Fallen Chapter 30. Beasts [Caleb]

The park’s lights flicker and die, leaving us in the dark. There’s only the moonlight left, shining down from above. It tints everything black and white, drains all color from my vision.

It’s like a black and white film.

The sounds are suddenly up to their limit. Loud and brash. The wind picks up. Trees creak and squeak in horror, and their leaves crackle in the strong breeze. It’s like a warning. Like they’re signaling that a threat is on the rise or maybe already here. It’s too dark for me to see anything far.

A gust of cold air whips across my skin. It’s freezing all of a sudden, and I can already feel the first drops of rain on my face.

M stands tall beside me. He doesn’t look faced by the cold at all or the rain, for that matter. It’s as if the alcohol has just up and disappeared from his system. It vanished the instant he sensed any danger.

The second M pointed out the obvious. The lack of sounds, the flickering of lights, and a snarly growl that then became many. Well, I’ve been on edge. Just waiting for whatever it is to pounce out of its hiding. Followed along by what now sounds like its friends.

I take a step back. The gravel beneath my sneakers crunch. Stones digging into the soles. I have no idea if I’m stepping away from or closer to whatever it is. But by how the growling intensifies. It might actually be closer.

I wince.

This is bad. This is extremely bad. This is- I think the point is across.

M pushes me behind him, shielding me with his body.

I catch the troubled look on his face. He’s anxious. So am I. But there’s something more to it. I can almost see the wheels in his head spin. He’s forming a plan, probably a desperate one at that. I don’t know what it is he’s planning, but it can’t be anything good.

“We should probably just run for it,” I whisper, hoping M catches it. He does by the way that he seems to hum in agreement.

A twig snaps to our right. Both our heads snap in the direction. It almost gives me whiplash in the process. M shushes me, trying to listen closely. To pinpoint their exact location. But it’s near impossible.

I can’t hear anything besides the rain now. It’s beating down heavily. Drowning out all other sounds except for the awful growls. And in the meantime. It soaks me to the bone.

Suddenly, I’m pushed to the ground by M. Landing hard on my back with a heavy thud. Sliding across the mud.

M is on the ground too. There are two massive beasts of some sort on top of him, pinning him down with sharp claw-like paws or hands?

He’s thrashing, trying hard to get out of their grip. To loosen it. Wings flailing under him, flinging dirt and mud into the air. But the beasts don’t relent. They snare at him. Teeth, sharper than I’ve ever seen before.

“M!” I scream out in fear. They snap at him, large jaws clapping shut, teeth clicking.

I can hear a pained groan as M’s desperately holding them back. The muscles in his arms twitch from the strain.

I struggle to stand up, stumbling in the mud as I try to get my footing under control. Before I can do so, I’m down on the ground again, face first in the dirt.

I spit out a mouthful of grass.

Something is pinning me down, sharp claws driving into my back. I flail beneath it and somehow manage to turn around in its hold. Coming face to face with the monster.

Its eyes are dead. And its mouth is wide open, gaping. Ready to bite my head off.

I hold out my arms. Trying to keep it back. It snaps at me, teeth clasping shut just inches away from my face.

I try to push myself back. Feet, sliding across the wet ground. I manage to topple the beast over, and I crawl backward. But it just jumps on me again. This time angrier.

I trash. My hand reaches out to search for something to defend myself with, and to my luck, I find a log. I see my life flash before my eyes. The way it readies for the final blow. I lodge the thick branch in its mouth. Preventing it from clasping its jaw shut.

It hops off of me. Trashing its head to get it out, but to no avail, it’s stuck.

I glance over at M.

He’s up and standing. Fighting off two of them at the same time. Pushing, Pulling, and punching. Giving it all he’s got.

Before I can warn him, there’s more, appearing from out of the shadows. One jumps on M from behind. Forcing him down on his knees with a pained scream.

He needs help. I tumble forwards, trying to reach M in time.

There’s a beam of blinding light. The entire park lights up. Shadows consumed by pure brightness. Sharp enough that it forces me to cover my eyes.

“M!” I call out. There’s no reply.

When the light dies out, darkness overtakes, once again, but only for a second before the park’s streetlights turn back on again.

My heart spikes up. It beats rapidly.

“M!” I cry out, drowning out the rain that still falls down heavily. The worst-case scenarios, flashing behind my eyes.

I spot M, standing with his head bowed, the same place he fought the beasts. The rain trails down his body, the water tinted slightly red.

I run over to him, almost falling over my own two feet in the process.

“You okay?” I ask him, hugging him tightly.

He nods but doesn’t reply. I can see a few scratch marks on him. But nothing that looks serious.

“We should hurry home quickly,” He says. “Before any more of those show up.”

I nod. Looking around us. The ground is covered in grey dust, all that is left of the beasts. M’s doing as hard as it is to believe.

My heart is still pounding, ears pulsating, muting the rain. I’m trying to catch my breath. We almost died.

When I look over at M, he’s cold, stone-faced. I swallow thickly. The night just got a whole lot more interesting, and not in a good way.