The First

Chapter 16

Savannah revelled in her third new skin, and her emergent ability to stand upright. The tunnel's cold walls closed in as she scampered toward a faint light which laid lines down the tunnel toward her. She burst through the metal grate at full speed, landing on Salem Hospital's flat roof. Now on two legs, she stretched her clawed hands high. Lights flickered and flashed and the food bustled below.

Though the growing rumble in her stomach needed to be satiated, some of the prey had fought back with the loud snap and sharp sting; an uncomfortable feeling she'd rather not deal with again. Holes in her flesh healed fast and the fluid seeping from them dried quickly. An unseen force drew her to the roof and kept pulling. She shot forward in a dead sprint. A crevice appeared between the roof and another structure. She leapt and landed on all fours, sliding to a halt on the pavement of the parking garage.

A large creature with glowing eyes barreled toward her. With a loud yelp, it swerved, missing her by inches. The beast screamed as it came to a halt. Savannah's stomach bounced in unmitigated glee as two delicious meals burst forth from its innards. But instead of the screams which came from the food below, these sounds calmed and soothed.

Savannah listened intently to the noises coming from them. Then, as if a switch clicked inside her head, the jumbles of sounds began to fit together.

The one with long strands of hair similar to her own said, "Come here, sweetie." But the words meant nothing to Savannah.

The woman beckoned her to come. Savannah's intrigue wore off; it was time to eat. She leapt and landed on the woman claws first. She jammed both fists into the woman's chest, sprayed by bubbles of blood and spittle from the woman's gurgling mouth.

"What the hell?" The other one backed away, not taking its eyes off Savannah until it bumped into the snarling beast.

More. Savannah leapfrogged the woman's body.

After she had licked the males sweet fluid from her fingers, she approached the beast with caution, unsure. A low rumble came from it, not unlike the sound her belly made when the hunger hit. Maybe the creature was hungry?

Open flaps on either side of the beast beckoned for food. Savannah dragged the woman's carcass by her tussled brown hair and tossed her in, hoping to satisfy its hunger. The carcass slumped into the beast's mouth. The beast cried out in anger. She figured she'd feed the other open mouth and hope to calm the monster before it lunged again.

She sank her nails into the wrist of the second dead body and yanked it over to the creature's open mouth. As she heaved it in, she heard a click and leapt back. The creature screamed again and burst forward into the stone wall with a crunch. A loud continuous noise blared. She covered her ears, her head rent with the pain of the noise.

With the smoking, yelping creature in ruins, Savannah noticed similar beasts lined against the walls of the room she'd entered. They slept. She fled the den for fear the creatures would wake and attack her.

Outside she felt the pull again and knew where she had to go.

Please comment and vote. Would love to hear from everyone.