The group was still whirling as they stood face to face with what legends call a demon.
The flesh squirmed.
Grace's screaming yanked the group out of their petrification as the liquid flesh latched itself onto her face at a speed that was difficult to follow.
Reece tried to run through the front door, when Kolon, who was a wriggling flesh blob at that point, opened her gaping mouth filled with rings of teeth like a meat grinder, latched onto his arm, brutally ripping it off.
At this point, the group was panicking.
Zach was the farthest; he was confused, he was shocked, and most of all.
He was terrified.
His legs trembled as his calves grew weak, his pupils shrunk and his eyes quivered.
'I have to do something.. I have to get out of here, if I don't....'
The realization washed over him like cold water over hot coal.
"I-I will die.."
The terrified faces of his childhood friends reached his eyes.
Zach bolted, his blood boiled, his adrenaline took over, his brain abandoned all sense of reasoning as he charged straight at the only opening he knew of.
The window.
Currently, they were situated at the fifth floor of a newly built lodge. But that didn't matter.
Zach felt his clothes and skin tear open, wood splinters and glass fragments hugged onto him like a long-lost lover.
Gravity took over, and Zach plummeted down at an incredulous speed.
Hitting his back on the cold gravel, Zach felt his spine shift, blood pooled on the roadside, desolate of passersby.
Zach, in a panic, had jumped out of the window.
He mustered all his strength, pulling his body forward.
"I.. have too... Arrgh"
The pain stung like bolts of electricity were running through him.
His vision turned red. One thing was apparent.
He was going to die if left like this.
He had crawled to the middle of the road, leaving a trail filled with organ bits and bone fragments behind.
Thud
Zach's hair stood on end.
"D-did it jump down too?"
Zach's eyes widened, but he couldn't look back.
He was losing strength in his arms at this point; he was sure he had split his spine, that was paralysis.
Zach lay down, his consciousness fading.
"I knew I smelled something similar."
'huh.. argh'
'Wh... tha...'
Zach couldn't lift his head.
A red heel appeared in the peripheral of his bloodied vision. Zach could tell this was a woman's voice.
Step_Step_Step
Zach could make out sounds.
The monstrous blob of flesh shrieked and writhed; the ground trembled as a result.
Zach couldn't move, but he noticed a glass building across the street. He could make out what was going on behind him from the reflections.
The woman was dressed in a loose, scarlet gown, the skin on her arm was pale, almost unnatural.
She wore a red veil, so he couldn't make out her facial features. He could still notice her pale face and her lips, which were bright red, almost like blood.
At this moment, blobs jumped out of the window one after the other, their bodies covered with fleshy tentacles and serrated jaws.
'Oh no.' Zach panicked. But there was nothing he could do; he could only watch as the amalgamation made their way towards him.
At this moment, several figures appeared before the scarlet lady and outstretched their hands.
Their hands glowed with a brilliant red light, and the blobs of flesh floated in the air.
Zach looked onward in horror as the blobs of flesh popped like a cherry, spraying the entire area with a bloody mess. Bits of flesh were everywhere, sizzling with the smell of sweet lavender and vanilla extract.
Miss Veil's assistants didn't have veils on their heads, so Zach could make out their appearance.
One was a female, with fair skin and soft, delicate features; her cold eyes glanced over, making Zach gulp.
The other was a man. Zach couldn't tell his age range, but his build suggested he's well over 40. He wasn't sure.
(I'm calling the strange woman Miss Veil for storytelling purposes)
Suddenly, the blood of the monster floated into the air. The flesh bits levitated, coagulating to a single point.
Zach noticed Miss Veil's pale hand stretched, and the blood coagulated into a single point above her palm. It formed a pill the size of an infant's thumb—grabbing the pill, she gracefully brought it close to her lips.
"Wait, am I seeing things... No.. did she?.."
Zach was in disbelief.
Did she... eat that stuff?
Zach lay on the ground, when it suddenly struck him.
The commotion had caused quite a ruckus.
People were living nearby and would have heard his cries of pain when he fell off the top floor, but surprisingly, no one bothered.
The space around him rippled as if unnatural.
"Mistress, I think we should leave," the lady spoke first.
The middle-aged man looked over at Zach.
"What do we do with him..?" he asked.
What do you do about me?... Wait! What if she tries to eat me just like my friends? Zach silently gulped.
"Just leave him, his predicament was brought upon him by his ignorance, he brought this upon himself.." her voice was cold.
Somehow, that didn't piss Zach off.
They were going to abandon him on the street, and all he could do was trust fate.
The group walked away, and their figures phased out of existence. At that moment, the space surrounding the area seemed to shatter like glass.
Zach lay there bleeding, his vision blurred. Despite that, he clung onto life; hours seemed to pass as the morning approached.
Honk Honk!
Zach heard a car screech to a halt ahead.
"What the!."
Zach heard a man's voice before he fully collapsed.
.....
Where am I?
What is this... argh..
Pain surged through his senses. He tried to clutch his head but was unable to; his neck could not move.
"Zachariah!!!" A woman's teary sobs reached his ears. He could recognize that voice—it was none other than his mother.
A woman in her mid-fifties, brown hair, grey eyes, and an undeniable personality.
"What happened to you..?, I heard you were hit by a reckless driver." Her eyes welled up.
Reckless driver..?
Zach wasn't sure what she was talking about.