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You sprinted down the corridor, feet stinging viciously as your legs pushed hard against the wooden floorboards. Reaching a door, you hurriedly stretch your hands towards the cool doorknob. Hands slick with a thick layer of sweat, the metal knob slipping from your grasp as you attempt to open it. Blood rushing past your ears, heart banging against your skull; the door clicks open. Clumsily, you stumble forward. You let yourself fall to your knees as you scurry behind an arm of a couch in the bland room. Air rushing in and out of your lungs. Eyes stretched wide with horror. The feeling of your body reacting out of a pure need to survive was an awful thrill. Holding yourself with your nails digging into your arms as you try to assemble any form of stillness into your shaking frame.
Clack.
The sound echoed down the corridor and into the room you find yourself cowering in. A hiss travelled to your ears, almost like a small draft, but it felt so wrong. You carefully peer round and stare at the door in abject fear. The door was ajar by about a foot. The darkness of the corridor seeped through the open door, sending a shiver down your spine as the cold of the floor seeped through your thin pants into your aching legs.
Holding your breath, you listened intently to the air. It was almost silent. Almost. A soft, near undetectable hiss grew in proximity as the hiss rose and fell. You stayed frozen as your eyes stared at the gap you had left in the door. The hiss grew to it’s peak as a scent flooded into the room. A pungent odour, something intensely acrid. The hissing paused as it was replaced by a rapid sniffing sound right outside the door. Dread seeped straight to the core of your body as the air fell still as all sounds disappeared, deafening your ears.
Very slowly, practically motionless, a dark shape emerged round the door frame. A pointed snout came into view, revealing a head about two feet long peering into the room. A large, cold eye searched the room. You could argue it was completely reptilian in nature if it weren’t for the deep plumage that covered it all from past the amber eye. It remained still, eye unblinking, for a few seconds before the head cocked to the side and the creature began to creep forward. A powerfully built leg stepped past the threshold of the doorway. The leg of the creature was like that of a hawk except for the sickle claw which curved up in an arc, clicking against the hard flooring. It’s blade like length was crusted with streaks of blood. It paused once more, mid-stride, before jerking its head the other way and confidently taking a long stride forward. With the light shining from the balcony behind you, you could fully observe the scale of the creature in front of your terrified eyes. It was six feet tall and powerfully built. Despite the dense, dark plumage which covered the majority of the animal, you could still see the muscular upper torso with two wing-like forearms held tightly alongside the body, the clawed fingers curled up into fist-like shapes. Its ugly face brandished a long row of jagged teeth which ran back to the hole of the auditory meatus which served as an ear. Its head moved with bird-like jerks as it walked, and the long, stiff balancing tail dipped in rhythm to the head.
The big eyes swivelled in the bony sockets as it took a stand once more. The head snapped round abruptly, it’s body swinging round with frightful speed and agility. The man-sized bird of prey was clearly quick and intelligent; it’s searching eyes being just as frightening as the sharp row of teeth it possessed. This accompanied by an uncanny stillness and coldness made the way this creature moved feel so wrong. A deep, primal fear flooded your sense as you realised what you’d had been praying against.
It was staring right at you.
It snarled menacingly. You could smell the strong reptile odour just as much as it could smell the fear pouring from your skin. Its breath came in hisses, through flared nostrils. Its head began to duck rhythmically. It was going to attack.
Acting out of some hidden instinct, you leapt towards the balcony just as the big jaws snapped forward in a powerful motion. You kicked your feet out into the metal bars which formed a door to the balcony, adding a barrier between you and your attacker. In mirrored motions, both you and the creature sprang towards one another, yet you were quicker. Your fingers managed to tug across the bar, which locked the door closed.
It roared, a terrifying loud sound, as it landed bodily against the door. The metal shook loudly as the long claws clicked against the metallic surface. It clamped its jaws around a bar as it snarled and snorted with a crazed anger. With horrifyingly violent jerks, it yanked with an inhuman strength against the bar. Squeals of its teeth on the metal pierced the air as the bar began to bend against the great forces being applied to it. This carried on as white foamy saliva coated the creaking metal and flecks flew towards you as the creature huffed from the exertion.
Just as it seemed the bar appeared to only be a few more harsh tugs from being wrenched free from the door, the animal just stops. Taking a step back, the jaw hung open slightly as it watched you stand on the balcony, trapped two stories from the ground. It just stared alongside its loud breaths and dribbles of saliva.
The dumb feeling of triumph struck your body. A giddy smile came onto your face. Out of sheer luck, you had survived. The ugly monster, defeated, coldly staring at you as it rose back up to its full height. The adrenaline continued pumping as you grinned at the stupid beast in front of you. You’d lived and now all you had to was wait for-
There was a dull thump behind you and a soft snarl sounded. You turned around to see another creature perched, perfectly balanced, on the metal railing of the balcony. With horror, you realised another one had managed to jump up at least twelve feet onto the second floor balcony. Your head smacked against the concrete floor of the balcony's ledge. Something heavy was pressing on top of your back, making it near impossible to breathe. You gasped for oxygen as big claws sunk into your back. You could smell, no feel, it’s breath above your head, filling your mouth and eyes with the grotesque scent of decay. A hot liquid began to pool around you, and the blood covered hand of the raptor came into view. Sharp pains spread from two pressure points on either side of your head. Teeth. It was biting your head. It held your head still for only a couple more seconds before jerking your neck violently.