He let out another guttural roar and started sprinting even faster. Before I knew what was happening, he lurched on top of the ambulance. I swerved and tried to shake him off of the roof to no avail. Two of the others began ramming the sides of the ambulance, so I hit the gas with as much force as possible and drove into the tunnel where I was almost completely consumed by darkness. However, for every metal post that I passed, the light would turn on. I veered into the walls causing the two creatures that were on the sides of the vehicle to go flying off. Another grabbed the back bumper and tried to stop the vehicle from progressing forward. As the wind grew to full force, the door to the ambulance swung violently hitting it in the face and knocking it off. Somehow even after all of this, the doctor was still on the roof. He was clawing at the ambulance, getting closer and closer to grabbing me as the metal was ripped to shreds. I ducked with every swipe he made only narrowly escaping his grasp.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
I could barely see two feet in front of me so I flicked on the high beams and angled the car straight toward the darkness. I didn’t even notice when the doctor reached his arm inside the vehicle and swiped his razor-sharp talons at me. A sharp pain emanated from my face as I grabbed my cheek and shrieked in pain. The sky was completely exposed and the roof had been torn to shreds. With no other option, I stomped on the brake and jumped out of the ambulance. He must have not seen me get out because I got a decent head start. Looking back, I prayed that he was still crouched on the roof of the ambulance but instead, I found that he was right behind me.
“Don’t resist Ava!” he growled as he flashed a mouth full of sharp teeth in my direction.
I ran through the tunnel with more determination than before. Somehow even while on foot, each light I passed would turn on. One after the next after the next. I never thought lamp posts would make me so happy.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself Ava!”
My ears popped at the volume of his cries. I grabbed my head in agony but never faltered in my pace. “Go fuck yourself you ‘ugly wannabe human piece of shit!’”
That’s when the end of the tunnel came into view.
My feet padded against the cement, and I smiled at the thought of being back home. Just when I thought I’d make it, a dark shadow loomed over me. I felt cold and sticky hands shove me forcefully into the ground. I fell flat against my chest, hitting my chin on the pavement as talons dug into my back. I cried out in agony and pushed up against the ground and somehow managed to break free of his grasp just long enough to flip over. Staring at the creature in front of me, I saw his eyes morph from yellow to black. A slimy, thin membrane coated his eyes every time he blinked. He stroked my face with his claws.
“What are you?” I asked in fear.
“We are the new Gods of this world.”
When I was a kid, I heard horror stories about how long ago monsters used to roam the earth wearing the skin of people. I thought it was a myth. I thought it was just a way to describe the people who pretended to be something they weren’t. Turns out they aren’t people at all. They really are monsters.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Don’t take it personally. This is just the price you have to pay so that we can figure out how to create the perfect species,” he said as his lips curved into a sinister grin. He raised his arm above my face and lowered his claws again until they scraped my cheek, all the way down to my neck. My breath was caught in my throat. His hand began to shift right in front of my own eyes. It morphed into string-like tendrils that swirled together and reformed a thick black syringe. “You will soon be perfect too.”
I saw the sad remnants of my life flash before my eyes. Soon everything would be taken away from me. If given the chance at life again, would I do anything differently? Would I still prioritize work over everything else? Would I meet up with my friends who I haven’t spoken to in years? Would I take Liam up on his offer to grab dinner? A single tear ran down my cheek as I saw the syringe getting closer to my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and tried to imagine I was anywhere but here. That’s when I remembered the scales along his back. My eyes shot open and I clawed at his spine and yanked off a large and slimy black scale. He roared out in pain while stumbling backward. I took that opportunity to lunge forward and forcefully plunge the syringe made from his own hand deep into his neck. His eyes flickered, changing from the opaque color they once were back, to yellow.
“Humans are flawed and there is no fixing that, but you,” I pursed my lips as I stood up. “You are all monsters and that will never change. I watched as he fell backward and started gurgling while shaking violently. I smiled to myself and spun around. “Perfection doesn’t exist, doctor,” I laughed.
I then began taking off in the opposite direction, sprinting towards the end of the tunnel. With my last step, the final lightbulb hanging above the entryway shattered as I ran toward my old yet somehow newly discovered life.
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