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A lantern still burned on the floor, somehow having survived the carnage. It meant I could see. I had a hard time reconciling the scattered body parts and smears of blood to my father and my brothers. Papa, who’d taught me everything until Mama claimed I was old enough to help with women’s work.
Tears brimmed, and I bit my lip as I glanced away. Across from me, Guuin shook, his eyes wide and staring, fully in shock despite him being nine years to my seven.
I wanted to say his name, to remind him and myself that we weren’t alone if we were together. But would sound bring the monsters back? I’d seen how they reacted when my family made noise. I didn’t want to die. And perhaps that made me selfish. Why should I join my family in death? Surely, they’d want me to live if I could?
Huddled with indecision, I must have dozed off because I jostled abruptly, my head snapping up and almost smacking the ceiling.
An extended moan echoed, but it didn’t come from me. I glanced over to see my brother, fist shoved in his mouth, staring at what came through the door.
The lantern had burned out, and yet the dawn must be near because I could faintly see. The giant lizard came through the door, bringing with it a meaty stench that had me closing my eyes and holding on to my roiling stomach. I didn’t need to see the blood on it or recollect the screams to know I smelled my family.
Guuin couldn’t contain himself. His groan of despair swiveled the giant lizard’s head. The biggest I’d seen, the kind exaggerated in stories to scare children.
I prayed silently for Guuin to be quiet. Please, any god listening. Zef. Bryl. Ovv. I named off all the ones I knew.
None replied. They never did despite what Mama claimed.
The lizard stood below Guuin and tilted its head side to side. At least Guuin had the common sense to freeze even if because of fear.
A second monster crossed the threshold, leaving a third outside poking its nose in.
Why had they returned? Would they burrow back into their hole?
Apparently, they’d chosen our house as their new den. They ignored the shaft they’d created and settled atop the remains of my family, curling into leathery balls just like salamanders, with the last one in shutting the door, closing us in darkness. They avoided the light. The discovery of similarities kept me from succumbing to panic.
If these were like salamanders, then they liked to sleep during the day and would burrow if you exposed them to daylight. Also, they had tough skin and little meat. It was why Papa told us to never bother hunting them. That was only partially true of the giant version. Hard skin, I’d seen it by my family’s inability to dent it. But the sheer size of this thing meant meat that would have fed us for months with more than enough left over to trade. But that would require killing it first, and if Papa and my brothers couldn’t do it, then a little girl like me stood no chance.
As the dawn brightened, the cracks around doors and windows provided some illumination without waking the creatures, although I did notice they all kept their limbs out of any direct beams.
Their apparent slumber roused my brother from his stupor. Guuin dangled from his shelf. My mouth rounded, but I didn’t dare say a word as my brother dropped, hitting the ground with a slight thud then pausing.
The monster closest to him twitched. Guuin remained statue like as the lizard settled back to sleep. He took a step. Paused. Step. Paused. He took care to give himself time in between. I admired his bravery. I shook in fear for him.
He’d reached the door when he finally eyed me and put a finger to his lips.Shh.
As if I didn’t already know. Then he pointed to the shuttered window that I could reach from my shelf. He mimed me jumping and him catching. It was a good plan but for one thing. Since it was my job each night to secure the shutters for the windows, that meant I knew how it creaked. The noise would be too much. I’d wake the lizards for sure. But then again, I couldn’t stay here.
Guuin had no such qualm as he heaved on our door, slightly askew from the lizards passing. It uttered a strained whine and shifted enough to let in a bright sliver of sunlight that bathed the tan dustiness of a lizard’s tail. It began to smoke, and a squeal of pain woke the other two monsters.
How interesting. The salamanders I’d caught in the past never burned.
The sunlight made the creatures cower. One even stuck its head in the shaft it had emerged from. Guuin took a moment to smirk. Then, like an idiot, instead of running into the light, he took two steps away from the door to grab a sack beside the bloody remains of Papa.
The lizard he’d burned suddenly unfurled its tail, pushing the door mostly shut. The partial closure brought enough darkness the monsters could move without harm from the sun.
As for Guuin… My brother was eaten, without even a cry, just a wet crunch.
I didn’t say a word. Didn’t move. Barely breathed as the beasts went back to sleep. It didn’t take long.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I didn’t want to die. Which meant I couldn’t stay.
The shutters creaked as expected when I opened them, and right away, brilliant rays filled the space. As the monsters hissed in rage and pain, I clambered out of the window and sat on the edge, terrified of the drop. What if I was wrong and they came outside to eat me?
I’d die for sure if I stayed.
I jumped. My legs buckled and protested at the impact, and I uttered a sharp cry. I heard a thump on the door and rolled to my buttocks, scooching back before I thought to rise and dust off my hands.
The bright sun kept them in my house. It also showed me the trail of carnage. I ignored body parts as I collected a dropped sack, a knife, the blanket that my mother’s fingers still clutched. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I pried them off.
