The Klaming

Slowly brushing my fingers across the surface of the wooden shelves, I pick up a thick layer of dust along the way. I steadily gaze at the selection of books stored away in the attic, the hazy afternoon sunlight pouring through the windows. With each step I take, the old, wooden, rustic cabin floorboards give way with soft creaks. A red, thin journal among the books catches my eye. I hold my breath and gingerly pull it out, waving my hands to waft away the cloud of dust and examine the cover. It had a drawing of some kind of creature with a humanoid body and an orange fish-like head taped to the center. I mutter to myself in confusion, "What is this...?" Carefully opening the journal, I see the name "NANA" neatly printed with black ink on the inside cover.
Before I could start flipping through the pages, a voice from downstairs calls out to me, "Nathan! Where are you?" Setting the journal back down on the shelf, I hurriedly make my way down the ladder and answer, "I was checking out the attic, Noks. Hold on, let me get down first." As my feet touch the floor, my friend Noki and his warm, yellow eyes greet me. He brushes back his straight, watermelon green, chin-length hair out of his face and tucks it behind his ear. "I figured you'd be up there," Noki grinned knowingly, "We're here on vacation to have fun and spend time with everyone! You can't just go off on your own alone and lock yourself away in some room." He lightly slaps me on the arm and we both let out a small chuckle. Gesturing towards the room down the hall, he insists, "C'mon, let's go meet up with everyone in the living room." I oblige and start following him down the hall, "Alright, alright..."
As we near the living room, I hear excited chatter and playful banter from inside slowly increasing in volume. Stepping inside, we see the lively faces of everyone lounging about. A girl with long, white hair and pink eyes in a pastel lime sweater quickly notices us. She looks up from her spot on the couch while playing card games with three others, "Hiya Nat! Hi Noki!" Noks waves back and I reply, "Hey Blanche." The three others turn to face us and we exchange greetings.
"Oh, you found him Noki!" a masculine voice exclaims. A tall, jet-black haired guy with a wry smile looks over at us as he looms in front of the tv cabinet, searching for what I assume would be the remote. Noki responds, "Yeah, he was up in the attic. Do you need any help Arix?" He drawled distractedly, "Hmm..." Suddenly, Arix thrusts his hand in the air, tv remote in hand, "Yes! I found it!"
After settling down, he switches on the tv and the first channel that comes up is the local news station. A newscaster is sitting behind a desk in front of a large screen with papers in hand, "Reports show that there has been an increase in forest fires in the area, burning down numerous acres of land. As of now, the fires are 70% contained. But please show caution, as these fires are constantly breaking temperature records." A map of the reported fire locations appears on screen, the dots seem to be forming a straight line. The newscaster continues, "These fires appear to be heading north..." As the newscaster drones on, there's a slow decrease in interest in the room and eventually everyone ceases to pay any attention to the tv. Something about the map and the fire locations are nagging at me in the back of my mind, then I realized, "Hey guys, don't the fires seem to be headed straight towards us?" My voice fades off into the silence. No one seemed to have heard my question as they continued to play board games in the background.
Since no one seemed bothered by the recent news, I decided to resume to exploring in the attic before Noks had called me down. I slip away into the darkness of the hallways, and up the stairs into the attic. A faint luminescent comes into a view as I push open the creaky wooden door gently. I make my way to the journal labeled, "NANA", my fingers flip open the feeble cover hastily in anticipation. A dropping feeling nestles its way into my stomach as my eyes scanned over the hasty handwriting, taking in all the information. It turns out that the creature depicted on the cover is a being referred as "The Klaming" by the author of the journal. It details signs that indicate that the monster will come, which eerily match up with the strange instances that has occured as of late. It also lists the disastrous effects that happen if one were to encounter the monster. I get lost in deep thought as I connect the events with the evidence. This "Klaming"... It's real. The journal slips out of my hands and drops onto the dusty floor as I ran out of the room and down the stairs. The sight of my friends playing card games comes into view as I turn around the corners of the hallway. I rush over to them in a frenzy, "GUYSTHEKLAMINGISREALWEHAVETOTAKEACTION!" I manage to get out all in one breath. Everyone turns towards in confusion and surprise, "Whoa, slow down there." Mere and Vincent spoke in sync. Without wasting any time I take a deep breath I start again, "The Klaming is real and we have to take action now!" I hastily explain to everyone the situation and what we can do to stop it.
A huff escapes my lips as I wait for the reactions of everyone. I hope everyone will be on board. To my dismay, Noire lets out a snicker, "Aww, are you afraid of some scary monster? Don't worry Nat, I'll protect you." I turn towards Noire, meeting a pair of taunting amethyst eyes. It was expected that she would disagree, although I had hoped that today was one of the days where she would think more rationally. Feeling the frustration rise up in my chest, I furrow my brows as I began to explain again, "No, you don't understand! It's real, and WE'RE NEXT!" My frustration took the best of me as I slammed my hand down on the wooden table leaving the whole room in silence.
Before I can continue any longer, Jun interrupts me, "Hey! Calm down will ya? I doubt it's as serious as you claim, besides it probably isn't even real!" A laugh erupts and rings throughout the house, shaking the floorboards. My heart skips a beat as his firm hand momentarily lands itself on my shoulder, leaving a tingling sensation behind. I flinch, "Gah! Don't do that, you just made me lose 10 years of my life!"
A smooth yet frail feminine voice speaks out, "Guys, we should calm down and hear Nat out... Besides, I kind of agree with him." Blanche steps up, revealing her worried expression. Before I can thank Blanche, another small high-pitched voice pipes up and I automatically recognize it as Choco's. "I agree, it doesn't seem that unlikely, besides you guys have seen the proof! So it's better to stay safe than sorry." Noki places his hand on my shoulder and adds, "Nathan usually never loses his composition, for him to act this way..." Their words manage to sway Luna to our side.
Vincent speaks up and defends Arix, "You guys know that forest fires happen all the time, even before this, right? Sure, there may be a trend this time but don't you think you could be overreacting? It's not that bad. Plus, there's no consensus." Mere, Len, and Toki agree with Vincent's argument and we slowly start taking sides and stand across from each other on opposite sides of the room. The debate rages on until I interrupt, "Guys, we won't be able to fight it off unless we all work together to prevent the Klaming from coming. If we continue on like this, the effects of it coming are dangerous! This affects all of us, don't you guys trust me?" Jun looks at me with a sympathetic expression, "Look Nat, we all trust you. Heck, you're one of the smartest ones here. But...it just seems unlikely, plus it's almost Halloween, which means it's probably just some stupid rumor that was made to scare people."
He comes up to hug me in an attempt to calm me down, but in frustration I push him away and storm to my room. Dejected and defeated, I hop into bed and lay there. I occasionally glance outside, the wind is howling and many animals seem to be restless. My mind begins swirling with thoughts until I eventually fall asleep. Distant screams are heard in my dreams, slowly getting louder and louder. Waking in a cold sweat, I suddenly realize that the screams are real. Looking around the room, I notice that the air is now swelteringly hot, a faint scent of smoke in the air. My gut drops and I mutter to myself, "The Klaming... The house is on fire! Am I too late? Is there still a way to save everyone?"
I throw off my covers and rush out into the hallway. I'm immediately met with a horrible sight, a charred bodies lie in the hallway, surrounded by fallen wood and fire. My eyes widen and I fall to my knees in shock, "N-No!" Is everyone dead? My thoughts are interrupted by those same shrieks from before. With a heavy heart, I pick myself up and run towards the screams hoping to see someone familiar. Rushing into the living room I see Blanche huddled in the corner letting out ear-splitting cries and blubbering, "HELP ME!" I'm about to make my way to her until I see the source of her panic emerge into view, I immediately stop in my tracks. A grotesque monster with the body of a humanoid, similar to that of a muscular man, with an orange fish-like head. "It's the Klaming," I cursed under my breath, standing helplessly as I watch the monster slowly approach Blanche. "NOOOO! S-STAY AWAY!" she lets out a final plea for help until the Klaming attacks her and she spontaneously combusts into flames. I have to escape. I turn to make a run for it, hoping the monster won't notice. I take two steps and the ceiling collapses onto me, I let out a bloodcurdling scream as I slowly begin to burn up.