| Twilight of the Apocalypse |
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| Chapter
9: The Awakening |
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| Central
City 14, New Eutora - 15 June 2016, 0150hours |
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| Wayne woke
up to a loud scream from his brother's room, which was |
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| adjacent to
his. Thinking that he might be having a nightmare, the 17-year-old |
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| did not
move a muscle. He rested his head on the pillow, willing himself to sleep. |
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| A cold
breeze entered his room and embraced him, soothing him further. He tried |
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| to close
his weary eyes, but he couldn't. There came another scream, louder than
before. |
| A constant
whining could be heard too. Wayne decided he could no longer ignore this. |
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| Placing his
feet firmly on the cold marble floor, he reached for the doorknob, turned it, |
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| and sneaked
out of the room. |
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| His parents
were in their bedroom. Apparently, they were in deep sleep, because he was
the |
| only one
moving about the house. His parents' door was closed. Not wanting to disturb
them, |
| Wayne moved
closer to his brother |
er's bedroom. |
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| He knocked
once on the door. The screaming from within had ceased. A part of him |
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| wanted to
go in, but the other wanted to return to his sleep, forgetting about the
noise, |
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| for it had
stopped now. It was his curiousity that made him twist the doorknob, and he
stuck |
| his head
into the dark room. |
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| Wayne
couldn't see his brother in bed. Where was he, he wondered. Entering, he
looked |
| around. He
was sure Danny was in his room. He definitely had heard sounds coming from |
| here. But,
if Danny did not make them, then who? |
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| Wayne knew
the answer when a wail of agony broke the chill silence of the air. Looking |
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| up, he saw
a black shape drop from the ceiling. Backing up in both shock and surprise, |
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| he stared
at the figure now crouched on the bed. |
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| His
instincts kicked in. He had to flee. He knew not what he faced, did not know
who it was, |
| or did he?
As he stared, Wayne recognized the round, chubby face of his brother. Danny |
| was in his
nightshirt, stained with a deep shade of crimson. Wayne could not understand |
| this. The
face was Danny's, but it looked unfamiliar at the same time. Black scabs with
green |
| edges
dotted Danny's face, visible in the moonlight filtering into the room. The
rest of his body |
| was hidden
beneath his clothing, and Wayne could not see what lay beneath. |
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| Danny
reared his head back, a moan escaping his cracked, dry lips. Wayne tried to
fight |
| his
instincts, to move closer to help his brother. He could not. He knew this was
not Danny. |
| It couldn't
be! Overcome with fear that struck him all of a sudden, Wayne's body turned |
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| in the
direction of the doorway and dashed out of the room as Danny leapt. |
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| Wayne
turned left and sprinted forward, noticed that Danny's leap brought him
crashing |
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| against
the wall. He had to warn his parents, he thought. When he reached his
parents' |
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| bedroom, he
pounded desperately on the door. He sensed that Danny was moving closer. |
| There was
no time! Open the door, Wayne cursed silently. |
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| Then, the
door opened, and his mother appeared, her mouth open as she tried to say |
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| something.
Wayne pushed her back and slammed the door shut. Locking it, he collapsed |
| to the
ground, his back against it. |
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| "What
in the world are you doing here?" his mother asked. |
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| "Son,
we've no time for your jokes again. Go back to your room now," his
father |
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| mumbled,
his eyes half-closed. |
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| "Mom!Dad!
Danny is coming for us!" Wayne shouted, his voice trembling. |
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| "Then
open the door for him," his mother replied, reaching for the knob. |
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| "No!"
Wayne yelled, knocking her hand away. "Danny, he's a monster!" |
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| His father
stared at him, then laughed, a huge grin on his face. |
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| "How
can Danny possibly be a monster? You must've been sleepwalking again." |
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| "Its
all right son. Your mother and I are going to show you everything is as it
should be." |
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| Wayne tried
to protest, but his father gently shoved him aside and opened the door. |
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| "See,
nothing's out here. Danny's in his room, asleep. Now, go back to sleep,
son," |
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| Dad said
matter-of-factly. |
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| "But-"
Wayne broke in mid-sentence as a dark shape darted into the room and |
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| pounced on
Dad's chest. |
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| "Dad!"
Wayne shrieked, as his mother stared open-mouthed. |
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| A tormented
cry as Dad tried to push the figure away. His shirt was torn and his |
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| chest
bloody. Mom took a pen from the table and plunged the sharp end into the |
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| creature's
exposed back. |
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| Wayne
backed up and out of the room as fear and terror clouded his mind and killed |
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| all
thoughts but one: To flee. |
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| He could
not tear his eyes away from the scene. His mother was now on the floor, |
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| writhing in
pain as the creature sank its teeth and head into her chest. The crack |
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| of ribs and
the gurgling sound that escaped her lips. Mom started to spasm as |
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| blood
bubbled out of her mouth, running down her chin in rivers of red. |
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| Wayne
looked to the other figure on the ground, saw his Dad motionless, literally |
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| torn to
pieces. |
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| No! Wayne's
hands were shaking. His knees buckled, threatening to drop him |
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| in this
scene worst than the most horrifying movie he had ever seen. He was a |
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| part of it,
a living nightmare. |
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| Eyes
darting all over the house, Wayne desperately tried to find a hiding spot. |
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| His eyes
rested on the main door. Yes, he decided, he had to leave the house! |
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| The guilt
in him was nothing compared to the paralysing fear he felt running through |
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| him. He had
to survive! He did not want to happen to him what happened to his |
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| unfortunate
parents. |
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| Danny
seemed to notice Wayne was still alive and sensed his intention to flee. |
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| Hissing in
frustration, Danny bounded after he who was once his brother. |
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| Wayne
picked up the keys from the container beside the door. Fumbling |
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| with the
set of keys, he tried to seek out which one was the correct key. |
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| He slammed
the item into the keyhole and twisted it, opening the door. |
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| Wayne stuck
his feet into a pair of shoes and ran as fast as he could down |
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| the stairs.
He had not even bothered to retrieve the keys. |
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| He would
not be returning to this home, definitely not after what he had |
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| witnessed
happened. Danny crashed through the gap of the half-open door |
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| and leapt
down the flights of stairs. Wayne was scant meters away, ahead |
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| of the
horror that raced relentlessly after him. He felt his nightmares become |
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| a reality.
Wayne felt the urge to collapse and just let it all end. |
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| But, his
fear kept him going. He had to reach the elevator. As he now sped |
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| along the
corridor towards the lift area, he screamed for help. |
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| Reaching
the elevator, Wayne pounded on the 'call' button. He glanced back |
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| to see if
Danny had caught up with him yet. Any second now, Danny would |
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| be in sight. |
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| The lift
door opened. Danny suddenly appeared, jumping through the air and |
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| at him,
pushing Wayne hard against the tiled wall. Clawed hands ripped |
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| into his
body, drawing lines on fire on his chest. |
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| No! He
could not die here! Kicking Danny in the abdomen, he knocked the |
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| monstrosity
aside and entered the elevator as the door started to close. |
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| A second
later, before the door had closed, Danny's hand shot through. |
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| The door
crushed it, and blood sprayed from the stump onto Wayne's |
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| shirt. The
hand dropped lifelessly to the floor, its fingers twitching. |
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| The
elevator moved slowly down the 10 stories to the ground. Wayne did |
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| not know
where to go. He had nothing on him, no money, no food… |
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| He just
knew he had to tell someone about what had happened in his home. |
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| When the
door opened, he came out into the cold, windy air of the night. |
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| Luna was
high up in the clear sky, her moonlight illuminating the beautiful |
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| park before
him. Here, Wayne thought, he would sit and think. He had to calm |
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| down and
remove all fear from his mind. |
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| As he
strolled along the lighted path into the heart of the park, he looked for |
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| a bench to
sit upon. When he had done so, he closed his eyes for a brief |
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| moment,
then opened them. The cool air and serene sight here helped |
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| calm him. |
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| Wayne
watched the stars, twinkling. One of them seemed to move. He squinted. |
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| No, dozens
more were moving. But, he was not sure if they were what they seemed |
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| to be. |
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| Small black
shapes with greenish hues streaked across the sky, leaving |
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| trails of
white like clouds behind them. They were heading in every direction. |
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| Fear once
again coursed through his veins, seeped into his mind. |
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| Wayne sat
up, watched as golden pellets of light shot into the air from |
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| the ground
far away, exploding in the sky. None of them touched the shapes. |
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| They
continued to move, unhindered by anti-aircraft shells that burst all |
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| around
them. |
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| Wayne had
never expected his life to change so much within an hour. |
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| His parents
were dead, killed because he left them to save his own life. |
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| His
brother, too, had changed. Danny, once his sibling, had turned into |
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| a ruthless
killer. Why, and how, Wayne did not know. He longed to find |
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| the answer
to this question that would plague him for the rest of his life. |
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| Danny, a
stump remaining where his right hand had once been, now stood |
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| in his
parents' bedroom once more. He had given up trying to hunt down |
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| his
brother. His bloodlust had been satisfied and so had his hunger. |
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| He now had
more important things to attend to. |
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| A part of
him, an instinct, had constantly been bothering him. Danny |
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| could
resist it no longer. Rising up on his hind lehs, he bared his chest. |
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| Head thrown
back, and yellowed eyes closed, Danny felt the pain grow. |
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| It began in
his chest, spread to his belly. |
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| Without
warning, jagged lines appeared on his chest. Dripping red, |
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| they grew
in length and size. A loud howl from Danny, before his ribs |
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| exploded
outward, the bones clattering against the furniture in the room. |
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| Organs
spilled out of the cavity in his midsection, and a slimy mass |
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| of white,
round objects followed, dropping with a sick thud on the ground. |
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| A large,
brown worm-like creature fell to the floor, dead. |
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| Danny
collapsed backward, his lifeless body falling. The eggs were |
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| hatching.
Within the leathery shells, shapes moved. |
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| One of the
eggs cracked open, and a head poked through. Then, the insectoid |
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| body
emerged, followed by three long, silver tails that ended in spikes. |
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| Soon, all
the eggs had hatched and the creatures moved toward the dead bodies. |
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| Devouring
the three cadavers quickly, the creatures spread out in all directions, |
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| searching
for more food. |
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| Very
quickly, they would mature into full grown adults. |
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| All cross
the city, in a few other homes, the same scene played out, and |
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| in the span
of less an an hour, the Stalker species had added to its ranks |
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| thousands
more new members… |
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