The Bridge creaked as I walked along the footpath. The morning haze loomed at the edge of my sight, increasing as I stepped forward, enjoying my morning walk as the sun’s edge peeked over the treetops. The air was calm as the occasional gust of wind blew past me. The trees were colored in beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow as winter crept in slowly as the thin layer of frost melted in the lukewarm air.
I looked at my watch, and the time read six-thirty-four, so I turned around and started walking back to my house, listening to Sandhill Cranes cooing at the small pond to my right. As my house came into view through the thicket, I walked up a slight incline. I reached my back porch, opening the glass door that led to my enclosed patio. I walked in, shutting the door as I walked into my home; the air smelled of fresh coffee, so I turned right and walked into the kitchen, where my partner Callie stood, holding a cup of coffee.
“Hey, Hun,” I spoke as I poured myself a cup.
“Hey, Morgan,” Callie spoke as we clinked cups silently and sipped coffee.
“How’d you sleep?” I asked.
“Slept alright, though I heard this weird noise on our roof; it sounded like clacking,” Callie spoke. I held my hand out, and she grabbed it, and we walked out to our enclosed patio.
“Hmm, I’ll check it out then, but it probably was a bird or something,” I said as I sat down on a loveseat. Callie joined me shortly after taking a sip of coffee.
“No, Morgan, It sounded heavy, like really heavy, shaking the house heavy,” Callie muttered, seemingly slightly annoyed at my skepticism.
“Okay, I believe you; I’ll stay up tonight and check it out,” I said. Callie seemed happy with my response; I shifted slightly and took a large gulp of coffee, burning somewhat as it went down my throat but warming my body up as it traveled.
“Alright, I got to get ready for work,” Callie said, getting up and walking inside. I sat looking out the windows at the trees when I noticed a couple shaking violently compared to the others. I stood enthralled by the odd movement when they stopped suddenly. I sat puzzled but shrugged it off as a bear or something rubbing on a tree.
I finished my coffee, walked back inside, and set the coffee cup next to hers in the dishes-to-be-done pile, where I heard Callie in the bathroom getting ready. I entered our bedroom and opened the curtains, sunlight beaming in, casting light on the darkness. I then walked back into the kitchen, making my way to the living room where I turned on the TV, flicking it to the news channel, where they were talking about something in Ukraine; I ignored it as I grabbed my laptop from the charger on the coffee table, turning it on as I looked at the time, showing six-forty-nine.
I heard Callie walk out of the bathroom into the kitchen, grabbing her water bottle as she walked into the living room, where I sat waiting for my laptop to boot. Callie wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek before Callie released me and grabbed her keys from our rack.
“Love you, Callie. Have a good day at work,” I spoke, looking at her as she opened the door.
“Love you too, Morgan, stay safe. I can’t wait to read what you write today,” Callie smiled as she walked out the door, shutting it as she walked to her car. I heard it start as my writing program booted up. I heard Callie pull out of the driveway shortly after, leaving the place in eerie silence as the news played softly in the background.
About ten minutes later, a decently attractive woman appeared on the screen, talking about the weather and how there was going to be a monster storm approaching, with high winds expected, along with hail. I groaned, got up, walked into the short hall, and entered the guest room, ensuring the window was shut. Then I walked out into the hall then into the living room, opening the door to the basement. I turned on the light and walked down the stairs.
I reached the bottom and looked at the sea of boxes. I walked over to the sub-pump and made sure it was working right. I looked at the dresser, filled with old Lego sets I used to collect and a couple of different manuscripts I had made when I was younger, and grabbed one called The Earth Within. I then walked back upstairs and shut the door, setting the manuscript on the table.
I then began reading it, a slow, painful process as I read what fifteen-year-old me wrote in high school. After a couple of pages, I set it down, snagging the idea of a world inside of the world. I then typed up a gist of the stories and began storyboarding, trying to flush out the idea in my head before I put words to a page.
After a few minutes of flailing about, I latched onto an idea and began typing up a storm, trying to make it in life. Still, I had no success writing a novel, as I have burned through many different ideas, all panning out to nothing as I lost interest or they hit a brick wall. After a couple of hours of brainstorming and storyboarding, I stretched my legs. I walked into the kitchen and looked out the window. A wall of black clouds loomed on the horizon like a monster coming from the night; lightning beamed in the clouds, and distant rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance. Birds flew from the trees as the storm neared.
In a slight panic, I made sure all the windows were closed, and I turned the air on, keeping the air a cool sixty-six degrees as I braced for the storm. I heard my phone vibrate from the kitchen. I walked over to it, and it was an alert for heavy thunderstorms in my area. I scoffed at the notification. I strolled into the living room, shutting the TV off, and grabbed my satellite radio from one of the drawers underneath the TV. I grabbed my laptop, quickly threw my shoes on, and went outside into the enclosed patio, watching the storm roll in as I began working again.
Shortly after, the first raindrops began falling, landing with a slight thunk against the glass as I looked on in amazement. Then, the rain started falling in sheets, and the rumbles of thunder slammed into the earth, shaking the house as the rain poured down. I felt my phone vibrate again, and a text from Callie appeared. Please be safe, love you! The text read. I quickly responded as little droplets of hail began falling, hitting with a loud thump.
I closed my laptop, entwined with the rain as it fell. The sea of black above me cast the ground in a dark light, the colors dampened by rain and darkness. The storm was starting to pick up. The trees shook violently as the storm leaves ripped off some branches. I looked out into the treeline and saw a flash of something dark red move between bushes. I looked closer, seeing an eye glaring at me before it disappeared into the brush.
“What the hell?” I said to myself as I looked for any sign of what I saw.
Then, the porch light cut out as the air stopped, and the power went out, encasing the house in darkness. I barely took one step before the Tornado Sirens started blaring, sending a jolt of fear through me as I ran inside, taking cover in the kitchen. I heard the hail picking up as the wind slapped the side of the house. I moved towards the basement, freaking out. I remembered leaving my radio and laptop outside, so I quickly grabbed them and ducked back inside. I ran down the steps, hearing glass shattering as the sky lashed at my house.
After an hour of the storm ripping and tearing above me and sitting in almost total darkness outside of the old gas-powered lamp I kept around in case of emergencies., the rain slowed to a steady pitter-patter. The thunder had returned to a rumble as it passed overhead, and I ventured up the stairs slowly. I peeked through the door, opening it slightly. I saw the house remained undamaged. Walking into the living room, I could see one of the trees had come down in our front yard, something I’d have to chop up later.
Moving into the kitchen, I saw the windows shattered on the enclosed porch; the house was slowly heating up, the air felt thick and musky, and the smell of a place had just been heavily rained on. I walked on the patio and looked at the damage; the storm smashed a few windows. I walked outside into the muck. The air felt thick, slightly constricting me as I checked the damage to the house. I got to the front of the house, and thankfully, the storm did not damage the big bay windows.
I walked around the other side of the house, noticing the hail damage on the side of the house as I slipped, almost eating a face full of wet grass and mud. I also checked the roof and saw a ton of hail; however, nothing indicated a giant creature walking on the top. I then looked down towards the pond and saw it overflowing, turning the backyard and my path into a swamp.
I walked into the patio, grumbling about the broken windows, when I saw the dart of something crimson to my right. I glanced but saw nothing, but I had an eerie feeling wash over me like I was being hunted by something. Entering my kitchen, I noticed how hot the house was getting. It seemed weird, but I shrugged it off and walked over to my fridge, quickly opening the door and grabbing some water to drink as our well would be offline. I grumbled that we were not allowed to buy a home generator in case the power went out because it would be too costly, but I set that aside and walked into the living room, feeling defeated.
I looked into the window when I froze. A creature was leaning on the fallen tree in my front yard. Its long body was covered with crimson scales, its front limbs short and stalky, adorned with sharp claws. Its body was thin. It looked like a giant lizard. Its face was long and narrow, pointed teeth lined its mouth agape, locked eyes with me, and its eyes glowed an orangish yellow.
It jumped as it ran on all fours towards the window, moving with a slight wag as the creature dug into the wet ground, struggling to propel itself forward. It leaped with great stride as I ran into the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the block as I heard crashing in the living room, followed by a combination of a Hiss and a Screech. It sent chills through my body as I slammed the door to my bedroom shut and heaved a dresser in front of the door, ducking behind the bed.
I cowered, death gripping the knife, as I heard this thing thrashing in the living room. As soon as it started, it stopped. I held my breath as I listened to this thing clack against the tile floor in the kitchen, making an indescribable mix of growling and gurgling. I heard it sniff the door, and it sounded like it was throwing itself against it. Then I listened to my worst fear: the bookcase tumbling and the door crashing.
I glared under the bed as it walked into the room. The creature had to be at least ten feet long, and I pissed my pants as I shook uncontrollably, almost frozen with fear. It smelled my piss and jumped towards me, sending me back against the wall as the bed crashed and crumbled around me, I caught a glimpse of crimson, slashing at it with my knife, and I felt warm blood ooze from the back of my head.
I heard this creature snarl and screech as it recoiled back. Using the opportunity, I jumped up, climbing over the wreckage of my bed, finally seeing the scope of this beast; it looked just like a lizard, its back legs thick but stubby. It turned to face me as I jumped over its tail, which hung off the remains of the door.
I felt something warm catch my leg as I ran, stumbling and almost falling as I ran for the basement. Hearing the creature thrashing about after me, it lunged from behind. It clamped onto my leg, shooting immense pain through my leg as it put one of its paws on the other leg, releasing its grip as it walked on top of me, its paw crushing the wind out of me as it tore slightly into my skin, it slowly moved its blood-soaked jaws in front of me, letting out a stench that made me gag as it opened its jaws.
In a fit of superhuman strength, I roared as I drove the knife into its neck, it shrieking in pain as it recoiled, allowing me to push it over, it tumbling over as I ran into the basement, which was slightly chilly as I hobbled down the staircase. I turned on a battery-powered lamp, and my leg was completely red as it dripped onto the floor.
I pulled off my blood and urine-soaked pants, and getting a glimpse of the wound, about twenty little tears in my skin, I grabbed one of Callie’s hair towels and wrapped it around my leg, ensuring it was tight with duct tape. I then grabbed a pair of sweatpants left down here when I heard the creature beginning to beat the door down.
I looked around for a way out or an out when I saw an old splitting axe, and I grabbed my urine-soaked pants, pulling my phone out to see it was cracked entirely up and destroyed. I walked over to the water heater in the corner of the room and placed the pants there. I hobbled behind some boxes under the staircase, planning to take offense to this creature.
I sat in the darkness, wincing slightly in pain as I shifted, as I heard the creature slam down the door and crawl down the stairs. I held my breath as I watched it shuffle over to the water heater; using the element of surprise, I ran out and slammed the axe into the creature, gushing blood as it roared and swung around with a new sense of fire in its eyes.
I ran up the stairs and clambered over the door wreckage. I heard it wheezing behind me as I made it for the front door, fighting it to open as it ran towards me. I couldn’t get the door open as the creature launched forward. I moved out of the way as it slammed into the door, scrambling out as I ran after it. It turned right past the garage, and by the time I reached the edge, It was gone.
I sighed in relief when it was gone. I took a couple of breaths to relax, and when I heard a hissing-like noise from behind me, I looked back at the doorway and saw the bloody splitting axe and knife a couple of feet away on the pavement. Immense dread filled my gut when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the same creature standing on its hind legs in the house’s darkness, its eyes flowing between red, orange, and yellow. I could see the faint glint of the blood that coated its body as it dropped to the floor and charged.
I took four steps back before it was on top of me, throwing me to the ground and chomping into my arm. I used my free hand to jab my fingers into the wound of this lizard, wiggling them slightly as it screamed and backed off. I kicked it when I jumped up. The adrenaline was pumping once more as the creature retreated, snaking back into the house.
I hobbled down the driveway towards the road, the adrenaline wearing off and my body full of throbbing pain as I shuffled towards the road. I felt queasy, my vision started graying, and I fell to the earth, weak, clawing towards the road. I felt so tired; I wanted to stop and sleep, but I kept moving, clawing at my chance to live, reaching the edge of the road, where I finally passed out from the blood loss.
I awoke a few days later, Callie greeting me with love as I sat in a bed. She believed me when I told her what happened. However, The Cops didn’t believe me when I told them my story. They claimed it was just a bear, but I know what I saw. I sit here in this hospital bed recovering from a broken arm, ankle, leg, collapsed lung, five broken ribs, and a nasty concussion. I sometimes look out the window into the trees at night, and I swear I see those damn eyes glaring at me, lusting for revenge. Callie is moving our stuff out and back into the city, where I hope I never see another forest again.