—Ahhh!
The pain was stabbing. No... it was unbearable. Throughout my entire body.
I endured that agony for several minutes. My body couldn't take it anymore. My limbs no longer had the strength to lift me...
Then I heard it.
A squawk.
Followed by clattering.
—Damn monster...
I needed to escape as quickly as possible, and that's exactly what I did.
Carefully, I stood up only to realize I was inside another enclosure... I quickly swept the flashlight around searching for the beast and found a motionless silhouette at the far end. Something seemed to be resting there.
Before approaching the silhouette, a crack echoed throughout the area. At the same time, radio interference began spreading through the enclosure.
—Is anyone there?
There was no response. Only more static, growing louder.
—Zzzzz
—Zzz
With the flashlight's help, I followed the source of the crackling sound and found... a monster standing over a decaying human corpse.
My hands went slightly numb while simultaneously gripping the metal rod with all their strength, ready to defend myself. My legs were prepared to run or attack.
Tension coursed through my body. My heartbeat thundered, ready for battle. It was fight or die brutally. I couldn't keep freezing up—not after experiencing death once.
My senses braced for any movement from the creature.
A nauseating stench spread throughout the area...
Then I saw the ostrich's appearance.
It had no skin. It looked flayed.
A few feathers remained, embedded directly into the animal's bloody flesh. Its neck and legs appeared rotten. Tiny larvae seemed to be feeding slowly on its flesh. Its eyes bulged from their sockets as if they were about to burst. Yet its pupils were stained a vivid red.
From its beak hung a fleshy, viscous sac...
—Shit...
The radio's interference began ringing painfully in my ears.
The monster before me stomped hard on the corpse beneath its feet, crushing it instantly and sending the head rolling to my feet...
—No way.
My thoughts spiraled. I could only examine the head over and over.
What I saw was my own face...
That head was mine.
—Ahhhh!
The animal lunged at me, aiming to shatter my skull with its beak. But I resisted, placing the metal rod between us as a barrier, preventing it from reaching me, though I was still at a disadvantage.
I saw the monstrosity's face up close.
One of its eyes dangled from the socket, attached to its head by a single nerve.
—Ughh...
My arms were losing strength under the ostrich's weight, but before the barrier gave way, the monster vomited directly onto my face.
What it expelled was blood and chunks of flesh.
I temporarily lost my vision. However, I used what little strength I had left to throw the animal off balance and kick its legs.
—This is disgusting, damn it...
The blood seemed mixed with other fluids.
I seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and shot it.
—I'm... alive...
I grabbed the metal rod and drove it straight into the ostrich's head.
Before being impaled, the beast let out a deafening squawk and quickly retreated to collapse in a corner. It seemed to be protecting something...
When I approached the beast, it was dead.
Curled within its body was a small nest.
Three dark-colored eggs rested inside that monstrous nest made of human body parts, bones, and organs.
!!!
At that moment, one of the eggs began to crack open, giving birth to an abomination that should never have existed.
Vomiting rose to the back of my throat, ready to burst out, but I held it back.
Describing the newborn creature was revolting. It was an amorphous thing that should never have been born.
I immediately killed it and crushed the remaining eggs.
The suffering had ended.
I was safe now.
The radio interference stopped.
—Could the interference be... a warning?
It's strange that it sounded when the bear and the ostrich attacked me.
—If that's true, then why didn't it sound when that monstrous bird appeared?
Without a doubt, that creature was different...
—Now... the silhouette in the back.
It was another statue.
A woman with a destroyed face, just like the previous one. But this time, the plaque said nothing. It didn't even identify her as the founder. There was nothing at all.
Only a single letter...
"S".
A note rested in one of her hands.
"Do you remember when you took care of me in the darkness and protected me from the bats?"
It seemed to indicate my next destination...
Fortunately, the exit door of the place I was currently in was open.
That was when I noticed a sign and realized I had been inside the ostrich enclosure.
—I'm close.
Beside me, another clock read 04:44 AM.
...