Prompt: “No, I said we were safer, not safe.”
“Come on!” the brown haired man screams, waving his hand towards the open door. Creatures wail and shriek, their claws stretching and zipping around me. I cover my head as I crouch under an appendage that drips black blood, and nearly trip on another elongating over the trembling sidewalk.
“Come on, hurry! It’s safer in here!”
I push him to the side as I lurch inside. I hear the door slam shut and something metallic whine as it thunks down. For a moment it’s quiet. I turn to him and he’s breathing heavy, his forehead beaded with sweat.
“Thank you,” I say. “It’s fucking crazy out there.”
He shakes his head, waving his hand. “Don’t mention it.” He steps around me and I watch him, now noticing that more than half of the small room is blanketed in shadows. I can hear tapping within the darkness, like fingers on glass.
He walks to the wall where a red button juts out, and presses it. Floodlights blare into the room, forcing the shadows away. I cover my eyes with my arm until my sight adjusts to the light. When it does— Oh, God…
“Why— why are those in here?” I ask, my lips quivering.
He looks at the wall of glass that was once hidden. Beyond, dozens of the creatures loom, pressing tightly against the pane. Their sharpened claws scratch and tap on the wall, while others’ fang-filled maws suction to it, misting it as they breath.
“They’re my children. They need fed.”
“What?” I gasp, backing towards the door that begins shaking on its hinges. I stop. “What do you mean you’re children? You said it was safe here…”
He laughs, runs his fingers through his hair. With his other hand, he removes a pistol from his pocket, cocks it and points it at me. “No, no, no… I said it was safer in here. It’s always safer with your family than on your own.”
Read my previous prompt, “The Help From Under the Bed.”
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Micah Castle 