The Harbinger always went for the freaks. They were its favorite. It wanted ones that would fight back, and ones that wouldn’t be afraid at first; or, even better, ones that believed they could win. Those rare humans with bravado and confidence so great that they actually believed they could defeat it somehow. Those were always the most pleasurable to kill. It loved watching the life fade from their defiant eyes as it slowly ripped them to shreds; watching as the realization that they were in fact powerless dawned on them.
For centuries, this ancient creature had hunted down humans; whether for pleasure, sport, or because it was compelled to by instinct, it thrived on the death of the human race. However, it had long since grown tired of the predictable frightened screams and wails of agony that often accompanied its various campaigns. As such, it had opted to change its prey demographic to the more interesting humans one might find among the masses. After all, Earth now had over seven billion humans infesting its surface; surely some of them would offer a more unique and exciting hunt than the thousands the Harbinger had culled before.
That said, finding less predictable humans among millions of their more boring counterparts was like finding a needle in a haystack. Ever since the Harbinger had changed its modus operandi, it had become frustrated by the slower increase of its kill count. It had no idea which was worse: killing worthless, boring humans in droves, or spending weeks tracking down potentially interesting ones – sometimes only to find out that they just reacted as disappointingly as the rest.
But then, the Harbinger found Adrian Bishop.
At first, Adrian Bishop appeared to be yet another ordinary human with an ordinary life. He was a younger man of average height and build, with pitch black hair and a simple suit under a coat. The only thing about him that attracted the Harbinger’s very selective attention was the fact that this man actually saw it. Normally the Harbinger existed on a plane of existence above that of humans; only when it wanted to reveal itself would they be able to witness its terrifying form. Yet, one morning as the Harbinger was prowling the streets of downtown Ottawa, a man stopped in his tracks and looked directly at it. The Harbinger, confused, looked behind itself, certain that the man had noticed something else and was just looking in its direction. Yet nothing noteworthy lingered there, while the man’s gaze was pointed upward to meet the eyes of the nine-foot-tall monster.
And then, Adrian Bishop did something completely unexpected: not panic, or flee, or even show a hint of fear – he simply smiled. It was a knowing, mischievous kind of smirk. If the hideously malformed face of the Harbinger could have made a surprised expression then, it most certainly would have. As if that wasn’t strange enough, the man then simply looked away, and began walking again as if nothing had happened. The Harbinger stood, looking all around for anything that might have caught the passerby’s eye, but it seemed almost undeniable that the man had been looking directly at it. Needless to say, this warranted investigation.
So, the Harbinger followed Adrian throughout his day. Unlike before, the man no longer paid it any attention, going about his daily business as usual. The Harbinger discovered that he worked at a local convenience store as a manager. From what it could tell, he was quite well-liked by his employees and superiors, and had an almost painfully cheerful demeanor. The day passed by rather uneventfully, and the Harbinger grew bored. By the time Adrian started to head home, it was starting to suspect that the earlier incident had all been some kind of unlikely coincidence, and that Adrian hadn’t seen him after all. Still, the inter-dimensional monstrosity didn’t have anything better to do at the moment, so it decided to at least follow this human back to his house.
As they arrived at the rather small flat, the Harbinger followed Adrian through a short hallway and into the living room. Adrian began taking off his coat while the Harbinger lingered in the hallway, glaring suspiciously at one particular locked door on the far end of the room. It felt something strange coming from that room; something… unnatural, yet familiar.
“You can quit hiding over there, you know,” Adrian’s voice rang out, almost catching the creature off-guard. “I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I’m afraid it was necessary to keep up appearances. Don’t want people thinking—“
Before the human was even able to finish his sentence, the Harbinger was upon him with a long, blade-like claw pressed against his throat and another huge hand clutching his head. Adrian didn’t so much as flinch.
“What is your true name?” the Harbinger demanded, its voice sounding like a whisper and a scream all at once. It seemed impossible to it that this human could see it. In its lifetime, it had come across humans who could sense it using somewhat of a ‘sixth sense’ before, but never one who could actually lay eyes upon it while in the higher plane. Surely this was another dark being in disguise.
“My name?” Adrian queried, the creature’s firm grip not doing anything to deter his vaguely smug attitude. “Adrian. Adrian Bishop, human being extraordinaire.”
Growing frustrated, the Harbinger increased the strength of its grip, causing Adrian to wince. “Ow, ow! Easy there. You don’t want to kill me, my friend.”
“And why would I not?” the Harbinger rasped. “No human should be able to see the beings of the higher plane. You lie.”
“Sorry, but I beg to differ,” Adrian replied. “I am aware that you and your kind possess a keen sense for the supernatural, right? So I ask: is there anything remotely inhuman about my being?”
As much as the Harbinger tried, the human was right; from what it could tell, the man currently held firmly in its clutches was nothing other than human. Were it any other sort of ethereal demon, the Harbinger should have been able to tell right away. “How then?” the Harbinger insisted. “Has your science truly come this far?”
Adrian chuckled, even as the Harbinger’s claw pressed harder against his soft flesh. “No, of course not. I am as clueless as you are when it comes to the origin of my little gift, as it were. I’ve been able to see boogeymen like you since I was a child. In fact, I’m not even the only one who can. Though I assure you, it comes as no surprise to me that you aren’t aware of our existence; perceptive humans like me are quite a rare find, even today, when there are many more than there used to be.”
The Harbinger was still uncertain of this human. However, it couldn’t deny the evidence before it; even now, it was still concealed in a different layer of reality, yet it was conversing with Adrian as if it were on his level. The hideous features of its face contorted into what might have been interpreted as a look of disgust; the very idea of being unintentionally seen by a mere mortal was mortifying. Yet, at the same time, it couldn’t deny that Adrian Bishop appeared to be one of the most interesting humans it had come across in a very long time. Not once during this entire encounter had he even shown a hint of fear, as if he knew he wasn’t going to die. While the Harbinger was extremely tempted to prove him wrong by skewering him now, it instead opted to wait and see what he would do. Part of the thrill was watching them squirm, after all.
The Harbinger released its grip on Adrian, prompting a brief sigh from the man; not of relief, but of exasperation. “About time you came to your senses. You are an easily excitable one, aren’t you Harbinger?” He turned around, actually looking at the monstrosity for the first time since that morning. “And a handsome one, if I may say so.”
“Do not tempt me, human,” the Harbinger growled. “Give me one sufficient reason to keep you alive for even a single second longer.”
“Oh, I’ll give you more than just one,” Adrian said, that knowing smirk returning to his face. “See, I know exactly why you’re here. I understand your way of thinking more than most. You came here to kill me, because you thought I was interesting, didn’t you?”
The Harbinger remained silent.
“You thought I might put up a fight or try to resist. Make the hunt a little more interesting, right? Yes, I can see it in your eyes… err, eye. We’re kindred souls, you and I.”
The Harbinger scoffed, its bones cracking as it held its head up high. “Do not be so impudent as to think you are like me. You are but a mere insect compared to—“
“Yes yes, I know, that isn’t how I meant it,” Adrian interrupted, prompting an irritated growl from the monster before him. “I’m just saying, I’m tired of it too.”
The man turned around, and began walking across the room to the locked door. “You know what I mean. The paranoia that begins to set in when you stalk them. The fear they feel when they realize there’s no escape. The frightened wails and screams when you’re flaying them with your knife – or, I guess, claw in your case. It’s all so overdone!”
Adrian brought out a keychain and unlocked the door, revealing a stairway leading down into darkness. “After a while, you actually want some resistance. You want to stalk people who will have different reactions; ones who aren’t so afraid in the beginning. Why, I’m sure you’re itching to wipe this smug smile off my face right now. And that’s exactly what I was counting on.”
The Harbinger narrowed its bulbous eye at Adrian as he flipped a light switch. “If you come with me, I can give you exactly what you want, Harbinger.” He turned around with a grin halfway deranged and devious plastered on his face.
“A good hunt.”
And with that, he began descending down into the stairway. The Harbinger wasn’t sure what to do. It felt extraordinarily tempted to kill this human, and watch that overconfident demeanor melt away in his final moments. Yet, it was intrigued; more intrigued than it had been in a long, long time. Though he was human in body, Adrian Bishop appeared to be something entirely different in mind: something far closer to the Harbinger itself than any human it had met before.
Ultimately, the choice was obvious; the monster followed after Adrian, and began its descent down the stairs.
“I’m glad you decided to make the right choice, my friend,” Adrian said.
The room at the bottom of the stairs was surprisingly spacious for a basement, with a floor and walls made of stone cold concrete; it was what painted them that was of particular interest. Strange, archaic symbols littered the surface of the room, drawn almost anywhere and everywhere possible in what appeared to be dried blood. The only place where they weren’t drawn was in the very center of the room, where another larger, circular symbol of a similar nature had been carved into the floor.
An assortment of cabinets was set throughout the room, some of which contained books and files, while others were packed full of glass containers, vials, and bottles of substances. A long table was set against the right wall, on which were set a variety of tools ranging from saws and hammers to strange little devices that seemed to be designed for torture. By far the most intriguing part of the room, however, was the two cages at the far end. Each contained a person: a male and a female, sitting in the corners of their respective cages, cowering at the sight of Adrian Bishop.
0 Comments