Unfound

the hunter and the messenger

It was humanoid in the sense that it stood on two legs and had what appeared to be a head, but that was where the comparison ended. It was 9 feet tall and it's entire body surface was made up of hard, greenish scales with legs that had something similar to a knee joint, but bent backwards so that a bird's eye view would've seen it's legs sticking out behind it from the middle. It's feet were like slabs, beyond any Earthly size and tapered in at the end to a grey, ugly looking claw.

It had no arms, but did have a torso which remained inline with it's legs and an abnormally long neck. However, the head was perhaps the most disconcerting feature of this creature in Zack's opinion. It had the basic shape of a human head but lacked any features apart from a mouth.

It lolled open, twitching slightly and Zack could see stalactites of drool dangling inside. The scales were lightest in colour on it's legs and darkest on it's head but always maintained that vile green colour.

Zack wasted no time to see if it was going to be his friend, the stranger was something straight out of a nightmare.

He scrabbled onto his feet and bolted away from it, sprinting as fast as he could and sparing the occasional backwards glance. To his relief it didn't follow him, but he could see that The Stranger's head was moving from side to side in what seemed to Zack to be a scanning motion of sorts.

Zack's feet thudded against the ground uncomfortably as he ran and still The Stranger stayed put. What the hell is that thing? Zack thought amongst all the panic that flooded his brain. What if more come? I need to hide somewhere but there's nothing in this damned place!

The classic movie line, 'you can run, but you can't hide' flashed across Zack's mind and he concluded that it could not be more the case than in his current predicament.

He was panting heavily and staggered to a standstill. Placing his hands on his thighs, he slowly got his breath back and noticed that he had pissed himself for the first time. Great. He turned around wearing a grimace and looked at where The Stranger was still standing.

It must have been half a mile away at that point and was still facing Zack with it's eyeless face, twitching.

What an interesting turn of events, Zack thought wryly. But things were about to get a lot more interesting for the skinny, pyjama-wearing Physics student.

Morph. Change. Transform.

All of these verbs could apply to what The Stranger did just after Zack's sarcastic thought. It's mouth suddenly spilled forward a great wash of clear liquid which Zack heard splash onto the floor.

It leaned back using it's reverse knees as a hinge, positioning it's 'face' directly upwards. Then it's mouth widened significantly and eight or nine writhing tentacles erupted out. They wriggled around on the floor, dripping wet and coated with an unspeakable liquid. The scales closest to it's mouth peeled back and this effect spread all the way down it's body until it was essentially inside out.

The Stranger's original mouth had retreated back to become a gaping pit four times bigger than it had been and it was now ringed with three sets of needle-like teeth. The mouth was central to it's mass, which was elevated off the ground at the front of a huge body of grey tangled flesh from which four larger tentacles extended to it's left and five to it's right.

Zack saw it all and was frozen to the spot, even as it raced towards him in a thrashing charge.

"Oh my god." He said weakly.

The rhythmic slapping sound as The Stranger's new form carried itself towards him grew louder and a foul smell similar to something Zack had encountered a few times recently in his uni kitchen fridge invaded his nostrils.