Excerpt:

Blood and death were everywhere. Men, women, and children. Dogs, cats, and mice. Everything was dead, every soul snuffed out leaving the empty carcasses and blood—so much blood. Cars were empty, their drivers laying on the street beside them, their faces frozen in masks of horror and pain. Here a Pit-Bull lying in a pool of crimson and over there a Deer—frightened from the hills—lay in front of an open door it's carcass shriveled and dried out like the wrapper of a Twinkie empty of it's contents.

Movement—slight, furtive—seen through the corner of an eye, another animal scared from hiding runs across the open, silent road. Fear guides it, pushes it forward until in agony it screams and drops, blood pouring from its every pour.

“Did you see that?!”

“Shut up! Just shut up”

“Why up there, why haven't they seen us?!”

“I don't know. Just keep digging.”

“But..”

“I don't have your answers, just dig dammit!”

The woman cowers at his expression and runs back to the group of struggling humans. She's short, with brown hair matted and greasy. Isaiah watches her leave before turning back to the small basement window. Why? He doesn't know. Whatever the reason, they're still here and that dog isn't—no one is.

A sudden sound reaches his ears, scraping, and dragging. A creature appears—seemingly out of nowhere—it grabs the animal in it's arms and begins what Isaiah can only describe as drinking. He gags and turns his head from the monster. For that's what it is, a monster, a creature from somewhere else, right out of a damn sci-fi book. Insect-like with a ravenous appetite only satiated by the blood of this world. What had happened in the last three days was right out of his worst nightmare's... and Isaiah's nightmare's were pretty bad.

The lone child in their dwindling group begins to cry. Soft quiet tears but with sniffles. Rapidly he turns to her, lunging across the small dank space. He grabs her soft arms and shakes her.

“Shut up!!! Shut up!” His whisper shouts.

The child, terrified and tired, cries louder.

“Leave her alone.” The short woman says, rushing to the child's side.

“Shut her up. If she doesn't...” quickly he glances towards the window and the monster not 15 yards away. It's stopped feeding, instead cocking it's angular head as if listening.

Isaiah's heart nearly stops. He cusses. “Dig faster.”

The woman and him watch in horror as the creature begins crawling across the ground it's head pressed to the earth—hunting.
Isaiah lunges at the other's, pushing them aside and throwing himself into the deep tunnel they've created in the basement's sump hole. Frantically he rips roots and claws at dirt. Further and further into the ground, into the cave they've created. There has to be enough room for them all.

“It's coming!” the woman whispers frantically. “Hurry, Isaiah, hurry. It knows we're here.”