Slither - Smashwords

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SLITHER. A Niko short story by. Kayti Nika Raet. With her bat Harmony Niko carefully pushed open the door leading inside. Compared to the other buildings ...
Slither a Niko short story By Kayti Nika Raet Copyright 2013 Kayti Nika Raet Smashwords Edition All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database of retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author. This book is a work of fiction. Any names, places, character and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are purely fictions. Anny resemblances to any persons, living or dead, are completely coincidental. Smashwords Edition License Notes Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

SLITHER A Niko short story by Kayti Nika Raet With her bat Harmony Niko carefully pushed open the door leading inside. Compared to the other buildings which weren't much more than mounds of rubble this one had managed to survive the rain and its corrosive effects mostly intact. She broke open a glow stick and held it up high. Along with the normal detritus that cluttered the floor of these old buildings she could see splashes of old blood where the previous scavenger had made his escape. Most of the blood was collected by a door leading into the next room He had shoved a heavy shelf in front of it and when she set her shoulder against it barely moved. Perhaps it was a sign that she should leave. She ignored it.

It took awhile but with one last heave she shoved the blockade out of the way. Grasping the doorknob firmly in one hand and the bat in the other she pulled open the door. The fetid waft of rotting corpse crept up the stair, assaulting her senses. She swallowed and almost gagged as she took in a mouthful of the stench. Her glow stick illuminated the trail of blood descending into the darkness. She decided that opening the door had been the easy part. There was no avoiding the blood, it was everywhere, old flakes lifting up and clinging to her boots. Niko descended slowly, keeping the bat in front of her even though it would be perfectly useless in a Slither attack. No one could beat a Slither. She tried to be quiet as she followed the blood trail but it seemed like the smallest noise echoed throughout the whole enclosure, maybe she would get lucky and with no new scavengers to snack on the Slither had starved to death. The room was in disarray, obviously the poor man had tried to escape and his mangled corpse told of his failure. Breathing shallowly Niko stepped closer to his body. He lay pressed against the wall, lying at an awkward angle. Most of his clothes were shredded, obstacles to the ultimate prize. He was eviscerated, ribs broken, heart missing, death mask of utter agony. Niko crouched down. Her skin crawled with the idea of touching him but he had his partner were seasoned scavengers--- even if in the end they were both dead. He might have something on him she could use. She angled her body away from his face and accusing eyes making small sounds of disgust as she groped through stiff pockets. There wasn't much, an open granola bar, a dead glow stick and a pair of pliers. It was a pitiable haul. Frowning Niko glanced around finally spotting a discarded backpack several meters away. It looked untouched. If it didn't contain a heart Slithers weren't interested. She hurried over to the backpack letting out a tiny cheer when she discovered that it was more than halfway full. She quickly stifled it, feeling a bit disrespectful to the dead scavenger.

One of the straps were broken, cleanly sliced through by Slither claws but she could always fix that once she got home. She was busy examining the contents of the bag when she heard the first insidious little hiss. She froze, her eyes wide and darting, trying to catch as much as possible. The mattress? The overturned table? The collapsed shelving? It was all of these and none as she slowly slipped the remaining strap over her shoulder. She's stupidly left her bat by the corpse and she crept back toward it her head swiveling as she tried to keep sight of everything at once. She reached the bat at the same time the Slither realized its dinner was about to make a quick escape. It burst out from behind the table. She screamed nearly landing on the corpse. Slithers were ugly things, pale with long limbs ending in sharp claws, razor teeth bulged out of its mouth disturbingly large and a small, dazed corner of her mind wondered how it managed to eat anything with teeth so huge. It showed her. She picked her bat and ran. It was the worse thing to do. No one ever escaped a Slither. Not ever. Okay, maybe sometimes if one had a partner to ditch, a goody for the Slither to snack on. She had no such goodies, it wasn't like she carried around human hearts on a regular. She pounded up the stairs, the Slither right behind her, safety in five, four, three--It wrapped sharp claws around her ankle. She went down hard, bashing her chin on the edge of the step. She was going to die in the exact same spot the man had, by the exact same Slither, wearing the exact same backpack, leaving Sam to take care of her brothers, which was exactly what she didn't want. Niko screamed as the Slither dragged her down several steps. She twisted around and with her free foot bashed it in its grinning face. It uttered a surprised squawk and reeled backward dragging her down the last few steps. She landed in a heap; the Slither less so. She was still going to die.

The Slither charged at her again. This time she didn't run. She barely thought, gripping the bat in both hands and slamming it into the Slither's head. A shudder went through the wood. The Slither collapsed. Niko had already darted up a few steps before she realized it wasn't moving. She slowly turned back around. The monster lay still, its head was misshapen and black blood coated her baseball bat. Her knees trembled. No. Slithers did not die-- at least not by human hands. They attacked people, they terrorized people, they ate people. They were stronger, faster, and impervious to the acid rain. Humans could not kill Slithers. But she'd just did. She backed up a step then turned and ran up the stairs as if the Slither was still alive. She slammed the door close and shoved the shelf back in front. It was only when she stood there panting that she realized she had left her glow stick downstairs. The Twilight gloom pressed against her and Niko shivered. She'd gotten what she came for, her brothers wouldn't starve. All that she needed to do was get home before the Slithers came out. At that last thought she laughed out loud.

### Thank you for reading this short story set three years before the events of NIKO (available as an ebook May 2013). Liked it? Hated it? Gloriously meh? Please tell everyone your opinion by leaving a review and sharing this story with your friends.

Can't wait for more? Visit http://KNRwrites. tumblr.com for updates, chapter excerpts and other fun goodies.

About the Author Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Kayti Nika Raet moved down South when she was 11 where she was bit by the writing bug as well as other less friendly insects. She the author of the upcoming YA dystopia, NIKO, available May 2013. She's also the script writer for an upcoming tablet game featuring romance hungry aliens. Her procrastination aids are reading, K-pop, and photography. Kayti lives in Milledgeville, Georgia. Visit her online at http://KNRwrites. tumblr.com, TheOutsiderChronicles.tumblr.com,or email her at KNRwrites(at)gmail(dot)com