Chapter 1: 1. Rude Awakening

Well, that’s new. Callum thought as he stared down the fog laden street at the creature. That’s one ugly critter.

He eyed the furry beast and the empty buildings with a frown. He had always been a lucid dreamer, but this was almost too real. A bone-chilling breeze swept through the streets, carrying rubbish along with it as Callum pulled his grey jacket tighter around himself. Guess I’m having a nightmare.

A long drooling pink mass of flesh flicked out of the beast’s mouth as it turned towards him. The beast clicked its teeth together before letting out a shrill, squeaking noise. Shit! Callum turned and bolted as the strange thing lumbered towards him, faster than he imagined it would have been capable of!

His trainers pounded against the cobblestone road as he looked for an open door. Callum panted as the thing kept coming for him. The sound of its gnashing teeth betrayed the fact it was getting closer with every moment.

“You! Wait up!” A woman’s voice called out from a dark alley as he sprinted past.

He had barely gone a few steps more when an ear-piercing scream and a wet squelching noise drew his attention. Callum glanced over his shoulder to see the beast holding a girl between its jaws! Its cruel teeth chomped into her soft flesh as blood stained her clothes and pale skin.

That was convenient! He heaved a sigh of relief as he kept pushing forward. The weird animal seemed to have lost interest in him as it savoured its meal. Callum could hear it slurping away as he ducked into a side street. He grunted as he rubbed his side. Apparently, his body disagreed with his recent physical activity.

Callum took a deep breath as he collapsed into the doorway of an abandoned shop. Once he caught his breath, he took a better look at his surroundings. This new street was very narrow, with just enough space for about three people to walk side by side. The windows of the buildings, the ones that weren’t broken, were covered in grime. Which made it difficult to see inside of them.

It looked like there had been no one on those streets for the longest time. There were even some buildings that had weeds and other plants growing out of their cracks! Callum groaned as he stood back up, while checking his black cargo trousers for any dirt or rips.

The shrill squeak of the creature sounded again, and Callum felt his heart race at the noise. I guess I’ll call it a Gob. Since it has quite the mouth on it. He chuckled at his own joke as he licked his lips. Callum knew he was only making a joke, and a bad one at that, to stave off the fear. His knees trembled as he walked off in the opposite direction from the Gob, peering into the fog in search of any other threats.

I wonder who that girl was? He had not recognised her, which was unusual. Whenever he usually had a nightmare, any other people always looked and acted like his family or friends. He cursed at the sound of his own footsteps. He somehow felt betrayed by them, as if they wanted him to get caught by the furry monster.

Come to think of it, I don’t recognise this place either. A frown appeared on his face as his breath became visible before his eyes. Damn it’s cold!

The fog swirled around him like a thick blanket as every noise he made echoed back to him. It’s weird for a nightmare to happen during the day. Callum thought as he glanced up at the muted sunlight that barely shone through the fog. But the eerie green hue that the fog gave off was even worse.

It made the already dark buildings and stonework look even creepier. Callum chewed on his lip as he pressed his face up against the filthy windows from time to time. He was checking to see if there was somewhere he could wait out the end of that nightmare while being comfortable.

However, every shop that he peered into was covered in thick layers of dust, weeds growing from the floor, and were in various states of disrepair. Because of that, he did not want to risk using one of them to hide in. Maybe I should look for a house or something. Anywhere’s got to be better than these places! At the same time as he thought that, he suddenly heard a noise.

“Psst!”

Callum jumped at the sudden sound as he spun around. But nobody was there! Did I just imagine it? He wondered if the nightmare was playing tricks on him. Maybe it was just trying to make him nervous before unleashing a fresh horror on him.

“Hey! Hurry and get in here!”

Callum caught sight of a teenage girl with tanned skin and a black baseball hat waving at him from behind a broken door. He felt like it had to be a trap. After all, what were the odds of running into someone friendly during a nightmare? None, zip, zero, nada. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he felt drawn towards her.

Or maybe he just thought he did. Whatever the reason, he soon found himself standing in front of her. However, before he could say anything, she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside! Callum winced as his shoulder slammed against the wall as the mysterious girl checked the street outside again before heaving a sigh of relief.

Callum took that moment to check her out. Her hat kept her long, dark, waist-length hair out of her face. She wore ripped jeans, a simple black t-shirt and white trainers. She’s kinda hot! Callum coughed and glanced away when he realised she had closed the door and was now staring at him with a seething glare.

“Why not take a photo? Creep.” She said before walking past him. “Well? Are you coming or you just going to wait here to be eaten?”

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Callum glanced at the door nervously, trying to decide whether he would be safer with her or the Gob outside. Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and chased after the mysterious woman because she had not bothered to wait for him to decide. He passed several open doorways, but all of them led into various sections of the store she had pulled him into.

Callum followed her into what seemed to be the stockroom of that place as her pace never slowed down. She led him towards a large, shuttered, loading bay door at the rear of the building. Which was slightly open. At that moment, she turned towards him and placed a finger to her full lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

He nodded to show he understood as she knelt down to look out of the gap between the shutter and the loading bay. What am I doing? I have no idea who this chick is! She could be a serial killer in this fucked up nightmare!

While she checked the coast was clear, Callum gave the stockroom a cursory look over. He was looking for anything that could be used as a weapon in a pinch. But there was nothing that seemed like it could be useful. That’s just my luck.

“Let’s go.”

The young woman slid under the shutter, leaving Callum alone in the dilapidated store. I better not regret this! Callum sighed before throwing himself to the ground and crawling through the gap.

“Shit!”

Callum groaned as he fell the couple of metres to the ground on the other side. She could’ve helped me! However, when he located her, she was crouching behind the wall to his left, peering over it with a nervous expression plastered on her face. What’s that all about? Callum wondered as he got back on his feet and stared into the fog.

Gobs! There were three of the creatures gnashing their teeth and lashing the air with their tongues as they slowly lumbered towards their position!

“Right, we’ll have to run for it. See that building over there?” The woman pointed to an old building that was just visible through the fog. “That’s the library. We have to get there and into its basement. Are you ready? Go!”

Callum froze for a second as she started sprinting. He cursed out loud as he rushed after her. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like liquid fire as frenzied squeaking burst the air behind them. The dreaded sound of those things running bounced off the surrounding walls as a cold sweat dripped down Callum’s back.

The woman never slowed down. Because of that, she was always a few steps ahead of him. It made Callum think of those times he joked with his friends about what they would do if a zombie apocalypse ever happened. He was very fond of telling them he would not have to outrun the zombies, just outrun them.

That joke did not seem so funny now that the woman was putting it into practice against him! He almost gagged when a putrid smell invaded his nostrils, forcing him to glance over his shoulder for the source. Only then did he notice the Gobs were almost upon him!

Their tongues cracked the air like whips as they reached out, searching to grab hold of him. Because of that, Callum felt a great surge of energy rush through his body. His legs pumped furiously as he willed himself to go faster. I just have to overtake her! Callum remembered the first Gob he had come across had halted its chase to eat. So if one of them had to die, it was better if it were her!

After a moment, the woman glanced behind herself and noticed the Callum was gaining on her. A deep set frown appeared on her face as she gulped in deep breaths of air. Callum saw her lips moving furiously, but he heard nothing. He guessed she was cursing him under her breath as her gaze washed over the Gobs behind him.

A hesitant expression washed over her face before a card appeared in her hand out of thin air! Callum used to collect trading cards when he was a kid, but because of that, he could only wonder what she was planning to do with it. At that moment, she suddenly sped up! She moved too fast for his eyes to keep track of her as she left a blurry afterimage in her wake!

What the fuck! Callum wanted to scream. She had left him behind to be eaten by the Gobs! At the same time, he could not make sense of what he had just witnessed! The sound of gnashing teeth suddenly reminded him of the perilous situation he was dealing with.

His lungs were screaming for air as his muscles complained they could not go on. Callum grit his teeth and forced his body through the pain. I’m not getting eaten! At that moment, he heard an excited squeak as panic shot through his mind. His body seemed to react on its own as he swerved just in time to see a mass of dark fur and cruel teeth pass him by!

Shit! Shit, shit, shit! That fucking thing almost ate me! Callum’s heart raced as he dodged around the Gob, struggling to get back on its feet after slamming into the ground. Furious squeaking escaped the creature as it saw its meal getting away from it. However, Callum could not relax. There were still two more of those things that seemed even more eager to catch him now.

Are they enjoying this? Callum felt bile rise in his throat at that thought. It meant that those creatures partly hunted for sport and not just to fill their bellies! The end of the street was only a few feet away. All he had to do was take a left turn and it would be a straight shot for the library!

Can I make it? Callum wondered as fear enveloped his mind. Everything was telling him he could not. His mind was certain his body would betray him before he could reach the supposed safety of that building. I have to try!

At that moment, he heard excited squeaking coming from behind him again…

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