Double Knot

What an idiot. 

Colton thought about his untied shoes. He thought about how loose shoes prevent agile running and increase the chance of slipping. He knew better than to leave the house unprepared. He had told himself it was a two block trip and it had been months since the last attack. Now he had three options: freeze and pray, discreetly back away, or try to slowly tie his sneakers.

Bending down to tighten the laces would create some movement and take my focus away from the bigger problem. I doubt I can stay still long enough and there is still an extremely high chance it sees me. Prayer never does anything, so that's out. I need to back away, slowly. I’m on asphalt, lots of loose pebbles and bits of sand, don’t drag the soles of my feet. Widen my legs a bit so my pants don’t rub together. What’s behind me? Can I do this without looking? There are no twigs to step on and snap - I’m not in a jungle. Was there trash on the ground? What if I kick a can with my heel? 

As Colton began to move his muscles one by one in as precise a way as he was capable, the creature raised its head. A tendon still clenched in its jaw stretched up from its feast. The beast began sniffing the air and jerked its head suddenly, snapping the tendon like a rubber band with a small twanging sound that echoed through the alley.

I am going to die because I am an idiot, was the last thought Colton had before adrenaline coursed through his body and instinct kicked in. He ran forward because turning would take too much time and he wasn’t going to be able to juke with those loose shoes. Running flat out and hoping for another option to appear was the only way. 

Colton could feel the cold damp air surging in his lungs, his throat burning like acid. The inserts of his shoes slipping around his toes; he couldn’t get a good grip. Hoping momentum would carry him, he continued forward, ignoring the fire in his thighs. His senses focused on moving as fast as possible; he couldn't hear if anything was in pursuit, but he knew the beast wouldn’t be far behind. 

When he approached 77th street he remembered an alley with a fence. Slowing for the right turn and staying upright was better than risking the turn at full speed and skidding to the sidewalk. Colton corrected his course and turned his focus to the chainlink ahead of him. If he could get over the fence there was an unlocked basement door on the other side. Getting in there would give him a day for the creature to lose interest. There should still be a cot and distilled water in there from several months ago. Maybe even canned pineapple. All he had to do was get over the fence.

Now he heard the sound of talons scraping against concrete as the beast turned to follow him down the alley. The fence was meters away and he started taking longer strides to prepare for the leap. Colton knew he could get over the fence in three movements, he knew that if he timed them right they would propel him over and he could see the green basement door right there on the other side. A small side step to avoid a puddle and he took his jump. His fingers fit through the links and were ready to pull him up when his left foot slipped out of his rain-slick sneaker and down towards the ground. His feet had no purchase and now he had to waste time correcting his stance relying on his upper body strength alone. Three movements had now become five. 

Ignoring the discomfort of his toes being tangled around the thin wire, he began to propel himself upward. That’s when he heard the giant inhale behind him and could feel the hot breath against his back. At first it felt like hundreds of needles piercing his thigh and then the pressure and tearing began. The creature jerked its neck down and yanked Colton away from the fence, the skin of his fingers ripping as they caught in the wire angles. 

As blood and saliva dripped on Colton’s face, he could feel the warm breath and smell the rot coming from inside the beast. And as the monster’s jaw began to squeeze, needle teeth piercing the tissue keeping his skull together, his synapses began to fire with memories. What the city was like four years ago, that song he didn’t know the lyrics to, his second grade teaching assistant, what peanut butter tasted like… until he had one thought left:

What an idiot.

***

Originally from Colorado and now the lead game creator at Puzzling Package Industries, Nathaniel Tynsmith has been writing short form works of fiction since grade school. In his spare time he enjoys films, plays games, crafts adventures, and creates pseudonyms. He lives with his breathtaking partner and two selfish beasts who demand the moon and the stars.