Nowhere left to run

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2x0CLk4

An uncomfortable foreword

It has been said that a series of short stories must emanate unexpectedness and a sense of chilling surprise. Such a collection of stories would require a character framework that is present throughout the whole book; from tale to tale, offering the reader a chance to relate to the individual characters — their pain, their horror, their paranoia. Such a collation would also contain an underlying subplot, so all of the stories connect and relate to one another, in a weblike manner, allowing each entry to follow on from the last with some continuity, while still retaining individuality.

I gave this some thought and decided to do the complete opposite. For me, each story should be read as an individual tale of terror, and certainly not as a collective.

Each of my short stories should evoke thought, emotion, and hopefully, leaves the reader wondering what the hell happens next. Let’s face it; not everyone looks for a happy ending in the stories they read. With this in mind, let your imaginations run wild, and enjoy the unpredictability; often an uncomfortable ride.

Nowhere left to run

Late in the afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to lower itself late one afternoon the sudden shriek of the emergency Tsunami warning sirens bellowed out along the coastline. A massive surge of water had triggered the alarms far out to sea, rolling in the general direction of the city, slowly building in size and momentum. As the warning screamed out, an air of panic slowly filled the evening sky, as the realisation of imminent danger felt so real for many of the downtown residents. Tsunamis were a severe threat to life, yet, at this point, no one had any information on it, or what had triggered it.

The helicopter from the local Coastguard’s office was dispatched with haste, sent out specifically to investigate the disturbance. No one had heard the sirens in years, in fact, some people had never even heard it before, so whatever had happened out to sea, it must have been severe enough to warrant the city-wide evacuation order.

Upon preliminary inspection, the Coastguard was shocked to report something massive, and utterly colossal was travelling under the surface water straight towards the city, approximately ten miles or so away. As the helicopter circumnavigated the gigantic dark blue shape, it tried to get a better picture of what exactly it was; at about half a mile long, and half as long, the creature was a real monster. In sheer disbelief that any living creature was this big, the monstrous thing followed approximately a mile behind the tsunami wave, which stretched out for hundreds of miles across the vast open ocean. Whatever the hell it was, it was a real cause for concern, especially looking at the sheer size of it, and the speed at which it travelled. With the Coastguard in close pursuit, the enormous object grew ever closer to the city before it finally slowed down, allowing the massive volume of water it created, to overtake its position and rush ahead. The wall of water was to announce the arrival of the creature. At an estimated eight metres high, the surge charged towards the city at significant speed, directly towards the city’s harbour, so the helicopter stuck with it, sending real-time footage directly to the authorities on the ground. As the boats began to rock gently, in anticipation of the confrontation that was to come, the water slowly started to recede. The sirens continued, bringing an air of panic to the streets, as wheels span, horns rang out, and fear began to fill the air. Within minutes, the city streets were grid-locked, as everyone fled their homes, all wanting to escape the city confines at the same time.

Visual confirmation of the impending tsunami was broadcasted live to the masses, in a vain attempt to help evacuate all areas of the city. However, the mysterious shadow in the water was, for now, kept from the public’s eye; for reasons unknown. The governing body of the Police dictated that the threat of a giant tsunami would be enough to prompt evacuation, and in itself cause enough panic, without the threat of something huge and unnatural still sitting out to sea. Whatever travelled behind the wave, unbeknown to most, was not reported to the masses, although all the emergency services were privately informed of another impending disastrous event, minus the factual details. The attack on the city was now imminent.

A few miles out to sea, the Coastguard, now accompanied by another two helicopters, were really quite concerned, and frankly amazed by what they were seeing. With little hesitation and an air of desperation somewhat, the Coastguard made contact with Homeland Security. The following communication was to the other press helicopters now at the scene; they were both silenced from publishing the truth about the real threat to the city. In reality, the local emergency services simply didn’t know how to react or prepare for such a threat, but as every minute passed, the unholy creature got ever closer, relentless in its task. There had never been a documented event such as this, so there were no emergency plans, procedures, or guidance in place for anyone to follow. Huge monsters and massive waves were the sort of thing that came from science-fiction movies, so why was this happening now? None of it seemed plausible. To be expected, their initial request for help just amused the operator on the end of the radio at Homeland Security, but the threat was stressed as genuine and reiterated in its urgency, so after some negotiation, the armed forces agreed to send out two reconnaissance jets to assess the danger.

The wave crashed into the reef and continued towards the harbour, just tossing the boats aside like toys. The immense force of the water, collected the moored vessels into one massive wall, which then proceeded the leading wave, smashing into the downtown buildings — the few stubborn residents who had refused to leave the city and were on the street, had been washed away, amongst the disastrous events that followed. The force of the water pushed itself inland about a quarter of a mile, smashing and destroying everything in its path before a more critical issue over-ruled everything. The colossal, monstrous creature had arrived.

As the beast hit the reef, it slowly pulled itself out of the deep water, breaking the surf with its huge pointed spikes. Displacing a vast volume of water, the creature rose itself up with ease, tearing its way through the coral reef and harbour walls. The beast first crawled onto all fours, before rising to two legs where it showed its actual size and enormous proportions. As the beast arrived, another immense volume of water pushed forward, as the creatures leg stepped up onto land. For the few residents that resided in their expensive waterside properties, thinking that they had escaped the ferocity of the tsunami, now just watched on in sheer terror. So high, it reached the clouds, the colossal creature stretched out its neck and let out an unholy, deep and unsettling growl, shaking the foundations of the whole city in just one unnatural and unholy scream. The beast took another step, crushing the edge of the harbour wall, as it stood at the entrance to the city.

The beast, sniffed around, visually looking about before the next enormous step was taken. Pushing its way through a narrow gap in the office buildings, it pushed the debris aside, smashed windows, while sending huge ripples of water ever deeper into the city centre, causing havoc and destruction which rippled throughout the city. With each following step, the creature began to continually scream at the city, as if it called out to something. With incredible strength, the sheer force of its cry blew out all the glass from the high-rise buildings and sent cars flying. The creature had again announced its arrival; its very existence threatened the city and its millions of residents. For everyone still alive, the level of panic escalated exponentially. The masses panicked, taking to the streets in a desperate plea to evacuate the foreboding destruction of everything they knew and loved, as the creature’s entry into the city centre brought chaos and destruction; crushing and destroying anything in its path, with little regard. The deeper into the heart of the city it went, its considerable Crocodile shaped tail followed, swinging from side to side, in massive swings, flattening buildings with a single strike, slowly reducing all the structures to rubble.

For those on the outskirts, the arrival of the creature brought a strange new light show, as a new, unknown type of warfare had begun. While the beast rampaged downtown, a barrage of fighter jets, helicopter gunships had arrived, accompanied by a barrage of missiles fired from a nearby battleship. The fight had truly begun on an epic scale, with the military reacting quickly, with their full might.

The nightmare rampaged ever onwards, deeper into the city. The sound of the sirens faded into the background, as the explosions and gunfire took over everything. The huge, colossal beast just ignored it all, as the government’s attempt to fight back or even slow the creature down, seemed to fail miserably. As the blanket of missiles landed with accuracy, they did little harm, just exploding in dramatic fireballs, without any damage or upset. The beast seemed invincible and utterly unstoppable. To give credit; the armed forces threw everything at it, but to no avail, they had little choice but to follow and pursue the pointless attack. People of the city ran frantically in all directions, screaming and shouting, as a wave of panic and fear proceeded the beast. Without a plan or any form of a miracle weapon, the city was surely doomed.

A few miles away, in the quiet suburb of Park Gardens, located adjacent to the nearby mountain range, the full effect of the attack was finally heard, as the battle started to infringe on the outer suburbs. For those that remained, it was time to evacuate, whether they liked it or not. The ordinarily, sleepy suburb that overlooked the city was now under threat, as was everywhere else. At the most significant apartment block on 43rd street, just at the junction of 56th Street, the Park Gardens Complex, subtly shook, as the ground tremors slowly increased in intensity. A plume of smoke from the city sailed past the suburb, causing the sky above to darken. A rancid smell of burning flesh and toxic chemicals seemed to float on the breeze, accompanied by far off screams and shouts, as the local population began to emerge and flee. At number 237, up on the third floor, an older man of ill health, sat in the front room of his apartment, quietly suffering in silence. He was long overdue for his second hip replacement operation, now delayed by two weeks, and only yesterday had the appointment rescheduled for the end of the coming week, which was in another three days. Staff shortages and an overbooked waiting list took the blame, but whatever the reason, he was the poor soul that suffered in the meantime, and with each day of delay, new aches and pains intensified making his life painful and unbearable. The prospect was grim, and he couldn’t wait for the surgery, as the pain was a constant burning, stinging and tearing sensation, that tore away at his soul, reducing the poor man to tears every single night. He quietly suffered in silence, all alone in his apartment.

His disability and age decreased his mobility significantly, making it increasingly difficult to get around. The simple chores of modern life were now a real problem; he not only found it hard to walk unaided but once seated, the simple act of getting back to his feet had now become enormous. A simple trip to the toilet, or going to bed, caused him untold discomfort and pain, and to make matters worse, the elderly man, now in his early 70’s, lived alone. He had no family left alive, and no friends who would ever come to visit, so he often wondered why he bothered. His one and only visitor was a local nurse, who would pop in to see him for an hour or so, every other day. His eldest daughter, the last of his family relations, had recently died from Breast Cancer, making his whole life a far more lonely and painful existence.

Mr William Campbell sat on his couch, in the same position he sat every night, wasting his life away watching television programs that he had no interest in; tonight, however, was different. Half asleep, his TV programme was suddenly unexpectedly interrupted by the Emergency Broadcast. The old man woke up and cursed; extracting himself out of a delightful dream. He sat and stared at the TV, slowly pulling himself up to take notice. The shocking and almost unbelievable message broadcasted to the community described an unimaginable and a seemingly incredible threat to the safety of the city’s residents. At first, it was challenging to take it seriously, as it just seemed so farfetched, but as the message played, he suddenly became more aware of the noises in the distance, ringing out across the cityscape. As a result, his attentiveness grew as he watched the headlines unfold. With disbelief, the rough live-footage of the colossal beast, from just a short distance away, was terrifying. He felt a shudder deep inside. Was this really happening right now? He asked himself, as the clarity of realisation just confirmed and emphasised the large volume of explosions outside, which was becoming more and more apparent. He knew that he had to go and look for himself, to confirm what had been said, so with much reluctance, he began the process of getting himself up and off the sofa. He pulled his frame over, and while holding it tightly, he mustered as much strength as he could, to slowly and painfully pull himself up, to his crooked standing position. Grumbling and moaning, swearing under-his-voice he turned his head towards the sitting room window. With slow, carefully placed pigeon steps, he then began his painful shuffle towards the other side of the room.

He hated living all alone, in the single bedroom apartment, especially on the third floor, but it’s where the health services put him, and he wasn’t given a say in it. He’d been there for a good few years now; and although his insurance company made sure that there was a well-serviced elevator in place, as well as all the disability aids he needed, enough time had passed for him to get used to it somewhat finally. From his position, he just stood there leaning against the window sill, watching all the commotion that was now taking place downtown. Surveying the city, he spied numerous large fires that burned uncontrollably off in the distance, as well as the abnormal amount of planes and helicopters flying about the colossal smoke plumes that were billowing out of the city’s financial district. Something big was indeed happening over there. With sad, tired eyes, he stood there, watching the mayhem unfold. The old man then bent forward and tried to peer down to the street below, where he saw hundreds of people in the street, seemingly all running uphill, in the general direction of the mountains, which were located just a few miles behind the apartment block. It was only the Army soldiers that ventured the other way, towards downtown. He saw them stop to shoot at something, something colossal moving amid the smoke, which seemed to be getting closer. As he watched, he started to worry; as he realised that something was happening; the true extent of the calamity was finally sinking in.

Just then, a loud and aggressive banging occurred on his front door, causing the old man to jump; he turned his head to look; someone was outside, shouting at him.

“Mr Campbell [followed by further banging], Mr Campbell, if you’re in there, you need to leave immediately. The banging then continued.

“Mr Campbell, Mr Campbell” a female voice shouted now really quite aggressively, almost frantically and desperately. But as he took a step to the side, turning towards the direction of the door, the sound abruptly stopped and then vanished, leaving him to hear only a flurry of footsteps that faded off into the distance. A massive explosion then distracted him, causing him to stumble and nearly fall, as the whole building trembled in fear. He turned his head back towards the window. The noises of war seemed closer than before, louder and more intense; he began to feel his heart pound heavily in his chest.

He leant forward and looked the other way, only to see the enormous creature smashing its way through a mass of smoke, fire and explosions, now only about half a mile away. It was at that specific point in time when he realised that he needed to evacuate as well, whether he liked it or not. This action was easier said than done. Shaking a little, and breathing heavily with a pounding heart against his chest, he knew that he needed to leave his sanctuary; a near-impossible task without anyone to help him. He turned to the door and immediately started to shuffle, only stopping to pick up his wallet and the door keys on the way. He opened the door, only to find that the stairwell was quiet; the only noises he heard were muffled, and coming from outside of the building. He shuffled himself over to the elevator, pressed the button and waited. As he stood there, another colossal explosion rocked the whole apartment building, shaking the lift from side to side, just like the earthquake he had felt in the summer. It dislodged him for a moment, as he fell against the wall. Pushing himself back and correcting his posture, the explosion had sounded far too close for comfort. The heavy bangs and crashes only emphasised the urgency for him to escape.

The door opened, and he shuffled inside, shaking as he entered. The metal box seemed to descend slower than ever, giving him too much time to worry. As it ground to a halt, the loud noises omitted at street level came into closer range, and as the doors opened, the sounds were amplifying to an unprecedented and deafening level. His eyes instantly began to water, as he felt the intense feeling of fear of worry unsettling riddle his old, frail body. He manoeuvred himself out, shuffling forward into the reception. The main front doors to the apartments were left wide open, and as he looked, he could see the chaos and panic that was ensuing outside. The journey across the lobby was slow, with every other step rocked by nearby explosions and ground tremors. He felt uncomfortably claustrophobic and really, really scared; something he had never experienced before. He could see the people panicking outside, but mixed with the extreme noises and the horrible stench of burning flesh, the fear got the better of him as he ventured forward with much trepidation. Every bang and crash caused him to flinch, but he continued his effort to escape, regardless of the pain and chaos. As he reached the door, he manoeuvred himself down to the edge of the pathway and stopped. Out on the street, just for a moment, he leant against the support rail that led to the entrance; he watched the panicking people run past him. He then turned and looked the other way, only to see something massive moving amongst the massive black pillar of smoke, not that far away now. His heart sank again, beating heavier and faster than ever before; he knew that he had to get going — whatever it was, it was enough to spur him on, so Mr Campbell turned in the direction of the fleeing people, and slowly, as best he could, started to move away from the safety of the apartments. Obstacles were everywhere, and with the force of the massive crashes, bangs and ground tremors that came from behind, his movements were slow and jostled. He forced himself to move as quickly as he was physically capable of moving, putting all his efforts into walking. Upon another glance, he finally got a glimpse of the beast, which was rampaging through his city. The monstrous creature was more significant than anything seen before, and indeed was the stuff of nightmares. Every noise, shake or scream forced him into action. The beast battled ever forward, angrily destroying anything in its path. The missiles and bullets were just an annoyance to the creature, aggravating it, causing the monster to lash out in anger. Soldiers rushed down the street, only stopping infrequently to position themselves to shoot up at the beast; a clear indication to him that the monster was now far too close. Mr Campbell was now worrying just how close it had suddenly got, and with the warplanes and helicopter gunships hovering so nearby, shooting tracers and rockets at the colossal creature; the urgency of the situation forced his hand. Straining to gain breath, the smoke was now burning his lungs and eyes, as he put everything he had into his escape plan. His shuffling feet turned into an uncomfortable and painful walk, as his adrenaline overtook his pain threshold. He pushed and pushed, slowly making his way up the street. No-one stopped to help.

Although he was old and frail, he still had his wits about him, confident in his actions and still mentally healthy in thought. ‘What the hell is going on? I’m too old for this shit’ he muttered under his breath, as he momentarily stopped and stared at another group of soldiers passing by.

He held out his arm and shouted, trying to stop at least someone, but they all ignored his request, and probably couldn’t hear him anyway. The ground shook quite violently; he stopped and glanced back. Without warning, a massive and intense scream was omitted by the beast so loud that he momentarily fell forward, almost collapsing, onto his frame. He could feel the power of its breath charge down the street, like a massive shockwave from an atomic bomb or something. The scream scared the living crap out of him, so much so, that sheer panic made him rethink his escape plan. The creature was close, far too close, and it was obviously getting closer to him with every minute that passed. He upped the pace and walked as fast as he could, but with such a bad hip, he knew that it was a futile task. The severity of the situation meant that he only had one choice left to him. Although it hadn’t been used for about a year, his only opportunity was to get into his car, which happened to be a short distance away from him. Not thinking, and for some reason, he believed this would help evade the situation. Now feeling very alone in the open street, he watched the few remaining people flee.

The intensity of closeness, emitted from the attacks scared him to death. He knew that he would never be in a position to outrun the beast, so believing that this was his only option, he fumbled around in his pocket to find his keys. As his weary hand shook, he endeavoured to push the key in and turn it, slowly prizing the door open. He took one last look up, seeing the full height of the monstrous creature, which was now in his road, just the other side of his apartment. ‘Oh my god,’ he said; as another more shocking and painful sensation stabbed at his chest. He let go of his frame and grabbed the edge of the door, basically falling into his car. He fell quickly, uncomfortably banging his head on the way down; his hip felt like it was on fire — he gave out a silent and excruciating scream, as the pain tore at his sole. A few minutes passed before he could gather enough strength, to pull the door shut. The pain in his head quickly dissipated when he sat back and looked up, straight ahead. Although the glass was dirty, he could see that the monstrous creature was now almost upon him. The soft, rubber tyres gave bounce, as every step that the beast took, shook the whole world.

Deep down, he knew that his choice of the sanctuary wasn’t good enough; as he sat silently, just staring ahead; he started to quietly weep, as he drew a heavy and tasing breath, additional to the pain that now throbbed heavily in his chest. As the creature moved closer, vehicles began to fly past his car, as the beast kicked them out the way. To his right, soldiers continued to run towards it, firing millions of rounds, but it all seemed a time wasting effort. The fear and pain started to eat away at him, as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands, slowly gripping as hard as he could. The creature destroyed the side of his apartment building, as it moved slowly up the hill; it then leant down and grabbed a woman who was frantically trying to run away from it. He just watched on as the beast raised her to its mouth, high up into the clouds. The pain in his chest increased, as he then witnessed the creature bit her in half.

In the few seconds that followed, time slowed down to nothing. A massive dark shadow appeared and loomed above the car in front of him. The elderly man just stared ahead and took in a deep, sharp breath; the darkness grew immeasurably, as the creatures leg, second by second, rose above his car. A set of huge claws preceded to descend upon his vehicle, pushing themselves into his sanctuary. These large, huge claws just tore through the metal and glass with absolute ease. His last vision on Earth was the end of a gigantic black talon, as it sliced through the car’s casing, pushing down just in front of his face. The roof buckled and bent with the immense forces at play, as the rest of the creatures foot started to flatten the car. He felt the roof touch his head, and push down upon him, with a loud popping crash. As the windows burst, the light of day vanished in an instant. Pain and darkness descended, as the ceiling pushed him down into his seat. The massive force, of immeasurable strength, made light work of flattening him, before taking its next step forward. The battle raged on.

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2x0CLk4