His name is Markus and he has just escaped from the worst place he could possibly imagine.
As he runs, the high school he had attended while he was a child was obliterated in a gigantic orange-red-yellow fireball; the result of a rather rushed improvised explosive he had rigged against the old furnace that powered everything.
Within that explosion, something he had no words to describe was hopefully writhing in pain, its tentacles and fangs and other weird bits of anatomy squealing and twisting on the ground after being ripped from the grotesque, slimy body that had crawled out of yet another one of those godforsaken holes in the ground.
Alas, Markus knew better than that. He knew that a simple explosion, even one as big as the one he was running from, was not enough to destroy, or even significantly hurt one of those things. Even if it was, or it could, he had seen them pull themselves together – literally. There was no other choice but to run.
But run where? Everywhere he looked, the world was on fire. Deep red flames issued from dark crevasses that crisscrossed his home town. Out of the darkest ones, thick tendrils, coated with befanged suckers crept out. They twisted and stretched in every direction, wrapping around any living object they found and dragging the person, or animal, back into the gaping void. He was one of only a few people still alive on the surface.
He slowed his run as the noise of the explosion abated and he turned, still moving away from it, and watched. The building groaned before collapsing in on itself in a rush of noise.
As Markus watched, the rubble throbbed and pulsated before one of those tendrils pushed its way out and waved in the air. A noise, a familiar and horrifying noise, issued from beneath the rubble and he knew that others would be here soon, would be here to take their vengeance out on the pitiful creature that had harmed one of them. Markus turned and ran hard. This time he didnt look back.
Markus grew up here, but he could not recognise what his town had become. Every house, every shop, every building had been destroyed. The hill that rose up on the north side of town, had been torn down. The hill itself. The rock and dirt that had been a tourist attraction, a lookout over the small town, was blocking the only way in and out. On the far side of that, Markus knew, was the army. The soldiers and help that they all needed. The ones who were left, that is.
That was his goal. Get to where the road was blocked, five miles from his current location, climb the rubble and leave.
The problem was that those creatures, and so many more, were everywhere between where he was and where he wanted to be. They would be waiting for him wherever he went. Waiting to trip him up and drag him down to whatever version of hell they came from. To get to the other side of town was going to take a miracle.
As it happened, Markus discovered, not every building in town had been destroyed. A few blocks down from the school stood a church. Markus was never big on churches, so he had no idea which one it was, but it stood strong. A stone building, virtually untouched since it was built some 700 years ago, looking like the only place of refuge amongst everything going on around him.
As he approached the front door, he heard a sound. A familiar and horrifying sound. The sound of a rifles bolt being pulled back.
“If yous one of them, Im gonna put a slug in your head,” a voice said.
Markus had not seen anyone, nor had he heard anyone. Whoever was pointing the weapon at him had been waiting.
“Im not,” Markus said, raising his hands above his head. “One of them, I mean. I just brought down the old high school on top of one. Didnt do shit.”
“The school, eh?” the voice said thoughtfully. “Never much liked that old place, but if youre the cause for that giant kaboom just now, I guess youre right with us. Let him in,” this last comment was meant for someone else that Markus couldnt see. But as he lowered his arms and looked around, the giant wooden church doors swung open and waiting for him were half a dozen or so very scared looking people.
Davis was the man with the gun. Poorly educated, but a tinkerer. He was the reason the doors were only able to be opened from the inside. He had a number of rifles, salvaged from farms not far away, in various stages of wear and tear.
He was heading towards his 80s, walked with a limp and was suspicious of everyone. But if they were human, he said, they were welcome.
Marnie was his granddaughter. Early 30s, overeducated and underemployed. Markus had gone to school with her younger sister. They hadnt been friends, but they knew each other.
Marnies eyes were wide with fear and let the doors swing shut with a loud bang as soon as Markus was inside. She didnt look at anyone and just ran to the center of the room and sat in the fetal position on the floor.
Tyler was a teenager. He carried a skateboard and stood over Marnie. He gave Markus a solemn nod and an appraising eye. He was the one who gave Markus whatever information this little group had. He didnt have any notes written, just said things off the top of his head. No one interrupted or disagreed with him.
Julia was a middle aged woman. From all accounts, she was a scavenger. She was surprisingly nimble on her feet and was able to find almost anything that was needed; her particular speciality was food, the supply that was on hand was freely offered to Markus.
The twins, Max and Amy, were barely 12 years old. They didnt talk – not even to each other – but they seemed to have an idea of where the creatures, or whatever you wanted to call them, were. If any were close and things like that. Each of them would point in a direction when something was close and lower their hands when they werent. Thankfully, the church prevented them from entering, because the children were raising and lowering their hands a lot.
The six of them had no plan. As far as Davis was concerned, there was no reason for them to leave. The church was safety and so long as Julia was able to find food, no one would starve. Tyler looked after Marnie, who was calming down as Markus watched, and as creepy as they were, the twins made sure everyone knew where those creatures were. It was only Markus who didnt want to stay.
“Theres the door,” Davis would repeat.
Despite his obvious intent to leave them to their own devices and strike out for the town boundaries and escape, the small group of people allowed him to stay with them for as long as he wanted. They would never leave with him, but they werent going to kick him out.
It was about three days after he arrived when things changed. It was Tyler who noticed it first. The twins hadnt pointed at anything for a while. The kids themselves were also worried about this. They spent more time in the company of the adults, they were openly crying and they kept walking around the walls, hoping they could feel something nearby.
Out of nowhere, the two of them screamed and pointed straight down. They jumped up onto the pews and cried and screamed and repeatedly jammed their fingers towards the ground. They jumped off the pews and ran down the church to the altar where they both jumped up on to the lecturn and screamed more.
The entire building shuddered. Dust fell from the beams in the ceiling and a window shattered. Davis looked at Markus and Tyler and threw each of them a large rifle. Marnie took the kids and Julia and waited by the door. It could only be opened by her, but she was ready to run if needed. The kids still pointed towards the middle of the floor, about where the three men were standing.
“Wait for ‘em,” Davis said. “Take your shot at the last possible minute. It dont kill em, but it does put ‘em down for a good while. They dont have eyes, but those thinner tendrils, they are like their noses. Aim for them, as close to the body as you possibly can.”
The floor rose beneath them as something struck it from underneath. The marble tiles started to crack and the hissing noise that each of them had heard in their dreams for weeks on end now issued forth. The church was no longer safe.
“Is there another church?” Markus asked.
“A couple of blocks that way,” Tyler said, pointing away from the direction Markus needed to go.
“There are many through the town,” Julia said. “I can find them.”
“Marnie?” Tyler asked.
“Im good,” the woman said. Her face showed her words to be a lie.
As the cracks in the marble grew wide and the gun wielding men backed up to the door, their rifles pointed directly where the twins were pointing, Marnie and Julia opened the door.
Outside the world was, strangely, quiet. Running ahead, to clear anything from their path, Tyler waved Julia and the twins. Then Marnie followed, Markus and Davis brought up the rear.
In the church, dozens of thin tendrils pushed through the cracks in the floor but stayed away from the stonework and the still intact windows.
“Quickly,” Markus said. “Move. We wont have much time once it realises we arent there.”
The group of seven ran down the road as their safe haven was overrun by something inexplicable.
Julia and the twins were at the front. The children were constantly moving their hands around, indicating where the creatures were. They were moving very fast underground, making it hard for them to find a direct route to the church. Julia knew it was ahead of them somewhere and made sure any turn was clear before leading them down there. Marnie was moving fast behind them, her eyes twitching and flicking from side to side. She had started muttering now and nothing that Tyler seemed to be doing was working.
“Whats up with her?” Markus asked.
“She was pulled down,” Davis replied quietly. “We saved her; shot the damn thing that took her. But it was too late. She saw things. Things no one aint meant to see. Tyler does his best, but we need to shack up somewhere for a while. If he can do his thing, shell be right. How are you faring? Getting all twitchy yet?”
“Me?” Markus asked. “I feel perfectly fine.”