Chapter 1: The end.

The end is just the beginning

Blood.

Fallon woke to the taste of blood.

His blood.

He laid sprawled on the floor among the broken glass and furniture. Through the ringing in his ears he could hear the distant sounds of screams, weapons fire, and explosions. Except for the moaning around him, the diner was quiet. The glass front of the diner was completely missing as if a giant foot had stomped, smashing everything flat underfoot.

"Quick. Check in there for survivors." A voice from out in the street was saying.

Fallon stood unsteadily as several armed men in military camouflage mixed in with policemen's black climbed through the rubble and swept the devastation with their flashlights. Fallon put his hand up to guard his eyes as a beam came to rest on him.

"Don't shoot!" Fallon said as the men advanced into the rubble towards the moaning sounds.

"Are you hurt? Can you walk?" The policeman was saying, shining the beam up and down Fallon's body. Fallon looked. He was covered in glass and dust streaked with blood; however, all his arms and legs seemed to work and the ringing in his ears had faded to a faint buzzing.

"Yes. I'm good. What happened?" Fallon said.

"Just head out to the street and join the others. We don't have much time. Move!" the policeman said. Only the fear in the policeman's eyes betrayed his calm demeanor. Propelled by the man's fear, Fallon made his way through the rubble to the street.

The city was on fire.

The glow of the burning buildings stretched along the entire waterfront. From Fallon's hilltop vantage point he could see the entire Pacific was cloaked in a thick writhing carpet of black smoke shot through with bolts of lightning. It was as if a blue veined black ooze was consuming everything in its path. Where the blackness touched, buildings burst aflame. Out of the blackness came - things.

Things that crawled. Things that slithered. Things that flew. Things that only used to exist in Fallon's nightmares. Made real, and heading this way.

Looking at the rubble behind him, Fallon could see one of the flying creatures sprawled on top of the old brick and glass row of buildings lining the street. Its huge body, nearly a city block long, had reduced the street front to rubble. Its tail laid where the diner's front had been. Fallon realized that the rubble mound he had climbed over had been the creature's tail. Thick leathery body, bat-like wings, and a tentacled face like a catfish. Some LSD inspired nightmare. Real. Here. Now.

"Hey! Look at me! Snap out of it!" The soldier's slap stung but the creature's body was still there. It must be real. Fallon broke his gaze away from the dragonfish.

"We're pulling back before that gets here." The soldier said, pointing downhill. A tide of humanity was fleeing the engulfing blackness. Out of the blackness came even more madness. Twisted chimera nightmares were preying on the stragglers.

"Either you keep up or we leave you behind. Your choice." He said. The injured were in the back of a pickup, surrounded by a mix of soldiers, and police. Fallon quickly climbed in with the
others they moved off up the street.

The madness of the moment gave way to a dull numbness as the minutes wore on. The slow pace of the pickup as it made its way through the rubble blocking the street was soon surpassed by the tide of fleeing humanity. Fallon kept his head down as the soldiers began to open fire on the chimeric forms around them. Fallon couldn't help but watch the dragonfish overhead as they flew across the sky. Their tentacles were surrounded in a crackling blue nimbus. From the nimbus flew bolts of lightning. Buildings burst open and caught flame where the bolts hit.

A scream close by tore Fallon's gaze away from the nightmare above to the madness behind. A girl, a toddler really, was lying on the ground, a still smoking hole in her back. The child's melted shirt stuck to her back. With a gasp the child struggledto move.

Without thinking, Fallon jumped out of the pickup and ran back for the child. Gunfire flew past as everything went into slow motion. An orange and black fur-covered spider's leg broke from the blackness near the child. The creature was strobe lit by the gunfire behind as he charged full out towards the nightmare reaching out for the child. Fallon looked into the nightmare's face. Feline head with spider fangs, insectoid jaw and orange and black tiger's fur. Fallon's eyes met with the nightmare. The nightmare's human eyes. A woman's eyes. Eyes that shown with intelligence and compassion. As the bullets impacted the woman, Fallon knew the she wasn't attempting to harm the child. She was attempting to protect the child. Protect the child from them. As the blackness engulfed the pair, Fallon saw the chimera woman reach out and tenderly scoop up the child into her arms.

Pain.

The last thing Fallon felt was pain as the bullets ripped through his chest. The impact lifting him off his feet and throwing him chest first into blackness.

* * *

Fae woke to darkness.

Thick fog shrouded the forest below. The feeble rays of the sun barely lit the world in gloomy shades
of gray.

The last thing she remembered was the club last night. She and her mates had been doing their gig at the Spirits nightclub. The club was filled with party goers all moving to the beat. The air hung thick with the steam from their rhythmically moving bodies freeze framed to the strobe lights. They were halfway through the first set when the burning in her limbs started. Leave it to
Danny to slip her something to loosen her up. The last she remembered was all the color draining out of the world and the pain in her limbs. That and the screaming. Yes, there was definitely screaming.

How did she wake up in a forrest?

Fae had already started to float towards the ground before she realized what was happening. Looking over her shoulder she saw that she was suspended head downwards from a thin rope attached to a tree limb above. The rope was a single translucent white strand no thicker than a shoe string. The rope ended in a horrific orange and black striped body. Gigantic spinnerets were weaving the rope - her spinnerets.

Her body.

What the hell did Danny slip her?

Falling the rest of the way to the ground Fae landed softly on her many feet and took off into the mist. Maybe if she ran fast enough she could outrun the madness.

Its just a bad trip, she thought. I've had worse before. There was the time Danny and I were going to spend the night together on Ecstasy. That didn't go all that well either. OK. I've just got to hold it together until this trip ends. So I'm a big harry spider. At least my face isn't melting like last time.

Slowing to a stop, Fae looked around. The fog shrouded forest of muted grays stretched on for as far as the eye could see. It was empty. No animal sounds. Dead quiet. Still. As if the world was holding its breath.

One thing was sure, she wasn't in Dublin anymore.

Time slipped by as Fae searched for a way out of the forrest. Slowly so as not to freak out she took in her appearance. She was still some nightmare's version of a spider mixed with cat like features. Her six legs ended in huge cat paws. Her body was that of a large cat with orange and black striped fur. The fur was short haired and soft. He arms were fur covered as well but human. Thankfully. Her friendship bracelet was still there and her hands were normal. All together different from her normal night of the living dead bad trip.

The faint sound of an explosion in the distance broke the stillness. Letting the nightmare unfold, Fae made her way towards the sound. From the corner of her eye she could detect movement
heading in the same direction. Yet, when she turned her head to see, nothing was there. Giant shadows slipped over her as unseen things flew past.

She could hear screaming now mixed with the sound of gunfire. The forrest began to thin with the overgrown ruins of buildings lost among the trees. Slowly now she crept forward towards the sounds. Bad trip or not she had no intention of getting shot. The earth underfoot gave way to brick strewn blacktop.

Ahead chaos reined. Weird creatures from her deepest nightmares were out in full force dancing amidst the ruins of some city. San Francisco. The iconic bridge rising out of the fog in the distance could only be from San Francisco. From her vantage point hidden behind the collapsed rubble of some 50's diner Fae took in the view.

Up the hill ahead she could make out some big American truck surrounded with people carrying guns. They were shooting downhill into the nightmarish mob. In the middle of the mob stood a little girl with her hand up to her face. She appeared to be about the same age as Fae's little sister. She was flinching this way and that trying not to get trampled on. Those idiots were shooting in her direction.

What were they thinking? Didn't they see her?

A brilliant flash momently blinded Fae as the loud crash of thunder filled the air. When she could see again the little girl lay crumpled on the ground, a still smoking burn on her back. With a cry the little girl struggled to rise before collapsing again unconscious - or worse. Oblivious to the danger, Fae shot forward.

Whistling sounds of bullets flew past as Fae emerged from the mist. Color returned to the world as Fae reached down to pick up the girl. Her arms were changing. Fur turning into leather; her leather jacket from the night before.

Movement made Fae look up. A young man was running at her. He was looking at the girl with grim determination. He looked up at her and their eyes met. The fear in his eyes was for the girls safety. Fae felt the sting of a swarm of bees as bullets sprayed the area. Kneeling now on her two legs - faded jeans and all - Fae pulled the girl into her arms and curled around her as a shield.

The man's expression turn to shock as bullets and blood erupted from his chest. He pitched forward to her feet with a sickening thud.

Thats it. Fae had enough. She felt something in the back of her mind click into place. Fae stood up tall as the world seemed to shrink. Fae reached out with a feathered leg that ended in a giant talion and carefully grasped the man around the waist. Turning and with one powerful beat of her wings Fae launched into the air. Two and she was higher than the buildings, her cargo still and lifeless in her grasp. The truck slid past below and bullets filled the air. Ahead she saw more soldiers near military looking vehicles. Arching her back, Fae rolled over and flew back west away from the bullets and noise.

Finding her stride she glided over the golden gate bridge - empty and devoid of life. A lone remnant rising out of the mist. Onward she went waiting for the drugs to wear off. How much was a dream and how much was reality? Would she wake up safe and secure in the room she shared with her little sister? As twilight gave way to full dark Fae lost all sense of time and space. No stars to guide her. Darkness above, darkness below. Fae flew until she could fly no more.

Her precious burden heavy now, she spied a light in the distance. The flickering flames sending light and dark dancing among the megalithic circle of stone. Circling lower now she recognized some imagining of Stonehenge from when it was new and whole. No modern fences, roads, or buildings broke the plain. Suddenly overburdened, Fae attempted to land at the edge of the mist. Fae bellyflopped before rolling out of control. Fae stood up. On human legs, her legs, her hands. She was dressed in the clothing she had was wearing the night before. She looked over to the man and little girl she had rescued.

Why?

They both must be dead by now.

Reviews

[Emily B]

I would have to say that you are a little beyond learning to write. I don't read much fiction. My attention span betrays me. This is good. Best of luck to you.

[Gandré]

A chilling story it is, fast paced and dark suspense, what would I do if the man of my dreams hides the soul of a killer..... I don't know. Vivid characters - this is superlative read.