crimson, chapter one

Deep within every soul there is a belief of some kind, religion, science, dinosaurs and evolution but what if history was wrong and the truth would only be revealed to a handful at the cost of

everything and everyone they know. Those chosen few would soon know the truth whether they

wanted to or not.

On the horizon the early morning sun was rising, bringing light and warmth to the world again. Deep down in the earth’s core the truth was waking from a deep slumber, stretching out and upwards creeping through the molten crust, the hunger ravenous, rumbled through him. Seeping out of every gap his red mist began to flow across the land like a blanket. Covering rocks and trees, devouring birds and animals leaving only plant life in its wake. It wasn’t until he had devoured his first human that crimson as old as the earth realised how delicious his food had become. The mist enveloped this new food, at first the taste of humans wasn’t much different from his last meal, of which he learnt that this new food had called dinosaurs. Then every taste brought a new delight to him. Occasionally Crimson came across a few of these humans whom interested him unable to eat them he left them alive to watch and play with. With each feeding he absorbed every piece of knowledge and he was fascinated with every taste. The first human that Crimson came across that interested him called himself Jack. He watched as jack dream, feeling every emotion that the human felt crimson savoured it all.

Empty beer bottles lay amongst the rubbish on the floor and coffee table. The light sneaking in

through the closed blinds shed a rosy glow into Jack Walkers living room. Dust had settled on the

surfaces of the tables and television. Clothes hung over the railing of the staircase that led up out of the living room to the second floor. He woke with a groan and coughing, without sitting up jack

reached down from the sofa to pick up a half filled bottle of beer. Drinking the rest of the flat warm contents he dropped the bottle to the floor, his hand searching for more but only finding emptiness. Cursing he got to his feet and stumbled towards the fridge passing through the hall and two cupboards and a small bathroom that housed a shower unit and a toilet and sink. Unshaven for days and with his clothes crumpled from sleeping on the sofa yet again, jack’s appearance was fit for a life on the streets. He no longer looked like a man all the women wanted, his dark brown hair needed cut his clothes needed changed and had pizza stains on them but he hadn’t cared about anything since leaving the hospital four months earlier.

Mouldy cheese and sour milk were the only contents of his fridge, the smell made his cough return. Slamming the door shut jack headed to the front door. On his way he picked up his wallet on the side table and left his apartment leaving the front door unlocked. The local shop was only across the street and he always found that they sell alcohol any time of the day even this early in the morning. He crossed the quiet street and pushed open the door and headed to the fridge at the back of the store. He picked up a six pack of beer and headed for the till. The shop assistant was taking his time so jack waited for a few minutes then shouted through the back for some service but got no reply. Looking around the shop he noticed he was the only customer. His curiosity grew when he saw the half filled baskets on the floor and women’s handbags sitting next to some of them. Now that he thought about it he hadn’t seen anyone on the street either. Placing the beer on the counter he left the shop to look around. The street was too quiet; cars were abandoned bikes lay on the ground more bags were scattered on the pavements.

Looking down the street he now noticed the deep red mist lingering. Movement caught his

attention to his right; fifty yards away a dog appeared. The German shepherd sauntered out into the road and stopped, the red mist had begun to move up the street towards the dog. Within seconds the mist smothered the dog and his it from jack’s sight, the dog barked then there was silence again. The mist moved back and the dog was gone. Jack stumbled backwards into the shop and closed the door behind him. Raising his hands to his head he paced around repeating out loud “What the hell, what the hell”. He was on leave from work after the accident, but right now the police station seemed to be the place he should be. The mist was still out of his way so jack made a run for his place and jumped into his black Cherokee jeep and took the keys out of his pocket. Starting the engine he headed for the station. Passing cars that had crashed and were on fire he drove carefully through the streets keeping a look out for any sign of life. He found none on the journey and the same awaited him inside the station. The always busy station was now empty and held an eerie gloom about it. Down stairs the cells were locked and empty, the locker rooms abandoned. After searching , jack began to collect a few things. Into a bag he took from the locker room he put a few guns and a bullet proof vest. He found a tazer in one of the desks and added it to the bag. He attempted the phones but they were dead just as he had expected. Loading the bag into the jeep jack headed to the supermarket down the street where he filled a few bags of food and water and some beer. Back out at the jeep the mist was closing in around him and not wanting what had happened to the dog to happen to him he got out of there. Trying to keep away from the mist as it followed him from street to street.