Project Chimera

id

10

. Ten minutes of pointless wandering and not a single 'helper' offered any actual help, just staring blank

ence, barely glancing my way, sliding the jackets into a plastic bag. "Come aga

p brings the exit sign into clearer focus, and I'm moving fast, my mind already on the excuses I'll have to give. Su

t gr

so so

alright

hings. They're about my age, maybe a little younger. O

about

"It's okay, reall

is around here?" the other man a

farewells. It's nice to encounter friendly peop

e escalator grinds to a halt beneath me, and the usual buzz of voices and footsteps vanishes, replaced by a deafening si

e a thunderstorm. My skin tingles with static, but it's bright outside-no sign o

ir, vibrating through my bones. The murmurs of confused shoppers fall away,

calling the police. "Teenagers playing some kind of prank," s

, but there's an unspoken panic simmering beneath the surface.

st in time to see one of the massive stair railings tear free and crash to the

s time

ling for safety. But then-another set of railings colla

igu

It's almost colorless, like a smudge of darkness that refuses to fit into the world around it

d then, the creature releases a shriek-high-pitched, piercing, like metal being dragged acro

h coming in ragged gasps. My only thought: Katie. My little gir

I hear the unmistakable sound of flesh being ripped apart-screams

look

y blood turns cold. Bodies lie scattered in the creature's wake, torn to pie

sh harder, my mind loc

ies filling the air. The exit is in sight, just a f

he exit with a heavy crash. It blocks the way, its long,

someone yells,

he first creature is there, bloc

ing to

a futile attempt to shield myself. I scream-a primal, desperat

hut and kept my head bowed, whispering prayers through clenched teeth. I didn't dare breathe. My knees dug into the freez

d, and something worse, something

moved before my mind cou

e, landing squarely on the one that had nearly reached me.

the upper floor was the man I'd given directions to jus

ank him. I

ra

olted down the corridor, heart hammering, eve

verything