Burning lands

Chapter 10

The rain poured down on Angie as she took small slow steps down the street. She watched her feet with every step, thinking about everything she has been through. She wanted to stop and cry but she couldn't. Her body kept her moving forward, she couldn't stop, she couldn't turn. As if she was being controlled by a crazy puppet master. It rained harder and harder with each step and the street started to flood. All the storm drains had been filled with debris from broken down building and bodies. As the street flooded the bodies of many people floated up from the drains and out onto the streets. Most were decomposing, their skin was peeling off and their eyes were missing, but there were brand new ones as well. They hadn't started breaking down and only looked a couple of days old, blood formed around some as if they had just been killed. Angie walked through the corpse covered street, the water was up to her shin and partially slowed her step. Deep inside her she was screaming, calling out for help hoping to regain control, but the only thing she could do was watch. “I remember that day like it was yesterday” The creature spoke as it walked next to Angie “Everyone said to retreat into the sewers. Didn't work out, did it?” It let out a small laugh. “But you. You were smarter than that. You stayed above ground and away from the city. Even saving two strangers as you did it.” Angie finally stopped walking but it wasn't her choice to. “You are going to become a big problem in the future and i can't have that.” She was forced into a cage just small enough for her to sit and was locked in. “Since every time you die you just get back up again, i'm going to leave you here.” The creature vanished and she was left sitting in the cold rain unable to leave.

*****

   

Lightning streaked across the sky as Josh helped Cindy down the water flooded streets. Her ankle was injured from the crash that had happened a few days prior. “Don't worry, we are almost there.” Josh said breathlessly to her, she gave him a small smile. They approached a small cabin that sat on the edge of a cliff. All the windows and doors were built up with wood planks and sheet metal. On the side of the cabin was a set of doors that led into the basement. He took a rusty hammer that was laying on the front porch and pounded the lock that held the doors together.Cindy sat propped up against the cabin staring off towards a strange shape hanging from a rope tied to a rock over the cliff. She tapped Josh on the back and pointed at the object, hoping he would go see what it was. He glanced at her then at the object “We need to get you inside to rest. Once your inside i'll go look.” He hit the lock again and it finally busted open. After yanking the lock off and opening the two doors, he picked Cindy up and took her inside. The cabin had been deserted and there was nothing left besides a couple pieces of wood and some rodents. Josh leaned her up against the cold cement wall and walked out of the house. “I'll be back, don't go anywhere.” He said with a smile. She shot him a dirty look and crossed her arms. He left the house and trudged across the rocky cliff towards the object. It swayed from side to side as the creature that was trapped inside the metal caged struggled to find a way out. Josh felt sick to his stomach when the creature made eye contact with him. Taped to the rock was a note from whoever put the creature here. It has our scent, please leave it here so it leaves us alone. The creature slowly disappeared into a cloud of smoke as it took over his body, a black wave flooded his blue eyes. The creature laughed and walked towards the house smiling from ear to ear the whole way.

*****

The moon in the sky shined bright and acted as a night light for the humans and creatures below. No one slept anymore, everyone was waiting at their doors ready to shoot anything that came through. Even the children that had managed to escape the monstrous grasp of the creatures were unable to sleep and just layed there staring up at the ceiling. It seemed like every minute there was a cry for help from a poor soul who was snatched up by one of the many beasts, but when there were not gunshots or screams it was a eerie silence. As if everyone went deaf at once. All the power was off so not even the hum of the lights could calm anyone. At night no one was the same, the creatures were so black they could blend in with the shadows. The only visible feature was the red tinted teeth, and if you can see those you are already too late. A group of four sat atop a roof on one of the skyscrapers hoping they could be safe. “They can't climb up the glass and we can keep this door blocked off.” The leader of the group said. But before they could even open there first can of food a beast flew at them and one by one knocked them off the roof. Angie had witnessed the whole incident and she stared in horror as the last body slammed against the ground. She cupped her hands over her eyes and started crying. “As you can see the creatures from hell are smarter than you think. They have changed in many ways, some swim, some fly and others dig. There is no hiding from them anymore. They will soon take out every single human in existence and after words they will start to demolish everything you humans have created and rebuild the kingdom that was once here before” The being moved around the cage as it spoke “As for you, you will continue to be my prisoner until you see why this is exactly what the world needs.” Angie lifted her head and stared at the robed creature “Why can't you just go back through time and enjoy how the world was back there?!” She shouted at it “You sent me back there why can't you go back?” “Ah, but you see the amazing fields you experienced were only an illusion on the mind. You never actually went back there, all you did was see the picture i put into your head.” Angie put her head on her knees and closed her eyes. “Why do i have to be in this cage? Its cramped in here, what did i do to deserve this?” “It's not what you did. It's what you are going to do, i have seen into both your past and your future. I can't have you wondering the streets and messing up all my hard work.” “What could i possibly do that is so devastating to your plans?” She asked as she lifted her head to look at it. The being responded in a harsh echoey voice as if it was trying to yell “You can change the past without any consequences, you are a threat to this whole operation.” The being moved away from the cage and vanished into the night. “You will stay in this cage until you rot and maybe even longer.” The whispers stopped and Angie was left in the silence of the night.

*****

Cindy had slowly worked her way up the basement stairs and pushed her way into the cabin. The place was old, dust covered mostly everything and the ceiling was falling apart. The patter of mice could be heard coming from the walls and a bat hung from the corner of the ceiling. Cindy kept her eye on it as she made her way to the bathroom. It was surprisingly still intact, the bath was partially cracked with bullet holes and the sink was filled with fuzzy white mold. It reeked of dust and death, She pulled the shower curtain to one side and to her horror a skeleton smiled back at her. She left the bathroom in a hurry terrified of what else might be in the building. She headed into the kitchen and started searching through cabinets and was upset to find that nothing was in any of them. Cindy was just about to exit the kitchen when from downstairs she heard Josh’s voice. “Honey i'm home” Cindy was first filled with joy and then she realized it didn't sound like Josh at all. It was as if his personality switched. Who could be happy at this point in time with all the deaths. Only someone who was killing. She ducked into one of the many cupboards that lined the kitchen. The sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs echoed in her head and she pushed herself as far against the back of the small space as possible. “Come on out to play Cindy. I promise i won't be too rough.” She could hear him moving from room to room. Tossing things over and slamming closet doors open. Cindy’s breath caught in her throat as the footsteps neared closer. “Where are you, you little bitch” He said in a raspy voice. A whisper surrounded Cindy, dug itself into her head as if someone was speaking right into both ears. “Stop wasting time here.” Josh stopped searching and turned around to see who was speaking then dropped onto both knees and in a series of growls and screams the creature shed Josh’s body which flopped to the ground. Cindy forced herself to hold in her gasp as she stared through the cracks at the heap of flesh and blood  lay on the ground. The creature followed the unknown being out of the cabin and into the darkness of the night. When she was sure they were out of hearing range, Cindy stepped out of the cabinet and limped her way out of the cabin and towards the edge of the cliff and with one swift motion she threw herself off and she plummeted towards the rocks at the bottom.