No. 3: No Good Deed…

A character finds an odd looking egg in the woods. When they take it home, they never could have predicted what was inside it.

It was an odd thing. It was smooth to the touch and pulsed when he lay his hand on it. It thrummed under his fingers, and gave him the sense that it was trying to talk to him. He knew that this was the real world, and that this wasn’t a dragon’s egg waiting to hatch and lead him to a great destiny, but it was an egg. He didn’t know what kind of egg or even guess of what kind of creature would lay such a thing, but he was quite sure that it was an egg.

He took a great deal of time getting the egg home. He didn’t want to break it, and the egg was heavy. It was far heavier than something its size was supposed to be. He guessed that it had double the density of iron, but he couldn’t be sure. His kids were going to love this. He remembered their disappointment when they had worked so hard to care for a hen’s egg, only for it to fail to hatch. They had even done everything right, from keeping it warm to turning it everyday so that the chick inside wouldn’t stick to the shell.

This was a chance to make it up to them for that disappointment. This wasn’t going to be a chicken. What ever was in that egg was going to be way cooler.

He got it threw the door of the old house and leaned against the wall. He wasn’t a young man anymore. He didn’t like to think of himself as getting older, but sometimes, the world had a way of reminding him. The kids, thankfully, hadn’t come home from school yet. That gave him sometime to get things set up and surprise them.

He tossed the laundry from the good wicker basket. His wife was going to be pissed, but it was going to be worth it. He used the softest foam and lined it with the best rags in the house. To complete this little nest, he dug out the old Hudson’s bay blanket. This blanket hadn’t been used in years, but it was clean and soft and gave the nest a wholesome feel that he liked.

The kids loved the egg, right from the start and the egg loved them. His wife, wasn’t thrilled and left the thing alone. He placed the egg in the courner of the parlor, where it would be out of the way and where the fire would keep it from getting too cold.

The egg’s thrumming grew in volume as the seasons past. It glowed brighter as time went on as well. Sometimes they could see something moving inside when it glowed.

The kids took turns each night to read to the creature inside. They showed it their toys and told it all about their day. They asked him everyday, when it would hatch and he always told him that he didn’t know, because he didn’t know what kind of egg it was. It could be any of a hundred wonderful things. It could be a dinosaur, a dragon, a golden eagle. Guessing what would come out of the egg became a game which they shared.

One day, in the middle of winter, the egg dimmed and lost it’s glow. He placed his hand on the shell and felt something move inside. The egg rocked as the creature within struck the inside of the shell hard beneath his touch. The kids were still in school, it was the last day before the winter break. He hoped that they wouldn’t miss its hatching.

The egg rocked again and their was a resounding crack as the egg split open. Oh my god! It was hatching. This was it. He was going to be the first to see what kind of creature would lay such a egg.

He rushed to the kitchen and scooped his cell off the counter. He fumbled with it until he managed to get it recording video. He had to record this. He didn’t want his kids to miss it just because they had to be at school.

He focused the camera on the shaking egg. The cracks had gotten bigger and pieces of the shell had fallen away. He couldn’t tell what was inside. He stepped closer to get a clear view. The kids wear going to love this.

The egg stilled. The creature inside stilled inside the shell and paused. In one single convulsion, it heaved and the shell shattered and the creature rolled out onto the hardwood floor.

“Holy Fuck” He dropped his phone and scrambled back. It looked like a cross between a centipede and a squid. It squirmed around trailing ooze. Solid black eyes blinked and focused one him. He swallowed. “Um, hello there.”

It jumped from the floor and engulfed him. It pulled him to the ground. Like the egg, the creature was far heavier than it appeared to be and it was massively strong. He couldn’t even scream when it’s teeth found him.