Read For Those Who Dream Monsters for Free Online

and that, in search of food; a drowned rusty bicycle;
some animal bones; a shoe; the skeletal remains of an umbrella. And beyond all
those, the battered corpse of Harry’s beloved scorpion fish, tangled up in a
white plastic bag.
    Sadness
and anger overcame Harry, replacing his confusion and fear. He made a move in
the direction of his dead pet, and found that he could glide easily through the
water. He looked down in surprise and found that a translucent pinkish membrane
had grown between his fingers. He glanced behind him, and saw that his feet
were also webbed. Just then, a strong spasm shook Harry’s body. He could tell
that something wasn’t right with his back, and then a sharp, but brief, pain
shot through his spinal column as a row of long, shiny, rainbow-coloured barbs
erupted through Harry’s mutating skin.
    With
a single deft movement of his flexible spine, Harry glided through the dank
water, disentangled the scorpion fish’s body from the plastic, and lifted it
carefully. This time its barbs didn’t pierce Harry’s hard new scale-covered
skin. Harry gazed at the little corpse for a while, then opened his unfamiliar
hand, and let the body of his pet float gently off into the dark. His anger
turned to rage and … hunger. He realised that he hadn’t eaten anything for
hours and, to his surprise, he knew exactly what it was that he hungered for.
    66
Elgin Avenue; not Elgin Road… Okay?
    The
words had somehow insinuated their way into Harry’s subconscious and now
surfaced, reverberating in his head as he navigated his way along the canals.
In his eight years as postman, he’d learned all the streets in the local area
and knew them – and the canals that crossed them – like the back of his hand …
better than the back of his hand, as his hand was now a thing of wonder: new
and strange.
    Harry
reached the canal that flowed parallel to Elgin Avenue and crawled out of the
water. He felt a little unsteady, and it was a couple of minutes before
breathing through his mouth came naturally once more. He looked around to make
sure there was no one about, and headed for Number 66; anger and hunger
hastening his steps.
    It
was late by now, and cold, and the streets were deserted, bar a black cat that
hissed at Harry from a garden fence before fleeing into the shadows. Harry
reached his destination and, finding the door unlocked, let himself in
silently. The two pet-murderers were already there: Tiny torturing some junkie
by the stove, and Frank looking on, his back to the new arrival and blissfully
ignorant of what lay in store.
    The
scaly, spiny thing that was once the local postman crept up soundlessly behind
Frank and with one deft movement ripped off his head. Blood spurted as high as
the ceiling and the creature fell upon the headless corpse, sucking and
tearing; its fine new set of razor-sharp teeth the perfect tool to facilitate
satiation of its voracious appetite.
    Tiny
was too preoccupied with filling the saucepan with water and tipping it over
the youth to notice anything untoward. But as soon as the young man regained
consciousness, his eyes alighted on the bizarre scene that was enfolding behind
the thug who’d just drenched him. As his brain worked out what his eyes were
looking at, the youth started to scream. Tiny eventually followed his gaze and
dropped the saucepan in horror. The sharp sound of the pan hitting the floor
distracted Harry temporarily from his feeding frenzy. He saw Tiny beginning to
back away, and felt himself bristle as the barbs that grew out of his back and
limbs stood upright, venom pumping into them all the way to their tips.
    Tiny
raced for the back door, but found it locked, with no key in sight. He whipped
round, saw a space between the creature and the front door, and went for it.
The thing was faster; it intercepted Tiny and flung out its arm, spines first.
Tiny winced as a giant barb pierced his shoulder. The creature held the thug at
arm’s length, watching him flap