Zane was unsure if he would be able to make it into the city. It would take him around another three hours to limp himself the remaining two miles and that was considering if he was able to withstand the pain from his injuries.
The night was stinging cold and the air felt like intaking needles into his lungs. It was supposed to be the last day of December— the snow was very much overdue. His clothes were tattered and ripped in the worst places which had only made his situation worse.
Zane would surely freeze to death if he didn't at least find a warm spot to set himself down. He had never experienced so much physical agony in all his life.
Nevertheless, he wanted to endure the pain to help his family. He didn't want them to die or suffer at the hands of those 'creatures'.
Zane held himself tightly, trying to keep what little warmth he had left inside of him.
"Positive thoughts... You'll make it if you ignore your harsh surroundings and pain... You can do this, Zane!" He encouraged himself.
Little did Zane know that he was being fueled by his adrenaline. Slowly but surely it would eventually run out.
Not before long, Zane's eyes began to blur and his body trembled like a mini-earthquake. He began to flutter his eyelashes, desperately trying to keep himself awake. His breathing pattern had become very irregular, almost as if he was suffering from an asthma attack. The world around him was slowly becoming dizzy.
Sadly, a few seconds later, he collapsed on the cold asphalt. His lips quivered and his skin tingled with frostbite. Using the last bits of strength within him, Zane forced his eyes to peer through the downpour of snow. He was hopeful that someone would come along and offer him some help.
Suddenly, his eyes drifted towards a mysterious figure that approached him. It was dark and its hair seemed to flutter in the wind.
"Finally..! Some help..." He muttered desperately.
The dark figure came closer to Zane with each step but it made no sound as it approached him.
"Please, I need some help..! My family was taken by some strange creatures!" Pleaded Zane.
The dark figure then moved up to him silently. It neither spoke nor reacted. Not even the sound of its footsteps could be heard. This made Zane a little worried. Why was this person not responding to him?
Carefully, Zane then fixed his quivering eyes upon the figure. This was when he began to notice its very strange features. Its eyes glowed with a purple color and it had reddish-black hair that danced atop its head like a flame. Its feet were like that of a shadow and its fingernails extended downward like sharp needles.
Zane immediately went into panic mode. It was one of the creatures that had taken his family. He had to find a way to escape.
Zane didn't even have the energy to call for help. Instead, he dug his fingernails into the cold asphalt as he desperately tried to crawl away. Sadly, this could only get him so far. His fingertips soon began to bleed and his body started to shut down.
"I-I'm gonna die!" He bawled weakly.
Suddenly, Zane found himself unable to move as a stinging sensation struck him like a bolt of lightning. He then turned himself around in horror to see that the creature had impaled his leg with its long fingernails.
It then began pulling Zane backward violently. However, by this time, his body had gone completely numb. He could neither feel pain nor move his limbs. Soon after, the creature severed his leg, painting the asphalt red with blood.
Blood gushed out like a waterfall as he looked atrociously into the marrow of his bone. Despair became Zane's best friend as he began to accept his fate. He neither screamed nor resisted as he now knew that he was about to die. There was nothing that he could do.
"So is this how I'm going to die..?" He thought to himself. "I couldn't do anything in the end... I tried so hard in life only to die a meaningless death! I hate this world so damned much! Why does this shit always happen to me?! Damn it! Sometimes I wonder if it would be better if this world was just destroyed!"
The creature now stood above Zane ready to deal the killing blow. It then smiled at him revealing dark shadowy-like teeth. However, before it killed him, it muttered a series of strange words;
"You are me!"
*****
Zane gasped before waking up in the backseat of a small car. His face was drenched with sweat. Quickly, he then patted his leg to ensure that it was still there. Fortunately, it was all a dream.
"It was all just a dream..?" He questioned himself.
"Oh, you're awake lad!" Exclaimed an Irish accent from the driver's seat.
"Where am I..?"
Before responding, the driver adjusted his rare view mirror revealing his dark-brown eyes, light complexion, and plump middle-aged facial features.
"We're on our way to the hospital. I found you sprawled out in the open road all by yourself. I'm guessing the shockwave from that bomb got you good."
"What..? Then some parts of it were real then..." Mumbled Zane. "Great! That means my family was taken!"
"You should take it easy! You don't wanna provoke them wounds on ya," cautioned the driver.
Zane then looked through the window realizing it was still dark out. The snow floated down gently, almost as if it was another peaceful day.
"Hey, what's your name?" Asked Zane politely.
"My name's Bob! What about you, lad?"
"I-I'm Zane..."
"Zane? That's a cool name your parents gave ya there."
Zane's face then sank into a painful expression. He was seriously worried about his family.
"So Mr. Bob, have you seen those creatures too..?" He asked.
"Creatures? What creatures?"
"They took my family away from me... They were like these shadowy figures with dancing hair on their heads and bright glowing purple eyes!"
"Lad, I think you hit your head back there. You must have dreamt about it."
Zane then stopped for a moment as he pondered. He was certain that it was not a dream.
"Mr. Bob, was there anyone else around when you found me?"
"No... It was just you. You were like a few yards away from a wrecked SUV. I assumed you crashed due to the explosion and was trying to find some help before you collapsed."
"Mr. Bob, I wasn't the one driving that SUV! It was my father! We got hit by the shockwave twice! The second time, these strange creatures appeared out of nowhere and abducted my mom and little brother! My dad went after them to get them back! I swear I'm not making this up!"
Bob sat in silence for a short moment as he contemplated what Zane told him. To him, it sounded absurd. What kind of creatures would abduct people?
"Look lad, I want to believe what you say but it's a little too farfetched for me. As I said before, maybe you dreamt about it after the accident. Either way, we'll be in the city soon so the doctors will take a look at ya."
A feeling of anxiety rushed through Zane's body. He had to prove that what he had seen was real. His parents were taken by those creatures and he would need to explain the same story to the police even if it meant being labeled as crazy.
Zane then began looking around desperately in search of some kind of evidence. There had to be something he could use to prove his story.
His eyes then met up on the bright-blue beam of light that shone down into the city of New York. That had to prove that he wasn't making things up.
"Mr. Bob, look! The blue beam of light over there! What do you think it is!?"
"I don't know lad. That's why I came here in the first place. After the explosion, I decided to drive down to the city to see what was the cause of it. I don't have a family of my own, so I take whatever chance I get to help others in disasters. It helps cure my loneliness..."
An idea then rushed through Zane's mind. The last time he checked, his phone was behaving strangely. He could use it to get Bob to believe him.
"Okay Mr. Bob, one last thing! Do you have a smartphone?"
"Yeah... I got it right here on me!"
"Okay, good! Check the date and tell me what you see."
"Why? It should be the new year of 2021."
"Just do it!"
Reluctantly, Bob turned his phone on before looking at the screen.
"It says January 1, 2020? It must be some kind of technical issue, Zane."
Zane was a little shocked as he thought he would still see the same random question marks as before. However, this could work too. Zane then pulled out his phone and showed it to Bob. The date was the same as his.
Bob took a shaky breath. Zane's story was becoming a little more believable.
"Okay Zane, please, you're starting to scare me-"
"Watch out!" Suddenly shouted Zane.
The car's wheels were suddenly sent flying in all four directions as a shadowy figure had laid some sort of trap in front of it. The car flipped and spun like a fidget spinner before slamming into a median barrier on the side of the road.
Fortunately, Zane had somehow managed to avoid any additional injuries but Bob had been knocked unconscious.
"Mr. Bob! Mr. Bob!" Called Zane in a panic.
Almost at blinding speed, Zane watched as the driver's door was ripped off like a piece of paper. A shadowy hand then grabbed onto Bob's shoulder, ready to pull him from the car. This was when he woke up. He looked straight into the bright-purple eyes of the creature before it dragged him from the car.
"Help! Please help me! Aagh!!" He cried.
Zane was completely unprepared to help him. It pained him but there was nothing he could do to help Bob.
Zane then quickly forced the door to his right open before hurrying on through. He needed to do something if he wished to survive. Was it possible to run into the city and escape? He did not know but he had to try.
His eyes then caught onto three shadow creatures locking a metal bracelet onto the arm of Bob. Soon after, he was rendered unconscious before his body began floating in the air.
Unfortunately, their eyes met Zane. Zane then quickly tried to limp himself away from their reach. His breathing became heavy as the images from his dream pelted him like hail. Had his dream been a vision of his death?
Unfortunately, Zane was not blessed with the time to figure it out. One of the creatures had quickly given chase to him before latching its hand around his injured leg. Zane was then violently dragged to the ground before his chin painfully collided with the cold asphalt. Zane winced in pain as the creature began to pull him through a pile of broken glass without regard for his injuries.
Zane had to do something to save himself. He knew that once the creature placed the metal bracelet onto his arm, it would be over. Desperately, Zane then stretched his hand before him searching for something he could use to set himself free. His fingers then grasped onto a piece of glass before he used it to stab the creature in its hand. It then bellowed in agony as it was forced to release him.
Zane didn't waste any time. He had to take the opportunity to get out of sight. He then threw himself up before diving into a nearby bush to hide.
The creatures then surrounded their injured comrade to inspect its wound. They made croaking and other weird noises as they began to communicate. Strangely, their language reminded Zane of Greek. It was however hard to tell due to their weird accent.
They then began looking around the crashed car, searching the area for any signs of Zane. Zane held his breath, not wanting to make even the slightest sound.
Thankfully, after an entire minute of searching, the creatures decided to give up. To Zane, it seemed as if they just couldn't bother to look for him— not that he was complaining, of course. The creatures then walked back over to Bob's floating body before disappearing into the darkness. Zane was lucky to still be alive.
He had now survived two encounters with these weird creatures. Little did he know that far worse awaited him in the future.