Sky Corruption (Past Tense)

Chapter Sixteen

China's eyes widened as Bob rested his head onto her shoulder, completely unconscious. The sounds of the alien grew even closer and closer around the last aisle. China anxiously tapped Bob's face. The silhouette of the creature was nearly eight feet tall, it's morphed head mimicked Jay's whistles and calls. Her heart had started to beat harder, which caused her palms to sweat out of sheer anxiety.

I can do this, China motivated herself while she prepared her gun.

The thing was with these "outsiders" is that they were cunning, they imitated the voice of someone's voice that the victim was familiar, either dead or alive. If they had consumed the victim already, the better convincing they are. They simply used humans for consumption and to make their forms even stronger, so humans were at the bottom of the food chain when compared to these aliens. They don't have eyes, but can obtain them if they're able to fully consume a human, they were basically like chameleons, but predatory on homo-sapiens.

The sounds of the footsteps stopped, China's breathing hilted as she protectively wrapped her arm around Bob. She looked back down at him, a million thoughts had raced in her head as she made a glance toward the front door.

"Bob! Come on! Now isn't the time for sleeping!" China whispered while she brought her face down toward Bob, a low and gurgled sound emerged from behind the two. China slowly turned around, her eyes dilated at the sight of the monster that appeared before them.

The creature's grey skin shimmered, it's long fork-like arms laid past it's skinny torso, it's mouth hung wide open, revealing the sets of razor sharp teeth while it's long tongue snaked out, it didn't have eyes, not even a nose, but it knew that they were here, right in front of it.

China's eyes twitched, her heart hammered against her chest as she quickly pointed her gun at the creature.

In a flash, tentacles appeared from the sides of the alien's torso, shot toward China like opaque spears, China quickly fired her gun, aiming toward the head, the alien caught notice of this and dodged the bullets with inhumane speed. The fires that left her gun left slight flashes of light in the dark store.

Bob's eyes fluttered open, his eyes lazily gazed up at China, "Ch-China?"

China quickly shifted her gaze toward him, "Get up!" The ferocity in her voice stunned him, but he quickly rose, his eyes widened at the sight of the creature in front of him.

China sprang up to her feet, "Bobby! Please!" She cried out as the alien started sprinting toward them, Bob quickly darted around the corner of the aisle, disappearing from behind China.

As the alien grew closer, China turned heel and began to run toward the opposite side of the aisle, the growls of the alien grew louder as China's heavy sprinting created distance between the two. China continued running toward the front of the store, only to slip over one of the boxes. Instinctively, her hand shot out of break her fall, the alien leered over her, it's slimy hands pinned her down as it's mouth opened to reveal it's yellowing rows of teeth. China wrestled to shove the alien off of her by sinking her fingernails into it's putrid, moist flesh and dropped her gun onto the floor as she did so.

It ran its tongue down her face, she squirmed underneath it. It's razor sharp teeth lowered down even further, it snarls as it prepared to bite into the flesh of her shoulder blade. China brought her knees up, hoping to inflict some pain great enough to break it's grip. The tentacles emerged from it's torso once more, nearly puncturing China's both shoulder blades. China improvised the attack and slid herself upward, the tentacles shot past her sides and slightly grazed the left side of her stomach.r

Now stuck, the alien struggled to pull itself free, as China scrambled to get a better grip of her gun, a painful ring soared in the air, which caused the alien to fall over on the side, transparent liquid emerged from the new tunnel in it's head. It came to China's realization that the clear liquid was the blood from the alien, and that alien had just been shot in the head.

China made sure to step away from the creature's body, and it's blood, any sort of contact with it was almost acid-like, Jay gave her this life hack months ago on her very first supply run.

With one glance, her eyes met Bob's, both of his hands held the gun up, his finger trembled over the trigger as he slowly lowered it. China's eyes widened, "Awesome shot Bob!" She ran over towards him, his eyes were wide, his lips agape only for him to murmur nothing but gibberish.

"What...was that?" Bob asked her, China glanced over her shoulder at the now deceased creature.

"An outsider," China simply answered with a huff, her chest still rose from the adrenaline that pumped through her veins.

Bob scanned China, "It...spoke..." He murmured, earning a slightly puzzled look from China.

"It sounded like Delilah's..." He added, Bob immediately lost his grip on the revolver, it fell onto the floor with a sharp thud.

China knitted her eyebrows together, "Bob...who's Delilah?" She asked. Bob's fingers entangled their way into his blonde locks, his body hunched over as he groaned out in pain.

Bob yelped, his fingers deepened into his mop of hair. China quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to make eye contact, his palms started to press against both of his temples. Bob's eyes rolled back into their sockets once again, his body slumped over China once more.

The double doors burst open as if someone had kicked it with all their might. Several footsteps followed and China's gaze met with Jay's, Faith ignored the two and continued her way into the grocery store without a word, kicking boxes aside as she tried to make distance.

Jay's eyes briefly scanned over to the alien's carcass behind the two teenagers. "Holy shit! Did-"

"We got attacked," China answered while she propped Bob over her small body, his arm draped across her shoulders as his body nearly slumped over her. China grabbed a hold of Jay's wrist while she supported Bob and gave Jay a confident stare, "Bobby saved my life, he shot the alien,"

"What's wrong with him...?" Jay asked hesitantly, his eyebrows raised with a hint of concern.

China slightly struggled to walk with Bob's unconscious body that leered over her own, China's a pretty agile and athletic girl, but her strength came in limits and she was too headstrong to admit so.

"I don't know...he mumbled some girl's name and just blacked out..." China explained, her voice trailed off as Jay eyed Bob's limp posture.

Who's Delilah? Why is Bob acting this way? China continued to ask herself.