The Night Has Teeth - Chapter 6

John makes his escape from the garage as the pale ones claw their way inside to kill him.

Chapter 6

The banging against the door and roof grew louder as I dashed over to the other side of the garage.

My old lawnmower was stuffed behind my grill, so I tipped them over to get to the gas cap and propane. My hands worked as fast as I could to tip the lawnmower over, the greasy and grass-covered frame slipping in my hands. I got a grip as my fingers dug into the machine, and I then led a gasoline trail to the propane tank and the car, tipping the lawnmower over like a giant bladed gas can.

I turned on the car and cranked the radio up as loud as possible, rolling down the windows so the bastards could hear it. No music came out of the speakers. Every single radio station was just playing static or warning messages. The sound of static almost drowned out the sounds of the pale ones trying to dig their way in and eat me alive.

I led the forking gasoline trail to the garage door, grabbed the grill matches I kept on the shelf, and lit one.

The door to the house blew off its hinges. A pile of pale ones clamored onto the car and climbed inside as they fought to get to the radio. A hole appeared in the roof, and more dropped onto the Kia’s hood as they dented the metal and screamed.

I pulled open the garage door, stepped back, and dropped the match.

FWOOSH.

The creatures didn’t realize they were burning to death until it was too late. I’m not sure if they didn’t have pain receptors or if the vibrations from the car alarm were too much for them, but they didn’t start to shriek until the fire had completely engulfed them.

I started to slowly back away from the monsters as the house went up in flames. I was near the street when something hit me from behind, hurtling me down toward the pavement.

My chin struck the driveway. I could feel blood oozing from a wound as I picked myself up.

Pale ones were shoving and leaping over me to run into the fire. Part of me thinks they were trying to save their own and that they heard the screams and wanted to pull their brothers and sisters from the flames before they lost more of their kind.

But the snapping of their jaws and the drool that flung like ropes from their mouths told me differently. They were just hungry, and the vibrating screams from their kin could only be recognized as a dinner bell.

Like moths to the flame, I watched them run into the fire and burn to death as dozens from the neighboring houses fought to get inside the roaring husk that used to be my home.

I stood up and wiped the blood from my chin. The neighborhood was quiet. The only sound that could be heard across the entire block was my house burning down.

I walked five houses down the street towards the main road. A pull in my heart stopped me, like a puppeteer suddenly jerking their puppet to the side.

I turned and watched my house's second and third floors fall into the rest of the structure.

My feet found their purpose again, and I began to make my way toward the main road. I couldn’t help but find a little joy that destroying my home had taken out all the nearby monsters. But I knew, deep down, that things wouldn’t be as easy once I left the neighborhood.

TO BE CONTINUED!