Chapter 4

Daniel dropped down first as he had the weapon. He looked all around the room. It all seemed clear. He signaled for Jordan to drop down and he did.

"So what do I do to protect myself, punch them?" Daniel turned and looked at Jordan.

"I'm gonna give you a weapon. We just need to make sure the coast is clear first."

"What is it?" Jordan said anxiously. Daniel thought. What weapons did his family own anyways. He thought long and hard. They had several types of knives in the kitchen, but they wouldn't make it that far with just the one weapon. Then it clicked.

"My dad has a twelve gauge in his closet. He has it from being with the sheriff's department. You can use that." Jordan cheered silently. Daniel stepped on the knocked down door and poked his head into the hallway. He really wished he hadn't. At the other end of the hall lay a bloody and torn apart corpse. Daniel quickly looked away and looked down the hall towards his parent's room. It seemed all clear. Daniel released his fist and the blades quickly retracted into the gauntlet. Daniel motioned Jordan along side him. Everything seemed clear. The two made their way into his parent's room. His mom seemed unhurt. Yet she rolled around the bed in pain and they heard a cracking noise coming from her. With each noise his mom yelled in pain. "Jordan, the shotgun is on the top shelf. He has a box of shells next to it."

"Alright." Jordan opened the closet as Daniel kneeled next to the bed. His mom looked at him. Her eyes wide in fear and pain.

"Run," she said. "It's in me. It's trying to get out." Daniel looked at her puzzled.

"What is? What's inside of you and trying to get out?" Daniel heard the click of Jordan pumping the shotgun.

"Well I'm armed," he said loud enough for Daniel to hear over his mom's final yell of pain. She lay motionless, yet a great mound began to build in the stomach area. Then it popped out. It was a smaller pink version of what had crashed through Daniel's front window. The creature was lunging at his neck and there was nothing he could do about it. Then it blood splattered the front of him. Do to its youth, its blood was not yet acidic. Daniel saw the tips of two blades that looked like the ones that protruded from his gauntlet when he bawled it into a fist. The blood was a dark green. Then Daniel saw it. A distorted piece of wall. Blue energy shimmered and he saw what it was. It made clicking sounds as it removed the serpent from its blades and looked at Daniel with a masked face. Daniel knew at once to be the humanoid being in the book he had looked through. The blades did not retract. Instead the humanoid raised them. There was a loud roar and the front of the humanoids armor sparked. The force made it take a step back.

Daniel looked at Jordan. The barrel of the twelve gauge smoked. Jordan pumped it and an empty shell dropped to the ground.

"Don't even think about," Jordan said taking aim again. The humanoid turned to Jordan when there was a hiss and a great demon serpent leapt into the room and tackled the humanoid down. The two struggled. Daniel and Jordan looked at one another and the two ran from the room and out of the house.

The predator looked at its foe. It had him pinned. It raised its arm and swung, removing one of it legs. It screeched and swung its stub of a leg around. Acidic blood sprayed everyone. It sizzled and hissed angrily. The predator regained its footing and took aim with its right arm. From its right gauntlet deployed a net. It pinned the creature to the wall. The spikes the net was attached to tightened it, cutting deep into the alien. The net broke and the predator held a long cylinder. It grew in length at both ends, both pointed and sharp. The alien lunged again and the predator through the spear. The spear pierced the alien and again sent it into the wall. This time it was pinned. The predator raised its blades and struck the pinned alien several dozen times in the chest. Its acidic blood ate away the blades and the predator looked at the now dead alien. It clicked in disappointment and turned to leave. There stood another serpent. It was face to face with predator. Its mouth wide open. From it another mouth that looked like an earth worm with fangs shot out and pierced the predator's neck. The predator stumbled back and held its necking. His hand covered in glowing light green blood. It reached for the knife at its side in a futile attempt to fight. The alien leapt on its prey. Its face several inches from the predators. Again the predator clicked in defiance one last time before the second mouth pierced its forehead and spilled it glowing blood on the wooden floor. It would become an appetizing meal for the alien.

Daniel and Jordan looked at the street. It was eerily quiet and empty. The two silently proceeded forward. Some of the serpents had dragged some bodies out of the houses and had torn them apart in the streets. Daniel ran to bush and quickly vomited as he saw his friend's mom lying in the road. A gaping hole in her stomach area. The thing that had been inside his mom had also been inside her as well. Daniel wiped his mouth as Jordan approached.

"We'd better hurry up." Daniel nodded and the two continued on. "These things are brutal. They just kill for no reason. They really are demons aren't they?" Something in the back of Daniels mind told him that wasn't it. He couldn't put his finger on it, but they didn't kill for no reason. It was more than that. Daniel kept by Jordan's side. He was glad that he was actually with someone. He would have probably broken down if it weren't for Jordan. Jordan's shotgun swept to the side and pointed to the bushes as they swayed. Daniel curled his hand into a fist and deployed the blades. Jordan nodded forward and Daniel nodded to show that he understood. They both proceeded forward with caution. They had just reached the bushes. Slowly Daniel bent to see what was on the other side. His heart was racing uncontrollably. The moment he looked over something lunged. He would've swung if the thing hadn't barked and began to lick him. It was the neighbors Boxer.

"Hey Duke," Daniel said petting the dog. Jordan sighed deeply and lowered his shotgun. Daniel got out of the dogs pinned and got up. He brushed the dirt off him and the blades retracted again. The dog looked at the two. It then began to whimper. Daniel knelt next to it and began to pet it. "What is it boy?" He looked at the dogs stare. It was starring in the direction of the house right next to them. Daniel slowly turned. There it stood. It was just like the last one. Daniel wouldn't have noticed it if the dog hadn't been looking at it. Its camouflage distorted what was behind it by just a little. This one stood over a fallen serpent. It picked up the head and placed it on a spear. From the camouflage figure erupted a roar of triumph. It was the same noise that he had heard in school. Daniel looked at Jordan who gave him the same look. They both recognized the sound. Then Daniel heard it. More hissing. He turned around to see the serpent that had attacked his house. Daniel deployed the blades and quickly swung. He had created deep slashes in the creature's neck as it reared its head back to attack.

It screeched in pain. Its blood sprayed the ground below it. The acidic blood ate through the dirt as it hissed. The shotgun roared and sent the creature sprawling back. They waited a few moments as it lunged. Instead of lunging for Daniel or Jordan, it tackled Duke and dug into the dog with its second mouth. Daniel leapt forward and struck the thing again. He heard more hissing. Daniel looked at the blades as they bubbled and melted. Jordan fired off two more shots to put the creature down for good. It began spasm wildly on the ground for a few moments. Then it stopped. Daniel and Jordan proceeded forward to make sure it was dead. Then an arm reached out and stopped both of them. The things camouflage was gone. Jordan quickly took aim. Daniel placed his hand on the barrel. "Wait until he tries to attack. We don't want to piss it off now do we?"

"No." Jordan lowered the gun. The humanoid kicked the serpent's leg. The serpent quickly sat up, its second jaw shot out where the creature had touched it a moment ago, making another injury to itself. Daniel figured it was like a snake. You kill it, but touch it after it dies and bites one last time. The predator then turned and began to walk away. It shimmered with blue energy and disappeared. Daniel watched it walk away. Why had it stopped them and saved one of them from having a gaping hole in them? Daniel shrugged and looked at what was left of Duke. "Well now what? I got a shotgun and you got two blades on the verge of melting from these things blood."