Dimokre Chronicles Book 1: Crossed Paths

Chapter 30 - Good Ol' Monster Chase and a Freakout to Face

Michael didn't know what Kael was doing, but it had to be more interesting and fun than this. He bitterly thought this as he galloped down the street in wolf form. It was nighttime, and he hoped anyone who saw a wolf seemingly chased by nothing they could see was a hallucination, a sign they needed to go back to bed.

Michael panted and turned abruptly. He looked back at the monster. The pale white, giant worm with one enormous eyeball consuming its head towered over a street light and bent the top part of it down. Electricity sparked from the broken post, and the lantern flickered off. The creature carelessly slithered over the lamppost, crashing it into the ground. Concrete broke apart, and up came a cloud of dust. The glass shattered, though Michael couldn't tell if that was the creature screeching at first, and the electricity sizzled across the indifferent monster. The creature focused on him, anger flashing across its one eyeball.

Michael turned and kept running. He was about to turn the corner and run down that street when the giant worm whipped its end in front of him. He slammed against it, and it didn't budge, like a slimy wall. He groaned, falling back and grabbing his head.

The creature twisted itself around Michael, like a snake would around its prey.

Great.

It glowered down at Michael. He panted, his eyes scanning up the worm's many segments. The only unique feature was the giant eyeball. Anger burned inside, and since it was a just a pupil on an eyeball with no iris, anger seemed all it could hold. It never blinked.

"I have—" Michael panted. "—insomnia. I'm sorry I woke up when you were in my house." Michael shuddered, thinking of waking up to a giant eyeball glaring down at him from an inch away. "You've no idea how sorry. Please, just let me go; I won't tell anyone you exi—"

The worm's mighty eyelid sunk down. It was slow and awkward and made a horrible scraping noise like an old machine that hadn't been used in a while. When it opened, instead of a glossy white eyeball glaring down at him, the eyelid revealed a crescent shape. A dark red abyss with long, white teeth as big and gnarly as stalagmites in a cave. They hung from the mouth's roof and stood somberly on the base. A huge tongue slid out over the field of teeth and licked at the eyelid.

Michael swallowed. "Well. Shit."

The mouth lunged.

Adrenaline took over. Michael dove away. The worm's skin proved sticky and difficult to fight against. He switched to anim-latic, and after realizing his claws could not easily dig into the skin, climbed out. He managed to get on top of the worm's body when it jerked and screeched. Michael clung on. The monster's blood splattered across his cheek as he looked up.

The worm couldn't see Michael move away, and by the time it could feel Michael climbing up, it was too late. It took a huge bite of itself. Blood splattered everywhere, and the worm's body after the severing bite had dulled in color.

Michael leapt off the other side and into wolf form, galloping down the street. Screeches followed. Closer and closer, and Michael knew the monster had closed its mouth and switched to its eyeball again. When the screeches stopped, he glanced over his shoulder. The monster was very close. Supernaturally close despite being wounded. It looked clumsy and hurt, but still managed to be very fast. The worm didn't leave behind a trail of blood and bits of flesh. It had completely chewed off the end and healed over the bite. The tail must be left behind somewhere, probably in the middle of a street.

Michael's muscles burned. The concrete scraped at his paws, and his lungs heaved with exhaustion. He had no choice but to slow down. He turned his head.

The eyeball closed. The mouth opened.

Michael tensed, ready.

The worm lunged, and Michael jumped back. The worm's staggeringly large teeth sank into concrete like a juicy steak. For a moment, it was silent. Then the ground shook, and the worm writhed and flailed, trying to yank itself out. All the while, it screeched.

I could try to claw out the top of its head, but if the head is anything like its body, it's too hard for that to work. Michael frowned. But it knows where I live, and it's supernaturally fast.

The concrete was losing its hold. Michael turned human and darted in the nearest alley he knew had another exit if he needed. He peered around the building.

The worn screeched and yanked itself free. Concrete bulged through its skin, but its mouth stayed open. Concrete didn't fall from its mouth or was stuck in its teeth. In fact, Michael couldn't even see the teeth anymore. The mouth was a dark abyss once again.

Michael's eyes widened. A giant monster, very comfortable coming into the human world, with an abyss inside its body.

Shit.

The abyss closed, and the eyeball opened. The pupil didn't dart around. It focused right on the alleyway Michael hid in.

Shit shit shit.

Michael was off running again. It didn't take long for the worm to try again, and as soon as it got stuck on a bite of concrete, Michael didn't stick around. He darted down the street, turned on a corner, ran past the diner, over a fence, over another, and nearly whammed into Sarah as she was walking home.

"M—Michael? What're you doing as a wolf?"

"Sarah!" He wheezed as he turned human. "Where's your sword?"

"My s—what? I—" Sarah shook her head. "It's at home."

"Get on. We need to get it. Now." He turned wolf.

Sarah obediently climbed on and clung his neck tightly. Screeches followed them, but Michael didn't stop. Sarah's hand jostled in his peripheral, holding something shiny. He hoped it was her key. They reached her front door, and she unlocked it quickly. He slammed it closed and locked it, though it probably wouldn't do any good.

He ran to the stairs, caught a glimpse of Sarah, and followed her to her room. He slammed the door closed and darted over to the window, hesitantly peeking through the curtains. She pulled out her sword from its sheath under her bed.

"Michael, what's going on?"

He glanced at her and tensed. Her eyes were wide, and she trembled, clinging the sword like a lifeline. Michael tried to calm himself down and went back to peering outside. "I woke up, and a giant monster was in front of me. I thinks it's the one called Nightmare, which is one of the Creatures of Death. They're very rare, and the last one was seen centuries ago."

The house across the street looked so tiny and distant with a huge worm with an eyeball peering into each window. Michael whipped around. "Quick, get in bed."