Short of History: A Collection of Short Stories

RUN

It was four in the morning and the silence has never been so loud. We're currently hiding in the darkest place we know, and trying our best not to breathe heavily. If we do it'll find us. The sun is already coming up. By the time dawn breaks and the sun is fully visible, we'll have to be gone.

"Okay, guys we have to go, the sun is already coming up." I usher everyone down the dark valley full of trees with a thick, green canopy. "Micah, let's go." I shake her awake and pull her up. "We have to get out of here, we can't let that thing find us." I drag her behind me, with her stumbling over her feet. She groans and I just roll my eyes. I stop walking and push her in front of me that way I'm in the back, making sure no one's behind us.

"Max?" I stop and look down at little Ella, with her big baby blue eyes. She's the youngest in our group, there's fourteen of us. I'm the oldest and most skilled with a pistol and knife, which makes me the leader and protector. She tugs at my leggings, notifying that she wants to be carried. I sigh and pick her up. Her teddy's head flopping around with each movement. I proceed with walking again.

After a few minutes of just the crunch of our feet on the foliage of dead leaves, I hear it. The familiar clicking sound. It's here, "RUN!" I yell.

I immediately start running with Ella in my arms. I see that Micah's starting to fall behind, and I say words not appropriate for a young child's ears. "MICAH!" I get her attention and point to Ella, signaling her to take the child. She nods. We both pause briefly as I hand off Ella, I quickly tell them to run and catch up with the others. I stay behind to fight off whatever the heck is attacking us.

I turned and sucked in a breath. It looked like something out of a horror film. It was huge, with large, black, beady eyes, a head as big as an elephants, and a body like nothing I've seen before. It stood on eight, arachnid type legs, with a scorpion tail behind it. "Okay... okay, it's just a big bug right? That's all it is, a big bug," I tell myself quietly. I quickly unholster my gun and run. Dashing behind the nearest tree, I look at where the creature is and fire a shot.

The creature must have a very hard exterior because the bullet bounced off of it and shot right back towards me and into my leg. I let out a cry of pain. Its large head veers toward me. "Sh.." I draw out. I get up, holstering my gun, and start running, as best as I can anyway. I continue to look behind me and run. I turn my head back toward the front when suddenly I'm knocked forward and everything starts to fade. A clicking sound is the last thing I hear before everything goes black.