Story-A-Day #364: The Thing

THE THING

It was a freak storm, one of those random early-November filibusters that just creeps up out of nowhere and buries the world under a cold blanket of white nothingness.

I was on my way home from work, having just finished the night shift, and I was squinting into the gloom, my face stinging with each icy pellet that zinged off my cheeks, chin and forehead.  I pulled my jacket in tighter and nestled my head a little deeper into the collar.

I was not dressed for this.  Not even a bit.  I was dressed for the day it had been earlier, a brisk afternoon that didn't even carry a hint of portent as to what was to come.  What came of course, was a twenty degree drop in temperature and about five inches of the white stuff.  It was a surprise, but admittedly not a shock.

This time of year has always been known for its randomness.  What it is not known for, is creatures of the night.

I rounded the corner, still squinting into the blinding squall that had descended, and noticed the figure coming towards me.  It seemed human enough at first, possibly a drunk who had experienced better days.  Then it lunged at me.

It just so happened that my right foot hit a patch at the same time as the creature lunged at me.  I was lucky to tumble when I did and by the time I had regained my feet, I realized I was not dealing with a drunk.  This was something different, a much more complicating concern.

It sniffed at the air as I rolled out of my way and scampered back up onto my feet.  It waved its arms around in a comically Hollywood-zombie kind of way.  Then it did something completely unexpected.  Up until that point, I could have accepted the normalcy of this potentially being a drunk, but drunks don't spit fire.

I turned and fled into the night.  I didn't care that I couldn't see, because I had recently seen things that I didn't care to see.  I didn't even want to remember this night, and that fire-spewing mouth was enough to ensure the right level of trauma to ensure that by tomorrow morning, I would not have any recollection.

First though, I had to escape.  If I didn't live to see tomorrow, then none of it would matter.