An Unlikely Ally

Chapter 1 - After it happened

John sat on the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the side, gazing down at the desolate town below. It had been two weeks since the attack-an attack that turned his once-vibrant town into a ghostly shell of its former self. It felt like only minutes ago that his life, along with countless others, was destroyed in an instant by creatures that seemed to have crawled straight out of hell itself.

As a freshman in college studying musical arts, John had a promising future ahead of him. He had been a heavy lifter for a construction company in his early twenties before finally being accepted into the college in upstate town Pawling, New York. He had moved away from his parent's small house in Columbus, Ohio, and eagerly awaited the start of his classes. During his initial days in town, he explored and tried to meet new people, often finding comfort in the local cafe and library while reading up on study material and searching for part-time work.

It was during midday that very Monday when things took a turn for the worst, while he sat in his newly favourite cafe playing a game of sudoku, he heard and felt a thunderous roar in the sky, followed by shadows streaking across the ground, and a ground shaking series of thuds. Car sirens were wailing, people were confused and dumbstruck, and so was John. Had this been an attack? Were we at war? All questions buzzed through people's minds as they scrambled outside to see what had happened, this would be a grave mistake.

John had sensed something sinister about this, fear turned to all-right terror as screams rang from outside the cafe. It must have been an attack, he concluded, however, he heard no gunshots but sounds of utter chaos. He luckily silenced the urge to figure out what the foe was and decided to hide. He darted from his table, jumped and slide over the countertop where the register sat, and ran through the double doors leading to the kitchen. There he calmed down and slowly looked around; It was small, had no doors leading outside, no windows and there was a door to his left that had a sign reading "Henry's Office". This was the Cafe's owner and should suffice as a hiding spot until things calmed down and he could figure out what was happening, he walked up to the brown wooden door and twisted the silver knob, the door opening with ease and he quickly stepped in and closed it behind him.

The office was small and had a plastic table, 2 chairs and a CCTV system that sat mounted on the wall by the farthest left corner of the room, showing 6 feeds. Perfect, he thought, he could see what was going on outside, and know when it was safe. He quietly moved the folding chair closest to him and propped himself in front of the monitor, he didn't know how long he would have to wait to find answers, but his breath caught in his throat.

The 3rd feed showed a camera facing the entrance to the cafe, he saw people running and screaming in terror, he expected to see gunmen mow them down, or some cloud of gas being released causing panic and frenzy, but he instead saw a slender figure, with inhuman proportions run past the storefront and subsequently impale a lady with speed and ease. The blood in John's face ran thin, he will truly die, this is the end.

John had zoned out and caught himself from slipping off the edge of the building, but he sighed, What is the point of me staying alive anyway? he asked himself. Tears started to well up inside him, he lost contact with his family that very day too, minutes before it happened here. He was on a phone call with his mum, talking about his new timetable and classes, he was so excited, barely able to contain himself in public, then she suddenly called out for his father, something spooked her, badly. He had never heard his mother afraid of something, other than horror films, but something was wrong, she hung up abruptly, and he wasn't able to call her back, nor his father or sister.

He had initially guessed it was something mundane, well compared to the current situation, like old neighbour Alan falling over in the garden, or someone reversing into Dad's new Hyundai.