Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S4 Ep174: Episode 174: Monster Horror Stories

Episode Date: July 4, 2024

Tonight’s opening tale of terror is ‘Billy’s Monster’, a wonderful original story by SkyBruceLee23, kindly shared with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission: https://www.reddit.com/user/SkyBruceLee23/   Today’s second phenomenal tale of nautical terror is ‘Here there be Monsters’, an brilliant original work by Taxi Dancer, kindly shared directly with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission. https://www.reddit.com/user/Taxi_Dancer/ Our closing nightmarish tale of the macabre is ‘Satan’s Mirrors’, another wonderful story by SkyBruceLee23, kindly shared with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission: https://www.reddit.com/user/SkyBruceLee23/

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BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Welcome to Dr. Creepin's Dungeon. We're scared by monsters because they embody our deepest fears and anxieties, often representing the unknown and the uncontrollable. Monsters challenge our sense of safety and normalcy, manifesting as tangible threats that disrupt our understanding of reality. Their inhuman forms and behaviors tap into primal instincts, evoking a visceral fear of the other,

and the possibility that such horrors might exist just beyond the shadows of our everyday lives. As we'll see in tonight's three tales of terror. How is ever before we begin? A word of caution. Tonight's stories may contain strong language as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. That sounds like your kind of thing.

And let's begin. Billy's monster. Samantha couldn't see what her son was pointing at. Her son, Billy, could see something standing on the side of the road beneath the dark trees. and it was smiling at him. Samantha and her son were trapped on a lonely, long country road. It was in the twilight of night,

and a full moon projected a ghostly glow across the night sky. A faulty engine turned Samantha's night into a nightmare. Samantha's car sat on the side of the road. No matter how many times she would twist the ignition switch, her brand-new 1984 Cadillac Simmerin refused to make a sound. Samantha's only hope was a phone booth. The phone booth seemed out of place, sitting on the other side of the country road. Samantha needed 20 cents to use the pay phone.

The good part was that Samantha had the change to pay for a call. The bad part was that Samantha was a little afraid to get out of her car because of what her son had told her. Baby, there's nothing over there. Samantha kept telling her little boy repeatedly through a nervous giggle. The young mother knew her son had a vivid imagination. Sometimes she would adore her son's imaginary friends, but her son's new imaginary friend gave Samantha the chills. It first started at the movie theatre. Samantha took her son to see The Terminator.

She tried to enjoy the movie with the little boy, but she couldn't enjoy anything after her son started telling her about a skeletal man sitting behind her. Billy told his mom that his new imaginary friend followed them out of the movie theatre. He then told his mom that his imaginary friend followed him out of the movie theatre. friend looked like the skeleton of a dead man. Billy thought maybe his imaginary friend was someone who died long ago. The little boy told his mother that he'd run alongside his mom's car at full speed before it broke down. He said his imaginary friend wore a midnight black bowler hat and that the rest of the skeletal

body was naked. The child described the imaginary friend as a lanky, dark figure that had a perpetual smile because he had no lips. He had no eyeballs either or a nose. Billy told his mum that his imaginary friend's bones would rattle even while he was standing perfectly still. Most moms would freak out if their child gave them such a horrid description of their imaginary friend. But Samantha was a brave mum, or at least she tried to be brave. She didn't believe her little boy. She didn't want to believe him. unnerved Samantha to see how her little boy's description of this imaginary friend was so detailed. Well, her son's earnest explanation of the existence of this person, this thing, unnerved Samantha as well.

She also didn't like the name of her son's make-believe friends. Dr. Rumples thinks you're pretty, Billy told his mom through a giggle. He said you look like a cheerleader. He likes your long blonde hair and your ivory skin. He likes the dimples in your cheeks. He says you have the face of a queen, and he likes how your crystal blue hoop earrings match the color of your eyes. Willie spoke softly while reaching out and stroking his little fingers

through his mom's honey-blonde hair. Little boy could see the alarm in his mother's eyes, and he tried to relax her by caressing her face. Samantha took her son's hands away from her hair, and she brought his hand to her lips, kissing his fingers. "'What are you thinking about Mama?' Billy asked through his cute, unguarded voice. The little boy looked like a spitting image of his mother. He had her intense crystal blue eyes and her dimples. His wavy golden blonde hair touched his shoulders and it cradled his

angelic face. Strangers would admire Billy's cute face, and the strangers were mostly women. Billy hated it because sometimes people would mistake him for a girl. The only one he enjoyed enjoyed hearing compliments from was his mother. Your imaginary friend sounds so evil. I don't want nothing evil around my baby. Samantha whispered through a smirk while brushing her pink, polished fingernails through her son's head. The young woman laid a kiss on her son's forehead, and she thought about playing along with a child's imaginary friend game.

But a voice in the back of her mind was telling her not to do that. Dr. Rumpels isn't evil, Mama. He looks scary, but he's a good person. Billy explained. The boy rubbed his nose while thinking about what Dr. Rumpels had told him. Your imaginary friend told you he was a good person. Samantha watched as her son immediately nodded his head to her question.

He told me he's not mean like Freddy Kruger. He told me he likes humans. Billy wasn't trying to scare his mom with his earnest belief in his friend. He wanted his mom to believe him. He wanted her to see what he could see. Dr. Rumpel's is real mama. He's standing right over there watching us. Billy pointed past his mother again, wanting her to see his friend standing on the other side of the road near the dark trees. Samantha took a deep breath and she paid no attention to her child's little finger

pointing past her face. Instead, the young woman kept her gaze on her son's face. She shook her and smiled while touching the tip of her son's nose. He's right over there, Billy said as he continued to point past his mum. An urgent spark was in the child's voice. No matter how hard he tried he could not get his mother to turn her head, which frustrated him. The little boy watched as his mother lowered his finger away from her things, and he pounced when he could see the disbelief in his mom's eyes. Billy looked away from his mother while rolling his eyes.

He sat back in his seat, folding his arms and staring down at his lap. Every time little Billy would pounce, he pushed his glasses up on his nose. Billy ignored his mother's fingers caressing his skin, and he frowned, even more when he heard his mother snickering at him. You're crazier than me, and your daddy. Samantha giggled out her words, and she adored the little scowl on her son's face. You know your father had a cool imagination like you? That's what made him an outstanding scriptwriter. I was lucky to have you, father. Oh, who would have thought that a Hollywood scriptwriter would be attracted to a nurse?

He was smarter than me, like you, Samantha stated. The mother affectionately studied her son, and she disregarded his soft pouting. Samantha thought about how her son looked like a miniature version of her husband. He also dressed like his dad's. You are a blue-gene vest, along with matching dust. denim shorts. He wore a black t-shirt beneath his tiny vest. Samantha laughed in a mind while realizing that her son's clothes were just like her husband, which is five times smaller. The one piece of clothing that Timothy wore that belonged to his father was a black run-de-MC baseball cap

that he wore backward on his head. Billy would wear his father's hip-hop cap every time he'd go out in public. Like his father, he adored the hip-hop group run-d-mc and, he would be able to be a hip-hop group run-diam-c and wearing the black cat made Billy feel like his father had never died. I miss that, Billy mumbled to his mother. The little boy thought about the last place where he'd seen his dad, which was in a hospital bed. I know, baby, I miss him too, Samantha said while still caressing her son's face.

The young woman didn't want to reflect on her husband's death, but it was hard not to. Your dad was a sweetheart, and he was so intelligent like you. Samantha glanced down at her wedding ring which she had never removed from her finger after her husband's passing. I think about your dad every day. I would give anything to bring him back. Your mummy thought God hated her after I found out that your dad had brain cancer. I kept praying to God every day asking him to take your daddy's cancer away.

And he didn't. There was a bitter undertone in Samantha's voice. Billy turned to look at his mom again. But Dad's in heaven with God. That's what you told me at Daddy's funeral. Billy's voice and his words were like the cooing of a dove. His voice soothed his mom and so did his touch. The little boy sensed his mother's sadness

and he didn't want her to cry like the last time she brought up Dad's cancer. Billy returned the crest that his mother had given him. The child would occasionally look past his mum to see Dr. Rumpels. The child saw that the creature was still standing on the other side of the road, using the darkness to conceal his crooked physique. Yeah, Daddy's in heaven, sweetie. Samantha affirmed what she told her son in the past. The young woman's tender voice trailed off,

and it became quiet inside her car for a little while. The only noise inside the car was the faint music coming from the radio. Prince's party like its 1999, transmitted through the car's radio, a low volume. The radio was the only thing working in Samantha's Cadillac. It irritated the young woman because her sedan was only a month old and yet it had engine problems. Samantha held her son's hand while staring out her window at the phone booth across the road.

She sighed as she made her plan to get out of the car and make her way toward the pay-fund. She knew she couldn't keep sitting in the car waiting for a pass-abar. She had to call for a tow truck. and she had the change in her purse to use the phone. Samantha felt stupid for sitting in her car for 30 minutes, waiting for a motorist to come down a lonely road in the middle of the night. At first, Samantha was about to step out of a car, but her hand froze on the door handle when her son said this.

He waved at you. Billy giggled as he brought up Dr. Rumples again. Samantha slowly looked around at her son. Who waved at me, baby? Are you talking about Dr. Rumbles again? Samantha released an incredulous giggle. She hoped that her child would lay his vibrant imagination to rest from it. Samantha thought about how she tormented her parents with her imaginary friends when she was a little girl.

The young mother figured that she was reaping what she sowed. Samantha's imaginary friend wasn't scary like her sons. A beautiful princess was her imaginary friend, and Samantha didn't understand why her son's imaginary friend sounded more like a monstrous foe. Yeah, Dr. Rumpels waved at you. He's still standing across from us. He can't stand up straight because of his back. It's crooked.

He has crooked fingers too, like tree branches. Billy went into a deeper explanation for his imaginary friend's grotesque appearance. The little boy could see the disbelief arising in his mother's eyes again. He was determined to get his mother's. mother to believe him. Your imaginary friend scaring, Mommy, Samantha said to her son through a half-whisper and a suppressed

giggle. She wanted her son to stop with the Dr. Rumpel's situation, but she didn't want to crush her child's imagination or what she thought was his imagination. The voice in Samantha's head told her not to engage her son in the Dr. Rumpel's game, but

the young mother ignored the voice because she loved her son. She decided to play a along with Billy, pretending that she could see Dr. Rumpel standing on the other side of the road as well. She felt that encouraging her son's imagination as a mother was the right thing to do, even if her child's imagination was starting to scare her. You can see him? Billy sat up in the seat and his voice squeaked a little from excitement after he watched his mom wave at Dr. Rumpel.

Yeah, I can see a friend. You know something? He's not that scary looking. Samantha snickered, and she felt good engaging her son. Well, he is tall, and I can see how crooked his back is. Poor thing, it must be hard for him to walk. Maybe he has arthritis. Samantha thought her playful words would cause her son to giggle with glee. But she looked around at her little Billy when he became eerily silent.

What's the matter, doll face? Why aren't you happy? You should be glad that Mummy can see your friend. Oh, I couldn't see him at first, but now I can see him waving. Just stop it, Mama. Billy cut his mother off sharply. The little boy folded his arms again while retreating into his pouting state. Samantha laughed uncomfortably while looking shocked and partly guilty.

What's the matter with you? I see your friend and now you're mad at me? Samantha kept a smirk on her face while staring at her son in disbelief. "'You don't see him. "'You're just messing with me, "'and Dr. Rumpel said you shouldn't lie to your son.' "'Milly's voice had an edge to it. "'It was an unnatural edge that didn't belong in her little boy's voice.

"'Samatha heard the edge in her son's voice, "'and she did not like it. "'Okay, that's enough with Dr. Rumples. "'Mami tried to play with you, "'but I'm not going to play if you're going to have a nasty attitude.' Samantha went back into disciplinarian mode. She wanted to feel guilty, but she thought it would be absurd to feel guilty for trying to please her child. I'm going to go make a phone call.

You sit tight, okay. Samantha leaned in, kissing her child on the side of his head and ignoring his pouting. Once again, Samantha reached for the door handle. But the hairs on her neck stood up when her son grabbed her knee. His little palm would move lightly. lightning. Dr. Rumpels wants you to stay in the car, Billy whispered, never looking at his mother. The little boy kept his eyes on his lap, but his hand was locked on his mother's knee. Baby, you're scaring me. It's not cute anymore. Samantha's voice quivered. The mother was about

to say something else, but for some reason her tongue froze when her son spoke again. Dr. Rumpel said a truck will be here soon, so stay in the car. Billy never lost that edge in his voice. He continued. Dr. Rumpels knows that you don't believe in him, so he wants you to play a quick game. It'll only take a second. Billy finally looked around at his mother,

and his hand was caressing her knee. Okay, fine. One quick game, and that's it. Samantha tried to hide the quiver in her voice and she tried to maintain an authoritative tone that voice in Samantha's head was yelling at her now telling her not to engage her son but she ignored it once again

Billy licked his lips before speaking again Dr Rumpors wants you to think of a number between one and ten he's going to tell you the number you're thinking about by tapping on the roof of the car Billy told his mother the rules of the game and as he spoke he never blinked while gazing into his mother's eyes Samantha sighed while trying to hide her nervousness she did what her son told her and she thought of a number a half smirk grew on Samantha's lips when she thought about how ridiculous the whole

situation was becoming she assumed nothing would happen her rational adult mine kept telling her that her son had a wild imagination. Samantha waited to hear something. She was playing her child's game once again, and she thought nothing of it, until she heard the first thud on the car's roof. What the? Samantha blurted out while looking up. Before she could tell herself that she'd heard a figment of her imagination, the second thud came, and it sent a paralyzing chill through Samantha's body. After a minute passed, a third thug came. Another minute and then a fourth thud. Another minute and then a fifth part. Within four minutes, Samantha heard six hard thuds on the roof

of her stranded Cadillac. The young woman didn't want to believe what she just heard, but she had heard it. It didn't matter if she wanted to believe it or not. What she heard was real. Samantha engaged her car's automatic doorlocks. She could still hear it moving around on the roof of her car. For a few minutes, Samantha swore she was dreaming. The young woman grabbed her child's hand when she heard the sound of clawing above her head. Don't be afraid of him, Mama.

Billy told his mum through a calm whisper. The little boy felt bad for his mum when he saw the sheer terror growing on her face. Baby. Those were the only two words Samantha could get out to her son before her voice locked. The heavy mass that crawled up on the roof caused Samantha's car to shift from side to side. Out of panic, Samantha locked her trembling fingers on the keys that still hung from the ignition switch. She kept turning the switch, praying for her car to start.

But the Cadillac remained dead silent. Samantha kept turning the switch, knowing that her car wouldn't start. The young woman felt a dreadful shadow come over her while listening to the knocking and clawing sounds on her roof. The voice in Samantha's head told her that the thing on the roof of her car was going to kill her and her son if she didn't do something. A crazy thought came to her. She thought about grabbing her son and jumping out of the car,

thinking maybe she could outrun the creature on foot. Samantha froze again when she heard the thing jump down off the roof of the car. She could hear mumbling and grunting coming from the rear. Billy never took his bright and gentle eyes off of his mum's face. The little boy had no fear of his friend. He could hear the creature pulling on the rear door handle behind the passenger seat. It warmed his heart when Dr. Rumpels tried to get into the car. He wanted to unlock the door so his friend could crawl in and join him in his mom.

He giggled while listening to the frustrated grunting coming from outside the rear door behind him. Samantha prayed under her breath while closing her eyes, hoping to wake up from her dream at any time. The young mother didn't want to believe what was happening. She refused to believe that what was happening to her was horrifyingly real. Samantha thought that maybe she was hallucinating. She thought maybe the food service slipped PCP into the soda pop she bought for her and her son at the movie theatre. She had a thought that maybe someone had laced their popcorn. Samantha let out a short scream when she heard clawing against the inside of her car where her son was sitting.

The clawing was still coming from the back seat outside the locked rear door. Samantha almost turned to see what was lurking outside. her rear window but the voice in her head told her not to she could hear it mumbling to itself and tugging on the door handle like a madman dr rumples would soon be in the car with Samantha her son the creature would soon be in the back seat reaching out to touch Samantha the young woman saw the creature smashing the rear window and now was the time for Samantha to grab her son and make her escape She did not want to meet Dr. Rumples, even though he was a child's friend, who she had assumed was imaginary.

Dr. Rumples might have liked her son, but she feared that Dr. Rumples wouldn't like her very much. It seemed hopeless, until Samantha looked into her side mirror to see a spark of hope coming down the long, dark road. It was a truck. Samantha thought about what her son had told her. He told her a truck would come. when she saw the headlights of the pickup truck the violent tugging on the rear door handle abruptly stopped Dr Rumpels was gone

and Samantha breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that help was on the way come on baby she let out a gasp between her words while reaching over and grabbing her son the young woman bolted out of her car with her son cradled in one arm and her other arm waving down the truck

Samantha stood in the middle of the road, letting the truck's headlights bathe over her body. She wanted to make damn sure that the truck didn't miss her. Samantha only saw the truck's headlights, and she didn't want to imagine Dr. Rumpel standing on the shoulder of the road, watching her from behind the darkness. Oh, she wanted the truck to move faster. She kept seeing the creature lunging out into the road and grabbing her and her son. While flagging down the truck, she briefly cut her eyes over to her car and saw that something had knocked six dents into her roof.

Finally, the truck had arrived. For Samantha, seeing the headlights was like seeing a light from heaven. The young woman wasted no time as she ran up to the driver's side window of the truck to see who her hero was. You need some help, pretty lady. A beefy-looking young man with a thick beard and a mullet spoke to her. to Samantha through a Texas draw. Yeah, my car broke down and we need a ride to the nearest service station. Samantha's words flew out of her mouth.

Before the man could tell Samantha to get in the truck, she was already at his passenger door. The young woman stepped into the truck's cabin with her bare, slender arm securely holding her child. Samantha jumped into the man's truck so fast that she left one of her high-heel shoes behind on the road. Billy couldn't help thinking about Dr. Rumpels. The little boy preferred to stay in his mother's car. He didn't like riding in a stranger's pickup truck. Billy was sitting close to his mom near the truck's passenger door. He paid no attention to his mother's kiss against the side of his head

and her caressing fingers breezing through his hair. Where are you folks coming from? The man broke the silence inside his truck with his question to Samantha. We came from Fort Worth. we want to see a movie there and we visited my husband's mother. Samantha still seemed visibly shaken by something, and the man could hear the stress in her voice. My name is Russell Lever.

Nice to meet you. Russell stuck out his thick hand, and he let out a brief chuckle when Samantha timidly shook his hand using her fingers. Oh, sorry about my hands. I know they look a little dirty. I'm a mechanic. When you work on cars for a living, it shows on your hands. Russell spoke proudly.

Didn't get your name, pretty lady. What's your son's name? He's a cute little fella. Russell exclaimed as he briefly glanced over at Billy, giving the boy a crooked little grin. Billy sheepishly smiled back at the man. He clutched his mother's waist even tighter. The little boy didn't like the smell inside the man's truck.

The truck's interior reeked of motor oil, beer and cigarette smoke. The combination of the foul odors twisted Billy's stomach. The one thing that stopped the child from being completely ill was thinking about his imaginary friend. My name's Samantha Blair, and this is my son, Billy. Samantha told the stranger while fixing her hair and keeping her one arm wrapped around her son. After introducing herself and her son, Samantha closed her eyes for a second while taking a deep breath. The young woman tried to calm her nerves. She didn't want to think about what had happened a minute ago. Once again, Samantha's rational adult mind told her that the creature that clawed and banged on her car was a bear.

Telling herself that it was a grizzly bear was the only way Samantha could deal with the shock of it all. But there was one problem in Samantha's rational explanation. Bears don't grunt, and they don't mumble like a man. Samantha couldn't stop thinking about the mumbling and the grunting she'd heard. The young woman tried to put it out of her mind, but she couldn't. Well, at least Samantha was safe. at least she was with a stranger who could help her and her son. You seem frightened about something.

What happened back there? Russell asked. The man's Texas accent intensified his question. My car broke down. It's brand new, but something happened with the engine, and it just died on me, Samantha explained. I wanted to call for a tow truck, but I was too afraid to get out of my car. I don't know that sounds stupid.

Samantha laughed softly, which surprised her. This meant that she was calming down. I can understand how you feel being a young woman out late at night. You're with your little boy, and you're out here in the dark. Russell paused and snorted. We always associate danger with darkness. I can understand why a pretty little lady like you wouldn't want to get out of your car. You never know what's watching you in the dark.

Russell's grumbly voice shifted the air around Samantha and her son. Samantha felt the man's bass-heavy voice vibrating her chest looking at Russell Samantha could see that he was a hard-working man he wore a dingy white trucker hat with an American flag design on the front of it he had on a grey wife beat a shirt that hugged his bulky physique Samantha saw an Air Force Army tattoo on his bulging bare arm she noticed the mud stains on his ripped blue jeans when I saw you in the front of my truck,

I thought you were that pop singer, Madonna. Russell chuckled at his own words. He would occasionally put his eyes on Samantha's black miniskirt, and he saw how the skirt decorated her wide hips and their shapely legs. What turned Russell on the most was seeing her fishnet stockings. Yeah, I kind of dressed like Madonna. Samantha joined Russell in laughter. Every time Samantha would laugh softly, she would feel the tension seeping out of her body,

like air leaking out of blue. My husband would tease me and call me a material girl. Samantha continued. Ah, you're dressed like her. You got on that nice lacey, revealing top and that sleeveless black leather jacket. Oh, I love your pink headband. Compliments that long, flowing, beautiful, blonde hair of yours. Russell paused again and snorted.

I think you're prettier than Madonna. You're dressed like her, but your face and your body are way sexier. Your boobs are way bigger than hers, and your hips are hot. Russell's tongue ran loose. He didn't see his words as inappropriate. The army veteran spoke his mind to Samantha, and he could feel forbidden desires stirring inside him, mostly inside his jeans.

Oh, thank you. Samantha didn't know what else to say to Russell's uncensored competence. The young woman had felt safe a few minutes earlier. Did you say you were a mechanic? Samantha asked while closing her leather jacket to hide her lacy top. Yeah, I'm a mechanic. Russell's voice turned icy when he could somehow sense Samantha's uncomfortable feeling toward him. Taking you to my garage and I'll send my boys back to pick up your car.

Russell gave Samantha the details of his plan. are you and your little boy are in excellent hands we'll take care of you guys after russell said that to samantha he violently twisted his steering wheel causing his four by four to make a sharp turn down an alleyway billy paid no mind to the truck sudden swir the child was busy looking through the side mirror

at a creature that was running behind the truck keeping its pace at a mile long distance the darkness camouflaged the creature as it ran and leapt along the side of the dirt road. Billy couldn't take his eyes off Dr. Rumpels. It amazed him how fast the skeletal man could move. Samantha had both arms around her little boy. She held his body tight against her chest. While the young woman was sitting between Russell and her child, she could sense something wasn't right when she watched Russell drive up into an auto repair service station that looked abandoned. Tall Weeds surrounded the garage and the parking

a lot looked more like a forest preserve. The service garage was dark, and its dilapidated structure looked more ancient than the Roman Coliseum. Is this your garage? Samantha asked after she watched Russell bring his truck to a stop. She felt chilled again when Russell didn't answer her question.

Instead, the man turned and looked at her, taking off his trucker hat and revealing that he had a mohawk connected to his mullets. Samantha took her eyes off Russell when she saw a group of men appear out of nowhere. The men had shotguns and they surrounded the truck. Samantha counted ten men altogether, and she didn't like the rock-hard scowls on the men's rugged faces. Mama! Billy shouted when one man jerked open the truck's passenger door before aiming his shotgun

at the child and his mother. Samantha screamed when the man reached into the truck to grab her son. The woman swung her fist at the man and her knuckles connected with his nose. Unfortunately, Samantha could only land one punch on the man. She couldn't hold on to her son because of Russell grabbing her from behind and putting her in a headlock. Come on, pretty lady, Russell whispered before dragging Samantha out of his truck's cabin by her neck. He even chuckled a little when Samantha began swinging her arms and flailing her legs. Russell mocked the young woman's effort to break free from him. What are you doing?

Samantha's shrieking voice shut up to the night sky The young woman kept trying to reach behind her To see if she could scratch Russell's face Hearing her little boy screaming on the other side of the truck Made Samantha go into a conipion She screamed like a raging cat While digging her long fingernails into Russell's forehead Well Samantha knew that she'd done some damage

After Russell hurled her to the ground Before grabbing his bleeding foreheads What the hell's going to? on over there? The man shouted as he marched toward Russell. The man was bigger than Russell, and his dirty plaid shirt barely covered his oversized belly. He had a beard that covered half of his face, and it looked like a wild and frizzy raccoon. When the man saw what Samantha had done to Russell's forehead, he unhesitatingly kicked Samantha in her stomach while she was struggling to get up from the ground. That's my brother, you injured, you stupid little bitch. The man roared down

at Samantha before spewing tobacco out of his mouth. Most of the man's tobacco juice never made it to the ground. Instead, it landed at the bottom of his beard. Don't kill her yet. Russell barked at his older brother named Dennis. We still need her for the sacrifice. Our master gave us direct orders. Russell grabbed his brother by the collar. When you do the devil's work, you do it right. Dennis slapped his brother's hands away from his collar. I know what we're supposed to do. A spitting growl came out of Dennis. Samantha was still coughing hard while grabbing her stomach.

She crawled across the ground while praying to God that her ribs weren't broken. Tears stung her eyes when she could hear her little billy screaming for help a few feet away from her. Samantha had to stop crawling on her hands and knees when all ten of the men surrounded her. one of the men had Billy in his arms he stopped Billy from screaming by knocking the child unconscious Samantha released a wild cry as she swung her hand at the man who held her little boy she could see that her child's lip was busted

and his glasses were missing Samantha ignored her throbbing stomach she leaped up from the ground attempting to get her son back that she was restrained by the other men Samantha wanted to attack the man after she'd seen her child and her rage fell over her and the woman screamed at every man who had his hands on her body. "'Hat damn she's a fiery little thing!' one man shouted with enthusiasm.

"'She's beautiful. I can't wait to do her. I know we have to tie her down first, though,' another man announced. The man who was holding Billy pulled out a knife. We have to sacrifice her to the dark one first. And we can have said, sex with her. The man instructed through a calm tone of voice. The man was dressed like a Catholic priest. His long clergyman Cossack was blacker than the night sky. Unlike the other men, he was clean shaven and shades of grey peppered his dark, thin-cut hair. The man had a slender beard that showed beneath his black robe, and from the way he carried himself, you could easily perceive him as the leader of the men. Samantha wanted to fall to her knees in tears.

but the men held her up so high that her feet weren't even touching the ground. She knew that she would die painfully. But what she cared about the most was saving her little Billy. Samantha's heart clasped when she saw the priestman pull out the knife. She has a child, which means we have to sacrifice the boy first. The priestman stated to his men, I'll cut his throat and want one of you fellas to catch the child's blood using the goblet. The priestman held up with silver goblet.

She proudly handed to Russell, and he patted Russell on the shoulder. You did a good job, son. You captured another beautiful woman, and she captured her son as well. And of all the women we've sacrificed, they've never had a child that we could sacrifice to our dark lord, or the dark one is pleased with you. After giving praise to Russell, the priestman brought his knife to Billy's throat. He paused when Samantha screamed at him, begging him not to kill her son.

No, Samantha shrieked. Please don't kill my baby. Kill me instead. Samantha sobbed when she could see that her desperate pleading wasn't getting through to the priestman. She could see the robotic, lifeless stare that the priestman was giving her. I'm sorry, honey, but your son must die first. These are the orders from the Prince of Darkness. The priestman dismissively spoke to him.

to Samantha before placing his knife on Billy's throat. But Samantha just kept screaming at the man. She almost lost it until she heard a screeching roar fill the night ahead. The roar alarmed the men. Even the priestman dropped his knife when he heard the other worldly roar. What the hell was that? One man shouted out this question, but before he could say another word,

something grabbed him from behind. It terrified the man that he couldn't see what was grabbed. grabbing him. He tried to fight what was attacking him, but it easily overpowered his strength. Within a second, it had silenced the man screaming by decapitating him. The other man became so terrified that they took out running. Some men escaped while others weren't so fortunate. Russell and his brother Dennis were among the less fortunate men. Russell died after he'd seen his intestines lying on the ground. His brother cried for help after he felt a clawed hand dig into his back. Dennis lost his life after the creature ripped his spinal cord from his body, along with

his skull. Samantha found herself back on the ground, lying on her hands and knees. She watched as a tall, naked, skeletal man wearing a dark bowl of hat ripped up men's bodies like they were pieces of paper. Sprinkles of blood rained down on Samantha's face. causing the young woman to flinch. Samantha finally saw Dr. Rumpels. He towered over all the man, even the biggest man in the group. Oh, he was ugly,

and to Samantha he looked like a mummified giant who had a head that looked too small for his body. She saw that he had no lips, no nose or eyes. His face was a twisted bony structure that formed a ghastly, perpetual smile. The two caves he had for eyes, were blacker than the deepness of space. Samantha only saw bone and sinew, no muscle or a single inch of skin. She saw Dr. Rumples' long gnarly fingers. They looked abnormally stretched and

contorted, like thick, twisted vines. And Samantha saw what Dr. Rumples' fingers could do to the human body. She watched body parts fly in every direction. She almost got hidden the face by a piece of a man's arm. The last man to die was the priest man. Instead of running, he foolishly stood his ground. He had the nerve to confront the creature. At first, the priestman thought he was staring up at the devil, and he didn't understand why Satan would destroy the men who worked for him. The priestman opened his mouth to say something to the naked creature, but before he could utter a single word, he felt knolled fingers reaching down into his throat. The priestman died instantly after Dr. Rumpels brought one of the man's lungs up through his mouth.

The force of the pool split the man's throat in half. The creature also severed the priestman's iotic artery, along with his beating heart. Samantha's body trembled as she remained on her knees, staring up at Dr. Rumpel. She couldn't scream when she saw the giant skeleton slowly kneel to pick up her son. all Samantha could do was watch as Dr. Rumpels crazzled her six-year-old son in his arms. Samantha thought the monster was going to kill her son and then kill her. But the opposite happened. While standing up, Samantha led out a gasp when Dr. Rumpels mumbled and grunted at her

before creeping toward her. The young woman's mouth fell open when the creature stood over her before slowly placing Billy in her arms. Billy opened his eyes and he moaned, feeling it. disoriented. The little boy raised his head from his mother's shoulder to see Dr. Rumpels kissing his mom on her forehead. Billy smiled when Dr. Rumpels kissed him on the forehead as well. He felt comforted by the monster's kiss, and he loved feeling those gnarled fingers stroking through his curly hair. Samantha finally took her eyes off, Dr. Rumples, to see that her son was awake. She rubbed and kissed on her son's face, while wondering if she was going to wake.

up. Samantha had to face the fact that she wasn't dreaming. She held her son tied in her arms and she could feel her heart racing. Samantha stood perfectly still. She looked up again, putting her wide eyes on Dr. Rumples after her son whispered in her ear. See, Mama, I told you Dr. Rumples was real. Here, there be monster. In the late 1940s, only a few years after World War II had ended. the United States Army Air Force is embarked on a project that was as audacious as it was ridiculously dangerous. The project was known as Crusader, an experiment to test the feasibility of America's giant long-range bombers to be powered by nuclear propulsion. By the early 1950s, with the Cold War with Soviet Russia reaching a boiling point, the newly designated United States Air Force was ready to test the capability of having a nuclear-powered bomber fleet in the

air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the capability to strike the Soviet Union within seconds of receiving the call that the world was coming to an end. Joining with the Atomic Energy Commission, the Air Force outfitted especially modified Convair MB-36 bomber with an actual nuclear reactor. At the time the MB 36 was one of the largest bombers ever designed and dwarfed America's largest World War II bomber, the B-29 Super Fortress. The MB-36 bomber completed nearly 90 hours of flight testing over the continental United States, with the nuclear reactor operating high over the skies of New Mexico and Texas. The operations were considered so risky that a second B-50 super fortress,

modified from the original World War II B-29 superfortress, followed behind the MB 36 with a specially trained crew to handle radiological hazmat fallout should the MB-36 crash. By 1957, with initial flight testing completed, the MB36 bomber, whose serial number was S-slash-N-51-2, was officially listed in the Air Force Records as being scrapped, her continued research on the project continued until its cancellation in 1961. That's where the official U.S. government records end, but where the account of the following following events begins. In 1958, under the thickest veil of secrecy, an NB36 bomber,

with a number 51-5712, completely erased from its tail, landed on the island of Okinawa, about 900 miles southwest of Japan, to continue further flight and weapon delivery testing. Presumably, very few records remain of this phase of testing, as these were conducted at a level exceeding top secrets, and any records which may survive to this day are still a closely guarded national secret. Still, by what secondary and tertiary accounts that do exist of that phase of testing, of which it can be safely assumed that half are inaccurate or completely false, the testing was considered a success by all measures. The nuclear-powered MB-36, having made successful secret test flights from the Philippine Sea to as far south as Australia and the northern

tip of New Zealand and back. Rumors even circulated of a strange American bomber being seen over Chinese and North Korean airspace at the time. Sometime in early 1959, the MB 36, having completed that phase of testing, the bomber

and its crew prepared for their flight back to the mainland United States. It was to be the longest flight for the nuclear-powered bomber, taking it from Okinawa, over to the North Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska, south of Cook Inlet and Anchorage and then across the entire United States mainland until it reached Langley Air Force Base

in Virginia. This was to be done entirely on nuclear propulsion and with absolutely no refueling stocks. The accompanying B-50 superfortress would be with the Mb36 over most of the Pacific leg until it was relieved by a second B-50 flying out of Anchorage. Accounts of what happened next, if indeed such accounts actually existed, are extremely scarce and border on wild speculation. Given what little accurate information is available, what can be reasonably surmised is this. About three hours into the flight, the accompanying B-50 Super Fortress experienced some type of mechanical engine failure and was forced to return to Japan. However, for some unknown reason, the now unaccompanied Mb36 was ordered to continue on its mission to the rendezvous point with the second B-50 over the Gulf of Alaska.

Who exactly gave this order is up for speculation, but the fact remained. The MB36 would be alone for the next five hours until it linked up with their B-50 escorts. Sometime during that five-hour window, the MB-36 bomber disappeared. No record of the U.S. military search and recovery efforts exist, but it can be safely assumed that it was as extensive as it was secretive. The only indication that such a mission ever took place came from old Soviet naval reports which were released in the early 1990s during the period of Glasnost when the Soviet Union collapsed. The report came from a Soviet submarine which, at the time, was quietly stalking US naval surface vessels operating in the area.

According to the report, several dozen US and Canadian naval warships were operating in a 1500 square mile area of the Pacific Ocean in the waters west of British Columbia. According to the submarine captain, they seemed to be searching for something. For their part, both the United States and the Canadian government dismissed any such inquiries into this matter as simply a regularly scheduled joint naval exercise between two close NATO allied nations. Still, the rumours persisted that angry messages were sent to the United States and the US Department of defense from Canadian Prime Minister John Diffenbaker and the Canadian ambassador to the United States, Arnold Heaney, shortly after the search efforts ended. Apparently, they were extremely

upset that the United States had somehow secretly and unnecessarily endangered the Canadian mainland in some way, and relations turned noticeably sour between the two neighboring countries for several months from 1959 to 1960. In 1961, newly elected American President John F. Kennedy officially scrap the entire nuclear-powered bomber program, and the 15-year experiment became just another billion-dollar footnote in the annals of failed military experiments. The development of successful in-flight refueling for bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles had made the nuclear-powered bomber project obsolete. The MB-36 Crusader project was swept under the rug and was very quickly forgotten. Oh, that should have been the end of the story.

except for one seemingly unconnected event which occurred in 1968 in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. In March of that year, approximately 1,560 nautical miles north of the Hawaiian island of Ohahu, the Soviet submarine K-129 was mysteriously lost with all 98 crew members on board. An extensive air search by the Soviet Navy found nothing of the stricken submarine, and rumors abounded as to what had caused it to sink, from a hydrogen explosion in the batteries to a leaking missile door causing one of her on-board missiles to explode to even claiming that a United States naval submarine, the USS Swordfish, had intentionally rammed it and caused the Russian vessel to sink. The Soviets stuck with the last theory that the United States was somehow responsible for sinking,

and tensions again rose between the two superpowers, though the US Navy claimed that no such ramming had occurred. These tensions came to ahead when only a couple of months later, in May of 1968, a US Navy Skipjack-class submarine, the USS Scorpion, was mysteriously lost in the Atlantic Ocean, taking 99 American sailors with her. Several Soviet naval war vessels were operating in the area of the Scorpion's disappearance. Speculation was that the scorpion was attacked by the Soviets in retaliation for the sinking of the Soviet K-129 submarine in March. This time, however, it was the Soviets

who claimed to have had no involvement with the sinking. Regardless of who or what sank the US Scorpion, tensions were at an all-time high between the Soviets and the United States, as the US was already deeply embroiled against a stubborn and determined communist enemy in Vietnam. While the communist Soviets were quickly spreading their influence all over Eastern Europe

and threatening the Western European, democracies. The safety switches on the nuclear weapon stock powers of both sides have been shut off, and the threat of a nuclear conflagration was never more than a second away. Fortunately, a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union never occurred during what is now considered the Cold War era, but other seemingly completely disconnected occurrences began happening in the oceans across the entire globe. Fishermen, sailors and those who made their trades by living off the ocean, began reporting seeing strange anomalies in the water, things which were huge, unknown, and very much alive. Reports of sightings of giant sea creatures,

reportedly resembling monstrous sea serpents or sea dragons in the Pacific Ocean, spiked by over 600% in the 1970s, including a famous picture which made the world news headlines of what was described as the carcass of a prehistoric pleiosaur dredged up from the ocean by the Japanese trawler Ziu Maru off the coast of New Zealand. While many in the scientific community it speculated it was the remains of an unusually large basking shark. The carcass was thrown overboard by the crew after the captain took pictures of it. There was never any solid proof to either prove or disprove that it was either a known species of shark or, if it was, in fact, a recently deceased prehistoric dinosaur.

These many hundreds of reports and sightings were never really taken seriously by the enlightened popular scientific community and were largely relegated to tabloid newspapers or brief, what was that, news reports on local television news. The popular narrative of the time was that anyone who believed those reports or attempted to do any serious investigations into what were, in effect, ancient nautical horror stories told by drunken sailors, was not to be taken seriously. Such things were only an amusing distraction to the drudgery of daily life and nothing more. This almost worldwide belief that there was no such thing as a leviathan-sized creature lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean continued decades later,

even when in 1997 the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded an odd, low frequency, high amplitude underwater sound in the South Pacific Ocean. called simply the bloop the sound was recorded at a point fifty degrees south and a hundred degrees west of the southern tip of south america and was picked up and heard by multiple senses at a range exceeding three thousand miles away though some in the scientific community initially stated that the bloop came from an as yet unidentified marine animal of exceedingly massive proportions it took until 2012, over a decade and a half later, for scientists to dismiss the bloop as simply glacial ice moving. They came to this conclusion, despite the fact that glacial ice has been moving for thousands of years,

and no prior recording of this magnitude had ever been recorded, and that the sound signature was a rapid variation in frequency, which can only be produced by marine animals. It was also near this area when crewmen aboard Jackson, Japanese research vessels began reporting sightings of monstrous aquatic creatures, completely white in colour, human-like in shape and over 90 to 100 feet in length, swimming off the waters of the Arctic, not far from where the bloop sound was recorded at the tip of South America. One other fact which had been left out or simply forgotten from all of the news broadcasts

was that the population of all species of marine whales in that part of the Pacific Ocean had fallen dramatically for over two decades, inspired of the fact that human whale harvesting had dwindled dramatically over the same time period. Other odd occurrences involving whales included the increased number of whale beachings along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Environmentalists and activists attributed these mass suicides of whales upon the beaches surrounding the Pacific to sonar activity by US naval submarines or climate change caused by US military operations. Not one, scientist or biologist ever brought up the theory that something predatory might have chased the whales to the shore so eager was the desire to place blame on the United States military.

In fact, the fear that U.S. military operations were causing global warming and forcing Wales to beats themselves was so great that in 2010, Democratic Congressional Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia lectured the United States House Salm Services Committee and the American commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Robert Willard, but continued US military operations such as a planned training operation to have Marines land on the beaches of Guam would cause so much global warming,

whale beaching and overpopulation the whole island of Guam will tip over and capsize but whales were the only large creatures to suffer from mysterious deaths another incident occurred in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia a few years later scientists had tagged a nine-foot-long female

our great white shark and was tracking it when suddenly the tag indicated that the temperature had abruptly increased to 78 degrees and that the device had experienced a rapid plunge in depth to around 580 meters in a matter of seconds. The stunned scientists could only speculate as to the cause of such a bizarre event and for days tried to come up with a logical explanation of what could do this to a great white shark. The only conclusion which the scientist could determine was that the nine-foot-long apex predator had been swallowed by something even bigger which then immediately dived deeper

into the depths of the ocean. To the world at large, all of these events, from the loss of the nuclear-powered MB-36 bomber back in 1959, to the loss of the Soviet submarine a decade later, to the increased sightings of weird anomalous things in the Pacific Ocean,

and to the deceased well population and increased well-beachings over the world. the last thirty years were nothing more than peculiar, disjointed and totally unconnected incidents. The world was rapidly becoming an overly complex place to live, with strife, civil war, economic and environmental turmoil, social unrest, drought, famine, disease, power-hungry politicians and an endless array of other calamities that attacked the average everyday citizen of the planet Earth. They had no time to be concerned about mythical sea monsters or horrific lovecraftian monstrosities from the depths until the day that the wreckage of the MB 36 was discovered, washed ashore on a desolate island

of the Pacific Ocean. Ironically, the wreckage of the long-forgotten MB-36 nuclear-powered bomber was hiding in plain sight for an undetermined number of years, as its mostly intact left-wing and parts of the fuselage had washed ashore on a tiny uninhabited island hundreds of miles south of Alaska. With modern surveillance, such as Google Earth and satellite mapping technology, it may even have been viewed hundreds of times by unsuspecting people who had little idea of the significance of their find. Perhaps mistaking the wrecked warplane is just one of the thousands which had been lost in the Pacific during World War II. As there was no record of a nuclear-powered bomber being lost in the North Pacific, There was no reason to suspect that the wreckage was anything more than a tragic loss from a tragic war.

Regardless, the wreckage remained undisturbed for decades until a documentary news crew from the BBC hired an underwater research vessel to search for long-lost ships and planes, which had perished during the horrific and deadly naval battles, which had taken place between the United States and Imperial Japan's naval forces. They just concluded filming, were sailing back to San Diego when, almost as an afterthought. The director of the documentary decided to make a detour

to investigate the old wreckage which had washed ashore on that deserted island. It was not known if the vessel had ever reached its objective. Two days after their last check-in with Pearl Harbor, all communications with the ship had been lost. An extensive search of the area by the British Royal Navy, the Canadian Navy, and the US Coast Guard commenced, though nothing was found of the missing research.

vessel, except various bits of floating debris and two empty life preservers which presumably had come from the ship. It was when the British Royal Navy decided to search the island where the British researchers were headed, but the United States State Department did an incredibly odd thing. The US declared a 300-mile exclusion zone around the little one and a half square mile island, forbidding any except authorized US naval warships to enter the restricted zone. It was almost 60 years to the day that the MB 36 went missing. The United States finally found pieces of that nuclear-powered bomber,

and that, unfortunately, is the part of the story where I come in. My name is Captain Samuel Gabriel, United States Marine Corps, and the commander of a very highly trained and highly specialized unit of CBRNE, CBRN Marines. C-Burn stands for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives. Our job as military emergency responders is to recognize and mitigate attacks from such weapons which could create mass casualties

and mass disruption to society from, for example, a nuclear, chemical or biological attack. Stationed in Hawaii, we were the nearest unit of this type to the mysterious little island that was located some 1,000 nautical miles due northwest of Oahu. Admittedly,

calling on a seaburn unit to serve, for a missing research vessel was highly unusual but as the old saying goes as is not to question why as is but to do or die I was told to bring only the minimal amount of personnel that I'd need to conduct this search in recover operation still not knowing exactly what we were searching for as my chain of command said that was secret information that I'd be filled in on a need-to-know basis I chose 17 of my most experienced seaburn Marines and divided us into two teams of nine Marines each. We were told to bring our heaviest hazmat suits, oxygen breathers, radiological sensors,

radiation alarms, decontaminating agents and a full combat load for our M4 rifles. In addition, all recording devices such as cell phones, go-pros or any type of audio-visual recorder was strictly forbidden, all over what was supposed to be a simple search and recovery mission. Every one of us knew that there was some underhanded block-ops thing going on when we boarded the naval assault ship, the USS Wasp, as it floated dockside at Pearl Harbor, waiting to take us on the four-day journey to that small, lonely island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. For two days of that trip, my seaburn unit basically sat around aboard the massive USS Wasp Assault ship with this large internal bays which could comfortably hold an entire US Marine assault battalion along with all its

armored vehicles. For this mission, however, two ugly bus-shaped Boeing, C-H-46 C-night helicopters, two AH-1-Z Viper attack helicopters, and two UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters were parked aboard the ship's flat-top. Again, these were not the types of aircraft which were optimized for air-to-sea searches. On the third day of the voyage, when we were about three hundred and four, 50 nautical miles from our destination, the captain of the USS Wasp had us do radiological surveys of the air and seas. To our astonishment, we found that both the air and sea samples east of the island contained an elevated amount of radiation. A second test at 300 nautical miles from the island revealed even higher levels of radiological contamination. The captain decided

to change course to approach to the island from a more southerly route, and to our relief, radiation levels drop significantly. A hasty meeting inside the tactical operation centre of the USS Wasp was set to discuss possible causes and sources of the radiation. We had a significant amount of civilian specialists also on this mission, including two CIA agents straight from Langley, Virginia. They told us that the radiation was lightly spillage from the Soviet K-129, which was lost decades ago, some 350 to 400 miles from our location. This may well have been the case. but in a highly secretive mission the US government had raised the wreckage of the K-129 from the sea floor and by all accounts there was very minimal radiation leakage from her missile silence. The next day the USS Wasp took up station about five miles to the west of the target island.

The radiation levels had increased steadily the closer we got to the island but not to a point where the accumulation would be considered hazardous if we could complete the mission within 12 hours. soaking inside our fully enclosed hazmat suits and straining from 50 pounds of gear and equipment under the humidity of the vast Pacific Ocean, my Marines loaded aboard one of the CH4-6 sea-light helicopters destined for the shores of that mysterious island floating five miles in the distance. The fact that my marines were also carrying fully loaded M-4 rifles made me suspect that we were not going to be doing our primary mission as seaburn specialists, a feeling that was confirmed when I saw who was boarding the other CH-46 helicopter. The other Chinook helicopter was filled with specialists, also in hazmat suits, working for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

the US Department of Energy, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. They even had a team of US military historians aboard for good measure. Although our initial mission briefing aboard the USS Wasp was considered top secret, it was filled with only the barest of need-to-know data by the two high-ranking CIA types followed by incessant reminders of the harsh penalties that we would expect if any word of this mission were leaked to the public. At that point, I had a little idea

of the impact that this discovery would unearth. In truth, I didn't believe the CIA types did either. My Marines and I were experts at our jobs when it came to securing hazardous, radioactive waste materials, even if they were long-dead bobbets lost in the ocean for decades. It was a CIA's job to come. cover up some past blunder that the US government was responsible for. We would do our jobs, they would do their jobs, and the world would be none the wiser. Flying in from the western

part of the tiny island, the two CH46 C-nights landed in a clearing on the beach. Though we knew it would be uncomfortable, the plan was to walk the one mile across the relatively flat island, where the wreckage of the plane lay washed up on the opposite beach. So far there had been absolutely no attempt to us attain the fate of the missing British research vessel, and it quickly became apparent that that was just an excuse to get us out on this humid, desolate island, enclosed in our heavy, claustrophobic-inducing hazmat suits. Breathing laboriously through our heavily filtered gas masks, we sweated under the merciless sun as we made our way deeper into the island. The two CIA types, who were running the entire mission, remained behind aboard the safety of the USS Wasp,

but coordinated our movements via secured radio transmissions. Curiously, they'd hold us Marines to leave all equipment behind inside the helicopters, except for our handheld radiologic sensors and our M4 rifles. The civilians would do all of the required work once we'd reach the wreckage. We could have scanned ahead using aerial drones, but again the CIA operatives were adamant that no visual recording devices were to be employed during this mission. We soon entered a jungle area where the trees seemed eerily weird and misshapen, as if their branches had been twisted to cause the trees to feel excruciating pain.

There were no birds or animal life present, only these tortured and oppressed-looking trees. My Marines were taken the hike as well as could be expected, but the civilian specialists who were accompanying us were another story, unused as they were to the exertion that came with walking through a humid island jungle, sealed inside a heavy rubber and carbon suit which was lied with lead. Two of the civilians, an obese late middle-aged gentleman who was one of the military historians and a young man who was one of the EPA specialists were complaining of feeling dizzy and lightheaded, obvious symptoms of heat exhaustion.

We sat them down as comfortably as we could on the fallen tree trunk underneath a jungle canopy and had them drink water through a tube connected to a bladder of cool water on their backs. I left one of my marines to keep an eye on them, figuring that we wouldn't be gone for more than an hour, by which time I was hoping that the two civilians would be well enough to walk back to the sea nights. Why weren't we allowed to land the sea nights right next to the wreckage of the aircraft, was never explained to me, but I figured that the CIA wanted eyes on the landscape,

although we were forbidden to record it. A radioed the situation back to the ship, and the lead CIA operative impatiently ordered us to move out. We were now a quarter of a mile from the opposite beach, and in the thickest part of the jungle, with a triple canopy of what looked like hideously misshapen palm and coconut trees masking the sky above us. We halted and stared in disbelief at what lay before us. There, half buried in the white sand and earth, with a skeletal remains of some type of aquatic

creature which looked to be over seventy feet long when it was alive. It looked to be the remains of some type of wave. It clearly it wasn't, as it had a neck that stretched across the ground and ended in a head which seemed far too big for the rest of its body. The gaping mouth hung open, revealing row upon row of dagger-like teeth, some measuring six inches long. It had what appeared to be two sets of massive flippers near the base of its neck and the other set at the start of its long tail. At first I thought it may have been some species of prehistoric animal, except that the air

was still filled with a fetid stench of decay, and, amazingly, there were still some sun-bleached leathery tissue clinging to the undersides of the rib-cage, meaning that whatever this thing was, it had died fairly recently. What bothered me the most about the monstrosity was the condition of the bones and skeleton, as they seemed to be plagued with unnatural, cancerous growths along the entirety of its body, which seemed to twist the spine, neck and tail into what looked to be uncomfortable angles. As massive as this dead thing was, it also looked to have lived a life of constant pain before death took it. Immediately I radioed our finding to the USS Wasp.

After a few long minutes of what I took to be in decisive silence, the lead CIA operative acknowledged my transmission and ordered us to continue the mission. In a few minutes, we emerged from the sweltering jungle and walked on to the beach under the unforgiving sun. The large wreckage of a bomber's wing and about 30 feet of fuselage was sitting half buried on the beach. The radiation levels were already spiking as we approached, and it didn't take long for the second military historian, a young female, to confirm that this was indeed the wreckage of the MB 36, codenamed Crusader. At the time, none of us Marines were familiar with what she was referring to, so she gave us a very quick rundown on the history of the MB 36. which I'd previously written about earlier. Up until now, the existence of the crash nuclear-powered bomber

was just the stuff of forgotten myth and Cold War legend. But it was true. The EPA and the DOE personnel ran a battery of tests on the air, soil and fuselage of the bomber, but we all already knew what had occurred. For over six decades, that radiological material had been contaminating an area of roughly 350 to perhaps, as much as 500 square miles of the Pacific Ocean, mutating and corrupting the sea life around it.

That nuclear reactor was here somewhere, buried under the tainted blue waves of the ocean, and giving birth to unimagined horrors. Once all the testing was completed, the civilian specialists retreated back into the jungle as I and my Marines rigged the wreck wing of fuselage of the bomber with explosives for detonation. We were halfway back to where we'd left the two heat-exhausted civilians when the explosives detonated. The jungle thudded like a heavy bass drum and echoed with the booming rumble as the MB-36 wreckage on the beach was reduced to nothing more than unrecognizable scrap. That was when we heard the high-pitched, hissing sound of a serpentine roar,

followed by the sounds of M-4 rifle fire coming in the distance. Ordering the civilians to stay put, my Marines and I ran in the direction of the firing. passed where we'd first seen the skeletal remains of the mysterious dead beast. Before long we were back where we'd left the two civilians suffering from heat exhaustion. What seemed to be a serpentine creature nearly 80 feet long, white in colour, and covered in what looked to be white coarse fur, towered over them. It's more opened at least ten feet wide and filled with scimitar-like teeth. The stench of rotten decay emanated from the thing as it drives.

dragged itself forwards on two large flippers. The two civilians were attempting weakly to crawl away as my Marines stood between them and the horrific thing which had slithered out of the jungle, firing their m-4 into the creature's mouth. Without being told, my marines charged the creature, clumsily running across the jungle floor

in our bulky and uncomfortable hazmat suits, breathing hard and firing up at the serpent. The hideous thing looked down at us, seemingly confused by this, new threat. We stood only 30 metres from the thing towering a good 20 feet over us, emptying magazine after magazine of rounds into its head and neck. It swiped and bitted us, but failed to snatch any of us into its hungry moor. Finally, one of my marinas began lobbing rifle, launched high-explosive grenades at the hellish beast, and it collapsed injured to the ground.

We collected my lone marinas, well as the two civilians that she was protecting, and police stopped the rest of the civilians before making up dash back towards the way we'd come, while giving the wounded serpent creature a wide berth. At that point, the pilots of the CH-46s were sending out frantic transmissions, telling us to hurry and return to the helicopters as something was happening with the USS Wasp. A radioed that we were a few minutes from breaking the cover of the jungle, as we pushed, dragged and carried the civilians forwards towards the beach. Behind us, we could hear branches snapping and saw.

trees falling as the white serpentine creature continued its pursuit of us. We finally broke the edge of the jungle and were greeted by the blinding sight of sunlight reflecting off the white sands. Although my Marines were completely exhausted from their ordeal, they still pushed the civilians towards the open ramp of the CH-46 and formed a very thin line that turned to face the approaching horror. Behind us, the trees parted as the thing pulled itself out of the jungle canopy and onto the beach, bloody mouth still opened and black, hostile eyes staring hungrily at us. Again we opened fire with our small armed weapons, again we opened fire with our small arms weapons while my grenadier launched a high explosive round that

impacted inside the beast's mall. The creature's head exploded in a spray of fetid-smelling bone and gall, the massive fifteen-foot mandible tearing away from the rest of its head. Wearily, we turned and ran the rest of the way to our waiting CH-46 C-night, the pilot eager to leave the beach. I stopped briefly to ensure that all of my Marines were accounted for and looked out across the ocean toward the USS Wasp. Even at this distance, I could see the ocean churning and frothing behind our assault carrier, our two viper and venom gunship helicopters circling over the unnatural disturbance in the water. As our helicopters drew closer to our ship, the back ramps of the sea-nights still lowered, we stared out the back in shock as the source of the churning waters behind the USS Wasp appeared.

A mottled, brown-green neck, easily 80-feet long, stretched out of the ocean. An ovular body could be seen just under the threshing waves that was roughly 40 feet long and tapered to a short, thick tail that ended in fins that resembled that of a shark. The Leviathan horror had two sets of gigantic flippers, resembling those of a prehistoric pleasaur, the front ones easily twenty to thirty feet long each. A dorsal fin protruded from between bony spines on its back that rose thirty feet above the waves as the horrific sea-creature swam in an undulating motion to catch the USS wasp. The most terrifying thing about the beast was its head, which seemed impossibly oversized to

be supported by its neck. The head resembled that of a great white shark, with horny protrusions crowning its head and a jaw so massive that it could easily swallow a nine-foot-long great white shark hole. The thing was now only a hundred metres behind the USS Wasp, which was steaming away from the creature at full speed and throwing up a massive weight behind her. All of a sudden, our AH-1-Z viper's opened fire with air-to-surface missiles and chain-gun fire. The ocean erupted in large spouts of white waves as explosions stitched the back of the creature. The mutated monstrosity hissed loudly, turning its ungodly large head towards the sky. By this time, the two UH-1Y Venom helicopters were also adding their ordinance to the cacophony of heavy weapon fire,

reigning machine gun and rocket rounds down upon the creature. Even my marines were firing out of the open back ramp of our CH-46, using their personal small arms weapons. Hemorrhaging blood, gore and chunks of flesh, the creature turned away from its pursuit of the USS wasp, turning left just split seconds before it would collide with the ship. One of its gigantic flippers hit the assault carrier on its port side as the creature dove under the waves and actually tipped the USS wasps towards Starboards. Our assault carrier rocked back and for a few tense moments before regaining stability, and we were allowed to land aboard her deck shortly after. The USS Wasp was already steaming back towards Pearl Harbor when our two

CH-46 Chinook helicopters finally touched down on her deck. The two CIA operatives, apparently having seen enough and deciding that discretion was the better part of being a meal to some radiation mutated undersea nightmare. After a week of extensive debriefings at Pearl, My unit was suddenly disbanded. My Marines placed on leave and awaiting orders for further reassignment to other units. I was placed on leave and am now awaiting a transfer to a unit currently operating in Africa. Meanwhile, the US Navy is currently conducting extensive naval operations within a thousand-mile radius of the island. Officially the unscheduled exercises to perform anti-submarine and search and rescue training.

The reports abound that a large naval salvaging and scavening and scavenging. ship outfitted with radiological protective measures was seen leaving naval station Pearl Harbor in the wee hours of the morning prior to the Navy exercise. As I write this, I'm sitting out on the back porch of my ranch home in Ogden, Utah. I've recently bought this land and I purposely built my house on hilly land far from the nearest big city and a mile from my nearest neighbors. It's nighttime and the stars twinkling above the cold, clear skies are shining brightly. I stare up at them, wondering what ancient mysteries they hold. Do they wait for the primitive species from Earth, so recently divorced from our homes within the caves,

to clumsily fly out to them? I laugh unconsciously. It's something my seven-year-old son, Sammy Gabriel Jr., said tonight before he went to bed. He said that when he grows up, wants to join the new U.S. military space force so that one day he could explore the galaxy, find new alien species,

shoot them that's fine i guess as long as he doesn't join the navy or the coast guard or any trade that puts him out into the middle of the ocean i've seen what lurks under the waves and there be monsters there satan's mirrors tim and gary lord were twin brothers stuck in an underground bunker the two men were single fathers gary had a five-year-old girl named chelsea tim had a 16-year-old daughter named Hannah. Only the men and their children occupied the bunker. No one could leave during the night hours. If you wanted to make a trip to the store, you had to be sure to leave in the daylight. The morning hours and afternoon hours were the safest times to be outside. Being outside during nightfall was suicide. Looking into a mirror at night was also suicidal. You did not want

to do that. People had to destroy the mirrors in their homes, including Tim. Tim found out the hard way a few nights ago. He saved his daughter and escaped his house, but not without suffering a few minor injuries. His older brother Gary had no problem allowing Tim and his daughter to stay in his house. Tim's brother came prepared, and he'd built a doomsday bunker under his house. Gary always prepared for the worst-case scenarios. He knew what had happened to Tim, and he tried to warn his brother. He told his brother not to look into a mirror at night.

He told him to destroy every mirror in his home, but Tim laughed off his brother's warning, thinking Gary was crazy or that he was pranking him. Tim knew Gary to be the prankster in the family, and Tim thought his mirror situation was another one of his brother's elaborate jokes. After what had happened to Tim and his daughter, he never took his brother's words for granted again. Tim had a near-death experience, all because he looked into a mirror at night while brushing his tea. I started writing on my horror novel the day before. Tim whispered to his brother as he sat

on a sofa with his daughter lying across his lap asleep. Your brother's a rock musician, and you're a successful author. You already know how to write a book. You've written 20 novels. I've never written a novel in my life. I had an extreme case of writer's block. I could only write one paragraph. When I went to bed and woke up the next morning, I turned on my laptop I got the shock of my life. Gary listened intently as he sat across from his brother in a recliner. He had his little girl sitting in his lap, sleeping. He finished writing your novel, didn't he? Gary finished Tim's story, and he watched as his brother nodded. He could still see the shock days in Tim's eyes. I'd finished a novel. At first I thought somebody broke into my house and typed on my laptop.

Tim shook his head. Freaked me out to see a 540-page book sitting in my word document after knowing damn well that I'd only written a paragraph the day before. I knew that it couldn't have been an intruder. Nothing in my house was missing, and even the world's greatest burglar couldn't type up a 540-page book in one night, unless the burglar was supernatural. A soft chuckle escaped from Tim.

Surrealism saturated his mind, and it intermingled with his fear. Gary laid his head back while thinking of what to say next. I don't know if the world's ending. It feels like a horror movie. I didn't believe it until I saw him looking back at me. He reached out of the mirror and grabbed me. I thought I was hallucinating at first, but when he twisted my wrist and I felt a sharp pain shoot up my arm,

I knew this was real. Gary paused, contemplating his words for a minute. I couldn't believe I was fighting myself in a public restroom. I went to wash my hands and I looked up into the mirror to see this dark, twisted face looking back at me. I jumped back, tried to run, but he lunged out of the mirror, grabbing my wrist. I couldn't believe what was happening to me. The lights in the men's bathroom went out. I struggled, but I made it out alive.

Gary looked down at his daughter. He breezed his fingers through his daughter's small, curly locks. You were on a date with someone, weren't you? Tim asked. He remembered his brother telling him about. a woman he'd met on an online dating site a month ago yeah i was on a date gary answered his brother with a sad tone in his voice thoughts of the woman he'd met online lingered in his mind Gary thought about the chemistry he had with his date cassandra he thought about the conversation he

had with her it seemed like the perfect date gary knew he was connecting with cassandra when she reached across the restaurant table to touch his hand there were secrets he told her that he'd never even told his twin brother and cassandra also opened her heart to gary all of this happened on the first date which made gary believe in finding love again gary found a new woman and he thought he'd never have to wear the melancholy label of a widower again for once gary thought he'd move on from the death of his wife by finding new love with this woman but things went downhill for gary when he had to excuse himself He enjoyed talking to Cassandra, and he didn't know that a trip to the men's room would change his life forever. Maybe she's still alive, Tim told his brother.

He could see the hidden sadness in Gary's eyes. He wanted to give his brother hope with his love life, and he knew that Gary hated being a widower. Tim followed his brother's gaze when he looked across the living room and a framed picture of his dead wife, Nancy, that sat on a fireplace mantle. In the picture you could see Nancy cuddling her daughter while sitting on a grassy knoll, wearing a summer dress. Her classic beauty and smile seemed to radiate beyond the photograph. Even a flowery sunset golden hair seemed to glow in the picture. You think, my wife's alive, Gary asked. He misunderstood his brother, and he became lost in his memories of Nancy.

No, I was talking about your date. Tim stated. Maybe Cassandra is still alive. I remember you told me the restaurant went dark and people were screaming. Tim tried to keep his voice down while talking to his twin brother, not wanting to wake his daughter. While talking to his brother, he couldn't get the monster out of his head. Tim's doppelganger attacked him in his basement bathroom.

Seeing a dark, dead version of himself in the mirror would stay with Tim for the rest of his life. I doubt that. Erie shook his head with an incredulous glint in his eyes. died in that restaurant. I escaped and it was a miracle. Those lights went out. I knew the thing that had attacked me in the restroom wasn't the only monster in the restaurant. Gary's voice quivered. Tim wanted to lean forward but he knew he couldn't move with his daughter still sleeping on his lap. You think a doppelganger killed your date. Tim felt shivers after he watched his brother nod his head. I think everyone in the restaurant got attacked by their doppelgangers. I want to

I ran past the ladies' restroom, I heard screaming. The restaurant had a large mirror in the dining area. After it went dark, I could still see what looked like people climbing out of this mirror. But I knew they weren't people. They were the doppelgangers of the restaurant patrons. Their doppelgangers attacked them, just like mine attacked me. What do you do when you see yourself as a dead rotting corpse in a mirror? I'm pretty sure some people at the restaurant froze when they saw those ugly versions of themselves.

Some people ran for their lives while others were probably less fortunate, like my date Cassandra. Gary was still stroking his fingers through his daughter's hair, and he kept shifting his eyes over to a group of security monitors which displayed camera surveillance of every square inch of his house, inside and out. A holographic flat-screen TV sat next to Gary's security monitors. Horrible news headlines scrolled across the television screen. The headlines and news reports show camera. footage of people being attacked on the street and in their homes by their zombie doppelgangers. Some videos were too graphic to show. In some videos, it showed people being killed by other people's

doppelgangers. Every one of them had superhuman strength. They could lift ten times their body weight. Getting into a fight with a doppelganger would be the equivalent to getting into a fight with a group of men. Sunlight was a weapon that could save you from them, however. But Gary didn't have sunlight to save him from his doppelganger. Something else saved him from almost being killed in that restaurant bathroom. His doppelganger almost broke his neck. Gary escaped with his life when the creature became

distracted by someone else stepping into the bathroom. Gary got away and his doppelganger snapped the bones in someone else's neck. Gary had his life but he felt guilty for allowing his doppelganger to kill an innocent patron who stepped into the bathroom at the wrong time. "'Didn't you tell me you shut the babysitter?' Tim asked his brother, breaking the brief silence in the room.

He recalled what Gary had told him over the phone. Gary took his eyes off his TV screen after he heard his brother's question. "'I had to shoot the babysitter's doppelganger. It had killed her already. I couldn't save her in time. I tried to call her and warn her not to look into a mirror, but it was too late.' The words crawled out from between Gary's lips. after I escaped from the restaurant I jumped in my car and drove home immediately I had a feeling that Chelsea was in danger

the sun was setting the daylight became night faster than normal I had to drive through a lot of chaos before I finally got home Gary chuckled releasing some of the tension in his body people were running across the street I saw cars hidden people

and cars running into each other I saw skeletal dark figures chasing people down the street Some people were shooting at their doppelgangers. I saw this one woman running on the sidewalk with her baby in her arms. She was being pursued by them. I wanted to pull over and help her, but the doppelganger grabbed her before I could do anything. He had chased her down, grabbing her and her baby.

I saw this happen to other people too. It got so bad that I thought I wouldn't be able to make it home. Tim watched as his brother took a deep breath. What happened when you got home? Tim already knew what had happened, but he wanted his brother to tell him the details. While waiting for his brother to speak again, he thought about all the young adult horror novels that his brother had written, or Tim never thought his life would turn into one of the horror novels that made his brother a wealthy best-selling author.

Tim was a successful rocker whose fans called The Devil with the Guitar. He'd sold 50 million albums and collaborated with many pop singers and rap icons, including a young pop singer named Serenity Rose, whose father was post-malone. Five Grammy Awards sat on the shelf in Tim's living room, but Tim didn't give a damn about these rewards. He was a rock musician who loved his fans more than these awards. Tim envied his brother's writing talent, even though he himself had a tremendous talent for writing music. Tim and his brother looked identical. The only difference was that Tim sported a blonde, sharp-edged haircuts.

with tattoos on his neck and metal piercings in his face and ears. Most often, Tim and Gary's looks would be compared to the rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. They both have the sleepy gaze in their ocean blue eyes and the prominent cheekbones that gave Elvis his distinct handsomeness. Tim reminded people of a hip-hop bad-boy version of Elvis. He loved his brother, but he didn't want to share his brother's more conservative looks. He wanted to stand out from his brother, and his music profession allowed him, to be a hard ass. Since the world was ending, Tim did not want to lose his brother, and he didn't

want to die either. After what happened to him and his daughter, Tim appreciated life. Now, listening to his brother's story, made Tim feel like something had trapped him and his brother in a deathly, alternate universe. My heart sank when I pulled into the driveway, I saw that all the lights were out in my house. Gary proceeded with his story. He put his fingers up to his face, fidgeting with his goate. I grabbed my gun at the glove compartment. My head was spinning. All I could think about was Chelsea.

I called out to her, but she didn't answer. The front door had been knocked off its hinges. Tiffany was the name of the babysitter I hired. Her dead body was lying in the doorway. Her arms were hanging outside the door. I almost passed out when I saw what her doppelganger had done to her body. Tim kept his eyes on his eyes on his. brother while listening to him he'd occasionally looked down at his daughter thinking about how his

doppelganger had tried to kill both of them what i saw was horrible gary choked on his words a little he didn't want to describe how the babysitter's doppelganger had mutilated her body but he knew his brother wanted details it had ripped the skin off tiffany's face there's nothing but bone and sinew where the nose and lips used to be it looked like a grisly bear had chewed on her face snake and the scalp was missing. It had ripped her hair out and I could see the top part of her skull. Blood had splattered all over my front porch. All the fingers were missing on Tiffany's left hand. She had a mangled right hand and it looked like a dog had been gnawing on it. Tiffany was a pretty girl but when I saw her body hanging half outside my door,

it looked like she'd been in a car accident. No, I wanted to throw up when I realized that the thing that viciously attacked Tiffany was still inside my head. house I didn't know where my daughter was. Gary raised his finger and he pointed at one of the security monitors which displayed his daughter's bedroom. Yeah, she's in there. I killed her in my daughter's bedroom. Gary whispered and he could feel his stomach turning again. Tim looked around at the monitor with a lost expression on his face. He could see a female figure in a sleeveless white dress lying on the floor face down beside the bed she's in your daughter's bedroom tim looked back at his brother who nodded at him with his finger still pointing at the security

monitor yeah i found her in my daughter's bedroom crawling across the ceiling it was dark so i couldn't see her at first but i could hear chelsea crying carrie brought his eyes down to a bandage on his daughter's leg a few inches below a knee that demon bit my daughter's leg Chelsea got away from her She was hiding under her bed Came into the bedroom I could hear footsteps above my head My daughter was crying but I could hear

The doppelganger singing a lullaby to her While she was crawling back and forth across the ceiling She leaped down And that's when I opened fire I shot her six times After I shot her She stood there for the longest minute in my life Glaring at me through black hollow eyes

She curled back her lips, and I saw she had rows of spikes for teeth. I could see the blood stains on her teeth, and her gums were black. It was like I was looking at Tiffany's corpse that had arisen from a graveyard somewhere. She even had a long, grungy white dress. Her dress looked dead like her. My heart was racing, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she finally clapsed to the floor. After Gary had finished speaking, his whispered. words lingered in the air. Tim looked at his brother through a sorrowful but unnerved stare.

A silence manifested between the twin brothers. For a minute they didn't know what to say to each other. Tim's eyes kept falling onto the bandage wrapped around his niece's leg. He felt shivers of sympathy when he thought about the creature biting the little girl. He couldn't imagine how bad he'd feel if his doppelganger had bit his daughter. So many unanswered questions tormented Tim. He didn't know what these creatures were. He didn't know if they were the manifestation of a person's inner demons. Well, he thought the doppelgangers might be aliens at first. Tim couldn't figure out his doppelganger, and he knew that fear and confusion tormented his brother the same way it had tormented him. But recalling these things doppelgangers. Gary broke the silence

with his tired eyes locked on his television screen. I googled the word. It's an old German word that describes the apparition of a living person. So, a, the doppelganger doesn't refer to someone who looks just like you. It's the ghost of a living person. They said that if you see your doppelganger, it's a sign of your imminent death. Tim swallowed hard after his brother told him the meaning behind the words. So, what are you trying to say, bro?

He's saying that we're going to die anyway because we saw our doppelgangers in the mirror? Tim waited for his brother's answer, but his waking daughter caught him to break on blinking eye contact with his brother. Tim smiled at Hannah when she awoke from her sleep, slowly sitting up. Hey, Angel, did she get a good sleep? Tim kissed his daughter on the forehead while combing his fingers through her hair. I had a nightmare, Hannah told her dad while rubbing her eyes. Her voice was soft but hoarse.

When her eyes cleared up, she smiled at her uncle Gary, who was giving her a warm gaze. Then Tim forgot about what his brother had told him when his daughter hugged him. The father needed his daughter's embrace. Both of them had gone through a near-death experience a day ago and they were glad to be in each other's arms. Hannah's nightmare contained her father's doppelgame.

The teenager could still see the dead version of her father chasing her around the basement in their house. Gary wanted to keep looking at his brother and his niece, but activity on one of his security monitors caused him to turn his eyes away. A thought came to Gary that what he'd seen out of the corner of his eye was an optical illusion. Movement on one of the security monitors was something Gary didn't want to see. Nightfall had arrived, and any movement occurring around this time would be a threat. People were told to stay in their homes and lock their doors at night.

And even that warning wouldn't protect people from being killed inside their home, especially if they didn't destroy all the mirrors there. What's wrong? Tim noticed Gary, directing a suspicious stare at one of his security monitors. Oh, nothing. Gary didn't want to display paranoia in front of his brother or his niece. Memories came to Gary as he placed his eyes back on his brother. They were pleasant memories, well, sort of.

The memories were mostly about his dead wife. Gary had loved her dearly, and he had a... he thought if he saw his dead wife's doppelganger would he run from it or would he be so desperate to reunite with his wife that he'd approached the monster and possibly get killed in the process this thought crossed gary's mind he knew love could make you do crazy things god Gary even imagined himself making love to his wife's doppelganger in the back seat of his wife's bright yellow 1970 Mustang fastback. The thoughts were getting crazier in Gary's head.

Gary knew that no other woman could replace his wife, not even Cassandra. A kiss from a monster that looked like his wife will be better than nothing in Gary's mind. Oh, he wanted to keep fantasizing about his dead wife. But his brother broke him out of his daydream. To remember the night you came to one of my concerts, Tim asked. A smirk formed across his handsome and hard-edged face. Gary couldn't remember what his brother was talking about, but he nodded anyway. I asked you to join me on stage, and you look scared as hell.

Tim chuckled. I wanted you to play the drums. Well, you hadn't played the drums since we were teenagers playing in a garage. But you did well that night. I think we played smells like teen spirit by Nirvana. That night I was Kirk and Bain, you were Dave Grohl. Everything went our way, and then the heat went up when that naked, fine-ass chick ran up on stage and grabbed me.

Tim laughed even harder after bringing out the naked woman, seeing his brother's eyes light up. I'd forgotten about the naked cheek. Now I remember. Gary erupted into laughter. He laughed so hard that he woke up his daughter. Sorry, kiddo. Gary whispered guiltily to his little girl.

He kissed Chelsea on the forehead while trying to suppress his laugh. It was like she came out of nowhere. she jumped on that stage and tackled me. All I saw were these massive boobs running towards me. Tim continued, putting his hand over his bearded face and choking on his laughter. She was hot and naked, damn it. What the hell's wrong with me? I don't want to talk about this in front of my baby.

It's a bit too damn explicit. Tim kept chuckling as he glanced around at his daughter. He remembered what the naked woman did to him, and he couldn't say it in front of Hannah. I wouldn't say it in front of her. our babies there, too young to hear this stuff. Tim pointed at his daughter and his knees. Hannah's ears tingled. She hugged her father's arm tighter after pinning her silky, dark almond hair behind her ears. Can you tell me a little? Hannah tried to coax the story out of her father,

and she gave him a disappointed look when he shook his head. No, honey, I don't think you want to know what she did to your dad. Tim couldn't stop laughing, and he knew he was sparking his daughter's even more through his mischievous laughter. Gary agreed that his brother should keep what the naked woman did a secret from their children. He couldn't believe that his brother had to remind him of this. He'd watched as she tackled him almost knocking him into a speaker. She knocked the guitar out of his hand,

and after she knocked him down on the stage, she tried to rip off his denim jeans faster than a lightning bolt striking the ground, and, well, the security guards grabbed her just in time. Gary remembered Tim's wife being in the audience, and she jumped on stage punching that woman in the face after the security guards grabbed her. Tim's wife, Megan, who was now his ex-wife, became outraged at the side of this woman assaulting her husband on stage. I remember when we played together on a stage at the Grammys, Hannah told her dad with a reminiscent softness in her voice. She giggled when her dad kissed the side of her head. Yeah, I never forget what we did.

Tim had to clean up his mind after his daughter made him remember that moment together. We were playing a Grammy salute to Little Nas X. Tim smiled and his memories made him experience the moment with his daughter all over again. Yeah, we sang Old Town Road together with Little Nas X. He was sitting in the audience. He stood up from his seat clapping when I started rapping his lyrics. That made me feel so good seeing him clapping and cheering at me. I was nervous at first, thinking I was going to mess up.

Hannah could still see Lil Nas X in the audience cheering at her and her father. She remembered the rap star running up on stage and giving her a big hug after they finished their tribute performance. I remember that night vividly. Lil Nas X looked damn good for a 78-year-old man. He was still rocking that cowboy hand. Tim laughed. He'd never forget the warm embrace the rap star gave him and his daughter. Those for the memories Tim wished he could experience again.

Oh, he was sexy. I wanted Lil Nazex to be my boyfriend, but he was too old for me. Hannah shrugged her shoulders, letting a playful giggle escape from her. She held her father's hand on top of a knee. Hannah studied the tattoo of a spider web that scaled up her father's muscular forearm. The teenager affectionately stroked her fingers across her father's arm, and she briefly forgot about the doppelgangers. She saw her attacking people on the streets,

and the scream she heard echoing from people's houses. Hannah forgot about her father's doppelganger, but it would only be for a moment. Yeah, getting grabbed by a ghastly humanoid monster that shared your father's physical traits with something you could never forget. His musty scent, his pale, translucent skin, and his pointed teeth were the attributes Hannah remembered the most on her father's doppelganger. She even remembered his clawed fingers when he grabbed her chin, attempted to sink his teeth into her face.

Hannah never forgot how the doppelganger whispered the words, It won't hurt, sweetheart, before showing his dingy, jagged teeth. Hannah saw her death, but then she saw a fist fly out from behind her, clocking the doppelganger in his mouth. Hannah got pulled into her father's arms, and she blacked out after her father rescued her. Laughing with her dad made Hannah forget about how strange her life would become now. But a dismal reminder tapped Hannah on the shoulder. when she looked up to see her uncle Gary staring at his security monitors.

The smile departed from her face and she stopped caressing her father's arm when her uncle abruptly stood up from his recliner. Gary's daughter, Chelsea, stood up with her father. The little girl saw what her father saw and she felt equally terrified. Daddy, I saw her. I thought you shut her, Chelsea uttered while looking up at her father. She was in a groggy state, but when she saw a creature in a white dress on the security monitor, it woke her up and sent chills down her spine. I saw her too, baby. Gary whispered down to his daughter while holding her hand. I thought I'd killed her.

After saying this, he shook his head in disbelief. The father and daughter saw Tiffany's doppelganger, alive and well. They watched as she slowly rose from the floor before walking out. out of Chelsea's bedroom. Tim wanted to know why his brother had a shell-shocked expression on his face. When he turned around to see a pale woman in a white dress, drifting down the hallway on a security monitor,

he jolted up as if something had hit him with a stunger. What the hell was that? Tim's voice shuddered a little. He already knew what it was. That was the babysitter's doppelganger. Hannah answered her father instead of her uncle. who was speechless. Uncle Gary, I thought you killed her.

Hannah looked around at her uncle, whose face was whiter than snow. I killed her, honey. I shot the bitch six times. Gary answered his niece as he slowly approached his security monitors. But she came back. I killed her hours ago when she came back. Gary put his hands up to his forehead, and he watched as Tiffany's doppelganger drifted from her.

room to room, as if the house belonged to her. Hannah jumped when the bunker room's ceiling lights flickered. She tried to keep calm while looking at the security monitors, watching this pale, ghostly apparition drift into the house's living room. Hannah could see blood stains on the front of her dress. Ghostly woman crept around the living room. Her body twitched with every step. She came to an abrupt stop over Tiffany's dead body, which was still lying near the front door. The doppelganger tilted her head while looking down at the babysitter's body. She grouched down over Tiffany with her eye sockets scanning the dead young woman from head to toe. After studying Tiffany's dead body for a while, it crawled up on top of Tiffany before

digging her teeth into Tiffany's neck. She was finishing what she'd started. Tim looked to away from the security monitor and his stomach twisted my god tim gasped before sitting back down on the sofa in shock she's eating her Hannah stated the obvious and her young mind couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her gary covered his daughter's eyes seeing the doppelganger resurrect itself was bad enough but watching her eat the babysitter took his fear to a new level Gary wanted to turn away, but he kept his eyes on the security monitor. His eyes were wide open and so was his mouth. Sweat developed on his forehead and his heart was stomping in his throat.

Hannah's body became frozen after she saw the doppelganger biting into the babysitter's neck. She still had her eyes on the security monitor's screen. Watching this doppelganger feast on a dead human body was the most disgusting thing Hannah had ever seen. The pale woman's needle-like teeth gnawed and poured on Tiffany's neck like a wild dog ripping chunks of meat off a bone. This evil creature ate ravenously, savouring every bit of human flesh that entered her mouth. Oh, it was nice to have leftovers, it would seem. While feasting on Tiffany's body, the doppelganger looked down at six bullet holes in her dress. She smirked when she stroked her fingers through the holes and felt that her skin,

was intact. Each time the doppelganger would take a bite out of Tiffany's neck, she'd sit back on her knees, using her dress to clean the blood from around her mouth. After feasting on the body for an hour, the doppelganger slowly rose to her feet, still holding fragments of Tiffany's skull in her hands. The creature drifted around the living room, pacing back and fall. Her movement seemed fragmented and glitchy. Anna was sitting down beside her father on the sofa. her but she still had her eyes glued to the security monitors she felt like she was watching a scene from a horror movie the creature looked human to Hannah she looked like a normal woman who was nervously pacing around in a living room but Hannah shivered when she

saw the woman climb up a wall seeing this creature crawl across the living room ceiling reminded Hannah that she was watching a monster caught on camera and not a human being Tim held his daughter's hand and he tried to put out what he saw on the security monitors. Insidious anxiety came over him when he realized that these creatures were monsters that you couldn't kill. Tim heard his brother tell him he'd shot Tiffany's doppelganger six times, yet he was seeing her on the monitor creeping around the living room with human blood on her face and dreads. I shot her six times. I watched her fall to the floor.

she was dead. Gary was still standing motionless in front of the monitors, with his daughter's arms wrapped around his waist. Chelsea had her arms locked around her dad, and her innocent eyes studied the creature's every move on the monitor. Her heartbeat sped up when she thought about the doppelganger and what it had done to her leg. Chelsea had witnessed the death of her babysitter Tiffany.

It all happened when she'd gone to the bathroom. Chelsea enjoyed watching movies and eating people, her with Tiffany and she enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with her babysitter. Chelsea had her last moment with Tiffany after she tucked her into bed. She tucked Chelsea in and read her a bedtime story. After kissing Chelsea good night, Tiffany had left the child's bedroom, making her way to the bathroom. Chelsea'd heard her go in and the little girl didn't know then that she was seeing her babysitter for the last time. Chelsea had leapt up in her bed when she had leapt up in her bed when she when she'd heard an ear-piercing scream coming from the dark hallway.

The child caught out of bed, and she stepped into the hallway when she heard Tiffany running down the stairway, as if something was chasing her. Chelsea could hear a second pair of footsteps stomping behind. At first, Chelsea thought an intruder had broken into the house. She heard banging and crashing taking place in the stairway. This quickly moved into the living room, and in Chelsea's ears it sounded like a war zone had broken out in the house. The sound of glass breaking and furniture being tossed around shook Chelsea's nerves.

Tiffany's screams almost caused Chelsea to have a panic attack. The little girl followed the screams until she reached the bottom of the stairway. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, Tiffany's screaming stopped abruptly. There was slight darkness in the living room. Chelsea could make out a figure in a white dress kneeling near the front door. the door was open and the porch light partially illuminated the dark figure this female figure was crouching down with a neck turned to Chelsea Chelsea had thought it was Tiffany

until she saw that the figure was sitting on top of Tiffany's dead body this confused the charred from the back because the figure looked exactly like her Chelsea remembered calling out to the figure at the back of the figure's head jerked upward when it heard her voice The figure revealed it was a woman when it slowly stood up with its back still facing Chelsea. She called Tiffany's name again, still thinking the woman was Tiffany, even though she could see Tiffany's dead body beneath the woman's feet.

There is no Tiffany, sweetie. Chelsea remembered the woman snarling at her with her back still facing the child. Chelsea stopped in her tracks when the woman moved her long raven black hair over her shoulder, before slowly turning her head to look at the child. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. The little girl froze when her eyes locked onto a horrid, ghoulish face that was staring back at her. She wasn't staring into a person's eyes.

She was staring into two dark, eyeless cavities. Chelsea could see the blood around the ghoulish woman's mouth. But what sent the child running was when she looked down. down to see Tiffany's mutilated face. She ran back toward the stairway. She could feel icy hands trying to grab her. A stiff hand gripped her ankle, causing her to fall on the stairs. Chelsea screamed when she felt something sharp pierced her leg,

and she remembered almost fainting from the pain. Tears drowned the child's eyes as she desperately tried to free herself from this monstrous version of Tiffany. Chelsea screamed out for her father, knowing that her, Dad was not at home. Glawed fingers were digging into her back and grabbing her arms. It took some time, but Chelsea finally broke free from the evil Tiffany. As the child ran up the stairs, she looked over her shoulder, to see the creature dragging her feet up the stairs and taking her sweet time in her pursuit of her.

Chelsea ran into a bedroom, shutting the door behind her and locking it. She crawled under a bed or saying a prayer that her father had told her to say whenever she felt afraid. The bedroom door rattled on its hinges. The rattling morphed into banging, and soon the banging turned into full-blown ramming. Chelsea was in a fetal position beneath her bed, with a face buried in her hands. Her door shook so violently that she thought it was going to fall off its hinges. Chelsea thought it was all over when her door stopped convulsing. She heard nothing for a few minutes, but then her door slowly overwhelmed.

It opened. It opened as if Chelsea hadn't even locked it. She remembered hearing the evil Tiffany singing a lullaby when she stepped into the bedroom. Her voice sounded deceivingly soothing. It echoed throughout the dark bedroom like a haunting wind. Chelsea never saw it, but she could hear the doppelganger crawling up the bedroom wall while still softly humming. She heard the evil Tiffany crawling closer to the bed, and then she heard her father. She heard her father shouting out to her in the hallway. Chelsea wanted to warn her father, but she couldn't speak while listening to the sound of hands and feet clawing across her ceiling, a few feet above her bed. She heard hissing, and then she heard gunshots. There were six shots. Chelsea saw a body

drop to the floor beside her bed, and the little girl had run into her father's arms, thinking it was over. But that healthy fear had returned to Chelsea when she saw her. She saw her, and the little girl, the evil Tiffany alive again, wandering throughout the house with the dead aimlessness in her walk. Hannah had never seen a human body being eaten. As she stared at the monitor, she watched as the evil Tiffany crept into the kitchen while chewing on something. When Hannah looked closely, she could see that the doppelganger was chomping on Tiffany's ear. Tim couldn't look at the security monitors anymore. His stomach flipped after he saw. He saw him. He said. He was still. He could see. He was saw the creature feasting on Tiffany's body near the front door.

While lost in thought, he couldn't understand what these doppelgangers were, or where they'd come from. What disturbed him the most was that you couldn't kill these monsters, and it seemed like all the bullets in the world couldn't save you from a doppelganger. Tim witnessed that fact firsthand. A loud noise snatched him out of his anxiety days, and that loud noise came from Tim's phone. "'You have the loudest ringtone in the world?' Hannah fussed at her father after his ringing phone caused her heart to hop into her throat.

Hannah cracked a slight smile, even though the ringtone rattled her nose. "'Sorry, sweetheart.' Tim kissed his daughter's forehead while hastily removing the phone from his pocket. It shocked Tim when he saw who was calling him. His ex-wife, Megan, rarely called him, and something felt wrong.

When Tim answered his phone, he couldn't say a single word because his ex-wife spoke so rapidly. Tim, honey, I need your help. Megan's whispering words bombarded Tim's ear. When your ex-wife calls you honey, it means she's in serious trouble. I was trying to reach you. I went to your house, but you weren't there. Something was in your basement and it chased me out of the house. Megan sat it out of breath while whispering through the phone.

Where are you? Tim asked his ex-wife, while still. standing up from the sofa. I'm in my car, part in front of your brother's house. Megan swallowed her. The front door is open. I can see a woman crouching in the doorway. I think she's looking at me.

Now, Tim broke into a full-blown sweat when he looked around at the security monitors to see the evil Tiffany lurking toward the doorway. He could see the doppelganger fixating its eyes on something else. Went to your house and your door was open. I went inside. had banging coming from the basement. Megan's voice shivered behind her words.

I went downstairs and I unlocked your basement door. I stupidly thought it was you banging on the door to try and get out. Megan paused for a minute, taking a deep breath. I opened the door, and this tall anorexic man chased me up the stairs. I think it was a man. I looked like you if you died thirty years ago and came back. Richard was in the house with me. He tried to protect me, but...

You killed... Well, I mean, this monster that looked like you killed him. He grabbed Richard and it ripped out his throat. I tried to save him, but it was too late. I had to get out of there. Tim held the phone for a minute after his ex-wife told him what had happened to her husband. He wanted to tell Megan to stay in a car and wait for him, but he didn't really know what to do.

His thoughts were misfiring. He was safe in the underground bunker, and I thought of leaving it. to help his ex-wife. It harassed him. Gary could hear a woman's voice emerging from Tim's phone, and he knew it was his brother's ex-wife, Megan.

There was something wrong, but Gary couldn't quite figure it out. I'm afraid. Megan kept gulping between her words. Got out of my car, walking to the back of the house. Tim bit his tongue after his ex-wife told him

she was walking to the back of the house. He didn't want Megan to enter because he knew about the danger waiting for her inside. That woman I saw crouching down in the doorway didn't see me. She turned around and went back into the house. Who was that woman? Megan's whispering, wavered from walking swiftly and talking at the same time.

That woman you saw is dangerous. It's the babysitter's doppelganger. Tim tried to explain. Now listen to me. Go to the back of the house, but don't go inside. I'll come out to meet you. Stay as quiet as possible. Tim instructed Megan with his eyes stuck on the security monitors.

He could see the evil Tiffany in the living room, chewing on more body parts that she'd removed from the dead Tiffany. Be-sitters doppelganger. What's a doppelganger? Megan didn't let her shortness of breath prevent her from asking questions. Tim was about to answer his ex-wife, but his phone died at the wrong time. Look, there are monster versions of us, and they appear. in mirrors. That's what a doppelganger is. Tim told his ex-wife, not knowing that he'd lost his connection. He cursed

under his breath when he saw that his phone had no battery life. Oh, it died on me a piece of shit phone. Tim tossed his dead phone on the sofa, tried to figure out how he could meet up with his ex-wife without attracting deadly attention. That was Mom? Hannah asked with panic in her

voice. She watched as her father slowly nodded his head. where is she now the 16 year old wanted to stay calm but she didn't want her mother to come into the house and get killed by the evil tiffany hannah witnessed what the doppelganger could do to a human body she didn't want her mom to get eaten alive on camera is she inside the house gary asked he still had his little daughter's hand while giving his brother an intense stare that thing is in my living room it's going to kill her if she goes inside the house Gary spoke fast and he was unaware of his raised voice. I told her not to come into the house.

Tim yelled back at his brother. I'm going to meet her outside near the back. A more gentle tone then enveloped Tim's voice. He didn't want to yell at his brother and agitate the situation even more. You can't go out there. She'll kill you. That creature will eat you. He couldn't believe his negative words. Positiveity would usually befriend Gary's personality.

and Gary's personality, but his worst thoughts snagged at him as he struggled to realize that a cannibalistic monster he had killed was alive again on wandering around his living room. Hannah hugged her father's arm when she thought about him being outside the bunker. She wanted to save her mom, but she didn't want her father to leave. Hannah's heart was pounding against her chest, but she became determined to go with her father. She's not going to kill me. Tim stated with her father. Tim stated with her. confidence. She's in the kitchen and I'll be near the back of the house. I'll be perfectly quiet. Tim pointed at the monitor, which displayed surveillance of the kitchen. He ignored the chills

on the back of his neck when he saw the evil Tiffany's standing motionless in the middle of the kitchen. What's she doing? Hannah whispered up to her father with her eyes locked on the screen. She thought a glitch had frozen the video until she saw the doppelganger's shoulders rising. I don't know, but I have to go out there and get your mom. Tim's heart collapsed when he saw all the blood drain from his daughter's pretty face. He saw her struggling to hide her panic. I'll go with you, Hannah said, hastily grabbing her father's hand and hoping that he wouldn't object to her leaving with him.

The teenager knew her father would put up a fight. No, you can't go with me. It's not safe, baby. Tim touched his daughter's chin and he tried to free himself. but Hannah had a firm grip on his arm. I have to go with you. I can help you just in case something happens. Hannah tugged on her father's arm, causing him almost to lose his balance. Honey, I don't have time to argue.

Tim cut off his daughter. Usually he'd let his daughter have her way, but not tonight. Tim had to keep his foot down because telling his daughter no could save her life. You're not going with me. stay here with your uncle and keep your eyes on the security monitors Tim pointed to the monitors with a soft, authoritative tone in his deep voice Gary held his little girl in his arms and he watched as a brief argument ensued between his brother and his niece.

I don't give it damn what you say, I'm going with you. Hannah tightened her grip around her father's bulky arm. Her defiant words punched her father. You're not going to tell me no this time. when I asked you if my boyfriend could spend the night, you told me no. When I only had to go to the movies from my girlfriend's last Saturday. You told me no. I wanted to borrow the car last weekend.

You told me no. I'm 16 years old. I'm not a baby anymore. I'm going with you. Hannah stared up at her father with a fiery, youthful rebellion in a beautifully soulful eyes. Tim never took his shocked eyes off his daughter's face. His mouth fell open after his daughter chewed him out with her words. He could see his ex-wife's spicy personality and her badass beauty in his daughter.

It's what made him fall in love with his daughter's mother. While staring at Hannah, Tim saw a glimpse of Megan, and he remembered not being able to tell her no without a fight. Sweetheart, maybe you should listen to your dad, Gary told Hannah, interjecting himself into the father and daughter verbal scuffle. Your father just wants you to be safe, and you'll be safe with me. you can still help your dad by watching the security monitors and speaking to him through these walkie-talkies. Gary pulled out two communication devices that he had hidden under a table.

He handed one walkie-talkie to Hannah while giving her a light smile. He winked at his brother after he gave him his walkie-talkie. He knew that he'd saved Tim from his daughter by calming her down. I want to go with you, but since my uncle wants me to stay, I'll stay. Hannah had a trembling a voice that would appear every time she glanced around at the security monitors to see Tiffany's doppelganger lurking around in another part of the house. Daddy, I'm scared. Hannah turned back around, throwing her arms around her father.

I don't want you to get killed. Hannah tightened her arms around her father's waist while gazing up at him through a teary, indigo-green eyes. Well, the teenager kept imagining the evil Tiffany killing and even, beating her father on one of the security monitors. She tried to knock the gruesome image out of her head. Hannah wanted to stay positive, but she kept thinking about her father's doppelganger, how he tried to eat her face.

Everything's going to be fine. Tim Kistie's daughter on the forehead. We have walkie-talkies, thanks to your uncle. We can still communicate with each other. I'm going to go get your mum. All you have to do is keep your eyes on the monitors. If you see you getting close, Tim paused for a minute, pointing to one screen which displayed the monster crawling across the kitchen floor.

You just let me know on the walkie-talkie. Just hold down that button on the side and tell me what's going on. You'll be my lookout. Tim smiled down at his teenage daughter while caressing her chin. He smiled at how his daughter reflected him in the way she dressed. He called her the girl with a dragon tattoo because of her gothic lace dresses and her black leather skirts. Tim studied how the ring in his daughter's nose, the hot pink streak in her hair, and her skull earrings accentuated her of exotic beauty. You think you're not a baby anymore?

Oh, guess what, little lady? He'll always be my baby no matter what. Tim told his daughter before leaning down and kissing away a tear on her cheek. He gave Hannah another long kiss on her forehead before slowly turning to make his way toward the bunker's door. Hannah's arms fell beside her slender waist after she let go of her father. She swallowed a few of her tears while turning around, unable to watch him leave the bunker. Hannah would gasp hard whenever she'd attempt to stop herself from crying. The teenager brushed her hair behind her shoulders,

and she cleaned the water out of her eyes before surveying in the monitors. Hannah would still have time to see her father leave because there was a camera above the bunker's door. her eyes fell on the screen that showed her mother brushing dirt off her dress and jacket while standing on the backyard deck patiently waiting for her father Hannah stroked her fingers across that security monitor that showed her mother and she prayed for a miracle when she saw the evil Tiffany on another screen creeping back into the house's living room the monster had an arch in her back and she kept her head twisted to one side Hannah took her eyes off the monster when she felt small fingers easing into her palm. A smile formed across her lips as she glanced down to see a little cousin Chelsea standing beside her. Hannah knew that the little girl was trying to comfort her,

and she wrapped her arms around the child, thinking of Chelsea as the little sister she'd always wanted. Please be careful. Don't make me a father of two girls instead of one. Gary whispered in his brother's ear while giving him a little. a powerful hug with his arm embracing the back of Tim's neck. Tim affectionately tapped his brother on the chin with his knuckles. I'll be back.

Just take care of a while I'm gone. Tim whispered back to his brother before patting him on the shoulder. He was about to turn the door when he froze, as his brother pulled out a small 22-caliber revolver he had tucked in the back of his jeans. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Tim gave his brother a nervous smirk. "'You shot her six times as he came back from the dead. "'A gun can't save me.'

"'I was a certainty in Tim's words "'as he shifted his eyes between the gun "'and his brother's face. "'Just take the damn gun.' "'Garry took hold of his brother's hand "'before slapping the gun into his sweaty palm. "'But I didn't shoot her in the head, "'so you can try doing that.

"'Garry chuckled a little, "'but he only chuckled to calm his nerves. "'He gave his brother one last hug, and he watched as Tim looked at his daughter for the last time before slowly opening the bunker's door, disappearing into the darkness behind it. Gary hated watching his brother disappear behind the door, and he hated bolting the bunker's door, not knowing if his brother would ever return. Tim stood in a long, dark corridor, and his breath got stuck in his throat after he heard his brother secure the door behind him. There was no turning back.

all Tim had was a small caliber gun and a walkie-talkie. He also had his instincts, which would hopefully save his life. Tim began his journey down a long underground tunnel that would lead up to the house's basement. Tim was about to test his walkie-talkie, but before he could speak into the device, his daughter's soft voice emerged from the receiver, causing him to flinch a little. Dad, can you hear me? Hannah's whispering voice vibrated the walkie-talkie. Yes, sweetie, I can hear you.

Tim replied to his daughter while trying to hide the tremor in his voice. Is Mom still at the back of the house? Tim whispered into the device while listening to his footsteps echoing up and down the dark tunnel. Yeah, Mom never moved. She's still sitting on the deck. She looks really scared. Hannah took a deep breath after answering her father. I don't blame her.

I'm scared too, but I've got a good feeling about this. Tim tucked his brother's gun into his waistband while holding the walkie-talkie in front of his lips. Where's the master? She's still in the living room? Tim didn't want to think about the cannibalistic creature lurking around his brother's house, but he needed to know her location for his safety and the safety of his ex-wife. His daughter's reply almost had him stop in his tracks. She's in the living room, eating Tiffany's.

body again. She dragged the body out of the doorway and she's chewing on Tiffany's stomach. I had to look away. I'm looking at Mum right now. Tim could hear his daughter swallowing hard between her whispering. Four minutes passed before Tim reached the ladder. When he started climbing it, he heard his daughter gasp. What's the matter, sweetheart? All the muscles in Tim's body tightened as he waited for his daughter's reply. An answer didn't come right away. Hannah, what is it, baby? Are you there? Tim held on to the ladder, and he checked his walkie-talkie to make sure the light was still on. His daughter became so quiet that he couldn't even hear her breathing. After a minute, Hannah finally told her father what she'd seen. I saw her double-ganger.

He broke into the house through the bedroom window. Hannah gave her father the unpleasant news. I'm watching him now He's walking down the hallway toward the living room Daddy He doesn't even look like you anymore His body just looks like it's rotting He just walked into the kitchen He's nothing but a tall skeleton

wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans I can see something in his head It looks like I think he's holding a sledgehammer He must have gotten it from your tool shed Hannah stuttered Daddy Please be careful

careful. Hannah's panic exuded through the walkie-talkie. Tim lost his ability to think for a moment. He quickly gathered himself, remembering that he had to save his ex-wife, and he had to do it quietly. I locked him in the basement. Oh, but your mom told me she accidentally let him out. She went to the house looking for me, and she heard banging in the basement, and she must have thought it was me trying to escape. Tim's heavy breathing intensified his words. Oh, he must have followed her here. Got to get your mom before he does. Tim told his daughter everything as he continued to climb the ladder. When Tim opened the tunnel's hatch door,

he saw a rat scurry across the basement floor, which almost caused him to fall off the ladder and back down the tunnel. Why would Mum go to the basement? Why'd she let him out? What was she thinking? Hannah fussed, not out of anger, but for me. fear. Your mom didn't know, honey, Tim whispered to his daughter as he tiptoe through the bleak darkness in the basement. Your mom thought it was me. She probably caught out to him, and then she heard my

voice, not knowing that she was hearing the voice of a creature that was imitating me. Tim wiped away a drop of sweat that fell into his eye. Then reached into his denim jeans, pulling out his brother's gun when he heard a loud crash upstairs. A foreboding came over him when he reached the basement stairway. Tim shrunk back when he heard a shrilling in human scream reverberating throughout the house. The scream ended abruptly after a few seconds had gone by. Tiffany's doppelganger's dead. Your doppelganger went into the living room and he crushed her skull with the hammer.

Hannah told her father what had happened before he could ask. He picked her dead body up from the floor. Now he's chewing on her face. It looks like doppelgangers eat each other. At least that's what yours is doing. Hannah sounded like she was going to throw up. Her voice became weak and she gagged on a few of her words. He ripped off her nose with his teeth and he's chewing on it.

Hannah's shortness of breath almost hindered her ability to talk. Tim could hear his daughter fighting her mild asthma attack. He listened as Hannah took a puff from her combination inhaler. Breathe slowly, sweetie. It'll be over soon, I promise. Try not to look at my doppelganger. Just keep your eyes on the screen where your mom's located. As Tim tried to comfort his daughter, he accidentally bumped into an object that laid against the basement wall.

Tim turned around to see that the object he'd bumped into was a portable digital guitar. Seeing the guitar made Tim nostalgic. He picked it up while thinking about his past concerts and his albums. He thought about his rock tours and his fans. Tim put the guitar strap over his shoulder, and he held the guitar, wanting to play it. but he knew that play in this guitar would be suicidal.

Tim recognized the black portable guitar. Used to be his, but he'd given it to his brother as a birthday present. Tim had a gallery of guitars at his house, and he didn't mind giving one to his brother. Tim almost got lost in thought, but his daughter's voice jarred him out of his brief reminiscent daydry. Daddy, are you there? Hannah had regained her breath,

and her voice sounded calmer after she used her inhaler. "'Yeah, I'm here. What's going on? Is your mum still sitting on the backyard deck?' Tim brought the walkie-talkie up to his lips again as he climbed the basement steps with caution. There was a pit in Tim's stomach, but he tried to ignore it. "'But I'm still waiting for you in the backyard,' Hannah told her dad. Her soft tone of voice calmed her father's nerves. Hannah tried to keep a voice within a whispering tone because she knew that if she spoke too loud through the walkie-talkie

she would attract unwanted attention to her father Hannah also tried to ignore the troubling thoughts that intruded upon her and walking up the basement stairs now Tim informed his daughter he glanced up at a camera installed above the basement doorway peace of mind briefly embraced him when he knew that his daughter could see him

A massive hallway greeted Tim at the top of the basement stairway. He forgot that his brother lived in a mansion. Expansive mosaic paintings decorated the hallway's walls. Tim had his brother's revolver clutched tight in his left hand with his portable guitar securely hooked around his muscular shoulder. Walking down the monumental hall made Tim feel like he was walking down the hallway of a cathedral. The mansion's roof had a skylight window, and the moonlight danced along the wall.

walls and the hallway's floor. Tim walked past a few bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms. He had a big house, but his brother's house always reminded him of a hotel. The hospitable warmth that used to grace the atmosphere in his brother's home had departed, and a stagnant scent of death lingered in the air. Tim's sense of foreboding increased. It was worse now than a pressure cooker. His healthy fear was appropriate since he knew that his doppelganger was in the house, the sledgehammer. Death almost punched Tim in the face when he saw his doppelganger for the first time in his basement bathroom mirror. He remembered dropping his toothbrush in the sink when the evil Tim reached out of the mirror, grabbing his throat. It was a surreal moment for Tim

to see a bony man with pale, translucent skin and hollow eyes staring back at him. He kept thinking about his brother telling him to destroy all the mirrors in his home and stay away from any mirror at night. His brother even told him to destroy the mirrors in his car. Tim had almost died in his house, and the doppelganger had almost killed his daughter. He knew that the deformed man that lunged out of his mirror and attacked him was not human,

and him thought about how his doppelganger almost snapped his arm in half. He'd made it out of his bathroom by the skin of his teeth. He still had the bruises on his arms and neck from wrestling with his doppelganger. It was like wrestling with the bogeyman or the devil. The pain of being hurled into his bathroom walls still radiated through Tim's psyche.

He also reflected on what his doppelganger had whispered to him after knocking him into the wall. There's not enough room in this word for both of us. The monster had hissed those words into Tim's face as he lifted Tim from the floor by his throat. The only thing that saved him was his daughter rushing into the bathroom when she heard the commotion. Tim had to rescue his daughter.

He watched the creature grab his daughter's face with his claws around her small chin. He leapt from the floor punching this doppelganger after he saw that the monster was about to sink his fangs into Hannah's forehead. Hannah had fainted after she saw the dark and gruesome version of her father, and her actual father had to carry her out of the house. Now Tim's man cave was in his basement, and that That's where he'd locked his doppelganger. His ex-wife had ruined everything by going into the basement

and unleashing his dark side, literally. Um, Daddy, your doppelganger's standing on the front porch. He's looking across the street at Mom's car. I think he knows that she's here. Hannah whispered intensely. He walked off the porch, and now he's standing in the driveway, still staring at Mom's car. He moves really fast.

Tim could hear the panic returning to his daughter's voice. He tried to jog down the long hallway, and he shivered when he passed the hallway that led to the living room. Some of the hallways intersected with each other, and each hallway would guide you to different locations within the house. It was like walking through a luxurious maze. Tim finally found the hallway that would guide him to the backyard. He froze in the middle of the hallway when he heard. a monstrous non-human voice echo throughout the house. "'Flesh of my flesh. The bone of my bone, I am you and you are me. We will be together once again.

Just wait and see.' Tim knew it was the voice of his doppelganger. The voice was reverberating within itself as if multiple men were talking in unison. Tim had to move fast, especially after he heard his doppelgang or call out to him. The monster could smell Tim in the house, and the clock was ticking. Oh my God, Tim! Megan whispered excitedly while wrapping her arms around her ex-husband. She jumped at first when she saw him emerge from behind the house's backsliding door. What took you so long? Megan fussed.

Well, she never thought she'd be kissing and hugging her ex-husband again. Tim couldn't believe that he was a little. embracing and kissing his ex-wife. Are you okay? Tim stroked his fingers through Megan's cinnamon-blonde hair, which he missed doing. Well, there's nothing like a monster apocalypse to help reunite you with your ex-wife. This was the humorous thought that arose in Tim's mind. I can't believe I'm hugging you after you put me through that nasty custody battle.

You almost took Hannah away from me, told me I was an unfit father to my face. Tim kept the bass out of his voice as he spoke to his ex-wife through an incredulous chuckle. Megan put her hand on her hip while affectionately grabbing Tim's chin. I had a drinking problem, and I didn't want you around Hannah, remember? You couldn't get your shit together. Megan slapped him in the face with her words, but she did it lovingly. I still loved you, even after the divorce. I just couldn't deal with a drinking on your erratic behaviour.

you come home late at night I knew your ass was cheating on me let you borrow my car I found a silk bra and a lipstick case that didn't belong to me in the back seat you were having sex with some random bitch in my car I could still smell her drugstore perfume

stinking up my Rav Faw's leather interior and my Nick Jonas album was missing from my glove compartment too and other bitch stole it Megan still had her fingers gripping and caressing her ex-husband's prominent chin The strong beautiful features and her sassy accent intensified her fiery personality. When Megan heard her daughter's voice, it stopped her from softly ranting.

Is that Hannah talking to you? Megan snatched the walkie-talkie out of her ex-husband before he could answer. Hey baby, Megan whispered into the walkie-talkie and her entire demean a change for the better when she heard her daughter's voice. Hi, Mom. There's a camera hanging above your head on the deck's roof. I can see you and Dad. Hannah almost raised her voice from excitement, but she caught herself. The teenager was happy to see her mom alive and well,

but she couldn't enjoy the moment because she saw something on another security monitor that sent chills down her spine. Mom, listen to me. There's a row of bushes behind the backyard pool, and you guys need to run and hide behind those bushes. Tim heard what his daughter was telling her mum, and he quickly grabbed his ex-wife's hand, forcing her to run down the deck's stairway toward the bushes.

It took Tim and Megan six seconds to make it around the pool and into the bushes and trees that would hide them from what was coming. Mom, I just saw you come into the house through the front door. You look like a skeleton in a wedding dress, and you're holding a shotgun. Half your hair is missing, and I can see part of your skull. I know this sounds crazy, but I think you're all. doppelganger followed you to the house, just like Dad's doppelganger. Anna's shortness of breath returned.

Your doppelganger's walking down the hallway right now, at least to the backyard deck. Dad sees outside walking around the house in the same direction. He's still holding the sledgehammer, and you're carrying a gun. That's where I told you guys to hide. I'm scared. Anna sounded like she was on the verge of tears. You guys need to stay hidden behind the bushes. "'Just stay out of sight and you'll be safe.

"'I love you guys, I don't want her.' "'Hannah's voice disappeared after the walkie-talkie's battery died. "'Hanna, a baby, are you there?' "'Megan held the communication device up to her red lips with both hands, "'waiting for a response. "'But only Stata greeted her, and then dead silence. "'What are we going to do?' "'Megan looked around at Tim.

"'She gasped when he showed her. his brother's revolver. Hannah told us to stay hidden. If you use that gun, you'll get both of us killed. Didn't you hear what our daughter said? She said, my doppel gang is carrying a shotgun. I don't know where she got a shotgun from, but if she finds us, our baby will be an orphan.

Megan's voice began climbing, and she flinched when Tim put his hand over her mouth. Keep your voice down and take it easy. We're not going to die. Tim whispered in his ex-wife's ear. hoping not to be wrong. If something happens, I just want to tell you. I'm sorry for being a jerk.

I know I wasn't a good husband, and I'm sorry for cheating on you and hurting you all the time. I'm sorry for coming home drunk late at nights. He put up with my bad habits, and I didn't appreciate you. You were my queen. Tim meant every word, and he never broke eye contact with his ex-wife, even when he heard grunting and growling a few feet away. I'm sorry, too, for always nagging you and putting you down.

I could have been a better wife. Maybe we can both get a second chance if we make it out of this alive. Megan rested both of her hands on Tim's bearded face. She wanted to kiss him, but the sound of rustling coming from a group of trees prevented her. The trees were located a few feet behind Tim and Megan. The former married couple couldn't rekindle their romance just yet. They quickly realized that now wasn't a good time to kiss. as a slew and men of women emerged from the darkness amidst the crowded distant trees.

These men and women were doppelgag. Shit, Megan choked out the word while losing her voice. The young woman locked her hands around her ex-husband, tearing the sleeve on his denim black t-shirt. Drowned in panic she involuntarily jumped up while still clutching Tim's arm. Her body reacted between the fight or flight response, and she chose, flight, but she forgot that there was nowhere to run. Megan almost lost her life when she leaped up from behind the bushes to see her doppelganger aiming her shotgun at the two of them. Megan fell back to the ground with her ex-husband after she heard the shotgun explode. Tim panicked,

aiming his brother's revolver over the bushes and firing at his wife's doppelganger. Two bullets drilled the monster in the chest, but she kept unloading her shotgun at the bushes. Megan screamed when she saw a bullet slice through the ground an inch away from her high-heeled shoe. She never let go of her ex-husband, and her wide eyes froze on the gang of doppelgangers marching toward them from behind. Some of them still look semi-human, while others looked like diseased corpses in civilian clothing. Megan saw herself and her ex-husband getting beaten to death by the demonic mob. She watched as Tim began shooting at the doppelgangers, but bullets weren't taking them down. Megan surrendered to her fear, grabbing her ex-husband by the arm and forcing

him to run. The two of them ran out from behind the bush, and they were about to jump a fence and escape into a neighbouring backyard, but these creatures cut them off. You can't run from us. We're here to confiscate your flesh, Megan's doppelganger snarled. The creature limped towards Megan and Tim, while pulling the trigger of her double-barrel shotgun. Megan closed her eyes, thinking it was over. She expected to feel a bullet tear through her body, but instead she heard a click. She opened her eyes to see her doppelganger raging

while bringing the empty shotgun down on her bony knee, snapping the weapon in her. Tim saw his coming at him with the sledgehammer. He opened fire on the skeletal man, shooting the hammer out of his hand with uncanny precision. Tim surprised himself with his excellent aim, but he couldn't revel in his marksmanship for long. The doppelganger growled at Tim before lunging at him. Tim tried to shoot the monster again, but he was out of bullets.

His desperation for survival forced him to use the gun as a hammer. And when the creature grabbed Tim's throat, Tim nailed the monster in his bony jawline with the butt of the gun. While trying to fight off his evil self, he tried to shield. of his ex-wife from other doppelgangers who were lunging at them from every direction. He accidentally swiped his fingers across the strings on the portable guitar that remained glued to his shoulder. An electric, melodic shockwave struck the night air. And when this happened, all the doppelgangers fell to their knees with their hands over their ears. Megan had her back pressed against her tall ex-husband.

She glanced down at the guitar in his hands, realizing that he had a weapon that the doppelganger feared. She ran her fingers along the guitar strings, wanting to see again if they would respond negatively to the sound of the instrument. A spark of hope ignited in Megan when she saw the doppelgangers recoil in agony a second time. She looked at her doppelganger to see the creature tearing through the skin on her face when she heard the guitar sound. Whoa! Tim's words slid out of his mouth. He smirked as he began playing the portable guitar, watching as the creatures backed away from him and his ex-wife. Playing the guitar came naturally for Tim.

Sound is louder at night than in the day. Tim knew that his guitar playing would be louder at night because of the change towards sound refraction caused by the reversal of the temperature gradient from day to night. And this meant that his guitar playing would be more tormenting to the doppelganger's ears. Without thinking about it, his fingers fell into place on the guitar strings, and he rocked the air by playing a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers Classic under the bridge. Tim loved this alternative rock song and its sparse, minimalist guitarists.

It was his inspiration. Megan stood close behind her ex-husband with her hand on his arm. She looked around at the creatures, watching as they wailed and screamed at the sound of the guitar. Megan's mouth dropped open when she saw a doppelganger erupt into flames. Another one exploded. Before long, fire surrounded Megan and Tim. The last two doppelgangers who went up in flames were Tim's and Megans. Tim kept plucking away on his portable guitar,

and he watched an amazement as his doppelganger ignited faster than a lit match. The skeletal man screamed at Tim as he went up in flames. He fell to his knees as the fire consumed his cadaverous body. The guitar sounds incinerated the monster, and there was nothing left but burned ashes. Megan looked at the pile of ashes that used to be her doppelganger. She watched as the creature burned up like a cigarette soaked in lighter fluid. Megan listened as the guitar strings continued to travel through the night air after her ex-husband had stopped playing.

The scent of burnt flesh and smoke lingered around them. I think my music killed them. Tim joked as he looked around at the piles of ashes that surrounded them. Megan had her arm around her ex-husband's waist. She forgot how much she loved Tim's guitar playing. His rock star persona made her fall in love with him, along with other qualities. Without thinking about it, Megan leaped into Tim's arms, slapping him in the face with a kiss. Now she had loved her other husband, Brad, but Tim had never left her heart.

since Brad was dead Megan saw her situation as God telling her she couldn't replace Tim she had to make him her husband again he was a hero her rock star and the father of her precious daughter now Megan still adored her ex-husband even after she found out he'd had sex with a prostitute in her car

and now Megan couldn't believe that a real-life monster invasion had helped her reconnect act with the man she'd always love. Tim fell into his ex-wife's kiss. Megan's kiss strengthened him, and he knew that he would need the love of a wife to strengthen him. He had work to do, and his guitar playing needed to be fine-tuned

so he could save the world and burn some more of the devil's monsters. And so once again, reach the end of tonight's podcast, my thanks as always to the authors of those ones. wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen. Now, I'd ask one small favor of you. Wherever you get your podcast wrong, please write a few nice words and leave a five-star

review as it really helps the podcast. That's it for this week, but I'll be back again, same time, same place, and I do so hope you'll join me once more. Until next time, sweet dreams and bye-bye.