A Collection of Odd Stories (Aim To Engage Contest - Prompts 3-30)

Crocs from Hell (Mystery/Horror)

Were crocodiles the devil?

In the small town of Glenville, this question became the prime thought in everyone's minds ever since the thunderstorm hit and changed the crocs.

Crocodiles were the devils.

They came into the people's houses and dragged them out, using their strong jaws and sharp teeth to grab hold of innocent civilians.

What'd do to them?

No one knew.

And that's where I came in. An 18 year old that had just graduated from high school. Avid book reader and writer. Self proclaimed detective.

I sat on my desk, sorting through the papers that had my messy handwriting scrawled over them. I was trying to find a connection.

Two odd occurrences had happened at the same time; the swamp located right next to our tiny town started glowing blue in the dark, and right after, crocodiles started crawling into our streets, kidnapping people.

As if they had intelligence.

They were organized, walking through the streets in a single file line, like a marching army. A crocodile split off from the line every time they passed by a house, and pulled a screaming resident out.

They didn't leave until all 8 of them had something in their mouths.

At first it was just 2 crocodiles that walked into town, then it became 4, then it became 8, and today, there'd probably be 16.

I glanced at a paper to make sure I had that detail jotted down. I did.

I made it a constant effort not to miss any clues, no matter how small or irrelevant they were. You never knew when you might need them.

The police were on the case as well, but it'd been 3 days and they haven't found anything. It's like they weren't even trying.

Today, it might be my mom or dad being dragged out.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

I set the pencil down on the desk firmly, taking a deep breath in. I had a strategy to find out what was happening, and it was rather simple.

Follow the crocs. Follow them into the glowing, blue swamp where they always disappeared into.

I glanced up at the clock.

6:55 in the evening.

They'd be here in 5 minutes, like everyday. I grabbed my binoculars and pointed it at the swamp, which was clearly visible from my bedroom window. It was a perk I had for living in this house.

There they were.

I counted 16 crocodiles marching out of the trees, striding towards the city purposefully. I watched as townspeople hurriedly went into their houses and shut the doors firmly.

Some had already left town. Others clinged onto the hope that the catastrophe would stop soon. It wouldn't be long before the entire town evacuated.

I had to put an end to this today.

I put my ear to the bedroom door to check if my parents were still in the living room. I heard my mom's scared whispers and my dad's loud breaths.

I opened my bedroom window, grabbing the hunting knife I recently acquired for this mission. Oh, my mom was going to be so pissed.

I shook the thought out of my head as I carefully observed the crocodiles striding into our town, wondering which street they'd walk through this time.

They turned into mine.

My breath stopped in my throat as one of them split off and knocked down my door, going inside. No, no, no!

I heard loud screams and thrashing downstairs, and watched helplessly as the crocodile reappeared with my mom in its mouth. My dad ran out after it, but is quickly swatted away as the croc turned around and slapped him with its humongous tail.

My mom screamed as the scaly beast rejoined the line, walking towards the other end of the street. As the last crocodile falls into line, they stop and do a 360, walking the other way back to the swamp.

She'd be alive. They never killed, just captured. At least, they didn't do it in the open. Who knows what'd happen to her in the swamp.

I clutched the hunting knife in my hand tightly. Now I didn't have a choice, I had to go after them.

I quickly grabbed a piece of paper from my desk and hurriedly wrote "I'll be back, I've gone to save mom" on it, ripping it out of the notebook.

I vaulted over the windowsill cleanly, landing on the trampoline I'd placed underneath the day before. I bent my legs to absorb the impact when my feet touched the ground.

Preparation and planning were key for any detective.

I rushed to where my dad was groaning on the ground, hand on his stomach, barely conscious. I'd have to check on him later.

I put the paper in his open palm and closed the fingers. That'd have to do for now, my mom was waiting.

I sprinted to catch up the crocodiles, barely making it in time to see them entering the swamp. The blue light illuminated the entire area, casting an eerie glow over the surroundings.

I crept into the swamp, following after the crocodiles. A bead of sweat rolled down my neck.

My eyes widened as I saw what was causing the blue glow.

It was the water right in the middle, where the crocodiles lived. Blue algae covered the muddy lake, spreading through every inch of it. And there was something else in the water body.

An alien.

And right next to it, stood the body of the police chief, mindlessly staring into a void. Blue algae covered his entire body.

He was under control. The aliens had taken control of the police station.

I watched as the kidnapped people were dumped and forced to drink the blue algae. A scream escaped my lips as my mom started turning green.

She was becoming a crocodile.