Beginning of the End

Hi, my name is Ethan, and first I'm going to tell my story... before I destroy...

April 14, 20xx. It all started that night, exactly at midnight, when the cuckoo climbed out of the wooden doors of an old clock and sang to the whole corridor.

I got out of bed. All household appliances in the house rang, the microwave oven made incomprehensible and lingering sounds, the refrigerator noisily asserted its presence in the kitchen, the phone turned on and off, the light continued to blink and finally went out after a few seconds.

I went to the window. Standing on shaky legs, I tried to see the glow of the street lamps. Nothing foreshadowed trouble until I saw a huge orange mushroom on the horizon, rising higher and higher, like a flower growing out of the ground, it rapidly ascended into the night sky.

My skin prickled, and I shook my head in disbelief as I watched buildings and structures begin to collapse in the back of the city.

Panic-stricken, I left the bedroom and ran down the long corridor, stumbling and falling, straight to the doors at the end of the right side. Putting aside a vague feeling of anxiety, I pulled the handle, but it was closed.

Almost sobbing, I started knocking on the door, continuously calling my parents. After several minutes of futile attempts, I heard screams from the next room, the sound of breaking glass and a dull noise, as if something massive had fallen to the floor.

It seemed like a sharp needle pierced my skull, and my whole back was soaked with sweat, no longer holding back desperate pleas, I pressed my shoulder with all my might against the next door, which turned out to be open.

I fell to the floor. Through my thin pajamas, I felt dozens of sharp objects pierce my flesh. Panting from the pain, I looked around the dark room with concern, the night wind seeping through the cracks of the broken window. I stood up and casually brushed away the fragments with my palms. When I looked up, I saw only an empty bed with bed linen. A little further away, a blanket was fluttering freely, caught on the remains of the glass of the window frame.

That was the first time I encountered these creatures.

The white streaks trailing behind the blanket sometimes obscured my view. The moon's murky light, as never before, was visible to me with the brightest fire burning the retina of my eyes.

My sister's room had a spacious balcony with swings hanging from the ceiling. At first I thought that what I saw was just my imagination, played out against the background of an all-encompassing panic. But I clearly saw a huge shadow over the iron bars.

At that moment, due to the strong wind, the blanket fell to the floor with a piercing sound of a rag tearing. A void formed in my mind. There was a monotonous ringing in my ears. Now nothing prevented me from studying the uninvited guest in detail. Sweat trickled down my forehead and froze at the corners of my eyes, making it difficult to see.

Shocked, I involuntarily stared at the blurred outlines of the monster. Exhaling all the air from my lungs, I blinked away the salty drops. The longer I looked at the silhouette of the monster, the colder it became inside me. Broken bones stuck out all over the creature's body at uneven angles. He looked like an unfinished brushstroke of an artist. In some places, areas of torn thick skin were visible.

The lanterns have long been extinguished. I swallowed nervously and backed away, hitting my back against the wall. All this time I kept my eyes fixed on the gloomy creature, who seemed not even to notice my presence...

And only then did I realize that from the very beginning he was looking down somewhere.

Following his gaze, I saw the mutilated body of my beloved sister. Half of her body was clutched by ugly dark green paws.

A snow-white arm, broken at the elbow, with deep abrasions, tightly clutched a flashlight. Yellow rays shivered on the floor, illuminating the splintered swing and broken glass.

She turned her head in my direction. Blonde hair covered her eyes, and her bloody mouth made a painful wheeze, from which I was overwhelmed by a wave of uncontrollable despair.

There was a lump in my throat and an unpleasant tickle in my nose. I stepped forward. Sobbing, I clenched my jaw so that my teeth gritted. And then I rushed forward, screaming like a madman:

- AAAAAAA.

The creature growled threateningly and spread wings the size of an adult. The moments lasted forever, a powerful flap of black wings, and after a second I could no longer see them.

Through inertia, after running a few more steps, I stumbled over the door jamb, pressed my stomach against the shards and hissed in pain, then through the cracks of the lattice I saw a bacchanal in my native landscapes.

Mesmerized, I looked at the street teeming with the same creatures, broken cars and burning houses. They were everywhere, perhaps even in the sky, but they were not visible from there.

Some people got out and were carried away by flying creatures, and those who tried to defend themselves or resist were literally torn to pieces.

With trembling lips, I stood up, gripping the bars tightly. Nervously scanning the sky in search of a familiar silhouette, I wanted to convince myself that it was all a dream. But the infernal pain in the muscles said otherwise. No matter how hard I looked, my sister was not visible. It was as if an all-consuming emptiness hung over me.

Tears fell onto the broken glass, mixing with the scarlet drops of blood. The wounds were burning, my head was spinning from surging emotions.

Looking at my hands, crippled by the fall, I suddenly realized that it was too light around me. As I turned my head, I saw my sister's flashlight lying nearby.

Struggling with myself, I grabbed a pocket flashlight and turned it off.

Nervously clutching the cold plastic to my chest, I sobbed. I had no idea what to do next. How do I deal with all this? Who can help me?

I opened and closed my mouth like a dumb fish stranded on the shore.

Clutching my head, I still chose the worst option, which would surely become my nightmare until I died.

After taking one last look at the sky, I trudged to the open door.

On the way, I was tormented by conscience and despondency, that if my parents are no longer alive, that if they were taken by the same creatures, then why should I live? Can I fight back against these monsters?

But, after thinking for a while, I carefully closed the door, looked at my parents' room, I squatted down and pressed my cheek against the cool floor in front of the crack.

Straining my eyes, I didn't notice anything in the pitch darkness.

Suddenly I heard wet slaps on the tiles of the first floor, my panic-stricken mind ordered my body to run and hide, and I could only obey.

I clamped the wounds on my stomach and hurriedly limped to my bedroom. Already being in a locked room, I looked at the bedside table. After a minute, I overcame the pain and propped up the flimsy door with it.

The slaps became more and more distinct, they beat in the rhythm of a wildly pounding heart.

I looked around, picked up the bat in the corner and, holding my breath, waited.

The seconds dragged on endlessly, and my brown hair was ready to turn gray with horror.

The slaps echoed down the stairs, they were similar to the slaps of children's palms on the floor. But in an empty house, they took on an ominous, intangible form.