44 Cretaceous (1/2)

IMMERSIVE MODE DEACTIVATED

Her eye opens. Darkness. The ache in her legs reminds her where she has stuffed herself. Her backpack is held to her chest, and there is a bucket between her bent legs. She sighs and knocks her noggin on the wall before stiffening.

This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. Someone, something finding her won't be a matter of being out of the game.

She listens for several seconds before moving around to place her ear to the closet door.

Nothing.

She grasps the doorknob and turns it bit by bit. She eases the door open.

The door isn't wrenched open. Nothing makes a sound. With a sigh, Sia opens the door fully.

GASP

Her heart jumps into her throat and she chokes on her scream. She slams the door closed. It shut on the strap of her backpack. Her back hit the wall of the closet.

White. White forms the size of a dog are crawling around the room.

She waits for the creatures to come at her like the roaches. For them to...

She doesn't have to wait very long. The doorknob jiggles as one of the creatures nudges against it. Sia's breath hiccups. The creatures attack at the wood of the door. Sia can hear it cracking under the strain.

'Mom, Dad, Aaliyah, I'm trying. I'm really trying...' Sia thinks as she shivers.

'Let me make it through this. Please.' she pled.

Her form shakes as she thinks about what to do. She bends and grabs the bucket, and takes the lighter from her pocket. A few garments hang from hangers that have been shoved to the side away from the empty hangers gathered at the middle of the closet. It's all she has.

She grabs a garment from off a hanger. She can't see what it is but it is thin. It lights and she drops it into the bucket. Then she grabs another garment, a long sleeve shirt, and lights the sleeve on fire.

She coughs as the fumes from the burning fabric fill the closet. She grabs the bucket and balances it on her knees. Ready to toss the flaming contents at the creatures and run.

The creatures make little grunts as they destroy the door. It feels like an eternity before thin streams of light shoot into the dark closet. The cracking becomes louder.

Small holes, widen, and Sia can see details of the creatures faces.

'Albino ants?!' Sia thinks before she steadies herself and grabs the shaking doorknob.

The things are focused on the door when she grabs the corner of the hot bucket with one hand, turns the knob, and rams the door open with her shoulder. The pale creatures go flying. Sia ignores her burning fingertips and chucks the burning contents at the nearest one.

EEEEEEEEEE

High pitched squeals fill the air. Several of the translucent-skinned beings screech and scramble to the other side of the room.

One of the creatures remains, none of the flaming material hit it. It crawls toward Sia and she swings the bucket as hard as she can at its head.

CLANG

Her backpack strap is tangled around her ankle, and she doesn't have the time to fix it. She tugs it behind her with her leg as she darts for the bathroom. Right before she slams the door, she yanks her leg back to retrieve her backpack.

She pulls the backpack up and puts it on. Her fingers ache. She huffs before rushing to the window. Her heart is pounding incessantly in her chest.

She yanks the window up and curses under her breath. It's locked. The fingers on her right hand are red and abused. The jerking on the closed window smears blood onto the grey paint.

”God!” she shouts before unlocking the window and jamming her palm at the top of the window frame to open it up.

It doesn't budge.

The scuffling outside the bathroom door stops, but she can hear furniture moving. Something bigger has arrived. Her knees almost buckle at the loud crash she hears outside the door.

”Dammit, no..no..no, please!” Sia's eye drips tears of frustration and fear as she pushes up against the window frame.

It remains still for a moment, but the next moment it is opening up with a soft creak.

Sia's heart skips a beat as she takes off her backpack and shoves it through the opened space. The window screen rips and crashes below. It isn't night, but it isn't fully morning. The light of the sun has not yet crossed over into the termite mound infested town. When Sia looks out into the darkness, she hesitates and wonders if it is safe.

The bathroom door splinters under a heavy crash against it. That scares Sia right out of her skin and through the window. She slides through feet first and scrapes her belly on the bottom sill before stretching out with her hands holding tight to the edge of the window. She lets go.

When her feet touch the ground, she bends her knees and falls over. A wave of pain goes up her ankles and knees. She fears that she may have broken something. Maybe she should stay down, but panic forces her to rise to her feet. After snatching her backpack up, she drags herself away from the building and back toward the hill.

The sun's rays shine right past the dark hill that she presumes is where she came from. By the time she gets halfway there morning has fully dawned. She doesn't hear anything pursuing her, but hearing anything was hard with the roaring of blood in her ears and her heavy panting. When she gets to the hill, she scrambles up it with the last of her adrenaline-fueled strength.

She lies still. Her eye is wide. She itches. Her panting doesn't stop as she nervously looks around for the white, transparent critters.

”They must avoid the light. I'm fine in the light. Just stay in the light.”

Sia tries to stand, but her wobbling knees don't allow it. She crawls up the rest of the hill and peers over the other side.

There lay the caterpillar from yesterday.

Sia's heart sinks. Her breath hiccups and she holds back a sob. It's as if electricity travels through her entire form. The hairs on her arms stand up, and her knees lock....forcing her to kneel.

The caterpillar's body lies in the same spot as yesterday, but its skin is vastly different than before.

Hundreds of holes riddle the caterpillar's skin and within each hole is an egg sac. Ovular white eggs sacs have burst from within the caterpillar. The larvae have feasted on its remains.

Sia crawls toward the canyon she exited. She clenches her teeth and tries to focus on something else as she drags herself away from the repulsive sight.

Anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~

”That's a bad omen.” young Sia remarked as she walked to school with her dad.

That made him stop in his tracks.

”What did you say?” her father asked while he searched for what prompted the statement.

He saw a broken mirror left on the curb in front of a neighbors' home.

”There's no such thing as bad omens,” he said before he continued to walk.