In the flickering half-light of a dingy parking garage, two monstrous creatures stood bathed in the harsh glow of a single overhead bulb, their forms pulsing with an otherworldly energy that seemed to hum in the still air. The larger of the two loomed like a nightmare given shape—a grotesque, bear-like beast warped beyond recognition. Its massive frame was marred with deep, ragged scars, and jagged, needle-thin spikes jutted from its hunched back like splinters of bone. Its mouth overflowed with too many teeth, blood slicking its lips and dripping from its snarling maw as if it had devoured something it could never quite finish. In front of it crouched a smaller, hyena-like creature, but no less horrifying. Its wiry body rippled with tension, ready to pounce, and its elongated snout curled in a wicked, unnatural grin. Like its larger counterpart, slender spikes protruded from its spine, twitching slightly as if alive. The shadows clung to it like a second skin, its shape flickering at the edges, almost refusing to stay fully formed. See more