The Gifted

Chapter Five - Lois

I was pumped with adrenaline. This was all I had wanted since this began. It was always "It's too dangerous, Lois, I can't let you, Lois, You shouldn't have to see it, Lois, You'll get hurt, Lois," And I was sick of it. I simply had to see one. Well here was my chance and more. If I was to believe Jamie (sure), then there were heaps of them. "Come on, Lois, we're going upstairs!" Oli called from further down the hallway. "What'll that do?" I asked skeptically. I wasn't tall enough to look out the window. I strained up on my toes to get a peek. Suddenly the door buckled in.

 I was blasted with shards of glass and pieces of wood. I was thrown onto the floor by the surprising force. They started piling in the door. I was mesmerised. They really were horrible. But almost beautiful at the same time. How they worked together. They are almost cute, in a lopsided way. And so close. Maybe I should...

I scrambled backwards on my hands, splinters of wood and shards of glass stabbing painfully into my palms. I couldn't even make a noise as they threw themselves at me.

                                                                                        *   *   *

I woke into dampness. Cold. My ears buzzed. What was wrong with them? I slowly cracked open my eyes. I quickly realised that the buzzing was not inside my mind. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. Flies. They were the first thing I saw. They hung in lazy clouds over pools of water. Water? I... It wasn't water. I knew for certain the moment I sat up. The consistency wasn't right. I reached out a cautious finger. Blood.

My hands reached for my face. It wasn't me was it? No. I was still intact. My heart was thumping hard, but I was breathing easier once I knew I wasn't a Thing too. Then there was a sound. It came as a shock, hearing something other than the buzzing of flies. Something was moving. I saw it's tall silhouette. It rose up higher and higher as it stood up, a hulking black shape against the shifting grey storm of flies. A humanoid shape. It shuffled towards me on puffy legs. It's bloated belly wobbled ominously.  It was close enough for me to see it's face. I didn't want to see. But I dragged my eyes from it's massive stomach, heart beating painfully, and looked.