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

“It feels so good to lay on a bed without worrying about my safety,”  Red remarked while laying on his flat mattress, a poor excuse for a bed. 

Taylor didn’t respond, watching him silently, which sparked concern from Red. “Hey, remember that time we went to the amusement park? I had fun there, didn’t you?” He asked, hoping to get a response from her.

“Yeah,” She whispered. Red shook his head, disappointed at her dry response. 

“Oh, I talked to your parents,” Red told her, fishing for a better response. She stiffened up at the mention of her parents. “They told me that they love you and they want you to stay safe. Oh, and they can’t wait to see you.” Taylor didn’t respond, only nodding to his comments. 

Red stared at her, furrowing his brows. “Okay, this is concerning me, Taylor. You’ve been acting wield this entire time. What happened while I was gone?” He questioned her as he situated himself, standing over his bed.

“I saw the slug enter your body,” She whispered, looking away from him. She couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes. Red’s face turned ghost-white as he didn’t think that anybody noticed him.

He gulped down saliva before asking, “what now then?” 

“I don’t know,” she said.

“You think I’m going to turn into a monster, right?” Red asked. Taylor didn’t respond, instead, lowering her head; a confirmation of her answer.

“Oh, I get it. Now you believe I’m a monster.” Red said, raising his voice.

“It isn’t like that, I just don’t feel safe.” She whispered.

“You want me to sleep somewhere else right?” He asked, raising his voice even more.

“I’m sorry,”  She whispered.

“If you consider me a monster, then I’ll leave,” Red said as he grabbed the mattress and began to head to the attic. 

“I don’t-” She started.

“It’s a little disappointing that my best friend considers me a threat. I guess that sixteen years meant nothing,” Red muttered, ticked off that his childhood best friend treated him like a monster. He didn’t change into a monster like the others, but she was still scared of him. 

Red marched up the rickety stairs to the attic, ignoring Mert’s questions, and rested on the floor. One thought ran through his mind as he drifted to sleep. Is she right? Am I a monster...?

***

Red woke up to being chained to an exposed pipe in the attic. Mert stood nearby with his shotgun pointed at Red’s face.

“I’m sorry,” He heard Mert whisper. “I’m really sorry, kid.” 

Red glanced around the room but didn’t notice Taylor in the area. However, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she ratted him out. She betrayed him, plunging a fictional dagger in his heart.

Mert noticed that Red was awake, showing the kid a face full of regret while aiming the shotgun’s iron sight at him.  “I’m sorry, kid, but I need to survive.”

***

“Miss, Killian has reported that Brainy is nearing us. The Muscle Monster and Fast Monster are staying on the main road.” Chloe reported.

“Killian is still on the roof?” Lynn asked. Chloe nodded her head, sitting down on a chair opposite Lynn. The two women sat in the only kitchen of the Outpost. “Good, now can you remind me who these people used to be? Oh, and where are the other monsters? I saw five meteors yet I noticed only three of them visible.”

“The patriarch of the Kurupt family, Gary, became the Muscle Monster. As for the Fast Monster, it used to be the only daughter of the Kurupt Family. Brainy was Stacy Kurupt, the wife. Tom Kurupt and the fifth person’s location aren’t known. We’re not sure if one of them is invisible or not.”

“Okay, I’ll have Brad establish a team to investigate the rest of Solaris for survivors and intel. As for now, have Killian and the other able-bodied people prepared to-'' Lynn was cut off by a blood-curdling scream.

On the roof, Killian slowly backed away as another marksman named Rale was impaled by the tentacle-like arm of Brainy, the monster form of the eloquent and harmless Stacy Kurupt. She had evolved into a flying monster that hovered over the town---never leaving the boundaries of Solaris----and carried four tentacle-like arms with a large spear-like finger at the tip. 

Brainy, nicknamed that because of its intelligence displayed through its blockade of the main gate, had sprouted its arms after the first hour of birth, hovering around aimlessly. However, Brainy now wanted to attack the Outpost for some unknown reason. Perhaps, it was because too many people were taking refuge in one location. 

TBC…

“Are you infected?” Mert asked him, leaning closer to Red.

“I-” He cut himself off, biting his lip. “ I am.”

“It’s true, then. There’s a slug inside of your brain.” Mert muttered, laying his finger on the trigger.

“I’m not turning into a monster! I have the parasite under control!” Red shouted, struggling to escape from his chains. Taylor awkwardly walked up the stairs into the attic and headed toward the window, not looking at Red at all. She was frightened to look her childhood best friend in the eye.

“How are you sure about that?” Mert asked before glancing at Taylor.

“It’s a mental battle! I’m fighting the parasite to keep control over my body!” 

Taylor turned around and looked at Mert, glancing at Red for a split second before looking away. 

“I’m still the same person as I was before the parasite entered my brain!” Red shouted, pulling at the chains. He was trying his hardest to escape his binds, but Mert’s knowledge of knot tying kept him pinned. 

Mert turned around for a second, taking the shotgun out of Red’s face. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, disappointed in Red and himself. “When were you going to tell us?” He asked, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

“When I couldn’t keep the parasite at bay anymore. That would be when I tell you to kill me and ensure the parasite dies a painful death. An extremely painful death” Red responded coldly, glaring at Mert and Taylor. Red didn’t enjoy that he was being treated like a monster, chained and bound to a pipe. “I'm not a monster.” He retorted.

“Can it… talk?” Taylor asked, peering over Mert’s shoulder.

Red nodded his head. “Yeah, apparently these parasites are from another world. Aliens, of sorts.”

“Aliens?” Mert muttered, bewildered.

Red pulled at the chains, clawing at his skin. “Let me free!”

Mert glanced over his shoulder at Taylor for confirmation. She nodded his head.

“Fine, for now, at least,” He said before he went to work unlocking the chains on Red. “I need you to make another trip to the Town Hall, anyway. I need you to send some supplies to them.” Mert put a finger, indicating to Red to stay in his spot. Mert went downstairs and grabbed a bag, bringing it back. He handed Red the bag of supplies. 

“You can take care of this task, right?” 

Red glared at somebody who he saw as an uncle. Somebody that he trusted. A person with great feats and achievements to his name. Red’s glare wasn’t to show Mert his displeasure with being tied up, but his anger. He despised the fact that both his uncle and best friend betrayed him, treating him as the monsters outside. They treated him like Edith - hell, Mert had more compassion for his wife than Red. Red, in the end, was just another kid.

“Hey, Taylor, make him something to eat,” Mert ordered as he turned to look at Taylor. Taylor nodded, turning towards the stairs that would take her downstairs. 

“It’s fine, I’m leaving now,” Red said, getting up and rubbing his wrists. They felt sore from the binds. 

He furiously rushed downstairs and grabbed his gear, laying on the couch in the living room, before walking towards the backdoor. He brushed against Taylor’s shoulders but did not comment on it to her.

He reached the backdoor, slightly pressing on it. He lingered on the door, trying to calm himself and avoid making a mistake that could kill him. However, Taylor came up from behind him, grabbing the doorknob and opening it - ruining his plan.

Red spilled to the outside, nearly falling on the group by the imbalance created by Taylor. He jumped up and glanced over his shoulder at her, glaring. She crumbled under his glare.

“Goodbye,” He angrily remarked.

She didn’t respond, watching silently as he left her line of sight. Once he was gone, she dropped to her knees, quietly sobbing. “Mom, Dad, am I in the wrong? Was I justified in being afraid of him?”

Red sprinted across the street, reaching the Monroe’s backyard. There, he peered around the corner towards the main street, watching for monsters, before sprinting to his backyard. He entered his bloody and damaged house, sifting through the remains of the rooms. 

He ventured upstairs, hunting for a specific item. His head cooled down enough for him to understand their situation. He was infected but wasn’t showing any signs. However, the fact that Mert was treating him as a messenger instead of a longtime friend and Taylor treating him like he had six heads was infuriating.

On his desk, opposite of his bed and window facing Mert’s house, was a framed picture of his parents, Taylor, and himself at the amusement park some years ago. One of his favorite memories, to date, was the day that he learned a lot about Taylor and even began having feelings for her. That day was the turning point for his future. 

Even so, six years later, distance had formed between them to the point that they couldn't keep a proper conversation. Taylor had switched up on him in an instant, ruining his feelings for her. After six years of brewing, Red was getting close to confessing to her. The entire time he had been afraid of being rejected and judged by the small community where news traveled everywhere and quickly.

 “Am I a monster?” He muttered, peering out the window facing Mert’s house. “I can’t be… can I?” He turned away from the window and grabbed the picture, stuffing it into his bag. He grabbed the door handle and turned it, walking out of his room and house, and headed to the neighbor’s house.

***

Killian watched as the corpse of Rale was thrown around like a ragdoll. His body flung from one of Brainy’s arms while the other arm searched for Killian. Unlike the other monsters who worked on sight, Brainy worked with its other senses. She used her arms to feel the ground while using her nose and taste as a UAV-like machine. This ability allowed her to defend the main gate and cut off the humans’ only escape route as electricity fuelled the remainder of the fences, keeping the survivors imprisoned.

“What…” Killian’s voice trailed off as he stared in disbelief at the monster. “That… can’t be… possible.”

“It is!” Lynn shouted, wielding a makeshift molotov cocktail. She threw the cocktail at Brainy, frightening the monster. “Get up Killian!” She shouted. “Bragging about your marksman skills, yet here you are, pissing your pants?”

“No,” He whispered.

“Then get up!” She shouted. She turned around, seeing Chloe behind her with another Molotov. She grabbed the second Molotov, handing it to Killian while Chloe ran off to prepare the third one. 

Killian rose to his feet, breathing hard. He took the Molotov, staring at