Ayushee Nawar Choudhuri

My mom picked up my sister, Macy, and me from school. She seemed oddly tensed. The sky was overcast with fluffy little greyish clouds, floating like paper boats. We might have a cloudburst soon. Our little town of Aurora in Oregon was a friendly one. People mostly knew each other.
Without warning, a raucous noise stopped us in our tracks. My mother’s skin had gotten extremely white. She looked at me in terror. “Run to the grocery store with Macy! Don’t look back. Go NOW!” I was too afraid to even ask any questions. I grabbed Macy from the backseat and we ran to Mega Foods. I looked up at the sky and there were helicopters soaring around.
The grocery store was crowded with people. When we were about to enter, there was another loud bang, then three more in succession. We walked inside the store and suddenly, the power went out. A lot of people screamed scrambling for shelter as we were plunged into total darkness. It was late afternoon and the sky looked like it was about to rain. My mom was nowhere to be seen. I clutched Macy’s hand as she wailed.
Suddenly, there was a huge shadow near the doorway. The room suddenly went quiet. All of our eyes were fixed on the almost seven-foot tall giant. When he walked in, he held a flashlight. Immediately, the power came back on. A lot of people screamed. He looked sort of sick. His face was bulging, his eyes were a terrible colour of crimson. His hair was coal black. That was the normal part. Beneath his neck, he had skin like a snake and it covered every part of his body. His lower half was covered in black camo pants. All around the store, seven monsters like him were emerging. They all had crimson eyes, and bulging faces.From the waist up, they hadthe skin of a lion, grizzly bear, komodo dragon, killer whale, grey wolf or a great white shark. They all looked like they were in pain.
“Which one of you is on the list?” the Shark shouted. The Gray Wolf grimaced and clutched at his chest and read out a list: “Patrick Hastings, Nicholas Carmichael, Hank Richardson, Isla Richardson, and Olena Shrapova?” I was momentarily shocked. Both my parents were on that list. He spoke the name of our Councilman Carmichael, Mr Hastings and Mrs Shrapova.
Mrs Shrapova was a very nice lady. She enlisted in the army 10 years ago and was now retired, and she was near the chocolate aisle. She rose and walked bravely towards the Killer Whale. “Let them go! I’m right here. Kill me if you have to!” Killer Whale spat at her face and said: “This is what you made me! You told me I would be a super soldier, not turn into a monster like this. It’s been only a week and I feel so much pain, I feel like dying!”
Mrs Shrapova clutched at the cross around her neck and wailed, “I didn’t know what was in the serum. I was only following orders. Please let them go. They are developing a cure _ Hastings, Carmichael and the Richardsons _ they are all trying!’ Komodo Dragon snapped: “What kind of cure? My wife ran away when she saw me. You people told us we needed to be superhuman to steal data. This is Superhuman!”
Mrs Shrapova stumbled on her words as he shook her: “You people weren’t the only men to be tested. Units in California, Washington, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also carried out this test. But it went horribly wrong. So we invited a new experton failed military cross-species experiments from London. Just wait for a few minutes. Isla Richardson has the cure. She truly does. There is her daughter, right there. Ask her!”
I felt a scream building in my throat as seven giants charged towards me. Macy looked petrified. Then I heard a helicopter outside the shop. Men in military combat attire were pointing guns at the monsters. A man in a khaki beret went cautiously near the White Shark. “Listen Jackson, we have the cure. Let the girls go!’ I realised the white shark was the most dangerous. “How do I know it’s not one of your tricks, General?” The General pointed towards a soldier. He pulled of his mask, jacket and shirt. He was a normal guy with pale eyes. The monsters were transfixed. “Jason! You’re OK!” the Lion said. Jason replied, “Take the cure, it’s for the best.”
In the aftermath, seven normal men walked out unscathed. My mom told me how as a doctor in the military she had made the cure, and it was really unfortunate those men had to suffer. Then, all was well.