LOVING MY DAD'S ALPHA BEST FRIEND

9

There, silhouetted in the wan glow of the flickering neon vacancy sign... is the unmistakable hulking shape of the monster, surrounded by a pool of swirling shadows that seem to cling to its grotesque form like living tendrils.

Our eyes lock across the distance, those twin pits of blistering hatred and malice searing straight into my soul. A violent shudder wracks my frame as the creature lowers its heavily bleeding head, a deep, reverberating growl rumbling forth from its battle-ravaged maw.

And in that split second, I know with chilling certainty – this is far from over. That hell-spawned abomination won't rest until we're all lying in pieces at its feet.

"Charles, look out!" I screech, snapping back to reality just as the truck's taillights illuminate a towering shape hurtling out of the darkness directly in our path.

He cranks the wheel with a hoarse shout, the truck's tires shrieking in protest as we careen onto the shoulder in a spray of loose gravel. My head whips violently from the violent swerve, stars exploding across my vision.

When my surroundings finally swim back into focus, I catch sight of my dad tumbling from the truck bed, rolling across the unforgiving asphalt before coming to a stunned stop in the overgrown ditch.

"Dad!" I cry out in panic, fumbling with the door latch.

Strong arms encircle me from behind, caging me against the seat. "Cassie, stay here!" Charles growls fiercely. "I'll get to your father, but you need to stay put where I can keep you safe!"

Before I can argue, he's already vaulting from the driver's side in a whirlwind of motion. My pulse thunders in my ears as I watch in rising horror, the moon casting his silhouette into stark relief against the looming shapes materializing all around us.

More of the monstrosities have joined the deadly pursuit, prowling out of the forest with that same unholy grace and unsettling sentience. At least half a dozen sets of glowing eyes fix on Charles as he rushes to my dad's aid, their fanged maws glistening with drool in rabid anticipation.

"Charles, watch out!" I scream helplessly, pounding my fist against the window. But my cries are swallowed up by the cacophony of blood-curdling howls and snarls as the first creature pounces with blinding speed.

Charles dodges the attack with a grunt of exertion, bringing his makeshift weapon around in a vicious arc that crunches against leathery hide. The beast goes reeling back with a high-pitched yelp of agony, ichor spraying from its torn flanks.

But the others are already closing in, snapping and clawing with manic fervor. Charles lashes out in a whirlwind of adrenaline-fueled strikes, somehow managing to keep the slavering jaws at bay despite being hopelessly outnumbered.

Through it all, I can only watch in impotent terror from inside the truck as the love of my life battles for his life mere yards away. Hot tears of frustration and fear burn my eyes, my throat raw from the endless screams tearing free.

It's too much – I can't bear to simply sit idly by while that happens. Not while the people I care about most are caught in the crosshairs of those unholy monstrosities.

A wordless bellow of fury rips itself from my chest as I throw my full weight against the truck door. It finally bursts open with a groan of abused metal, and I go tumbling out onto the unforgiving gravel, rocks biting into the meat of my palms.

"Run, Cassie!" Charles bellows over the feral cacophony, his eyes wide with panic as he fights off another staggering blow from a clawed appendage. "Get your father and get the hell out of here while you st—"

His frantic words are cut off in a strangled gurgle as a set of fangs the length of my forearm punches straight through his side in an explosion of crimson. My scream of horror melds with his anguished howl, the world grinding to a halt around us.

The creature - the same bloodied beast that I clocked earlier - wrenches its jaws free with a sickening slurp of torn flesh. Charles crumples to his knees, his face already going ashen as the life rapidly drains from him along with the horrific wound.

White-hot rage eclipses every other emotion as I watch the man I love struggling to remain conscious, his labored breaths gurgling wetly. He tries to raise his makeshift weapon again, but his arms tremble and fail under his own weight as his strength wanes.

"No!" I shriek, snatching up a jagged piece of debris as I charge forward with reckless abandon. "Get away from him, you freak!"

The monster's burning gaze swivels towards me with unsettling focus, those spiral pupils fixing me in their sights like a laser-guided missile. Its crocodilian jaws split open, that forked tongue lolling free as it readies itself to pounce.

Reason and survival instinct have abandoned me. All I can comprehend is the white-hot need to protect Charles, to save him from those snapping jaws at all costs. I'll fight this thing until my very last breath if that's what it takes.

With a feral scream of exertion, I hurl the jagged chunk of concrete towards its slavering maw. The improvised missile slams into its open mouth with a meaty crunch, shards and splintered fangs exploding in a fine crimson mist.

The creature throws back its head with a scream of pure, animalistic agony, its cavernous gullet a ragged pit of torn flesh and mangled bone. I don't even have time to feel a spark of visceral triumph before the beast's tail lashes out with punishing force.

White-hot pain detonates across my ribcage as I'm sent hurtling back, the wind knocked from my lungs in a breathless gasp. I hit the ground hard, stars bursting across my vision as every nerve ending screams in fiery protest.

Through the roar of static in my ears, I can just make out Charles's hoarse, desperate shouts and the pounding of heavy footfalls drawing rapidly nearer. I try to raise my head, to push past the agony threatening to drag me under, but my body refuses to comply.

Something warm and wet trickles from the corner of my mouth, metallic and tinged with the coppery scent of blood. Dark, shadowy tendrils creep in at the edges of my fading vision as I struggle to make out the looming shape rapidly descending upon me...

*

I drift in and out of hazy consciousness, my eyes cracking open to murky shadows and distant, muffled noises that make no sense. There's a weight like lead pressing against my chest, each shallow breath a searing labor.

Am I dead? Is this what comes after, an endless void of nothing?

A vaguely familiar face finally swims into view, blurry features pinched with worry. My dad? No... too young, too rugged.

"Ch... Charles?" I try to rasp out, but my lips won't cooperate, won't form the words. Everything feels so distant, so unreal.

The apparition leans in closer, those warm brown eyes I know so well blazing with frantic concern. "Cassie? Oh God, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

He grips my hand tightly, the calloused pads of his fingers achingly real against my numb skin. "Stay with me, baby. You're going to be okay, you hear me? I'm not letting those bastards take you from me!"

There's a rumbling commotion in the background, followed by a volley of deep thuds and hoarse, primal shouts. The sound of... a struggle? A fight?

"Hurry up and get that tranq loaded!" Charles barks over his shoulder in a tone I've never heard from him before - hard, raw, uncompromising. "I'm not letting this thing get another cheap shot in!"

My lids flutter open a fraction more as something clicks into place. A tranquilizer... for the creature? Is he trying to capture it? But... why?

I fight through the fog enveloping my senses, straining to focus on Charles with every fiber of waning strength I possess. "Wh...What are you... doing?" I push out in a hoarse, gurgling whisper.