The Beast Within

Serena presses on as she nears an opening to the underbelly of an abandoned warehouse. A sac that has been burst open from the inside, which is thirty feet long, sways over the gallows which are now the warehouse. A foul-smelling liquid drips onto the discarded skeleton remains of previous victims which are underneath the sac. A crack in the earth shimmers with water as the moonlight reflects off its surface, however, the pond of fluid has made its home here in the aftermath of an earthquake. “I must confess Serena, I am impressed with your motivation to find me, however, what would mother think of me now?” Hyde finishes his statement with venom in his tone.

“She would say that you’re a monster,” Serena finishes her statement with resentment and pain. “Why are you doing this Hyde, why do you want to destroy me and the city?” Hyde comes into view for Serena as a dark hidden figure. His mannerism emulates that of a serpent. The cracked rooftop allows light to seep into the corridor. Her hands are shaking in terror as she fears her brother with all of her soul but her heart cannot let him go. Serena says to Hyde, “Step into the light.” Serena’s enunciation embodies her vigorous shaking. Hyde follows her command and reveals his haunting face that looks as if a plague has begun to stretch across his chin.

She drops her flashlight in disbelief, “Hyde…”

Hyde creeps ever so slowly to his terrified family member. He begins to speak to her, “Dear my creator, how I long to die. You’ve made me with your design, your images. To be free of this pain deep inside. How this sign of rage emerges.” Serena charges at him and grabs his ripped tank top, but also puts a knife to his throat.

Serena says, “Enough! Stop this terror of humanity.” Hyde swiftly takes the silver tool and disarms his hated sibling.

“You and mother never understood me. Always telling me how to live my life, sending me into the military, and now you tell me to stop once I’ve accomplished something prestigious. NO! I will show you my work”! Hyde gimps his way over to the edge of the pool. He continues his tyrannical speech. “You’ve wounded me, along with you precious comrades but I fear nothing. For what comes next is truly special. When I found it, I saw raw rage! And beyond that, something truly monstrous.” Serena is in a panic and crawls back on the filthy material beneath her.

Her hands slosh through the skeletons and the putrid stench floods over her arm. “Come now, don’t evade your fate., Hyde announces with glee. “Listen to my words and don’t interrupt,” Hyde vocalizes. Something prehistoric moves within the water and Hyde turns to announce his accomplishment. “I will never live because I can’t die. Forever in my eternity alone.” Serena gets to her feet gasping for fear but immediately slips and falls. “Filled dead with old designs. The heaven left has rot, the lives flown.” Hyde’s voice increase in volume as the miniature lake behind him begins to ripple. An earthquake causes tremors as the lights outside the building begin to flash.

Serena, yelling with all her might, “PLEASE, stop this!”

Hyde stomps his foot in frustration and starts yelling, “The Prometheans were persecuted. They chose exile off world instead. The masses were all evacuated.” The ground shakes viciously as the beast's claw rises out of the polluted pond, followed by a long dark tail that grips the ceiling. The earthquake stops and all is silent. The streetlight outside fails to operate any further and the only light filling the wretched structure is Serena's measly flashlight. Hyde starts again, “However, in this place, I’ve learned dread.” Serena manages to desperately get to her feet as tears pour down her cheek. She is hyperventilating and searches for her brother. From the darkness comes his call. “However, I live to be creative.” She shines her light out into the abyss and sees nothing residing at the crack in the earth.

Her flashlight dies, but the streetlight astonishing returns with the power to illuminate the room. A hiss alarms her from her rear and she becomes frozen in place. She barely turns her head to confront the noise. Hyde finishes his speech, “To create this black toothy HATE!” Hyde’s beast flashes its gory teeth and roars at Serena, and she screams in horror.