ANGELIC

Book exerpt (from chapter 3:4):

One moment, he was squeezing the trigger. The very next heartbeat, he was slammed into a nearby building with enough force that it felt like he was a bug slammed into the windshield of a tractor trailer.

He didn't even notice the spikes until the next heartbeat when he didn't fall to the pavement. The thing's new arm had shot out and impaled him - razor-tipped claws through each of his shoulders and Toshi screamed then as his weight came down fully on them.

{Wh3rz oth3rz?} it asked, the arm compressing as it approached him, sidling up close in an obscene parody of intimacy. (4spX 7r4v1 N p4x, y?} It dragged another claw up from Toshi's waist, cutting through fabric and skin, to rest over his heart.

He coughed, bright red blood spattering on the fatty sheen of the thing's arm. The impact into the wall had broken something inside of him and all Toshi could taste in the back of his throat was blood and bile. "I have no..fucking idea.. what you're.."

The creature ran it's tongue, as white and clammy as the rest of it, over the blood spattered on Toshi's chin, and then slowly drove the claw into his chest.

Each heartbeat, and it pressed a little closer and he could feel it near his heart and the thumping was so loud in his ears and (Oh, god, I'm going to finally die this time, aren't I?)

Submission by Shaker JoAskura

About the Author and Work:

A semi-regular commenter at Shakesville, JoAsakura is a maker of dolls, staffer of anime cons, erstwhile writer (and occasional artist) of indie comic books and, and has enjoyed a spectacularly mediocre side-career in voiceover whilst living with a Spouse, cats, chickens and turtles. ANGELIC, which is a bit like Harry Dresden meets Torchwood by the way of Japanese manga (tentacles optional), is a work in progress about love, hate, gender, identity and evil creatures made largely of crisco and bad intentions. With any luck, the comic-version of the story will eventually find it's way to the right publisher for this work :)

For more of ANGELIC, head over to JoAskura's Web site.