Chapter 7

The blood curdling screams from within the warehouse told their own story. David bit down on his lower lip as he struggled to free his hands.

"Start the car, start the bloody car," Marcus yelled, his British accent sharp to the ears. In panic the driver fumbled with the ignition and managed to break the key in the lock. He held up the broken piece with shaking hands just as something very large emerged from the warehouse. David's face held a grimace as he saw for himself the vicious face of a hulk creature. It's green skin stark against jet black hair and snarling white teeth.

A fist was smashed through the side window and the driver was pulled out by his neck. There was no fight. His neck was snapped and he was thrown aside like a doll. David put himself as far into the corner as he could get as the passenger door was reifed off it's hinges and Marcus was pulled out. He clung to David's shirt whimpering slightly as two large hands took hold but nothing could save him. David winced as the creature toyed with him punching him lightly, enough to bring him down but not enough to knock him out.

"Stay down, stay down," David urged under his breath as the security chief struggled back to his feet for a third time. His face was already a bloody mess.

He swung blindly trying to make contact with the creature but he was exhausted already. The creature seemed to enjoy knocking him down and watching the struggle to get back up. Finally the creature hit him a blow so hard that when the poor man hit the side of the car David could feel the impact. He was dead before he slid to the ground.

The creature almost seemed to smile. He bent to look in the dust covered window and surveyed David with an ugly smug grin. Then he straightened up and slowly walked back into the warehouse.

David had just worked his hands free, slowly he got out of the car. All around him the security team lay dead and dying slaughtered mercilessly by this heartless fiend.

Swallowing hard David carefully stepped over a fallen man and followed the giant into the warehouse.

Just before entering he stalled for a moment to unbutton his shirt and he dropped it just inside the door.

~o~

He heard the chopper overhead but trudged on regardless even as the search lights picked him out.

All those people had been killed, how many more would die before this creature finally perished. He knew the creature wasn't directly responsible this time but disaster seemed to follow like a storm cloud. Would he ever know a days peace.

He couldn't remember much but he knew Slone was dead, Violent images flashed in his head. Disjointed images of a fist pummelling the creatures face again and again. The onslaught continuing even as the creature went down. He closed his eyes against it, trying already to forget.

He walked on as blue flashing lights surrounded him in the darkness. Calls to stay where he was went ignored.

Why don't they just shoot damn it!

He was suddenly grabbed from behind and his hands were hoisted onto his head.

"When a law enforcement officer tells you to freeze you stop moving sir, you remain still." The large man barked at him as his colleagues searched him. "You do not continue on. You're lucky you're still alive sir."

"We take him in?" One of the other officers asked, his hand already on David's wrist.

"Yeah we take him in," the big man nodded, "his tracks lead directly back to the scene of that homicide. It's a cinch he had something to do with it."

The big man looked directly into David's face as handcuffs were fitted to his wrists.

"You've had a busy night sir."

David didn't look at him. His mind still flashed up images of the warehouse, the screams of those inside. Three men and a woman who sat happily at breakfast that morning not realising it would be their last. David's grime streaked face wore a haunted expression and he hardly flinched as one of the officers cleaned blood from the side of his head where he had been pistol whipped earlier.

~o~

"Right, you say you killed Pete, is that his name Pete?"

David nodded. "Yes Pete."

"How did you kill him David." The sheriff asked.

David tried to demonstrate. "I put my hands around his neck and I just hung on, he couldn't breathe. I literally squeezed the life out of him."

"Why?"

David was caught off guard and struggled to answer.

The sheriff looked down at the pictures of the victims sighing heavily.

"Is this Dr Peter Waters?" He asked his colleague.

"Yep that's him."

"These injuries aren't consistent with a trauma to the neck David," the Sheriff took a sharp pull on his cigarette and blew a trail of blue smoke out into the air.

He leafed through all the pictures of the victims.

"You killed all these people David?" He asked.

"Yes."

His deputy pointed to one picture in particular.

"That big fella had the vertebrae in his back severed. He was literally snapped in half."

They both looked up at David.

"Are you some kinda Kung fu expert boy," the sheriff grinned.

All three men looked up as another deputy barged in urgently demanding the sheriff's attention.

"I'm questioning a suspect here, what the hell."

"You're gonna want ta see this sheriff."

The sheriff hauled himself to his feet stubbing out his cigarette into an overflowing ashtray.

"Did ye order pizza for this boy," he asked his deputy.

"Yeah, on the way sheriff."

"Don't go no where boy," the sheriff told David as he lumbered out to talk to the eager faces outside.

"You'll get the chair you know that," the remaining deputy told David. "They won't listen to ye, just strap you in and throw the switch. Why you doin this boy?"

David didn't answer. He vaguely wondered would it hurt much. He had the deep unsettling feeling that it may not even kill the creature. It would kill him but not the creature. David rolled the cigarette packet around in his hand as his thought processes worked.

"Have one," the deputy urged.

David suddenly noticed the cigarette packet in his hands and set it back beside the sheriffs lighter.

"No thank you."

The sheriff bustled back in moments later with two others in tow. His humour had deteriorated.

"I don't want to hear about no green men," he growled.

"But sheriff, you saw the footage for yourself." The other pleaded.

"I ain't seen nothin, get rid of that film camera. I turn state legislator next month as you well know Earl and I don't wanna have to explain no fighting green men. Destroy that camera and that's an order, this whole mess will have ta go on the unsolved pile."

The sheriff then turned to David.

"You get outta here too, I'm sick of lookin at ye."

"But I killed those people. I shouldn't be walking the streets." David argued weakly.

"You ain't nothin but a damned vagrant attention seeker. Now get outta here before I lock ye up for wasting police time."

There was nothing more to be said. Reluctantly David got to his feet and headed for the door. At the very least he wouldn't have minded sticking around for the pizza.

The End.