Prologue
I stood there watching it happen. Letting it happen. There was nothing I could do to save the rest of my family. These creature things, with long fangs and sharp claws, were tearing them apart like they were paper, and spurting blood all over mum's pristine walls. I crouched on the landing on the top floor of my house, and watched my mum, dad and younger sister, Emily, die before my twelve year old eyes. Their screams echoed and bounced off the walls, ringing into my ears. But no matter how gruesome it got I couldn't look away, I was frozen in to place.
I don't know where these things had come from; I just woke up to the screams of my mum. Dad had come in my room telling me to hide and don't come out until it was safe, and so I did. But Emily obviously didn't hide well enough, she was only nine.
Then suddenly it was all over. They had gone, or so I had thought. I got up on shaky legs and slowly, so slowly, walked down the winding stairs and into the living room, where it looked like someone had dropped a bomb. I stared, at what used to be my loving family, with tears burning my eyes. I don't know how much time had passed, with me just staring at the massacre, but a low growling noise filled the room. I turned my head, not daring to turn my whole body, and stared into yellow eyes of the creature that had killed my family. This time I had a good look at this thing that stood mere metres away from me. It was like a rabid dog, but only five times the size and three times the height; its teeth were too big for its mouth and were protruding from its slightly parted mouth. Saliva was dripping on to the bloody floor and its muzzle was covered in blood. Looking into its eyes it looked vicious and mad. Hungry. For me.
It begun to walk deliberately towards me. "So this is how I was going to die", I thought, "by being torn apart by a beast I hadn't even known existed until now". I knew running wasn't going to work, it would catch me in seconds, and I didn't particularly want to take my eyes off it. But I had to do something because it was creeping closer every second and it would soon be on me. Just when I thought it was about to pounce, the door crashed to the floor, and a silhouette stood in the door way. I screamed and ducked down into a tight ball. Then I heard a shot go off and screeched again. Silence. The room was plunged into muteness. I suddenly felt a large hand clamp down on my shoulder. I peered up, expecting the gun to be pointed at me, but instead there was a man. I think he tried to pull a friendly smile but it was more of a grimace.
"Hey there hon, I'm Mr Conner, but you can call me mister C. What's your name? Mr C boomed. I watched him with calculated eyes, wondering if he was going to be some sort of threat to me. I scrutinized this stranger with his short, cropped and greying hair. His brown eyes that looked old and wise with laugh wrinkles deeply grooved around his eyes. His slightly crooked nose that looked like it had been broken one too many times. Then I gawked at all the weapons that he stored in different places on his large and tall body. But there was something in his eyes that shocked me and then made me decide that he wasn't going to hurt me. I saw compassion and empathy, but there was a flash of something else, like relief maybe? I didn't read too much into it because it was gone in an instant. So I finally choked out "Taylor."
He smiled for real this time, replying "that's a nice name you got there. Tell me Taylor, you fancy taking a ride with me?" He then stretched down a hand, and I took it letting him pull me up to a standing position. But I didn't let go, I couldn't, if I did I would have sunk straight back to the floor. Mr C then started to tug on my arm making me walk with him into the unknown. Making me forget the monster that he had shot, making me forget about the horrors that I had just witnessed. The pain of losing my family was replaced with curiosity. I didn't know this strange man but I had a feeling I was going to get to know him very soon.
