The Inhuman Beast

            Harold Klein led a boring, bland existence, by choice. He liked being under the radar and not having to deal with people. His job at Apex Megacorp was perfect for him. His small and unassuming frame allowed him to blend into the faceless corporate aesthetic. He worked in a large office where he sat in one of many cubicles and didn’t have to communicate with his colleagues, at least he tried not to. Every now and then he needed to talk with his immediate supervisor when things didn’t work out on his end of things. He’s one person in a large group of people invoicing and cataloging incoming shipments of scrap metal that moves through the companies’ recycling and raw materials division. 

            He also wasn’t big on technology. Harold didn’t have a cell phone or internet in his apartment. He’s the only employee that gets a paper check that he walks to the bank every other Friday. He uses his lunch hour to walk the two blocks uptown to his bank; it’s a ritual that he loves to do. On his off Fridays, he still makes the trip because he likes eating his lunch in the park. This day is a bank day and Harold punches out and grabs his jacket.

            As he made the two-block trek he mumbled to himself about all the bills he’ll need to take care of when he gets home. He also thought about prepping meals for his lunch and dinner for the upcoming week. Harold, lost in thought, opened the door to the bank, but he didn’t notice the three big men in overcoats and masks. They pushed him aside and stormed into the bank lobby. One of the men pulled a baseball sized device from his coat and threw it in the air. It went up a few feet and hung in the air, then released a small explosion. Every electronic device in the lobby snapped and fizzled out.

            “Everyone on the ground and no one will get hurt,” one of the men said as he pulled a large weapon from under his coat and aimed it at the ceiling. He pulled the trigger, and a ball of energy flew out of the barrel and blew a giant hole in it. “Do I need to tell you again what to do?”

            The crowded bank panicked, and everyone dropped to the floor. The man who shot the ceiling made his way to the teller’s window as the other two stood back and watched to make sure no one tried to be a hero. Harold is frozen with shock. This isn’t how his day was supposed to go. He was going to go see Stacy, his favorite teller, and have a little small talk while she deposited is check then he was going to go down the street and have lunch in the park. One of the men watching the crowd, now hostages, turned and saw Harold standing in the middle of the lobby.

            “Hey, dweeb. On the floor with the rest of them” He walked over and poked Harold in the gut with the barrel of his weapon. Harold looked around and walked over to the desk where the deposit slips and pens were. “I said get on the ground, now!”

            “I have to deposit my check,” Harold said as if this was just an ordinary day. “I have things to do.”

            “So do I,” The man said. He aimed his weapon at Harlod and fired. A ball of energy flew out and hit him in the chest. Harold was thrown through the table and into the far wall of the lobby. People screamed in terror as they all covered their heads.

            The man at the teller’s booth turned and looked to see what happened. “I hope you all know we aren’t fooling around.” He turned back to the teller and put his weapon in her face. “Now fill the bags with money and no funny business.”

            Harold liked living a boring life. He didn’t want adventure or even a little surprise in his life. He liked his routine. It kept him safe, and even more, it kept the rest of the world safe. As he lay on the floor, he looked down and saw a hole burned into his favorite shirt. The one he always wore to the bank to talk to Stacy. He turned his head and saw that she had one of the thieves holding his gun at her and she was terrified. Now he was going to have to do something he didn’t want to do.

            Harold stood up and checked his back pocket. The check was still there. He took a deep breath, and a ring of purple fire formed around him. Smoke began to rise from the fire, and he let out a scream of pain. He looked down and saw his skin start to bubble and crack. The fire closed in around him and in a matter of seconds he was consumed by it. The three men stopped what they were doing and watched.

            “What happened?” The man at the teller’s booth asked.

            “I don’t know. This never happened before,” the man who shot Harold said.

            “I really wish you wouldn’t have done that,” a voice from the fire said. It was a deep voice with a chilling echo. “Now you must deal with me. Remember, you brought this on yourselves.”

            The man who shot Harold moved towards to the fire, now a flaming pillar of purple flames and smoke, and shot into it. When nothing seemed to happen, he moved a little closer thinking that might help. He aimed his weapon at the pillar of fire, but before he could shoot, an enormous arm burst through the flames. It grabbed him with a hand with only four fingers and six inches long claws. The fire stopped immediately and there stood a monster that looked like it came straight from hell itself. He stood at least nine feet tall with crimson colored skin and glowing purple eyes and horns growing out of his head. He roared as he threw the man across the room and through the wall of the bank. His mangled and broken body landed with a wet thud.

            “Shoot it,” the robber said to the one standing in the back of the lobby. The man obeyed and fired several shots at him. It didn’t stop him. The energy bolts were absorbed into the creature and with speed and agility not expected from a monster his size, he closed the distance to the shooter and swatted him like a bug. The glass doors exploded as he flew through them. The man fell to the ground and rolled down the sidewalk finally coming to rest looking like an old, twisted ragdoll.

            “I don’t know what you are, and I don’t care,” the remaining robber said, “but I am going to send you back to hell and then walk out with my money.” He turned his weapon towards the monster and fired. He pulled the trigger as fast as he could and hit the creature with several rounds of energy bolts. After about a full minute of him firing, the gun started to make a beeping noise, and it shut down. The man looked at the gun and then up at the creature. Nothing he did affected it. He threw the gun down and started to run for the emergency exit.

            “You have chosen a hard life for yourself,” the creature said as it moved quickly to block the exit. “You could have done anything with your life. You chose a life of crime. Now the consequences of your actions are on your head.” The creature held out his hand and a ball of fire shot forward. It struck the man and immediately turned him to dust.

            The monster looked around and saw everyone looking up at him. He snorted and let out a growl then stomped his foot, and the ring of fire returned. This time when it died down, Harold was standing in the middle. Still wearing the shirt with a hole burned into it. He pulled his paycheck out of his pocket and walked over to Stacy the teller. He tried to smooth out what was left of his shirt and gave her a smile as he walked up to the counter.

            “What a day,” he said as he handed her his paycheck. “Sometimes I just don’t understand why people do the things they do.” Stacy nodded and took his check. She had a shocked expression that didn’t leave. As if on autopilot, she went through the motions and deposited the check. She handed Harold a receipt and he nodded as he took it from her. “Thank you, Stacy. See you in two weeks.”

            Harold stepped around the debris from the fallen ceiling and the people that were still on the floor covering their heads. He looked back and shook his head. He wished he didn’t have to do that. He hated to lose control and let the beast out, but they were threatening not just the innocent people, but Stacy as well. He wasn’t going to let that slide. Thankfully, the blast the robbers set when they walked in only destroyed the surveillance cameras and all the cell phones in the area. He gave one last wave to Stacy as he walked out. He was going to have to skip lunch and go home to change his shirt. He loved that shirt.