Chapter 3: Right Place?

“RIZ IS THAT YOU?” His body moving through the smoke and towards me. As he exited the haze I got a good look at him. He was fine, not a scratch nor a mark on him; something felt off, something felt…wrong.

“Hey Xavier, woah that was crazy huh? At least we’re okay right? Sucks to be those guys though. I thought it was meant to be a small explosion but look, the whole bank is in ruin, everyone’s dead. Oh well” Riz seemed strange, something was definitely wrong. This is not how he usually acts.

“Riz? Are you okay? You shouldn’t be moving right now” I got off the floor and walked back slowly. I was shocked, there was something wrong and I couldn’t tell what. Why did I look at my brother and feel this way? 

“Xavier buddy, why are you walking away? It’s me! Riz! Your older brother! You’re so weird sometimes man” Riz walked towards me as to close the distance between us. At that moment I didn’t feel like that was my brother, I felt only one thing.

Unbearable Fear

Suddenly a pulse of energy echoed through my bones, it wasn’t a normal feeling, it was foreign to me. Riz appeared to feel it too as he stopped moving towards me, he just stood there, his legs frozen. His fingers moving erraticaly, but no other movement. A calming silence landed on my ears for a brief moment, before Riz all of a sudden began to scream. His voice ripping through the street around us, he kneeled over, head in hands and let out a huge roar.

“RIZ WHAT’S HAPPENING?! WHAT’S HAPPENING?!” I asked repeatedly, but no response. He roared again but this time it sounded different, it was a deeper tone than before and it shook me deeply. He looked up at me, uncovering his face from his hands and I saw something unbelievable. He was changing right before my eyes. His flesh tearing from his bones revealing a monstrous green skin underneath. It started at his face and ended at his waist. He was becoming something different, something grotesque. Teeth shaped like a Hawk’s talons, finger nails growing in to fierce claws, eyes bulging red. By this point his entire body had changed. He’d become a monster, like something from another dimension. Riz had grew to a new height towering over me. I was scared.

“R-Riz? Is that still you?” I asked the creature in front of me. He stopped moving and let out a deafening shriek, shattering the ground beneath him. I could do nothing but ran away, so I moved far to the other side of the street and hid behind a sign for the train station close by. I hoped he had lost sight of me during his fit of rage. I took a deep breath and looked around for a better hiding spot, but something else caught my attention.

“Wait… who is that? Has she been there this whole time?” I whispered to myself in confusion.

I wasn’t alone