Read Edge of End Online

Authors: Suren Hakobyan

Tags: #horror, #mystery, #god, #hell, #fantasy, #supernatural, #devil, #monster, #afterlife, #survivial

Edge of End (10 page)

BOOK: Edge of End
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You said they want you to
enter your house. If they somehow let me through, they will
undoubtedly block your way.” That was a good chance to test the
power lodged within me, there, just behind my chest. “Look, how
many of them there are! I can count seven, no eight beasts. Who
knows how many of them are lurking behind the houses. You won’t get
rid of them.”


I’m a strong man,” I
smiled recalling the words Elizabeth had said in her house. “I
daresay I will be able to pass them if I’m alone. Fighting for
myself would be easier than fighting and trying to protect both of
us. Besides, I’m a better runner than you Elizabeth.”

She watched me incredulously, “Assure
me you will follow me to the café.”

I shook my head with a pleased smile
on my face, “We just met. Why am I worth anything to
you?”


Why are you sending me to
a safe place?” Elizabeth answered my question with a question. A
feeling we both shared had drawn us together. I knew she felt the
same, I could see it sparkling in her beautiful brown eyes every
time she looked at me.


I don’t want anything bad
to happen to you,” I muttered.


Many bad things had
already happened to me before you even came along, Jonathan. I
don’t want to lose you and find myself all alone yet again. I can’t
bear the idea of being here alone. I’d rather die facing everything
together than for me to survive and remain in my home forever by
myself. No, such torture I can’t bear.”


I will follow you,” I
said confidently. “Elizabeth, I will come after you even if I have
to tear up this whole damned
town
. You’re the only good thing
that has happened to me here.” I had to say something to convince
her to leave. I didn’t want her dead because of me. I didn’t want
to hold her selfishly beside me where she hadn’t any chances
against the storm.

No, I didn’t intend to sit tight and
wait for the storm to come. I would follow her and try to make my
way up the street, defeat the beasts using my new power; but who
knew, I might not succeed. “I’m not going to lose it,” I went on.
“My plan may work, and we can live through this and then we’ll get
out of this fuckin’ town forever.”

She looked at me through careful eyes.
Her eyes were diving into my expression “Promise me,” she
whispered.


I swear I’ll be right
behind you,” I murmured.


No, promise me you’ll
manage to pass the beasts,” she urged. “Promise me you won’t
fall.”

Good thinking. I didn’t want to fall
and give myself to those godforsaken animals.


I swear,” I said after
considering what she said for a moment. Would I keep my word? I had
no idea.

She traced her finger
along my cheek, staring affectionately right into my eyes. I froze,
my breath stopped. I saw her lips quiver as if yearning for mine.
Elizabeth put her other arm on my shoulder and pulled herself
closer to me, her sweet breath filling my nose. Within seconds her
sweaty and moist lips were on mine. As her eyes closed, she kissed
me softly, and that’s when I forgot everything surrounding me–the
beasts, the strange houses with their even more mysterious
residents, the storm, the whole
town
. I slid my arm behind her back
pulling her even closer, she leaned into my chest, and I kissed her
eagerly, passionately and greedily.

Elizabeth moaned in my
mouth, her hands circling my neck tightly. The wind swirled around
us blowing her red hair into my face. This was definitely the best
thing that had happened to me in this
town
.

Unlocking her lips from mine, she
stood up slowly. There was reluctance in her movements. I followed
her without taking my eyes off her.


You’ll have more of this
kiss when you come and find me at the café,” she whispered,
caressing my cheek. Her eyes told me goodbye.


I will come,” I
promised.

Elizabeth gave me a slight smile as
she took her hand away from my face and turned around. I watched
her walk away nervously. My heart pounded with fear as she neared
the canine beasts. What if I had been wrong? What if they jumped
onto her and tore her into unrecognizable pieces? Would I be able
to forgive myself that I had sent her to her death?

The beasts grimaced as Elizabeth
walked past them. She was scared, I saw her hands trembling in the
distance, but she didn’t stop. She trusted me; she was ready to do
every damn thing I said.

Fortunately, I was right. The beasts
watched her pass with wicked bloody eyes, some of them even barked,
but none of them harmed her.

Elizabeth paused momentarily and stole
a quick look back at me before I threw myself onto the battleground
with those hideous creatures. I smiled and nodded to her,
recognizing her successful crossing. She then turned her back and
strode ahead, widening the distance between us.

The growing wind had already lifted
dust off the street into the air. It had thickened into a brown
fog, and it soon swallowed Elizabeth up, but the real storm was
still behind us.

I waited. I had very little time
before the storm would reach me. Alone, I could roam in my own
thoughts. I think I was just trying to buy as much time as
possible. I was petrified of the imminent struggle with the wild
beasts that lay ahead. They were like demons from a nightmare, one
that you couldn’t wake up from, where you were stuck amidst that
infernal dream.

With my head tilted I stood still,
imagining Elizabeth’s face before my eyes. Her big gorgeous eyes
gleamed at me, her lips quivering seductively, and the light warmth
of her breath fell upon my face while her whisper washed over my
ears.

I wondered if she was a
gift for me, a little sign of hope living in this
town
, hope of salvation,
hope to keep on fighting. I hesitated, the whole situation seeming
odd. We got close too fast, and in my mind I still wondered whether
she was real or a mirage.

What would I do if I managed to fight
the beasts, if I managed to save myself, but never found her
again?

I stole a look at the
storm. It was at the
town’s
threshold.
Time to
go
, I thought and took a conscious step
toward the dogs.

At first, I walked slowly and timidly
with a flutter in my stomach. As I moved, I continued to open and
close my fists, clenching them hard and loosening them again,
allowing the inhuman power to pulsate and flow into my palms. I
really didn’t have a clue at what power it was exactly, nor did I
know how strong it was. Was it going to help free me?

Nevertheless, I was left
with a very little choice. I would definitely not enter
my house
like those
fucking animals wanted me to. No, I wasn’t going to be confined in
that eerie place forever. There was only one way left–up the
road.

After a few steps, I came to a halt.
There were perhaps ten to fifteen steps separating me from the
first dog. They were positioned along the road randomly. I counted
eight that were without fur.

Finally, I had their attention. The
one closest to me moved ever-so-carefully to the middle of the road
and, as it moved, its bloody and evil-looking eyes remained fixed
on me. Its snarl warned me to stay back, but I resisted and
remained strong, bravely staring directly at its sickening and
hideous-looking face.


Come on, you piece of
shit,” I said through gritted teeth. I tightened my hands in
preparation. I daresay it understood my language, for it grimaced,
accepting my challenge. There was no way back. I confronted the
evil separating me from Elizabeth. Her taste remained on my lips,
her scent lingered in front of me, and her eyes were before me
calling me. I had to reach her, I had promised her.

Breaking into a run, I darted towards
the beast. My feet hit the ground hard, much more powerfully than
they had before. With each step, the ground shook like some kind of
massive high-tech robot was running instead of a human.

The beast growled wickedly and dashed
forward to meet that unruly man. Only three to four seconds
separated us. They could have been my last seconds. Those seconds
could have been carrying death. I only had these seconds to
discover my power and strength.

Startled, I jumped. The dog had leaped
and was flying towards me. My fist began to twitch. The invisible
power encircled my fist pumping itself into my throbbing veins. I
swerved in mid-air, punching it straight into its ribs.

The dog was tossed aside with such a
mighty power; even I hadn’t been expecting it. It flew over the
street and came crashing down to the ground with a loud bang. At
high speed, it rolled over and over again; it finally came to an
abrupt stop slamming into the wall of the nearest house.

I landed on my feet. I didn’t give
much thought to my power at that moment. I only had one goal, and
it lay straight ahead. My feet navigated me forward as if I didn’t
control them anymore. From my right, the second dog jumped. I had
already noticed it swooping down on me. With a swift movement, I
ducked, and as I did, I managed to snatch it from mid-air by its
hind legs. To me, it seemed impossibly light, and I cast it aside
casually as if it was a rag doll.

Yet, as it flew through the air, I
could see its prominent claws growing in length and then, with a
sudden crash, it fell through the roof of another house.

Those hellish ravished beasts were
very strong, but I had discovered I was much stronger. I needed to
study my own power. I needed to learn how to use it correctly, to
control it. But at that moment, it didn’t really matter too much.
As the fight was picked up, my head was cleared of thoughts. Fight
and survive were all that was in it.

I began to run swiftly, occasionally
glancing back over my shoulder on guard for the next beast’s
attack. To my left, one had begun to break into a run. It was
chasing me, barking viciously. Its angry voice echoed through the
empty streets and the houses nearby quivered. Yes, I was
surprisingly mighty, but those beasts could still outrun me any
day. It managed to overtake me with great ease. I had no choice but
to fight it. The power in my legs propelled me into the air and, in
next to no time, I was flying in mid-air just like a
bird.

My strength wasn’t limited to my
hands; it had seeped into my veins and was flowing through the rest
of my body. Spinning around in mid-air, I faced the sky with my
back to the ground. The attacking dog had already flung itself on
me. It had leaped much higher than I had and was coming down on top
of me.

I didn’t lose control. Grabbing its
legs firmly, I pressed my knees deep into its stomach in the
mid-air battle. With its mouth stretched wide open, I could see its
sharp piercing fangs moving closer to my body. I had to turn around
again otherwise it was going to bite deep into my skin.

The beast was now beneath me, and we
crashed down to the ground. Luckily for me, the dog slammed into
the ground with its back, and I landed on top of it with my one
knee still pushed deep into its stomach. The hit was hard, much
harder than the beast’s body. Leaving a huge dent in the road, it
lay there convulsing, with black oily-looking blood streaming out
of its mouth.

I left it lying there, it was most
likely dead anyway. I had to rush ahead, every single second was
precious, there was no way I was going to waste it. The pursuit
continued. The beasts, knowing my power, hounded me as a pack.
Every time I looked back, I saw that pack of damned dogs right on
my tail. They were getting closer and closer. One of them howled
into the air like a wolf to a full moon. Growing uncertain, I
picked up the pace a little, I knew that dog was calling to its
other comrades lurking somewhere behind the houses.

There was still a significant distance
between me and my final destination–the café. By simply running,
there was no way I was going to reach it in time. My eyes scoured
my surroundings searching for inspiration. I caught sight of a long
pipe lying to my right. At least,with that I would have a weapon in
my hands.

I sprinted towards it and, as I
approached it, I skillfully kicked it, sending it into the air
where I quickly grabbed it.

I sensed something coming
from behind. Instinctively, I wheeled around and struck it with
great force. Staring into another dog’s bloodshot slanting eyes, I
managed to bring it down. The strike had been so strong that the
animal tumbled backwards and was lost in the storm that had been
following us. For the first time I had to pay close attention to
the storm as it was
running
faster than both the dogs and I.


Holy shit,” I gasped but
didn’t stop.

As I looked ahead, I saw
another hellish dog coming out of the nearest yard to cross my way.
Absentmindedly, I threw the pipe towards the beast with all my
strength. As if being guided in motion, the pipe glided through the
air like a spear and pierced the animal’s body, but the hellish
animal continued to move towards me under its own inertia. Finally,
it fell to the ground just before my feet with the pipe impaled in
its body. I quickly jumped over its weakening body,
and grabbing the tube, I twisted and pulled it
out of its side as it gasped pathetically for its last few breaths.
The fight with the beast didn’t dissuade me, I ran on as fast as my
legs were able to carry me.

BOOK: Edge of End
5.67Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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