“Cassandra’s End”

by Gage Joseph, Evelynn McCoy, Anahi Moreno, Raquel Ndirangu, Charles Ray, Jayden Taylor, Alyssa Whittington, Dynasia Wise & Whit

The figure moved between the burned-out cars and the hulking wrecks still crowding the bridge which had cracked and buckled from heat and sun in the years following the event.

Below the bridge, the tide had already risen higher than it had in months. Below, sharks frothed and turned, fighting over some dead thing. The figure did not pay attention to the beasts and instead focused on moving between the cars.

When the shot rang out, the figure ducked.

Cassandra was dumbfounded by the hideous creature. It resembled a hairless dog that looked like it had been hit by a car. Its mouth was full of blood, almost like it had just got done licking a corpse clean of whatever life it clung on to.

When Cassandra shot at it, it seemed as though it was barely affected. She watched it go under and over the cars faster than she could comprehend. Suddenly it stood on its legs and looked back at her. With glowing red eyes, it stared at her with a smile of malice.

The creature slowly opens its mouth as a menacing scream exits its maw. Cassandra runs, dodging cars and debris as the creature's thumps grow louder in pursuit. Running faster than ever, she stumbles and falls.

She slides between the two cars as the creature leaps over her. Holding in her breath, she sits up and feels a sharp pain as a metal rod pierces her shoulder. Her eyes widen as she lets out a deafening scream. She cries and covers her mouth.

The creature stares back at the direction of the scream. Cassandra tried slowly pulling the rod out, a fragment of rebar that must have become dislodged when the car had wrecked ages ago. Her teeth were like magnets, staying clenched as she finally freed her shoulder.

Cassandra crawled below the debris making her escape. She didn’t hear the beat for quite some time and believed it was gone. She rose to her feet, sighing. Her relief, however, was temporary. With hot air looming over her shoulder she turned around. Those red eyes that stared into her soul were the last thing she would see.