by J. Z. Foster
Richard had closed the distance between them and slammed the chair leg across the creature’s head; the force of it jolted his hands painfully. “Let’s go!” Ted plucked the camera from the ground as the two moved off with Beth.
Beth spun around as they were running and called out: “Wight! Come on, go!”
Richard caught a glimpse over his shoulder of the wight thrashing its long arms in wide, sweeping patterns as it continued its war with the monsters that swarmed it.
How could there possibly be so many of them? How in the hell did they get in? How did they know where we were?
He was at a loss.
They closed in on the front doors, but Richard felt something lurking just beyond the glass. His instincts told him of the things sitting still beyond the doors, eagerly awaiting them. “Wait, wait!” Richard cried out as Ted rushed to the door. “Just... There are more of them. They’re waiting until we come out.”
Ted turned and looked out over the quiet entrance, then shined the light from the camera out. As the light touched the hedges along the paved entrance, creatures shifted and moved, and one gave a childlike giggle when the light caught its face. The giggling face looked like a piece of rotting fruit, caved in the center, with the same animal snout and large, exposed teeth. It stepped forward on its thin, short legs and brought its arm up to point a stubbed finger at Richard. It burst into hideous laughter, with more soon joining in. Richard stared back, transfixed by the horrid deformities.
“Come on, we can’t stop! Let’s go!” Beth’s words went unheard at first—Richard was mesmerized, unable to turn away from this thing crawling loose from a nightmare. “Richard!” She shoved his shoulder, bringing his attention back. “Let’s go!”
The three hurried up the stairs to the second floor. Little hands reached out between the steps and grabbed at their feet as they ascended. Ted stomped on the hand of one, making it scream as it pulled back its mangled fingers. “How many are there?” Ted screamed.
“I... I don’t know.” Richard responded, as the fear threatened to cut away the strength he had mustered. “I don’t know how there can possibly be so many…”
Beth rushed up the stairs in the front, “Richard, what can we do? How can we stop them?”
“I don’t know!” Richard yelled back in desperation, tears dripping from his eyes.
When they reached the top, things became a blur. One of the creatures jumped out and slammed into Ted, knocking the camera from his arms. It fell down the steps, crashing loudly with each hit. The light from it flashed around and came to a rest on the base of the stairs. It illuminated the fixed grin of one of the terrors.
The top floor was pitch-black. Richard tripped and his head collided with the hard tile floor. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and his club slipped from his fingers and went skating across the floor. Looking up, he couldn’t find Beth or Ted; in the confusion, they had scattered.
“Beth?” He came up to his knees. “Ted? Beth?” Richard blinked and tried to clear his head. Something screamed, a bloodcurdling shriek that reached inside of him and scratched his bones.
Oh, God, that was Beth!
Richard climbed to his feet to see two blurs fighting in the shadows. He heard Ted curse. Something slammed into a bookshelf and knocked it over.
One shelf hit another, sending books clattering to the ground and spilling down to the first floor. “Beth!” Richard bellowed, drawing the attention of one of the creatures running up the stairs. It snarled and barked as it galloped on feet and knuckles at Richard. It lurched into the air; Richard swung his heavy bag and caught it in motion, knocking it over the railing and down to the first floor.
Richard sucked in labored breaths and pulled his bag up from his side. He fumbled around in it and came out with a lighter and a candle. He flicked the lighter three times until it finally caught, then touched the flame to the wick and held it in front of him.
A few feet away from Richard, Ted screamed “I’ll kill you!” and brought the heel of his boot down onto the chest of one of the snouted creatures, forcing it to purge the contents of its stomach through its nose and mouth.
Another creature crawled on all fours, right to the edge of the candlelight. It snarled. Richard stumbled and turned to rush away, but it pounced on his back. He fell on his chest again and dropped the candle. The creature skittered up his back and tried to sink its teeth into the soft flesh on the nape of Richard’s neck. Richard threw an elbow back and knocked it loose, then rolled over, scuffling with it until he came out on top, his full weight pressed against it.
Richard’s fear and anger found an outlet through violence. His hands were on the creature’s small throat, choking away its life, before he knew what he was doing. Its throat was thin and he crushed it quickly. It suddenly reminded him of wrestling with his younger sister.
Oh my God, what did I do?
The creature’s head rocked back. Its thick brow overshadowed its eyes, making it hard for Richard to see them clearly in the dark. The eyes looked like solid white gel with something yellow shifting beneath the surface. A long dark tongue hung between its thick teeth. The monster’s stink rolled off in waves. It wore a little girl’s pink dress with smiling elephants.
I’m going to puke.
Richard’s stomach lurched and he emptied bile onto the floor next to the creature’s head. He heaved three times before he could take a breath.
He quickly spotted the candle, still burning despite having been dropped. It had rolled into a stack of fallen books, and the aged paper was aflame. “Oh shit!” Richard’s eyes went wide as the flame started to spread into the second fire of that night.
Richard pivoted to Ted and heard him cry out as a dark-skinned creature bit into his flesh. He pulled it free and threw it over the railing. Its screams echoed through the library, followed by a thud.
The flames were spreading near the edge of the stairs. The creatures hissed, unable to move past the flame.
The fire—they’re scared of it.
Richard turned again to Ted, who was still battling one creature latched onto his arm. “Ted! Ted, throw it into the fire!” Richard grabbed it by the waist and tried to pull it loose. Ted shook and thumped his fist into its head until it came loose. Richard saw the soft head cave in from the punches.
Richard held the flailing creature as he took two steps toward the fire. It panicked, screeched, and clawed at his face. Braving the scratches, Richard threw it into the flame. The creatures behind the flame cried out as their brother melted like wax.
“Go! Get out of here! We’ll kill you!” Richard threw his unconvincing threats across the flame. Some of them scurried off, while others turned to crawl over the railing and come over the side to face them, relentless in their attack.
Richard didn’t wait; he turned and fled, stopping only long enough to grab Ted by the arm. “Where’s Beth?”
“My camera—”
“Beth!” Richard shouted. “Where the hell is Beth?”
“I don’t know,” Ted responded with wild eyes. “I don’t know where she is!”
The fire continued to grow behind them as Richard entered the dark. He searched desperately between the stacks of books for any sign of Beth.
He came around a bookshelf to the corner of the second floor. Shelves had clattered to the floor here, scattering their books across the ground. One of the creatures hunched over a pile of books laughed inhumanly with its back to them, so filled with maniacal glee that it didn’t take notice of anyone else.
“Get away!” Richard screamed as he barreled forward. The twisted thing turned to see him, but not quickly enough. It had been dragging its broken fingernails across Beth’s face, enjoying her pain. Richard brought his fist down on its head hard enough to feel the slop beneath its skull push out its ears. It slammed into a fallen shelf near them and fell into a fit of spasms in the throes of death.
“Beth, Beth, are you okay?” Richard could see her arm pinned beneath a fallen
shelf, along with piles of books on her.
She drew in a raspy breath. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just get me out of here.” Her voice was weak, and blood dribbled down from the uneven claw marks etched across her face.
Ted had come up behind Richard. “This place is going up like a Roman candle, and they have the first floor blocked! The little bastards are spreading the fire!”
Richard yelled, “Just help me get her out of here!”
Richard got beneath a shelf, sliding his hands across the metal edges, as Ted did the same. Richard groaned and felt the corner edges of the shelf cut into the flesh of his hands. Ted grunted next to him as he powered through it, the workhorse of the two. Adrenaline flooded Richard’s body, causing his strength to surge as the two pushed it off. Richard doubled over as Ted took a knee to help Beth to her feet.
Two sets of bare feet padded against the ground at the edge of one of the rows. Their snouted, drooping faces snorted laughter, as if finding the desperation of Richard and the others intoxicating. They galloped in, wailing and screaming with outstretched arms. Richard kicked at the leader’s chin, and connected. The solid blow threw him off balance and back into another bookshelf, overturning it. The flame behind them grew greater, as did the putrid smell of the burning creatures.
From the corner of his eye, Richard saw dancing flames. The creatures had ruthlessly ripped arms and legs from their fallen to use as torches. Scaling the walls, they set flame to the curtains and books.
They want to trap us on this floor and burn us out, even if they burn like oil themselves.
Richard hadn’t long to dwell on the thought of the mindless sacrifices the creatures seemed to be capable of. Two more creatures—the ones from before, or new ones altogether, he didn’t know—jumped onto him and latched their pointed teeth into his arm. The pain curled up from his arm and surged up his throat into a scream; this seemed to drive the creature to sink its teeth deeper. He swung his arm down to hit one, but it moved up and pinned his arm behind him.
Ted came forward and ripped one of the beasts from Richard’s arm and hurled it into the fire. Richard brought his hand up and was able to get it into the creature’s face. He shoved, trying to pry it loose, but it bit into his hand. Richard’s own blood splattered back into his face as he pushed through, finding strength in the pain.
It snapped two, three times on his hand, each time digging deeper and trying to tear off a larger piece of flesh. Ted returned and pulled it back, but by then it had already locked hard on Richard’s hand. When Ted yanked, it pulled Richard too, dragging his arm with it. “Ah shit!” Richard screamed.
Ted either didn’t know what was happening or didn’t know what else to do. He yanked on it again. Richard bellowed again in pain as its teeth opened the wound farther. Richard reached in with his other hand and stuck fingers in its eye and nose, prying its mouth open and pulling his hand free. Ted dragged it loose, but Richard saw the creature cursing at him and reaching for him even as Ted lifted it and threw it down into the flame.
Beth seemed unsteady on her feet. “We need to get out of here,” she said under her breath; her face was tired, dazed.
“We’ll have to look and see if there’s another way.” Richard cranked his neck from side to side, searching fruitlessly for an exit, for any hope of escape. “At least most of them are down on the first floor. The fire is keeping them back.”
As if to spite Richard, the aging sprinkler system finally caught the smoke and came on, killing the fire and beginning to return the library to darkness.
A large, white, clawed hand stretched over the railings of the second floor. The wight pulled itself up; it was clearly hurt, with numerous bite marks all over it. Dark blood oozed from its wounds, with lighter shades of blood dripping from its arms and face.
“I have feasted my fill,” it said in a daze as it came over the railings, clearly war-torn. “I do not enjoy their taste.”
“Yes!” Ted shouted in joy. “You big, beautiful, ugly bastard! Let’s get out of here!”
The wight swayed to face a large window and began striding to it. Its large outstretched legs crossed the distance easily. The three rushed behind the wight and to the window.
The wight looked out and saw the van. “Our horseless carriage rests here.” Without another word, it burst through the window and landed on the van, denting its roof.
“Well shit!” Ted roared frantically. “What good does that do us? How do we get down?”
Beth shook her head. “We’re going to have to find another way.”
With the fire on the stairs dying, more of the creatures were coming up now, and they caught sight of the three by the window.
“Where in the hell are these things coming from?” Richard asked with bewilderment.
“Then it’s out the window.” Ted shook his head. He looked down at the wight who was now standing up. “Hey, catch us!”
“With certainty.” It uncoiled its legs to step from the van and to the ground.
Ted spared one look back at the two and then jumped. The wight moved and Ted collided with the hood of the van. He rolled back and cried out. “Dammit! I think I broke my ankle! You were supposed to catch me, you piece of shit!”
“I was not entirely familiar with the concept.” The wight looked confused.
Ted screamed, “You said... Never mind, just catch them!”
The wight turned its attention up to Beth. Richard grabbed Beth’s hand and said, “Okay, you go first.”
Her eyes met his, a moment’s pause before she turned and jumped out. The wight caught her and set her down.
Richard shot one last glance back, just in time to see one of the creatures lunge at him. He tripped as it latched onto him and sent them both out the window, a piece of glass from the window cutting into Richard’s leg as he fell. He landed short of the van and smashed into the ground. The creature had gotten beneath him and had taken the force of the fall when they landed. Most of what was left beneath Richard was a wet puddle of chunks. “Uh, sorry?” Richard apologized on instinct. He pulled himself up, and the gooey mess stretched thin between Richard and the pavement.
“Richard, get up, come on!” Ted didn’t wait for him as he took the front seat. “Let’s get out of here!” He slammed the van door behind him.
Richard gulped air and stood up on uncertain feet. The wight’s glassy and unblinking eyes stayed focused on him until he stood, and then it got into the back of the van. Richard hobbled forward and collapsed halfway inside the open door just as Ted turned the key, bringing the van to life. The wight stretched out its long arm to drag Richard in the rest of the way.
The van roared to life and screeched into reverse. Ted threw it into drive and gunned it. Richard slid around hazardously in the back. He grabbed onto one of the seats and took the chance to look out the window at more of the creatures jumping from the library windows and breaking their legs on the ground, while others rounded the building. Their short legs couldn’t carry them fast enough to keep up with the van. An angry mob of childlike beings chased them only a short distance.
“That certainly could have gone better.” Ted sighed. “I lost my damn camera and our video!”
Richard closed his eyes and put his head back. He decided not to respond to Ted; instead, his mind drifted. He sat, at a loss for the next step in their game. What was there to do? What was left?
I don’t want to do anything. Maybe I can just sleep until this all goes away…
The van drove on in silence and Ted eased off the gas. He glanced at Beth in the front seat and then the others in the back. “What? Am I going to be the first to say it? Okay, fine.” His voice filled with anger. “What do we do now?”
“Let’s catch our breath and plan our next move.” Beth was still breathing hard.
“What?” Ted shot her an angry glance. “Are you kidding? We barely survived that. We’re out of our damn league here. I think I broke my ankle, you probably have a concussion, and it was made painfu
lly clear back there that Richard’s not the fount of wisdom that we thought he might be.” There was silence for a few moments as no one responded.
“Nothing? Anyone?” Ted’s voice was still angry. “Richard, can you tell me what the hell those were? Can you?”
Richard gulped air. He took three heavy breaths before he finally spoke. “No.”
“Exactly. We don’t know what we’re dealing with. And guess what? I’m out of bullets! And—” More words were spilling out of Ted’s mouth as Richard cut him off.
“But I’ve got a guess.” Looking up into the mirror, he caught Ted’s eyes staring back at him. “Sankai—that’s what the Japanese call it. A woman gave birth to it. The father or mother was something unnatural, and the baby is that manifested, or it was worked that way by the warlock. A hateful creature that doesn’t age past childhood.” He didn’t break his gaze from the mirror; any lack of confidence might end him. “You want to know how you kill those, Ted? You already do. You beat them to death. There are no magic words to turn them off, no prayer that sends them back. They’re half-animal spirit creatures. And I don’t know about you, but they seemed pretty damn corrupted to me.” Richard’s tone was getting faster, angrier. “Their heads were soft. They were aggressive to the point of near suicide. Faces looked like they were melting off. And did you see the way they burned? Like they were barely being held together by magicks. Now, I don’t know what the hell the rural small-town version of a Sankai is, but that’s what I think was trying to bite chunks off of us.” Richard let the anger breathe out and he deflated. “I think we were right on the money. It’s a blight warlock, a corruption witch, with corrupted servants. I think we’re getting closer. But what do I know?”
When no one else spoke, the wight interjected, “Their flesh tasted horrid.” It had a look of pain on its face; hundreds of tiny bites and claw marks littered its body. “Their meat was rotted.”
“Fine,” Ted relented. “You were right, we’re dealing with a blight witch.” Ted let out a labored breath. “The only thing worse than you being wrong is that you might be right.”