The Keepers

Chapter 1: Faint Sounds

He woke to the sound of clicking.

It was faint at first, almost delicate—the dry tapping of fingernails against glass. Still half asleep, he assumed rain had begun to strike the bedroom window.

Then the clicking came from beside his bed.

His eyes opened.

Three enormous creatures stood over him.

Their bodies resembled insects, but no insect should have been that large. Their narrow limbs bent at sharp angles, and pale moonlight glistened across shells as dark as burned wood. Thin feelers moved above their heads, testing the air. Their mouths twitched constantly, producing the chittering sound that had dragged him from sleep.

One of them leaned closer.

He screamed.

He screamed until his throat burned and his lungs emptied. He kicked away his blankets and pushed himself against the headboard, searching blindly for something he could use as a weapon.

The creatures reacted with surprising fear.