[SScherr]

(...Continued from previous reply)

~~~

He quickly retreated from the bed and crept back toward the hallway, blending into the darkness. It wasn’t until Russell reached the curved staircase at the top of the large open foyer that he had his immediate questions answered.

Gerald?

No.

There were several intruders.

Cops, then?

No.

There would be lights by now—voices.

The sounds seemed less… human.

He heard what sounded like paw nails striking and sliding across the kitchen linoleum floor.

Rat-a-tat-a-tat

It reminded him of the sound large clumsy dogs make when they get excited and try to maneuver too quickly around corners.

Did Janet buy a dog recently? Wild animals?

No.

That didn’t sound quite right either. There were no sounds of wrappers being ripped open, trash cans being tipped, tables being bumped—all the erratic sounds one would expect when animals were foraging in the dark.

No. Animals aren’t concerned with stealth.

There was just that frantic… Rat-a-tat-a-tat.

Whatever was making those sounds seemed content at the moment to remain in the kitchen. Russell had to get out before he was discovered.

Did I leave the sliding glass door open? he wondered.

No way, boss. You shut that behind you.

The other one was right.

And then the dreaded realization surfaced: Someone opened the sliding glass door and let something inside.

That reasoning came from a strange and dark place that led to all sorts of imaginative possibilities, but Russell dismissed them. It was simply time to go. He decided to make his way down the steps and exit out the front door.

Russell made it to the lower stairs before the trap was sprung.

Rat-a-tat-a-tat

Something was rapidly approaching from the darkest part of the kitchen.

They had been aware of him all along and were only waiting to draw him to the foyer.

Russell had his knife out, twirling it skillfully between two fingers.

No time, boss! Move your ass ‘cause something darker than you is hunting tonight!

Russell was in complete agreement as he rushed back toward the staircase. He could’ve sworn that he heard a slight tremble in that old, monstrous, savage within, and that was a little unnerving.

He was just ascending the stairs when a large shadow growled and leaped from the darkness toward him.

Russell sidestepped, causing the hideous thing to just miss him and crash into the banister. It let loose a hair-raising cry of frustration.

He didn’t dare stop to look as he sprinted up the stairs. He just caught a lucky break.

It sounded fucking human, boss! What the fuck did ya’ get us into?

“Shut up,” Russell said.

He reached the top of the curved staircase as the foyer was overrun. Russell heard a collective low growl, and then all went disturbingly silent.

From the dark corners of the foyer, deliberately avoiding the moonlight, Russell could feel their savage eyes upon him.

They smell blood, boss. You best do what you gotta do before they eat you. The other one was laughing insanely inside his head.

Before Russell could do anything, various windows on the first floor sounded like they were imploding.

Light from Janet’s bedroom poured into the foyer, exposing both Russell and the monstrosities below.

“Shit,” Russell whispered as his eyes adjusted.

They were mostly human, or used to be. When the bedroom light lit up the foyer, five naked, bloody and pale-skinned creatures jumped off the bottom of the stairwell, issuing bone-chilling screeches of pain as they rushed across the linoleum on all fours creating that rat-a-tat-a-tat sound with their hands and feet as they rushed toward the darkness. Russell watched as a naked elderly man, bent over on all fours with what looked like a part of his torso missing and his rib cage partially exposed, stopped and gazed up at him with ghastly red eyes. It hissed at him exposing a set of bloody razors for teeth.

All but two of the creatures fled for the darkness as the old man and a naked, heavy-set, middle-aged woman with scraggly, short, red hair began to creep up the staircase on all fours. Half the woman’s face looked as if some wild animal tore it clean off, revealing what was left of one hideous red eye and a queer smile full of daggers locked in place. The woman’s limbs looked severely disfigured as bones and joints were either broken or twisted in unnatural ways. He could see what was left of her spine penetrating the bare flesh on her back. Her hands and feet were severely swollen, making them look far too big in contrast to the rest of her body. At the end of elongated fingers, her sharp and bloody nails rivaled Russell’s knife.

It was the woman’s large girth that saved Russell’s life. She moved much slower as her large breasts dangled and dragged in front of her against the steps, throwing her off-balance and slowing the old man down that tried to climb over top of her.

Regardless, they were almost to him.

Stop gawking at the fat bitch’s goods, boss, and move your fucking ass!

Russell turned toward Janet’s bedroom at the end of the hall. He’d been quickly but calmly calculating his next move when he heard her voice.

“Who’s there?” Janet called out. “Whoever you are, I just called the police. Gerald… is that you?”

There was only one option remaining.

You should’ve killed that skank when you had the chance, boss. Now she’s gone and called the pigs. I told you she was spoiled! Kill the bitch, now! Feed her to those crazy fucks and get out!

Russell started to move but the woman-thing was there, wrapping her deformed arms around his legs.

It was his murderous skills that saved him.

The red-eyed creatures were fast but Russell was faster. Just before the woman-thing took a large bite out of his leg, Russell thrust his knife directly into what was left of her head, using his other hand to hammer it into her forehead.

The woman staggered for a moment, screaming in pain. She fell backwards down the stairs, knocking the old man down with her.

Russell stared down at the dead woman who was lying spread-eagle at the foot of the staircase, the old man pinned beneath her. His blade was driven deep into her brain—the hilt was all that remained.

That’s my good one, he thought, staring at his knife. He hated leaving evidence, but believed tonight would be the exception.

The others had regained their boldness as three more stormed out of the darkness toward the stairs.

Time to go skin that bitch, boss. Better hurry, though. Better run.

“There will be no skinning, so be silent,” Russell hissed.

The other one filled his head with laughter.

Russell raced toward the bedroom door.

The remaining creatures had just reached the top of the stairs.

Fuck, they’re fast!

Russell was calculating, planning, and fiercely going through the details of all he’d learned about the Schuler house.

They were almost on top of him as Russell stormed into Janet’s bedroom. He had just enough time to close the door and lock it as the beasts began slamming into it from the other side.

It took him a moment to register the three gunshots as rounds struck the door to his left, the last shot grazing his cheek.

~~~

(If you want more of The Dark, I'll keep posting on this thread. If you want to read on ahead, please feel free to visit my Webpage and keep on reading. Thanks for stopping by.)