The low frequency drone of the neon lights outside the window had finally gotten the better of him. On any normal occasion they wouldn’t even register, his mind already having adapted to tuning them out. This was no normal night, he had been through the pattern enough times in his life already to know what was coming. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness while he lay staring at the ceiling. The only light shedding any sort of illumination to the room came from the glow of the neon bar sign outside the window. A sliver of light penetrated an open area of the curtain bathing the sparsely decorated room in shades of cobalt and crimson as the sign changed in color.
He tugged the curtain drawing it closed and descending into blackness again. He would need his eyes fully focused tonight as it may be the only element he had working for him. He let out a sigh rubbing his forehead in a vein attempt to try and relieve the tension. Slowly the room came into focus even in darkness, the slight breeze from the ceiling fan sending warm air across his face as if the Devil himself was floating above him. He pushed himself upright and reached for the glass of water on the simple nightstand.
Everything was warm in this city during a heatwave, and his drink spared no exception. Almost choking on the temperature he gulped the clear liquid as quickly as he could. The growing sound of a siren in the distance gave him pause. It was drawing closer, the wail rising in volume as it echoed off the city buildings beginning to sound like it was coming from all directions. A groan of frustration escaped his lips without thought, it was time.
****
“This is the Police! Open the door immediately!”, the plump officer screamed while slamming his ham sized fist against the flimsy wooden door. “We won’t ask again Timothy! You know why we’re here, you know you pissed off the boss for the last time!”
Timothy? Had it been that long since he had used that name that it felt foreign to him? It wasn’t what he called himself any longer, not since that day. He watched the door quiver on its hinges with each blow. Any moment they would get bored and take it down. Fools, if they were patient they had a chance to win, but they wouldn’t, each was too ready to make a name for themselves.
“Alright! You had your chance, we’re coming in!” The office looked down the hallway behind him and signaled for the ram. One officer trudged up carrying the solid piece of metal. With one heave the door was blasted inwards and the light from the hallway flooded into the void of darkness. The lead officer waved two fingers forward and two young officers sprung into action entering the apartment with weapons and flashlights drawn. Scanning the darkness revealed a barren, poorly maintained apartment. “Fucking slums”, one officer spat “Hey you check the-“
The first officer that had entered vanished and before anyone could react, blood seemed to rain from the ceiling of the apartment onto the second officer who began screaming and pointing his gun in every direction to find his target. Suddenly two black barbs ripped through his shins and dragged him into the bedroom. the remaining officers jammed themselves inside the cramped apartment all weapons pointed at the bedroom door while screams of horror could be heard coming from within. “Fuck it open fire!” the ham fisted officer yelled and their guns were emptied into the bed room door.
A still quiet took over the scene as the final casings fell to the ground with dulled clanks against the cheap floor. Heavy breathing accompanied shaky flashlights when another officer looked over “Do-Do you think we-“, the door exploded off the hinges as black tendrils shot in every direction disemboweling several officers at once. The ham fisted officer felt a hot pain as he realized his left foot had been taken off cleanly at the ankle. Landing on the ground with a hard thump, he began crawling on the slick blood beginning to coat the floor in a desperate attempt to escape. He kept his head down hearing the screams of his fellow officers around him, vision focused on the door way.
A searing pain ripped through his right shoulder pinning him in place. His voice unleashing a yell in a frequency and pitch he hadn’t previously believed possible. His face felt glued to the ichor of the floor unable to see the monster behind him. A second pain burrowed it way through his stomach, this time much slower. The pain was immense and the officer felt his body being to rise. Was he hallucinating? No, he was being lifted by whatever was embedded in him. The pain was immense, his vision was growing dark around the edges as he attempted to fight the shock of his injuries. “Tell your boss, your real boss, he made a grave mistake today”, Timothy said flatly standing behind the officer, black tendrils extending from his back holding the pudgy man aloft with seemingly no struggle.
“I-I-I-can’t if you don’t let me live!” the man cried out in horror, tears streaming down his blood stained face.
“I wasn’t speaking to YOU”, Timothy growled in a low voice, “I was talking to him”. the tendrils shifted the man as if he weighed nothing. In front of the officer huddled in a ball was the rookie who had just joined the force last week. The young man had his jacket pulled over his face and kept muttering something to himself. Even in the darkness the lead officer knew the man had pissed himself. “Look at him! LOOK AT HIM!” Timothy snarled. the young man was shaking as he began to lower the jacket from his face. For a brief moment both officers eyes met, locked in a final stare of fear, Timothy tore the fat man in half.