Creatures of the Night

(excerpt: TLC is a collection of short to medium length horror stories I've written, I will release each one here. Because of the nature of the platform these versions have been adjusted to imply/ or vaguely describe their violence. Each TLC story was originally crafted with incredibly descriptive, graphic violence. The original versions are available elsewhere. If I manage to reproduce these stories with less violence, and they're still worth a read. I believe I've earned merit as writer. Thank you for your support.)

I: Creatures of the Night

1954: I don't remember what town we resided in or how long we had been there. I don't remember a family ever existing or where we came from. It was almost as if we began existing, together one day. I also don't remember any real names we were ever given what we called ourselves or how old we were. Age didn't exist, some of us lived for hundreds of years, some of us only survived a couple months of it. There was no dying.

I do remember asking him not to stick his fangs so far out when we had to lock mouths. I also remember how he couldn't touch me without cutting my wrinkled skin with one of his razor talons. But it was what we had to do to keep from harming the smaller, in hopes that the larger ones would leave us alone. That never worked out so well, we still always had to run during feeding time.

I only remember a few we ever hurt or devoured. There were few times we couldn't help ourselves: the smaller ones were too close. We were too hungry when we changed. The smaller couldn't do much to defend themselves, they had shit luck. They were normal humans but when their adrenaline took over, they were , smaller. Smaller fangs, talons, horns, arms, and hoofs. Any distinguishable feature between all us, was always smaller. The larger ones were the opposite. And we, the middle men were I guess what people would consider average.

My mate, I never knew but he never left me and I never longed for anyone else; was so handsome, Lone or human. We never spoke much when we weren't changed, or when we were. But when we were, we were busy, we had to, to keep from feeding. We never did reproduce.

The cobblestone clicked under her heels as she walked with no direction, the other one on her side. He spoke,

"Jean how much time do we have?" His hand clammed in hers. Looking up at the disappearing sun behind the gutted-out church. Jean sighed, looked around.

"Not much left by the looks of it, an hour and a half, two if we're lucky. I don't see anyone else around though so we will be okay Tom."

"We never see anyone else around."

With their hands locked Jean and Tom continued on their walk towards the gutted church. Once inside they waited for the sun to disappear once more. Jean sat with her legs extended and hands together beneath her knees. Giving off nervous vibes like she was no more than a school girl. Sitting in the back seat of a car with a guy for the first time. Tom sat across from her in the same fashion with his toes touching hers.

Their feet, red from walking and callused. But they never hurt anymore. They sat on stripped away floors, cluttered by debris, broken pews and shattered glass. The smell of mold, and bile teased the air. There was a large pile of a dismembered something in the far-right corner. The heap hid in the darkest part of the gutted church. Its smell was more pronounced than anything.

As they sat in silence staring at each other, the light in the gutted church began to fade away. Finally, immersed in total darkness, not being able to see wouldn't be a problem in a few moments.

Shrieks from a far distance heard, and they changed. Jean's fingers turned to glistening talons. Tom's teeth began to change into sharpened spikes. His top and bottom cracked and groaned as it began to stretch and protrude outward from his face. The skin attaching to his gums tore away, revealing bloodied veins and blackened gums. Jean's bones began to shrink; her skin wrinkled and sagged far from her body. Their clothes seemed to disintegrate.

Their shoulders hunched up and necks now crooked. Their transformation almost complete they looked almost identical now in their Lone forms. The feeding frenzy began, Jean tore at her chest with her claws. She was hungry and couldn't help but destroy anything she touched. Knowing they didn't have much time. They did the only thing they could to keep their adrenaline satisfied. To keep themselves from hunting prey.

Tom's tongue stretched out towards Jean's mouth. She wrapped her clawed hands around the back of his head. Pulling him in towards her, Jean locked her mouth to his. Her large fangs getting in the way of actually kissing without biting him.

The old gutted church seemed to rock in the slightest from the outside. If you listened you could hear groans coming from within its darkness. Dust floated from the rafters and fell upon the floor and the fornicating beasts.

A shift in the atmosphere of the gutted church caused Tom to pause for a moment listening. Jean's shallow breaths heard between the settling of the church's aged wood.

"What is it Tom?" Jean asked, a low gurgling sound, heard from the far corner of the room. They both looked to the stinking heap that was a carcass moments ago, the floor began to rumble. Debris and dust shook from the rafters. What they thought was a rotting carcass was in fact, but it had laid over top a hole. A thick scabbing arm shoved the carcass aside and slammed down onto the church floor. Digging its blood crusted claws into the floor, it began to heave itself out of the hole.

"Oh no Tom! We have to get out of here now!" Jean screamed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Tom jumped up from the floor and grabbed onto Jean's arm. Pulling her to her feet they ran for the church door. The creature from under the church was now working its shoulders out of the hole. Breaking off chunks of rotted wood and forcing its massive body to fit.

They made it to the doors but as they did, the creature let out another angry gurgle and slammed its fist on the floor. The old lead latch on the very top of the doors fell down into place, too high for them to reach, locking them in the church. Jean grabbed onto Tom and screamed again, tears trailing down her wrinkled cheeks;

"what are going to do! Please get us out of here Tom! Now!" She tugged on his arm once more. The creature in the corner, had its belly on the floor now revealing its ugly head to them. It was working on getting its' first foot out of the hole.

The thing's right eye was missing, from a previous fight. It had no nose to speak of. Two flared nostrils puffing out steam in place of a regular nose instead. Its' mouth was small but filled with hundreds of tiny jagged teeth. A long sickly purple tongue pulsated behind the tiny teeth. A few long strands of hair hung from its head. Its' skin was a blueish grey in color, and claws large.

The beast's feet were out of the hole by the time they had reached the window, and was pulling itself towards them. The large protruding belly dragged on the floor beneath it. The window, like the latch on the door was out of their reach. Tom grabbed onto Jean's waist and began lifting her towards the window. Her talons grabbed onto its ledge before she felt Tom ripped from beneath her. Jean dangled on the window sill and screamed. She watched the beast tear out Tom's throat with unrelenting claws.

Jean screamed again, breaking the creature's focus on Tom. He rose up again and began to make the way to Jean. She tried to pulled herself up, one knee on the ledge and one hand reaching for the handle on the window.

From outside the church, all that was visible: a frantic wrinkly creature disappear. Leaving behind a fresh splatter of blood across the window pane.