A Moment Of Darkness

  It’s been an hour in traffic and Tess has barely moved an inch. She sits there lifelessly as she usually does, there’s no sense of life in her. She walks into her apartment, “master’s degree and sucking up to my boss for 5 years for this?” she thinks to herself. She sinks into the couch, it feels more like a beanbag chair rather than a couch. Her apartment was rather small with 1 bedroom that was more like a broom closet, kitchen with a stove that includes a broken oven. Her bathroom is not much bigger than her room. She jerks as she hears yelling next door, her neighbors are always loud, never stop shouting till they pass out. She turns on the tv and flips to the news. “Turning to Elizabeth, over in Wisconsin to report strange activity.” Elizabeth has a worried look plastered on her face. “Strange sightings have been reported of weird creatures wandering around, some theorize it is bigfoot but I’d disagree.” the camera pans to trees with claw marking and red liquid. “If you see anything you shoul-” Tess turns off the TV, ”It’s just a damn bear, everyone exaggerates everything.” She slumps into her bed and dozes off. 

                     Someone fiddles with her doorknob, she jerks up. She reaches for her phone, “Who could be here at 2 in the morning?” Tess says aggravated. She flips her light switch but nothing happens. Something doesn’t feel right, her neighbors are quiet, outside is pitch black. The streetlights aren’t on, the only available light is the moonlight. She looks through the peephole but she can’t see anything. She puts on her shoes and grabs a flashlight in search of the landlord. She looks at the hallways and can’t tell if the wallpaper already was this badly damaged or if someone else did it. Two floors later she is pounding on the door. “Mr. Rayovac? Are you there?” 

He snaps back “Shut up! They’ll hear you.” 

“Who will hear me?” she asks as she knocks again.”Open up.” 

She begins to hear some footsteps hitting the floor. She points her flashlight down the right hall and something tall and dark runs to the right. She follows it with her flashlight but it’s gone, the strange this is that there was just a wall there. Where did it go? She jerks to the left as she heard its loud snarl and aims her light at it in fear. Its skin boils under light, crawling on all fours it leaps onto the wall and lets out a shriek. Its gaping jaw, jagged blade-like teeth, big claws. It leaps to the ceiling and scurries away. “Mr.Rayovac please let me in!” he doesn’t respond. She looks back to the right as she doesn’t know where that one went. As she pieces it together something drips on her hand. Before she can react Mr. Rayovac opens up and yanks her in slamming the door as the creature pounces to the door and tries forcing its way in.

              It claws at the door, it is determined to get in. “Thank you,” Tess says as her landlord grabs her and covers her mouth. They hear the creature crawl away defeated. Mr.Rayovac removes his hand from her mouth still whispering “it can’t hear you” he pauses “it can smell you” he says staring here dead in the eyes. He grabs his lantern light by its handle and sets it on the table revealing his supplies. Tess looks out the window like the curious person she is and sees the streets infested with them, she can see straggles being mauled and ripped to shreds in seconds. “This place won’t hold as a save space, they’ll soon run out of people to eat and they’ll be in search of stragglers.” He says lifelessly as he gathers his supplies. “What about the other residents?” Tess asks “No time. They’re either already dead or they’re going to be” Mr.Rayovac says carelessly but then he pauses for a moment as if he had something to say like he’s seen something he wishes he didn’t. “But Mr.Ray-“ he cuts her off “Just call me Kevin, and we don’t have enough supplies or weapons fend them off”

                          “What about the lights?” Tess asks. “They are sensitive to it, its skin boiled when I aimed my flashlight at them and it ran away helplessly!” Kevin freezes. “Even if it did work, the batteries go out for so long and all the lights in the city are out. There isn’t going to be light for miles!” He says before he comes to a pause. “The complex has a backup generator but it’s on the first floor on the opposite side of the building...we don’t have enough firepower to make it.” He thinks for a minute before looking through his drawers. “Here..it’s a layout of the complex.” He grabs a couple of flashlights “Take these. I’m not going with you. I for one plan on living and making sure the human race prospers. If you want to go on a suicide mission, be my guest.” He says angrily. Tess doesn’t even argue. She walks to the door and looks back before leaving and steps out into the darkness. Kevin sits there for a minute after she leaves. “I watched them die...they called for my help and I watched them die.” He remembered when he went to check on them during the blackout, he’s seen what these creatures can do. “She’s not gonna make it.” He grabs a beer and sits down awaiting his fate.

                            Tess walks upon the old hardwood floor, she looks down at what once used to be the floor people that tried to get by would walk on. Now it is more damaged than ever, scratches and floorboards missing, blood coming through from under the doors. With every step the floorboards creak something awful, It feels like she’s been walking for days. Her heart pounds the closer she gets. Walking down the stairs she sees what seems to be the remains of other residents. “I can’t tell what part that is. I’m gonna be sick” she says disgustedly. She aims the light the power room to the complex is within her eyesight. Before she can step any closer she hears claw marks to her right, she looks but there’s nothing there but a bunch of marks. “Umm,” she gulps “Were those always there?” she says nervously. She hears it to her left but there’s nothing there. Her heart pounds in her throat, she feels a tear go down her cheek. She feels something wet drip on her hand, she looks up to see it’s one of them. It pounces on her with all its weight. “Ahhhhhh!” she lets out a scream in pain as it claws at her. Another breaks through the wall after hearing her scream and drags her by her arm. The other grabs her other arm and leg as they begin to fight over who gets this meal. They let out a screech louder than a T-rex, her eardrums feel like bursting. She closes her eyes as they begin yanking on her, about to be torn in half. Suddenly, they scream in pain and drop her to the ground. The sound of sizzling and boiling flesh fills the air, she opens her eyes to see Kevin aiming flashlights at them. He stares them down until they burn to a crisp, not moving a muscle. He sticks his hand out to her, “Need a hand?” he says with a grin.

                        The sound of creatures charging in fills the streets and echoes through the hallways. They begin breaking through the walls and piling on one another, some climbing on the walls and ceiling. “Go go go!” Kevin says with fright. They run to the door and lock it behind them. Tess looks through the electrical room but the wires and circuits were busted. “It’s like they knew…” Tess says defeated. “Can’t you try and fix it? Try!” Kevin demands. “I’m not a damn technician!” she bursts. The creatures start forcing their way in, a hand or two comes in clawing at the air. Kevin’s flashlights can only do so much for so long. Kevin resorts to pushing his body against the door, they claw at his arm the more they get in. “Tess! Get off your rear and come help m-” Kevin is cut off aggressively when they pull him through a tight hole in the door. Tess sits as she hears his bones crack, his flesh being ripped apart. She listens to the gushes of the blood being splattered and plastered onto the walls. Her flashlight dies and she closes her eyes. She hears the door being broken down but she doesn’t move. She opens her eyes to see a gaping mouth lunge toward her. The next thing she’ll ever see is a moment of darkness.