Wednesday Lurch Novels & Stories

I just came back from school and the first thing I was confronted with was a thunderous slap across my face. I was accused of damaging the new expensive wristwatch Luna bought for Maya on her previous birthday. I was just coming back from school so why would anybody accuse me of damaging something I didn't see nor lay hands on. "You are still lying when it's very obvious you were the one who damaged my diamond wristwatch" Maya glared hard at me. "If you weren't the one then who did? Do we have any other slaves allowed to go into the royal rooms except you? You are such a dirty liar and I wonder why dad allowed you to stand Westbridge high. Pathetic liar" Anna chipped in, stepping hard on my

They or we? The other party that threw our world into chaos was the self-proclaimed animal welfare organization Live for Animals. In an act of charity they broke into Doctor Christopher Krynick's research laboratory to bring the animals to safety. Unfortunately they had no idea what was going on and a well-meaning rescue operation turned into a global catastrophe. The proles first killed their rescuers and then escaped from the research facility to bring a plague of unprecedented proportions to the world. When a hand came to rest on my shoulder and slowly brushed the back of my neck, I tried to ignore the tingling sensation. "You can leave that nice. I'm still mad at you. "

A shiver runs through me, the faintest flicker of a feeling I haven’t felt since… Since before I lost my wolf all those years ago. No. It can’t be. And yet… “My body is yours. My breath is yours. My soul is yours. Shape me now, that I may yet–” Just as I’m about to speak the final words of the shifting ceremony, though, a familiar and jarring alarm suddenly cuts through the air. Oh, no. It’s the rogue alarm. All at once, whatever strange sense of peace I was feeling vanishes, replaced by the sounds of chaos. Children begin to cry out in fear. I quickly lock eyes with my colleagues, and we all nod, preparing for evacuation.

“We’ve beaten weavers before. We’ll beat this one.” The path twisted, its purple veins glowing brighter, pulsing faster. The air grew thick, heavy with a primal energy that made their skin crawl. The nexus’s hum faltered, drowned by a low, guttural drone that vibrated in their bones. Whispers swirled—not Verath’s truths or Sereth’s lies, but a ravenous chant, a chorus of need that clawed at their minds.

The current was turbulent, and the ground was slippery so loosing my concentration would result in something unimaginably bad. After about five minutes of careful navigation through the flood with my feet, we crossed the brook. I lowered her to the ground. And just when she stood on her feet, she creamed; “Crabs, crabs!” I looked at where she pointed the light to, and there, on the muddy ground, I saw two crabs that held on tightly to each other with their pincers.

“Thursday or you’re out!” With that clear and sound warning, he stomped away in the same way he had come.

Now is not the time. “Thanks,” I murmur. “No problem,” he replies, his brown eyes locking onto mine for a moment before he looks away. We continue, growing more confident with each obstacle that we overcome. But then, I spot them—spiders. Big, black, eight-legged monsters clinging to the walls like grotesque ornaments. I shudder, my skin crawling at the sight. “Ugh, spiders,” I mutter, feeling the color drain from my face. Karl looks at me, then back at the spiders. “You want to go back?”

I felt like I was being watched by something. I heard a twig snap. There something out there. It was completely dark except for the light of the full moon. I should have grabbed my flashlight. I heard another twig snap. I turned toward the sound. Then another twig snapped on the other side of me. Then one snapped behind me and then one in front. I crouched down in the tall grass. I kept my body still and I listened to the world around me. There was a growling noise and then the sound of feet quickly moving and stepping on twigs all around me. I heard screams coming from every direction. They all ran and bumped into each other and fell on top of me.

“Zach, get in the car.” Before any of us could move a muscle, a big wolf-like creature jumped out of one of the windows on the third floor. It landed close to where we were standing. Screaming, we ran away from it, towards the car that was near the gate. When I looked back, it was disappearing into the thick forest. I held on to the car for strength and Hannah did the same. Zach opened the car door. “Get in,” he yelled. “What are you all waiting for?”

Our eyes met as the door shut behind me. The maze of people that blocked my way earlier to reach room 3254 now were not such a hassle for me to surpass. This time around I just let them swallow me whole. As I reach the doors I can see Leah Meyers, the woman at the front desk, looking at me with the same hazed expression as earlier. I locked eyes with her for just a brief second, before I burst through the glass sliding doors as it opened. The weather is quite hot today, unusually hot. A strange ringing sound started to sound in my ears. How strange?