The Pursuit

Jemma and Charles were exploring Comic-Con amazed at the variety at their fingertips. This was just what they needed to jumpstart their YouTube channel. With each and booth they walked past they were able to chat with various companies about their upcoming projects. The twins were eager to take the notes from those conversations and transform them into new and engaging videos for their channel. They had even gotten a few sneak peeks at exciting and new characters ready to make their debuts.

Currently, though the twins were busy working on their way to a keynote speech for an up and coming company they had heard exciting whispers about when their path was blocked. The man who blocked the path had a thick British accent and was dressed as a butler, right down to the serving tray. A tray that was carrying fancy glasses filled with what appeared to be champaign. The butler proffered his burden asking a question without seeming to move his lips, “Would either of you like a drink?”

Jemma shook her head and answered for both, “No thank you, sir.”

The man narrowed his eyes every so often as he tilted his head sideways as he backed away from the fraternal twins. When the man finally turned around the twins shared a brief look before the resumed their search for the conference room for the keynote speech they were looking for. After a few more minutes of searching, they found themselves staring at a dead end. They turned around hoping to find someone they could ask for help finding the speech, but instead of support, they discovered that odd butler without the tray.

Cocking his head and once more without seeming to move his lips the butler asked, “Can I do anything else for the two of you?”

The twins looked at each other each and saw a mirrored look of confusion and nervousness. The man was not imposing, but there was something about his demeanor that struck a nerve with the twins. After an awkward moment of silence, Charles replied for them both, “We’re just looking for a conference room, but we’ll manage. Thank you though.”

After another long moment of silence, the twins tried to walk past the butler, but he blocked their path with arms as unyielding as steel beams. The two stepped away from the creep watching as the butler smiled and for the first time showed his pointed teeth for the twins. They immediately backed up even farther from the man who filed his teeth, but their spines shivered as they heard a growl escape from the butler’s elongating mouth. “Please feel free to run as I prepare for the chase.”

The man’s clothes began to shred as his body expanded gaining length and bulk. The tips of his fingers started to lengthen forming into talons. He dragged those talons across the floor, each slicing through the carpet and concrete beneath their feet with ease. Once he appeared to be finished the thing crouched down, and immediately leapt for them arms outstretched. The twins dropped to the floor as the former butler sailed over them carving grooves along both walls.

The twins frantically flipped over and witnessed the grace of that creature as it landed and fluidly spun to face them. As it locked an eye upon each twin, it growled as it spoke with a distorted voice, “Run for me.”

The twins scrambled to their feet and fled. Fear pumped through their bodies and drove them away from that creature as it counted. “One. Two. Three…”

They ran until they could no longer hear that distorted voice, and somehow found themselves returning to the vast show floor, and that was when they realized they were alone. They looked at each other and asked, “What now?”

Charles looked around the hall quickly and caught sight of an emergency exit and pointed at it whispering, “There!”

They ran to their salvation, but the bar to open the door wouldn’t budge, eliciting a squeal from Jemma. “What now?”

“You die!” cried the unnatural voice as the creature stepped into the empty show floor.

The twins spun around and saw the creature disappear from where it was to reappear in front of them. Charles frantically looked around for something to use to defend them and caught sight of a fire axe. He raced for it hoping he could reach it before the thing attacked either of them. Unfortunately just as he went for it, the creature lunged at Jemma. She dropped, but unfortunately, the creature’s talons struck her shoulder pinning her to the wall.

A scream of pain sprung from Jemma’s mouth which propelled her brother’s fist through the glass protecting the axe. As his fist went through the glass lacerating his fist. As blood flowed from his hands, he ripped the axe from its container turning to see the creature’s other talons running along the top of his sister’s leg slicing her skin, letting her own blood spill out. Charles took a single step towards the creature and brought the axe down at its neck. The blow connected solidly splitting the creature in two like a hot knife splitting a stick of butter.

With so much force behind Charles’ strike, the axe struck before the collapsing body, and its talons were pulled out of Jemma’s shoulder eliciting a fresh scream. Charles let go of the embedded axe rushing to his sister’s side, immediately applying pressure to her shoulder wounds as he inspected her leg wounds.

Charles screamed as someone squeezed his shoulder asking, “Is she okay?”

Charles turned around and saw a room full of people just past the inquiring security guard, as he pleaded, “Yes, we were attacked.”

The man looked down at the body and swallowed the baseball sized lump that had formed in his throat. “Medical personnel are on their way. Hopefully, both of you will be alright.”

“Thank you.” The twins replied with sighs of relief.