Story Snippets

The Prey

A woman was sitting in her old, shuttered house. She knew that she was alone in the whole world; every other thing was dead.

The doorbell rang.

She jumped at the resounding noise that she didn't expect to hear. The bell echoed through the empty house that used to be her grandmother's and through her head. Her hands shook slightly as she sat in her armchair, clutching the book she was reading until her knuckles were as pale as her face. She didn't understand what had happened. Was her mind finally slipping after all those years or did the doorbell actually ring? The silence took over once more as her heartbeat slowed and she began to relax.

"Just my imagination..." she muttered to herself, turning back to her book and leaning back in her chair. Not long after, the accused sound of the doorbell rang through her peaceful house once again and she stood this time, her palms sweaty as someone began to bash their fist on her door. The doorbell forgotten, the banging on her door ripped into her ears and made each attack on the wood grow louder and more violent. She covered her ears, but the sound still reached her and made her think she was going crazy.

"How can you be here!" She screamed at the noise and it stopped. The sudden absence of the violent knocking made her freeze. The only thing she was aware of was her own shaking body, her heartbeat that replaced the knocking in her ears, and the silence outside. Nothing moved as she waited. On the other hand, her thoughts were everywhere. What was at her door? Could someone have survived too and she didn't know? Why were they trying to get in? Was it those creatures that had caused the destruction of humanity? Questions came and went so fast that she felt nauseous. She took a deep breath as she cleared her head and looked at the door that was hiding something that made her uneasy. She wanted to open the door, but something was stopping her. She wasn't sure if it was the tense atmosphere that made her cringe or the strange silence that seemed to want to suffocate her.

"Hello?" a soft voice echoed through the thick door, "Hello, are you still there?" It was a young boy, his voice trembling with what she only could guess was fear. "Please, I don't know where else to go. I can't find anyone else." He sounded close to tears and she approached the door slowly with a foreboding feeling. How could this little boy be alive? She had had a hard time surviving herself with all those creatures out there at first. She shuddered at the memories of humanoid shaped monsters with large mouths that were lined with teeth, long legs that could catch someone in no time, and hands equipped with sharp claws that could tear human flesh like it was paper. She shook away the menacing eyes that were filled with an intelligence that exceeded one of any human, but paired with a hunger that could never be fulfilled. She had assumed that they had all left, but maybe they hadn't

"Are there any of those things out there?" she asked and instantly regretted opening her mouth. She didn't know if the thing outside was human or not. They were smart and they could easily mimic human speech if they wanted to.

"No, no it's just me," the thing outside said and the pain in the voice seemed genuine as it continued, "but they might find me if you don't let me in." The door handle shifted as the boy outside tried to get in once more.

"I thought they had left years ago." she continued as she tried to wrap her head around the situation. There was either a boy or one of those creatures outside her door trying to get in. She had no idea how to find out which one it was seeing as her windows were completely boarded up and her door had no window or peephole she could see through.

The boy resumed his knocking, "Just let me in!" he screeched and it slowly devolved into an inhuman scream. She backed away from the door and instantly knew that there was no boy on the other side. The creature had lost its patience and was now trying to pulverize the door. The wood creaked and the hinges looked about ready to pop out of the frame. She had just enough time to jump out of the way before it caved in. She rolled to her feet and ran before the dust had cleared properly. A menacing laugh gurgled from behind like she was hearing it in the water as she quickly headed for the basement. She could hear the claws of that thing scraping along the wooden floor and the peach wallpaper that she loved so dearly. She could smell it's reeking breath that she had thought she would never smell again that made her think of rotting meat and blood. Glancing back, she saw the dirty flesh that seemed to be stretched onto the large monster and the muscles that could tear her apart. It seemed to smile at her in a sick way, taunting her and telling her that she'll die before the next sunrise. She nearly fell down the stairs as she ran, the thing right behind her. She wrenched open the door and slammed it in the creature's face, hearing the screech of pain and she almost smiled.

"Hopefully it'll get bored..." She muttered to herself and she pushed an old desk in front of the door. She knew that statement was false. She knew they could wait for days for their prey. It didn't stop her from continuing to build her barricade. As she worked, she was beginning to lose hope. The creature outside was already ramming the door, splintering the wood and exposing her to its needle-like teeth. There was no where else for her to go. She stared at the arm that now was forcing its way through her barricade that was long and terrifying with flecks of dried blood still in the claws. She did the quickest thing she could think of. She hid inside the old wardrobe standing not far from where she stood. The space was small and the darkness made her heaving breathes seem alien. The sound of the door finally breaking reached her ears and she tried to breathe as quietly as she could. Claws dragged along the stone floor as the creature searched. She heard objects break on the walls or underneath its large feet. She could hear it following the trail of her sweat that covered her forehead and the blood that pumped in her ears. The darkness inside of the wardrobe then seemed to get darker and she knew that the thing was standing right outside of the door, reveling in its success of finding its prey. She let out one last whimper before the doors were ripped open and she was snatched up into the jaws of the monster. The last thing she saw was its eyes, intelligent and dangerous.