The following short story is a apart of the Metal Bound series. This is Part 1. Enjoy the creative writing!

A boy woke up in an instant, as if an invisible force shocked his body into action.

The room startled at the newfound movement. Everything within it had remained cold and undisturbed for quite some time.

The boy looked around with dazed eyes.

All of the furniture–a chair, desk, lamp, boxes–was scattered and overturned as though something just rampaged through; yet a coating of dust lined everything. A couple mice scurried away and watched the intruder from the shadows.

A dreadful chill blew in from the shattered windows that made the goosebumps on his skin raise. A heavy frost tinged the sharp glass and nearby walls.

The boy turned himself out of bed. But the bed wasn’t a bed. It was oblong and laced with strips of metal. Broken glass snipped at his feet when he set them on the ground. He bent over and grabbed a pair of old sneakers hiding underneath. The soles were thin and littered with holes. To his surprise, they fit perfectly.

Something creaked nearby.

The boy jumped to his feet and made a loud crunching sound on the glass. “Who’s there?” he called out.

Only the sound of wind and a faint thumping noise responded. The concrete walls watched silently.

“Whoever’s there…” he said feebly,“…if you’re trying to scare me, I’ll kill you asshole.”

Still, no response.

He slowly advanced out of the room and into the hallway. The dusty air made it hard to breathe fully. The walls and floor were cracked, and the furniture was strewn about everywhere just like the other room. Another gust of wind whistled through the building, rattling pipes that made an otherworldly whirring sound.

The boy checked the other rooms nearby. They were empty as well. He flicked a nearby light switch but nothing happened; the building didn’t seem to have electricity.

The rest of the space was in worse condition. Two gaping holes stood in the ceiling, each one strangely the exact same size. A bleak gray sky peered down through the holes.

The upturned planks of the wooden floor creaked with every step the boy took. On the fifth step the boy lost footing and almost fell into something. After regaining his balance he looked down. Three holes pierced the floor; each one the same size as well. The holes appeared to go through every floor of the building below, all the way down until it was too dark to tell.

None of this was making sense. Why was his memory so hazy? He knew he wasn’t dreaming, but there was no way this could all be real. He took several deep breaths and choked on the air. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

The sound of clinking metal came from outside the window. The rattling noise started slowly, then quickly ramped up into a booming pattern of grinding metal that enveloped the entire building.

The boy covered his ears. The sound was earsplitting. He looked up at the nearby door for an escape. He took a few steps to leave when the floor suddenly collapsed. His legs slammed into the wooden floor and he began sliding toward an unknown mass pulling him down.

The metal grinding noise drowned out everything now. Meanwhile planks of wood, brick, and furniture flew about everywhere.

The boy continued sliding downward until he felt himself about to fall. He managed to grab ahold of a long metal pipe protruding from one of the walls. His body swung around and smacked against something hard; it sent a terrible pain up his back, but he held on. Now he was facing away from the wall and could see the source of the mayhem.

It was a monster. A metal one. It had two long arms made of rusted steel beams that looked haphazardly put together; they punched away at the building rapidly. It had a wide body, also made of rusted metal, with several wires wrapped around it that let out fiery sparks with every movement. A large ball of metal made up its head, with two beaming headlights forming its eyes.

The boy stared at the metal creature with unbelieving eyes. Even with his hazy memory he was sure he’d never seen anything like it.

The pipe snapped.

Cold wind tore at the boy as he fell several stories in seconds; he yelled in helpless terror. The wind threatened to suffocate him.

A sharp sound of metal struck the air. The boy landed on something hard. He coughed severely as the air went out of his lungs, but even so, he couldn’t believe that he’d hit the ground so quickly. Even more, that he was still alive.

“Who are you?” a husky voice said.

The boy opened his eyes and looked around to see where the voice came from. It was loud, as if it came from a loudspeaker.

“Over here ya idiot!”

Confused, he turned around. The voice was coming from the monster. And then he realized he hadn’t landed on the ground at all–he was inside the metal hand of the giant.

“Wh–what?” the boy mumbled.

“Well spit it out already. Who are ya? Better not be a bandit or I’ll let you fall with the rest of the building!”

It suddenly came to him. “It’s Ryan. My name… it’s Ryan Locke.”

The voice didn’t say anything back. Instead, a loud whooshing sound came from the head of the monster. Its metal face began to split into four parts, until slowly it revealed a small alcove hidden within.

Ryan peered closer. There was something moving inside.

A series of grunts and clicking noises sounded from inside the dark alcove. Then a shadowy figure came to the foreground. It took a moment for Ryan’s eyes to adjust from the glowing eyes of the metal monster.

It was a man. He was short, middle-aged, and had a rounded belly. He didn’t look like a threat. In fact, he looked quite warm. There was a strange familiarity about him that Ryan didn’t understand.

The man cocked his head to the side. “By the two moons of Earth, it really is you.” He chuckled and put both hands on his waist. “Welcome back ya little slug.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Creative writing, short story: Metal Bound – [ Part 1 ]