The Monster Within

The Kidney Snatcher

Nothing could compare to this moment. Thick red blood rolled down the mahogany walls, splatters of body parts accompanying the liquid and the remaining bodies strewn over the ground in an unorganized heap. There was a heart on the stained white carpet, still weakly beating, blood spurting out of it with every second, it was almost amusing to watch until you realised it used to pump inside the chest cavity of a living human. The corridor was the scene of violence and horror, with slight undertones of completeness heard through the heavy breathing amidst the gore. The breathing was pinpointed in the minds of the SWAT team sent into the home. Their briefing was that there was screaming and cursing heard from inside this house -which had been hosting a party for the neighbours for New Years Eve-, a head had also been carelessly chucked through a window onto the green lawn at the front. However, everything they had witnessed before this moment could not prepare them mentally or physically to the grotesque view they were seeing.

In a split moment, the leader at the front screamed, the sound of his gun crashing to the ground, soon followed by the sound of his helmet. All the soldiers turned towards the sound, seeing nothing there of their leader. Nothing until the lifeless body fell from the vents a few meters in front of them; his stomach had been torn open, his kidneys missing, bite marks littering his throat, some bites causing the flesh to be missing. This sight caused the men to realise that most of the bodies had missing kidneys, and bites of missing skin around the necks of the victims. Slowly and steadily, the men inched towards the vent the leader fell from, looking up through the scopes on their rifles, one single person saw a pair of eyes staring back at them, their stomach twisting at the sight.

The eyes were that of a humans, however they shone dimly in the vent, the pupils were wide, the blue of the iris only just visible, and the sclera was a yellow shade of white, like an aging, abandoned curtain. They stared directly into the scope and before the young man could do anything, the eyes closed, making the location of this 'monster' impossible to locate. The male stumbled back, the sudden urge to vomit washing over him, and his vision became clouded, like his body didn't want him to witness the horror laid out in front of him. Perhaps this monster wanted him to see it for a brief second, just to validate it's existence, or to make him seem insane once he told the others, because as far as he knew, no one else had seen these eyes. The eyes that burrowed into his mind. They seemed familiar to him, but he was unsure why. Maybe of his mother? Before she had passed on, her eyes were wide and yellowing in colour, the blue of the iris only just visible pass the expanded pupil. But this monster could never be his mother. Sure his mother was an addict, but she was soft hearted, afraid of gore and would always feel faint at the sight of blood, however big or small it was. He had been there, holding her hand as she died, he saw the light and life fade from her excitable eyes, felt her grip become loose in his, until her soul abandoned her body, leaving a lifeless shell.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the licking of lips, saliva coating a pair of blood covered lips, the gulp as  slow as blood trickled down this things throat. It was teasing them now. A giggle was heard though another vent, the giggle that of a female, around 20-23 years old, but along with the giggle was the sound of a cry for help. These sounds happened at the same time, from the same person or thing. The cry for help, however, sounded like it was from a child, at the age of around 8, and it wasn't panicked, but more like a plea. These sounds happened more frequently, coming from rooms and vents all round the house, sometimes even in front of the men, or in the pile of lifeless bodies behind them. Some of the SWAT team ran out of the building, screaming as something was touching their necks and lower back, near where the kidneys are located. The young male struggling with his sight was dragged out of the house, his eyes now burning and crying... blood? No one cared to find out, they just wanted everyone who was still alive to get out of that house.

People who were stood outside the home were puzzled when they saw these heavily armoured men running out the front door, screaming that something was touching them. They believed that they had gone insane, surely they had. But when the rest of them ran out, the onlookers realised that this was no joke or insanity. A single older lady stepped forward and asked one of the wide eyed men what happened inside the house. Her aged, wrinkled skin must have reminded him of a grandma as he told her everything he had witnessed, emphasising the fact that the kidneys were missing from all of the victims. The woman's face twisted with horror as she realised what had occurred. With a deep breath she recounted the events she had witnessed as a child to a recorder.

"When I was a young girl, around 8 or 9 years of age, there was a call to the police station about this house that had people screaming and cursing in. The caller also mentioned that a head had been chucked from a window for the onlookers to see. I was at the police station at the time with my father, I remember his face twisting with horror as he received the call. He instantly sent out a couple of police cars to the address, and had the leader on the phone the whole time, well until the leader was killed. The phone went static, a couple of sounds coming through of flesh being torn and someone eating. Then there was the sound of giggling and a cry for help. It was eerie and unsettling. When the remaining policemen came home, they said that all the victims, even the leader, had missing kidneys and bites all over their throats. That monster was nicknamed "The Kidney Snatcher" and it has been quiet since then. Something or someone must have awoken it from its slumber."

Everyone's faces were pale, a couple had passed out from excessive stress, and the young man with bloody tears was silent, thinking about his wife and daughter, how he must protect them. The older lady suggested that no one in the area had large parties as the Kidney Snatcher was attracted to large gatherings as it could feed and get its fill all in one area.

The young male, once home, called out for his wife and daughter to tell them about cancelling any plans they had with groups of people, and that his daughter was going to be home schooled for a while. His partner came into the living room where he was, carrying their 8 year old child, smiling as she saw him. However, something didn't feel right about the smile. It was unsettling and forced.

She giggled at his expression, and his daughter cried for help. He didn't have a spilt second to try and escape from the house, because before he knew it, he was staring up at the ceiling, the light starting to fade as his body took its last breath.

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~Alligator

Word count : 1293