The Horrible Thing That Slipped Through My Window One Night
Tom ran. The tenacious corpse tore a painful chunk of hair from his head as he went, but that was all. Tears ran down Tom's face, as he went blindly. He had hurt the thing, but not really, and it wouldn't have mattered if he had. He felt like an animal who has been locked in a cage and continually poked with sharp sticks; first to the point of terror, then to the point of aggression, and finally to the point where it simply laid down and accepted its fate. Tom hadn't accepted his fate at the hands of the corpse yet, but he still felt hopeless.
He might have survived that night if he had been watching where he was running, but Tom was too scared to pay attention; too horrified to think. As he turned the corner into the hall, he made the same mistake he had made earlier. He went around too fast and slammed into the wall, only this time he was less lucky. First his forehead collided with the panels, and then the bulk of his heavy body slid back onto the polished floor, the back of his skull making a dull cracking sound as it hit.
Tom's world began to turn gray again, but more rapidly than before. He could feel his consciousness drifting away as the thing approached him. It was missing a few digits now, but it was still grinning as broadly as ever. He smelled the fragrance of old shit, mingled with other unspeakable things.
"Thump!"
The thing came toward him slowly, almost casually, but he could make out the excited tongue slipping from between its pale-orange gums.
At least I won't be awake when it touches me, Tom thought absently. I'll be long gone.
He went into the gray.
He might have survived that night if he had been watching where he was running, but Tom was too scared to pay attention; too horrified to think. As he turned the corner into the hall, he made the same mistake he had made earlier. He went around too fast and slammed into the wall, only this time he was less lucky. First his forehead collided with the panels, and then the bulk of his heavy body slid back onto the polished floor, the back of his skull making a dull cracking sound as it hit.
Tom's world began to turn gray again, but more rapidly than before. He could feel his consciousness drifting away as the thing approached him. It was missing a few digits now, but it was still grinning as broadly as ever. He smelled the fragrance of old shit, mingled with other unspeakable things.
"Thump!"
The thing came toward him slowly, almost casually, but he could make out the excited tongue slipping from between its pale-orange gums.
At least I won't be awake when it touches me, Tom thought absently. I'll be long gone.
He went into the gray.