MANIFEST – Web Novel: (Chapters 1-6)
Chapter 7
MYKEL: Stay away from us you maniac!
Ignoring Mykel, Josh’s body begins to mutate. Josh grows a few inches in height, with an estimated range guess of about eight feet. His skin turns dark grey with his shirt tearing apart.
Josh’s lower arms morph into a set of chainsaws, with human flesh merged at the handles of each one. Josh’s eyes fall out onto the floor, and in the matter of seconds, his mouth disappears.
The sound of dual chainsaws can be heard in the distance as Josh taunts the two girls, hearing loud screams come from Riley as the girls back up slowly, with Josh making his way forward at the same paste.
MYKEL: Oh my god, run Riley!
The two girls turn around into a sprint, with Josh running after them. Looking over their shoulders continuously, they notice each time the amount of speed the creature was gaining on them, enticing Riley’s screams further.
The girls make it near the end of the hallway, almost reaching the double doors that lead outside. Making an appearance from another angling hallway, Philip stands in front of the doorway.
MYKEL: Philip, run!!
Philip doesn’t move. Instead, his body begins to mutate as well, with his skin changing into a similar color of Josh’s skin, as his teeth fall out and chainsaw like blades replace them.
Philip’s new form submerged his shirt as well, with his arms falling onto the floor, as his flesh tore apart by themselves, from his upper abdomen.
Mykel and Riley stop, with Riley breaking down onto her knees at the sight of the horror that was now in front of them, and behind them.
Philip’s monstrous teeth began to rev like an actual chainsaw, showing that an object placed close enough to them would be shredded with any effort from Philip himself.
Mykel attempts to pull up her friend Riley, continuously looking up at the threat Philip, who was also charging them.
Riley refuses to budge as she keeps her hands over her head, kneeled onto the floor, with screams acting as her only means of communication. Paying more attention to her friend that appears to be trapped in a frantic frenzy, Mykel is knocked down by Josh as Josh places his focus on Riley.
Josh jams his chainsaw limb through Riley’s back, revving her insides as he lifts her off the floor with the strength of an actual monster.
Riley is suddenly silenced, with only the sound of chainsaws coming from Josh’s limbs and Philip’s teeth.
Fountains of Riley’s blood squirts onto the hallway floor, with some of it managing to get on Mykel. Mykel begins to shake, just as her friend did, as Mykel decides to crawl backwards against a wall.
Chapter 8
Both Josh and Philip place their attention on Mykel, with Josh still carrying Riley’s limped body on his limb like a glove. The two slowly close in on Mykel, with Mykel placing her hands over her eyes, expecting to die.
The two mutated students were ready to pounce, coming to a sudden stop once in arm’s length. Slowly realizing that she wasn’t being mauled by her fellow students, Mykel removes her hands with caution.
The two monsters were seen looking down the previous end of the hallway as what appeared to be the math teacher, Mr.Isenberg, sped walk down the hallway in frustraion. The two mutated students backed away from Mykel with their heads down, showing some sort of fear at the arrival of Mr.Isenberg.
Mr.Isenberg reached the three of them in no time, Riley’s body still hanging and dripping blood from the calming rev of Josh’s chainsaw limb.
MR.ISENBERG: (Gets in both monsters’ faces)Didn’t I tell you two not to touch Mykel? She’s mine, that was the agreement.
MYKEL: M…Mr.Isenberg?
Mr.Isenberg placed his attention on Mykel, rushing over to her and lifting her off the ground by her neck, slamming her back into the wall behind her.
The wall’s impact forced Mykel to scream. Mykel begins to shrivel in fear, forcing Mr.Isenberg to place his freehand’s finger over her lips with an attempt to calm her down.
MR.ISENBERG: (Speaks in a peaceful tone)You were my favorite student so far. Because of this, i’ll make sure your death is quick and less messy than your friend’s.
Mr.Isenberg drew his freehand back as his hand morphed into a short sycthe-like blade. Mykel closed her eyes as tight as she could, unable to cry from the tightening grip he had around her throat.
Just as Mr.Isenberg is about to impale Mykel, a series of bullets fly through the glass of the double doors. Mr.Isenberg jerks from each bullet riddling within him, dropping Mykel as he attempts to stand his ground. The bullets began to riddle within Mr.Isenberg.
The glass from the double doors shatter upon the series of soaring bullets storming into the building.
After what sounds like two clips of dual sidearms being emptied, Mr.Isenberg begins to bleed through his shirt before dropping to the floor on his face.
The two monsters place their attention on the double doors, with Mykel following suit. A man with an open hooded coat, wearing a gray muscle shirt underneath, can be seen holding smoking sidearms in both his hands. The hoodie isn’t over the man’s head, so his face is revealed in the sky’s half light.
The strange man lowers his guns.
STRANGER WITH GUNS: A bunch of demons picking on one little girl…that sounds like pussy antics to me.
Chapter 9
Mutated Philip shrieks, while Josh charges in head first. Philip chargers after him, with both the mutated students heading outside with where the stranger is standing.
The two mutations make it outside, with both creatures attacking the stranger at the same time. Mykel stands up, watching the fight between the three from the hallway.
The three stay in the doorway’s view, curtesy of the stranger as he seems to toy with the two monsters. He effortlessly dodges both monsters at the same time, avoiding Josh’s sharp blades and Philip’s buzz sawing teeth.
MYKEL: Who…is this guy?
The fight between the three begins to get even more serious, with the stranger rushing out of Mykel’s view as the two mutated students follow after him. A series of gunshots can be heard, with one of the monsters releasing a series of shrieks before two more gunshots echo.
Startled, Mykel doesn’t move. There is a short pause before the stranger is seen back in the entrance way, his sidearms smoking once again.
The stranger leans on the entrance doors, stepping on the shattered glass underneath his feet. He faces Mykel in the distance with a careless look on his face.
STRANGER WITH GUNS: Hey kid, you wanna hurry the fuck up? I’m sure after all the shots I let off, the police will be here soon.
Chapter 10
The stranger keeps his distance as he continues to speak to Mykel from down the school’s hallway. Mykel stands in place, giving the stranger a confused stare.
STRANGER: (Yells down the hall) Kid? Did you here what I said? We have to get the fuck out of here. Hurry the fuck up.
Mykel’s confused facial expression tightens up.
Mykel: (Yells back down the hall) Do you have to curse so much? And why would I go anywhere with you? I don’t even know you.
STRANGER: (Yells) Because I just saved your ass from man eating demons! Now can you please come the hell on before you piss me the fuck off! You little sh-
The stranger’s words are cut short when he sees something behind Mykel. He raises both his sidearms once morning, pointing the barrel of the guns in her direction.
STRANGER: Duck!
Mykel immediately does as she’s told, dropping to the floor as she covers her head with her hands.
Mr.Isenberg is seen standing not too far from Mykel, his body shaking uncontrollably with a sudden submergence soon after of a much larger creature, bursting from his skin. The creature was black skinned with large scythe blades replacing his hands. He held eye sockets but no form of eyeballs. His teeth looked like animalistic fangs.
The stranger begin to walk towards Mykel as he let off what seemed to be an infinite supply of bullets at the once math teacher. The creature jerked continuously, attempting to endure every bullet as it made its way towards Mykel.
The mutated Isenberg seemed not to even pay attention to the gun wielding stranger, but instead payed more attention to landing a fatal blow on Mykel while her back was facing it, raising it’s blade high for a killing impalement.
As chunks of the creature’s body flew off, staggering the creature more and more, the stranger made his way closer and closer to Mykel, still firing an endless supply of bullets without a single reload.
A few rounds took away chunks of Mr.Isenberg’s abnormal face, finally dropping him for the count. The stranger stopped shooting for a moment as he made his way past Mykel and onto the mutated teacher’s twitching corpse.
The stranger placed his foot on the creatures back, aiming his right sidearm at the creature’s neck before firing off four more rounds.
STRANGER: (Looks back at Mykel who is now seen standing back up, looking at him as well) Now can we go, or do you need more of these things coming after you? Notice, I didn’t cuss this time.
Chapter 11
The scene transitions to the outside of a restaurant, with a flashing red sign that says, “Uncle Perry’s Pizza.” It is now nightfall as Mykel and the stranger are both entering the restaurant.
The stranger leads Mykel towards a doorway in the very back of the pizza place, no one in the lobby or in the front is seen. The wooden door takes them to a set of stairs, leading the two into the basement of the place.
A couch can be seen with a stretched out rug on a cement floor, as a washer and dryer sits in the corner across the room and a small Tv takes position in front of the couch. The stranger, now having both his guns in a holster, points at the couch.
STRANGER: Make yourself at home, you’ll be here for some time.
Mykel stares at the man as he walks past.
MYKEL: What?
STRANGER: You heard me(flops on the couch). You’re not going anywhere.
Mykel is now speaking to the back of the stranger’s head as she stands behind the couch.
MYKEL: So what, you’re kidnapping me?
STRANGER: It’s not kidnapping if it’s voluntary.
MYKEL: But when did I volunteer?
STRANGER: You didn’t(looks back at Mykel). I volunteered for you. You know, when I saved your ass from those three demons that were about to turn you into an ornament.
MYKEL: Demons? You keep saying that. Those were really demons?
STRANGER: (Waves his hands sarcastically)In the flesh. Well, should I say, in your friends’ flesh.
MYKEL: But they didn’t look possessed. Josh…Mr.Isenberg…Philip…they were all just normal earlier that day. How is it that they just…transformed out of nowhere?
The stranger sighs before standing up from the couch. He faces Mykel.
STRANGER: Nine out of ten, your friends were devoured some time ago. It could have been that day, it could have been days before. Demons don’t possess, they eat their victims and then they take the form of their most recent meal, if they choose so. I’m sure those demons planned an attack on you.
The stranger makes his way back towards the staircase.
MYKEL: But why would demons be after me? I didn’t even know they existed before today. What did I ever do? I’ve never even smoked a cigarette, let alone done anything to draw a demon’s attention.
The stranger is seen heading up the staircase as he answers.
STRANGER: Hold that thought while I go grab some pizza.
MYKEL: (Shouts from the bottom of the stairs) Could you please take this situation more seriously? This is my life we’re talking about here!
Mykel gets no response, forcing her to chase after the stranger upstairs. She makes a left turn as soon as she leaves the basement, heading into the kitchen where the stranger left the door open. The stranger is seen with a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth and a small box of pizza in his hand.
MYKEL: Hello? Are you even listening to me?
The stranger takes a bite out of the hanging slice in his mouth, walking past Mykel without a care in the world expression on his face.
STRANGER: You need to lighten up.
The two are ready to head back down stairs, when Mykel suddenly blocks the basement entrance with her body.
MYKEL: I’m going to really need you to answer all of my questions, please.
The stranger begins to smack loudly in Mykel’s face with a mouth full of pizza. He stares at her for a moment before looking around and pulling out a chair.
STRANGER: (Sits in the chair) Fine. What is it that you want to know?
MYKEL: Why did you bring me here?
STRANGER: To protect you from anymore demons, what kind of question is that?
MYKEL: Wait, there are more demons that are after me?
STRANGER: Of course.
The stranger sits the pizza box on the nearest counter without getting up. He then pulls a box of cigarettes out of his pocket, lightening the cigarette before saying anything else.
STRANGER: (Takes a puff) You’re a third generation selection. You fit the cycle this time around.
MYKEL: What cycle?
STRANGER: Every thirty years a new child is selected, or, every three generations is more like it, a chosen girl or boy is hand picked by angels themselves. Sort of a biding war between angels and demons. Anyway, the angels pick a sorry soul, that case being you, and hell picks ten demons that have a chance at killing you. If the demons succeed at killing that person either within a year’s time frame, or before the selected demons themselves are defeated, then the bargain must go forth, and the gate to hell is opened up. In which case, a demonic god leads hell onto earth.
MYKEL: And how does a human being like myself stop ten demons? Those three at the school almost killed me.
STRANGER: You don’t. Your protector does. Part of heaven’s way of winning the bargain is to assign some even lamer soul to watch over your pathetic ass. That’s where I come in.
The stranger gets up from his seat and walks back towards the kitchen. He opens the fridge and pulls out a carton of orange juice.
STRANGER: And by the way, those demons didn’t count as the ten demons. Those were Watchers.
MYKEL: (Takes a few steps towards the stranger in frustration) What do you mean they didn’t count?
STRANGER: I mean they weren’t strong enough to be part of the ten demons a demonic god would pick to win a bet against heaven. Watchers are more so known to stalk and report back to the higher ups, not attack the wanted individual. If I had to guess, that particular set of demons were just trying to earn a rank up in hell. They were too weak to be part of the higher ups, hell, I could barely feel their essence.
The stranger finishes off the carton and throws the orange juice box at the garbage, missing the inside of the garbage can as the carton bounces off the edge. The stranger walks past Mykel as she picks up the carton and tosses it away instead.
MYKEL: So there’s really demons out there stronger than the ones that killed my best friend and almost killed me?
STRANGER: Yep.
The stranger heads back down the stairs. Mykel follows after him.
MYKEL: And you’re my protector?
STRANGER: The best there is.
MYKEL: How many other people have you protected before me?
The stranger stretches out across the couch.
STRANGER: None.
Mykel pauses with a look of confusion and concern on her face.
MYKEL: Then how do you know you’re the best?
STRANGER: You’re still alive aren’t you?
MYKEL: That doesn’t even make sense.
STRANGER: It doesn’t have to when you’ve got moves like mine. Did you not see me out there?
Mykel pauses once again as she gives the stranger a mean glare, taking a seat on the staircase as she quickly realizes the stranger is more interested in the tv than what she has to say.
MYKEL: How long do you plan on keeping me here?
STRANGER: This is the safest place on earth, believe me. The demons will never find you here, due to my uncle’s warding. He placed a spell around the building that will make you undetected by any of hell’s minions, as long as you stay here. So to answer your question, the entire year. You are not to leave this place for any purpose. I’ll provide you with food and everything else you may need.
MYKEL: What about my family?
STRANGER: Fuck em.
Mykel stands up from the staircase.
MYKEL: Excuse me?
STRANGER: You’re no good to them dead. (Sits up and looks at Mykel) Look, just lay low and don’t give me any shit, alright? It’s only a year. Don’t make it a long one.
Mykel gives the stranger a disputed stare, with the stranger staring back at her. She then rolls her eyes and makes her way back upstairs.
The stranger places his focus back onto the television.
STRANGER: (Speaks loudly so Mykel can hear me) Bring me a soda out the fridge, will ya?
MYKEL: (Speaks loudly back to the stranger) Get it yourself, you jerk.
STRANGER: That’s Gabriel, the jerk, to you.
Chapter 12
The television watches Gabriel, as he lays asleep on his back, across the couch. His arms are folded across his chest, Mykel, looking down at Gabriel, from the top of the stairway. She is seen with her thin jacket and backpack on, as she eases her way back away from the basement’s entrance, taking caution, as she slowly opens the store’s front door. She watches the bell on the door, not pulling the door open far enough to alert anyone.
After sleeping through the cracked door, Mykel makes a full dash away from the pizza place.
She reaches her home, knocking in a furry, as she continuously looks over both of her shoulders, seeing only the night scenery, in the dark, yet nice neighborhood, she resided in.
The lights to the front room cut on, with the locks being heard removing, from the other side of the door. The entrance door is then open, with two adults, who look to be in their mid forties, standing in the home’s doorway. Mykel smiles.
Mykel: (A worried look) Mom? Dad?
Mykel doesn’t give her parents a chance to respond, hugging both of them with an arm each, at the same time, as she nearly dives into the middle of them both, standing up. They both put an arm back around her.
Mykel’s Mother: Mykel, where have you been?
Mykel, still paranoid, quickly glances behind her, back into the night scenery.
MYKEL: (Tells her parents) I’ll tell you right now.
Mykel is seen closing the door behind her.
A short segment of time passes, with Mykel seen sitting at the kitchen table with her father, as she holds a mug of cold milk, in front of her. Her mom is seen standing up, behind her father.
MYKEL’S FATHER: So let me get this straight…you were kidnapped?
MYKEL: (Nods her head repeatedly) Yep.
MYKEL’S FATHER: (Looks back at his wife) We have to call the police. (Pulls out his cellphone from his pajama pants pocket) Do you know this man’s name?
MYKEL: His name was Gabriel. But dad, he didn’t really kid-
MYKEL’S FATHER: Where did he take you? Do you know the address? (Holds the cellphone to his ear, though he hears nothing.
MYKEL: I don’t really know the address. But yeah, I think I remember the place. But dad, he-
Mykel’s father looks down at his phone and sees there are no bars in the corner. MYKEL’S FATHER: No signal. (Gets up and goes into his bedroom. Though he speaks from his bedroom)
(SWITCH INTO FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW)
Mykel
My dad wouldn’t allow me to get a word in edge wise, and I didn’t make it any better, making it seem like Gabriel was some sort of a monster. He was an asshole. A jerk. But he saved me, from actual monsters. I didn’t know how to tell my father that, in a believable state. I mean, he had every right to be dramatic and amped up right now, it was going on two in the morning, and I was just now returning home to them.
My mom didn’t go in the room to get further dressed, like my father did. Reason(s) being, she was already wearing her house shoes, and, she was now behind me, rubbing the back of my head repeatedly. She often did this to not only calm mine or my father’s nerves, but her own nerves as well.
My father came back out of their bedroom, with his bat in hand, a cigarette in his mouth, and the car keys. He told me and my mom to get ready to go the police station, as we were going to go downtown to make a report on Gabriel. I requested for my father to wait, with both my parents looking at me crazy at this point. Again, I wasn’t making any of this, look any easier on myself.
Author’s Note: Finally got my LinkTree together! Now I can properly give choices of where readers can go to obtain my poetry and fiction. For those who only read on Apple, or Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, I have all that together finally. So for future releases, i’ll just posting the link of my LinkTree, below the book that comes out.
Link below to see what I mean 🙂
