God's Universe

Beast Rain

Logan stood in front of the television, staring at the translucent screen floating before his eyes.

Status: Unmarked.

The word bothered him more than it should have. According to the news, Unmarked people had no access to the system. Yet he could see his own status, and he even had a skill called Inspect.

What made him different?

"Logan?"

His mother's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He turned toward Mary. "Yeah, Mom?"

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Logan looked at her, then at Liam, who was still examining the five marks on the back of his right hand. His younger brother kept turning his hand over, as if expecting the strange markings to disappear if he looked at them long enough.

Logan forced a smile.

"I don't know yet. Let's wait for more information. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

He wasn't sure of anything. But there was no point in frightening them further.

A sudden flash outside caught his attention.

Logan turned toward the balcony just in time to see something streak across the sky.

A moment later, an explosion shook the neighborhood.

BOOM!

The windows rattled violently. Mary grabbed the edge of the couch to steady herself, while Liam nearly dropped his phone.

"What was that?" Liam asked.

Logan hurried toward the balcony and looked outside.

A thick column of smoke rose above the distant buildings. The explosion had torn through a section of the road, sending debris across the surrounding streets. People were running in every direction, and several cars had crashed into one another.

Then Logan saw something falling from the sky.

At first, he thought it was a piece of debris. But as it emerged from one of the enormous fractures overhead, he realized it was alive.

It had four limbs, a long tail, and a body covered in dark scales. It twisted through the air before crashing into a building several streets away.

The impact sent concrete and glass flying.

Logan stood frozen.

Another creature fell.

Then another.

Some were small enough to resemble ordinary animals, while others were enormous, their bodies stretching across entire sections of the sky before disappearing behind buildings.

Every impact produced another explosion.

It was like the sky had begun raining monsters.

"What the hell is happening?" Logan whispered.

He looked up again. The fractures were still open, and more creatures continued to descend through them.

This wasn't a single attack. Whatever was happening, it was only getting worse.

"Mom!" Logan shouted. "We need to leave!"

Mary hurried toward him. "Leave? Where are we going?"

"Anywhere away from these buildings. If one of those things lands on this house, we're finished."

He turned toward the kitchen and grabbed two large knives from the counter.

Mary stared at him. "Why are you taking those?"

"Just in case."

"Logan, those things are enormous. What are two kitchen knives going to do?"

"I don't know, Mom. But I'd rather have something than nothing."

He knew the knives probably wouldn't help much. He had never fought a real monster in his life. The closest he'd come was fighting digital creatures in a game.

But he couldn't leave his family defenseless.

"Liam, stay close to Mom," he said. "Don't run off, no matter what happens."

Liam nodded, his face pale.

The three of them hurried toward the front door.

Logan reached for the handle.

A strange shadow passed over the entrance.

He looked up.

Something was falling directly toward them.

"GET BACK!"

Logan shoved his mother and brother away from the door and threw himself to the side.

The ground outside erupted.

BOOM!

The impact shattered the entrance. A violent shockwave tore through the living room, throwing Logan across the floor. He struck the edge of a table, and the knives nearly slipped from his hands.

Dust filled the air. Pieces of plaster rained from the ceiling, and the sound of cracking concrete echoed through the house.

For several seconds, Logan could hear nothing but a high-pitched ringing.

"Logan!" Mary screamed. "Answer me!"

He coughed and pushed himself onto his hands and knees.

"I'm... fine."

His stomach hurt from the impact, but he could still move.

He forced himself to stand and raised the knives.

Something was moving outside the ruined entrance.

A low, rough growl came from the dust.

Logan tightened his grip.

As the dust slowly settled, a creature emerged from the wreckage.

It was roughly the size of a large dog, but it stood on two legs. Its body was covered in cracked black skin that resembled dried rock. Beneath those cracks, thick veins glowed faintly dark red, pulsing as though molten blood flowed through them.

Its arms were longer than its legs, and sharp claws extended from its fingers. Each step produced a scraping sound as its claws dragged across the broken concrete.

Thick saliva dripped from its mouth.

Then its blood-red eyes settled on Logan.

His throat went dry.

What is that thing?

The creature lowered its body.

Logan barely had time to react before it lunged.

It moved far faster than something of its size should have been able to.

Logan tried to dodge, but his body wasn't quick enough.

"Mom! Take Liam and hide!"

The creature's fist slammed into his stomach.

THUD!

The impact lifted Logan off his feet and sent him crashing backward. He hit the wall hard enough to knock the breath out of him.

A mouthful of blood escaped his lips.

For a moment, he couldn't breathe at all.

What... was that strength?

He had never experienced pain like this. It felt as though something inside his stomach had been crushed.

The beast advanced toward him.

Behind it, Liam shouted, "Brother!"

Logan forced his head up.

"Don't come here!" he yelled. "Stay with Mom!"

Liam tried to rush toward him, but Mary grabbed him and pulled him behind a damaged section of the wall.

"Let me go!" Liam cried. "He's hurt!"

"Stay here!" Mary shouted, holding him tightly. "You can't help him if you get yourself killed!"

Logan heard their voices, but he couldn't afford to look away from the creature.

It raised one of its clawed hands.

He lifted both knives instinctively.

CLANG!

The beast's claws struck the blades with tremendous force. Pain shot through Logan's wrists, and he staggered backward.

He barely managed to keep hold of the knives.

The creature attacked again.

Logan ducked. The claws scraped across the wall behind him, tearing away chunks of concrete.

He swung one of the knives at its arm.

The blade struck its skin with a sharp metallic sound.

A tiny cut appeared.

Logan immediately stepped back, expecting another attack.

Instead, the creature glanced at its arm.

The cut was already closing.

Logan stared as the edges of the wound slowly pulled together. Blood stopped flowing, and the torn flesh began repairing itself. Within seconds, the injury had almost disappeared.

"What...?"

The beast raised its head and roared.

Logan's stomach sank.

It can heal itself?