Natalie stood in the doorway. "My car won't start," she said sheepishly.

  "Seriously?" Adam stared.

  Natalie shrugged and stared back for a long moment before cracking a grin and bursting into laughter. Adam blinked, then started laughing too. It was half stress, half hilarity, and all completely necessary. They stood in the doorway laughing while the world around them descended into madness.

  “It’s like a bad horror movie,” Natalie choked out, obviously trying to stifle a giggle.

  “I think that might be the headline for the whole world after today,” Adam said, stifling the last of his laughter. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you need a ride.”

  Natalie nodded. “Please. It’s only about a mile from here, but I’m not crazy enough to try on foot unless I absolutely have to.”

  “That’s fair. And I kind of owe you. The whole CPR thing. I’m sure you remember.”

  "It rings a bell," she said.

  He flicked the lights off, closed the door, and locked it behind him.

  His car started immediately and Natalie let out an audible sigh of relief. She gave him quick directions, and he took off, eyes scanning the road for anything out of place.

  “So, what did you see after you heard that voice?” he asked.

  “Only a few things. I saw a patch of yellow fog chase someone into their car, and something that looked like a skinned lion eat someone’s dog,” she said softly. “I think whatever this is, it's just starting and I have a feeling things are going to get worse tonight.”

  Adam hadn't considered what might happen after sundown. If this really was some kind of mythological resurgence, then even stranger things would be crawling out of the woodwork come dusk.

  “You’re probably right. We need to be hunkered down by nightfall. I don’t think anyone will want to be on the streets after dark,” he said.

  Natalie didn't reply, seemingly lost in thought as she stared out the window. Several houses were burning as they passed, with no firefighters or emergency vehicles in sight. It's all happening so fast, Adam thought. He glanced at the time on the dashboard, 1:17. Barely an hour and a half had passed since The Voice had spoken. An hour and a half since the world started ending.

  “It’s kind of funny, but I just realized. This is kind of… it, isn’t it?” He asked, not expecting a response.

  “I think so, but at the same time… probably not,” Natalie said. “Weird things have always happened. Plagues, wars, famine. Hell, we lived through having nuclear weapons and we’re still here. I think things are going to be bad for a while, maybe even the rest of our lives, but I don’t think this is the end.”

  Adam wasn’t sure which one of them she was trying to convince, but he felt a little better. She pointed down a side street and they turned. He recognized the area, even though he had never taken this particular route before. It wasn’t far from a coffee shop and bookstore he sometimes stopped at before work.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Natalie let out a pained sound, and he followed her gaze. A medium-sized house had a massive hole in the front. It looked like someone had rolled a giant bowling ball straight through the living room wall.

  He braked hard and the car skidded to a stop in front of the house.

  “No, no, no, no, no. Sam!” Natalie cried, practically flying out of the car and pounding across the lawn.

  "God damn it, Natalie. Wait!" he shouted, throwing the car into park. He grabbed the keys and his bat and sprinted after her. She had already disappeared inside by the time he reached the gaping hole in the wall. He peered in cautiously and saw a trail of debris leading from the wreckage of the wall.

  Adam stepped inside, his shoes crunching over the mixture of broken glass and splintered wood.

  "Natalie?" he called out, voice low and tense. He wondered if whatever made the hole was still inside. A faint flash of light at the end of the shadowed hallway drew his attention. He didn't hesitate and moved toward it, finding himself at the entrance to a large converted porch.

  Natalie stood just inside, blocking most of his view.

  "Hey," he whispered. "What is it?" Adam stepped forward and immediately wished he hadn't.

  In the center of the room stood something straight from a nightmare. It balanced on three segmented legs, each ending in tri-clawed toes. The limbs arched into a warped human torso, which gave way to a mess of writhing, snakelike appendages. Each ended in a grasping human hand, clenching and flexing without rest. A rustling whisper filled the air, sighing and groaning as the hands brushed against each other.

  In the far corner, a dark-haired woman stood with one hand raised and the other clenched at her side. Her eyes were shut, lips moving in a murmur. Several of the creature's stalk-like limbs lashed toward her, but each time they were about to make contact, a sharp flash of light repelled them and sent the hands recoiling.

  "What in the-" Adam started, but the creature's arms twitched violently and it shuffled toward them.

  Natalie darted into the room, circling wide. Adam stamped down his urge to run and followed her. With three people and the creature occupying the center, the bookshelf-lined room felt oppressively cramped.

  A hand shot toward Adam. He could see the palm was ringed with lamprey-like teeth as it shot toward him. Lashing out, he brought the bat down hard on the grasping hand, feeling fingers crunch under the impact. Two more hands shot out and clamped onto the bat, grinding their teeth against the metal.

  A burst of ozone flooded the room, then a sharp crack and a flash of light, like a bug zapper. The creature's limbs recoiled again, spasming.

  Adam stared in confusion at the bat, then a third arm backhanded him into a bookshelf. His head struck hard, bouncing off of a shelf and stars danced across his vision. Before he could collapse, two more hands snatched his feet and dragged him across the floor.

  The room erupted in the sound of gunfire and a series of blinding flashes. Natalie stepped forward, planting her feet and firing a heavy-looking gun. The bullets tore through the creature's torso, leaving gaping wounds.

  A stench like hot asphalt filled the room from the sucking holes in the creature's chest. Adam gritted his teeth and hacked at the arms holding his legs. It took several blows, but they finally released him and he scrambled backward across the floor.

  The thing stumbled toward him, and the woman in the corner pushed a bookshelf over onto one the creature's legs. She stomped on the back of the case, and the creature's leg gave out, cracking inward. All of its arms went rigid for a moment before flailing in all directions as it collapsed onto its side.

  Adam jumped to his feet and waded into the remaining flailing arms, battering them with brutal swings. Several of the hands slapped across his exposed forearms, leaving bloody scrapes where the teeth met flesh. His heart pounded as he swung again and again, crushing each of the arms as they grasped for him, until finally they lay quivering at his feet.

  He brought the bat down on the torso repeatedly until a wet snapping sound echoed through the room. The monstrosity's limbs spasmed violently one last time and then went limp. A chorus of sighing voices escaped from its many mouths in unison and each one sounded like a dying breath. An involuntary shiver ran through his whole body as the creature finally died.

  Dropping to his knees, he shook violently while the adrenaline burned through his veins for the third time that day. His vision tunneled for a moment, and he took several deep breaths before falling backward and sitting down hard, staring up at the two women.