The Beast of Existence

Desperate

As they both searched for an unknown harm, they could hear a big commotion from one of the rooms, it was in the area of the accidents patients.

Lau ran fast, Leah tried to catch up, as they both got into the room they saw a patient’s bed, it had nurses from each side, battling with him, it was an old man, evident by his movements and his wrinkly arms, the man pushed nurses, and move them away, it was a sea of arms wrestling for position, the man had his entire face covered with bandages. 

With all the struggling the man’s bandages fall of, revealing his injuries; his skin was peeled off, and the redness of the meat of his face was shockingly bright, hi had no eyelids, and as he fight with the nurses trying to calm him down, he looked at Lau, and suddenly stopped resisting, as he was forcefully being laid down, staring at Lau’s eyes whispered. “You are branded by the devil.”

What seemed for everybody else like very quiet whispers or mumblings, to Lau it heard like an accusing deafening scream that shattered his ears. Lau ran out of the room, leaving Leah behind, who was helping some of the nurses. 

Lau ran to an area unfamiliar to him of the hospital, the walls and doors looked to be getting older and deteriorated as he ran further and further, until he reach a dead end, he went into one of the last rooms, and as he entered everything was covered in a complete darkness, he couldn't find the door even to get out, and as he was attempting to identified a door with his palms, two big bulging yellow bright eyes popped from the darkness.

Lau felt that uneasy feeling again, he was shuddering from the presence that was accompanying him; “Lau, I can’t no longer follow you, I made an error, you were right, you are boring and pathetic; you have substantial ideals, but no courage, so I must leave you.”

“So you leave this earth” - Lau filled with relief.

“No, the rest of my kind are ready to feast upon the flesh of people, who have grown conformist, who have given too much value to materialism, to consumerism, and to their own meaningless lives.”

“You’re gonna kill more people?!”

“We are going to kill and devour your kind, so we can replace you all, or at least have a purpose until we're done eating you all.”

“Wait, don't do this.”

“You can't stop us, you're all too tiny, you're nothing but elegant worm food, goodbye.”

The light returned to the room but Lau still couldn't see a thing, he was crouched on the floor his arms covering his face, his eyes sworming with tears, he felt helpless and guilty. “I have to find my mom!” -said Lau with disdain, he got up and got out.

As he was walking to the exit Leah catched up with him, “as I said, i’ll go with you” - Leah grabbed Lau’s hand, Lau looked at her with concern, smirked at her and they both walked to the bus stop.

Lau was sweating, he barely spoke, he felt ill, his face got pale, Leah hold his hand and hug his arm, trying to comfort him; they got on the bus and sat on the back, Lau was in the window, staring at people as he usually did, but this time he felt the urge to protect them, he was looking at strangers faces when suddenly his eyes were set on a macabre figure, he turn his head as the bus was moving, he recognize another beast on the street.

This one also had huge teeths, long arms and skinny legs, it was covered in hair and got a menacing look, he was trying to admire it in its entirety when another one appear on the top of a building, then another one in an alley, more and more of this creatures were filling the streets, stocking people, tempted to attack.

Lau felt a hole in his stomach, he bent over and covered his face, he was trembling, Leah was stunned, she hugged him and rubbed his back, she stroked his hair and said to his ear: “don't worry, we’ll find her.” 

“s**t, I have to find my mom too” said Lau to himself.

Lau lift his head to reassure Leah he was ok, when he saw outside the bus the resembling Beksinski painting that the world had transformed into, the sky was tinted in red, with dark red clouds and a orange tone setting on the streets and buildings, nobody else but him could see it, creatures were surrounding people, just staring at them, studying them, people unaware of their peril, behave as they usually did; Lau once again smirk to Leah, to hid his discomfort, he was more shaky when they reached the station.

Lau and Leah got off the bus, Lau’s face was twirling and appeared to be going through multiple emotions in a matter of seconds.

Lau stopped walking while Leah continued, unaware of Lau’s intentions, she kept walking until she reached the door; then Lau proceeded to lose his mind.

“All of you f*****g listen! you have to open your eyes!...” - Lau shouted with all of his strength. “You have to f*****g see whats going on, were all gonna be death if we dont stopped this beasts!!” - People gather around Lau, some with concern others to mock, they all stare at this man screaming lunacies.

“Just stop worrying about your shoppings, you social networks addicted creatures, listen!! we are being attacked. Can't you see! The beasts have surrounded us, we’re the easiest prey that has ever been and we all just gonna accept this!! We are nothing but a gigantic farm full of animals whose only purpose is to be fattened in order to be slaughtered and eaten like the ones we so agreeable consume!!” -Lau face was livid red, his neck and forehead full of popping veins, his eyes injected in blood and with tears coming down his cheeks, his voice with despair, and cracking every so often; more and more people stopped to look at the spectacle.

“Lau calm the f**k down” - Leah, shyly attempted to control the man

“Whats going on here” -An officer asked Leah. “He's just in a lot of stress, his mom is lost, we're here to file a missing person, he's very sensitive guy you know”

Lau saw nothing but ghoulish monsters and red skies, as he was shouting he saw a beast, stocking a man, Law saw how this monster attacked and feast on a person's body, he felt sick, “Look you all do nothing!” - he turned and saw the officer who was talking to Leah, and ran to him, the officer barely got time to react, when Lau already had his gun on his hand, then he proceeded to point at the monster who was invisible to everybody else, and pulled the trigger.

People ran and screamed in terror, but the gun had the safe on, so the shot did not fire, he was attempting to unlock the gun when two officers charged him and tackled him to the ground, putting handcuffs on him. “You bastards are part of it! I know you are aware of this, you all made a deal to save yourselves!” - shouted Lau as he was being taken into custody. 

Lau was put in a small room, he had calmed down but he was still restless, shaking, his face seemed lost, staring at the floor; he kept bending over to hold his stomach, seemingly a pain was constant in his guts, he could hear steps coming to the room, which sounded familiar to him, the door opens and Lau sits straight and looks at the rooms entry.

“Hi, are you ok? what happened?” - Said a female warmth voice.

Lau breaks down and begins to cry. “I don't know mom” - Lau was now weeping.

“Police told me you had a panic attack, and it was because I had gone missing; but sweetie I left you a note, I had to go to my aunt’s and I was going to be back today” 

“I don't know what happend mom, I just saw a beast, it was awfully big, and I know you wont believe me but there are hundreds of them, and they all are gonna kill us” - Lau utter, looking down in shame.

“I know honey, don't worry, we're gonna be alright” -said his mom as she hugged his head.

“No, you don't get it, you treat me like they do, I saw it, that thing was responsible for the attacked at the hospital”

“Honey, I heard about the attack, it was from a gang, one of its members was being attended there, they planned the attack to help him escape.”

“What?... no… mom, that's… that's what the new wants you to believe, that's not true”

“It's ok son, what matters is that you're fine, and I'm fine too, we're gonna be alright baby” - said as she hugged his son, Lau breaks down into tears again, soping as he holds his mom.

A knock on the door notices the mom that she has to leave, with tears in her eyes she looks at his son, and smiles, as she exits the room. Then Lau is taken into a detention cell, “you're gonna stay here for a while nutter” says the officer as he laughs and closes the door behind him.

Lau is feeling uneasy once again, and is shivering, he closes his eyes and closes his hands in fists, he tries to breath, and when he opens his eyes, he sees the beast standing in front of him. “f**k, not you, youre not real!” 

“I am real, who told you that?”

“They, the police, my mom, the news, everybody”

“Of course they say that, those who can't see us don't believe it, and those who can, know that there's nothing they can do to stop us”

“I don't believe it”

“Believe it Lau, believe in something, believe in this. You bring me into this world, and you can't get rid of me”

“I brought you here?”

“Yes you did, I'm the essence that constitutes your being”

“Then I shall end you, as well as I must end myself”

Lau rips a strip from his shirt and makes a long string of cloth out of it, until he has ripped his shirt in its entirety, he ties one end to a fenced window that’s placed on the upper side of the door, and makes an “O” shape hole tying the other end to the string itself, he then places his head into the hole and ties it tight to his neck, he kneels down and as he’s looking down, with tears on his eyes, he lifts his head and sees the monster, as always it's just staring at him, with his huge dead eyes, and his big teeths, moving his enormous head almost as a curious dog would do. Lau closes his eyes and lets his weight rest entirely on his neck and the cloth.

He wrestles with his instinct of placing his limbs to the floor to alleviate the weight and strength that is being put into his neck, strangling him; he struggles with it, his lungs hurt immensely, he kicks, and throw punches at the door, his face looks like its about to explode, and continues to fight with his innate will to obtain health, after 5 minutes of struggle he finally stops moving… the struggle has ended.

A big noise can be heard from Lau’s cell, the officer that locked him up, along with two others run to the detention area, they open the door, which can't be moved easily, after a determined push by the officer they finally enter the room, and the hanging body from the window is the least of their concerns.

His body was big, enormous paws and long upper limbs, his legs short but thick as logs, entirely covered in big furry hair, about 7 feets tall and more than four hundred pounds of weight rested on that cell’s floor, an immensely beast; only a single sign of harm was found on the creature, a thick mark that went around his neck was visible, as it was the only part of his body without fur, and his skin was branded with what appeared to be marks from a shirt's fabric.