The Little Ones - SHORT STORY

Tick, tock.

The clock struck five and the night was alive. All manner of creatures roamed and crawled and snarked. All hungry, all eager, all dangerous. How would I know this, you ask? I was one of them.

We roamed the wilderness in search of prey. Roamed and roamed. There was little game tonight. And little satisfaction. My pack grew agitated with the meager offerings mother nature produced. I kept them in check, but not for much longer. A beast is a beast, regardless. And these beasts were hungry.

Tick, tock.

A new scent! We made way for a human settlement. Freshly erected. Fresh was best. Always best. I have known of this settlement for some time now. But it was vacant until now. What were the poor fools thinking? No matter. A feast was a feast.

Darkness approached. And with darkness - bloodlust. The settlement was packed with delicious humans. All ripe and scrumptious. My beasts were frothing at the mouth to attack. I held them back. Humans were cunning, and some even ferocious. One was apt to exercise caution when dealing with them. But not too much.

The echoes of howls filled the night, and my pack attacked. We beset the humans on all sides. Breaking down metal fences, and meager gates and doors. They were many. They were afraid. They were ours.

Tick, tock.

Males and females alike screamed beautiful screams. That made it all the sweater. We ripped them apart all the same. The little ones we kept. Untouched. They were best when groomed. Fright and trauma that lasts was always the most delicious. And the little ones were always prized meals. So, we spared them. While slaughtering the rest.

Such beautiful -

Noise, loud and powerful. Fire! Fire all around us! The humans! The cunning animals were upon us! We dispersed. Hiding in shadows and darkness. Somehow they were ready for us.

We hid. Biding our time. They shouted and shouted and shouted. So loud, so annoying. They could not see us whilst we hid. The poor fools tried to shoot their fire at any darkened corner. But that did nothing. Some started attending to their wounded and dying. They were careful. Too careful to counterattack.

Tick, tock.

As time passed they grew lax. Their pitiful feelings making them weep for their fallen. We rampaged the settlement with lustful hunger. Even now I could feel my brethren eager for more. Even at the threat of casualties, they did not care. The morsel was sweetest when earned.

I pleaded for patience but to no avail. They attacked. Well, some of them attacked. The humans, although some were lax, others were ready. And a vicious battle ensued. Bloody and unnecessary.

The shouting returned. Some of my pack were smart enough to target the little ones. This prompted the humans to irrational panic. They could make new ones at the drop of a hat, yet they grew hysterical when you attacked their little ones. If we could spawn as fast as they could, this would have been ours by now.

Tick, tock.

As the pack fought, my most faithful urged me to join them. At this point, both parties would be injured and unsatisfied. They were right. I hated it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. Why so rash? Why not pick them off one by one by one? The humans can respawn at will. Our casualties were fatal on the other hand. And now? More casualties.

It was time. My faithful and I joined in the fight. For sustenance, for glory, for sport. The limbs that covered the ground were many, but many more were needed. Our attack took the humans by surprise. The fools thought that that merger pack was all our numbers. Fools. Fools but dangerous fools. They did not go down easily.

The screams that filled the night marked a chapter in history. And we danced in the bloodshed.

Tick, tock.

Both parties' numbers were low. I struck a human from behind, grabbing his neck and ripping it out of his body. A nearby human screamed and aimed his fire at me. I went back. Then grabbed his heart, squeezing it in my hand until the poor human dropped to the ground.

Around me, the fight was coming to an end. So many dead on both sides. But our were the numbers that mattered. And ours were superior. I saw a little one, gazing at me with delicious fright. I approached it expecting it to flee. The little one instead grew brave.

It attacked me with fire. Fire! Fire! Fire! How? I could feel my being leaving my body. I was going! No! I heard something. I saw something. As I lay on the ground, the man I slew last had a watch on his wrist. That watch. that watch was everything. And the pain. The fire. The watch.

The little one....

Tick, tock.

Thank you for reading. 🙏 Hope you had an amazing weekend! ❤️ This was my entry for the S&S Invitational. 👻

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