[The Tainted Lands] 1 - Shift

This Idea was harrasing me, so I quickly wrote a chapter to put it off my mind.

Synopsis: It was your typical day for resident Texan John Constantine when all of a sudden, his entire world is flipped on its head. His entire town is ripped away from Earth and placed in a strange land filled with creepy crawlies that want nothing but to kill him, burn him, and suck out his blood, soul, and whatever else they can get their hands on; the worse part? He was the only one unfortunate to get sucked along with his town.

Now alone due to a glitch in the matrix, he must fight against Eldritch creatures that would break his very mind, horrifying and giant monsters that want to destroy his town, and to make matters worse, what lay outside of his town was even worse. As in the far distance, the land seemed to be a hodgepodge of lands sown together like messed-up jigsaw pieces

[Chapter Begins] 

Thump...Thump...CRACK.

Just behind a small home hidden away from town, a young man could be seen swinging an axe and chopping some firewood.

As he placed down the axe and picked up the firewood, he suddenly heard the crunching sound of and the thrumming of an engine come from the other side of the house.

Placing the wood down on the ground, the young man picked back up the axe and walked around the house, peaking around the corner to see a truck pulling up on his driveway.

With a raised eyebrow, the man walked around the corner as a man climbed out of the truck.

"Hey John, it's been ages!" The man called out and walked around the truck.

Smiling, the man holding the axe, now revealed to be John, walked forward and hugged the man.

"Hey Taylor, it's been a while; how are you doing?" John asked, hugging the man back.

"I'm doing great, man! Just now, moving into the old place?" Taylor asked, gesturing to the old house.

"Yeah, felt like I needed a fresh start, one away from the big cities, and I already owned the place, so I felt why not give it a try?" John replied with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, man, it's good to have you back...if you are looking for any work, Eugene is still working in his shop, and Granny Tuesday is still working in that old bakery of hers. Of course, if those don't interest you, we always need helping hands on the dairy, and I think Old Man Stockton is in need of help with the library," Taylor suggested, going on to list several more jobs.

"Having issues with labor?" John asked, curious.

"Of course, you know how it is," Taylor stated with a sad smile.

"Yeah..." John somberly replied before sighing.

"Would you like to come in?" John asked, gesturing towards the house.

"Nah, sorry, bud, I am just stopping by. I have to get back and help Dad with the calves," Taylor declined with a sad smile before suggesting, "Perhaps tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure, man, sounds great," John smiled.

Waving his childhood friend goodbye, John watched Taylor drive away before turning around to look back at his childhood home...when his parents were still alive.

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the sky suddenly turn as red and orange as sunrise and sundown before blinking and finding the sky return back to the pale blue clear skies.

Shaking his head confused, he focused back on the task at hand, heading back to the backyard and grabbing the firewood before turning back and walking into the house.

Once he walked inside, he set the axe down by the backdoor before rubbing his boots on the welcome rug to get all the dirt off.

If one were to look around the house, they'd find that even for its small size, it was surprisingly comfortable, featuring two bathrooms, a master bedroom, two guest bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and lastly, a living room.

Lining the walls were wall-mounted heads of various animals, as well as old photos, paintings, and, of course, a large American flag.

The whole house was covered in old decor and furniture, making it seem a bit cramped but quite homely.

Placing the firewood by the fireplace, John headed for the front door, grabbing some keys off of the wall.

Stepping back outside, he walked over to the one vehicle parked in the driveway, a Jeep Wrangler.

Patting his wallet to make sure he had his wallet, he closed the door, locking it behind him.

Walking over to the Jeep with a truckbed, he climbed in and inserted the key before starting the engine, hearing it purr to life.

Briefly seeing the sky turn red once again after he closed the door of the Jeep, he blinked his eyes and found that the sky returned once again to its original color.

Shaking his head, he pinched his arm to see if he was dreaming.

Growing increasingly concerned when he felt the telltale sign of pain, he began growing more and more concerned by the sudden change in the color of the sky.

Reversing out of the shed his Jeep was parked in, he turned his wheels before switching to 'Drive' and swinging the Jeep onto the driveway; he began making his way towards New Castle, the name of the small town he lived in.

It is so small that the town has a population of only 408 as of this year.

It was a small country town just south of Wichita Falls and featured some history as a boomtown that sprang to life when oil deposits were found.

Now, however, the oil has mostly dried up, and only farmers, ranchers, and dairy farmers call the town home.

Most of the younger people who lived in the town have moved on to great pastures, leaving just the old and a few families that worked the farms.

As for John, his Dad was a vet and called the small town home until the last day of his life. Meanwhile, he's never really known his mother, as she died when he was too young to remember.

When John turned eighteen, he joined the army for a few years before deciding to come back here to his old childhood home.

Sadly, his Dad passed away while he was serving overseas.

Now? His Dad was buried out behind his house, right next to his mom.

John has always been a single child, though he wishes he could have had a sibling, not that that particular dream will ever come to pass.

Sure, he had other family, but they were spread out across the states, none of his Dad's side or Mom's side of the family ever grouping in a single place.

Soon enough, when he made it past some trees, he came across 281, the main road that led all the way to the town and past that, Windthorst and eventually Wichita Falls.

Stopping just at the road, he looked both ways with his blinker on before turning onto the road and speeding up to 60, where he quickly reached New Castle in just a few minutes.

Once he reached the town, he noticed the sky briefly turn red again, but this time, he just put it behind him, thinking it was a trick of the eyes and just a daydream, regardless of how...vivid the blood sky looked.

Staying on the main road, he stopped at the first set of lights before making a right onto the first street. Bellevue Road was its name, and this street was home to the local Clinic, some houses, the old town shop sections, and even the local post office.

Parking at the clinic, he noticed the sky flicker to a red tinge once again. When he stepped inside the clinic, this time even more vivid than before, turning blood-red in color and seeming like an ocean of blood hung in the sky.

Shaking his head, he let the door close behind him and noticed the receptionist, the daughter of the husband and wife doctor and nurse duo that owned and ran the clinic.

Smiling and waving, she suddenly paled and froze in horror.

That's when intense vertigo and mind-breaking pain armed into my skull, causing me to gasp out in pain as I clutched my head and fell to the floor.

When he managed to open his eyes, he saw the sky outside turn an even deeper shade of red before suddenly pulsing and throbbing like a heart before stilling, staying that ominous and deep red.

When he turned to look at the receptionist, he suddenly jumped back when a black-spear-like object slammed into the floor, right where his head was.

Looking up revealed the face of the receptionist as her face seemed to rip open and reveal a maw filled with countless shark-like teeth.

Cursing, he jumped out of the way when she thrust her other spear-like arm down where he was crouched before pulling out the lodged...arm from the tiles in the floor.

"What the hell?!" John cursed before the girl suddenly twisted in a manner no human could and lunged after him, tackling him to the ground where she opened the maw that split her head open and tried to bite him.

Grabbing her shoulders and pushing his legs against her chest, he threw her over him before jumping to his feet and decided to attack her before she could recover.

However, with inhuman speed and flexibility, she crawled across the floor and onto the wall, her arms, legs, and joints all twisting in shape till she was crawling on the roof.

Cursing, John knew he couldn't leave, not if it meant leaving whatever monster took over the receptionist girl getting the doctor and nurse somewhere in the building.

Knowing its attention was still on him, he yelled, "Come on! I am right here! Come get me!"

Opening the door, he observed the creature crawling across the roof before suddenly feeling a terrible pain come through his chest as something stabbed right through his back, revealing a black spike peaking through his ribcage.

Coughing blood coating both his shirt and the floor in front of him, he groaned and grabbed with what little strength he had onto the spike as he felt his body get pulled out of the Clinic and up.

Whatever stabbed him lifted his body from the ground and turned him to look at whatever did this to him.

It was at that moment that he face to face with a face inky black and lacing all features but a maw.

Its torso crawled over the ground on a great mass of tentacles, one of which was pierced directly through his chest.

As the maw of the creature chomped down on his body, splitting him in half, John's last thoughts as his mind faded and rows upon rows of shape teeth pierced into his body, turning it into mince meat, were, 'Why?'

[You have been slain by Child of Azhembril Level 28]

[Unique Trait: Rebirth has activated!]

[Stats gained: +3 Endurance and +2 Strength]

[3 Hours until Rebirth]