Creepy Crawlies

This Old Factory

The storm rolled in fast over the Atlantic, black clouds swirling above the abandoned Anchor Chemical Factory. Wind lashed at crumbling brick walls already defaced by graffiti tags left behind by daring urban artists. Four new would-be Banksys crept along the barbed wire fenceline with their backpacks loaded with spray paint cans.

"I don't know, Tavish," said Lileas, the lone girl of the group. "This place gives me the creeps."

"What better way to make your mark than to tag up an iconic spot like this?" Tavish countered, his wiry frame practically vibrating with excitement.

Their friends Dylan and Mike were already shimmying under a gap in the fence. "Hurry up, slowpokes!" Dylan's voice echoed against concrete. "Security doesn't patrol here anymore but I still don't wanna get caught."

Lileas ducked under the fence behind the boys, her unease growing. She felt eyes on them even if no guards existed. The oppressive factory swallowed them in shadows. Every drip of water made Lileas flinch as they descended deeper into the bowels of the building.

They turned a corner and Mike let out a low whistle. "Jackpot."

An entire abandoned assembly line stretched before them, rusted chains dangling from the ceiling, piles of debris begging to be turned into canvas. The four artists shrugged off their backpacks, the sound of clinking spray cans hitting the floor kicking off their illicit art session.

Lileas relaxed as color bloomed across grey walls. She always lost herself in her work, escaping to creative headspaces where the wider world and all its problems faded away. A particularly strong gust of wind interrupted her reverie followed by fat raindrops splattering through cracks in the roof.

"We should head out," yelled Dylan over the building storm. "I'd rather not get soaked, thank you very much."

The group begrudgingly re-packed their gear just as lightning cracked sharply outside. Mike peered out a grimy window, rain coming down in dense sheets. "Uh, slight issue. We've got a full blown thunderstorm rolling through. No way we walk home in this."

Tavish flopped down against the assembly line. "Then I guess we're staying the night!" He patted the concrete floor. "Who wants to tell ghost stories?"

"Who says this place isn't already haunted?" Lileas muttered.

The storm raged on outside, wind howling through empty corridors. Despite having three friends around, Lileas felt exposed in the huge factory. They were small specks of color in an immense grey tomb. The occasional drips from the ceiling turned into a symphony of plinks and plunks. Lileas tried ignoring it by sketching in her journal but couldn't focus. Something felt...off.

A faint scratching noise made her lookup. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked. Four heads turned towards the thick shadows lining the far factory wall. More scratches answered, barely audible over the storm.

"Probably just some rats," said Dylan dismissively. But Lileas saw his leg bouncing nervously.

The scratching continued, slowly increasing in tempo and volume. Lileas's stomach dropped. Those weren't rats. No rodent moves with such weight, such purpose. She squinted into the darkness, searching for the source.

Two red dots glowed in the black.

Lileas shrieked as a monstrous creature scuttled into the weak light - a mutated millipede over three feet long, covered in coarse hair and shiny black carapace. Needle-like feet clicked aggressively against the floor, antennae twitching, sensing warm bodies nearby.

"What the hell?" Mike shouted.

"Run!" ordered Tavish.

They scrambled towards the exit but their escape skidded short as even more millipedes emerged from the shadows. Dozens of them, varying sizes but all bloated, glistening. Hungry.

The group backed towards the assembly line, trying to keep distance from the ever-growing insect horde. Thunder crashed outside. Millipedes advanced. Fear hung sour in the air.

A yelp made Lileas spin - Mike was down, centipedes swarming his legs. He kicked violently but it was no use. In seconds, the creatures obscured him completely. By the time Lileas looked back up, the bugs had surrounded them on all sides.

"Get on the conveyor belt!" Tavish boosted Dylan up onto the rusty metal machinery. Lileas followed, hoisting herself onto the small platform. The altitude advantage bought them seconds as insects pooled below, antennae waving, searching for access to fresh meat.

Lileas spotted a ladder at the far end. Their only escape. Could they fight through and reach it unscathed? She helped Tavish climb onboard but a piercing scream behind her made her falter. Millipedes had found Dylan's legs dangling over the edge. They swarmed upward with terrifying speed. Lileas could only watch in horror as Dylan disappeared under an ocean of undulating insects, his agony echoing off concrete walls.

"The ladder, quick!" she cried. Adrenaline flooding her veins, Lileas sprinted down the length of the conveyor belt. The metal groaned under their pounding feet. She reached the ladder, fingers grasping cold rungs. Her relief sank as she turned back towards Tavish. He was losing ground, centipedes nipping at his heels.

"Come on!" Lileas begged. She leaned out towards him, fingers outstretched to pull him towards safety. Behind Tavish, the entire factory floor rippled under a seething mass of black carapace and glowing red eyes. They poured through every crack, flooding upward. In an instant, Tavish was engulfed. His mouth opened in a wordless scream before the swarm swallowed him completely.

Lileas scrambled up the ladder towards a hatch door. She didn't look back. Not when she heard Tavish's cries abruptly end. Not when she smelled the slaughterhouse reek of blood. She exploded onto the factory roof and slid down the closest drainage pipe back towards sweet, blustery freedom. Her mind couldn't comprehend the horror she'd just escaped. She knew only one thing - she had to get away while she still could. Lileas disappeared into the stormy night, leaving only the fading echoes of millipede clicks scratching inside abandoned halls.