Aiden spun around, squinting through the darkness in an attempt to spot the attacker. He was still separated from the rest of the group who now stared at James’ body, collapsed in a heap on the floor, still pouring blood. Aiden focused on the darkness and managed to make out three shapes moving towards them. He stepped back, almost slipping on the growing pool of blood. The shapes came closer, stepping into the edge of the light.

  On the left stood a man, his skin shrivelled and stuck to his bones with no muscle in between. He had dark eyes and wore tattered, stained clothes. They had not been changed in a long time. The shape on the left was hunched over. It had long, sharp nails protruding from bony fingers. There was no hair on it’s body, and nearly no clothes. It wasn’t an animal, but it wasn’t human either. It was like some horrible mix of the two, like God couldn’t make up his mind when creating it.

  The figure in the middle had ice growing from fingers spreading up his arms, glowing slightly in the darkness. The skin underneath had turned black and hard. The rest of his body was shrivelled and wrinkled, as though it had not been cared for properly for many years. His eyes were cold and reflected the light from the orb, almost as though they themselves were made of ice. He raised his arm, running an icy finger through his long white hair, pushing it out of his face.

  I know you. But it can’t be…

  Aiden tried to step back once more, but his foot wouldn’t move. He tried once more, but his foot stayed stuck to the ground. He looked down at his feet and found the pool of blood now frozen, forming a seal around his foot and pinning him in place. He turned his attention back to the three shapes, locking eyes with the ice manipulator. He turned his head to it’s side, studying Aiden, before nodding in the direction of the others.

  “Get them.” He croaked.

  Before the group had time to react, a terrible screeching sound came from the ceiling. With it, came the sound of flapping, like hundreds of wings had all begun stirring at once. Aiden looked above him and realised why the city had stood so silent. Hundreds of birds sat in the rafters of the mall, flapping and squawking. As one, they descended on the group, claws aiming towards their faces. Aiden raised his arms in defence, swatting the birds away, but it was no use, there were too many of them.

  The orb of light was obscured by a flurry of wings and claws, and the air was filled with screams. Mike kicked and flung his arms around at his attackers, but he could not get them to stop. He could feel them tearing into his skin, ripping at him and his clothes. The orb of light began to fade, flashing like a faulty lightbulb as his concentration wavered. To his left he saw Harry fall to the floor, his whole body swarming with birds. Harry was his friend, they had been on many scavenging missions together, but nothing like this had happened before. He waved his arms desperately in a futile attempt to knock off his attackers. But as more and more birds descended onto him, his attempts became weaker, until eventually he stopped moving altogether.

  Aiden punched the air wildly, making contact with a number of birds and sending them hurtling away from him in all directions. There didn’t seem to be as many attacking him as the others, and he was able to make out what was happening to them. He could see Mike, still with one arm raised, trying to keep the light flowing. But it was fading. Fast.

  Aiden’s face was illuminated in a deep red as a beam of energy carved a path through the birds towards the figure on the left. The smell of burning filled the air as the birds were cooked instantly in the energy of the beam. It hit the figure in the chest, sending him flying backwards, smashing through the comic shop window and landing with a hard thud in the store. All at once the birds ceased their attack.

  Some flew away, others stood on the ground, as if confused as to what had just happened. Aiden turned towards his group and saw Mike stood, barely keeping the light going. It was just a slight glow now. Harry was led on the floor, unmoving. His face was a mess, so much so that Aiden was unable to make out any of his facial features. He looked back up, and saw the last member of the group, Oswald, stood panting. He was covered in scratches, and his clothes were torn. He had a particularly nasty cut stretching from just below his eye down to his chin, and it was spouting blood. He looked as though he had made no effort to ward off his attackers, instead opting to charge his energy to fire the beam. It had taken everything he had, and now he stood exhausted. But it had worked. The figure must have been controlling the birds, ordering them to attack. Now that he was gone, they resumed their normal behaviour once more.

  Aiden refocused himself on getting free from his trap, bending down and pulling out his knife. He stabbed it down into the ground in a desperate attempt to break the now frozen blood of his protector. He had been the one to save Aiden from the first bird, but now he was the one that held him in place, unable to escape from the remaining two figures.

  As he brought the knife down again, he heard the sound of nails scratching against the smooth linoleum, followed by a terrible scream. He looked back up, and saw the beast-like creature had charged towards the two survivors, knocking Mike down and leaping on top of Oswald. He screamed in pain as the creature brought it’s claws down into his chest, digging deep into the flesh. Aiden watched in horror as the creature raised its claws, and brought them down again. And again. And again. Until the screaming stopped.

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  Aiden had to get himself free whilst the beast was distracted. Once it was done with the others, it would come for him. Breaking the blood that entrapped him was his only hope. Desperately, he began sawing at the ice around his shoe, slowly cutting into it. It began to chip and fray away, but it was still taking too long.

  Mike screamed. The creature had had it’s fun with Oswald and had moved onto him. It surged forward, it’s razor sharp claws slicing into Mike’s stomach, sending blood spraying across the walkway. He yelled in pain, and the light began to fade. He shoved his hand into the creature’s face, temporarily blinding it and causing it to stagger backwards. But it did not last long. It lashed out once more with its claws, striking Mike’s hand, severing it from his body. The hand tumbled across the floor towards Aiden, still holding the orb. Now disconnected from Mike’s body, the light faded totally, leaving Aiden in darkness. He could hear Mike’s screams as the monster tore into him.

  Aiden franticly sawed at the ice in the darkness. He couldn’t see his progress, and instead had to rely on listening to it chip and shatter. He glanced up towards the icy figure, and could make out two eyes watching him through the darkness, glowing and cold. Just watching.

  Why hasn’t he killed me yet?

  Mike’s screams of pain went quiet. He was at peace now. And Aiden was out of time. He had to move now. In one swift move, he stood up, and ripped his foot upwards, breaking free from the ice. He tumbled back slightly but managed to stay on his feet, turning and beginning to run in the opposite direction.

  “Do not let him get away,” the icy figure mumbled. The creature growled, and Aiden began to hear nails scratching against the floor once more. He continued to run blindly in the darkness, not knowing where he was going but knowing he had to get away from the creature. He made contact with something in front of him, about waist height, and flew over it, twisting in the air and falling for what felt like forever until he landed in a heap on the hard floor. He must have hit a barrier on the second floor and tumbled over it, crashing back down to the first floor. He coughed in pain as he rolled onto his front, trying to stand up. Ahead of him, he could see light. He was near the ext. If he could just reach it…

  Aiden felt a hand grab his shoulder, and heard a wheezing sound from behind him. Instinctively, he slapped the hand away with his elbow, and span round onto his back. Above him was another creature. Unlike the monster that had been chasing him, however, it looked human. Like the other’s upstairs, it’s skin was wrinkled and tight to the bone, ass though there were no muscles underneath. Its eyes were sank deep into its skull, but it looked as though there was no thought behind them. The creature almost looked sad as it loomed over Aiden, it’s bony arm still outstretched towards him. Aiden glanced around, and could see more of the creatures lurking in the darkness. They must have followed the group inside. Or maybe they had been summoned here.

  All of a sudden, the creature above him lunged towards him, falling on top of Aiden and pinning him in place. It wheezed in his face, it’s breath stinking and making Aiden’s eyes water. He struggled to free his arm that was now trapped between his body and the body of the creature, managing to twist it so that he could push the creature off of him and onto the floor beside him.

  Aiden rolled onto his front and launched himself forward, charging towards the exit as the rest of the creatures began to give chase.

  Almost there. Just a little further.

  Aiden broke free from the darkness of the mall, bursting out of the doors and into the light of the city. He was momentarily blinded by the change in light, but didn’t stop running. He had to get away. He ran back in the direction the group had come, running back towards his home.

  ***

  The chase had led Aiden to the dumpster, where he now sat face to face with his pursuer. The monstrous creature from the mall had caught up with him, and had been able to track him down the alleyway. He stared into it’s cold, dead eyes as it stared back at him. Tears streamed down his face. The world seemed to be in slow motion. What could he do? He had seen what this monster was capable of, what it had done to the rest of his group. And now he was all alone.

  Images flashed into his mind. Was this his life flashing before his eyes? No. It was something else. He could see the heroes from his comic books, fighting their villains, helping innocent people, being brave. Panels from all the books he read flicked through his mind as though they were a movie, until his mind rested on one image. The comic he had picked up from the mall. Eclipse vs The Crimson Claw. Eclipse had been no older than Aiden’s age, and yet he hadn’t backed down. He has stood up and fought. He had been brave, and he had emerged victorious. The image lingered in Aiden’s brain as he closed his eyes.

  This is it.

  The creature made it’s move. It ripped open the lid of the dumpster, leaning in to grab Aiden as it did so. But as it reached its long arm in, it was launched into the air. It growled and yelped as it came crashing down onto the stone floor beside the dumpster. Aiden hurled himself out of the box, landing on his feet next to it. The monster tried to stumble to its feet, clearly disorientated from the blast. Aiden could feel the energy flowing through his body. It was like nothing he had felt before. It felt powerful. It felt good.

  He raised his arm, stretching it out towards the creature. He breathed in slowly, feeling the energy flow through him. As he breathed out, he directed it to flow through his arm, down and out through his fingertips. The creature was forced backwards, as though it was being pulled by invisible strings. It crashed into the wall that had once served as a dead end, breaking the stones and falling through onto the other side. It tried again to get to its feet, but Aiden was in control now. He was the puppet master, able to control the creature’s strings. He flicked his wrist, sending it crashing into the side of the alley. He could hear the bones shatter in the creature’s back, and with one final flick of his wrist, the creature flew forwards into the other side of the alley, it’s face crushed against the bricks. It fell to the ground in a heap, unmoving.

  Aiden stood and stared at the creature. His arm was still stretched out, but he turned his hand to face him. He looked at his palm. It had no blood on it, but all Aiden could see was red. He had just killed the monster. But he hadn’t even touched it. All he had needed to do was think about what he wanted to do and it had happened.

  Snap out of it. I need to move.

  Aiden shook his head, waking himself back up. He took up running again, this time down the new path created by breaking the wall. He emerged from the alley, and was able to see a large bridge ahead of him, leading out of the city and across the river. Aiden was sure the creatures would have heard his confrontation with the beast, but he could no longer hear their wheezing behind him. But still he ran, not stopping for a second as he made his way back over the bridge, back towards his home.