BEGINNING OF THE END

CHAPTER 5

The sheriff and his deputy walked closer to the cave entrance. Shining their lights on the ground in front of it and inside it. The sheriff looked further at the ground, noticing shoe impressions on the ground.

‘Boss…’

The sheriff spun around on his feet, shining the light at his deputy.

‘What is it Howard?’ the sheriff asked, trying to see the expression on his face. Howard, remembering that his boss directed him to be quiet, he whispered...

‘Didn’t you hear that?’

The sheriff went to reply, but then he heard it. He couldn’t make out what the sound was, so he slowly made his way through the entrance of the cave.

 ‘Stop! Go back!’

The sheriff stopped, shining his light ahead of him.

‘Hello?!’

He and Howard moved forward.

‘There’s someone in here…’ Howard whispered.

The sheriff went to say something to him, but then they heard it again.

‘Stop! Go Baaaa…’

‘Boss…is that Mrs Doran?’

There was something wrong and the sheriff could feel it.

‘Call over the radio tell them we need an ambulance over here at the Doran’s farm, stat!’

Howard grabbed his walkie and pressed the button to call. There was some static, then a loud piercing scream.

‘TURN IT OFF!’ The sheriff screamed.

Howard quickly shut the walkie off, and they both fell silent. They could no longer hear Mrs Doran. In the cave, further off into the distance, they could hear a clicking sound getting closer and closer towards them. Howard looked over at the sheriff.

‘What is it boss?’

The sheriff didn’t say anything for a moment, just stood there listening till he heard it again, the clicking. The hair on the back of the sheriff’s neck stood up. He could feel the presence of something that was very close to him and Howard. The sheriff put a single finger over his lips to signal him to be quiet. Howard went to whisper, but as he opened his mouth, words never came. Warm liquid slowly trickled from his neck and down his body. The sheriff closed his eyes, putting his hand over his mouth to keep from puking as he could hear Howard’s body drop to the ground, crunching and snapping as whatever it was, tore him apart.

The sheriff couldn’t speak and couldn’t move, trying to be quiet as he could, trying to take a breath without making a sound. The clicking was right next to him, right by his ear. He could feel its breath on him. The creature had a stench that made the sheriff’s stomach curl. The mixture of a corpse rotting and rancid meat that sat out past it’s time.

Holding his breath, the sheriff could feel the sweat dripping from his forehead, down the bridge of his nose and off the tip. The creature was still clicking him. The sheriff couldn’t figure out why it hadn’t attacked him. Watching it in the shadows, like a lion ready for the kill, but instead it started sniffing Howard’s body. Taking deep breaths, the sheriff could hear it, sliding its tongue over Howard’s body. The creature, satisfied with the taste of blood, slid its fingers to Howard’s neck, shoving them between the open gaps of his neck and ripped it the rest of the way down. Exposing his vocal cords and feeding on the blood pouring out.

The sheriff went for his gun on his right hip as fast as he could, only able to pop one round off from his gun before the Beast lunged at him, digging its fingers into his cheek as it slashed him across the face, tearing the flesh away and causing the sheriff to fall unconscious.

The Beast fed on the bodies of the fallen. Sliding its tongue out, it split in two, touching the blood. The creature’s tongue danced along the warmth of the blood, before coming back together, forming a scoop, and bringing it back inside. The creature clicked its tongue as the liquid left a nice, smooth, warming trail down its throat. As it was feeding on Howard’s body, more creatures emerged from the darkness.

They clicked back and forth to each other, growling and snarling. Bumping into each other and screeching at the smell of blood. More and more creatures were appearing, coming from the darkness, following the smell of blood. The creature feeding on Howard, clicked its tongue again, moving forward. On all fours, it searched around on the ground with its long fingers, grabbing at small objects, clicking, then tossing them aside. The more forward it went, clicking over and over until there was something foreign, something new.

A breeze hit its leather pale skin. The creature sniffing the air, inhaling long and deep. Clicking to communicate with the others, they snarled and sniffed, moving forward, following the lead of the other. They all started clicking together listening to the sounds in the distance, the people yelling and laughing, and the smell of the food they were cooking. One by one, the creatures ventured off in different directions, clicking, following the voices of the people.

Sniffing, touching the ground, trees and rocks scattered all over the ground. There were screams coming from the north of the woods, followed by the east, then somewhere in the south and finally the ‘West” of the woods. One after another, the search party diminished. The creatures fed on their bodies, never being able to fill their bellies.

They feed and feed, ripping flesh apart, chewing on organs and leaving the corpses behind. More and more creatures started flowing out of the cave, clicking, and communicating with each other. They broke off into smaller and smaller groups, eventually coming across the town. People were still awake at the late hour, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer outside the bars. Being loud with their friends and significant others. They had no idea what was coming.

‘So, you still sleeping with Sara?’

One of the men had taken a sip of his beer before answering.

‘Nah, she decided to take the job in Kareedouw, and you know me, I’ll never leave home, especially for no woman.’ He took another sip of beer. His buddy shaking his head.

‘You’re an idiot man, what’s left for you in this town besides, your daddy’s farm? You could do what you been wanting to do your entire life and going to Kareedouw can make that happen!’ He took a sip of his beer, and his buddy cleared his throat.

‘I don’t know man, maybe you’re right,’ he then chucked his beer bottle down the street, shattering at the end, near the corner of the building. As the glass shattered, there was a clicking sound and then he saw it. About three meters from the streetlamp, he seen the creatures on all fours. Its head close to the ground, his buddy speaking in the back was drawing its attention. Coming towards him, its head moving up and down and side to side, clicking its tongue, quickly sliding across the ground every now and then. The movements were fast, flawless, a swift flow across the ground as it approached them.

‘Hey!’

Those were the last words he spoke before the creature lunged at him and took a bite out of his face. Pouncing on him, bringing him down to the ground, slamming him on his back, his head hit the concrete and he lost consciousness.

The creature sniffed and smelt the alcohol on his breath. It slashed his face whilst screaming like a banshee, alerting its kind. More creatures came in like a blanket out of the darkness. One by one people were screaming and running. The creatures clicked, ran, pounced, and hunted the ones that tried to escape.

There was no time to react. Blood spewing onto the street, splattering against the outside of the bar and across car windows.

The screams bounced along the building of the town, echoing. The creatures, one by one, fed on their prey. Sliding their tongues along their bodies and through the blood on the ground would never quench their thirst.

The few people that were still in the bar pressed themselves against the windows of the building. Some were taking pictures, some were taking videos and posting it to their social media. The creatures could hear the clicking tones from cell phones and cameras, sniffing the ground, and quickly heading towards them.

People were backing away from the window as multiple creatures were heading towards them.

One person tried going out the front door of the bar. Just as he opened the door, a creature latched to the outside of the building above the door, grabbed the man by his face and lifted him off the ground.

Blood and body parts were falling to the ground below.

Men and women were hiding underneath booths and behind the bar itself. Using their hands to cover their mouths, keeping them from making a sound. The creatures entered the building, sniffing the ground and clicking. Their heads turning side to side, up and down as the clicking bounced off the walls, creating a blind sound wave that the creatures could only pick up. One of the creatures was right next to a table, underneath was a woman and her son. One of her hands was covering her son’s mouth, while the other pressed his head against her chest, covering his ears.

Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on not making a sound, fearing it would find them and kill them both.

The bartender looked in the mirror above the bar, angled perfectly from the floor behind the bar, to the tables. He watched as the creature sniffed the ground beside them. His heart started racing as the creatures started sniffing closer to them. Sweat rolled down his face as he continued to watch, the creature sniffing long and deep, just inches away from the woman’s face.

A purring sound came from the creature’s throat as it inhaled around her. The woman trembled, pressing her hand over her son’s mouth even harder. The boy was squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he could, he didn’t want to see the creature before them, but he was more terrified of what it would do to him and his mother.

There was a loud, high - pitched scream off in the distance. The few creatures in the bar had turned their heads in the direction of the scream. They were perfectly still for about 30 seconds before the same high - pitched scream went off again. The creatures then sniffed the ground and swiftly exited the building. No one moved and no one spoke for a long period of time. Echoes of people screaming, people’s feet running past the bar’s broken windows.

When it seemed as if the screams and cries of others became more and more distant. Some of the people in the bar started to cry while others started looking at the pictures they took on their phones.

Some people started dialling Emergency Services, explaining in detail as best as they could while hysterically crying. Everyone was speaking in a whisper, being as quiet as they could, fearing more creatures were going to come looking for fresh meat. The bartender, now over by his wife and son, kissing and hugging them.

‘You alright my dear?’ His wife, crying into his chest, nodded. He held her close, squeezing her tightly. His heart was still racing as his son was at his waist, cling to his mother and father. She looked at her husband with a scowl on her face.

‘Don’t forget your damn lunch next time!’ She continued to cry as her husband smirked quickly while continuing to hold her and their son close to them, squeezing them ever so tightly to him.