Creeps

Here I am, driving my beat-up car home from work. I’m a forty something salaryman. I’ve worked from nine to five to make ends meet for years. My boss and my landlord are both jerks. I live off ramen and soda, just like I did back in college. Those were the good old days, I guess. They were only slightly better than things are now, though.
I used to work in a cubicle. Then I got “promoted”. Now I sell vacuum cleaners for a living. Not much of a promotion, if you ask me. I’d gotten used to rotting in a box all day. Now I have to drive all over the city selling vacuum cleaners to idiots and jerks. No one even buys vacuums these days, anyway. They all upgraded to Roombas years ago.
Some days I think I should just drive home and jump out my apartment’s window. Or maybe shoot myself with the pistol I keep in my glove box. Or drive my car into a telephone pole.
Who am I kidding? I’m too chicken shit for that. And besides, I’ve still got dreams. I’ve always wanted to travel around singing country music. Playing my guitar and wearing a cowboy hat. I’d travel from town to town, playing music in one place until I got enough money to pay for food and gas. Then I’d move on. I wonder if a lot of musicians live like that. It sounds like a nice way to live.
Maybe I’ll quit my job and tell my landlord where to shove it. Travel around playing country music full time. Become the next Luke Bryan.
I don’t even believe that bullshit, and I’m the one saying it. Maybe I should just shoot myself after all. Oh, hell. I could never. I guess I’ll just go home and do it all over again tomorrow after all.
The traffic is unbelievable today. I turn on my car radio to distract myself. The newscaster is spouting the same old nonsense. Something about a virus, or an alien invasion, or a security breach at a laboratory somewhere. Nobody’s quite sure what it is. All they’re saying is board up your windows and doors and stock up on food and water and wait until further notice. What a load of bullshit. The news people are really stupid, but this shit takes the cake.
My boss fell for it herself. She’s some jerk, let me tell you. She’s always listening to a little radio on her desk while she does her paperwork. She’s been stocking up on food and water, too. So are a lot of my customers. Everyone’s been boarding up their windows and doors and buying guns these days. What baloney. I swear, people are just getting dumber and dumber these days. They’ll believe anything you tell them.
I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely notice a screaming man run past my car. Some kind of… mutant thing is chasing after him. It’s got long arms, long legs, and sharp claws. It has beady red eyes, a bald head, and a huge maw full of sharp teeth. Running on all fours, it pounces on the man and starts eating him. The man’s screaming in agony.
Wait. Whoa whoa whoa. What the fuck?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!
Oh, Jesus. Oh, Lord. The things are everywhere now, breaking open car windows and devouring the helpless, screaming drivers inside. Cussing up a storm, I open my glove box and grab my gun, then kick my car door open. One of the things runs at me, but I shoot it just in time. 
I get out and make a run for an office building nearby. Two more creatures come at me. I shoot at them twice, but miss both shots. Three more join in on the chase, attracted by the gunshots. I somehow make it inside the building in time and slam the double doors shut behind me. They start pounding against them as I struggle to hold them closed.
“Use this!” A man shouts. He’s wearing a camo baseball cap and a white t-shirt, and he’s carrying a hunting rifle with him. He throws a baseball bat at me. I catch it and wedge it between the door handles to jam them shut.
“Follow me!” The man barks. We both start charging up the stairs.
“What the shit is happening?!” I gasp.
“Don’t know,” the man replies, breathing heavily. “Mutants or some shit. We’ve got to keep moving. I already called for help- a helicopter’s on its way. We’ve got to get to the roof…”
We freeze when we hear baying from upstairs. More mutants are coming down towards us. “This way!” The man screams, kicking open a door. We run onto one of the office floors.
We charge forward a beat and freeze. Three mutants are coming at us from down the hallway. The man shoots twice, hitting one mutant but missing another. They tackle him and start eating him. “Go!” He screams.
I run for it.
I dodge and weave through a maze of hallways, shooting at mutants as I run, missing more than I hit. There are people hiding in barricaded rooms. Mutants are pounding on the doors. I run past people who are screaming as the things eat them alive. I even pass by a whole room full of the monsters that’s been barricaded- they’re all banging on the door trying to get out. I doubt it’ll hold for much longer.
But all I can do is keep running.
I bolt up another flight of stairs, then flee onto another floor when I hear more mutants coming downstairs. I turn a corner and freeze. A pack of them is coming at me from the other direction. With no time to lose, I duck inside a closet and slam the door shut behind me.
They start clawing at it and throwing themselves against it. It’s going to be torn to pieces in just a few seconds. When that happens…
Tears start streaming down my cheeks. Stifling a sob, I put my gun in my mouth and pull the trigger…
Click.
I’m out of ammo. Fuck. I’M OUT OF AMMO!
Just as the door is about to burst inward, I hear gunshots go off. The mutants forget about me and run towards the noise. Seconds later, I hear agonized screams.
I duck out of the closet and pause. There’s an armored man up ahead with an assault rifle. He’s on the ground with at least five of them tearing into him.
I start running up the stairs again.
Soon more of them are chasing after me. All I can do is keep running…
I burst out onto the roof and slam the door shut behind me. They start banging on it with all their might. Their hideous snarls are making my skin crawl. That door will give out quickly enough…
A black helicopter is flying down. There’s an armored man sitting inside, wearing a gas mask that conceals his face. He’s holding a sniper rifle.
I toss my gun aside and wave my arms at him. “Hey! HEY!” I shout. “Get me out of this shithole! They’re gonna-”
Something hard hits me in the stomach, knocking me off my feet. It takes me a moment to realize that I’ve been shot. In shock, I try to staunch the flow of blood with my hands. It’s no use. I’m a goner.
The helicopter starts flying away, leaving me to my fate. I wonder if the man felt anything at all when he pulled the trigger.
As if from a great distance, I hear the door burst open. A second later, there are five mutants on top of me, tearing the flesh off my bones. I can barely even feel them devouring me. It’s as if I’m floating up in the air. Is my soul leaving my body? Am I going to heaven?
All I know is, I’m leaving hell behind.
Category:Beings
Category:MalumLibrum958