Part Six
The buzzing catches her by surprise.
Sofia looks up and finds Ryan fifty feet to the west. He isn’t alerted to the sound yet, which is buffeted by the tall grass rustling in the light wind. She whistles, and he turns towards her.
Sofia points at the sun. He looks. His gaze travels to the southeast, where the stone cottage sits in a blanket of darkness, hidden by the hill.
Ryan starts to run. Sofia drops her basket of roots and berries and runs ahead of him, towards the cottage, towards the buzzing sound.
Ryan easily catches up to her. “We have to hurry.”
“How did it happen so fast?”
“The sun, the cloud cover, the hill.” He puffs out the last phrase. Ahead, a swarm of shadows cross the dirt road adjacent to the stone cottage.
Ryan motions to the backside of the cottage, where a window is set, unlocked. The window was kept open for quick getaways, but now they were going to make a quick break-in.
Chitta … chitta …
Ryan slides the window open and lifts Sofia up into it. She falls to the floor, and grabs a kitchen chair to place under the window for him. He squeezes in and falls onto the chair. The chair collapses to the floor, Ryan with it.
“We made it,” he sighs.
“Ryan…” Sofia says, pointing.
A trail of blood smears the wall and finds its way back to Ryan’s ankle. Sofia moves the chair remnants, but no Noh can be found inside the cottage.
The buzzing and chittering outside gets louder and louder. “Stand at the side door,” Ryan says, hurrying to the front door. “Let’s make sure they don’t push the doors open!”
Sofia runs into the bedroom and screams. “They’re crawling under the door!”
Ryan is suddenly behind her, grabbing the blanket off the bed. He pulls her into the living room, closing the bedroom door. He stuffs the blanket under the door and waits. Sofia inspects the front door, satisfied. She hears pounding.
She turns.
Ryan is pounding several of the Noh with his fists. They explode, but not before replenishing through a small gap under the door that was left uncovered by the blanket. Within seconds, Ryan’s legs are covered in Noh, pinching off bits of flesh in their clicking pincher claws.
Screaming, Sofia tries to pound them with a water pail, but they are too numerous. The smell of blood and urine fill the air. Ryan’s face turns white.
“Run, Sofie. Run.”
Sofia feels the first of the Noh pinch her calf. She turns and runs out the front door.
Outside, the yard is free of Noh. She runs past the tall grass to the dirt road and runs for the bald hill. She hears the chittering sound growing in force behind her. She’s not as fast. She hasn’t run in weeks, and her breath is shallow, and her tummy is enlarged.
In the hill, she sees the bend. She wonders if the sun still shines around the curve. She reaches the bend. She trips.
Sofia falls, landing on her hip. Momentum carries her forward, with her skull loudly striking a jagged rock.
All sunlight fades from sight.
Read the next chapter:
Part Seven - @michaeladamparis/escape-from-the-noh-an-original-story-part-7
Start at the beginning:
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five
"Escape from the Noh" is a short-story that is a combination of sci-fi and horror. As a writer, I enjoy deconstructing genres to see where I can mix them for a synergistic effect. I welcome feedback and will be publishing my 300,000 word epic novel "The Messiah" on Steemit in 2017.
Facebook page: (https://facebook.com/michaeladamparis/)
My Blog: (http://www.michaeladamparis.com)
Thank you all for your support and encouragement.
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