The night, for all it's heated tragedy during the day, was peaceful. The trees, wilted from apocalyptic sun, roused in a lukewarm breeze. Creatures in the dark did not stir, satiated, anticipating... what? A growing storm? Indeed, a cloud had begun to gather.
A rolling thunder rumbled long for a minute after a spark of light, a fall of light. Stories of ball lightning must ring true, only this remained solid as it touched down, unseen by human eyes, in a field of carcass cows.
It was a fortunate landing for the purpose, preordained. Within the crater, soup pot of blown apart viscera began to magnetize towards the frozen shard of lightning and fire. Bit by bit, the rot and flesh closed around and hid the cyan stone, bulking, heating, cooling, repeating, till a shell akin to roast ham hide chard the center of the bowl.
Black egg cracked open in steaming slivers, a half formed hand sans skin emerged with a flex. The form, bare and barely put together, emerged in a stagger. It looked around, or at least, the attempt was made. Eye sockets there were none. A wet huff of air escaped with annoyance, a set of two stalks, glistening an unnatural violet hue, raised atop it's head. Rabbit ear antenna tuned, dowsed, determined a direction, then set off, climbing the lip of the crater and trudging across the dry grass.
It was a while before the destination was reached, a river reduced to a pitiful trickle of a stream, but it would have to do.
The anatomical venndiagram bent in front of the foot deep channel, plunging it's face into the water. A sheen of red streamed ribbons down, then retracted back. A crackle of heat, bubbles and steam, then a face sitting pretty porcelain upon red velvet emerged.
Determinable eyebrows knitted in annoyance. Bone and tendon fingers traced ligaments still unknit in the throat. Eyes could see now, appeared and worked in the skull. They scanned the trickle lit silver by green moonlight, and decided it was big enough.
Rotisserie, the creature submerged it's front, rolling slow in the stream and coating itself with the water, sponging, absorbing; in truth, as less water left as what came, building up the form more and more complete.
A human? Perhaps. There were the features, but as more liquids took on, more matter to work with, bits were added that made it clear; no. Membranes and extensions ghoulish, seen only on the sides of churches burned.
Stars shifted a centimeter before it rose from the creek bed, satisfied. Clothes had appeared, a facsimile of modesty, along with reaching pillars of flesh to rival even the grandest of the draconic. It regarded itself not with awe, but disappointment, the flaps that may be wings eyed with scrutiny.
The word hushed the lone cricket, or perhaps it died.
With a final stretch, a beat caused the figure, quite unsteadily, to rise into the air. After a bit of a struggle, the growths seemingly inadequate in their generation, a heated updraft was located and it shrank up into the sky, rejoining the cloud in a clap of lighting.
It was apparently the spark needed to complete the process, as it's flailing turned surgical slices of air currents, wheeling in a dance of testing maneuvers before sights set on distant burning lights.
No human eyes followed as it zeroed in and glided towards the abode at the edge of the fallen city.
In a tree a distance away from the houses it aligned on a branch. The gargoyle scanned the surroundings, eyes flitting from home to home, uncertainty evident.
The time in the sky had added more features, courtesy of particles afloat. Vertebra had extended to an additional tail of length that lashed in the space below. Ears had changed to pointed atop, swiveling and dishing for hints. What was it looking for?
Senses five yielded no direct answer, instead again it turned to it's other method. Eyes closed, the stalked that grew from a single point in the temple rose, a strange tremoring plant that skimmed the air for signals.
Behind eyes and all, blackness built up a world of shimmering outlines, colored hazes compartmentalized from electrical, heat, and the obscure unknown. Sonar pinged the radio waves, sensing out all nearby life, the goal, out of all one must be found. Further and further out it reached with this map, finding at last a structure teaming with colored moving shapes.
Yes, there, that's the one.
A hand pale as death reached up and rang the tail, the yelp of surprise the bell. The creature scrambled, clawed, taloned it's hold to the branch to prevent the fall. Feline, regained it's footing, arching all fours and glaring surprised what had snuck up on it.
It had been sensing life, after all, nothing should have escaped it's notice.
But then again, the dog grinning up at them, wasn't truly living, was it.
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