Chereads / Resonance Unbound / Chapter 2 - Nightmare Made Flesh

Chapter 2 - Nightmare Made Flesh

Its form was grotesque—a monstrosity pulled straight from the depths of a nightmare. Its dark, rubbery skin rippled unnaturally, shifting as though it were alive, a grotesque sea of undulating flesh. Jagged horns jutted unevenly from its misshapen head, twisted like the gnarled branches of a dying tree. Beneath its slick surface, faintly glowing veins pulsed with a sickly light, casting an eerie, otherworldly glow onto the ground.

Its face was a chilling mask of malice, dominated by a gaping maw that stretched far too wide across its elongated head. Rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth glistened in the dim light, uneven and angled in a way that spoke of pure predatory design. Its lower jaw jutted out slightly, forming a snout-like shape that only amplified its grotesque visage.

A long, black tongue slithered out from between those jagged teeth, glistening with thick, viscous saliva. The tongue flicked and writhed with unsettling precision, tasting the air like a serpent searching for prey.

Clusters of small, beady eyes dotted its skull haphazardly, each one blinking independently with a faint, predatory glow. Every movement the creature made was accompanied by a grotesque squelch, as if its own body resisted the unnatural shape it had been twisted into.

Without warning, its tongue lashed out, moving with whip-like speed, and coiled around a fleeing victim. Bones snapped audibly, followed by a sharp, strangled cry that was cut short in an instant. The poor soul was yanked off the ground, disappearing into the cavernous maw.

The monster's jaws worked methodically, grinding and tearing with sickening efficiency. Wet, ripping sounds filled the air as flesh gave way beneath those uneven teeth. Blood mixed with saliva, dribbling down its chin as it swallowed with nauseating squelches.

Ezra crouched behind a heap of rubble, his breath shallow, chest tight with fear. His heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst from his ribs. This can't be how it ends. Fifteen years of life, and I'm going to be eaten by… that? He grimaced. God, I'm not even going to get a dramatic last moment. Just a footnote: 'Random kid, devoured.'

He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled shakily. "Okay. If I die… I guess my will goes something like this: I, Ezra Valentine, lived a short, wildly underwhelming life and now—"

The ground trembled beneath him, cutting his thoughts short.

His eyes snapped open as he saw the creature convulsing violently. Its rubbery body twisted in ways that defied logic, sickening cracks filling the air as sharp protrusions erupted from beneath its skin. Bone splintered, flesh split open like overripe fruit, and long, writhing tentacles burst from its back, each one moving with a predatory mind of its own.

Ezra's stomach turned. 'Fantastic. As if it wasn't nightmare fuel already, now it has tentacles.'

The rancid stench hit him next, a putrid combination of rotting meat and burnt chemicals. He gagged, covering his nose with his sleeve. "What the hell… did this thing crawl out of a sewer? It smells like it bathed in garbage juice."

The creature let out an ear-piercing screech before lunging forward. Its tentacles whipped out, tearing through debris and shattered barricades like paper.

Gunfire erupted as soldiers and rebels, united by survival instinct, turned their weapons on the monster. Bullets peppered its hide, leaving gaping wounds that oozed thick, black ichor. But the creature didn't falter—it surged forward, trampling bodies underfoot as its maw snapped at anything within reach.

Ezra flinched as the monster's tongue lashed out again, yanking another victim into its jaws. The sickening crunch of bone made his stomach churn.

A soldier, braver than most, climbed atop a nearby piece of debris and launched a grenade directly into the creature's gaping mouth.

"Take this, you freak!" he shouted.

The grenade exploded within the creature's maw, sending chunks of teeth and blackened flesh spraying outward. The monster recoiled, shrieking as dark ichor poured from its face. For a moment, Ezra thought they might have wounded it enough to drive it back.

But then it straightened, its wounds sealing themselves with grotesque efficiency. It let out a guttural growl that reverberated through the air, its small beady eyes locking onto the soldier.

"No, no, no!" the man cried out as one of the tentacles lashed out and impaled him straight through the chest. His body hung limply before being flung aside like a ragdoll.

Ezra's heart pounded as he ducked behind a charred wall. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run, but his legs refused to move.

The creature began to rampage, its tentacles slamming into buildings, smashing windows, and sending debris raining down onto the street. The soldiers fell back, their weapons barely making a dent in the monstrosity.

A burst of light caught Ezra's attention as a rebel fired an RPG directly into the creature's midsection. The explosion sent a shockwave through the air, and for a moment, smoke obscured the monster entirely.

Ezra peeked over his cover, his breath held in anticipation.

When the smoke cleared, the creature was still standing. Its rubbery skin was charred and cracked, but it was very much alive.

"Oh, come on!" Ezra shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief.

As if in response, the creature screeched again and lunged forward, its massive form crashing into a building. Sparks erupted as its tentacles wrapped around electrical poles, snapping powerlines like twigs.

One live wire caught on a tentacle, and for the first time, the creature hesitated. Electricity crackled, dancing along its appendage, and its body convulsed with each jolt.

The soldiers noticed the creature's weakness immediately.

"Focus fire on the powerlines!" one soldier shouted.

Another shot at the transformer nearby, causing it to explode in a cascade of sparks. More wires snapped and tangled around the monster's form, sending electricity surging through its body.

The creature let out a piercing wail, thrashing violently as arcs of electricity crawled across its skin. Its tentacles whipped and coiled in every direction before finally falling still, smoke rising from its charred, twitching form.

Ezra stayed frozen, his chest heaving as he clutched the edge of his cover.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

Slowly, cautiously, people began to emerge from their hiding places, their faces pale and their eyes wide with disbelief. The creature's hulking form lay motionless, tendrils of smoke rising from its smoldering skin.

"It's dead!" someone shouted.

"We killed it!" another voice echoed.

Ezra leaned against the wall, his body trembling as he wiped sweat and grime from his face.

"Killed it? Sure," he muttered, his voice ragged. "Let's ignore the fact it electrocuted itself. Heroes, all of you."

His gaze drifted back to the breach in the wall, where darkness loomed beyond the shattered concrete.