Chapter 4

A/N: Boom! I'm back sooner than I thought! And this time, I've thrown in a relatively new movie into the mix. This time, the Doom Slayer has found himself in "A Quiet Place", and he's about to make some noise! To be honest, that last joke was terrible, but I simply couldn't resist putting it in there. Anyway, remember to leave a comment expressing your deepest gratitude/disgust at the story! And always remember that I own nothing!

Regan pulled the microphone towards her. They were coming. The first one was dead and now two more were coming. Regan turned to look at the one that now lay dead on the floor. Its head was gone, and blood had begun to pool on the concrete around it. Regan then looked up at her mother, the one who had killed it.

Evelyn looked back at her, shotgun in hand. Regan couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a slight smile on her mother's face. Her mother then lifted the shotgun into the air and cocked it. Regan did not know what noise the shotgun made when it cycled like that, but she was certain that it sounded intimidating.

Out of the corner of Regan's eye, she caught a glimpse of a bright light suddenly appear on one of the monitors, and her attention instantly was drawn toward it. Evelyn frowned and turned to see what Regan was looking at.

The monitor that the light had come from now displayed an image of what appeared to be a man. The picture was grainy, but Regan saw that he appeared to be wearing some kind of suit, making his figure appear more bulky and jagged. Who was that?

Evelyn and Regan shared a brief look of confusion before turning back to the monitor. The man seemed to be scanning the area, as though he was looking for something. He seemed to find it when in the distance, Regan saw the two creatures burst through the tree line, moving impossibly fast in a straight line towards the man, who stared back at them.

Regan watched as the man suddenly produced a large machine out of nowhere. She couldn't make out the details of what the man was holding, but it was almost as large as she was, and the man seemed to be holding it in both hands with ease. The creatures were almost upon him now, but the man still stood his ground, silently holding the bulking machine in his hands. One of the creatures reached him first, and Regan's heart jumped as the creature leapt into the air with on giant claw raised, ready to crush the man.

Regan's anguish suddenly turned into surprise as the machine kicked in the man's hands, and a beam shot out from the end, striking the monster square in the chest. The force of the beam overpowered the monster's momentum, and the creature flailed wildly as it was blasted backward like a rag doll.

At this point, the second creature reached the man, and Regan watched as he rolled out of the way when the creature reached out to strike him. The man came out of his roll, and suddenly had another item in his hands. This item was smaller, and Regan could only guess that it was another weapon. She was quickly proven correct as the man fired the weapon at the monster that had swiped at him, and the creature reeled backward from the force of the impact. The man then fired at the creature again, then again. Taking slow steps forward with each shot as he closed the distance. The weapon appeared to be a shotgun, as Regan could make out the movement of the man pumping the gun each time he fired. Regan watched each muzzle flash through the camera, and when the man had finally reached the creature, he took one hand off the shotgun and grabbed the monster's head. The other hand was still holding the shotgun, and Regan gasped again as the man brought the weapon up to the creature's neck and squeezed the trigger.

Blood erupted from the creature's neck, and with a heave, the man pulled the monster's head free from its shoulders. Regan felt a myriad of emotions at the scene before her, but all were immediately overpowered by dread as both her and the man seemed to have forgotten about the other monster, which had recovered from the beam weapon he had used on it earlier.

Regan cried out as the creature closed the distance and swatted the man as he turned. The force of the melee attack sent the man flying through the air and off-screen. The monster roared then charged off-camera as well to the direction the man had flown to. No other cameras were in a position to see what was happening.

At this sight, Evelyn seemed to regain her senses. Turning around, quickly signed to both Regan and Marcus, who still sat safely in the corner with the baby.

'Stay here.' Her hands said as she rushed for the stairs. Regan quickly ran to follow, but Evelyn turned around and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head no.

Evelyn showed her the hearing implant in her hand.

'I can help!' She signed franticly.

Evelyn considered for a moment, then slowly nodded her head. Together, the two of them ran up the stairs. At the top, they rounded the corner and sprinted out the front door.

Regan quickly scanned the field in an attempt to find where the man and creature had gone. Evelyn then pointed in a direction off to their left, and the two of them sprinted in that direction. They ran for a few seconds, then Regan saw the two of them. The creature was crawling on the ground a short distance away. Both of its legs were missing, and one of its arms was broken in multiple places, making it unusable. Its black skin was also covered with burns, some sizzling against its thick hide while others seared through its armored exterior to the soft skin beneath. The creature was attempting to crawl away with its remaining arm, but the man was quickly closing the distance. He had another weapon in his hands, but this one appeared to be smaller, and almost unorthodox in its design. It looked like something from the future, and Regan kept glancing at it as the mother and daughter ran to the scene.

Evelyn waved her free hand and called out to the man, and he paused and turned to look at the two of them as they ran up. As they reached him, Regan realized that the hearing implant was still turned on because the creature began twitching and writhing on the ground, its mouth opening and closing in what Regan guessed were screams and howls. The plates on its head were opening and closing as well, and Regan watched as they opened wide and exposed the sensitive pink skin underneath. The man noticed this as well, and he looked from the approaching duo to the creature and back again, not understanding what the cause of the pain was. Evelyn and Regan stopped a few feet away and took a moment to catch their breath. The figure was still looking back and forth from the creature to them, but he now focused in on the implant in Regan's hand. He knew. Somehow, and Regan had no idea how, he knew.

He then turned and fired a burst of the futuristic weapon into the creature's head. Bright blue pulses burst into the creature's cranium, and the creature immediately fell still.

The man then turned back to them, and Regan saw him up close for the first time. Up close, she saw that he was wearing a suit of armor that covered every inch of his body, even his head. The visor that covered his face was pitch black, and his helmet had a strange marking just above his left eyebrow.

Evelyn then began speaking to the figure, the shotgun held closely at her side as she conversed with the armored figure. Regan didn't know if the man spoke or not, as his visor covered his face, so reading lips had been impossible. When Regan thought about it, he looked like a hero from those sci-fi movies that she had scavenged before.

Both Evelyn and the figure then turned their heads to the nearby tree line. Both of them seemingly hearing the something from that direction. While the man betrayed no emotion, Evelyn's face suddenly contorted in fear, and as Regan looked in that direction as well, what she saw made her blood run cold.

In the distance, trees began shaking and rattling. Not just one, but dozens, indicating that something big was coming. Or many smaller things. Then closer trees started shaking, then closer ones, then closer ones…

The man suddenly pointed toward the house, and Regan barely had time to think before her mother grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the tree line and back to the house. As Regan ran, she looked over her shoulder to see the armored man running directly toward the shaking trees, which were still growing closer. He was fast, almost faster than the monsters were. What was he?

As they reached the house, Evelyn pulled Regan back down the stairs and into the basement, slamming the door behind them. The pair rushed down the stairs, and Evelyn beckoned Marcus over to them as they ran to the monitors. Regan quickly scanned each screen until she saw the one that covered the tree line. She squinted hard, and she just caught the sight of the man as he disappeared into the foliage.

For a few moments, everything was still, then Regan saw faint flashes of light appear from the tree line. The flashes were sporadic and faint, but Regan could not see anything else through the dense trees. Evelyn and Marcus both turned their heads slightly, and Regan caught on that there must have been a lot of noise coming from the tree line.

Suddenly, a large flash of light engulfed the camera feed, then each camera suddenly went to static before Regan's eyes. She stared confused for a second, then a massive tremor shook the house. The initial shockwave took Regan's breath from her body, and Evelyn grabbed Regan and Marcus and held them close to her. Regan could feel the vibrations rattle her bones to the core as the tremor subsided.

The cameras were still all static, but Regan watched her mother's face. She could tell that there was still noise coming from outside, and then she ducked her head and squeezed her family tight as another tremor shook the foundations of the house. Regan had no doubt as to the source of the explosion, but that only made her all the more scared as she clung to her family for dear life. The tremor subsided, and Regan looked up at her mother, searching for any information.

Evelyn waited for a few moments, then slowly stood up and took a step back, her eyes moving around quickly. She appeared to be listening. All appeared to be quiet, and Evelyn motioned the kids to follow her up the stairs. At the top, she gently nudged the door open with the shotgun, and Regan waited and watched as she led them outside and onto the front porch. Regan's eyes widened as they started walking towards the tree line.

The tree line was now scorched, with a few small fires springing up at the entrance. Trees were now leaning sideways or falling over, but what stood out most of all was that there were now two places where the trees had entirely disappeared. Two barren rings of emptiness broke the uninterrupted foliage, and the trees around the outside appeared blackened and broken. Their leaves had all been burned away.

And out of the tree line walking towards them, was the armored man. This time, he was carrying a massive weapon, even bigger than the one that he had used before. Regan stared in awe as he approached, his armor seemingly unharmed despite the obvious carnage that had just occurred.

Evelyn began speaking to him again, but this time, she used sign language as well so that Regan could understand too.

'Are they all gone?'

The man nodded.

Evelyn's shoulders relaxed, and she continued.

'There are more. Everywhere. All across the world.'

The man may have said something, but he did not sign any response.

'You could stay. You could help us fight.'

At this, the man shook his head no.

'Please,' Evelyn desperately signed. 'We cannot fight them on our own.'

In response, the man turned and pointed at the implant in Regan's hand, then at a point in the distance. Regan followed his finger with her eyes, and just at the edge of her vision, she saw a long spire reaching into the sky. It was a radio tower, and Regan immediately understood where the man was going with this. Evelyn seemed uncertain for a few moments, then she nodded as well.

'Thank you. Thank you so much.'

The man nodded once. Then he took a step back. He surveyed the family for a moment, then gave them a thumbs up.

Regan saw a flash of blue light, then the man was gone. Regan could not believe her eyes.

The family stared baffled at the spot he had disappeared from. Regan looked around wildly, trying to see if she could see him sneaking away somewhere. Seeing nothing, she turned and looked back to see that Evelyn had taken the baby from Marcus, who approached her. He seemed a little bit shaken up. Regan signed to him her concerns.

'I'm alright,' he signed back. 'I just have never seen anything like that before.'

Regan nodded.

'Where did he go?'

'I don't know,' Marcus responded. 'He just disappeared.'

'Did he say anything? At all?'

'No.'

Regan turned to look at the forest again. And for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile crept onto her face.