Decimate

Chapter One--Sean--Pancakes!

Sean woke up to the smell of pancakes. A rare treat in his house.

He quietly but quickly scampered into the kitchen to see his father standing at the stove with a spatula with one of Sean's sisters Anna, who was staring intently at the stove.

"'morning dad," Sean said, sitting at the table.

"I was hoping you wouldn't wake up until I finished."

"My nose is almost as good as Gizmo's," Sean giggled, pulling said dog into his lap. He kissed her soft head, and she licked his ears, making Sean giggle once more.

"Don't let her lick you," his dad chuckled. "She just ate a rabbit." Sean made a gagging sound and shoved the dog off his lap. "Gizmo, that's disgusting!" He turned to the sound of footsteps as his oldest brother Aiden walked in, his brown hair ruffled and his eyes cloudy with sleep. "'morning," he yawned, then brightened a bit. "Pancakes?" "Yep," his dad replied, flipping the cake. "Almost done making them."

Sean suddenly noticed the large stack next to his father, and put a few on a plate, pouring syrup on them. He took a bite with his fork, a small drop of syrup dribbling down his chin.

"Sean, can you take Gizmo on a walk after you eat?" His father asked. Sean considered this for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I can take some pictures with my new camera!" He had recently received a new camera for his thirteenth birthday, which was green—his favorite color. Sean hastily shoved the last few bites of pancake in his mouth, plopped his plate in the sink, and ran into his bedroom, which he shared with Anna and Siobhan, two of his sisters. He quickly glanced in the mirror and ran his fingers through his green hair, deciding that it didn't need brushing. He pulled on some clothes and a clean maroon jumper, noting it was drizzly outside as always. He snatched his camera and ran outside, calling for Gizmo as he went. The cold Ireland air filled his lungs. He called Gizmo again as he trotted along, holding his camera in his pocket. He waved at his family's unfriendly black horse, Agro, and started along the path. He kept up a brisk trot as he pulled out his camera, snapping a picture every now and then. It was a long path, and Sean was feeling even more energized then usual, so he decided to follow it the whole way. It took him about an hour to get there, but once he reached the end, which was a curved, shadowy road that led to the nearest town, he sat down for a minute. Gizmo padded up to him to sniff his shoes, and he pulled her closer and held out his camera. "Say cheese Gizmo," he giggled, snapping a picture. Gizmo squirmed away, leaving Sean to sit and stare at the camera for a few minutes. He smiled at Gizmo in the picture, who had her tongue hanging out, and himself, who had one eye partially closed and a few strands of green hair hanging in his face.

He was interrupted from his happiness by a faint roaring coming from down the road. He hopped up and grabbed Gizmo's collar, thinking it was a car. Then he heard stomping.

It sounded as if a huge creature was running down the road, but that was impossible.

The ground started shaking, and Sean's heart began to pound. Earthquake?

A horrible ear-shattering roar broke all his thoughts, and he hastily picked up Gizmo and leapt into a nearby bush.

He stared through the leaves as the huge creature came around the corner.