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Dom lets go of me. He reaches for something in his pocket, and I watch as he extracts a knife out of his pocket.
"You're gonna stab the creature?" I ask incredulously.
He shakes his head, his voice low. "Stay back," he warns me. "I don't know what that thing is, but it's not human."
The figure starts to move towards us, and I can see now that it's not human. Its limbs are too long, and its movement is too jerky. But what's most disturbing is the sound it makes. It's like a hiss, but not like anything I've ever heard before. I think that's it's breathing. It's heavy and wet, with a click, like a dying animal.
A high-pitched wheeze that only gets sharper as he approaches us. The creature feels like every nightmare I've ever had and I'm so afraid it feels like I'm not able to move an inch.
I'm just stuckthere, waiting for something to happen.
Waiting for this thing to get me.
Dom lunges at the figure, brandishing his knife in his right hand. But the figure is too fast, and it dodges his attack with ease. It moves like a blur, its limbs contorting in impossible ways.
Dom tries to strike it again, but the creature is already behind him, and I watch as he hisses a hot breath hisses against Dom’s neck.
I watch in horror as the creature wraps its long fingers, thin and charcoal black, against Dom’s throat. Despite its proximity to us, I still can’t really see the thing, as if there’s smoke coming out of its body. And it smells like it’s rotting as it burns.
Dom struggles against the creature's grip, but it's no use. The thing is too strong, and it's clear that it has no intention of letting him go.
I'm frozen in terror, unable to move or even scream as I watch the scene unfold before me.
The creature's grip tightens around Dom's throat, and I can see him struggling to breathe. His face is turning red, and I know that he's running out of time.
Without thinking, I reach for the first thing I can find–a rock lying on the ground nearby, not a particularly big one–and hurl it at the creature’s head, hoping my aim is good enough to miss Dom.
I get it. It doesn’t let go of Dom, but the rock strikes the creature’s head and it lets out this high-pitched shriek that makes my ears ring. In that moment of distraction, Dom manages to break free. He makes a run for it, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me toward the stairwell.
We run down the stairs as fast as we can, not stopping until we’re back at the hotel. I slam the door behind me shut, clicking the latch closed, and press my body against the door.
“Fuck,” I say, breathlessly. “What the fuck was that?”
Dom
Ittakesmeafew seconds to realize that Alana is speaking to me. She has this look on her face, like she’s about to scream. Bryony isn’t in the room right now, which is good for us, because I have no idea how I would even try to explain this.
I tell myself to calm down. I press my fingertips against my neck, the injury on it burning. I move them away and watch Alana as she stares at me, wide-eyed.
She shakes her head. “Are you okay?” she asks softly.
I nod, though I’m not actually sure. “I’ll be fine,” I reply. “That thing…whatever it was. It was cutting off my airways. But that wasn’t the worst part.”
She raises her eyebrows.
“I just felt…I don’t know, this is hard to explain, but like it was zapping away at me. Like it could take everything inside of me and I…I don’t know, like I wouldn’t be there anymore.”
She slides down the door, but catches herself before she’s on the floor and walks over to me. I’m standing by her bed, so she puts her hand around my shoulder and squeezes it. “I’m sorry,” she says. “That must’ve been awful.”
I shake my head. It’s nice of her to try to protect me, but I’m more worried about her. “How are you?”
She exhales through her mouth. “I dunno,” she says. “That whole thing…it kinda blew my fucking mind. It was wild.”
“Are you scared?”
She nods. “Yeah. Terrified. Whatwasthat, Dom?”
I shrug, still trying to process what happened. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like that before. But we need to figure out a plan. We can’t stay here if that thing is still out there.”
