Skådikyr

‘Aw Jeez! Shut up!’ Sid Gregory slapped his left hand firmly on his alarm clock. The loud and piercing, almost moaning electronic beep stopped instantly. 6:30am flashed angrily at him in red neon as he tried to focus properly. ‘Bollocks. Bloody work!’ he said, rubbing his eyes.

Sid wasn’t fond of his job. It was just there to help him live. Retail shopping wasn’t on his list of exciting things to do, and he couldn’t understand all the zombies who came to the mall day in day out. Also, his workmates got on his nerves, making daily life even less appealing.

He stood slowly, scratching his backside as he felt the thick carpet sink between his toes. Shuffling his feet, he made his way to the bathroom, put on his bathrobe, and slid on his well-worn slippers.

‘Christ, it’s bins day,’ his brain clicked into gear. He ran down the stairs, flung open the back door and made his way to a small wooden shelter where the bins were housed. The morning was still dark, and he cursed the fact that he hadn’t yet replaced the bulb in his outside light. For ten weeks he had ignored it. Sid wasn’t one for spending his money on household goods, unless it was a matter of life and death. As he neared the bins, he became aware that something was moving behind them. Foxes again, he thought. There had been a spate of bin destruction by foxes in the neighbourhood up until a couple of weeks ago, when it had stopped abruptly. The little buggers must have come back.

‘Shoo!’ he shouted and clapped his hands to scare the fox away. The movement stopped. ‘What are you waiting for? Piss off!’ Sid stood still, listening for signs of life. A faint scratching from behind the bins; it was still there. Sid crept nervously towards his garden storage unit, pushing his greying fringe away from his eyes. He carefully opened its plastic lid and felt inside for his broom. He didn’t want to be bitten by the bloody thing–he’d heard stories about foxes fighting back.

Emboldened by his makeshift weapon, Sid strode purposefully towards the bin bags but stopped suddenly as something caught his eye. The ‘fox’ seemed to be standing up on its hind legs. It reared up slowly, standing as tall as it could, and turned towards him, allowing Sid to see its face in the moonlight. Sid’s mouth dropped open as he studied its features. This was no fox. This was no creature that he had ever seen before. Its red eyes stared piercingly at him, and it bared its razor sharp teeth. Thick drool fell from its long black tongue, and steam rose as it breathed heavily through its freakish snout.

Sid felt his bravado fade instantly. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the broom, ready to strike. As he hesitated, the creature made its move, sprinting towards Sid on powerful, sinewy legs. Sid screamed, threw the broom and turned quickly to run for the back door. He dived through the open doorway, kicking his legs furiously to close the door behind him. He heard the door slam shut just as the creature crashed into the heavy wood. Sid sat up, adrenaline surging, and clicked the lock shut with a heavy sigh.

‘What the…?’ he said and scrambled to make sure all the doors and windows were secure, popping window locks as he moved through the house and keeping his head low in case he was seen. Sid pulled the curtain to one side, peering through the thinnest gap. His heart skipped a beat. The creature was still there, scanning the ground, its eyes fixed away from the house. It seemed to be sniffing the air then cocked its head to one side, listening to something unknown.

Sid kept his gaze firmly on the critter. He couldn’t even begin to fathom where such a being would have come from. Surely it was from a nightmare? Had he actually woken up yet? He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head. When he looked outside again, it was gone.

‘Shit, where the bloody hell is it?’ Sid said and crept upstairs, vying for an advantage point. He surveyed the garden and the street but saw nothing. Perhaps he had dreamt it after all.

A loud bang echoed through the house, bringing him to his senses. Then he heard a blood-curdling scream and the sound of smashing glass. It came from next door.

‘Jesus Christ! Leave them alone, you bastard!’ Sid shouted and banged his fist on the separating wall. The Slakes were in their eighties and incapable of evading such a creature. He ran to the living room and unplugged his mobile from its overnight charge. With shaking fingers, he dialled the emergency services.

‘Hello. Police please. Yes, it is an emergency,’ he said and waited nervously.

‘Hello. Yes, it’s Sid Gregory. You need to send someone over as soon as possible. There’s some sort of creature. No, I don’t know what is was, but it ran at me and I got inside.’ He listened for a moment, his face reddening.

‘That’s not the emergency. I heard a scream from next door, and I think it’s got in. They’re old, they need help.’ He ground his teeth in frustration. ‘You will. Thank God. It’s number eighteen, Station Road. Yes, that Station Road. I’m at number sixteen. I’ll keep an eye out for them, thank you,’ he said, letting out a sigh of relief whilst hanging up. He didn’t care if they wanted him to stay on the line; he had more pressing things to attend to.

Next door had gone quiet and Sid could only hope that Norma and Frank had been able to get to a safe place. For several minutes Sid paced the floor, biting his nails and watching from the bedroom window. He still hadn’t seen the creature re-emerge. Was it still inside with the Slakes?

Sid pumped his fist in the air as he saw a police car approach and pull up outside number eighteen. He sprinted downstairs, opened the front door and continued across his lawn towards the arriving officers.

‘Barry?’ Sid asked as he recognised his onetime classmate and, on more recent occasions, arresting officer.

‘Hello, Sid. What’s all this about? Have you been smoking again? I thought you’d learned your lesson when Carla left you.’

‘What? Shit, no. This is real. I don’t know what in God’s name it is–I’ve never seen anything like it before,’ Sid said, somewhat hurt.

‘Exactly what are we talking about here?’ asked Barry’s partner, Constable Sophie Wagner. She looked sternly at Sid and brushed her long black hair behind her ears.

‘It’s something out of a horror film. I honestly have never seen anything like it.’ Brian and Sophie looked at each other with raised eyebrows, not at all convinced by Sid’s story. ‘It’s in there, for God’s sake!’ Sid pointed towards number eighteen. They turned as one towards the house. A frightful blur of teeth and claws, the creature suddenly flew through the open front door, and ran straight towards them.

‘Jesus Christ!’ Barry shrieked. ‘Get back in your house, now!’ he barked at Sid, but Sid was already well on his way, bathrobe trailing behind him like a cloak.

Sophie fumbled to open the passenger door and jumped in, pushing the lock down behind her. As the lock engaged, the creature hit Barry, knocking him against the car with a sickening thud. Barry screamed as the creature’s claws ripped into his flesh.

‘Man down. Man down!’ Sophie yelled into her radio. Tears streamed down her face; she could do nothing as her sergeant fell to his knees. Blood and viscera oozed from the gaping hole in his torso, and she turned away in disgust. Barry’s body slumped against the car, making Sophie turn back. She gasped as she noticed the driver’s door wide open. The last thing she saw was the creature’s dark red eyes, moments before it tore into her face.

Meanwhile, Sid had stumbled back into his house, slamming the door behind him. He looked through the viewing panel and saw the carnage in the police car, which horrified him. He quickly turned away with a hand over his mouth. As much as Barry had given him a hard time during his darker days, he would never have wanted anything bad to happen to him.

Sid walked briskly into the living room. He would have to contact the police again. Reaching for his phone, he stopped still as he sensed movement behind him. He turned his head slowly, eyes wide and skin tingling in fear. The creature snarled at him, its drooling mouth wide, forcing him to stumble backwards. The bastard must have got in when he left the door open. But it was still outside when he came back in. That must mean…

Sid glanced from left to right, and he winced as his fears were realised. Several pairs of hollow red eyes stared blankly at him, devoid of emotion. Lipless mouths bared their fangs, and all he could do was scream as they ran at him.