Crybaby - Chapter Six
Chapter Six of the blockbuster new novel, Crybaby by best selling, multi-award-winning author Mark Watson...
CRYBABY
©Copyright 2024 by Mark Watson
CHAPTER 6
The Post Office
The village beggars sprawled across the roof of the Post Office, deep in slumber, when Crybaby stormed back into town and unleashed his fury on the Police Station. Their makeshift camp was a chaotic mess—sleeping mats and tattered sheets, their only real possessions, lay beneath a filthy, ragged tarp held up by a haphazard collection of sticks and rusted metal they had scavenged or stolen. This pitiful shelter offered minimal protection from the rain as they drank, slept, argued, and fought. All were alcoholics to varying degrees, forming a wretched and degenerate group that would be hard to surpass in squalor. At this late hour, most were either fast asleep or passed out in a drunken stupor.
When Crybaby burst out of the forest and smashed through the main entrance of the Police Station, the thunderous noise roused one of the beggars. He quickly shook the others awake, eager to share the spectacle. As Crybaby relentlessly battered the station, causing it to groan and tilt under the assault, the beggars stood up, wide-eyed, cheering the beast on with drunken enthusiasm. Crybaby then turned and rammed into the side wall, delivering a final, mighty blow that brought the entire back section of the station crashing down. The roof caved in as the supports gave way, and the beggars erupted in a loud, triumphant cheer, reveling in the destruction.
As Crybaby's relentless assault on the building continued, the three men inside pounded on the door with growing fear and desperation.
"Stand back!" shouted Nisheed, before using the butt of his rifle to smash at the door panels. Just then, the building gave one final, ominous tilt, and with a massive groan, it began to collapse. In that instant, the door burst open, the hinges snapping off with a sound like pistol shots. Nisheed, Raj and Jack shoved their way through the door, tumbling out of the entrance just as the building crumbled into a heap of rubble behind them.
The beast, satisfied with the destruction, let out a triumphant trumpet before lumbering away, leaving the station reduced to a pile of debris and dust.
But Crybaby wasn’t done yet. The massive elephant slowly turned, fixing its gaze on the other large building—the Post Office—and the noisy little crowd of beggars, who were still jumping and cheering on the roof. The beggars' revelry abruptly ceased as they watched in horror while the enormous beast locked onto them and charged. Its huge ears flapped wildly as it thundered forward, massive legs pounding the ground and causing the building to tremble and shake as it swiftly closed the distance.
Though the Post Office was roughly the same size as the Police Station, it was far less sturdy. Crybaby barreled into the outer wall, his colossal, domed head smashing through it as if it were made from tissue. The wall crumbled under the impact, offering no resistance as the elephant plowed through the entire interior of the building. The momentum carried him straight through to the far wall, which exploded outward under the force of his charge.
A few of the more agile beggars managed to leap off the roof just in time, but most were caught in the devastation as the entire structure collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.
Jack, Nisheed, and Raj lay stunned on the ground outside the collapsed station, their bodies coated in a thick layer of dust. Nisheed was the first to move; he shook off the debris and quickly pulled Jack and Raj to their feet. They barely had time to regain their senses when they saw Crybaby smash into the Post Office, obliterating it with a single, unstoppable charge. The massive elephant smashed through the building without slowing, bringing the entire structure down in a thunderous crash as people desperately leaped off the roof in a futile attempt to escape.
"Those people...?" Jack stammered, his voice trembling. "Who?" He struggled to make sense of the chaos unfolding before his eyes.
Nisheed, still clutching the rifle, and Raj, now drawing his pistol, watched in horror as the elephant rampaged through the wreckage. Crybaby had turned his attention to the fallen beggars, mercilessly trampling on their bodies with his enormous feet. The entire town was shrouded in a thick fog of dust, which clung to the humid air and made it difficult to see. Through the swirling haze, the screams of the beggars echoed, as Crybaby smashed their heads with brutal efficiency.
Nisheed raised his rifle, but quickly realized the magazine was missing. Raj aimed his pistol at the carnage, but the thick dust and the proximity of the survivors made it impossible to take a clear shot. Even if he could, Raj doubted that his small bullets would do anything to stop the massive beast.
Jack wasn’t waiting around to find out. Without a word, he turned and fled into the forest, abandoning the two policemen who remained frozen in place, helplessly watching as Crybaby continued his rampage through the debris of the Post Office, mercilessly killing any survivors who had managed to escape the initial destruction.
Huddled behind a section of smashed wall, one of the beggars, his hands trembling with fear, fumbled desperately with a small bag. His heart pounded in his chest as he pulled out a handful of firecrackers, his last, desperate hope. With shaky hands, he tried to ignite them using a battered lighter, his fingers slipping as he mumbled incoherently to himself, his fear growing with each failed attempt.
Peeking over the low wall, he caught sight of Crybaby, the massive elephant now turning its attention toward him, its dark eyes locking onto his trembling form. The beast lumbered closer, each step crushing the bodies of his broken friends beneath its enormous feet. Panic surged through the beggar as he frantically tried to ignite the lighter, the sparks flickering weakly but failing to catch.
Finally, one lucky spark caught the fuse, and the firecrackers began to sizzle and smoke. In a desperate act, the beggar threw the crackling firecrackers directly at Crybaby's face as the beast bore down on him, the explosive projectiles flying through the air as the elephant advanced.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The firecrackers exploded in Crybaby's face, the sudden bursts of light and sound shocking the massive elephant. For a brief moment, the beast seemed to shrink back, shaking its head in confusion as it stumbled a few steps in retreat. Sensing an opportunity, the beggar scrambled to his feet and tried to make a run for the forest. But his escape was clumsy; he was still groggy from the alcohol he'd consumed before the chaos began. He managed only a few unsteady steps before his foot caught on a piece of debris, sending him crashing to the ground.
Crybaby's confusion quickly turned to rage, the stinging flashes from the firecrackers only fueling its fury. Now more enraged than ever, the elephant advanced slowly, its massive form looming over the fallen beggar. Desperation gripped the man as he realized he had no more firecrackers, only the lighter still clenched in his trembling hand. In a last-ditch effort, he flicked the lighter and sparked it in Crybaby's face.
For a split second, the elephant hesitated, momentarily startled by the small flame. But Crybaby quickly sensed there was no longer any real threat. With a deliberate and menacing pace, it stepped forward, raising one of its enormous feet and positioning it directly over the man's chest. The beggar's eyes widened in terror as the elephant's foot came down with crushing force, its full weight—five tonnes or more—bearing down on him. The man's torso crumpled under the immense pressure, his body crushed like an insect beneath a steel-toed boot.
“What are we going to do, man?” Raj yelled at his boss, panic thick in his voice. “It’s going to wreck the whole fucking village!”
Nisheed remained silent for a moment, his mind racing as he watched the massive elephant continue its rampage. Then, with a quiet determination, he said, “Give me your gun.” Raj hesitated, but then handed over the pistol. There couldn’t be many bullets left, but Nisheed knew they had to try something. The only buildings left in the village were the flimsy houses, and there was no way they would withstand an assault from the enraged beast. Most were barely standing as it was, ramshackle structures that would crumble like dry leaves if Crybaby decided to continue his destruction. The consequences would be too horrific to imagine.
As the elephant tore through the village’s two main buildings, the noise of the destruction had awakened many of the villagers. In a state of panic, they fled their homes, streaming out into the surrounding forest, desperate to escape the carnage.
Crybaby, now having obliterated the Post Office, turned his attention to the village's old van parked nearby. The elephant's massive trunk battered the vehicle, slamming down on it with shattering force. Crybaby then raised one of its enormous, tree-trunk-like legs and brought it down on the van’s bonnet. The tires exploded with a deafening bang, and the metal crumpled like tinfoil under the beast's weight.
“Get to the forest!” Nisheed ordered, his voice barely audible over the chaos. He passed the rifle to Raj.
Raj hesitated for a moment, casting one last, uncertain look at his boss before turning and fleeing into the forest.
Nisheed, now alone, took a deep breath and cocked the pistol and began waving his arms frantically, trying to get the elephant’s attention.
“Hey!” he yelled, his voice straining with desperation. “Hey, you big ugly bastard!”
His shouts echoed through the air as he continued waving, trying to draw the attention of the massive, terrifying creature.
He yelled again, “HEY!” This time, his voice seemed to slice through the air, reverberating in the sudden, eerie silence, as though he had shouted in a temple. The world around him fell still, the chaos momentarily suspended, and for that brief moment, it felt as if his voice was the only sound in existence. Crybaby, its huge head swinging slowly from side to side as it searched for more targets, caught sight of Nisheed. The beast paused, lifting its head and turning to face him, its eyes, black in the night, locking onto the police chief.
For a moment, Nisheed froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel the weight of the elephant’s gaze, its sheer size and power making him feel small and insignificant. He lowered his head briefly, letting out a shaky breath. In that fleeting moment, he closed his eyes and whispered a quick prayer.
With a roar of defiance, he charged directly at the elephant.
His hand trembled as he raised the pistol, squeezing the trigger with desperate hope. A few shots rang out, though he wasn’t sure if they struck the massive elephant or not. He thought he saw one ricochet off the beast’s enormous domed head, but the elephant didn’t flinch. It stood there, unmoving, like a statue carved from ancient stone.
He fired again, but the gun clicked uselessly, the chamber empty. Nisheed was still charging toward the elephant, now just a few paces away. He skidded to a stop, out of breath and out of bullets. In a fit of futile rage, he hurled the empty gun at the elephant. It clattered harmlessly off the creature's massive skull, leaving no mark.
Crybaby, lumbered forward, each step causing dust to billow off its back. Its breath came in heavy clouds, steaming the cool night air. The head constable, trembling with fear, instinctively raised his hands as if to ward off the enormous beast. His legs quivered so violently he feared they would give out beneath him, yet somehow he remained standing. He locked eyes with the beast and saw his doom reflected there. The elephant’s eyes were dark and full of malice, a well of hate and violence that chilled Nisheed to his core.
Without warning, the elephant surged and with a swift, brutal tilt of its massive head, it drove a huge, bloody tusk through Nisheed’s chest, lifting him into the air like a rag doll. Nisheed’s hands beat weakly against the elephant’s face, but the beast shook him violently until he slid down the tusk, coming face to face with the monstrous creature.
He died there, impaled on that enormous, cruel tusk.
The elephant held him aloft for what seemed like an eternity, then finally lowered its head and let the lifeless body drop to the ground. It stood over the corpse, staring down at it with cold, dark eyes. Then, with deliberate, crushing force, the elephant rolled its massive bulk over the body, again and again, until nothing remained but a mangled, bloody heap of rags.
At last, the elephant turned, letting out a final, thunderous roar that echoed through the night. Then, with a slow, deliberate gait, it disappeared back into the depths of the forest.
END OF CHAPTER SIX
Next Chapter: Jack
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Loved the tension in this chapter! Crybaby is unstoppable 😰