Alone: A collection of Short Stories (2 page)

Aeva didn’t feel
any pain as he lowered his mouth to her neck. The only sense was of
her pulse slowing and of her body hitting the ground at his feet.
Then there was darkness, as her life slipped away from her. The only
sound was his musical, bell like laugh as he walked away, leaving
her body on the ground. Discarded like a chicken bone at a feast.

ANGEL WHARF

The
general store was unrecognisable from what it had once been. The
large windows that

once
flooded sunlight onto the deep mahogany of the counter tops were
broken and boarded over haphazardly. It was covered with anything
that would be strong enough to keep out unwanted visitors, or to
keep those who were wanted inside.

Cheri
had spent most of her life here. Either working, or picking through
the shelves of produce which now stood almost empty. Everything
stolen or looted, except for some stale crackers and the occasional
packet of dried fruit. She had pondered the fruit on the first day
that she had been alone, deciding eventually that nobody ever wanted
them unless they got completely desperate. On her second day she had
gotten desperate and torn open a packet. Pouring the wrinkled beads
of sweetness into her mouth as fast as she could chew and swallow
them. Nothing tasted bad when you hadn't eaten for days. Nothing
tasted of anything at all when you had gotten so hungry that food
barely brushed your tongue before you swallowed it.

She wanted to leave, to
go and find help. But she knew from what she had seen the last time
she went outside that there was none to be found. The town was a
shadow of its former self and mostly deserted. Damaged, and
crumbling into ruins, caused by the rioting and panic that had
erupted shortly after the event. The grass and plants on the town
square were dead and brown with lack of water or care. Dust from the
explosion had settled everywhere, gathered thick on every surface.
Cheri's beloved Angel Wharf was gone.

It had begun with the
terrible shaking. She had assumed that it was an earthquake until
the loud explosion, and the rumble. Those still echoed in her mind
as she hid behind the counter twisting a blanket around her legs for
warmth. That sound, and the sight of the smoke rising from behind
the hills outside of town.

The screaming had never
left her ears. The screaming of fear, and panic, and death. Cheri
had heard it all. She had been too scared to try and help. Too
scared to do anything.

She had hidden in the
store with Mr. Jenkins, her boss. Ex boss now she feared. He had
barricaded them in with the help of John, his son. They had secured
every window with wood that they had scavenged from the store-rooms,
nailing them to the frames and trying to cover every possible
entryway. Then they took shelter in the store and prepared to wait
it out.

There was no news for
weeks. The only visitors were starving people, crazed with fear.
They took what they could and left, relieved to have even found a
small amount of food and another few days of survival.

Supplies were running
low after the fifth group. John left to find help or news, or
anything at all. When he returned a day later he was no longer
himself. He wasn't human in appearance or mind. His flesh was torn
around his face and neck, revealing sinews of damaged muscle and
jawbone. Dried blood was congealed around the wound. Fresh blood ran
down his chin, covering the little skin that had remained. He was a
creature, and he was hungry, tearing at the wooden barriers and
growling in frustration for the scent of food inside. Mr. Jenkins
didn't hesitate when he saw his son. There had been nothing that
Cheri could do to stop him. Mr. Jenkins didn't want to be human
either. He left her too.

Now she was alone.
Alone, except for the creatures out on the street. The rotten
corpses with empty eyes that wandered looking for another meal,
another victim. Their growling and calling had frozen her heart in
terror at first. Now it was nothing more than a background noise.

Cheri refused to be the
next victim of those... things. She was determined that she would
choose how she died. Here, alone in the general store from
starvation if that was what it took. Not by their hand, and not as
one of them. She would make her own choice because that was all she
had.

She knew how to survive.
She had to ration what she could find in the store. More looters had
arrived the day that Mr. Jenkins had left. She had hidden then, let
them take what they wanted. She had pushed her teeth into the flesh
of her own arm to fight the sobs, to stay silent and undetected, and
hoped that they left something for her. They didn't leave her much.
She had hidden what was left behind the counter with a blanket and
some firewood.

The fire wasn't a good
idea. Smoke attracted the creatures. Bringing them to the boards on
the windows. Making them scratch and bang and call out to her.
Trying to make her go out to them, to go outside to her death. Sound
did that too. Any sound. So she sat in silence, freezing in the cold
of the building. Stiff from being as still as she could be. Waiting
for help that might never come. Hoping that someday soon that it
would.

Cheri pulled the blanket
closer to her. Wrapping it tighter around her bare legs that were
uncovered by the skirt of her uniform. It didn't make much
difference. Hunger made her colder than anything else. She had no
idea now how long it had been. Maybe a week, or just a few days. The
time had become a blur as the hours had merged into each other. She
had counted at first, but it made her tired. She couldn't afford to
sleep because it would mean that she was unguarded if the creatures
found a way in. But the exhaustion made her weak. Sometimes she
couldn't help it. Her consciousness slipped away and she lost a
little time. Minutes, or hours, or days. She didn't know. There was
no sense of time any more.

A movement behind the
office door startled her. Breaking her thoughts and making her
instantly alert. She was sure that the office was secure. It only
had one small window, which was covered with some wood broken from a
delivery box, and no external door. There was no way that a creature
had gotten into there. She told herself it was a rat, or a mouse,
but her body stayed stiff with fear as she listened.

Another scratching sound
made her jump again. Cheri's skin prickled in terror. The new sound
was louder. More definite. She heard one of the wooden planks drop
to the concrete floor, followed by the other. The window was now
uncovered, she was sure. The office door was made from weak, cheap
wood. She had nowhere to hide. This was her end, and she had no
strength to fight it. Only enough to drop down low and roll against
the corner of the counter. Hoping that maybe the creature, the
intruder would miss her scent and go back off into the night.

She could barely breathe
as she heard another bump, and a groan as the visitor pulled itself
through the opening and onto the office floor. Another as it knocked
into the heavy desk that Mr. Jenkins had once used to complete his
papers and orders. It shifted slightly. In the heavy silence the
creaking noise echoed, mixed with another pained groan.

Cheri pulled herself
closer to the floor. She wished that she could just disappear, melt
into the ground, and never come back. She would give anything to go
back a few hours. She would rather starve than be here right now.
Would rather freeze than see the office door open.

It opened.

There was no sound after
the click of the door and it swinging back on its hinges. For a
moment the room was still and so silent that she could hear the
blood pumping through her pounding heart. Pumping so hard in her
ears that she could barely hear the first shuffle of whatever had
joined her in the room.

She held her breath,
focussed on the sound and trying to decide how close it was. By the
door. By the stand that held postcards showing images of Angel Wharf
as it once was. Of the quaint prettiness that she once loved and now
grieved. Near the refrigerator that once held the cans of cold soda.
Now empty, with the glass of the door smashed and broken. She heard
the crunch as a foot crossed the glass.

It was close, near the
counter. Only the display stood between them now, and she could hear
it breathing heavily. The air turned stagnant with the smell of
rotting flesh and she knew instantly that it was a creature. There
was no escape.

The rancid smell moved
closer as the creature sniffed at the air. It was tracing her scent,
trying to locate her. She had seen this through the gaps in the
boards before. The creatures on the hunt, searching for any
surviving humans. Now this one had found her and she could only say
a silent prayer that it would be distracted before it got any
closer.

It moved closer.
Reaching the end of the counter where the hatch was standing open.
Only a small gate on hinges could hold it back and that didn't have
a lock of its own. Cheri said her final goodbyes to everybody and
everything that she loved. Knowing that at the best the creature
would kill her. Eating her skin, and muscle, and organs until it
reached her heart, or brain, and the pain would stop. The other she
didn't want to think about. John Jenkins didn't die before the
infection took hold of him. That was the worst option. Not that she
would have any choice.

The gate opened.

The creature moved
forward. Cheri buried herself beneath the blanket, hoping that she
was covered. One final, possible chance of survival. One that she
knew would be hopeless. But she had to try.

Another step. She heard
the tapping of unsteady feet moving towards her. The sound of fabric
creasing as the creature bent. Time seemed to slow to almost nothing
as she felt the blanket pulled from her, revealing her.

She pinched her eyes and
mouth closed as tightly as she could. Screaming inside, but not
making a single sound.

The creature groaned and
sniffed, shuffling closer and dropping to it's knees. Cheri could
feel it next to her now. She could feel it brushing against her leg
as it leaned towards her, sniffing at her. She could feel it as it
thrust it's mouth to her neck.

She couldn't feel it any
more. She was overcome with red-hot pain that caused her to scream
and cry out. Trying to fight and pull away was in vain, but she
tried anyway. Her body thrashed and fought as her natural instinct
to survive took over. She was weak already, and the creature was
tearing at her skin with it's teeth.

Cheri felt her life
draining from her. She felt her blood grow cold as the creature
finished it's meal and she felt her heart slow. It's beating
becoming harder to detect. This was the end, and there was no fight
left in her. Giving in to the cold, unforgiving darkness that was
fogging her brain, she let herself die.

NOW OR NEVA

The
small boy shifted a little in his sleep. He moved his head sleepily
across the pillow as he rolled underneath the thick blanket, kicking
it almost completely from the small bed. One leg, dressed in dark
blue pyjama bottoms shot out from under the disturbed material and
hung over the side of the bed. Neva focussed on it, frozen as she
hid in the shadows beside the hard wood dresser. She listened to his
heartbeat and breathing, waiting for any sign of him waking
completely.

The
last thing that she needed tonight was to get seen too soon. It
wasn't really that much of a big deal. She had her ways of solving
that problem, but she was already behind on her list and she
definitely did not want to lose this tooth. There were only so many
hours in a night and Neva knew that she needed to be finished and
back home before dawn or she would never hear the end of it. Morden
loved a reason to yell at her, and being late was one of his
favourites, as was returning without the precious teeth. Most of the
time he didn't even need a reason to yell, he simply enjoyed making
her life a living hell. It seemed to be his favourite pastime and he
would find any possible excuse to put her on punishment.

She
sighed with relief as the boy's breathing settled into the steady,
deep rhythm of sleep. He had not woken and now she could get this
collection done with, check it off the list and leave. There were
only a few more minutes before the sun was due to rise and Neva did
not stop to think before she took a step towards the bed. She
stretched her hand out ready to reach underneath the pillow to
collect her treasure. Already feeling the elation of adding the tiny
white gem to her pouch she took another step forward, letting a
smile build on her face.

Of
course, she was not prepared for an ambush. Her attacker was hidden
next to the thick woollen rug across the centre of the room. His
tiny, plastic green form leaning against the edge of the pile. His
gun, with a sharp pointed barrel, pointed straight into the air and
directly at her foot. She stepped and instantly felt the red hot
heat of the toy soldier's attack. Her foot exploding as she felt the
weapon pierce the soft skin between her toes.

She
bit back a scream. Mumbling obscenities under her breath as she
hopped around and tried to soothe the pain. She carefully dropped
her foot to the floor, kicking the toy away from her and wishing
that she had worn something other than the silver sandals that she
had opted for. They were cute, and comfortable. But the bedrooms of
small children were like battlefields. She should have known that
there would be at least one obstacle. Usually it was a pet, or a
football. That instantly made anything with a heel impossible. Now
she mentally removed every but steel toed boots to the list.

Neva
stepped forward one more time, slipping her delicate hand underneath
the boys pillow and sliding it across the mattress until she felt
her fingers brush the prize that she had been searching for. She
closed her hand around the tooth, moving it gently out so as not to
disturb the child and delivering it into the tooth pouch on her belt
without even looking at it. She had seen a million teeth before and
she really did not have time to see another.

She
took a last glance at the young boy, who was now laid on his back.
His head was turned towards her. His blue eyes were illuminated in
the glow of the moonlight that broke through a crack in the
curtains. They were open, and focussed directly on her, taking in
her form beside his bed with a look of confusion on his face.

Her
reaction was instantaneous, and she barely had chance to squeak out
a short, broken apology before she felt the transformation begin.
Her eyes began to glow deep blood red that felt like burning inside
her irises. She could see the colour on the edges of her vision,
glowing and flickering with red lights. Her teeth lengthened and
sharpened into sharp points and her hair frizzed out from the
stylish curls that she had spent and hour styling, into a teased
mess that stuck out around her head and forged her a new silhouette.
She felt her fingers and nails extend into long claws, destroying
her fresh manicure.

The
boy's eyes widened in fear. The creature from his worst nightmares
was leaning over him, growling menacingly. Only he could hear, but
it was loud enough to force his heart to being to race loudly. He
was frozen to his bed, tears already beginning to form little
rivulets in his eyelids before he managed to scream out for his
parents.

That
was the cue for Neva to make her escape. Getting seen by a child was
one thing. But getting seen by an adult was a disciplinary waiting
to happen. She slipped back into the shadows just as the door opened
and the light from the hallway flooded the space where she had been
standing.

Neva
did not wait for the adults to cross the threshold into the room.
She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the void between the
human world and her own. The sensation of air rushing past her, and
the sudden warmth of the institute telling her that she had
travelled home safely.

Her
feet had barely hit the ground when she heard her boss's sigh.

“
What
now Mordy?” Neva pulled a scrunchy from her pocket and pulled
her, now ruined, hair from around her face and into a ponytail. She
hated the transformations. True, they served a purpose, but they
played havoc with a girls appearance in the long term. She had lost
count of the number of salon visits she needed each week just to
straighten up the damage. But children did insist on waking up at
the slightest thing.

Morden
was standing a few meters away from the entry pad. His body was
rigid and his face flushed with anger. Whatever it was, Neva knew
that she was definitely in trouble again. She searched her memory,
sure that she had followed procedure. It was still before dawn, only
one child had seen her and she had transformed. Not that she had a
choice about that part.

“
You
failed to file your paperwork again last night,” he growled at
her. The frustration in his voice telling her that it was much more
than just a few forms that had annoyed him. “that is
unacceptable. As is calling me Mordy. My name is Morden and I would
appreciate if you would use it correctly.”

“
Jeez,
calm down big man.” Neva smiled, trying to keep her voice
confident. After two years in the institute she knew that she should
never let anybody here see her fear. That is what they all thrived
on, fear.

The
institute created both fairy-tales and nightmares. They were the
reason that children believed in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and
even the Easter Bunny. They were also the reason that children
feared the Bogeyman. Unfortunately, the human world would never know
the truth. That the fairy-tales and monsters were the same thing.
That the monsters only existed because they tried to find proof in
the fairy-tales.

Neva
hated that. She wished that she could simply do her job, collect the
teeth and leave. But it was always more complicated than that. If a
child woke, their imagination would transform her into their own
idea of a nightmare. She had been everything. From a monster, to a
large dog. She had no choice, the changes were automatic if a child
saw her and they were designed to terrify. She was the reason that
so many children hid under their blankets at night. It definitely
was not even on her list of things that she had wanted to be when
she grew up.

“
Are
you actually listening to me?” Morden's voice burst through
Neva's daydream, bringing her back down to earth with a crash. She
was so tired that she had forgotten where she was, her head still
nodding along with the droning rant that she had barely been paying
attention to.

She
rolled her eyes and nodded again. “Of course.. paperwork...
yeah yeah.”

“
Neva,
if your attitude continues I will be forced to take you off
collection and to give you a more... appropriate role.”

Neva
laughed. “You know you can't do that Morden, so don't even try
to threaten me.”

Her
boss flushed a bright pink colour. Which, over the current red of
his skin, made him look as though he was glowing purple. “Just
because you took your mother's place does not mean that you will
ever be able to even come close to her. Not that you ever try.”

Her
mother had been one of the very best. Award winning, and the
smoothest collector that the institute had ever seen. She had
collected fifteen teeth in one night. Teeth so perfect that they had
created the softest dream-dust. Dust that would then be sprinkled
onto the minds of sleeping children to give them the either the very
best dreams, or the very worst nightmares.

Neva
had never dreamt. It was not something that her kind had the ability
to do. She sometimes wished that she could dream. That she could
escape into a world behind her closed eyelids and never return. That
she could dream of being human, and of doing something other than
terrorising small children.

Neva
turned and looked at the transporter. She was still standing in the
same spot, and the machine had not yet locked down to keep her
within the institute. It wouldn't do that until she stepped off the
platform. For safety reasons, she guessed.

There
was nobody close enough to stop her, not with Morden away from his
desk. She could escape right now and go and hide in the human world.
She knew that it would be risky, but she also knew that she had the
choice, as long as she made it right now. It was nice to finally be
able to make a choice.

Of
course, there was always the transformation. If she was seen by a
human child, she would transform. There was no way that she could
stop that. But that only happened after dark. If she stayed away
from children after dusk she could quite easily live a normal life,
and find a normal job. She could not think of a single reason not to
do this.

She
forced herself not to hesitate. Anything would be better than the
life that she had right now. Anything would be better than the
constant comparison to her mother. She stepped forward, focussed on
her destination and let herself fall.