Travis screamed and ran towards the security guard.
The guard shone her flashlight at the open door. Travis
caught his first sight of the things following him: creatures
of pure shadow, slightly larger than humans. When the
beam from the flashlight hit them, both female and male
voices howled in pain. It only lasted a moment before the
creatures jumped back to the safety of the shadows.
“Jesus save me,” the guard said as she crossed herself.
“What the hell are they?” she asked as Travis approached.
“Just run!” Travis said. “Run fast.”
His bare feet pounded against the hard hospital floor,
pain jabbing his ankles and shins. An accomplished runner,
he quickly passed the guard. He heard a scream behind
him. He looked back in time to see shadowy hands grab
the guard by the neck and slam her against the wall. Her
flashlight hit the floor, fell, and rotated to dimly illuminate
her face. Travis saw her eyes widen in terror. She screamed
again. One of the shadowy creatures stuck an arm into the
woman’s mouth, blocking the scream. Then, inch by inch,
it shoved more of itself into her.
“Shit!” Travis said. He turned in circles, unsure which
way to run. He knew he couldn’t save the guard. Travis
didn’t want to be there when it fully entered her. He saw a
glint of hope: a dim light shone on the wall ahead of him.
As he ran towards it, he heard something that sounded
distressingly like an animal tearing apart meat, followed by
laughter. ‘Can’t think about that,’ he thought. ‘Have to
keep my mind focused on what’s in front of me.’
The light came from a glass door leading to the
parking lot. Outside, sunlight covered everything in a
bright glow.
‘They don’t like the light,’ he thought. ‘I should be
safe there.’
Fumbling with the handle, he pulled it open and
rushed outside. He found himself at the top of a short
flight of concrete steps. A group of nurses and doctors, all
in uniform, stood in a clump at the edge of the nearby
parking area. Travis ran towards them. Something
slammed through the doors behind him. Glass flew
everywhere. The doctors and nurses turned towards the
sound.
Unable to stop himself, Travis looked back. The
guard stood in the doorframe; only he could tell it was no
longer her. A black-purple aura covered her body. She
stared at him then turned to look over her shoulder as if
speaking to someone else. Then, the not-guard jumped,
covering 30’ in one leap. She landed on one of the fleeing
doctors. She grabbed him by the throat and dragged him
back to the open door.
‘Not safe out here anymore.’ Travis focused on the
road in front of him. It was Tecumseh, one of the major
streets in Windsor. Cars moved in both directions. ‘Those
things possess people. No way of knowing what else they
can do. Time to go. I need to find some place safe.’
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Beyond the Black Sea Here
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