We call them the Gardagans. The Gardagans are tall humanoid creatures with a bald head and a face but no facial features, only a large mouth with no lips, impossibly sharp teeth, and long tongues. They tower over humans at a height of around 18 feet tall. The Gardagans have long fingers at least a foot long, maybe more. Skin thicker than a sperm whale. They wear no clothes and have no genders. Their skin has a sickening slimy blobfish look to it. Some have dark black skin, others have light white skin. There are rumors of a single gold one, but I have only seen the dark and white ones from between the wood of the boarded up windows. The dark ones are the ones that give you a slow painful death. They play with you. They enjoy your pain. They feed off of it. It entertains them. They like to watch you suffer and bleed out. But the white ones give you a quicker death, not as slow or painful but still dreadful.  But that's not the worst part. They have a taste for humans. They are everywhere. Searching for more humans to feast on. They eat nothing else. Not animals. Not plants. Only humans. They actually have a friendly relationship with animals, which I find very interesting. I watch them pet dogs that they have taken from the humans they have killed. They chase them and play fetch with them just like a human would.

I lost a friend. When this all started. Connor was my best friend. I fancied him. I wanted to tell him how I felt but didn’t know how. Then, this all happened and I lost him to a black Gardagan. He was one of us. A survivor. We were hungry and thirsty. Like the hero he is he volunteered to get us food and water. I volunteered to go with him. He didn’t want me to go with him. But I told him he couldn’t stop me if he tried. We went together. We didn’t see it until it was right on top of us. He tackled it to the ground and tried to fight it. He told me to run and not look back. He sacrificed himself to save me. I ran and his scream filled my ears. I looked behind me. He was ripped open, his organs exposed, blood pooling around him. The Gardagan eating his flesh and organs and drinking his blood. But, the thing that disgusted me the most was that the Gardagan was smiling.

I cried. I cried so hard that day. It was the worst day of my life. I loved him so much. But, he would never know. Why didn’t I just tell him how I felt? For a long time I blamed his death on myself. I tried not to make friends because I didn’t want to lose anyone else close to me. I wished that the Gardagans would just disappear.

A few years after I lost Connor an old man named Marty knocked on our door. This was a big surprise because at the time we were or at least we thought we were the only survivors.  He wore raggedy torn up clothes that were stained with the dark crimson red color of blood. He was tall for his age and stood up straight. He had a long white beard that would make Dumbldore jealous and looked a lot like Gandalf. We let him stay, but after he felt comfortable in our temporary hideout he started talking nonsense. He had a voice like Scrooge McDuck. He went on and on everyday to anyone that cared enough to listen that we brought this on ourselves. He talked about how the gods were punishing us for our sins. Years passed and less people listened to him. Soon everyone stopped listening. Except me. I listened just to keep him company, because just like him, I was lonely too. 

We used to move around to different buildings so that the Gardagans couldn't find us. We don’t do that anymore because their numbers have gone up. These days we stay in an abandoned school. The doors are kept locked and the windows are boarded up.  Have a feeling the Gardagans know we are here. Like I said nowhere is safe, not even this school. They will come for us. We have just been lucky that they haven't attacked yet. 

Gardagans are everywhere. We have only a few week's worth of food and water. Everyone is hungry and thirsty. People are dying. When this apokalips first started we had 1,000 survivors. Over the years we’ve lost many. Now we only have 30 survivors left. Out of the 30 survivors many are young, the oldest person is Marty and the youngest is me. I am 15 years old. Marty likes to call me Little Fionna. I hate it when he calls me that and he knows that. 

Our  food will only last us 18 days. We are all desperate. Some of the men have gone to search in nearby houses for more food and water. They haven’t come back. I don’t think they will. 

The men haven’t come back yet. The wives of those men are praying hoping they come back. But if anything that Marty says is true, the gods will not answer those prayers. I pity those poor women. 

The men never came back. The 30 survivors that we had went down to 27 survivors. Tummies were rumbling and everyone was desperate. This time 2 teenage boys left. I already knew they were not coming back. I cried. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I was sick and tired of watching people leave and never come back.

Only one of the boys came back. But he had no food, only horrible wounds. As soon as he walked in he collapsed to the ground. Blood spilling out of the wounds. The women hurried towards him and carried him to the school’s nurses office. I followed them. They set him on a table and cut his shirt off. I didn’t know this boy’s name. But he looked around 15-17.He had a deep wound that started from his chest and ended at his belly button. It looked like one of them tried to eat him. But, how did he escape? Did his friend give him time to escape? Possibly that's the only answer. They must have not gotten far from the school to get all the way back here alive. This boy is very lucky to be alive. 

I learned that the boy's name was Randy. He was 16 years old. His friend Jacob was 17. Randy was attacked by a white Gardagan. Jacob attacked the monster giving Randy time to escape. Jacob unfortunately, didn’t make it. Jacobs' actions reminded me of Connor. I looked at Randy’s wounded body and cried. 

More people died from hunger and thirst, we had little food and portions were only enough to quiet the rumble of our stomachs but not enough to stop the hunger all together. Only 23 survivors were left. Everyone had lost hope. Marty ran screaming that the gods were furious with us. Everyone was surprised that Marty was still alive. Marty is 60 years old. We left all the bodies in the cafeteria. Noone goes in there anymore. Mostly because of the feeling of depression that is in the air, but also because of the terrible stench of rotting corpses. 

Everyone is terribly skinny. Bones visible under the skin. Everyone was skin and bone. 

Only 20 survivors. Randy and Marty were part of those survivors. Nobody wanted to leave to get more food. The food was going down. The portions are getting smaller. Everyone has just accepted their fate and are waiting to die of thirst and hunger. 

I watch the Gardagans that are on the playground of the school. They walk so casually. They know that we are here, that part is obvious. But, why don’t they attack? 

Another day has passed. Nobody has died, yet. 

Gardagans are everywhere. They just smile up at the windows and walk around like they have no care in the world. Why don’t they just come in here and kill us all? At least that would be better than slowly starving to death. 

Only 18 people remain alive. Marty has gotten sick. Randy and I have gotten close. I promised I would never have any friends but I am lonely. 

 Randy is a pretty cool guy. He reminds me of Connor. He is sweet, caring, and brave. He tells me everyday that if he could he would feed all the remaining survivors a feast and kill all the Gardagans. If only we could.

I am so starving. We are down to 15 survivors. Marty has gotten worse but I don’t think he will die. Marty is strong. I am growing sick and tired of waiting to die. I have the urge to walk outside and wait for the Gardagans to be all over me. 

The Gardagans know we are hungry which is why they aren’t attacking. The Gardagans want us to starve to death. But why? This is very unusual for them. They normally don’t eat already dead humans. Then it came to me.

What if this is the work of the gold Gardagan. The single gold Gardagan. Their leader. Telling them to taunt us with their presence. Smile up at us knowing that we would die. Knowing we would be too weak to fight. In this situation we have two options. Starve to death in here or get eaten alive by Gardagans out there. Either way we die. 

Marty is pale and I begin to worry. What if he doesn’t make it? He has been my only friend for a long time. I held back my tears and looked out the window. One black Gardagan that was stalking past, near the window, seemed to sniff the air. Then, it turned its head towards me. I grimaced as it slowly smiled widely. Exposing its impossibly sharp teeth dripping blood, flesh and skin stuck in between its fangs. It let its long tongue dangle out of its mouth. The tongue slithered and swayed like a snake. A hungry look on its face as it waved at me with its disgusting, black, slimy hand. Its long claw-like nails stained with the dark crimson color of blood. I ran to the school bathroom and threw up. 

Two people left. They couldn’t take it anymore. They let themselves be killed by the Gardagans. Is that the Gardagans plan? Wait till we starve so we walk out to get ourselves killed on our own. The Gardagans have grown very smart. 

Marty is very sick. A lot of the survivors don’t think he is going to make it. I tell them he will. I pray he will. Randy reassures me that Marty is a strong old man. I sure hope he lives. 

There is only enough food to feed 3 people. There are 10 survivors left. Seven girls and three boys. The cafeteria is filled with dead bodies. On the tables. On the floors. The dead bodies of survivors who have died of age but most are the survivors who have died of starvation. Among all the 1,000 survivors that there has been the oldest survivor is Marty. No survivor has lived that long the second oldest died at only 40 years old. Due to the lack of food and water many die young. 

Marty is still alive. But, I am afraid he won’t be for much longer. He is pale and skinny. Another day has passed. Eleven days without food and water. I am surprised I am even alive. Randy is surprised he is alive too. Everyone is miserable. The hissing sounds of the Gardagans outside is driving everyone crazy. All you can hear is the grumbles of tummies mixed with the terrifying loud hiss of the Gardagans. Enough to drive one insane. I am going mad. I almost ran outside but Randy stopped me. Randy convinced me that starving to death in here was a lot better than being eaten alive out there. I wasn’t sure I believed that but I really liked him so I listened to him. 

Marty’s breathing is slow and thin. He is barely conscious at all. I worry about him and pray to the gods he will be ok. But, I’ve lost a lot of fellow survivors to know that he will most likely die. It pains me to know that there is nothing that we can do to save him. We just don’t have the resources. I kiss Marty on the cheek and cuddle up next to his unconscious body for the whole night. 

When I woke up the next morning I screamed. Marty stopped breathing entirely. His chest was not rising nor falling to indicate breathing. His eyes were closed and his lips were in the form of a small smile. As if he was having a pleasant dream. He looked blissful. I burst into tears. Nobody else looked sorrowful except Randy. Nobody even looked surprised. But, they all saw this coming. They all knew he wasn’t going to make it. What surprised them more was that he lived that long without any food and water. Randy hugged me while I cried. I didn’t stop crying. I ended up crying myself to sleep that night. The survivors that were left tried to carry his body to the cafeteria with the rest of the dead bodies but I would not let them. I cried into Marty’s long white beard until I finally fell asleep, Randy cuddling up next to me. 

I woke up early, way before anyone else. I carefully shuffled around Randy, who was sleeping beside me. I crept passed all the sleeping bodies and tipped toed towards the locked door and unlocked it. I slowly opened it and walked outside. I didn’t bother closing the door behind me. There were Gardagans everywhere. There were millions of them. Perhaps billions. Then, they all turned in my direction. They all rushed in my direction. I closed my eyes and spread my arms out as I waited to be eaten by the billions of Gardagans that ran towards my direction. But, instead of being eaten alive I was knocked to the ground. My head crashed into the concrete and I lost consciousness. 

My eyes slowly fluttered open. My head throbbed. My vision was a bit blurred. I blinked rapidly until my vision cleared. I slowly got to my feet. Then, I looked around. That’s when I realized I was surrounded by Gardagans. They all were smiling ear to ear. Teeth and all. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It didn’t feel like a human hand. I looked down on my shoulder and I saw the long fingers of a Gardagan. But, this hand didn’t belong to a black Gardagan or a white Gardagan. This Gardagan hand was gold in color. The fingers seemed to be longer than a regular Gardagan. It also had longer and sharper nails that resembled dragon claws. I turned around slowly and right in front of me was the gold Gardagan.

The gold Gardagan smiled with it’s sharper teeth. I shuddered at the horrid sight. My eyes went wide with horror. Then, it did something unexpected. It licked my cheek like a dog would and kept smiling it’s creepy little smile. I tried to push away and escape, but it held me tight with a strong grip that I could not escape no matter how hard I tried. 

“What do you want from me!” I screamed. My voice sounded strange to me. Foreign. Like it did not belong to me, but to some other girl. I hadn't spoken to anyone since Connor died. I refused to, so no one would notice me or try to talk to me. Not like anyone would. Rarely anyone speaks. Only when they really need to. 

“So you can speak.” The gold Gardagan hissed. It’s voice sounded like it belonged to a snake. It spoke in a hissed voice. It’s s’s were drawn out, and it spoke slowly, casually. “Don’t worry I won’t hurt you, please, speak child.” 

“Wh-what do you want? What h-have you done to the s-survivors?” I whispered. 

“Please do speak up child.” The Gardagan smiled. 

“Did you kill them?” I asked a bit louder. 

“Kill who? I’ve killed a lot of people. You’re going to have to be a lot more specific than that sweetie.”

“The rest of the survivors.” 

“Ha! I would hardly call them survivors. Unless slowly starving to death is what you humans call surviving.” The Gardagan laughed. Or what I thought was laughing. It was a loud fit of hisses and other weird sounds. It was the scariest thing I have ever heard. 

“Did you or did you not kill them?” I demanded. 

“Yes. In fact I did. And they were quite delicious.” The Gardagan recalled. Randy…I left the door open. It’s all my fault.  I thought. 

“Yes it is your fault my dear.” 

“Of course you can read minds.” I mumbled. “Can you please just kill me now.” 

“I’ll do better than that darling. I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to turn you.” 

“Turn me.” 

“Into one of us.” 

“Why? Why me?”

“Because you are the one who suffered the most. Feed off of your suffering. Drink it, embrace it. Love it. That's what I did when I was turned.” 

Turn me into one of them! That is worse than getting brutally killed. But, what could I do to stop them? The gold Gardagan forced my mouth open and launched his tongue down my throat. I gagged, my eyes watered. Then, finally when I thought I was going to pass out he retracted his tongue. I collapsed to my knees and gasped for breath. All I could do was hopelessly watch as my legs started to grow longer and longer. My fingers stretched out and my nails turned sharp. My skin started to get dark. Then, it turned a dark black. I felt my face. My nose, ears, and lips were disappearing. My hair fell out and my skin had a slimy blobfish texture. Lastly, my eyes vanished, but I could still see clearly. I could actually see better. I could hear better and smell better. Then, I blacked out and started to forget.

“Hello.” A voice that sounded oddly familiar rang in my head. It was a slow, casual, hissy voice. 

“Who are you?” I said out loud. 

“That doesn’t matter now does it. The more important question is who are you?” The voice dragged out it’s s’s which reminded me of something that I couldn’t remember. 

“I don’t know.” 

“Do you know what a Gardagan is?” 

“Never heard of it.” 

“Do you know who Marty and Randy are?” 

“Farty and who now?” 

“Do you remember anything at all?” 

“No.” 

“Do you know what you are?” 

“No.” 

“Good.”

“What?” 

“Don’t worry child. All will be revealed. For now my child, you are one of us.”

“What are you?” 

“We are like you and you are like us. We are the same.” 

“Who are you?”

“Like I said, does it matter?”

“Who am I?”

“You are no one.” 

“What is my name?”

“You don’t have a name?”

“If I am no one and I don’t have a name, what is my purpose?” 

“You don’t have a purpose. You don’t need to have any feelings or thoughts. Those things will be taken from you shortly. All you do is eat.”

“What do I eat?” 

“You eat humans.”

“Why do you take my feelings and thoughts away?”

“They are useless to you. I take them away because they are a burden. One less thing for you to worry about.” 

“Please take them from me.” 

“Gladly my dear. Are you ready to accept your new life.” 

“Yes.” 

“Good.”