Them

Possibly the opening chapter in a horror book about a group who work within modern society to deal with threats from 'beyond'.

Have you ever had that feeling?

You know the one, like this isn’t all there is. Like this life is too simple. Like we are not alone.

It’s not uncommon, in fact its often your senses picking up on something beyond what you can physically interact with. Notifying you that they are close, that they are watching. 

Who?

That’s the thing. We don’t really know. Some call them fairies, others angels. Some call them demons or spirits. In truth they are just creatures from beyond the veil and they all want just one thing. Out.

Your good spirit, the angel on your shoulder, your fairy godmother and the demon whispering in your ear. They are all the same, they all just want to trick you into providing them a way to pass though the veil. If you do, then your worst nightmare will begin. For they are not benevolent, they are not nice. They want nothing but to bring chaos and destruction to the world of mortals and they are good at it. Too good.

I used to have that feeling all the time. Almost constantly. Like I was meant for something more that a nine to five workday, fitting in a workout where I could around trying to have a social life and keep myself happy with unfulfilling hobbies. That all changed when I met Lucia. I was minding my own business, just returned home from work about to dive into another night of mindlessly watching the TV or maybe reading if I could summon the effort when my door burst open. There she was, a young woman, a few years my junior perhaps, covered in blood with an expression of pure agony on her face. I’d like to say I heroically rushed to her side to help the damsel in distress but in reality I stood like a blithering idiot and dropped my fresh cup of coffee in surprise. It wasn’t until she crossed the room towards me and I saw what was chasing her did regain any of my senses.

She fell to her knees part way though the door to my kitchen and behind her I saw what could only be described as a nightmare. A humanoid shape, almost, but black as the nights sky on a night where no moon or stars feel the need to shed their light. All the correct limps as you would expect, with a couple extra just for good measure. I somehow knew it was staring at me, despite its face being a featureless void of darkness as it sucked air into a mouth I could not perceive in a shallow and haunting way. It took me a second to realise this was a laugh. The creature was standing in the now destroyed front door to my house was laughing at me staring senselessly back at it while a young woman lay prone between us bleeding and struggling to move.

Luckily some part of my brain I had not been using all my life turned on in that moment and I learned when faced with a terrifying scene that looks like something stepped out of eldritch horror right into my house. I’m the idiot who will charge it with a kitchen knife to protect someone I don’t know. Or attempt to at least since I barely got three steps into the room before one of its elongated clawed arms whipped out with blinding speed and sent me crashing painfully through my TV cabinet and into my fireplace. As I lay against the fireplace wheezing I felt the clawed hand wrap around me. Engulfing my chest in its grasp and pulling me in.

Thankfully some of the reckless bravery I had gained from somewhere deep inside to charge the nightmare with a knife was still there. So rather than freezing and going limp as the creature dragged my to my feet and stared at me eyelessly. I began to stab into the arm with the knife like a feral animal. The strange sucking of air became one long wining exhale as I did. The claw unwrapping from me and throwing me back across the room.

Amazingly for the second time I was launched though the air and manage to both avoid serious injury and not impale myself with the kitchen knife I was holding onto like it was my most precious possession. So when the creature came rushing towards me, grabbing at me with multiple appendages I managed to slash at it even more, waving the knife around like I was conducting the worlds most insane orchestra. Somehow my wild flailing kept it from eviscerating me entirely and I only received a few cuts from the claws that were attempting to get a hold of me. Though I’m honestly not sure how.

Finally the creature got the better of me, knocking the knife from my hand and batting me like a rag-doll out of the living room. I landed on the tiled floor of my kitchen, loosing anything resembling air from my lungs from the impact and sliding the length of the room into the cabinets. Now unable to breath or move or really do much of anything but watch the creature approach I knew my heroic moment was over. It stepped absent-mindedly over the woman who was still unmoving on the floor, a small puddle of blood gathering at her side and marched across the room. Extending to its full height as its darkness spread. The top of its form now brushing the ceiling as its stretched out claws scrapped along the walls. All six of its arms, at least my height in length, extended wide before ending in elongated clawed hands.

Halfway across the room it paused as my ears burst as a thunderous bang echoed through the room. Followed rapidly by three more. Causing the creature to lurch forwards as plaster and tiles exploded off the wall behind me, showering me in dust and shards. Not being a gun person it took me a moment to realised what had just happened. The woman now on her feet had pulled a gun shooting the creature as it crossed the room to finish me off. Seemingly she had prepared something else while she was feigning death on the ground as in her other hand she held a glowing emblem aloft and began chanting. Discarding the gun she reached back throwing a chromatic power into the air which wrapped around the creature causing its form to flicker and begin to shrink. I could see now where she had been curled on the ground was covered not only in blood but an assortment of empty vials and various scraps of powders.

The creatures form continued to shrink, accompanied by the longest exhale I have ever heard. It sounded like someone was letting the air out of a tire painfully slowly and went on and on. Four of the six arms retracted into the form, as it took on a more human like visage. From the featureless face I watched horror-struck as I saw splits form and take on the shape of eyes, then a mouth. Next the nose and ears. Then hair and a short beard. Finally the skin shifted to a pale hue settling on a slightly tanned skin tone.

I was staring at a mirror image of myself. Perfect in almost every detail other than the eyes, I hoped I had never had and never would have a look of pure seething hatred burning in my eyes like the one the creature wore in that moment.

Then the room exploded with bangs again causing me to duck down and cover my head expecting another barrage of shrapnel that never came. Instead the other me lurched forward to its knees after the first two, falling flat onto its chest after the fourth and finally stopped moving completely after the sixth. It lay there the hatred gone from its eyes and replaced with nothingness.

“My commiserations on your sudden and tragic death,” the woman said looking at me with a slight grin though her pained expression as I stared blankly at her attempting to take in and get my head around any of what had just happened. “Also congratulations, you just joined the guardians.”

Reviews

[TL Chasse]

Wow - Very cool

I loved it. Kept me fully engaged right until the end. Is this the beginning of a series? I'd be interested in reading more.

[Joshua_J_Scott]

Glad you like it.

It was started as a stand-alone piece however when I finished this I knew it could lead to more and I am now planning to expand it into series. Part 2 is already in the works.

[TL Chasse]

Excellent! I'll keep an eye out for it. I look forward to reading some of your other work. :)