Short Tales of Abominations

Flood

Cindy shook. The chill of the previous night had yet to be chased away by the rising sun. The shingles she sat on only worsened the matter.

She took shelter on her roof. The valley she lived in had flooded. Excessive runoff from the hills had pooled in the valleys between. Fields were washed away, homes were considerably damp and cars had been hydro locked. There was no way up from her home. The nearest town was a twenty minute drive away.

The water wasn't what she was afraid of. It was only five feet deep. There was something in it. Something that seemed to patrol the valley.

A cylindrical shaped air pocket that forced any and all liquid away from its center moved effortlessly about the water. Whatever had been in it's place was dried out and forced into the earth.

She saw fish succumb to this. Their scales and skins shriveled, their eyes shrunk to a tiny leather bean and the water was ripped from their gills. Afterwards the ground would move in such a way that didn't seem real, pulling them under. Planting them like seeds before moving on. Leaving the ground undisturbed as if nothing happened.

She didn't know if it had a taste for human flesh, but she didn't want to find out. If not for the fact that horror befell anything within it, it would be very interesting to observe. In a way it still was.

It made no noise. No indications. It simply was. Then, once no longer observed, ceased to be.

She thought about digging up the fish, once this was all over. To observe it. Maybe make an educated guess at how the dry cylinder was able to remove fluids from the space it occupied.

She managed to get a video of it. On her phone. She could possibly turn it in for study.

She'd have to get off the roof first. No amount of prodding from safety personnel could get her to cross the body of water between her and the road on the hill.

If not for that thing, she would have been safe at her mothers house yesterday. Now she was afraid. A newfound, and hopefully temporary, phobia of the water had been implanted.

She stayed on the center point of her roof. She didn't want to risk slipping into the water of the valley. Even if it hadn't been there at the present time. She could have attempted to sneak her way to the other side, but the soundless hunter would have gotten to her without her ever knowing.

She was stuck. Helpless.

She was hungry. Thirsty. All respite from these ailments lie below in the flooded house. She wouldn't dare take the chance. The water surrounding her would have to dry.

She wondered how many days she could last in this condition. It felt like it wouldn't take long.