They are not like the pityful creature Reese and his soldiers had captured, these beasts with snapping jaws filled with sharp teeth,  yellow skin tightly stretched over lean muscle that looks like steel cable wrapped around bone.  Their eyes are black pits, and there faces filled with hate.  The stalkers running in front on all fours, they are distinguished by their elongated jaws, and huge mutated spine clearly visibal through there yellow translucent skin.  Reapers running behind grasping their chains. Some are carrying what look like makeshift spears, clubs and blades, all of which seem to be fashioned from car parts, and scrap metal.

The old man's legs finally give, and as he collapses the women and I tumble over him, she lands flat onto his back as the momentum swings me over them both, the chains causing me to land straight onto my left shoulder and head at an awkward angle, the weight of my body crashing down... fireworks fill my eyes and all goes black....

I am drowning, I feel the cool water all around me, I panic and it rushes into my open mouth, down my throat and into my lungs... it feels like my chest will explode.  I claw and kick at nothing but cold water..... "Daddy, Daddy, watch me!".  I open my eyes in shock, above me a huge square black object floats surrounded by sunlight dancing on the surface.... I can see a small figure looking down at me, it is hard to see through the water, distorted, but it seems a little girl is watching me drown from the floating objects edge... as I sink, suddenly I feel the slimy muck and weeds under my feet, I have hit the bottom.  I push off with all the strength I have left.  The dull rushing sound of water, I spring toward the surface, I'm blacking out as my lungs shut down... inches away from the sun...  "Daddy, watch me!"

Breathing, I here breathing, the kind that sounds like a persons lungs are filled with something other than air, the kind you get from a heavy smoker, or an asthmatic.  I can smell the cool damp earth, the left side of my face is buried in it. I am laying in an crumpled position on my side in the dirt.  When I open my eyes I am looking straight into the strange womans face.  Only inches apart, her gaze locked on mine, dirt and strands of tangled black hair on her cheeks.  She is laying on her belly, slumped over the old man, who is struggling to breathe beneath her.  Her eyes are darting around, panicked, as though she is scanning every inch of my face.  She is taking short breathes, tears streaming from her blue eyes...  trembling, terrified.  I can hear shuffling all around us. Just as I begin to raise my head to look up, a foot lands squarely on my neck forcing me deeper into the dirt.  I here a loud metallic snap, then another, and another.  They are breaking our shackles, as though they were made of clay.  The woman eyes widen, tears spilling now, her short breaths stop, it is almost as if she is holding them.  She is perfectly silent until a clawed yellow hand reaches down and grabs the back of her neck. She cries out as she is dragged to her feet.  With her out of line of sight I can see them clearly now.  Some twitch and shake uncontrollably.  others pacing like cages lions, all snarling, growling.  Some wear scraps of clothes, others completely naked, shrivelled sex organs uncovered.  The females breasts are empty flaps of skin.  Each one unique and yet oddly identical.  Yellow flesh and black eyes surround us... but what are they waiting for.    The foot bares down, growing heavy and uncomfortable.  The old man opens his eyes to look at me, and in that split second a stalker leaps on him.  He reaches out with long thin fingers to grab my shirt as the beast, clutching a chunk of flesh in its jaws, drags him backward.  He loses his grip on me as more stalkers grab hold, drag him into the mob, and surround him.  "Oh god no!", he screams, "Noooooo!"  The beasts spring on him as if his cries triggered them to do so.  All I can see in the mob is one boney hand still reaching toward me as yellow flesh is stained with red blood.  The sound of flesh tearing and bone snapping forces me to shut my eyes again. 

POP POP POP!... I open my eyes, drops of black blood stain my cheek as the foot slips from my neck.  I quickly pull myself up into a sittin position.  Fisher stands to my right surrounded by monsters.  I did not know he remained.  POP POP, he fires again killing the beast clutching the woman by her throat, she falls to the ground sobbing.  Fisher spins to the left, then back to the right, waving the automatic rifle.  "Don't f-fucking m-move!"  Why had he stopped?  Why not just leave us?  "Get away!"  The mob shuffles, paces, they are not afraid, but still they do not approach, it's as if they are curious.  One beast steps forward and lets out an ungodly roar. POP! Fisher fires hitting it the shoulder, barely fazing it.  It roars again waving a huge jagged piece of scap metal in the air.  The beast rush toward us.  POP POP POP POP POP, Fisher fires wildly into the crowd.  

"STOP!" a voice yells from beyond the mob.  The beasts stop and look toward the sound.  "Over here you yellow fuckers."  the voice again.. as I peer between the mob, through the creatures I see its origin.  Standing a few dozen yards away above us on a hill are six men all carrying rifles.  Their figures stand out against the moonlight, but it is too dark to see them clearly.  "Come on you bastards, come on Ivon, come and get us!"  the man yelling fires into the air, and then turns to run away, the others right behind.  The Reapers roar in unison, that demonic single sound again, like one huge beast.  They all rush after the men, trampling over us to get to them...  feet kick and stomp as beasts rush past.  One creature grabs Fisher and throws him through the air, he lands with a sickening thud in the dirt. 

When what appears to be the last of the creatures disappears over the hill, I pull myself up and look around to ensure we are safe.  Standing behind us, perfectly still is one remaining Reaper.  He is tall, at least seven feet, and extremely thin, his black eyes looking at me and past me all at once.  Unlike the others it's face is not filled with rage, but cold and expressionless.  It begins to walk toward me in long quick graceful steps.  I am frozen, unable to run.  It stops within arms reach of me.  Then I sense that terrible feeling crawling up my spine into my skull, invisible fingers, clawing, scratching at my mind.  The beast cocks its head to the side the way a curious child does when staring at some strange insect.  A long arm reaches out clutching my face like a vice in its boney clawed fingers.  The beast lifts me from where I stand with just one hand.  It's face is still emotionless, sick yellow skin stretched over a once human skull.  It pulls me closer, it's black eyes so empty.  My mind buzzes, an overwelming feeling of penetration, like he is turning my skull inside out.  Then something strange... I could swear the beasts lip curls into a twisted smile.  It is,the thing is smiling at me.  Then the buzzing is replaced by a voice, a voice in my head.... some strange intruding voice... "They are nothing...all is lost to them... we are all... it is burning...we are all."....  The fingers open and I fall to the ground as the creature moves on like he is disregarding some curiosity that for one moment had his attention but now is just trash.  My mind goes quiet, the invasion stops and from where I lay I see the strange woman.  She appears unharmed.  She is trying to help Fisher up, occationally watching me, almost with that same curiosity, like she can not understand what just happened.  "Get up, get up and follow me, we have no time, I know a safe place!"  I pick myself up again and run to help her with the boy....