Trying the Terror (on hold)

Chapter 1

The bulletin had just cut off when the ground beneath me started to shake. the group of people in the cafe were all around the television. And normally that would have been fine. But there was nothing normal about this earthquake. You could clearly see the undulating movement of the floor tiles. And those tiles were supposed to be heavy, this was a freaking imitation pub. I watched in horror as the shear power of the quake left cracks in the stone walls, then i froze when the bottles and mugs on those walls began to fall.

They threatened the group huddled to the centre of the bar. My skin was covered in goose bumps while my hair stood on edge. Had the small monotonous woman in the Terra interview heard the bald man when he'd said no mercy for her. Or when the others had agreed to the death penalty. The Terras were really monsters.

I saw a little boy about five or six cling to his mother's leg when there was a deafening crack. It was clear that the ceiling was breaking apart.

The door was opposite them, it was a little to my right. I was in too much shock to move, my instinct was crying for me to stay put under the supporting pillar. I swallowed down a sob when the boy let go of his mother and looked towards the door. If this was the effect of a Terra it was either stay in the building and get possibly crushed and cut to pieces or go outside and get pulled to pieces. The odds weren't good either way.

There was another crack, louder than the first. The bulk of the ceiling had torn away from the iron beams above us and were crashing towards the floor, our fates smushed in the middle. Like a big old bloody sandwich.

The child ran too slow at the wrong time, I watched his little brown eyes widened in fear, heard his soft shriek before anyone else did. This was it. Then the fragments of time seemed to stop moving. The air pulsed around me, almost in a rhythm. All the shards of glass, the ones about to be coated in shades of red stayed floating in the air, the wood and stones above them.

Somehow i reached the boy. I was just next to him when time regained its normalness. I covered the boy putting my body between his small frame and the large debris. The whole time I was visualizing that strange rhythm. Picturing it still surrounding me like a barrier.

"Momma?" He asked. And i almost cried.

ii.

I straightened my back in one quick motion. I was trying not to question why i was still alive when there was only rubble surrounding me. "Shit!" I screamed aloud when i felt the sharp pain of the glass like daggers stab at my back and sides. I felt the wetness of my own blood dripping down my body.

"Momma says not to say those words." The little boy said to me softly. He looked as though he'd just woken up. He held on to his little action figure.

"I'm sorry." I said stooping down to his level. I checked him for injuries. I seemed to be the only victim. "Listen kid, about your mom she..."

"She's fine," he said. I turned around just in time to see a red haze disintegrate from around the group that was huddled by the bar, just like i had visualized.

"I don't get it" I said standing up again. The little boy just smiled unable to understand and uncaring.

"It was the red power ranger." He said playing with the red doll.

"What just happened?" One of the men asked.

"Is everyone okay?" The bartender asked looking around. "I have a medical kit hear under the counter." I looked across at them the table was still up. How in hell was that possible? He looked in my direction and i nodded... There was no question about it. I was injured.

As the bald guy and another in a trench coat lifted me onto the counter i could feel something was different. I felt as though i was inhaling fumes, they were making me feel a little bit too relaxed.

"I'm Gabe, short for Gabriel, the owner of this diner." I shook his hand awkwardly. I should say this and get it over with, interaction with guys, from let's say sixteen to about thirty for me is difficult when I'm not drunk. And Gabe looked like a sexy Gerard Butler twin. Except for the little pouch of a stomach and a few years younger.

"Hello Gabe, Ceil" I said my voice sounded wrong, too happy and high pitched. I tried to cough it off my throat.

"Alright Ceil you should stay very still, did you feel the splinter move just now." I coughed again and as my shoulders moved forward in the motion I felt a very sharp tug at the base of my back.

"Yeah," I nodded "i felt that." Gabe just laughed. He opened up the medical kit and i froze. "Umm, i don't do needles and syringes Gabe."

"Oh you don't have to," he said. "I never did a first aid course so i don't quite know how to us them or when to."

"So why do you have the kit out then?"

"I took a course in sewing and textiles."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm going to sew you up." Gabe said. I grinned, then giggled then burst out laughing.

"You are crazy, you know that. There is no way that needle is going near me."

"Ciel, let me explain this to you." He said still looking every bit as serious as before. "My shop came crashing down because of some war between the government and their experiments. I'm not one bit upset that my diner was destroyed i have lots more, but i am upset that it fell apart with so many people in it. I, Gabriel, crazy owner, am in your debt for saving us." he smiled at me and i looked down at the needle he had threaded. " And as such i want to make sure you're good and ready to go."

"Hell no Gabe." I scrambled off the counter my back aching every inch of the way. I reached for one of the splinters in my back and yanked it out, more blood came flowing over the dried. I searched frantically for my scarf. I didn't want to go home without it, my loser parents would throw a fit when i got home in the middle of curfew.

iii.

There was barely anything left of the door but i preferred to walk through a crack, it looked cooler at the time. It was still curfew, there were probably about two hours of it left. I'm on six street right now heading back to first. Pulling off chunks of my skin with each wooden and glass splinter leaving probably a clear trail of blood on the floor.

I hoped the Terras had already had their fun. I remembered the news earlier they'd already killed five people, maybe they were done for the day.

I don't know where i was when i heard someone behind me. I turned around as before hearing shuffling. There was no one, not even a shadow. I let out the breath i held in as i turned back around.

"Shit." I screamed stumbling backwards. I'd turned to be met face to face with a grotesque mask.

There were scars tracking lines from his dirty forehead to his chin. I stumbled away from him. He stepped forward to match me and was on top of me again.

"Hello child." He hissed, his fork of a tongue slipping between his teeth to spit at me. "You look very delicious for a Terra."

I stepped back. I couldn't speak, my head was too occupied with trying to figure out what was happening. I'd saved a little boy somehow, but it was just an adrenaline rush. Everyone can have it, fight or flight. I am not a Terra.

He shoved my chest hard with his scaly hand. I could already feel the bruise swelling and throbbing. The Terra was on top of me, i was pinned down. I tried to push him off but between my injuries and his body weight, I-I just, I just couldn't. 

The Terra opened his mouth larger than a jaw should be able to stretch and hope to retain its natural shape... He was trying to swallow me. I felt sick. I squinted my eyes tightly together feeling the Terra's hot sticky breath over me. There was a resemblance of a bright spark from behind my closed eyelids and everything suddenly when blank.