Monster

“I think we should try to find a way out.” John whispered.

“Well I don’t,” I hissed back “We’re much better off waiting here until help comes.”

“Look,” John crawled towards me, I could see the fear in his eyes, the same fear he could no doubt see in mine “We don’t know how many people that thing has killed, and I don’t want to be another one.”

He was almost shouting by the end of the sentence, I waved my hands, frantically trying to get him to calm down. It was too late, we went rigid with fear at the snuffling, snorting sound we could now hear just outside the door. Neither of us moved, too scared even to breathe. We stayed that way for a few minutes, then the snuffling noise moved away, I hoped it hadn’t found another victim.

“Listen,” I said as quietly as I could, hoping the thing wouldn’t come back “If you try to leave the hotel it’ll find you. If we stay here and keep quiet ‘til morning, we might just make it out alive.”

“you don’t know that,” John’s voice quavered “There’s no reason it’ll leave in the morning, and nobody made it out alive so no one else knows whats happened. There’s no help coming.” He sank down against the wall and started to cry. I wanted to join him in his tears but he was making too much noise.

“Stop it.” I ordered “You’ll just bring it back again.”

A hurt expression crossed his face, but then he managed to pull himself together, blinking back the tears.

When we had arrived at the hotel, just a few hours ago, everything had been normal, people were checking in and out, everything was so calm.

But then night had come, and with this beast that had just seemed to come out of nowhere. Everyone just ran screaming in panic when they saw it, some retreating to their rooms, others running out in to the night. I don’t think they got very far.

At first, John and I weren’t the only people left alive. When we were looking for a place to hide we passed a few people doing exactly the same thing. They’re probably all dead by now though, whatever this thing is, it has an insatiable appetite.

An unearthly bellowing rose up from the floor below us, the moster was probably still hungry, and angry at having failed to find more food.

“You want to gout there with that thing on the loose?” I asked John.

“Of course I don’t.” he answered “But I don’t want to sit here, waiting for it to come back and break the door down either. I’d rather take my chances.”

He moved towards the door and reached for the handle, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Please, don’t go out there.” I begged him.

“And what do we do when it comes back and breaks in? Just sit here and let it kill us?” he shrugged my hand away.

“Listen,” I said “I don’twant to stay here waiting for it either, but I don’t want to go out there until I know it’s gone.”

“Let me go, Alan,” John ordered “If you’re too much of a coward to go out there that doesn’t mean you can stop me.”

“I’m not going to let you get yourself killed,” I said, ignoring his attempts to anger me, I knew he was just trying to alleviate his own fear. “You’re my brother.”

“Let me go, or I’ll shout until it comes back and kills us both.”

“Don’t be an idiot, “ I said grabning his arm tightly “What good would that do?”

“Just let me go.” John almost shouted. Without warning he whirled round and punched me, knocking me to the floor. For a moment I was dazed, but I quickly regained my senses when I saw him turning the door handle. I leaped across the the room, grabbed him by the waist and dragged him to the floor.

“Don’t be a fool.” I hissed as I held him down.

“I just don’t want to die.” John sobbed quietly.

“I know,” I said climbing off him “Let’s just wait ‘til morning. We can leave then.” I sank down against the wall.

Suddenly the door exploded inwards, and the monster crashed in to the room. I sat in shock, staring at it as it moved towards John, who was screaming with fear.