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It has to be here somewhere, somewhere, it just has to be I know whereIputitIknowexactlywhereit’sgottabe and AAHHHAHAH!!! “FOUND IT!” I slapped a hand over my mouth, it had to have heard me. I whipped my head around feverishly, looking for the creature. It's been following me for hours. Nothing appeared around the dark corners of the abandoned building, I stood, brushed off my knees, and crept towards the exit with my prize. Held firmly in my sweating palm was my set of car keys that I had dropped when I first encountered the beast. “How do I get out of here? It could be anywhere, hmmhmhmm…”
I kept humming to myself as I stepped out into the pale light. It was the only way to reassure myself in such an eerie place. The sun barely forced its way through the fog which hung heavy over the ghostly mountain town. Ancient streets paved with bricks and homes decorated with stucco sat rotting, enshrouded in dense mist and creeping vines. I gave one last scan of the area and ventured out into the void.
The silence was the worst part, my pulse seemed amplified in my ears for lack of sound. God, I gotta get outta here. I hope I remember where to go… Tears welled in my eyes when I realized I had no idea where I was going. Each empty alley looked the same, each window hiding a dark energy; the jigsawed city felt unreal, living in a slow way, like a fungus. It looked like I’d looped around a maze; for how similar everything was, I may well have. Eventually I wandered into the heart of the city: a dilapidated gothic church. In the midst of my dread I stared into the visage of Jesus, delicate in stained glass. His translucent eyes followed me, plodding ever further. They were downturned, a single tear ran down his impassive cheek. “That's for me, isn't it?” I said softly. My throat closed up at the thought of God mourning me, as if I’d already strayed too far.
A flicker in the bottom of a shattered pane snapped me out of it. The monster. It stared, unblinking. What was I? Frozen, panting, twitching like prey, I was prey. It hauled its sagging body off the tiled floor and piles of pews. It stood hunched, pale, eyes too small and lidless, bloated and bruised, forearms melded into clubs, lips bared in a permanent snarl. Grotesque. Its jaws clacked together and all of the nubby yellow teeth could be seen from my position 80 feet away.
It lunged.
The massive, twisted beast clamored out of the church and barreled towards me. Like a bear, it shook the ground with its maddening speed. I took off sprinting. Tear-choked gasps filled my lungs. They burned along with my calves as I pleaded for God to give me a chance. For me to escape the devil at my feet. I could hear it bellowing. I almost tripped. I squealed and sobbed. It’s gaining on me I wanna go home I want my mom it can't be real I'm gonna die I don’t see anything how do I get out I– “Gah!” I saw a pub I remembered from when I first got to this hellhole. I took a sharp left and felt my heart skip a beat when I felt hot breath in my hair. I can make it, I know it. My car’s around the corner, I see it, red against the muddy grey bricks of a demolished shack.
My strength doubled in the last few meters to my door. Thunderous steps echoed behind me. I leapt and grasped the handle like a liferaft. I wrenched the door open and threw myself into the driver’s seat. Tears streamed down my face as my car shuddered and sprang to life. I didn’t bother to close the door before slamming my foot on the gas pedal. 0 to 60. My car jumped and jolted on the unkempt road but it moved, I was leaving. My eyes shot to my rearview and there stood the god-awful amalgamation, still as death, staring down my car, hissing. I adjusted the mirror and sped away.