CHAPTER 7
Bang! The gunshot rang and echoed through the neighborhood alerting the rest of the crew, they slid weapons into their pockets. Darya and Eddie brandished shotguns after Matt expressed his fright for such powerful firearms, opting instead for a pistol. James slung the shoulder strap of a .22 caliber rifle over his shoulder.
Ariel heard the gunshot and instantly broke out into a full sprint and into the doorway of the house, she drew her 9mm block and struggled to pull back the slide and put the bull in the chamber. After the click, the room was dead silent. Until she heard heavy heaving on the far side of the room, she stood frozen as alarms and warnings rang through her head, like klaxons in a military bunker. Something was up.
Bang, bang! Ariel turned the corner to see Jimmy standing over a humanoid form that was bloody and sprawled out, motionless on the carpeted floor. Jimmy leather jacket was sloppily thrown across the cheap Ikea coffee table in front of the couch. He stood there in shock with his eyes wide open, like a deer caught in the headlights, as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Ariel could've sworn she could hear his heart beating, more like pounding, inside his chest like gunshots.
What they say is true, thought Ariel; the eyes truly are the windows into the soul. Past the white and brown of his eyes was a newfound display of horror, disparity, and alertness.
Jimmy just stood, with his foot pressed down on what Ariel could only guess was the creatures chest, with one arm in his pocket and the other holding a smoking Ruger to the air; he stared blankly at the corpse of the creature. His hair was still presentable but in slight disarray with a strand of shiny hair escaping from his over comb and made itself at home on his forehead. It was funny, anyone who knew Jimmy could recall at least one time where they've caught Jimmy in front of a mirror at one point; he would prink over his hair obsessively whenever he found it necessary, which in truth, was hardly ever. Jimmy's white V-neck was remarkably untarnished and still looked freshly pressed, the same couldn't be said about the reddened carpet that surrounded the fallen creature.
Ariel took a moment, unnoticed by Jimmy, who was just staring down at whatever the heck that was beneath his feet; like a 'nam veteran with PTSD at the sight of an Asian woman or a gun, Ariel knew firsthand, that was her great uncle, he would just freeze glassy eyed and wouldn't get out of it until you removed the woman or the gun out of his sight. Ariel took a moment to examine the strange creature, from a distance of course, determined to hold her safe post of the foyer.
The creature's skin was an offensively vibrant lime green, like that of a Martian, and it was littered with crimson red speckles, grouped together like freckles on a slightly spoiled banana. It was humanoid and with flags of blubbery skin hanging off the arms like gelatinous wings.
In the suspense of the silence, he raised his head. He looked her straight in the eyes with the same unblinking and intense stare; his face motionless and blank, the natural light from the window accented his 5 A.M. shadow and made the shot black stubble as obvious as a burning white star in the black void of the cosmos.
"What?" asked Ariel meeting his hot stare that beat down on her like the Saharan sun, somehow she found it in herself to smile just a little bit upon gazing her boyfriend's gorgeous face.
But he didn't return the smile like the Jimmy she knew would've. Instead his eyes went from meeting hers to gazing past her shoulder, she couldn't believe it, his eyes had somehow grew wider, wilder, more watchful, and alert. She had never seen her lover's eyes like this, it was a horrid first experience to say the least; one that filled Ariel with worry, not for herself, but for Jimmy's mental state.
"Go!" cried Jimmy in a painful and shrill cry as he watched a blurry figure of green stalk up behind his beloved with a snarl, revealing two rows of yellowed and blackened teeth. Ariel heard the snarl and turned around quickly to be face to face with her tormentor, and just as soon; Jimmy aimed the gun at the monster's head. The events seemed to transpire and unfold in slow motion for the couple in trouble.
Ariel watched in horror as the green monster, speckled with red freckles, just like the one underneath Jimmy's foot; gaped it's maws that smelled of rotten meat and excessive traces of tobacco. She cringed at the strong smell that invaded her nostrils in slow seconds as the monster aimed its monstrous jaws toward her neck, like a vampire looking for the evening's nourishment.
At the same time, Jimmy watched in the same slow seconds as his other half, he watched as he slowly but expertly hopped up the gun. He gripped it with both hands with an indomitable grip as he aimed down the sights of the Ruger, aiming at the bald and wrinkly head of the green, man-eating green bean that was about to take a chomp out of the girl he loved. Not on Jimmy's watch.
But alas, time came to it's normal pace as the monster sunk it's rotten teeth violently into the side of Ariel's soft and young neck. Simultaneously, without adjusting his aim, he fire; hitting the monster right between it's sunken and extremely shadowed stark white eyes that were milky and without pupils. The beast fell backwards onto the floor, tearing away a bloody piece of flesh that had once been a part of Ariel's neck in it's disgusting and savage jowls.
Jimmy wasted no time in pocketing his gun and running over to kneel besides Ariel. Her vision was blurry but not too much so, that she couldn't see her dearly beloved kneeling by her side ready to aid her in any way he humanely could. But he was panicking, he didn't know what to do as he saw blood gush out of her neck and noticed the rest of the squad standing at the doorway in complete disbelief with their jaws dropped to the floor in bewilderment and surprise.
"Jimmy!" Eddie screamed as he ran to kneel next to Jimmy after seeing Jimmy just standing there watching the blood flow like red wine from a bottle, "You need to cover it up, stupid! Get on with it, Go on!"
The room was filled with an impossibly dense air of desperation combined with an oddly moist feeling of sadness, must be the tears, thought Jimmy as beads of sweat ran down his forehead and tears of his own began to accumulate in his eyes, and roll down his cheeks as he looked around for something to use as a bandage. Jimmy was thinking on his feet as he took off his untarnished V-neck tee shirt and wrapped it around her neck, she was hardly conscious now. She knew she mattered to Jimmy when he would give up his perfectly white shirt to save her life. As the blood accumulated, staining the shirt; Jimmy applied pressure to the wound.
While he applied pressure and the pressure and the teary eyed eyes of his companions followed his every move, he came to an epiphany. This was his fault. He had the shot perfect, his aim couldn't be bearer. Regrets filled his mind as the bloodstain on the makeshift bandage grew and grew. If only he had pulled the trigger sooner. If only he had never came to this freaking cabin. If only he hadn't had the idea to come up here, he should've guessed that something would go awry. "If only" were the two words that haunted him, and probably forever will. Oh well, he thought, should've, would've, could've. What're you gonna do? Thought Jimmy, more scared than he had ever been.
Her breathing was steady, and the bleeding had stopped. A glimmer of hope shone for a moment and the squad seemed to lighten up a bit, but not a couple moments later, along with her bleeding being stopped; her breathing also stopped, Ariel's chest stopped rising and falling. The room fell under the cover of grim silence after Eddie's and Jimmy's combined efforts at resuscitation failed. The squad's lives had been flipped upside down, and Jimmy had just lost his better half. His life as he knew it just a couple minutes was completely gone after a wisp of hope, after a slight glimpse of hope, it all went up in flames.
Jimmy stood up somberly, shirtless; he walked over to the downed creature behind Ariel; the one that killed his lover. Because of this savage, Jimmy couldn't tell if he could ever love another woman again or invest himself in another future with another human being ever again. This monster had taken so many things away from Jimmy: A loyal companion, the feeling of warm love, a feeling of eternal friendship. It had taken away his lover and his best friend with one foul gnash.
Jimmy stood over the monster and pulled out his gun, pointing it at the monster's head but restrained from pulling the trigger because even in his current fit of heartbroken sadness and star extinguishing rage, he knew that given this current situation; it would be wise to conserve bullets and such. He had a feeling they were really gonna need 'em.
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