Benders

The Bender

They were first seen back in 2014 in Paris, France. I remember it so vividly because my school went on a trip there during that time. I don't think we were the first ones to see them but I do think we were the first civilians to know these things existed. We had just came down from the top of the Eiffel Tower when our tour guide asked us if we wanted to shop at a few of the gift shops surrounding the tower before lunch. We agreed to shop so he led the way to some of the popular shops. When we got to the first one, me and my hotel roommate on this trip, Ava, were just poking around at some flavored chocolates in a bowl when it happened. A regular looking Parisan man slammed himself into one of the huge windows of the gift shop and continued to stumble slowly towards people. Everyone inside gasped and clung onto each other. We all began backing up creating space between him and us. The man seemed to be in a trance like state. He didn't pay attention to any of our gasps or words. "GET THIS GUY OUTTA HERE!!" someone in the shop yelled. The man then stopped stumbling and was just standing in the middle of the shop. He was crying hysterically but not saying any words. A french cop busted through the shop front doors pointing gun at the man, screaming "IL EST UN BENDER AUCUN MOUVEMENT SOUDAINE QUELQU'UN!!!!! (HE'S A BENDER NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS ANYONE!!!) "A bender?" people began whispering throughout the shop. "Just listen to the police okay?" Our tour guide told us. Still crying, bloody tears began to trickle down the tortured mans face. Nobody knew what was going on, even the cop himself looked kinda stunned. A few other cops bursted through the doors pointing guns towards the man. "IL Y A UNE SORTIE ARRIÈRE!!!" (THERE'S A BACK EXIT!) One of the employees at the shop yelled out from behind the counter. "TOUT LE MONDE LE SUIVE LENTEMENT, ESSAYEZ DE NE PAS FAIRE TROP DE BRUIT JUSQU'À CE QUE VOUS SOYEZ HORS DE CETTE BOUTIQUE." (EVERYONE FOLLOW HIM SLOWLY AND TRY NOT TO MAKE TOO MUCH NOISE UNTIL YOU'RE OUT OF THIS SHOP). Another cop yelled at us. "Hurry! Hurry!" people were whispering everywhere. You could also hear slight whimpers from others panicking. Me and Ava were at the back of this cramped line that the employee was leading down a hallway to the exit. Then a cop speaking broken english shrieked "HE'S CHANGING! HE'S CHANGING!" I pulled Ava close to me turned around, and what we saw was....inhuman..bestial. The man began doing a...backbend. The eerie apart about it all is while he's in this backbend, all of his insides began showing...outward. All the organs, veins, nerves, bones, muscles, etc. just...unfolding. He became...a bender. Blood splattered across the cops worried faces and gift shop walls.

Ava looked at me with terror in her eyes. I was speechless and at a standstill. I just hovered my finger over my mouth signaling "shhh" towards Ava. "TIRER! À PRÉSENT!" (SHOOT! NOW!) one of the cops shouted. I pulled Ava closer and tucked her head in my chest as the cops began shooting at the bender. As the Bender rose up from the backbend, now fully red, insides fully out, the cops clips rang empty. None of the shots impaled him. The Bender stared around for a few seconds. Its eyes were the only thing left from its normal body. The eyes were protruding so far out from it's sockets, it just wasn't normal. A growl began to rise from the Bender. The cops weren't making any sudden movements, they just froze in terror. The Bender grabbed the neck of the closets cops to him, raising him off the ground a little. Before the cop could let out a sound, the Bender opened his mouth and bit his face off and threw him on the ground. While the bender hunted the next cop, I grabbed Ava's shoulders and pulled her close to me. "There's going to be more of these things Ava. We have to be careful and quiet, do you understand? You have to follow me at all times and do whatever we have to do to be safe, get it?" I whispered at Ava in a distressed voice. "Ye-yes." Ava agreed as she wiped her tears. We ran down the hallway to the back exit door and when we got there I slowly peaked out, hoping there wasn't a Bender around. There wasn't any so I jerked Ava's hand. I didn't see any safe ground right away, it was just an alley. People were running everywhere so I guess more Benders were spotted. Ava and I decided to run to the end of the alley. Halfway there, we spotted a group of them passing by on the street at the end of the alley. We pulled back immediately and hid behind a trashcan. I peeked from behind the trashcan. The Benders constant y let out spine chilling growls as they moved. All of their eyes were doing the protruding thing, and their glance was like a hunting trance-like mode. There was no light in their eyes. It was haunting. Even being near one makes your insides quake. Two men that seemed to be seeing what we were crouched behind us quickly. I heard one panting really hard trying to get a word out with each breath telling the other man.. "They..don't hate us. To them...we...are food. They...are...a swarm of...death, near..ly un...stoppable. And...the only thing...they fear is...us."