Terror Hell: by Nick Venom (great books for teens .txt) 📕

“It’s okay. My parents are probably gone and it might be the same case for Taylor.” He said with a small smile, hiding his sadness.

“Oh, I saw her parents in the Town Hall!” Mae blurted out. 

“You did?” Red questioned. “Fortunately, I’m on my way there.”

“Why?” Doris asked, slightly tilting her head.

“Mert wants to establish a connection with the other survivors.”

“He could do it himself, he shouldn’t have sent you,” Jane spoke up. “That seems very cowardly.”

Red shook his head while smirking. “I volunteered because Mert isn’t in the best mindset after what happened with... Anyway, I couldn’t let Taylor do it,” Red told them. “Oh, I think it's time for me to leave.”

“Right now? Why can’t you stay here any longer?” Mae asked. 

“Taylor will kill me if I take too long, so I should get this over quickly.” He joked with an honest smile on his face. Mae jerked her head back as she looked at him, dumbfounded.

“You’re making jokes during this epidemic?” Freddy asked.

“The only thing I have is humor. If I can’t make a joke about the situation, then I must be dead inside.” He said as he made his way to the backdoor. He then turned around and rummaged through his bag, pulling out a walkie-talkie and handing it over to Mae before turning back around and leaving out through the backdoor. 

After he left, the survivors stared at the backdoor, stunned and in disbelief.

TBC…

Red left through the backdoor, wrapping around the building to reach the main road. He didn’t cross the road yet, instead, watching both sides of the road for monsters. On the opposite side from him was the Muscle Monster by his lonesome. 

For some reason, the monster wasn’t patrolling the road as he was only a few minutes before. He was now lingering on the other side of the road, standing idly. 

Red ignored the questionable action, waiting for the Muscle Monster to turn his head before sprinting towards the Town Hall. He reached the halfway point before he was thrown to the ground by an unseen force, dropping his baseball bat in the fall. Red turned his head towards the sky, his eyes widening as he recognized the force on top of him. It was his father Leonardo, but his eyes weren’t the same. They were abyss-black and dead. His skin and most of his body remained the same, but his face was slightly distorted. It was apparent that he was transforming into a monster, but something inside him restricted the action.

His father pinned him to the ground with one arm and used the other to grab the pistol and threw it aside. Unlike the other monsters, this one proved to be intelligent, which could relate to Leonardo’s lack of transformation.

“Dad! Why are you doing this!” He shouted in his father’s face. His father responded in disgruntled grunts and growls. His father was no longer a normal person, but a monster being repressed.

“What’s wrong? How can I help you!” He shouted.

“... kill me!” He heard his father shout. Red’s eyes widened even more as he noticed that his father wasn’t attacking him, restricting his actions. It was blatant that his father had control over his body.

Red glanced to his side, noticing his baseball bat to his side. He then turned back to face his father, muttering an apology, before kicking him in the jewels. This attack rendered his father incapacitated for a short while, throwing him off-balanced and collapsing on the side of Red. Red, meanwhile, jumped up and darted towards the baseball bat and picked it up. He then spun on his heels, swinging the baseball bat. The bat collided with his father’s head, throwing him to the concrete. His father attempted to rise but something locked his limbs. His body looked like he was being prevented from getting up by some unseen force. It was almost like his father was stopping himself from getting to his feet.

Red glanced over his shoulders and noticed the Muscle Monster staring at him. However, he was keeping his distance from Red, as if he was too scared to approach him, cowering in fear. 

He turned around and noticed the pistol, laying on the floor idly. He dashed toward the pistol, grabbing it and turning around to face his father. His father couldn’t stand up, limboing in a state of trembling---like he was an overweight child doing pushups. 

Red pointed the pistol at his father and applied his finger to the trigger. He struggled to pull it. “I-I-I c-can’t.”

“D-D-Do i-it!” His father shouted through constant growling and groaning. “I-I-I-I can’t kill my son!” Red teared up as he prepared the gun.

“I-I’m sorry,”

“... I’m proud of you!” He shouted. Red nodded as he raised his gun, pressing the barrel to his father’s head. 

“I’m sorry,” He muttered before firing a bullet into his head, ending his father’s life immediately. His eyes gazed up while looking at his father’s body; looking away long enough for him to throw up on the side of the road. He then crouched down as the tears began to stream down his cheeks. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the slug creature creeping upon him.

Taylor’s voice crackled out of his walkie-talkie. “Are you okay, Red?” She asked.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” He said as he tried to clear his tears.

“Are you sure?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just ha-happened to run in trouble. I’m on my way to the Town Hall.” He muttered into the walkie-talkie.

“Please, hurry up.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to make my ‘wife’ mad.” He joked. Taylor didn’t respond, instead, turning off her walkie-talkie. Red let out a small laugh as he stood up and scanned the area. That’s when the slug creature shot up into the air and entered his body through his ear canal, quickly making his way into his brain and implementing himself into it. 

Red quickly laid his hands on his ear as an immense amount of pain shot through his body. The pain disappeared as quickly as it began. “What just happened?” He asked himself.

“Huh? You can still talk? It seems like this host was defective like the last one; like father like son.” A harsh voice muttered, echoing throughout Red’s body. 

“Who are you?”

“You lowly beings wouldn’t understand our language. I am surprised that you have prevented the mutating phase. You are very similar to your father, a host that fights my control.”

“Are you those slug creatures that have been creating chaos and mutating people?” Red asked, frowning.

“Slugs, we aren’t. Instead, call us your ‘saviors’ from another world. Today, you may rejoice at being chosen as my host.”

“Then, you must be a parasite!” Red declared. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t need to answer a lowly being like you. Instead, I shall conduct a test of mine that will take full control of you.” The parasite declared. Loud beeps then began to echo within Red’s brain, bringing pain along with it. As the beeps grew louder, Red dropped to his knees out of the steadily increasing pain. Memories began to flow around, running in circles, as they surrounded his brain, suffocating it.

“Let’s invite your friend, she’s rather cute. I think you two would be a good couple.” Red’s mother said while being oblivious that Taylor was nearby them. Red knew this fact, leading to blushed cheeks.

“Mom! You’re embarrassing me!” A younger version of Red shouted. 

“You’re not denying it.” Red’s mother teased him. Red’s cheeks grew brighter as he pushed her away, turning around and running away in embarrassment. The memory then disappeared as the beeps grew louder and stronger with every passing second until four words tuned out the beeps. 

“I can’t lose you.” The pleading voice belonged to Taylor. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.” Her voice repeated, slowly bringing him out of the illusion that the parasite put him under. 

“I applaud your strength. You are stronger than my last host, but you will fall, soon enough, to me. Until then, I’ll be waiting.” The parasite said, complimenting him and threatening him, all at once. Red shook his head as he stood up and bumped his way towards the town hall.

`“I’ll be ready for you.”

***

“Get the windows and doors fortified. Have Mike work on welding the windows shut immediately.” Lynn ordered. 

“Yes, ma’am.” Chloe, an inhabitant of the Outpost, said. “Oh, before I forget, Killian has been asking for you. He needs Mike to build him a gun, a sniper if he can.”

“I’ll work on that. Give Mike the orders.” Chloe nodded, walking off to meet with the only blacksmith of the Outpost.

Lynn stayed behind, standing in the living room of the two-story building. She then walked up to the nearest window, which was being barricaded by another inhabitant---Valeria.

“I wonder if there are other people out there? Are they in a better situation than us?” She asked herself. “I hope we’re not the only survivors.”

TBC…

Mert and Taylor counted each second that Red was out, especially Taylor. She wanted him to return quickly, but all she could do was hope and pray for him. Who she prayed to, as her family was atheists who didn’t believe in religion, was something only the Heavens knew. 

She monitored the main street, waiting to see any signs of life from Mert’s attic. She peered through the window, hoping to see Red or someone else aside from the monsters that used to be her neighbors.

Fortunately, however, she found what she was looking for. She caught wind of Red sprinting across the main road towards Town Hall but stopped suddenly. She watched as Red struggled with another person---who she couldn’t identify---and murdered the person violently. He then dropped to his knees and, a few seconds later, he began holding his head as if it was going to explode, trembling during the process. 

Red collapsed, his body vibrating. Is he becoming a monster? A thought bounced around her head. “He can’t be,” She whispered to herself, her voice shaking. The idea of him becoming a monster was something she never wanted to imagine.

 She grabbed the walkie-talkie sitting in front of her and pushed it against her mouth. “Are you okay, Red?” She asked.

Red didn’t respond immediately. When he did, she could hear his voice shaking terribly. It resembled crying, a sound that surprised Taylor.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” Red muttered into the walkie-talkie.

“Are you sure?” She asked him, watching as he looked around his surroundings. 

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just ha-happened to run in trouble. I’m on my way to the Town Hall.” 

Taylor