I did a little happy dance at the end of this story when I realized it was going the Lovecraft route. So satisfying. This story has one the best endings I've heard lately. It's a happy ending for our main character and anyone else who's on the "right" side of that particular fence.
I agree, it had its gross bits, but I think they really added to the flavor of the story. It's important for me for there to be a reason for violence, which is why I never quite got into the torture porn movie trend, and this violence had a reason.
There were three details that really stood out to me.
The scene of the man breaking the woman's skull across the ground, then looking up and making eye contact with our main character, and smiling at her like an old friend. That made me understand her quite a bit more. She saw herself in the monster, while everyone else around her saw themselves in the woman, like a normal person would. It must be truly horrifying to have the worst part of you, the part you want to hide from everyone else, acknowledge you like that.
The entire hotel scene was very graphic, but the fact that Lucy brought her own oyster knife? Man. Also, I was grocery shopping during this scene. I do not recommend grocery shopping through this scene.
The last thing that really stood out to me was that unlike a lot of monsters, in the end, the main goal isn't to destroy humanity, but to preserve it. Plus, not only to preserve it, but to keep the best of us, the best of humanity, and keep it eternal.
Overall, great story. Very much glad you guys picked it up.