《Enmity of the Ancients》


 Prologue: Merciless Sovereignty

    The massive room held beforehand was lit from above in mysterious ways as the walls of red jutted with pale limestone beams that arched and squeezed out with their seemingly endless lengths. These beams looked to be the ribcage of some massive gargantuan creature whose innards were eviscerated, leaving nothing but the bones and the flesh that lined them. The lining of which pulsated and oozed involuntarily, taking on the appearance of exposed muscles and tendons. Their colors bled into the atmosphere of this incredibly cavernous room as gazing into the vast distance wielded the horizon that was tinted from the hues.


    Diverting attention inwards and deeper into this red ridden room was much like looking into an oversized stadium. The massive span was enough to give few a spill of vertigo or megalophobia, for the length to the farthest wall seemed immeasurable. Interrupting this attempt to gaze at the horizon were towering spires that made contact with both the floor and ceiling. They were as thick as the structures between them on the ground, tapering and wrinkling in appearance like bleeding tree trunks. Bleeding for they appear to be constantly moist on the surface as a lustrous shine could be seen. Throughout this room several of these hulking red spires stood in their positions along the ranks, filling up the void that some would call hell. Lined up perfectly as they stretched about along with the smaller yet sizable octagonal structures. Rows and rows of these eight sided buildings populated this wondrous expanse with their dark crimson appearances. Walking down any of the aisles that they formed, you felt as if these absurd buildings themselves had eyes, watching you as you made your way down to either end. Dark red in color but their surfaces were matte and flat, lined with a glowing orange trim and topped with eight points that tapered as they nearly met in the middle. The middle of which was lit up by a ball of light, fuzzy and spinning it laid there listing up and down. Some were red, others were purple, but most were colored a bright orange. Within the outer edges of these octagons inlaid several bunks, four of them stacked on top of each other within each of the sides. In these beds rested humans, humans that were unconscious and were meant to remain unconscious, never to wake into this reality that was their very lives. Line by line these structures filled this horrific realm neatly along with the spires in a grid like fashion upon the perfectly flat white floor that was contrived of hexagonal tiles.


    Off to the sides of this void of a room laid purposely constructed caves, inconspicuous for most of the foreboding creatures of this realm ignored these tucked away hideaways. The size of these caves paled in comparison to the main room but were still impressively spacious. The floor entering one of these alcoves was raised slightly at a slant as the walls that took on an identical appearance of the main room as they curved upwards and met at the middle with an arch. The entrance was lined with another bone like beam as the walls exiting this room immediately vaulted going out into the main floor.


    Within this alcove were three mostly fortunate beings (which consisted of two males and one female), fortunate for they were able to escape the frying pan and into this temporary safe haven. None of them knew each other but were thankful to have met others, each were rather embarrassed for everyone in this realm bore no clothing. Embarrassed regardless of the predicament concerning their bodies, for upon their flesh everyone lacked the reproductive bits and nipples that most knew of on the pectorals. Resting their naked bodies up against the wall gave them vision onto the main floor, albeit, obscured from the tight enclosure. Hearts began to sink as they witnessed lines filling up the horizon far off into the distance. Minuscule lines that wiggled about like ants that soon started to grow in size as they came closer to this hole in the wall. Anxiety was starting to boil over from the two men while the woman tried her best to ease their spirits, mentioning that only other humans came to this cubby seeking safety much like themselves. They felt wary of listening to her as they were frightened from her stature, she was intense in size and bore muscles bigger than the both of them. They had slight distrust of her as well, thinking that she wasn¡¯t even human at all. Given the surroundings, that might have not been entirely a far fetched thought.


    The approaching group of people ran and ran as they pushed tirelessly onwards. Their sights were set on the opening along these swallowing walls that stuck out like a sore thumb considering they could see it for miles. Fear and a deep hope for survival fueled their dwindling tanks, the sights they had seen and events they had witnessed will forever be burned into their minds. All of these participants had wished to not be a part of this ever so true biting reality. Eyes rapidly scanning their surroundings that were dashed with pools of blood and husks of previous unsuccessful vagabonds. Self preservation was not a guarantee and was in vain for others as they met their demise from certain demons that lived in and surveilled this dimension before them.


    As they ran for their destination, they all passed the numerous structures that housed the sleeping people, wishing to be in their position for they were unfortunate enough to have awoken into this horrid abyss. Taking their current status for granted considering the two forerunners that so conveniently happened to pass by them upon their awakening and possibly saving their very lives. These people gave them purpose and shook them free from their engulfing horror as the fear froze most in place. Their words gave life and purpose to them that pushed their feet into motion, all that had to be said was,


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Listening to their words is exactly what they did, dashing away negative thoughts while putting in diligent efforts to avoid a terrible fate like the motionless ones on the ground or others that had been caught by the flying behemoths.


    Once the group of involuntary streakers had come to the entrance of this desolate hallway, others from neighboring lanes joined them. It was a surprise that the mass of them made it in one piece and unnoticed. The flock of them entered the cave with utmost urgency as the cacophony of slapping feet and overworked lungs took over the ambience. Once within the hall they slowed their pace down to a crawl, hunched over and panted for air. The two forerunners that led them to this sanctuary took to the front of the herd and mimicked the crowd which roughly consisted of forty people. They peered up towards the hulking gate before them and noticed the three propped up against its neighboring wall. The woman of the two forerunners waved at them with one hand while her other was bracing atop of a knee. One of the men looked away with a grimace while the two others waved back as they were full of uncertainty.


    As the remainder of the crowd caught their breath, they started to raise heads and gander at the fierce closing up ahead. The sight was terrifying to look at as a few let out audible gasps and others muttered obscenities. The ¡®door¡¯ was composed of massive hefty fangs which made them feel insignificant as the size stared down at them in their puny statures. These colossal teeth were white in color and blushed with yellows along the surfaces. A shade of a shadow painted the edges of these rounded tusks as they formed the seal with their parallel and alternating shapes zigzagging from top to bottom. The faux palace doors before them commanded attention from all eyes, eyes that would not falter from this site of authority for more questions arose at just a glance.


    As the group further convalesced, they slowly started to make their way closer towards the chilling fangs. The original three in this corridor kept to themselves but were clearly vexed by the herds advance. Hidden away above them in the ceiling was a massive eye that only woke once the diminutive and sensitive bristles lining its lids were lightly caressed by the air pushed from the crowd below. This meager breeze was enough to awaken and activate its atavistic function as it slowly began to peel away the layer of concealing flesh. The lids were as big as a sedan, thus contributed to the sluggish speed. The iris that had been revealed darted into corners, hiding away from the intruding light that seemed painful for it to take in. This iris of which had a pupil like that of a cat, a streak that peeled across the middle of the glowing orange circle that it nestled in. After being fully revealed the eye shook in confusion, but then shortly went to work scanning the area underneath it. It looked downwards with an infrared sight that when active lit up the pupil with a deep auburn red. The eye moved up and down and from side to side as it scanned all of the bodies in motion. Nothing set off any alarms which prompted the massive eyeball to resume its slumber. It blinked twice which produced a slight clasping sound given the sheer size of it; as it fell back asleep the eye shuddered with lethargy and then rolled to the top.


    The male of the two forerunners had heard a tweet of a noise coming from above them, causing him to look up at the ceiling in search of what produced the sonance. As he scanned the surface above he caught a glint of the glowing eye, just a fraction as it was finishing coming to a close. Camouflaged within the recesses of the beams he could vaguely make out its shape within the shadows. He nudged his companion while still staring into the sky, she turned her sight to his face and then followed his vision to see what he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of.


    ¡°There was an eye up there, I only just caught it as it was closing.¡± He says to her with fear leaking out into his voice. It was imperative for her to believe him given the place that they were all in, alas she couldn¡¯t make out what he had seen as she carefully studied the ceiling.


    ¡°Try not to think about it, if it wanted to kill us we would have already been dead.¡± She tells him, trying to reassure him while she rests her hand on his shoulder. He looks at her while taking in the comforting words and acknowledges them with a nod.


    Taking a look at all of the refugees within this corridor you could see that it was a rather mixed bunch of people from various backgrounds. Still all were naked and lacked genitals, interestingly enough, few did have an assortment of tattoos or piercings upon their bodies. None seemed to notice this for the majority of the thronging was deep in the clutches of their emotions that wrought them to the front door of their breaking points. Some were having panic attacks, kneeling to the floor while hyperventilating. Others were getting into rage induced arguments with each other while a few went as far as dashing right back out and into the void. Their departure went unnoticed as chatters of the mass grew into an uproar. The communal conflagration stirred about as it kept minds distracted from the harrowing situation in which they were all participants in. The two forerunners attempted to douse the flames spewing everywhere from these now deplorable hooligans they so dearly wished to save and grant salvation onto. Their efforts were but a paltry one as the intensity grew fierce, the crowd had formed a circle around two irate men who had begun fighting with one another.


    As the chanting went on, the two did their best to intervene but were met with an unyielding wall of bodies that kept them out of the ring. Fists flew and blood was starting to drool down their faces, each hit that landed made the audience egg them on even more. Back at the wall next to the door, the stout woman had decided that she should put an end to this senseless violence as she began to walk down towards the show. The man next to her raised his hand and thought of trying to convince her otherwise, but saw little point in it; he was still quite afraid of her and her stature. Meeting the edge of the crowd she had little difficulties peeling away the bodies in her way as she journeyed towards the center. The two forerunners watched in awe at her sheer strength and also felt fear halt their actions, leaving their minds blank. The people she moved felt the same sensations as they too watched and did nothing. As one of the men in the middle threw a hay-maker, he was shocked to see a hand fly in from the side and catch his fist before it could make contact with the other''s face. He looked at her as she then shoved him back, her other hand was holding back the other fighter as it stopped him in his tracks.


    ¡°Alright folks, shows over!¡± She said with supremacy, even her voice was powerful as it boomed from her mouth. Staring at the man before her, and then turning around to the other, making sure that he had resigned his rancorous conniptions. The one she faced had grimaced his own, which was puffy and covered in blood, then shortly afterwards he turned around and walked into the crowd with his tail between his legs.


    The audience was audibly upset from her actions as they began to call her names and booed her. She watched the man walk away, ignoring the hateful crowd as she then dropped her head slightly with a shake that was full of disappointment. Eyes closed as she rubbed them with irritation, while in this wide open posture she was then rocked in the head from behind causing her to tumble forwards onto the ground. With this impulsive stunt the crowd roused from the unexpected onslaught, for they thought of her to not be of human descent given her muscular size. She pressed a hand to ease the pain on the back of her head while her assailant rushed over. She caught track of his movements as he raised his foot to stomp her skull, as his leg came down with determination she quickly rolled to the side and grabbed the incoming limb. She jerked and threw him to the ground violently with twisting motion, convincing his vessel along the path. The front of his body met the floor with a solid thud, sending him into a world of hurt as he writhed on the ground as the air was knocked out of him. She rose quickly and proceeded to kick him across the face which forced him into a face up position flat on his back.


    Animosity and adrenaline was pumping through her veins, rage was burning hot from being sucker punched for trying to keep a sense of justice. She stood over the man who was disabled from pain and knelt down to squeeze his neck. She gripped tight and hard as the veins and muscles in her arms bulged. The two leaders observing from outside the ring could no longer see anything, but they were able to hear all that was happening for the crowd fell silent. The silence itself was loud, but the man squelching for air as his limbs flailed about was louder. The people observing these events no longer had fervor pushing their animal like thoughts, but still they watched as fear and curiosity kept them motionless. Thin lines of blood had started to flow on her face from his scratching hands, he was doing anything he could to free himself from this monsters grasp. The forerunners tried again to intervene but the ones on the outer edge locked them down, thinking that it was safest to keep them from that hulking beast of woman.


    As the air sank to a creep, the two forerunners were finally let through since most assumed that the man had perished. They pushed through, clambering past the motionless shoulders seeking the center like the woman before them did. What graced their eyes was that vessel of power, she was atop of the man with her hands screwed to his neck. She readjusted to get closer to his head as she then raised her knee and dropped it into his temple, not once but multiple times. The hard knocks could be heard as they then turned into a squishing sound as she caved in his skull which was graced with splashes of red. The runners had stopped right in their tracks as they did not expect anything of this sort to happen. With the crushes the people in the crowd gasped and some screamed. Ironic for this is what they were wishing for, now terrified for being at their destination as they didn¡¯t think it would actually go this far. The bashings had come to an end as her shoulders rose and fell quickly, labored and madly requesting oxygen. Her back and arms were laced with proud and fierce muscles as her skin was lacquered with sweat.


    Standing up, she turned to face the two forerunners, looking them in the eyes that was then followed with a forced smile. She then proceeded to walk towards the open exit, the enclosing circle had broken as everyone moved out of her tromping way, they were terrified of her. The silent group watched her as she left, the still air was broken by one man yelling out,


    ¡°Demon!¡± Soon after others echoed his words as they all started to scream and shout at her as she was leaving. The only ones that were bereft of words were the two leaders, still riddled with shock and awe for all they could do was watch. The discord continued as she resumed her path outwards. Slowly she drifted off out back into the white cleaver from once they came, fading into the consuming shroud. As her silhouette disappeared the shouts went along with it.


    The two taking leadership regained their bearings and resumed the task at hand. They walked away from the crowd and posted themselves up just before the gaping door, then turned to face the crowd that was spiced with turmoil. Once the ¡®Demon¡¯ had vanished and the rage had died down a bit, they started to come to their senses, diverting attention then to the ones that lead them to this forsaken divot. Almost as if they had the memory of a goldfish, they had soon forgotten the events that had just unfolded in-front of them. As the numerous eyes laid upon them, questions were starting to blurt out as the gathering wished for answers, answers from the two that already seemed to have an understanding of this hell hole. They had trusted them so far, but with their knowledge they felt reluctant to follow their instructions as uncertainty grew within them.


    ¡°What the fuck is this place!?¡±


    ¡°Just who are you two anyways?¡±


    ¡°How do we know you aren¡¯t one of them?¡± Were but the many questions they had to endure from the frantic swarm. The male was beginning to lose confidence as the mob tore into them, but the woman was only starting to get irritated from their bashings of distrust. She scowled and waited for them to fall silent before any utterance was to be released.


    ¡°The only reason we led you here was to extend your pitiful lives. If you do not have faith in us or believe us to be spies of those monsters lurking out there then so be it. We aren¡¯t holding you prisoner here, if you think you are better off without our help then leave, no one¡¯s stopping you.¡± She spoke loud and clear so that everyone could hear her, she turned her head to the two men that were still up on the wall. They said nothing and looked at the ground before them. A couple of people started to walk back out before others stopped and convinced them to stay.


    ¡°Me and my colleague here have previously endured what all of you are experiencing for the first time today. We have gone through the same hell and lived to tell the tale. I am Rebbecca, and my friend here is Quinn. We have escaped from one of these holding rooms before and found refuge in a vacant room where a society of survivors live. We have been sent out to lead others that have awoken to that safe haven in hopes of prosperity. Not only in hopes of that, but also in wishes to overcome this damnation. Be lucky that all of you have been chosen for this once in a lifetime opportunity for most that die do not wake like all of you have.¡± She then points her finger to the lifeless body on the floor just past them. ¡°Any sort of infighting like that is not acceptable, if any of you wish to live, we have to stick together. This room is considerably more dangerous than the halls out past these teeth. If and when these doors open, it will be a long while before we reach our destination, in the meantime you¡¯ll just have to set aside your differences.¡± She stood out in front of the gathering proudly, her finger was still pointing with power as she sneered at everyone before her, making sure that her message was clear.


    ¡°Is it safe out there?¡± One man in the crowd asked. She closed her eyes and shook her head.


    ¡°Given the size of this complex that we are in, the chances of running into threats out there are slim but still possible. But, before any of you even get a chance of entering the great halls you¡¯ll have to survive the waves of crawlers that pool out from these doors. The specters aren¡¯t much of a problem for their instincts are flawed and they only dash into the holding room as fast as possible. The crawlers are what you have to hide your presence from. They have poor eyesight but their hearing is quite superb, which in hand complicates things.¡±


    ¡°And just how exactly do you expect all of us to survive encountering these so-called ¡®crawlers¡¯? Just how many of them will come rushing out of that door once it opens up?¡± The man had walked forwards from the crowd, challenging her words. She looked at him with a smirk for she didn¡¯t believe that he would make it out alive. She then points behind herself towards the two men that were standing up against the wall next to the colossal teeth.


    ¡°They have the right idea, I am guessing that that tall woman beforehand had told them to post up there as it is the safest spot.¡± She then crosses both of her arms and proceeds to talk again. ¡°And as for the number of them it is hard to say, a rough guess would be about a thousand or more. Staying out of sight and out of the way is our best bet in making it out of here in one piece. It won¡¯t be easy considering the painfully loud ringing that is produced beforehand. Not only the sound but the fluctuating air pressure is unbearable to endure. If you are able to stay silent and motionless while those pain in the ass crawlers stampede through here, then you can consider yourself in a safer predicament. Cause if they even hear you fart, you are dead meat.¡± She fell silent as she then scanned the crowd before her, seeing that a couple of them had been marked by observer drones. She pointed to one of them that was amongst the crowd and then started to talk again.


    ¡°And any of you who have been marked, you may as well consider yourself as good as dead. Once those crawlers come running out of this doorway they will be able to see you clear as day. Their purpose is to reposition any marked bodies such as yourselves back into the bunks, or devour them if they are presumed to be dead. They will do the latter to you if they discover that you are conscious. If you want a better chance at survival, then I suggest that you get a move on and pray to your gods.¡± The two of the people knew what she was talking about as they both became hysterical. The man turned around and sprinted back out into the holding room with great haste, scrambling across the floor as he slipped a few times. The other fell to her knees in disbelief; she started to beg everyone around her to save her as they all stepped away. Latching onto one person as they walked by with tears streaming down her cheeks, the one she clutched ripped their hand away and left her to her demise.


    ¡°Please, please I don¡¯t want to die. You gotta help me!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, then do as that man just did. The way I see it, that is your only option.¡± Rebbecca said to her as the rest of the people began to take place along both sides of the door and resting on the walls. The mark on her forehead was engraved into her skin like a red tattoo, its markings were but of a many edged spiral while the center had a small hole in which her flesh peeked through. The man that fled had his mark on his left pectoral that bore an identical appearance. Rebbecca took a few steps forwards and knelt down as she then looked deep into her eyes that were full of sorrow.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, if you stay here, you are going to die. Not only that but you are going to jeopardize several other lives by being selfish. If you are going to stay, then don¡¯t move from that spot. Otherwise me and my college will have to take care of this problem before it gets worse.¡± The woman stared back as her cheeks were wet from the trails produced from her sockets. She was defeated and did not know what to do. Rebbecca then stood up and walked towards the wall, Quinn looked at her for a few moments more as he then followed. She was too scared to move, glued to the floor like a fly in a trap. Her crying had stopped as an empty look took over her face, she completely shut down atop of the floor.


    Time went on and hours ticked by which felt like days. A few of the waiting beings had lost patience or stopped believing in the words the woman had said to them and left this pocket. Little conversation was had for none felt it was appropriate, or they were drowned in emotions to muster up any words. Closest to the doors on both sides were the forerunners, they seemed entirely too relaxed to comfort the others. This forefront they put on made others question their allegiance further, but contradictory to their beliefs as it also made them feel safe for they basked in their confidence. The distraught woman from before laid on the ground in a fetal position remaining in her spot as whimpers could be heard from her every so often. Muffled screams could be heard as well off in the distance, emitting every now and then from the massive holding room they came from which sent chills down many spines. Then shortly afterwards the silence became overbearing as the hallway was filled with a thick dense presence of dread. The people within grew wary and uncomfortable as the blanket of doom wafted over them. They heard a bubbling sound approaching the entrance to this den as it grew in intensity. At the eye of the exit a massive floating beast emerged filling in the view as it hovered in place and stared at them with its bulbous black eye. Its body was that of an insect¡¯s with its grotesque spindly limbs, being edged with dangerous points that quivered at the sight of worthless prey. Most of the people began to scream and shout in fear as they rushed themselves into the farthest corner away from the hulking beast as it gawked at them. Quinn was bracing himself to move while Rebbecca stayed put, she felt no fear from this monster cause she knew it couldn¡¯t enter this alcove. Soon the beast shook with rage after a few long moments of contemplating, and then darted off back into the abyss to resume its duty. There they sat, struck with fright, panicked as they recuperated in their huddled piles that soon peeled off and went back to their positions amongst the wall. The man next to Rebbecca looked at her with astonishment as she still had yet to show any signs of fear.


    ¡°Did you know that it wasn¡¯t going to enter?¡± He asked her. She jabbed towards the ceiling with her thumb, motioning towards what Quinn had seen earlier.


    ¡°My partner told me about an eye in the ceiling earlier. Nothing happened when that freak of nature saw us enter. If that eye isn¡¯t for us, then surely it has to be keeping those things in check.¡± Following her words the man then looked up and saw the monstrous bulging eye in the sky, it was shaking violently about as it was glowing a hot red. He lurched backwards with a yelp upon seeing the abhorrent pupil gazing down upon them as others repeated his actions. It then shortly ceased its warranting stare as it fell back asleep, easing the minds of those who witnessed it.


    Once everyone''s heart rate slowed down to a regular pace, they sat and thought about everything in their lives. Sat and thought about why they were doing this instead of giving up and accepting the cruel fate that the floating barges so willingly brought. They wished to live more so than before, even if they lived shitty lives. These walls before them and constant peril being dangled in front of their eyes made them count their blessings. Maybe on the other side of these walls was a chance to go back to what they so wished to see. The blue skies that were dashed with plucks of white cotton shying their way with a slack pace. The warm bright yellow fervency that was pleasant upon their skin. The emotions that influenced their very being, be it of negative or positive ones, regardless of the outcomes they longingly sought to return to their futile day to day lives. Some still wanted this even if they knew that their previous lives had come to a gruesome end, hope was crucial to push them further along. The stark belief of living once more is what fueled their blind ceaseless motivation.


    Time felt stagnant within this crack of space, a few more had vacated the hall disregarding the behemoths of the void with great cognitive dissonance. How long they waited none could tell. All they could do was have faith. The air was quiet while still consistently permeated in intervals by shrill shouts produced from the grounds outside. The time that they gambled away had finally paid off as their senses were shaken violently awake from intense reverberations. The ear-shattering alarm had been set off without warning as it beat within all of their eardrums and chests. Everyone motioned their hands over their ears attempting to deafen the screaming intrusive noise entering them as it rocked their entire body. A few had caught on to the actions of the two forerunners who laid limp and motionless, enduring the painful sensations while playing dead. The ones who were able to, mirrored them as the woman''s words were beginning to come to fruition. The lady who refused to flee this hall was squirming about and writhing in pain as the jagged doors began to open. With their movement the surroundings shook, the vibrations could be felt within the floor beneath them and the walls they rested on. A few like the lady were also unable to stifle the extreme discomfort as they began to walk around aimlessly wishing for it to end as covering their ears was not enough. As the doors continued to open, the woman in front of them could feel the sensation being added onto the pounding and felt it through her body from the floor. She peered up and saw the fangs Slowly retracting as they began to reveal the other side. In the cracks of the jarring teeth came limbs of strange creatures she had never seen the likes of before as they violently flailed about. She saw the specters pop through the slits and zip off into the holding room as they hovered by. They wielded a single eye at the top of their small frame that was held up by a tentacle. Their body was a short and stout cylinder that had a claw protruding out from the bottom. They were white and fleshy in appearance, it was a wonder how they flew as she could not see what gave them lift. As the gates further opened up, enough space was given for the crawlers to pour out. The disgusting pale beings looked rather human but were burly in size. Hands lined with three lengthy fingers tipped with talons; their feet were of similar fashion for none of them stood on their hind legs. Their skin was much like that of the specters matching their tone. All they had on their heads were two pits on the sides for ears and a gaping mouth that was lined with savage fangs. Their resting expression made them look mischievous as the stretched mouth seemed to grin.


    As the horde emerged from the teeth, all the woman could do was scream in horror; she was the first of which they preyed on. Tackling her to the ground as they lunged at her body, opening their chasmal mouths which they then sunk their long grooves into her skin and tearing away at her flesh. Her shouts of peril froze some as the sound sank and tightened their chests. The ones that couldn¡¯t endure the overbearing sounds were soon taken down as well from their coerced wanderings. A few grew curious and couldn¡¯t keep themselves from witnessing the ones getting mauled as they looked up from their ruse. The flow of crawlers was like a river as the bodies ran by with great haste. Their claws and stamps could be heard well for the ringing had stopped moments ago, but were shadowed by the ones losing their lives. In the midst of the stream, there they feasted upon the woman, halted, sticking out like a rock that fought the currents. As the numbers began to thin out with the dissipated tail end of the horde, a command was shouted out for all to hear.


    ¡°Run!¡± And that they did as the giant teeth began to slowly close, vibrating the surroundings once more. There was a formidable amount of stragglers amongst the crawlers that were still ripping away at the bodies. A few had heard the motion happening behind them and did their best to take sight of what was producing them. Four of them had started nimbly galloping to snuff out the survivors as this was their purpose. Those that were too frightened to move still held their positions along the walls, witnessing the terrifying creatures consume and eradicate the corpses as others pedaled away on all fours. On the other side of the door was another spacious corridor, except on the walls were the remainders of stark white cocoons. Thousands of them in shreds as they appeared to have burst open, covering the floor in scraps accompanied by splatters of translucent goo. In their full sprint, a couple of the fleeing refugees had slipped on the wet remains, causing them to tumble to the ground. The four crawlers that ran after them met with the unfortunate beings that had made the last mistakes of their lives. Biting down with their jaws that were lined with razors made any efforts of fighting back futile. As the remainder of the squad ran with every strand of effort in their bodies, their ears were filled once more with the dreadful and traumatic screeches of death.


    At the very front of the group was Rebbecca, she came to the edge of the room first and made a sliding stop at the hulking doorway. Looking in at the gap between the walls laid a hand that had a maroon surface, it was sticking out as if it was waiting for a hand shake. She grasped it and pulled with great force which partially yanked out a man from the fleshy wall while strands still gripped his body. The dark red color was apparent on both of his arms as it faded just before his elbows. He seemed to be waking from a deep slumber as his movements were sluggish. On his other hand rested what looked to be a severed limb which was still partially concealed within the foundation. Impatiently Rebbecca snatched the limb out of his hand, pulling the rest of it out and revealing its entirety. The tip of this severed limb was edged with a dangerously sharp talon, with rapid movements she turned towards Quinn who was still making his way over and tossed it to him. Carefully catching the dull end of the appendage, he turned around swiftly and made haste unto the omens within the room. One had heard his approach and ditched the body before it. Running with purposeful fleetness as it wished him death and once at a reasonable distance had lunged at him with its claws flying forwards. Quinn reacted by leaning back and gripping the limb tightly as he jabbed it into the crawler''s mouth, dodging the daggers from the monster''s hands. The talon from the makeshift weapon had sliced deep and down just past its torso, quickly ending its life. Blood poured out onto Quinn as its body fell limply on top of him. He shoved it off to the side while pulling out the appendage and then made way to the rest of the creatures. Attention couldn¡¯t be strained from them as they were deeply absorbed in consuming their catch. One body was hosting two of them while the other only held one. Quinn ran up on the solo and sliced its head clean off with one solid swing. One of the other crawlers heeded the thumps of a body hitting the floor and broke off to slay the sounds. He slashed it¡¯s hands away as it jumped in his direction, causing the beast to flail about in pain. Finishing it off with a thrust to its chest the wails fall silent. The last of them had sprung towards him through the air as well while he turned. Catching Quinn off guard, it slammed into him bringing him to the ground, but he was lucky enough to block the knives from entering his skin with the raised limb. Its feet curled around his waist as the points it wielded on its toes reached just enough to scathe his skin, drawing blood from the tips. The crawler snapped at his face with its gaping mouth, inches away from making contact as he pressed with all his might, keeping the monster at bay on top of him.


    As the monster was ceaseless in its attempts, he began to feel the power in his arms wilt away. Closer and closer the chomps grew to his nose as strings of saliva lashed out of its mouth and onto his face. Screaming his arms were as soon he was as well, diligently striving to remain alive. The crawler could feel the strength leaving the man as it reeled back to swoop forwards with one final strike when suddenly its head was impaled by a flying appendage. Rebbecca was able to lance it through the air like a spear at the last moment, saving her colleagues life. The essence drained out of the creature leisurely as it stumbled around and off of Quinn¡¯s body, and then finally collapsing with a thump just a few yards away. Quinn, who was nearly out of breath, let his strained arms down and let out a deep sigh that was followed by a hearty laugh and closed eyes.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.Rebbecca stood over him holding a hand out, he took it with delight as she helped him off of the floor. At this point the doors at the threshold had now come to a complete shut, leaving them with no other option than to proceed forwards. As she walked over to the body containing her spear, she looked at the two cadavers that had been feasted upon. The sight tore at her on the inside as their bodies laid motionless in pools of red. Upon meeting her kill, she rested a foot on the foul creature as she then pried away her weapon with an audible shuck. Then whipping it through the air a couple of times at her side to rid it of the accumulation. As she walked back towards the group of panicked beings she shot a look at Quinn who acknowledged her with a nod. The crowd watched them return with awe painted over their faces, none thought they would witness anyone capable of laying waste to any of the monsters within this void. They then took to the front of the pack again which was now a measly nine including themselves. One of the other seven was falling to pieces and huddled up next to the exit, making contact with both the wall and the floor as he rocked back and forth. Quinn took it upon himself to try and ease the man while Rebbecca went to touch base with the being resting within the paneling just on the other side.


    ¡°I am impressed that you guys managed to get this many out.¡± Said he, still being hoisted up by the fleshy surface.


    ¡°That makes two of us, not too long ago they were ready to rip each other''s heads off. Thanks for the armaments.¡± She then reached forwards with her right hand and firmly shook his.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s what I¡¯m here for.¡±


    ¡°Are you able to do scouting for us?¡± She asked him with a stoic face, beads of sweat were populating the surface as well. He severed eye contact and looked down to the right while scratching his chin uncomfortably.


    ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± There were a few moments of silence that were soon interrupted by the manic man on the other side. He had got up and ran off down the hallway to the left, shouting in bouts of terror. They both turned to watch him make his way as he was hard to ignore. Rebbecca turned to Quinn who was watching as well, making eye contact with her, all he did was shrug with confusion. She then turned back to the man before her, forgetting about the lost cause in just a few moments. He licked his lips and then began to speak again. ¡°Usually I would be able to, but as our numbers continue to plummet I am needed more frequently to provide means of self defense onto others such as yourself. There are only a few more of us that are able to flesh walk. I hope that you understand.¡± She sighed as she let her head down, closing and pinching her eyes hoping to rub the fatigue out of them.


    ¡°Yeah I get it, it¡¯s just that our position is the furthest from base. I knew it was a mistake taking this room out here.¡± He looks at her with empathy lined in his frown as he then steps out of the wall and pats her on the shoulder, his feet are also marked on the surface with the shaded crimson color that faded past his calves. Feeling his touch she looked back up at him.


    ¡°It is rather unfortunate, but they should have briefed you on that before we all set out. It is getting pretty rough, but we all knew the risks of taking on these requests.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not like we have much other choice. Thanks again, hope to see you back at base.¡± She tells him with fear growing behind her voice. The man then walks to the other side and slips into the surface, the wall seemed to warp around his body as it swallowed him. The people watching let out gasps of air witnessing this strange occurrence happen before their very eyes. Rebbecca then turned around to the untalented troupe to speak. ¡°Alright everyone, let''s take five.¡±


    As the group rested in this dilapidated crevice, they felt somewhat at ease, but what stirred them in the back of their minds was the eerie quietness of this outside portion. They had grown accustomed to the shrieks that penetrated the air with their volatile occurrences. Some gazed at the busted pods that spewed out the nascent crawlers, curious for they began to molt as they recessed back into the walls. Before they could discover any further findings on these eggs to satiate their inquisitive minds, the two forerunners had stood up off of the ground and began stretching. A few had gotten up and mimicked their moves as they thought limbering up was indeed a sound idea. Only two sat on the ground and watched with judgmental stares as one shot a short puff from his mouth.


    ¡°You, what¡¯s your name?¡± Quinn asked the one who threw contempt with his light gesture. The man looked up at him and stared for a stint before answering as his irked mind held him in suspicion.


    ¡°Ray.¡± The man told him.


    ¡°Well Ray, I would highly suggest that you loosen up that body of yours, we have a long road ahead of us. Any siestas will likely be the end of us.¡± Quinn stated to him as he continued his routine. The man glared at him as fatigue had started to alter his attitude. Standing up, he walked up to the exit and stared out to the other side.


    ¡°How come that hall over there looks exactly the same as this side?¡± Ray said aloud, wishing to ignore his irritation.


    ¡°This massive complex holds numerous rooms just like the one we came from.¡± Rebbecca answered. ¡°We are to believe that earth''s population is divided up into all of the rooms within this superstructure. If you thought that that holding room was big, just wait until we start moving.¡± She said to him as she was stretching her calves. The man turned his head to lay eyes on her in disbelief, for he didn¡¯t want to believe her words.


    ¡°And just how is it that you guys know all of this?¡± He asked back, still finding it hard to trust them.


    ¡°Like I said before, this isn¡¯t our first rodeo. The mainstay in which our destination is, holds many more that have also survived this endurance. They have entrusted much knowledge to us about this realm. The crawlers, the specters, I would have hoped getting you out of that room might have made a believer out of you.¡± She is now stretching her shoulders out. The man responded by only looking down as he pondered what she had said. His ambivalence had begun to falter.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to stretch then I suppose that¡¯s your problem.¡± Quinn said. ¡°But just to let you know, it¡¯s going to take us about a day and a half of jogging to get to where we are going.¡± he was twisting his torso as he stated the words. The defiant man let out a sigh as he then started to loosen himself up along with the others.


    Prior to setting out on the long road ahead of them, Rebbecca cleared her throat before uttering out words of importance. The crowd along with Quinn looked at her and awaited her speech.


    ¡°I know that it has already been a long day and that many of you including myself are worn out. But this is the final stretch before nirvana. On our path there, we will stick to the edge till we meet with the Crimson Highway. The Crimson highway is ever so conveniently located within the center of this superstructure. From there we can follow the road ahead till we come across the marked halls, those markings will lead us to everlasting safety.


    ¡°As I have mentioned before, there still are threats present within these deep halls. The chances of encountering said threats are slim but not zero. In these halls are the beasts that patrol them, everyone seems to refer to them as Carts. They are massive in size just like the collectors in the holding rooms, the only caveat with these beasts is if one spots us, we won¡¯t have much options in terms of escape given the long strenuous roads. Thus gives reason for our path along the outer edge where construction is usually taking place. Along the walls that meet with the edges of this superstructure are typically chambers that are built to withstand the immense density of the engulfing space outside.¡± With the mention of space, the previously defiant man¡¯s ears had pricked up as his heart rate jolted. He did his best to keep his nerves under control as he tried to focus on listening.


    ¡®Ray,¡¯ he could hear inside of his head as the thought of the outside void provoked his mind, startled at first, but was then beguiled by the intruding whispers. His interest had peaked but he couldn¡¯t figure out why, as if he was conscious and unconscious of the voice that had just muttered his name. Quinn¡¯s deep tone quickly faded into his ears, he was picking up where she left off, further explaining the layout like a teacher''s aid.


    ¡°Within these chambers are worker drones, they are smaller than the crawlers and are incredibly docile. These limbs that both of us carry are from those creatures. If by chance we need to take refuge within one of these recesses, encountering the little ones is to be expected. So don¡¯t feel frightened by them, but as we move forwards I truly hope that we don¡¯t ever cross a decision that leads us into one of those rooms.¡± The talking switched back over to Rebbecca.


    ¡°So, once we leave, someone is going to have to take the rear and keep a look out behind us for any incoming Carts. They move along the ceiling like a tram thus giving them their name, we think they do this to preserve their energy. Me and my associate here have never seen the likes of these monsters and I hope that none of you have to as well.¡± She gazed upon their faces with a somber look, feeling the dread of their journey drowning out their already sparse morale. ¡°Now, before we head out, any more questions?¡± The party before them was quiet, their hearts were full of remorse from anticipating the unknown as they only sought safety and wished to be there as soon as possible. Any questions they had wouldn¡¯t rise from their mouths, for they felt more knowledge would pin them to the ground with terror. Rebbecca then took in a slow breath and exhaled it slowly with a sigh. ¡°Alright, let''s get a move on!¡±


    Tenacity had begun to taper off as the distance proved to be that of an arduous one. They were able to pass up roughly three holding rooms in about three or four hours; judging by the number of intersecting hallways they had passed made it easy to count. Compared to how their bodies were in the world they had awoken from, this task was much easier considering their bodies were in a sublime condition. A few wished they could glance into a mirror and gaze upon their seemingly perfect bodies that this realm had offered them, but those thoughts were quickly shot down by the horrors presented behind every inch of this treacherous abyss. Alas, the many hours they have endured leading up to now was still ailing away at their strength. Exhaustion was settling in amongst the posse and taking its toll harshly on the two forerunners who were pressing past their limits. Rebbecca¡¯s fortitude gave way under the accumulative weight that she had been shoving off to the side for far too long, thus striking her consciousness down with sudden impedance. She slowed down her sprint immediately with a few staggering steps, eyes then rolled to the back of her head as she fell to her knees followed by her torso and a knock to her head.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Quinn uttered out with panic in his worried tone. Rushing to her side followed by the others as their morale dived from witnessing this occurrence. Quinn gently rolled her onto her back, her eyes were squeezed shut and her breathing was labored. He then gave a few shoves to her shoulder, nothing. After administering some light slaps to her face his heart sank for she still laid there unconscious. The man at the back of the group still kept watch of the hall behind them, taking quick peeks with growing impatience at their leader that had collapsed. Quinn sat at her side for a few moments in silence as stress was festering, clouding his thoughts and judgments.


    ¡°Is she alright?¡± One of the women asked hesitantly, she felt as if all of their hope was starting to fall apart. Quinn sighed as he let down his head.


    ¡°Not exactly, but she is still alive. Rest is what she desperately needs, it seems.¡± He then stood up and looked over the heads they had whilst picking up the other limb that Rebbecca had unknowingly relinquished.


    ¡°I am going to take point of our caravan since I¡¯ve got prior experience with this labyrinth, the strongest of the men will carry her for now while the second will be entrusted with this.¡± He walked over to Ray and handed him the pointed appendage.


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t do anything with this, I¡¯m not like you guys. I¡¯ll just freeze.¡± He tried to tell Quinn with great reluctance.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much choice, we have nothing to lose but our lives. Are you really willing to give that up?¡± He asked him with a solid face, staring into his eyes to ensure his seriousness. Ray looked to the side as he rested a free hand on his neck. Then giving a silent shake of his head with a grimace for a response. ¡°Great. We have all come this far to just give up now.¡± He walked over to the tallest man in their party and inquired his name.


    ¡°Uh, Seth.¡± He told him, confidence low for fear and uncertainty was snuffing it out of him, wringing him like a rag.


    ¡°Seth, can I trust you to carry my friend?¡± Quinn asked him as he placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°I will do the best I can.¡± Listening to his answer, he gave a light smirk and a reassuring nod. They then went over to her still body and hoisted her up onto Seth¡¯s back, then resumed their wearisome trek at a diminished pace.


    Continuing onwards towards the unforeseen beacon of hope, faith was but a diminutive precept. The choir of panting and trodding feet became white noise to them as they looked towards the horizon, hoping that the Crimson Highway would reveal itself to them. The overbearing visuals of this endless expanse was debilitating to the mind. The longer they stayed within this void, the farther it chipped away at their sanity. They were tired of blanching their eyes with the whites of the hexagons at their feet and the bone-like beams lining the walls of flesh. Every now and then they would stare at the porcelain railing above, thinking of the horror described to them before in the name of the ¡®Cart¡¯. Ominous as ambiguity veiled this creature that none wished to encounter, the long distances on either side fed their anxiety as the tunnel vanished into a tiny dot. They could see forever into the hall, but so could anything else residing within this world. Quinn turned his head to peer upon his compatriot''s face, witnessing her turmoil as she gritted her teeth accompanied by a furrow. Sweat thronged about from her pores as she murmured sweet nothings in her spill of fatigue. This empowered him and gave a light to his endeavors, he could no longer feel his weariness as he soon put more life into his steps.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to run ahead and see if I can scout out the road.¡± He called out to those behind him with a turned head, the others signaled with just a nod that lacked energy. As he darted forwards away from them, they felt less safe for he was their senior and they were just merely freshmen. As they watched him shrink into the distance, the sides on the left caught their eye as several openings could be observed. They were garage sized doorways in which Rebbecca had mentioned beforehand, but several of them were just indentations as they had been sealed up, being nothing more than a faux. The doorways were spaced out in roughly twenty yard intervals. As the group passed them they couldn¡¯t help but to glance into their dents, soon coming across one¡¯s who¡¯s emptiness was still present with vastness in its depth. Looking down the distance that it bore, its length was lined with several identical doorways of the various spacious rooms it inlaid. Spacious, yet they were smaller than the hallway in which they traveled. Passing the third doorway that leaked from the great hall had caught Ray in an inescapable grasp as a twinkle of obsidian entered his vision. This sight brought him to a stop as he then turned and gazed into the swallowing corridor of numerous shrinking frames. The others took notice and stopped as well, confused, they called out to him and beckoned for him to rejoin them.


    ¡°Ray! Come on! What are you doing!?¡± The man who volunteered to watch their flanks had shouted out to him. Ray then turned back to the group, breaking eye contact with the hall seemed to set him free from the strange trance. He rubbed his eyes with a free hand and then rejoined the party.


    Still jogging along the tracks, they watched Quinn in his now small stature for he was a measurable distance away from them. Ray wasn¡¯t paying attention as all he could think about was the doorway that had entranced him effortlessly. He didn¡¯t care about this world anymore or the people, not even what horrors that might snuff out their flames, most importantly his own. The sight of what he couldn¡¯t make out down that corridor was dangerously comforting like heroin, and the further they strayed from its languor, the more he felt uneasy within.


    ¡®Ray¡¯ he had heard again within the confines of his skull, but this time it willed his body as he felt his limbs slacken. Still unaware of this voice and the effects it had over his body, he thought back to the start of their expedition. He remembered his fear slowly decaying as the caravan closed distance with the hideaway that he now wished had stayed within its soothing aura. Suddenly, a shout coming off from the distance full of rejoice tore him and the others from whatever thoughts that were entertaining them. Quinn was overloaded with excitement as they could witness his pace bolster resolutely. In the slightest shimmer given their distance, a declaration of red dashed the horizon of this tunnel, gracing all who laid eyes upon it. Quinn halted his excitement till he was positive that this road was indeed the one they were seeking. Rushing over to engulf his presence unto the cardinal foyer, he felt his spirits rise as this was a detrimental checkpoint in their journey. Unable to control himself, he tripped over his own feet due to speed and the continued ignorance of his fatigue. Tumbling into the great hall with grunts which were soon followed by exclamations as he picked himself up off of the ground.


    Time stood still within these halls, their hearts had stopped in their tracks as their ears were greeted with death itself. Ripping away at eardrums who most had covered up while others became stagnant ice. Busts vibrated as the airwaves pulsed from the thunderous beast clashing with its tormenting shriek. Quinn became arrested in his actions and dared not even to turn his head up. He bore his teeth tightly as his face stammered, one fist resting knuckles on the ground while the other gripped his makeshift weapon tightly, draining the blood from his hand. Slowly, he decided that turning his gaze onto the maker of this condemned howl would be best in further deciding his next course of action. As his vision was able to travel more so down the crimson road, he pushed his reluctant eyes until they could unveil the ceiling. There he saw, the detestable beast in which he wished was only a myth, rotating at an even slack pace as the head slowly revealed itself. Hanging from the top seemed to be unimaginable given the sheer size of this aberration. Being slightly bigger than an elephant, it continued to turn with its legless, bulbous ant-like body which was tan and reinforced by white streaks throughout that looked much like bones. Its abdomen quivered as the head twitched about, mandibles were listing outwards and inwards while salvation started to dribble and fall to the floor with shimmering streaks. It turned its head with authority, glaring down at him with its single menacing spherical eye that was nothing but a pool of darkness. Fanning out from the top of its head was a crown of hardened carapace, three points spanned out as the tips were honed with thorns and the in-betweens were of but a stretched layer of flesh, the light pierced it and revealed dark veins as they squirmed in random directions. Laying eyes on the interloper, it let out a guttural hiss that rumbled through the air, hatred fueling this monster prompted its limbs to dart out from within its chassis, several points emerged as there were too many to accurately count. Piecing harshly through its own skin the legs shot out as blood flung from them and covered the surfaces. As the liquid peeled away from the sporadic limbs that were running in the air, the bone white color started to shine through the dripping film.


    At the sight of this Quinn was able to shake free from the paralyzing sight and had taken to a full on sprint back towards the group as his heart commanded more blood into his own limbs. Muscles were on overdrive in hopes of self preservation, the group taking in sight of his motions had soon followed for they could only assume what was deep within the passage around the corner. It was either a convenience or a curse that they just so happened to inlay the burrow on their voyage to safety with their vision. Blessing or a curse, one thought this way while the other thought that. Nonetheless the party self inflicted it upon themselves to scurry into the confines of this hole they saw prior. Rushing about, Seth, who was still carrying Rebbecca upon his back, had started to lag greatly behind the others as the ground abruptly shook beneath their feet. The thought occurring within all of their minds was that the gargantuan beast had made landfall, impacting the ground with its immense size. Noticing this vibration, none sought to turn round to witness what caused the sensation, none for they all desired to enter the possible safety cubby of this expanse that was a stretch away. The multiple stamps of the beast¡¯s countless legs could be heard echoing down the hallway as it roared at them, closer and closer the sounds encroached as they made their way. Sudden shouts of horror and grunts could be heard from Quinn, one had turned his head to observe the sounds that entered his ears, fearful for the life of their remaining lucid leader. Quinn was holding his own for just a few moments, but the creature towered over him and the horde of limbs was too much for one person to handle. As he fell to the ground backwards, the monster knew to avoid the pointed limb and struck from the sides with terrifying speed. It skewered him and lifted him into the air as it then resumed its lightning fast gallop towards the rest of them. He had then stopped his request for visual knowledge and put forth all effort into his legs and arms as he passed everyone in the herd.


    Quinn¡¯s yelps and the sound of the various limbs stomping on the ground caused the crowd to strain themselves in great efforts to remain alive. His shouts had soon died off within seconds, seconds in which they propelled themselves to the one opening they all had previously observed. The frightful man had darted into the hole first as the others soon caught up to him, Seth however was still behind them with a reasonable distance. A few had stooped up in the frame of the opening as they turned and then soon laid eyes upon their pursuer, the sight of this hulking beast destroyed their hopes and sanity. Its size was indiscernible from the distance as it still seemed to grow the closer it got. As its limbs scurried about, the movements somewhat blurred, the speed and size of them were terrifying to look at and reminded most of fever like trances. Seth still pushed on, not once did he consider dropping the person he carried on his back for he had respect for her. She showed them the way, she wished prosperity upon their group, she was brave and pushed herself until she could not. The least he could do for her was to try his best. As the behemoth closed its distance with impeccable agility, the party cheered him on and begged that he made it to them in time. Futile their shouts were, with a powerful leap the beast flew through the air towards its prey. It had opened its vile and revolting mouth, and out of said mouth came a threading needle. In the air, it knelt the entirety of its body into this pin, lurching forwards as the point then impaled both Rebbecca and Seth through their chests spattering their surroundings with splotches of iron rich fluid. It then came to a sliding halt on the ground, and within its spewed barb was the both of them. It had forced Seth to his knees from the impact as the massive spine became glossed with blood. He could not scream or shout for his lungs had collapsed from the shattering impalement. Out from his mouth came a cascade of crimson, spilling onwards along with the sudden gape from his chest and accumulating on the floor. This instant and unwanted veil of pain awoke Rebbecca from her deep slumber as she choked on her own liquid. Lids peeled far apart, her pupils focused on nothing as they stared forwards and onto the ceiling as her vision saw just that and was quickly enveloped by a thick vignette. Mouth agape as red fluid started to pour out from it as well and down her trembling chin. Being bathed in their own essence, they could do nothing as pain and peril shut their systems down. Being raised from the ground, their limbs slacked and let gravity grasp them as they could feel their consciousness slip away. Down the pillar of doom that sprouted from the beast, they started to slide as the monster tilted the point upwards. Within the already open mouth, the sides of it split along six points with a crack and seeps of blood. The orifice separated and stretched out further more with spindles of spit and red strings that drooped to the floor. In the center of this gaping void grew an orange swirling sphere, taking on the glow much like that of melted glass. As the needle recessed back into its mouth, the molten liquid reached out as if it had a mind of its own, growing nubby tentacles that latched onto their submitted bodies. The few that stood about in the doorway witnessed these actions with traumatic horror, eyes grew red and dry that soon were moistened from tears along with their motionless and captivated stances. The ones within the room already had yanked them in, pulling them away from the sight of tremendous distress.


    Falling into the vacant room and landing on their rears which shook them slightly from the haunting ingrains they took in. The man who stood by the doorway slammed a fist into the protruding circle that rested next to the opening, not knowing what it did but was satisfied with the results as an orange transparent shield snapped into existence along the frame they just passed. This did nothing to shut out the sounds coming from the great hall as they could still inquire what the beast on the other side was indulging in. One of the men who was flung to the floor curdled into a fetal position with his irises surrounded by white as the en-closings shuddered fervently. He gripped the hair at the sides of his head unknowingly between his stammering fingers, so tightly as they were almost pulled from their pores. His jaw and lips were volatile in their positions as he panted violently; it was surprising that he was able to remain conscious. The woman next to him was able to keep her bearings for it was in her nature to care for others first. She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder asking out,


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Only to be greeted by a slap to her hand and a scream of terror.


    ¡°Get the fuck off of me!¡± He yelled out as he quickly picked himself up from the ground, all of them stared at him as the loud gulps from outside filled the air. His eyes swiftly ran across the various faces and eyes gouging his being, the sight of this only pressed his panicked mind deeper into the fray. His labored breathing was almost louder than the beast at the doorstep as he turned and vanished into an inconspicuous corner of this unworthy hideaway. The man at the door only heard all of his desperate cries as he diligently watched what he could see past the scouring frame that led out into the hall. His sight was tinted by the orange screen, its surface was speckled by horizontal lines and thin ovals of lurid overlays that scratched the surfaces of the shield. They shimmered about as well as shining and fading within the glow. Just past it a pool of darkness started to seep across the white hexagons who¡¯s colors were dusted and altered with the fervency of the screen. Its deep hues were easy to discern as the pool crawled across the floor in a grotesque manner.


    He watched and was so absorbed by the steady pace of its overture that he lost all thought in his mind. What shook him violently back into reality was a strident tendril being forced into the plane of the shield wall before him. The wall cracked at this impact with clear white definition. His body reacted by flinging itself backwards as he then landed on his rump with palms supporting him at his sides. Still peering out into the great hall he could see the Cart move the rest of its body surgically into view as it tried to get better sight past this doorway. Its slow but continuous movement accompanied by a snarling grin and absorbing black hole of an eye rocked him to his core as he picked himself up and darted farther back into the recesses of this alcove. The three women left the man in the corner and fled the room as well, following the one who retreated in a sudden panic. As they entered the second room, the previous man had done the same with this doorway and slammed the button, thus closing off the passage.


    As the women gathered their breath, they looked around and saw that this enclosure was exactly like the one they were just in, but what caught one''s attention was that Ray was nowhere to be found. As she scoured the room she got up and peered further down the hall behind them in hopes of finding their missing comrade. Before she could make any further discoveries, the first wall had crumbled as the Cart rammed into it, surpassing the gate in which all of them had thought would keep them safe. The man at the door faltered with a few steps back as he took in a deep breath of air from shock. All that could be seen past the screen was a cloud of dust that swallowed the other room. As another slam took place it shook the foundation and walls about, forcing everyone to buckle on their feet.


    ¡®Move!¡¯ Is all that his body told him, running back to the next doorway as the others were already down that path. Running back and into this frame was easy, for they were already near, but the man jumped into the threshold as the beast violently broke through the wall behind them. Face shrieking and two limbs seeking out a bust to impale, barely missing contact with the man as his jump was his last saving grace. Upon landing on the floor, one of the women followed his past actions and mashed the button by the frame, sealing them off from death itself. How long, none knew. They were only delaying the inevitable. The one who shut the door was looking out past the shimmering light and at the one that so desperately wished to end them. It had gotten too greedy and was buried underneath rubble from the collapsing wall. They were safe for the time being, but their fate laid in the hands of this facade before them. The man had got up and rested his palm on the screen, he stood there and watched the trapped beast with the woman right beside him. As the other two collected themselves, one continued to wonder where Ray had gone. She noticed that the doorway behind them was already veiled by the same screen that was on the other side. She walked up to it and perched by its front, resting a hand on the flat as well. Little was to be seen on the other side but a bubbling wall with faded specks of darkness peeking through them. Taking a look at the floor, the corpse of a creature could be seen, one that she has never seen before. It had six legs which were identical in appearance to the limbs she has seen the others carry before who wielded them like weapons. Only they had another portion and a joint that connected them to the main body. They were similar to the monster on the other side but smaller than the likes of themselves, if she were to guess it would stand about four to five feet tall. Four legs sprouted from the abdomen while the mid section turned at a right angle wielding the other two as it also held the head up. Its head was insect-like with four mandibles but they lacked the massive eye and only held a flat surface. At the top was a flat swished back veil with two points, one was angled more than the other so she guessed that they were able to move freely. Just like anything else in this place the colors of its body were the same, pale white and fleshy lined with bone-like tones along the sections. This one was on the floor and leaked all of its blood as it still twitched about in slight intervals.


    She gazed forwards, now resting both of her hands on the shield screen, her palms on the other side created a luminous overlay onto the surface. As she further pressed her head onto the sealing surface, she could make out more of the room that was under construction. Just resting at the edge of her vision could she make out two more corpses of the worker drones. They were slashed apart in different portions of their bodies, in which they laid stagnant upon the floor. Then Ray walked into frame very close to the screen from which she was spectating from, the sudden appearance of his silhouette gave her fright from which she let out a shrill scream. She threw herself back from the screen as the others darted their vision onto what startled her. What they saw struck fear into their hearts much like the behemoth on the other side did, his face was hard to recognize. Deformed and twisted from what it previously was, he was hard to look at as the creases and shadows populated his expressions. The poundings hitting the wall past him soon soaked his eyesight, the beast had freed itself and resumed its conquest. He then turned and made haste towards the wall that was just a few yards away, raising the tipped appendage with anticipation to strike. The closer woman darted towards the screen to witness him accompanying the other, both now at the shield they knew what he was attempting to achieve, as they soon started to bang on the screen and yelled about telling him to stop. He swung with great force unto the wall before him, ripping away at the foundation that peeled back in strands like sinew. He continued in his cuts as the wall straddled back from the slices. As more and more sections were revealed, the further it got into the outside nothingness. As the wall thinned out, it began to bulge inwards from the invading force that rested beyond them. Stretching with a bubble and a hint of darkness swallowing its hues.


    ¡°Ray! Ray!¡± Was all to be heard beyond the muffled closings behind him, worthless productions of airwaves, for they did not affect his already corrupted mind.


    ¡°Ray!¡± This final attempt to stop him had made his head turn, deep within his mind that was being soaked in the comforts of darkness was he able to make one final stand. He looked at them with a turned head and saw the fearful look painted across their faces. They stared back unto his face which let out a relentless look of pain and suffering as he smiled, the smile shut his eyes unto which tears spilled over and down his cheeks.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Those were the only words that ran from his mouth, too quiet to hear for they could only interpret what he said from the motion of his lips. The rest of his body seemed to be under control of someone else as his movements didn¡¯t match up with his head. His arms swung forwards with purpose from their reeled back position, upon striking the bubbling layer of flesh, the room had collapsed in an instant. The screen the woman had observed from, wobbled as the outside force let its presence be known. This sudden and instant visual sent them back unto their flanks as they looked forwards in disbelief. The screen before them bore visuals that were of nothing but gore, as the flat displayed the fleshy walls along with bits and pieces of blood and what they could only assume were chunks of those who previously resided within, smeared into a piece of abstract art. Now they knew the purpose of these various rooms and their screens, but it was all in vain since the very screen behind them was starting to crack. Too enveloped with the man who wielded the weapon that had a fraction of a chance in killing, its target was rapidly closing in. The women then turned their tearful heads and eyes unto the faltering wall, the cracks were many, and then they had shattered.

 Chapter 1: Anthony

    It was late in the morning and the hushed studio apartment was shrouded in a haze, illuminated scarcely by a slice of sunlight that pierced through the devouring darkness from cracked curtains. It shredded more light to its surroundings that bounced from the ends of its rays. Little particles were illuminated in the air from this intruding beam with the appearance of white slivers, dancing and twirling about while a symphony of snoring incidentally filled the vacant frequencies. Its audience was seated on the floor that masked various spots which were that of clothes, empty glass bottles and microwavable containers which were lined with bits of grease and food. The room was a spacious sardine can which had previously been a hotel, the building was converted into a housing solution; furniture was sparse and the room resembled your run of the mill vacation dormitory. TV, TV stand, microwave, table and chair, the bed was placed opposite along the middle of the back wall accompanied by a black wooden nightstand carrying a lamp while the land-line was MIA.


    ¡°No-no-I dohn wanna go to tha store¡± were the words that broke the silence, jutting out from his mouth while he shifted in uneasiness, still remaining unconscious and pressed to the bed. There on the mattress layed a somewhat toned caucasian male in his mid twenties, belly down and an arm tucked under the pillow, he wore only black pajamas that had tiny bananas on them. Short brown hair with golden streaks coursing through on the top of his head, sides and back were buzzed with a fade. Adorning a nose ring on his left nostril and an oval but masculine face which was smooth to the touch, a trail of drool came from his mouth and was making itself at home in the weaves of cotton and polyester below.


    Breaking the silence even more was an alarm that started going off, it was hacking away bit by bit trying to stir the slumbering one from his cushioned cradle. His phone pounded away harshly atop of the nightstand, shaking about in intervals and was paired with a cheery tune. He groans in response to the sounds being emitted from his cellular, pulsing atop of the hard wood surface as the continued rattling felt like it was shattering his eardrums. Sluggishly looking up from his sleeping spot, eyelids were preening the light dashing into his red veined eyes that had dark bags underneath them. His heavy head proved difficult to hold high as it swirled intensely from indulgence the night prior, he falters. Letting off the weight from his neck, the swimming skull he carried dropped back into the soft pillow before and sloshed his brain about. Half awake and still inebriated, he puts all of his strength into the closest arm that could fight back against the noise. Reaching out with one hand, fingers stretched and searching blindly, he was somehow able to discover everything else on the surface before finding his device. Triumphantly, he manages to silence the phone that was screaming at him, merely with a press of the lock button.


    Lying on his enabling mattress he is thankful for no longer being disturbed, the peaceful stillness of the room is lulling him back, but was shortly shaken awake from a sensation gathering at the the back of his throat. Rocking his body into an involuntary state of gagging, he attempts to reach the bathroom with hasty efforts. Arms pushing up from the soft surface while his cheeks billow out, desperately fighting against the invading force. Focus was being rocked about from his stirring head, causing footing to give away as he stepped off the bed. Slipping on an empty bottle that rested sideways on the floor, his foot shot out and kicked the nightstand with an audible thud while he then fell to his back. No time to acknowledge the pain he pushes up from the back of his elbows, rotating around and reaching for a small trash can that was tucked away between his nightstand and bed. Pulling it close, he begins to hurl into the plastic bag lined bin. Wiping his mouth and spitting a few times into the small container he breathes hard as if out of breath. He blows his nose into a palm and then wipes the residue on the side of his pajamas. Slumping over sideways onto his back he quickly falls back to sleep on the floor with limbs sprawled out.


    Hours later his sleep is cut short from a knocking within his skull, as if his brain is trying to break out of the cranial prison it resides in. He raises a hand with pointed fingers, directed to a single spot on his dome trying to soothe the pain, moving them in a massaging circular motion back and forth. He gets up from the floor and takes to sitting on his mattress, grabbing a jug of water that rested by his bed that pressed against his box-frame. Opening the vessel he takes a few swigs and feels the cool revitalizing liquid rush down his throat. Stopping to catch his breath, he glances over to the night stand where his mobile device rested. The noise around it was distracting, pulling eyes away from the blinking light and into scattered hues that seemed to bloom out with promises. The bramble was somewhat easy to sort out, for everything could be identified by similar colors or shades. With only three important ones, the first was black, being the table, remote or phone, second was whites that were paper plates, napkins or plastic screw tops. The final was orange, which were of his pill bottles that shared white on tops and sides. The orange translucence was nostalgic to him with the whites being the helmets and suits they wore. As a kid he always pretended they were soldiers, marching in his house with a strict formation. Serving and protecting him and the ones he loved, imagining this for he was told that they were their saviors. Some of the infantry had lost their lives in the battle of attrition, for they rested on their sides empty and without a helmet.


    Dust had annexed most of the nightstand, with layers accumulating in certain spots where interaction didn¡¯t happen, gripping the edges tightly and losing its influence the closer it was to the bedside where his hand made presence. A TV remote sat at the top of the nightstand, tucked away hiding behind empty bottles and a face-down picture frame. The remote was prodding out one end towards him as if it was calling out for attention. ¡®What cartoons are on right now?¡¯ was a quick distraction that was easy to indulge in and fall back asleep to. Hand being drawn to such an object, he could not give in to its preying temptations. Being ruled by dismay, he pulled his hand away from the lust for temporary salvation. Fighting off the remote and turning attention towards his phone that laid among a quarry, he was able to easily pick it out as the green notification light-seared away at the top. Standing out amongst the black unlit sea it resided in, its blinking was hard to ignore. The minuscule emerald dot of truth that sent out an sos, was successful in catching his passing eye.


    He squeezes his eyes tightly, blinking with attempts to wrangle off the scorching dryness helped marginally. Then closing one eye, he squints with the other, trying to make out the vague flat surface projecting its beacon. He grabs the device with a free hand, resting fingers on one side and pressing a button on the other with his thumb to wake the screen. Brightness was set to max, singeing his eyes from what felt like a flash-bang he squeezed them tight in reaction. Squinting through the deafening light he pushes on from a bout of curiosity and impatience. Entering his pin number, digit by digit ¡®1-1-9-9¡¯ the phone unlocks and presents its home screen. Clicking on the chat bubble icon at the bottom with a ¡®1¡¯ hovering in-front of it, the screen switches over to the conversations that were stored. Ignoring the wall of chats, he presses on the new message from Edmund, opening it up and begins moving his eyes side to side.


    -Anthony, we are sincerely sorry about your current predicament in life, but we, as a company, have given you an allotted time frame and must move on assuming your mental condition is in a dire state. Asking you to return after such a traumatic event and expecting full fulfillment of your position is presumptuous and quite demanding. We have decided to give you one month of pay in advance, and have begun seeking out replacement of your position. We hope you understand our decisions as a business, and that you appreciate our attempt to care for your needs. Following this email, will be a link to Therapists and Social workers that you may contact free of charge. All you have to do is give the referral code to them at the end of this message as confirmation. We all wish the best for you and your loved ones.


    ~Edmund


    https://cmrs.rs/21fz3


    REFERRAL CODE - AE5682K31Y-


    He isn¡¯t capable of understanding the full message given his drunken hangover, only taking away that he is being replaced and out of a job. Looking at his phone with one eye open, he hears what sounds like a piece of paper being slipped under the front of his door. Turning towards the sound, he sees a white envelope that is propped up at an angle from the sill of his door frame. Locking his phone and slides it into his pocket, he gets up and walks towards the envelope, grabbing it off the ground. Inspecting it, he flips the rectangle back and forth, then looks forwards while grabbing the door handle. Opening it he steps out into the hallway seeking the one that delivered the folds of paper to his residence. Turning his view down one direction of the hall, seeing no one he turns a 180 and lays eyes on a man walking away, who is shuffling through more envelopes. ¡°Hey!? Whuts his al-bout!?¡± Anthony shouts at him. The guy turns around and shrugs,


    ¡°I¡¯m just the messenger man¡± he says, turning away and continuing down his path. Anthony stares at him for a bit, then feels his head stirring in agony. Raising a free hand to cradle the tense cranium, he turns back inside. Closing the door and putting attention to the mail he just received; tearing off one of the short sides, he pulls out the folded paper.


    -EVICTION NOTICE-


    That is all he sees from the letter, not even reading the rest of it, he puts in effort to fight back tears swelling up within while biting his lip. Slumping back onto the wall of his short hallway and slides down closer to the floor. Knees up with arms laying on top and crossed into each other. He rests his head into the bridged limbs with a face full of anguish as his thoughts begin to fester. ¡®Why is all of this happening to me?¡¯ Opening up his form a bit he starts to lament, tossing the paper in frustration and throwing punches in the air. Still holding back tears and gritting his teeth, he looks up at the apartment. Rage coursing through his veins he gets up off the ground and moves towards all of his belongings and begins to violently rearrange his room.


    Once his anger has run dry he lays down on the floor, the white popcorn ceiling takes over his vision. No longer caring about his hangover or the throbbing headache, for his mind is plagued by misery and sadness. After what feels like hours of sorrow, he finally notices something poking into the back of his skull, lifting his head a bit as he digs out the object. Pulling it into view above his head, he sees it is a picture of him, his mother and his sister. His face begins to tighten with a frown, slamming his eyes shut, he starts hitting himself in the forehead with his free palm. Just about four or five times before he rests the calmed banging hand covering his eyes while the one holding the frame slumps down beside him. Groaning out of frustration for he is not sure what to do anymore. He no longer has his mother, she is gone, she has been gone. She is never coming back, no matter what he tries, that is absolute. Thinking of what he wants most out of life, there is only one thing, and that thing is certainly impossible. He pulls the phone out of his pocket and moves his eyes to the lock screen, it displays what he was looking for.


    -1:17 pm


    Sunday, February 27-


    Attempting to move past delusion and trying to accept reality, he then says out-loud while still looking forward at the screen.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even feel like it¡¯s been that long¡­ Just the other day, we were laughing about how mad Janet gets over the curtains being open. Thinking someone outside would be watching us.¡±


    He chuckles to himself a bit being in a reminiscent state, the dread pools over again drowning out the happy memories. The smile lasting only for a moment on his face transitions back to a frown. Grief settles in much deeper after reliving the happy memories that just crossed his mind. He clutches the picture to his chest with both hands, shutting his eyes tightly, a few drops escape from his clasped lids.


    Dusk is settling in while his mind cries out for attention and comfort. The first person that jumped into his thoughts was his girlfriend. Thinking back with a faded and distraught mind, he catches glimpses of them getting into a heated argument and breaking up, hurting more from the sudden memories he doesn¡¯t let up. At this moment, his mind is on autopilot and takes whatever actions to meet ends need. Propping up on his side while unlocking his phone (1-1-9-9) it opens, and looking back at his messages he sees there was one from her that was already opened.


    -Clarice- 2/24/22-


    He lets out a sigh of disbelief. Resting his head back he asks himself ¡°What the fuck have I been doing this whole time?¡± sitting there for a moment he rubs his eyes, attempting to clear his vision. While holding up the phone he pries open the heavy lids, points with an index finger and taps on the message.


    -After all that I have done for you, I have given you my all and you still refuse to let me in. I have only been putting my all to be there for you, but all you do is ignore me, push me away and treat me as a burden. I am so sorry that your mother passed away but that is not my-


    He stopped reading and thought back to the bad news recently introduced to his life, the news he was trying to reject. Eyes crossing over the word ¡®Mother¡¯ made his heart sink and chest tighten. Even with his mind fatigued, he can only think about the one person that has been permanently removed from his life. Emotions have been dulled from constant and continued self medication: self and prescribed as he felt they still weren¡¯t enough alone. The waters being held back had amassed behind a dam, piling up and desiring freedom, but were met with a strong diligent will. Angry that his emotions would not push through had troubled him so. Even from reading the message his past lover wrote failed to bring anything to the surface. ¡®Clarice¡¯ he thought solemnly in his head, ¡®I never deserved you¡¯. Looking back at his phone, unlocking it to look back at the text, intending to read its entirety.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.-Clarice-


    Immediately after seeing her name again he disregards it and attempts to call her, the phone rings for the full length, then goes to voicemail. Sighing while looking at his phone he tries again with trembling lips, but this time he is sent straight to voicemail after a few seconds. Knowing what signs he is given emotions start to stir about, reminding him why he didn¡¯t want to feel anything. He gets up and walks over to his nightstand, pulling out the drawer that was ajar. Reaching in and yanking out two of the pills that rested at the outer corner. Popping them into his mouth as he looks to the side of his pillow and sees a mostly empty bottle of whiskey that is missing its cap. Grabbing it he drinks the rest of its contents ¡®This is all that seems to make me feel better¡¯ his brain said as he washed the pills away with liquor. His memories begin to fade bit by bit, with the last one of him walking over to his restroom.


    Anthony is now waiting in line at the liquor store, clenching a handle of whiskey in each hand. His eyes are dashed with red and dark bags underneath. His face is painted with sorrow and fatigue. With his turn at the register he places the bottles on the counter listlessly. The middle aged clerk looks up at him from the clanks of the bottles, seeing his face and outfit that was consisting of banana pajamas, blue crocs, and a white shirt that was covered by a dark blue plaid flannel, she lets out a ¡°Yeesh '''' along with a frown and squinched face. She reluctantly scans the items and without even thinking to id him she says ¡°54.97¡±. He inserts his card into the chip reader, noticing the clerk looking at him out of the side of vision, he looks at her and gives a slight forced smile that quickly resumes the half dead expression that was there prior.


    After paying he gathers his things and starts for the exit. Doing his best to walk straight he tilts and nudges a man¡¯s shoulder on his way out. The man watches him struggle to open the door for a bit before helping him. He pulls the door open and Anthony staggers out making his way to his car that was a black and dated Volkswagen mini sedan. The slightly irritated and curious man had felt a jolt rush throughout his body upon making contact with Anthony and proceeded to follow him out the doorway. Getting a good study of the man he watched waggle into the vehicle, he then looks at the numbers on his license plate. Pulling down shades to get a better view, revealing his eyes which held irises that were but a brilliant gold color. Refitting his shades he pulls out a phone and begins to call someone. Watching as the car drives off the ringing stops, and is greeted with a hello.


    ¡°I got some plates for ya, I think you are going to like this one.¡±


    In hazy shaded bits of memories, Anthony sees himself opening the mirror cabinet on the bathroom wall of his apartment, eyes focused on an unopened bottle of antidepressants that sat on the shelves next to toiletries and band-aids. Popping it open he takes a few capsules, pulling up the bottle of whiskey from his other hand and slamming some shots to help the pills go down and then sets the bottle on the floor. Letting out a few coughs from the harshness of the alcohol, he turns on the faucet and starts swigging some water to try and ease the burn that was scorching his throat. Stopping to take some breaths of air, he composes a bit while resting his hands on both sides of the sink. Raising one hand to close the cabinet, he then looks up into the mirror at himself. Looking deep into his own blood shot eyes, a face full of grimace and grief, he raises a clenched hand. Thinking back to all the past events that have sent him into a spiral of emotions, he hates what course of actions he has taken and feels anger swelling inside. Grunting while he releases a punch forward, breaking the flat surface in which was showing him the disappointment he wished not to see. Feeling a warm liquid pouring down his right hand and then shortly after his arm, he feels a stinging sensation across the back of his fist. Inspecting the area producing pain he sees blood racing out from a cut buried under the red liquid. Still looking at his hand, he opens the cabinet in which he had just assaulted, followed by a search for gauze held within its contents.


    From the view outside of his apartment building, Anthony is seen stumbling along and making his way to the outer parking lot. One of his hands is overly wrapped in the medical tenders that he found in his house with one of the ends hanging loosely. While mostly white, the area covering his knuckles seems to be soaking in a combination of dark and light reds. In his uninjured hand he is carrying a bottle of whiskey by its neck, lightly gripping it with his fingers. As it starts to slip from his hold he jolts his other hand to help catch it, flinging his pill container towards the ground. Adjusting to caress the bottle tighter, once it is secured he walks over to pick up the plastic vessel. He then gets into his car slowly, it is a struggle with his hands full and steadiness altered, exclaiming out obscenities as the task is proving to be difficult. Finally, he is able to slump into the driver''s seat while panting with a few beads of sweat trickling from his forehead. Resting his head back into the headrest, he closes his eyes; he catches himself falling asleep and jolts forward letting out a gasp. A few self administered slaps to the face does little to wake him. Taking the keys from his pocket he is greeted with another hurdle trying to put them in the ignition slot as you hear them jangle about.


    Suddenly feeling a jolt from the right side of his head, he raises a hand to ease the sensation with a squished face and sucking his teeth, wincing from the unknown force. For a fraction of a second he saw an orange smeared figure resembling a human with a black and blue background flicked into his head. He turns his head to view what lies in that side of his view, his eyes meet upon another vehicle in the parking lot from where he thinks the feeling came from which is roughly 30 feet away. Inside are two men, one is a bit tanned in his skin with dark curly hair and thick stubble. The other is bulky and rests higher than the other, his hair is golden and short while wearing some circular shades blocking out his eyes, that is all that he can make out from staring at them in his drunkenness. The man in the driver''s seat raises his hand and nods. He stares for a second more, thinks nothing of it and slowly turns forward with a confused look upon his face. He finally gets the car to start which felt like ages to accomplish, then putting it into drive he pulls off from the lot slowly coming to a stop at the outlet as he waits for traffic to clear.


    ¡°Que chingao! Are you sure that¡¯s the guy?¡± the driver says, slanting one hand out from his body while turning his head to the passenger. The other man is scrolling up and down on a police laptop and comes to a stop, then pointing at the screen holding the most recent image of Anthony¡¯s driver license.


    ¡°His hair is different, good thing too cause that mop looked horrible. Address and plates match up so I¡¯d say that¡¯s our guy. Even though I didn¡¯t sense anything coming off of him, we¡¯ll still follow him around for a while and see if anything changes.¡± The man then writes some notes down in a small pad, taken from the info on the screen while he prods away at his compatriot in a demeaning tone. ¡°Why did you stop concealing yourself?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he says back with annoyance lined in his voice. The other man then turns his eyes towards him, peeking through the angled crack of his shades. He as well has lush golden irises that shine brightly and had three black lines evenly spread out on the bottom halves, coming from the pupils and meeting the edges with finely tipped points.


    ¡°Why did you stop concealing yourself? It could have just been a coincidence, but he looked at us right away.¡± The driver stares back with an irked expression saying nothing. ¡°If he does end up being awakened and we fail to capture him¡­ I¡¯ll have to dispose of a puppet. I think we can both agree that we don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°Uh, well I didn¡¯t think he-¡°


    ¡°You saw how wasted he was!? Before he drove off, he clearly sensed us cause you stopped concealing!¡± he yells out to his driver cutting him off, then looking forward and rests his head into upward pointed fingers out of irritation while he twists his lips about.


    ¡°Ay caprone¡± says the driver as he pulls down the right side of his collar, revealing a strange black mark on the side of his neck. It was small and circular in size, containing a dot in the middle with eight wavy symmetrical tapering lines trailing off of the outer circle. It is a little bigger than a quarter in size and was underneath his skin like a tattoo. The man then points at it using his index finger with truculence. ¡°This is your fault pendejo.¡±


    The man turns towards his associate while pulling his shades down, resting them on the bridge of his nose to get a clear look. Sighing, then pushing his shades back to conceal the mystical eyes he owns, he rotates away to look out the window. Scratching away at the stubble scattered amongst his jawline, interjecting to disrupt the offset vibes inside the car.


    ¡°Right, I guess I could have done this on my own, but you can never be too careful with these fresh ones. We should go before we lose sight of him.¡± He snaps his fingers along with the end of his sentence as if giving a command. The man sitting in the driver seat rolls his eyes and groans, throwing his hands up in annoyance.


    ¡°Pinche culero!¡± Churning the key to start the engine, he then treads along to follow the car ahead of him, doing what his ears received but mostly what his mind had felt, as he was only a slave to the threat residing within his own neck.


    Looking up at the sky, there are clouds to be seen that were blushed with dark blues. Anthony can be heard below, he is talking as if there is someone else there. The Clouds soon lead into a skyline of pines, further leading down into a cemetery. The headstones fit in well with the natural abundance around. There is a big clearing of the woods to make way for all graves that are present and rested into the soil. The trees, flat ground and decorative headstones compliment each other well as some of the plaques are dusted with hints of greens and browns from years of enduring the elements. Before one grave, lies Anthony at his knees. He is kneeling over and clenching one fist over his heart gripping his shirt tightly. Looking over at the stone before him it reads out,


    -IN LOVING MEMORY OF


    ADELINE RAE MARLEWICK


    1975-2022


    FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS


    YOU WERE THE ONE AND ONLY


    TILL WE ALL RECONNECT ONCE MORE-


    Anthony then starts to speak again, ¡°I just wish you were here right now mom. I- I don¡¯t know what to do. The only other person that cared about me, doesn¡¯t even want to see me¡­ I miss you so much and I wished I was there for you more, I wished I spent more time with you. More time with you instead of that stupid woman!¡­ I¡¯ve lost everything.¡± He shuts his eyes tight and tilts his head down with stammering lips. Remembering his girlfriend getting upset with him, throwing various household items in his direction. He remembers her angry and torn expression bearing teeth accompanied by grunts and shouts while loose hair swung from side to side. He remembers those unpleasant memories of over ones with him and his mother. Getting frustrated, he starts banging on the ground with his uninjured fist, asking himself ¡®Why!? Why can I only think of her !?¡¯ while more memories of their fight play out in his mind.


    ¡°GET OUT OF MY HEAD!¡± He screams at the top of his lungs, forehead planted on the ground and hands clenched in fists. At this point he starts to wonder if he hates her, or he hates how much he is attached to her. With his mind in such a terrible state he convinces himself of the latter and forces the lies to be true, he has decided that he hates her. He hates that she was in his life, he hates that he fell in love with her. He hates the very idea that he cares about her more than his mother. He hates that she cares about him, that she cares about him more than any other person would, for he wants that care, but he doesn¡¯t feel like he deserves it.


    ¡®Why? Why did she care about me so much?¡¯ he thinks to himself. His insecurities have wrapped him around its finger. With an altered mind and fragile self-esteem, he is overcome with assumptions and self doubt.


    ¡®We are done! Isn¡¯t this what you wanted!? You shut me out so I¡¯ll shut you out!¡¯ her words rang loud and clearly through his head. It was as if someone had recorded it and pressed play while he was wearing headphones. Finally the tears surged out of his eyes, with their hard fought battle against the dam he had set up was won. No longer could he keep his emotions in, and there on the ground was where the dirt felt his sorrow. Whimpering with his forehead pressed on the crust of the earth, his catharsis made an appearance at last. Not being familiar with its aid, he felt destroyed and once again sought to run away from the stabbing misery instead of letting it relieve itself. Shooting his body up while still on his knees, he reaches into his shirt pocket, grabbing for a pill bottle that wasn¡¯t there. Angering him for it was the aid he was seeking, he thinks of where he could have put it while tears still rule the arches of his cheeks. He stands up and seeks a solution to his new found problem.


    Walking over to his car stepping from side to side as if he was aboard a sea vessel being tossed around by the ocean. Shifting about involuntarily, he manages to fight past the invisible waves and reaches his vehicle. Opening the driver¡¯s side he steps in, slumping down roughly dust kicks up from the seat, he then turns his vision over to the glove box. Opening it to reveal another unopened pill container with its white cap and orange translucent body wearing a sticker across its bust that was like a belt, a belt telling most about itself but holding only its deepest darkest secrets.


    -Anthony Ted Marlewick


    Sertraline 50mg dosage


    Once per day orally-


    Grabbing the pill container he twists it open, turning the bottle on its side towards an open hand, most roll off and land on the floor, only two manage to stay on the palm awaiting their fate. Squinting down and looking at them with one open eye he sees their white oblong shapes, tossing them into his mouth he then reaches for the bottle of whiskey from behind a seat. Opening it he takes a big swig, then lowering the bottle to let out a breath of air. Recapping it, he tosses it onto the passenger side floor, struggles with the key again and swears to himself that the hole must be moving around avoiding the receiving end. Finally meeting with success he manages to jab it in its slot and starts the engine.

 Chapter 2: Crude Awakening

    A strong but stifled ringing is vaguely heard in what feels like clogged ears as a numbed throbbing is felt throughout his body; a heavy weight pinning his limbs much like the sensation of sleep paralysis weights him down as his consciousness slowly inches forwards. Eyes are sealed shut, but a fraction of tinted light skimmed the surfaces of his irises; he felt their sluggish movements sporadically moving about behind the closed lids searching about in confusion. Life starts to leak into his limbs as twitches intermittently begin to be fired into his fingers and toes as uncertainty rules his mind for he is doped with grogginess. The trodding of bare feet on hard floor accompanied with grunts are dimly heard to his right through his plugged ringing ears, the sudden unexpected sounds startle him which raises his pulse, doing him well for it drags him farther from the clutching slumber that is so harshly numbing him. Out of curiosity, he manages to pry open his weak eyelids with a scant separation, alas, nothing is discernible from the hazy blur that bleeds into his eyes. Attempting to move a hand to rub the milky eyes, he discovers a painful tug coming from the inner center of his wrist; as if the vein is being pulled out of his arm by the resistance which halts his actions. Wondering why this pain is present, he tries to lift his head slightly so he can lay eyes on the ensnared limb, only to be greeted with the same sensation coming from the insides of his ears which holds his head in place from the painful pull. A stint of adrenaline surged throughout his body as this mysterious unpleasant feeling pours fear into his mind and sets off alarms.


    Opening his eyes again after a few harsh squeezes helps somewhat to defog his vision, as smears of color begin taking over his sight. Shades of whites and reds came fading in from the sides while the majority of the front was still enveloped in darkness, it was as if he was being shaded underneath a canopy. With more force he makes an attempt to liberate his left arm, he pulls with painful but unrelenting energy as he ignores the signals being sent to his brain telling him to stop. The tug worsens and throbs deeper, but he can tell that the hold is starting to give away as the deep lodged insert gives a small greased slip with its friction. Whilst putting in more effort the sensation feels like a thorned needle being ripped from deep within his forearm as more millimeters slowly seep out. Adrenaline pumps through him as the pain progresses, aiding in his efforts as he worries less about the embedded burning twinge holding him captive. He is able to force through the screaming agony as his arm soon breaks free with a jerk, then from the fresh opening on his wrist he feels a trickle of liquid begin to ooze out as it begins to lightly cool the surface in which it came into contact with. The now liberated arm reaches over to the right side of his head and discovers a damp fleshy tube burrowing into his ear canal as it branches out and covers the majority of his ear and a tiny portion of the side of his head. It feels warm to the touch and assumes that his inner ear has acclimated to its moderate heat for he can hardly notice its presence. Taking in deep breaths to sooth his raging heart, he takes the plunge and yanks the tube out from his ear with a grunting force. The inside of his ear is screaming and pulsing with pain as liquid dribbles out of the freshly excavated hole much like the perforation on his wrist. Ringing is all that he hears from the free and cold ear, but his efforts gave him some liberty in lifting and tilting his head. Working up the courage to rip the other side out, he takes a moment to get a sense of the rest of his body while the pain subdues him for the time being.


    Starting from the top he focuses on his head (aside from the burning within his ear) his attention is shortly brought to his nose as he feels an insignificant weight lodged inside of his left nostril. Curiously, he reaches up with the free hand and feels a ring embedded in it, solid and warmed from the heat of his body, he can¡¯t help but feel bewildered by it. Not being able to resist playing with this ring between his thumb and index finger as he ponders its purpose and why it is there. Deciding to save the questions for later, considering he has more pressing matters, he moves on and tries to focus on the remainder of his body. Getting a sense of his shoulders down to arms and hands, then his chest, groin, thighs, calves and then finally his feet. He can feel them all, but the most concerning feeling was from the midst of his belly and above his ankles, the same sensation of deep rooted tubes digging into his Achilles tendons but the feeling was deeper into his stomach. The body focus was supposed to alleviate some of his stress but in turn did the opposite, he couldn''t bear it anymore as he hastily pulled free his right arm and the tube in his left ear in quick succession while shouting in bouts of pain. Panting and catching his breath he props up slightly from elbows for the ceiling of the bunk he is in rests roughly three feet from the bottom, strangely the bottom portion that he is laying in has been carved out to make best use of the space cradling his live cadaver.


    Catching his breath he ceases the ripping for a few moments and veers down unto said surface that he feels beneath him, the sides are an intense dark red that match the walls of the building while in the center underneath his body is rested in an outline, which in this outline is an orangish red flesh like weave that feels warm amongst his body but grossly moist. The tubes he yanked out from his flesh and ears slowly writhe there on the surface with almost identical appearances as the bed while a mixture of orange and red liquid oozed out from the ripped ends that sheened in what visible light there was. Focusing more on his body he can see the girthy cord that he felt before burrowing into his belly much like an umbilical cord. What seems to catch his eye more though is that his groin and chest area are devoid of any features for they are flat, feeling as if there should be more to these sections of his body he only stares and gets lost in thought. Shaken from his confusion is a sudden scream off in the distance to his right which he darts his head towards the sound in hopes to witness the being producing them. Just a faint caught through the still present ringing in his ears he looks out from the strange bunk he resides in, mostly in vain for his vision is still quite fogged. Through the blur he can vaguely make out an exorbitant structure that is the same color as the one he¡¯s in, the edges of this building are still encapsulated within his vision which gives him an idea of the size(about twenty feet in width). Abruptly, he feels his stomach begin to churn as his throat yanks, leaning hastily out over the side of the bunk he proceeds to puke. Expunging only air and a slimy opaque liquid that leaves him coughing while tears line his eyes. Looking unto the ground just a foot away from him seems to be the only thing his freshly opened eyes can focus on.


    Flat hexagonal white tiles in about 6 or 7 inches in size, they seem to be perfectly crafted with no imperfections. Eyes following along the surface while taking a careful study leads to the edges of it. Inside of the seams where its end meets another are small crevices that seem to be just a couple millimeters wide, they look to be set in a pitch black void. Along some of the crevices a red liquid is flowing through them as little trails trickle over unto the flat top. The wet surface combined with the brightness of this place, he feels that there would be quite a blaring reflection bouncing off of the tiles but they don¡¯t produce any of the sort. Just a sheer flat and pristine plane can be observed that has completely enthralled him. He reaches out with his index finger and smudges a thin creeping line of red with just the tip. Reeling it back and turning it towards his face, he takes in sight of the crimson liquid that is now flowing down the curves of his finger with the trail drying up quickly as it crusts atop his skin. An intrusive thought takes over his actions as he then licks the drop that was falling down his jointed digit, it tasted like a penny. As the liquid dried the inside of his mouth, he knew what it was but didn¡¯t want to believe that it was blood.


    As his mind begins to slip he decides it is a good time to turn attention back to his body that is being held prisoner by the intruding tubes of flesh. Grabbing and tugging at the umbilical cord and feeling its warm moist exterior made his skin crawl, thus giving more urgency to rid of the unwanted tube. Having difficulties, his other senses start to shove themselves right into his face. His skin feels sticky and damp from the humid air that smells entirely putrid. Thick and heavily lined with mildew and metallics, he feels sick again but disregards the sensation and pushes on trying to break free from the bed as he chokes down some gags. Looking around as if he were to find someone to aid him, his eyes look back outwards towards the neighboring structure once again as his vision has cleared up more, he sees a body in the bunk much like his. The person there is supine, unconscious and not moving, he can vaguely make out the same tubes protruding from them as well as a bright orange glow is being produced from their chest that is oscillating with a lackadaisical pulse. Looking back to the floor in between the two structures he catches a trail of footprints that are marked in splotches of blood. It comforts him knowing that he isn¡¯t the only one to have awoken in this horrible nightmare, curiosity builds quickly, driving his determination of liberty further. He grasps the cord coming from his belly tight with both hands and gives all his might to pull it out, screaming as the pain tries to keep the cord rooted deep inside of his body. Inch by inch it begins to give way, then finally with much force, the tube comes out. Blood and glowing orange goo sputtered out from the open end forcing him to close his eyes as mist had shot out, lightly sprinkling his face and body. He looks down at the bright orange substance, trying to learn of what it is, watching as the luminescent liquid on his flesh slowly absorbs and disappears into his skin. The rest that had landed on the ground or structure curdles as its radiance slowly dies off. The glow seems very much like the one coming from the person¡¯s body across the way, but he wonders why his chest isn¡¯t producing the same light. With a shift of his body, he feels a tug painfully pull above his heels, pulling his mind back as well to his predicament.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.After carefully following the same process, he pulls his legs free, bearing the throbbing agony once more. While caressing one of the freed spots behind his leg, an audible trickle is heard in his left ear, causing him to turn his head sideways as he sees the inside of the structure that he resides in. Then poking his head out to get a better view of what it encompasses, he sees that the building itself angles in and comes back around with eight sides, meeting back to his position. Each side has alternating bunks of different heights like a staggered set of stairs. In each bottom portion of these openings he can see more motionless bodies entangled by the fleshy vines that he just broke free from. The bunks before him have an orange glow flowing from the shelves along the outlining structure holding them, neatly transporting the fluorescent liquid along thin transparent gutters. Going down the sides and meeting the floor, it further channels the liquid into the middle of the ground of this strange octagon into another eight sided opening. Still looking outwards he reaches for a ledge to grab onto and sees that his hand is trembling, along with this sight he also notices that his chest is tight, making it hard to breath. He pulls his hand back as he sits back down inside of the bunk followed by wrapping himself tightly in his arms, attempting to ease his racing mind. Panting as his chest pounds vigorously, his vision is only that of the wall in front of him while the sides and top have been engulfed in a dark haze. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath through his nose, doing his best to ignore the fetid smell lingering in the air. Holding it in his lungs for a few moments while he focuses on feeling his body from the bottom to the top. Then letting out the air through pursed lips slowly, he repeats these actions a few more times while trying to think of a happy place.


    He is shocked for cannot think of, or recall any memories that make him happy; a sliver of panic starts to grow as he cannot remember anything at all. He opens his eyes with a worried and confused look on his face. What day is it? What street did you grow up on? What is your mothers name? No answers to any of these questions. The question that tears away at him the most he asks out loud to himself.


    ¡°Who am I?¡± eyes still open but lost into a void of deep thought, thinking, wishing and trying his best to recall anything. Suddenly a piercing pain like a needle shoots through on the right side of his lower neck, he falls to the side while holding the spot in both hands. The pain is sharp and deep, feeling like spindles of thorns are spreading out and throbbing from the inside he groans. Not sure as to what is happening to him, the pain had already started to subside. Once it becomes tolerable he props himself back up and checks his hands for blood, relieved but confused for his hands bear none. In the midst of this his attention is caught by shrill shrieks heard off in the distance once again, snapping him back to reality as he turns his head to the right. Eyes focused on the body across being drawn to the orange glow, he takes in another deep breath and hesitates to look past the building but can already lightly make it out from his peripherals. He follows the lining of the structure and meets the end of it, discovering that there are even more identical ones past it. He finally peers his head out and looks down one side. The white floor seems to go on and on making an aisle as the structures make lines on both sides. The distance down the aisle starts to get mucked up by red hues as the buildings grow smaller, shrinking into the horizon. Turning around in the other direction he is greeted with the same sight, but at the end he can vaguely guess the presence of a wall hiding behind the veil of haze. His eyes follow up the white beams along the red walls that feel like they are a few miles away. The ceiling that seems to be a few hundred feet high is made of the same whites and reds. Struck with awe and fear from what his eyes have seen, tears begin to pool out from them.


    Pinned in his positions by the striking size and horrific sights of the landscape he forgets his intentions for a brief moment.


    His curious thoughts bring him back to and leads his body into motion towards the glowing vessel right across. Stepping out from his bunk he begins walking towards the neighboring building which seems to be roughly twenty feet away. Each step he takes the more he can clearly see the person laying there as the pulsing light shines about, illuminating its adjacent surroundings like a flame. He kneels down resting a hand on the edge of the structure and peers into the face whose jaw is hanging limply, their eyes are open but only the whites are to be seen as the pupils have rolled far back into their head. It appears to be a woman roughly in her twenties, the life seems to have been sucked out of her as cheeks are shallow and skin is lacking saturation aside from the glowing orange coming from her bust. Her brown long hair spindles along the back of her neck and rests atop of her shoulders. He reaches out to touch her face but suddenly feels the presence of another, who is sitting just on the other side of the bed. His eyes dart up and jump right into the other man¡¯s that he somehow didn¡¯t notice before. His smiling face is splattered with blood as drops are falling off of his chin and his exposed teeth are painted red. Heavy bags are underneath his sockets that seem to go deep into the gazing gray blue eyes that are cracked with red veins, just a quick dive into them he can tell that plenty has gone awry with this man. His short blond hair is also dripping with the liquid combined with sweat and has been pushed back out of his face as a few squiggles of it are glued to his forehead. He stares into the man¡¯s soul for a few moments as the man reciprocates this; no words were spoken for the moments that felt like ages as the background was filled with the crazed man¡¯s deep breathing. The whole time this man¡¯s lids seemed to be frozen as they did not blink, the tension was cut by the words suddenly muttered from his mouth, startling him for he was rooted by his gaze.


    ¡°Warum hast du mich gemacht?¡± he says with a still head and eyes like a statue.


    ¡°What?¡± he asks back with a squint in his eyes, not sure of what the man had said to him.


    ¡°Warum!? Warum!? Warum!?¡± The man yells back with his face hardening into a fierce scowl as he then clutches onto the reaching arm by his wrist, forcefully and tight. The clasping hand hurts with its squeezing vice, he can feel the man¡¯s hand is wet as it clutches tighter causing him to peer down unto it, seeing that his fist is enrobed in red.


    ¡°Ah what the fuck man!? Let go of me!¡± He shouts out to him, trying to pull his arm away, but is met with great resistance.


    ¡°Ich mach dich kalt!¡± The man yells at him as he tries reeling him closer, resistance gives way as the squeezed arm slips free from his lathered hand. This causes the one that was held captive to fall backwards onto his rear from the pent up energy. He wastes no time, scrambling to his feet and begins to run away down one of the lengthy aisles.


    ¡°Warte, du fotze!¡± he hears behind him as he assumes the man is crawling his way out of the structure. Shortly afterwards, he can hear slaps of feet in the distance behind him followed by his own. Eyes set straight and limbs throwing themselves as hard and fast as they can carry him, adrenaline is powering him forwards like a steam engine. Though it doesn¡¯t seem to be enough despite his efforts as he can hear the man behind him closing in with his feet and grunts. Without paying attention to his footing, he slips from a pool of blood that had accumulated. Flinging his legs out in front of him and arms sprawled out trying to catch onto anything, he then feels a smack to the back of his head accompanied with a loud thud.

 Chapter 3: Sinister Deluge

    The impact to the back of his head spun his consciousness, eyes and face squeezed in reaction as he dealt with the blunt trauma that gave him a great deal of pain. Caressing the back of his head with both hands, he squirms and writhes on the ground as groans escape his mouth, the pain had caused him to forget momentarily about his predicament. Suddenly remembering his pursuer, he jolts his body around on the ground and peeks up and looks down the aisle behind him by raising his head and torso up with his hands, readying himself just in case he needs to flee again. To his surprise the man that he heard violently chasing him had somehow vanished as the lane was empty. He wonders to himself if the guy was even real at all and not a figment of his imagination? Glancing down at his arm that was grabbed, he can see his wrist is still covered in the blood that had been painted on him from the crazed man. His breathing is hastened and his vision seems to have blurred up a bit from the impact, but he can feel his pulse beating rapidly in his palms and face. He then attempts to pick himself up off the ground, but his actions are halted from a voice off to his side in a loud but stifled tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, move!¡± The sudden words startle him as he quickly snaps his head to the left in the direction of the voice. He sees a man that is bracing himself with a hand placed on the structure beside him, he is kneeling and looking at him while his other hand rested on the ground. He appears to be shorter and less bulky than the other that he felt was trying to take his life. He was a white male that had short brown hair and a notable scar painted across his neck that continued onto his chin while a notch was taken out of the ear on the same side. Another scar was on the opposite side of his head that came down from his temple and stopped at his brow. He is confused by his urgent command but is thankful that this man seems to still have his sanity, gazing upon his face he can see his stoic and concerned look and wonders why this person is so tense.


    ¡°Lay down right now and don¡¯t move!¡± He says to him in a fairly stern tone. Not sure what else to do he decides to put his trust in this stranger as he closes his eyes and rests his head down on the ground slowly. He can feel his face touch the wet floor that caused him to slip; the strong smell of iron makes itself comfortable inside of his nose and lungs. Sickened by the thought of what he is making contact with he notices that the temperature of the ground is hard to gauge. The blood feels Luke-warm as he soaks his cheek in it, making him think that the floor is heated or that the liquid is fresh. Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by an approaching culmination of sounds. Just vaguely he can make out something wafting through the air, like it is lightly pushing itself along through a dim jet of air. Accompanying it is a gurgling or bubbling that is volatile, sounding like it is rising and falling in intensity. The noise had crept up rather quickly and seemed to slow down the closer it got to him as he felt a brush of air caress the back side of his body, tickling tiny hairs as it pushed by, giving him goosebumps. In the back of his mind he thought that he could feel its overwhelming presence weighing down on his body like being engulfed by heavy consuming water. The pressure frightened him and made his mind race as he continued to convince his body to be patient. Curiosity gets the best of him as he decides to open his eyes to try and see this being that had invited itself over. Only seeing the ground and the structure straight ahead of his vision, he turns his sight outwards to the left as far as he can. As his irises came to a rest at the edge of his sockets, he can only get dashes of long sharp appendages and the large roundish body they are attached to. The edges and hues this being is giving off are lost in translation and blur off into the background from the extent of his vision. He is able to get the gist of its figure and this appearance makes his chest feel tight as his bust begins to expand and compress rapidly.


    Putting two and two together the best he can, he can only guess that this mammoth of a creature is floating behind and above him, vacillating in the air much like a helicopter. He can feel it staring and studying him, which felt like hours before anything else had happened. Abruptly a bright yet rusty orange light blinds his vision forcing his eyelids to shut in reaction, startling him, yet he is able to prevent the rest of his body from acting out. He can see the light penetrating through his closed eyes but the more concerning factor was the heat it gave off. Throughout every inch of his skin and inside of his body he felt the effects of the beam, which he assumed was coming from this strange beast behind him. Heating up not just the surface, but through the entirety of him where it seemed to land, coursing through like an x-ray. The longer this heat radiated on his topside, the more he could feel pain from the side of his neck where the strange needle-like sensation happened prior. It started to grow and etch inside like it did before, with this pain growing it further fueled his fear. The strange creature then started to make sounds as if it was talking while it continued to focus on the side of his neck, rough scratchy and clicking noises that were painful to his ear like nails on a chalk-board. It was like nothing he had ever heard before; as it talked more he interpreted it as the beast coming to a decision.


    ¡®This is it, I¡¯m going to die.¡¯ Were the words he thought to himself inside of his head. A major conflict was being fought out in his mind, do I make an effort to run away and possibly die? Or do I lay here motionless and hope that it doesn¡¯t kill me? His options were almost nonexistent as he imagined that his ruse was beginning to fall apart. What he and the floating monster failed to notice were the slaps of feet making their way towards them. He only caught on to what was happening from the harsh and violent nudge at the back of his right elbow. Someone had suddenly tripped on his arm and fell forwards to the ground landing on their chest with a loud grunt. The heat quickly averted away from his bust as he assumed the beast''s attention was now focused on the newcomer. Confused and shaken from his acting, he darts his head up to see a man before him scrambling to his knees. Short brown hair as well, but before he can even brace with a foot, one of the large tendrils shoots out and pierces him through his back as he lets out a scream of agony. The monster lifts him up off of the ground, but the man''s body begins to crumble and fall in what looks like clumps of dried cracked mud. Shortly afterwards another man that looked identical to the one that was impaled runs past, with his head looking back and a hand pointing backwards that is flipping the bird. His face is painted with delight and joy, laughing as he escapes off into the distance. He gets a study of him and sees that he has scars on his chin and forehead in the same spots as the other. He is confused as to what just happened, but doesn¡¯t complain because it seems this strange person is saving his life.Stolen story; please report.


    Still looking up from the ground he watches as the beast hurls the remaining decaying lumps off of its appendage and quickly pursues the runner. It flies forwards above him as he feels more air pushing off and brushing past his body, the hulking bulbous creature takes over his view, its appearance is astonishing and frightens him to the core. Floating in the air swiftly with its eight insect-like limbs conjoining into the middle roundish body that seems to be a big thorax. A fin is cutting through most of its mid section vertically ending outwards in three points like a sail. On its underside he can see that it has two gaping holes, one on each the left and right sides which are closer towards the front. The color of its base is a light tan and cream color, the joints on its limbs are a rather dark brown that matches the top half of its midsection. It reminds him much like the shape of a flea, only massive and grotesque. As it is moving away from him he isn¡¯t able to get a look at its face. He stares and watches them both fade off into the distance as they get smaller and smaller, the man then takes a right turn and the beast follows. The one thing that fascinated him was the sheer speed at which the both of them had moved, the man could easily outrun a bear.


    He begins to push himself up off the ground and hears enclosing footsteps from where he saw the man prior. Looking up he makes eye contact with him again, perplexed for he wonders if this guy is a part of triplets, he ponders over the pile of dirt that accumulated on the ground and the matching scars on the other which makes him think otherwise. Standing upright and giving full attention to him who¡¯s ambiguity unsettles him, unsure of what to do he sticks out his right hand in greeting and waits for a shake.


    ¡°I''m not sure what the hell this place is and what you did, but I think I owe you my gratitude sir.¡± The man smiles and sticks out his own hand to grasp the welcoming palm.


    ¡°Ah, such a formal young man you are. The name¡¯s Chet.¡± The man says out to him as he approaches. Hearing this he thinks back to his blank memories and still is unable to remember his own name. His thoughts get disturbed from the incoming hand that makes contact with his own, this contact sends a jolt throughout his body that caught him unawares. Things then seem to be hazy as he feels quite lightheaded, easing back into consciousness as the sound of fingers snapping in front of his face wake him from this sudden onslaught of comatose.


    ¡°Hello? Anybody home?¡± Chet says, trying to get a response.


    ¡°Huh what?¡± He is visibly confused and stricken with torpidity. Last thing he remembers is shaking hands with this strange man and then everything went black.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asks.


    ¡°I don''t know, you seemed to have just zoned out for a minute there.¡± He looks into Chet¡¯s face for a moment followed by his eyes moving from scar to scar studying them. He notices that he has been staring for a few seconds and feels somewhat embarrassed as he averts his eyes, but the man before him doesn¡¯t seem to mind at all as he is still putting forth a big smile. A smile that looks to be stretched over a taxidermy. The man''s eyes also make him feel uneasy as his bottom lids rise a little high for him to be comfortable with, half covering the blackness that is his irises that are like looking into a void. Suddenly the sensation of his daze pools back in, he puts a hand up to his head and looks down trying to collect his spinning brain.


    ¡°Sorry that was the strangest thing-¡± he looks back up midway through his sentence and gawks at the empty sight of the lane before him, only to notice that the man has vanished without a trace, exactly like the one that was chasing him beforehand. He thought this was insane considering he only looked down for merely a second. A few feet ahead on the sheen-less white tiles, he could still see the pile of dirt resting atop of them, so the man and what he saw happen must have been real.


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± He says out loud in hopes that someone would answer him, yet to no avail was only greeted with the silence of the realm. The loneliness settled in once more, scared but also comforted because the man that presumably saved him, also gave him the willies. The disdain look in his eyes that was masked by a facade ¡®why did he help me?¡¯ he wonders. ¡®Why did making contact with him make me black out?¡¯ was another question that he would not get an answer to. Given this world and what he just experienced he wonders how much more of it he can take. The battle being silently fought in the back of his mind is but a war of attrition. A war that he feels like he is slowly losing with no hopes for reinforcements. Worried down to his bones that are brined with fear, his body decides to take over the wheel and steer him on down his original path, away from the thronging of despair.

 Chapter 4: Dejected Detection

    He stared forwards down into the long empty lane without taking in the sight before him. His face was expressionless as his mouth hung open, cracked ajar. Hunched over slightly as he caressed himself between his arms, one hand rested on his side while the other was pressing against the right side of his neck.


    ¡®Chet¡¯ He thought as he slowly trotted along. Wishing he had gotten more information out of him, but he is glad that he told him his name, which trailed him back to a question he had prior.


    ¡®Who am I?¡¯ He was still bothered deeply by this, he zoned out even more as he imagined names that he thought he knew.


    ¡°Matt, Hayden, Lucy?.. Do I even know anyone?¡± he says out loud with a frown while pausing his tread. Giving a shake from his head as nothing comes back to him, he shifts his vision back down and plods on, slowly sounds start to become more apparent as he begins to lose focus on the deep burning questions. Hearing the plops of his feet on the hard tile as they themselves were damp with iron rich liquid from unavoidable puddles. Ringing was still faintly present in the canals of his ears, every now and then he could catch the trickle of liquid from within the octagons.


    Off in the distance lightly disguised under the closer sounds of his feet were yet more screams, this startled him little as he felt he was getting conditioned to this terrifying environment. What brought him further back to reality was the warmth under his soles. Stopping to get a better feel of the heat, he looked down; taking in the sight of his toes that were lightly dusted in splotches of red freaked him out, regardless, he still had his attention focused on the tepid pavement. He wanted to confirm its warmth even though he felt it previously with his face and currently with the pads of his feet, he had to be sure. Kneeling down, he put a palm unto the flat white top, to no surprise his body wasn¡¯t lying to him.


    ¡®How is this entire floor being heated?¡¯ he wondered, pulling his hand away after feeling the moistness transfer to his palm which he then wiped onto his torso like some bad habit he was unaware of. Standing up his nose kicked back in as the disgusting miasma populating the air filled his nose, sweaty and metallic, it was unbearable to take in for he could almost taste it. He raised a hand to pinch his nose shut but stopped before touching his face, thinking back to all of the vile things he recently had the pleasures of touching. Pulling it away from his face he opens the palm up and observes the acclimation nestled into its grooves and creases, studying it more and more disgusts and disturbs him as the images of the fleshy tubes pour into his mind. Abruptly his attention is diverted off to his left from the chilling shrieks he heard before as they seem to be coming closer. Or maybe these were from different people that were indeed nearby? He could not tell for screams sound like screams.


    Rotating his head a full 180, he looks to the structure next to him on his right, thinking that climbing up it would provide a clear scope of the area and perhaps see where the horrid yelps are coming from. Considering this would also make him easier to spot, he decided that climbing up from the inside would be safer and more concealing. Peering into the second lowest bunk that is just slightly higher than the one by the floor seemed to be the easiest to try and slip through. Walking towards it he can see the person held within come into a clearer view, he stares at their face anticipating them to suddenly wake up and snap their head and eyes right at him. Kneeling down before their bed, he looks intently at them for a few moments with a raised heart beat thumping through his chest. He sees that it is a man who looks to be of Indian descent, brown in skin color with short wavy black hair and a messy goatee. The man¡¯s eyes and mouth are closed, he is entwined by the strands from the bed like he himself was before. Watching silently he can see his chest rising and falling slowly, his state is much different compared to the glowing woman, he is alive but unconscious. Now being right before this person he is having second thoughts about crossing over the body, thinking it wouldn¡¯t matter if they were alive or dead as he would still feel the same fear warranting him otherwise. He mulls over the fact that there were and are more like himself that have awoken (hence the men before and the ones screaming), therefore there should be empty beds in other spots throughout this abysmal void.


    He looks past the man before him and to the bed that is across within the same structure, there he can see a woman in its place. Turning around and seeking out the neighboring building, he finds that the bottom bed has a man placed within it as well. Moving his eyes up to the one above and to his luck he discovers that the bunk there is empty. Standing up he quickly makes his way over, turning his head side to side making sure that the aisle is still vacant of threats. Once across he grabs on to the ledge of the framework and lifts his body followed with the steps of his feet onto the first ledge. Eyes focused on the nooks he counts how many openings there are including the two he has his feet and hands on, five is the number he counts.


    ¡®Five bunks along with eight sides must mean that each of these octagons could house up to forty people.¡¯ He thinks to himself. Bewildered by this fact he looks down one of the seemingly endless aisles, taking in the long rows of the jutting octagons that fill this massive room. Not even being able to comprehend the amount of people that are here, he dismisses the thought and proceeds to squeeze through the opening of the empty bunk. Gripping the upper parts of the cell, he twists his legs in and rests them on the bed, like the one he was in the bottom is moist and warm to the touch. He hates the way it feels upon his skin and moves through quickly. Poking his top half out of the inner opening he grabs onto the ledge and moves his legs out and proceeds to climb down. He begins to cross to the other side towards the screams he heard earlier, getting concerned as they seemed to have stopped. Paying attention to the ground as he gets closer to the center of the structure he can see the hole in the middle where all the orange liquid was traveling into. The hole appears to be about two and a half feet wide, its edges mimic the number of sides the building has and it seems like the whole floor opens up as each corner has an indented line that meets with the inner wall. Jogging around the hole as he makes his way past, he can¡¯t take his eyes off of the opening. The inside of it is swirling with the gathered liquid, fast enough to tell it has movement but slower than water given its viscosity. The orange golden glow paints the edges of the hole as a light trickle can be heard from it. ¡®Where is it all going and what exactly is it?¡¯ where the questions he thought, but who would he be able to ask and would they even have the answers to his questions?


    He begins to climb the other side of the building using the openings like a ladder. The building seems to go up roughly 15 feet, as he is looking up he notices the top of the structure. It has eight thin tapering points coming in from the outer edge that almost meet at the middle, in the center the tips are producing a ball of light. The one he is in is graced with a dull red pulsing ball, not entirely too bright to stare into as he feels engulfed by its sight. Glowing and emitting its hues off onto the surfaces of this strange octagon, the fuzzy ball of light bobs up and down slowly as it also appears to spin and rotate.


    Climbing up he turns his head and looks into the bunks as he passes by them, no matter how many times he sees the still bodies in the beds, they will always give him the willies. Men and women who lay there motionless besides their expanding and deflating chests, he wonders if they will ever wake from their slumber. As he passes the last one he can hear the person murmuring in their entangling cot. Reeling back down to see if they are waking, he stares into their face as they continue to mumble to themselves, much like sleep talking. It is an African American woman with medium long curly hair.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Yeah¡­no no, she still is¡­ha ha¡­.oh.¡± The woman says lethargically with slightly shifting facial expressions.


    ¡®What is she talking about? Must be having a pleasant dream.¡¯ He thinks to himself as he watches the lady mumble about in her unconscious state. He is jealous of her ignorance, envious that she still slumbers for he is terrified of this world and feels loneliness swelling within. He wonders if shaking the woman would wake her; stretching out a hand to grasp her shoulder he stops, stops and considers this horrific realm that he awoke to.


    ¡°If someone else were to wake me to this world, I would probably hate them.¡± He says staring at her face that appears to be warm and somewhat delighted. Letting out a sigh he then continues on up to the top.


    Reaching his destination he only lets his torso rise above the structure as he props himself up from the ledge below. The sight before him is a spectacle as he can see much farther off into the distance than before with a wider scope. The vast and spacious room before him is daunting to gaze upon as its size feels like it is going to swallow him whole. Rows upon rows of the octagon shaped structures are seen like before, but instead of just the two on each side of the isle, there is a plethora of em. The tops of them are alight with balls much like the one he is in, the red and purple ones'' lights are pulsing while the rest (which are also the majority) have a stagnant yellow. Wondering what the difference is in the colors, he is unable to guess the answer. Still exploring the scape, his eyes are drawn to the other structures that are scaling the room from top to bottom. The great distance is interrupted every interval by these colossal dark red beams that he assumes are supporting the ceiling. Everything is lined up perfectly, the octagons and the pillars as they run down their lanes filling this crimson void. Scanning the horizon he picks up movement off into the distance crawling about through the structures and atop some of the octagons as well. They seem small for how far away they are, but he knows just how enormous those floating bugs are up close, grimacing his face as he thinks back to the one he had a close encounter with.


    He scans the area ahead and rests eyes on the closest floating aberration he can see, being only six buildings away from him (which he is assuming to be about fifty yards). It is hovering towards one of the octagons with a blinking purple light above it. Moving from left to right it reaches the mass bunk and goes above the entire structure, it rotates just enough so that he can see part of its front. Given the distances some details are lost but he is still able to make out most, he can tell that there isn¡¯t a face but a black bulbous and reflective sphere in its place.


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± he says in shock and disgust. He continues to observe the creature as its body starts to pitch down from its front towards the building. In response the building begins to open up from the top, spreading out its eight points as the blinking light fades away from the tips. Slowly the monster begins to lower itself in as it stretches out its long lanky appendages, he guesses that it is reaching for either the bottom or for the body''s resting within. The beast then starts to rotate within the structure so he can only assume it is the latter.


    Interrupting his focus down the aisle on his left he hears a sharp shrill scream from a woman. Immediately turning his head to see who made the noise, off down the lane he can see two people running in his direction, one female and one male. They were a little closer to him than the grotesque bug he was watching, which was gravely unsettling to him for chasing them was another one of these beasts. The next few moments happened rather quickly, but felt like it took a lifetime in his eyes. Both were charging forwards in a full sprint, faces were stricken harshly by fear while tears pooled out unwillingly from their eyes. Arms flying forwards and backwards rapidly followed by over-exerted legs in a strenuous attempt for self preservation. All of their efforts were in vain for the monstrosity was disgustingly quick as it zipped along through the air effortlessly. It reeled back a few of its limbs readying to strike as it further encroached onto the two unfortunate beings. The slaps from the pads of their feet along the pavement followed by the tremulous grunts emitting from their lungs was painful to hear. The first one to be stricken by the beast was the male who was lagging behind, the bug had jabbed him in the back of his neck forcing him violently to the ground. Making impact with the floor, its needle-like arm punctured through his neck, poking a hole all the way through to the front as his body went limp. Seeing this happen to the man made his heart sink and his body freeze from the peril. Shortly afterwards it stabs the woman through her midsection, skewering her through her stomach forcing out a gasp from her. Knowing that it has caught its prey it slides forwards through the air coming to a halt. Lifting the impaling arms, the bodies slide further onto them as blood starts to drench the surfaces. It rotates the arms towards itself, lifting the front of its body to make the next task easier.


    The holes that are on its underside begin to glow the same bright orange he saw from the opening in the ground. The woman is weak from pain and shock as she grabs its tendril and kicks about with faint energy. Another appendage peels out from its underside that has numerous joints much like the others, except this one¡¯s tip has a scorpion like bulb to it. It spits out a strand of flesh onto the man that is similar to the ones from the bed, slithering around him as it then binds his limbs together. The beast moves its bulb onto the woman and proceeds to do the same with her, doing what she can to resist while letting out screams and shouts. It then feeds the male first into a glowing orifice, head first he goes as the light begins to glow brighter. The fluorescent goo bulges out to meet the incoming corpse, grabbing and latching onto him as his body begins to glow and melt into the mass of this strange liquid, going deeper and deeper until his entire body is absorbed. Midway through it proceeds to do the same with the woman, but puts her in feet first. As her legs get engulfed by the consuming slime she lets out yelps in pain and agony, once she is chest deep into the liquid her shouts die off. While assimilating them the rear end of this bug seems to grow in size increasing its girth. The beast then pulls out the spindly tendrils that are dripping with the bright orange liquid, most of which disappear as it absorbs back into its carapace.


    Watching all of these events take place he isn¡¯t sure if he is breathing or not as his chest is getting squeezed by his own muscles. The only thing he can see is the monster floating in the distance down the aisle as the rest of his vision is tunneled in darkness. It is taking measure of itself with the long sharp arms touching certain spots around its body, once it has gotten a good feel it lets out a couple of scratchy toots that pain his ears and takes off into the air upwards in the direction past the other bug. This breaks him free from the choke hold of fear as he quickly lays his torso and head down atop of the octagon, pulling air into his lungs quickly and holding it while jamming his eyes shut. Hearing the monster bubble and thrust away he waits a few moments before looking back up. Once he deems that it is a safe distance away he opens his eyes and looks up at it, he then watches as it throttles towards the ceiling. Hearing it signal out with a robotic like wobbly whistle, he then sees a purple and teal pulsing light come from its central fin. He guesses that it is at least one hundred feet in the air at this point. A spot on the ceiling seems to be indented with a clear circular shutter that he didn¡¯t notice before. The outer ring of this opening responds back with a whistle and a similar pulsing light along with strange symbols that are engraved into it. It stops amidst the indentation as three eyes open up from the up-slanted interior, they scan the bug with rusty beams like the one he saw and felt before. Everything seems to be cleared as the eyes shut and the inner shutter opens up into a blinding white void as the bug then flies into it. He stares further more with enticing thoughts of liberation, alas, encountering a forlorn realization that he does not encompass wings.

 Chapter 5: Endure

    He watched helplessly as the circular doors closed inwards like jagged teeth, tearing down any wishful thinking that was growing inside of his mind. Reaching out upwards unto the sky with a single hand, a hand that he wished was grasped by some sort of deity or saving spirit. Alas nothing of the sort would happen, wishing on a miracle was all he could do as he clenched the raised fist and squeezed. Tears trickled down from his eyes as he bit down on his bottom lip desperately hoping for salvation from this hell. Some form of escape was real and he saw it before him in sight of his own eyes; it may have been hundreds of feet above, but it was real nonetheless.


    Settling in his roots once again as he takes deep breaths of air while closing his eyes. Holding it in, and then releasing the air through pursed lips, this helps him control his thoughts and grounds his panic. He thinks back to what his body can feel at the moment,


    ¡®Hands on the ledge, torso pressing along the top, feet resting on the ledge below.¡¯ He clarifies in his mind, then follows with the opening of his lids. The sight still remains the same, rows and rows of buildings along with massive disgusting spires holding the ceiling up. Crawling along these giants in the distance are also giants, giant fleas who are freaks of nature that will stab and melt you in their gaping holes.


    Remembering that the first bug he watched was probing the building with the purple light makes him ponder the one he is in. All of the non-blinking octagons were lit with a yellow ball, while the pulsing ones had purple and red lights. If the disgusting bugs visit the purple ones then surely they must do the same with the reds, after all they are both blinking. His head and eyes are turned towards the center at the risen light accompanying his bunker. Vision looks upon the fuzzy spinning and listing light in the center that is still red. He then thinks of the one he was watching before and returns his head towards its direction. Peering down the aisle he can see that the beast is heading his way as it is climbing down from its previous pod swiftly as limbs drag and slide off from its hold. This sight is horrific as he nestles his eyes unto its black sphere of a head, assuming that this monster is all-seeing and can presume every thought and action that he makes. It makes its way down the aisle in a straight path that veers from his predetermined trail, making his horrific delusions fade. In between him and the mongrel are a couple of other octagons with red and purple lights. Still it is heading in his direction and he feels the need to make a decision given the glowing orb of his building.


    He makes his way back down on the inner side of the octagon, climbing down without a thought to scan his surroundings. Second bunk down from where he descends, he sees that the person is now missing, stopping and pushing back up to fully see the bed he confirms it. He places his hand there and feels the curves of the empty warm bed. Staring unto the red and orange weaved flat it entices him, he doesn¡¯t even consider seeking out the one who has just awoken.


    ¡®They must have ran away.¡¯ Is what he thinks, the person probably woke and escaped quickly after hearing the commotion just down the road. Figuring that he should probably do the same post haste, lest he wants to meet a melted and gooey end like the ones he observed before. He continues on down the side and crosses back over to the side where he entered from. Once he is crawling back out from the second bunk he feels the structure¡¯s foundation start to vibrate, looking in and up towards the top he can see it has begun to open up along with the long tendrils creeping their way in. Instantly seeing this he feels stricken with immense fear with eyes widening and his chest sinking. He does everything in his power to keep from screaming and hastily pushes himself out of the bunk, landing harshly on his rear hitting his tail bone. He throws himself quickly to the ground in the corner where the floor meets the building, pressing his flat body in hopes to hide himself while stifling the pain. Laying down, he does his best to breath slowly as his heart tries to break out of his chest. Eyes looking up and ears attuned to the sounds coming from within the building. He can hear the beast bubbling about inside, then suddenly he sees a few ends of the tendrils poke out from the bunk he just crawled through. He puts both of his hands over his mouth as he watches in horror, thinking of just how lucky he was to dash out at the last minute. Watching closely, it seems that the bug is making sure the bed is empty. The claws retract, followed by a light vibration coming from the ground towards the center of the structure. He can hear something oozing out and moving towards the bunk. It is quiet for just a moment, then what he hears next is something being pushed out of what sounds like a tube. What he heard next had completely caught him off guard and scared the living daylights out of him. A baby started crying, crying from the once empty bunk that he just passed through. Feeling as if he is going to faint, he continues to endure this nightmare. He then hears a faint zipping and gushing sound which he guesses is coming from the weaves within the bed. Slowly the baby¡¯s cries die down as it sounds like it is being lulled to sleep.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    More bubbling and whirring sounds can be heard as he assumes the beast is rotating, searching for more empty bunks. He doesn¡¯t let a moment like this slip by even if it is coming from an assumption. He scrambles to his feet as fast as he can and runs down the aisle that was to his right, hoping that this direction is directly behind the beast¡¯s vision and further hidden by the buildings he is passing. Feeling his body shake from the audible impacts of his ankles on the floor he listens carefully behind him for any threats that may be tailing him. Unsure for all he can hear is his feet hitting the ground and air forcing itself in and out of his esophagus. Being weary of his foot placement this time and keeping a close eye on the ground for loose puddles, he makes his way down another unknown aisle hoping that his instincts don¡¯t get him killed. After feeling like his throat is on fire and lungs are screaming for air, he takes a right turn and crouches behind the building that was along his path. Turning his body to the left and facing the row he ran down, he peeks, looking for any massive floating demons in pursuit. Revealing more of the aisle slowly by pushing his head out from the vision of one eye it yields nothing. Relieved but not feeling out of the woods yet he keeps staring, with his heart and chest moving feverishly. Continuing to watch, the body next to him in the bed startles him as noises suddenly begin to be produced by it. The sound coming from the body is being produced from his epidermis, the noise of his neck being cut much like the sound of a knife slicing a roast. Skidding across his surface the man begins to choke and gurgle, being right next to him he did not expect such a sound. Shocking him, making him jump with his shoulders as he staggers back away from the building with the body in it. Not worrying anymore about being caught he looks unto the body laying next to him.


    A man is lying there, his head is facing down towards the open row he just came from but at a 45 degree angle. A caucasian male with thinning black wavy hair, his expression is what you expect from one getting cut. He looks down to his neck which has a laceration across it that appears deep and quite deadly. As he observes more he sees blood oozing out from the wound, which then deepens with another cutting sound. Completely shocked and disturbed by the sight in front of him he turns away while closing his eyes. He can hear the man struggling to breath as he gurgles and grunts just beside him. He begins to feel a panic riddle deep inside of him once again, reacting to the sounds entering his ears he cups them with his hands. Breathing deeply but still rapidly he tries to keep calm. He wants to stay calm but there is something inside of him, something in the back of his mind telling him to look. He knows that seeing such a thing is horrible but he can¡¯t keep himself from observing the atrocity before him. Opening eyes and turning slowly towards the body he sees him once more, but this time the man¡¯s eyes are open. They are open and staring off at nothing into the distance past him as his head has turned slightly. No more gurgles or grunts are to be heard as he appears to be lifeless before him. Quite horrified from the sight, he notices on his chest below that there are several stab wounds as well that have just started to bleed. The blood oozing chest then starts to glow the same orange luminescence he has seen before, thinking that somehow all of this is the only reason for their existence.


    Not sure of what just happened he looks deep into the man¡¯s eyes, no movement coming from his body as his pupils mimic this pose, still as a statue. Feeling irked by the dead man¡¯s gaze he moves out a hand to shut his lids. Upon making contact with the presumed cadaver, images of someone¡¯s life began to pour into his mind in snapshots, completely encompassing his vision.

 Chapter 6: Grievance

    ¡®There she is, my beautiful wife, my best friend, my significant other. How would I be able to live in this world without her? Her curly long brown hair, it always smells like daffodils. That smile of hers that could pull me out of a storm and into peace, but her eyes are what I can¡¯t get enough of. They are so dreamy, the light blues are like gazing into a peaceful summer sky. I don¡¯t want to stop looking into them. Madeline my love, it is so great to see you again. Oh how I have missed you so, wishing to see you once more.¡¯ The words seemed to have been thoughts of someone else, they suddenly came to a halt as the vision faded into the image of a woman sitting across from him at a table. She is beautiful just as described, her face feels full of fervor with unwavering eyes that are incredibly inviting. Dressed in a suave silky blue dress, hair done up in a beehive and gold earrings in both ears, she is ready to steal hearts.


    ¡°You are just as handsome as the day I met you.¡± She says, staring at him while she twirls the straw to her drink.


    ¡°I would say the same to you, but you seem to just get prettier by the day. I don¡¯t know whatever I did to deserve you.¡± He says back to her, getting lost in the labyrinth of her being. Her eyes are forced closed from a smile which is followed by a giggle.


    ¡°Oh nonsense, I couldn¡¯t even imagine myself being with anyone else besides you.¡± She tells him while reaching over to grab his hand that¡¯s on the table, she then proceeds to rub the back of his with her thumb. ¡°I never quite felt comfortable around people like I did with you my love, you always just seemed right to me, sorry, it is hard to explain.¡± He enjoys the compliment and sensation of her hand in his, distracting him from his thoughts. Then, hesitantly he clears his throat.


    ¡°Should we tell your parents that we uh¡­ got married?¡± he asks, looking up slightly into her eyes in anticipation. She giggles again while still stroking his hand.


    ¡°Oh you worry too much, we will cross that bridge when we get there my dear. For tonight, it¡¯s only about us.¡± She leans closer to him over the table with a flash of playfulness in her eyes. ¡°Now how about we get out of here?¡±


    With a blink of his eyes, the scene shifts over from her leading him by the hand to him driving a car on the freeway with his hands on the wheel. A voice is then heard from the passenger seat.


    ¡°Look, all that they are saying is that we should have started a savings account years ago. I know my parents, they are terrible with words John. Don¡¯t take it too personally.¡± Madeline says to him, she puts a hand on his leg attempting to comfort him. He rests his free hand on hers and embraces it while keeping his eyes on the road.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure behind all of that passive aggression, they really do hate me, and I¡¯ll be hard pressed to think otherwise. I get heartburn every time we visit them, and you know how tight it has been with money since like, I don¡¯t know, forever.¡± John replies back while trying to keep his blood pressure down.


    ¡°Yeah, it has never been easy for us... Maybe getting pregnant was a bad idea.¡± She then pulls her hand away from his and turns to face the window. He looks at her feeling guilty, like he just got stabbed in his chest.


    ¡°Hey, come on hun, I didn¡¯t mean it that way¡­ I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that your parents get me so worked up.¡± He then puts his hand on her leg. ¡°I could never think negatively about little Chloe, I am so excited to meet her I can hardly wait.¡± She turns her head back towards him and gives him a warming smile.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve made it this far in life¡­ I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be alright.¡± She then reaches back and embraces his hand once more. ¡°It is cliche, but maybe you can guess what I would like to feel from her when she first comes out?¡± She asks while pushing his index finger out with her other hand. He studies it for a few seconds, getting lost in her intentions. Quickly then adjusting the wheel so he doesn¡¯t veer off the side of the road he lets out a gasp. She doesn¡¯t notice because she is tightly affixed in daydreams.


    ¡°Oh Christ!¡± he juts out. She is still holding his hand, while the other is tightly wrapped around his pushed out finger. He darts his sight down quickly but knows right away from feeling what she means. ¡°Ha ha, that is extremely cliche. But I would be lying if I said I didn''t want the same thing. Besides? Isn''t that more of the fatherly kind of wish?¡± She turns her head away in a bit of embarrassment.


    ¡°I can wish for that thing too you know?¡± They both laugh at themselves like a couple of idiots.


    With another blink the scene changes yet again. They are both in a kitchen and she seems to wince, dropping her cup.


    ¡°Johnathan, I think my water just broke.¡± she said to him as she hunched over and supported herself on the kitchen counter.


    ¡°Oh shit! Are you for real!?¡± Johnathan asked her back, stopping the pour of his smoothie from a blender.


    ¡°Yes, yes oh god I¡¯m freaking out!¡± Yelling back in response while she grips her side and squishes her face.


    ¡°Okay, okay, just take deep breaths, deeeep breaths Maddie. Come on, let''s get you to the car.¡± He says while holding out his hands, trying to coax her towards their garage.


    They are now driving quickly out to the nearest hospital while holding hands. He is going roughly 15 over, diving and switching lanes. She lets out a hard groan and squeezes his hand tightly like a wrench, causing him to groan along with her as they both yell for the moment. She lets go of his hand and then rests it on the dash while the other is holding on the handle above.


    ¡°Sorry¡± she says, then follows her words with quick deep inhales and exhales.


    ¡°No, no-no it¡¯s fine. Yeah, there you go, keep breathing, we are almost there.¡± He says while shaking some life back into his hand.


    ¡°Honey, if anything happens, I just want to say I love you.¡± She says looking deep into his eyes.


    ¡°Ha ha, no need to be dramatic, it¡¯s going to be fine.¡± He says trying his best to not get into a car accident. She slaps him on the knee in a little fit. ¡°Ow, oh sorry I love you too. Now come, in and out, in and out.¡±


    Vision closes and then opens up to a crying baby in his arms. He has tears of joy in his eyes making things blurry. Her little hands are scouring, reaching out for embrace. He looks unto her tiny face as she is in turmoil. Bringing his own hand forward from instincts, he extends out his right index finger. It takes her some coaxing, but she soon discovers it. Fully embracing it she latches on and he can¡¯t help but feel connected. Nothing else matters in this world but this one moment. Before anything can be said, the heart rate monitor on Madeline starts to go erratic, being ripped away from his daughter he looks up and sees his wife starting to seize in the bed.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!? What¡¯s happening to her!? What¡¯s happening to her!?¡± He says loudly while handing off the baby to one of the nurses. Another ushers him out of the room as they begin to tend to her. ¡°Please, what¡¯s going on!? Is she going to be okay!?¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sorry but we need you out of the room.¡± One of the nurses stoutly tells him.


    He is now waiting out in a hallway, looking through a window into the room where his newborn daughter is resting peacefully. A very happy man for the new person introduced into his life, but deeply worried for the one he cannot see at the moment. He stares forward, entranced and unable to fathom that she is his daughter, he rests his palm on the glass. Footsteps approach him from behind.


    ¡°Mr. Hayes?¡± He turns around and sees a woman in a white coat and dress attire underneath before him.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± He says to her, in hopes to hear good news.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Doctor Bree, unfortunately Mr. Hayes I have some news you might not want to hear, I suggest you sit down for this.¡± He denies her request as he begins to feel dreadfully nervous.


    ¡°Why? What- what happened?¡± stammering on his words as his heart rate rises. She clears her throat while pressing a closed fist against her mouth, then proceeds to talk.


    ¡°I am sorry Mr. Hayes, we did everything we could in attempts to resuscitate your wife, but there just wasn¡¯t enough time for us to react appropriately.¡± She then waits for this to settle in, looking into his eyes for his reaction.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°What, do you mean? You- you couldn¡¯t resuscitate her?¡± his face is ingrained with shock.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± She reaches down and grabs his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but your wife has passed away Mr. Hayes.¡± Receiving these words makes his heart sink to the bottom of his feet. Tears begin to swell out of his eyes while his face grimaces harshly. He squeezes her hand but it doesn¡¯t feel right because it is not Madeline¡¯s. It is not the one that he loves.


    ¡°But, this is a hospital. You guys should be able to save her.¡± He says, letting go of her hand, he falls to his knees and begins to break down.


    His eyes once again blur with tears, he is looking at the shiny white floor of the hospital. He closes them. Opening back up, the sight he sees is a park outside. Greens everywhere, the playground is just ahead about twenty feet. He can see a little girl approaching him who has brown curly hair that goes down to her shoulders, she seems to be about four years old.


    ¡°Dad?¡± the little girl asks as she stops before him, looking up into his eyes while she embraces his hand.


    ¡°Yes, my little co-co?¡± He says back endearingly to her.


    ¡°When am I gonna get a mommy like all the other kids?¡± Her question makes him feel sad in his heart, but he stays strong and thinks of trying to make her happy first.


    ¡°Oh Chloe, just because she isn¡¯t here doesn¡¯t mean she isn¡¯t your mommy. We can go see her again if you want to, I know I do.¡± He says looking down at her with a smile as they begin walking to their car.


    ¡°But dad, that¡¯s just a rock. Is my mommy that rock?¡± She says in response while picking her nose.


    ¡°Ha ha, well in a way I suppose. You¡¯ll understand better when you get older dear.¡±


    ¡°Can we get some candy too?¡± she asks him for she knows where they are headed to before their visit.


    ¡°Only if you stop picking your nose, little girls who pick their nose don¡¯t get any candy.¡± He watches her with a smile as she quickly pulls her hand away from her nose and then looks at him with a frown on her face.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t picking my nose!¡± Her little angry face makes him laugh cause it always looks like she is trying to see her forehead.


    ¡°Ha ha ha, okay okay, but only one. We need the rest of the money for flowers, okay?¡± She smiles hearing this, which pushes her eyes to a close.


    ¡°Okay dad.¡±


    He lifts her up into the booster seat in the back and buckles her in. Closing his eyes again, switching to the inside of someone''s house, they are standing in the foyer. He is holding the girl closely who now seems to be ten. She is crying with a face stricken full of sadness.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t listen to your horrible grandparents. This is going to be the last time we come here.¡± He says while embracing her. She gives a slight nod in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Yeah that''s right, you take that little bitch with you and never come back.¡± He hears the older man say to them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you call her that! I have half the mind to sock your sorry drunk ass!¡± He yells back, looking at him. Chloe¡¯s grandpa is standing in the hallway with a beer bottle in his hand, he is swaying from side to side. Her grandmother is standing behind him with anger and hatred in her eyes, her arms are crossed and resting in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call her what she is, if it wasn¡¯t for you and that little demon, we¡¯d still have our daughter!¡± the old man yells at them with a tremble in his voice. He hurls the bottle at them, missing as it breaks on the wall behind them. Chloe yelps in response and John glares at him, ready to tear him to shreds. The old man''s face crumples, shortly afterwards he does as well, coming to the ground on his knees.


    ¡°I told her to stay away from you, you son of a bitch. You took her from me, you took my sweet Madeline away.¡± He begins weeping, resignation signed fully over to his emotions as he kneels on the floor. The old woman behind him kneels down and lightly puts her hands on his back.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you two caused enough damage? Just leave already!¡± She hisses at them, soon turning her attention to her good for nothing husband.


    ¡°Come on Chloe, these people were never your grandparents.¡± He looks down at her face, seeing her sobbing away in a shattered and destroyed state. They take their leave out the front door.


    The view of the neighborhood and their car in the night shutters to black, opening back up to a similar sight, but in the daytime. The girl is now maybe a foot shorter than him. He is leading her outside while she covers her eyes. In the parking lot before them is a car with a bow on it.


    ¡°Alright you can look now.¡± He says to her. She lowers her hands and opens her eyes, seeing the semi-old white sedan there with a regular sized red bow on it, she puts two and two together. Raising her hands again and cups them over her mouth in disbelief as her eyes widen.


    ¡°Oh my god, Dad. You didn¡¯t? How were you even able to afford this?¡± She says, still processing the situation as it settles in. He watches her reaction with a big poo eating grin on his face that soon fades, considering her question.


    ¡°I uh, took out a- hey, wait a sec. It¡¯s rude to ask the price of gifts you know.¡± He says waving a finger like a sausage, trying to justify his actions. She rolls her eyes, and then begins to walk around the vehicle, inspecting the car while also feeling it with her hands. A smile is glued to her face as her eyes have just a sparkle of moisture in them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you, oh my god it has an aux port too!¡± Exclaiming as she presses her forehead on the passenger window with her hands blocking out the sun.


    ¡°That is the icing on the cake. I figured since I¡¯ve been getting held up quite a bit at work, some wheels for you would make our lives easier.¡± John then begins to reach into his pocket to fish the keys out. Chloe, who is still riled up and giddy pitter patters over to him. Before he can pull his hand out of his pocket she latches onto him and embraces him with a big hug.


    ¡°Thank you so much! Have I ever told you that I love you?¡± She says while squeezing him.


    ¡°Ha ha, why yes all the time.¡± He responds while hugging her back with his free arm. She then turns her head up at him with a frown, her eyes look like she''s trying to see her own forehead. ¡°Ah, sorry, I love you too.¡± Hearing this brings her smile back which closes her eyes. She lets go of him and takes a few steps back, one hand behind her and then holds out the other, silently asking for the keys with a bright smile. He finishes taking them out of his pocket and drops them into her open hand, along with a necklace that''s got sharktooth at the end of it.


    ¡°Oh my god what is this?¡±


    ¡°Picked that up at the gift shop, thought it might have been perfect for your tastes.¡± He says while studying her eyes.


    ¡°You know me too well, it''s like you¡¯re my dad or something.¡± She puts on the necklace and he walks by nudgings her shoulder.


    ¡°Alright, how about a little test drive? Burgers sound pretty good right?¡± he says as he walks over to the passenger side, pulling off the bow that was attached to the hood.


    ¡°Hmm, I was thinking tacos.¡±


    ¡°Hey, most Mexican restaurants in town have both. Looks like our destination is set?¡± He says back with palms raised at his sides and a tilted head.


    ¡°Dos Hermanos it is. But I for one, find having a burger at a Mexican place to be a sin.¡± She gestures back with raised hands as well. He then gets into the car throwing the bow into the back seat.


    His view blinks over from watching Chloe putting the key into the ignition slot over to a living room with eyes set on a TV. He is watching some family sitcom with his feet resting on the coffee table when suddenly his attention is stirred by a knock at the door. It is loud and firm, the person outside had knocked three times in the first interval.


    He turns his head towards the dimly lit main entrance to his house, confused as he isn¡¯t expecting visitors, he turns his head back round towards the wall that holds the TV. His eyes land upon the clock that is high above closer to the ceiling, it reads off 10:37 pm in its radioactive green lit numbers.


    ¡°Now who the hell would be knocking around at this time!¡± He asks himself as he pushes up from the couch from his left hand since the other is completely embalmed in a hard blue cast. Walking towards the door the person inquiring knocks again with the same three bumps to his door.


    ¡°Alright I¡¯m coming!¡± He responds audibly enough so the one waiting can hear. Upon opening the door he sets eyes on two police officers standing there, one is resting his hand on the back of his neck and looking down while the other is clearly shocked in his face, staring him deep in the eyes and seems to be lacking confidence. ¡°Yes? Something I can help you guys with?¡± He asks while still holding the door, wondering why they are disturbing him so late in the night.


    ¡°Uh sorry, are you um, Jonathan Hayes?¡± The one closest to him asks with uncertainty in his voice.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, that''s me. What¡¯s up?¡± he asks back, eyes going back and forth, observing the both of them.


    ¡°Uh-a-uh¡± the man stutters before him and then proceeds to clear his throat, breaking eye contact, and then wimps out to look at the ground.


    ¡°Come on son, spit it out. I haven¡¯t got all night.¡± Jonathan says, trying to hurry their words.


    ¡°Well, you see Mr. Hayes, we got some bad news for you.¡± He says looking back up into his eyes, his facial expression is right down in the dirt.


    ¡°Ah goddammit, she got caught stealing again wasn¡¯t it? This kid and her outbursts I swear.¡± He says while pinching his forehead in annoyance. The cop before him raises his hand and rests it against his forehead, letting out an audible groan and turns away.


    ¡°I, I can¡¯t.¡± He says out loud and walks away. The one that was behind him watches as his partner returns to their car, he then looks forwards towards the one that is still in the dark about the situation.


    ¡°Sir.¡± That is all that he begins with. Jonathan then opens his eyes and looks ahead towards him, still with his hand on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this other than ripping the band-aid off¡­ We discovered your daughter''s car in a head-on collision-¡± Before the man can finish his sentence he halts, reacting to Jonathan¡¯s encumbered distraught face.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± He asks the remaining cop before him with stretched eyes and a hung up expression. ¡°Did you say my daughter?¡± Time feels frozen, or rather it is going by in seconds slowed down to minutes. He is thinking back to their faces before, how they were tormented and unwilling to be in front of him. He thought back to how the first man before him had turned away. The cop closest to him then hands him a shark tooth necklace with splatters of dried blood.


    ¡®Why?¡¯ Why was all he could think for the moment. ¡®Why is this happening? Why did this happen? No. No, I can¡¯t jump right to conclusions, let''s hear what else he has to say.¡¯ He thinks to himself, trying to stay optimistic.


    ¡°Yes, I am sorry sir¡­¡± It felt like ages had passed between his words, he could feel the air weeping with sorrow as it pierced his heart through the vibrations from his voice. ¡°She had no pulse when we arrived at the scene.¡± Those were the last words that he wanted to hear. He knew that he fell to the ground, but he didn¡¯t feel it. He knew that he was crying at the top of his lungs but he couldn¡¯t hear it. He had felt tears pooling down his face, but soon he couldn¡¯t feel them because his face went numb.


    ¡®This is your fault, this is your fault, this is your fault¡¯ Was all that he could hear in his head. ¡®You got her that car, this is your fault, this is your fault.¡¯ His vision was fading to black as his hyperventilation was driving him to unconsciousness, all that he could see was the lawn and walkway up to his house which was vertical for he was on the ground. The two cops were also present, one was also in a state of misery while the other was trying to comfort him.


    He closed his wet blurry eyes, trying to forget everything that he had just heard. But all that he saw in the darkness was his wife, all that he saw was his daughter. He thought deeply to himself, ¡®What did I ever do to deserve this?¡¯ He opens his eyes back up and he is sitting in-front of a slot machine.


    The reels roll about, spinning, one by one as they land on different numbers, granting nothing but disappointment. He feels like he has been doing this for hours, he also feels his head spinning just like the reels and is surprised that he is still conscious at this point.


    ¡°Another drink sir?¡± One of the attendants in the casino says next to him, she is pushing a cart with several mixed drinks atop of it. He says nothing and reaches out with both hands, grabbing two at once and gives her a nod with a smile. He slams them both, one after another. Gives off light coughs for at this point he is mostly used to the burn.


    ¡°Might as well if they are gonna suck me dry.¡± He says to himself, he pulls out his wallet and feeds his last fifty into the machine as his vision fades to black.


    Next he awakes to his head hitting a large metal dumpster outside in an alleyway. Head swirling and vision barely able to make anything out, he sees two figures standing before him as the cold air bites his skin.


    ¡°Goddamn drunk piece of shit, I told the boss we should have acted on you sooner. Sure didn¡¯t learn from us breaking your hand, did yah?¡± He is trying to focus on the person talking, mostly relying on memory for he has heard that voice before. Suddenly he feels someone pull his head up from behind.


    ¡°Oh Johnny boy, you shouldn¡¯t have lied to us. Was even dumber for you to stick around town.¡± The man who grabbed his head says. Trying to focus with his still slipping consciousness he can hardly do anything but squirm hopelessly. Suddenly waking him more back to reality is a sharp stinging sensation cutting across his neck. It is deep, and as the open wound becomes exposed to the air, a harsh penetrating cold edges its way inwards painfully. He tries to scream but is muffled from his own liquid, all that is uttered out into the air is gurgles, drowned out by his own life essence. Flailing about in pain as his vision fades once again to black, all he can feel is pain. Pain from his neck, which is then followed by plunges deep into his chest.


    ¡®Maybe now I can be with you both my loves, Madeline, Chloe. I am so sorry.¡¯ He closes his eyes one last time and parts away into the fray.

 Chapter 7: Blasphemous Discretion

    All he could feel was sorrow, sorrow and depression. His vision came back to the sight of which he wished not to see. The man before him who is now just a corpse, but at least his eyes were now shut, shut from his actions. The sides of his cheeks were tickled from the tears that danced along them, making their presence aware whether he liked it or not. Depressed and not wishing to be alive anymore for what he felt seemed to last for ages. Unbeknownst to him it had only been but a few seconds. Those few seconds he had learned so much, so much about life that was outside of this forsaken hellhole. Not to disparage the man before him who¡¯s life had played out in-front of his own eyes, he weeped for him. Wiping tears away from his face he forgot about the reality he currently resided in. Slowly the sounds, the smells, the feel of the warm floor beneath him seeped in. He still didn¡¯t care, he didn¡¯t care because he felt as if he was Johnathan. He knew it wasn¡¯t true and he remembered that he still doesn¡¯t know his own name, let alone anything about his life on the other side. But this experience gave him insight to what the other world was like, the one that he wished he was a part of instead of this nightmare. Shaking him from his shared torment was but a faint fizzling sound coming from Johnathan¡¯s body. He is lagging in reaction as it takes a few moments to realize cause he is still wiping his eyes. With an arm raised still to his face he peers out unto the body before him. It is glowing brighter with a much more rich yellowish orange from the bust compared to the lady he saw prior. He has to squint in order to see why the sound is being produced. In the middle of Johnathan¡¯s chest, a lustrous gray blade begins to consolidate from within. Tiny little golden yellow particles were gathering and forming the solid straight that was growing from his deep chest wound. He says nothing as he watches this action take place in front of him, his mind is blank for he knows not what is happening. A hilt soon forms, which is followed by a brown handle that is covered in blood. He thinks back to the last memory that was injected into his brain and remembers the stabbing sensation being pelted into the chest.


    ¡®This has to be what they killed him with?¡¯ Is all that he concludes in his mind upon witnessing this strange occurrence. A dark and horrendous thought fills his mind that he is able to immediately justify.


    ¡®I can use this to defend myself.¡¯ He feels disgusted just thinking about this notion, but given the state of his surroundings and what he previously witnessed, he overrules his own emotions. Reaching forwards with one hand, he looks back unto John¡¯s face, some of the poor man''s memories play back within his head. He feels sorry once again as his heart feels like it is weeping.


    ¡°I am so sorry my friend, but I really need this.¡± He says out loud trying to comfort himself from his own doings. It does little to aid in that aspect as tears once again fall from his lids. He blinks hard once, then takes a deep breath and reaches out, grasping unto the hilt of that which had slain the one before him. He feels it lodged deep within as it barely budged from his grip. He tries hard not to think about it but fails, fails as thoughts of the man¡¯s wife and daughter flash before his vision. He grits his teeth and squeezes his eyelids as they peel off moisture from grief. Yanking and pulling with great remorse, the blade finally pulls free from the glowing corpse, splashing his face with piddles of blood. In reaction his body responds by peeling him over to the right side as he begins to dry heave. Puking only air for there is nothing inside of his stomach.


    He is holding onto the ledge of the bewitching structure with his left hand and proceeds to wipe his mouth with his right which is now holding the cold steel blade. Looking up and back down the aisle he so cautiously observed before his mind sequence, he still sees no floating beast making its way down. Confidence is bolstered for he now feels a sense of security from his newly acquired sharp solid companion. Not something he feels would take down one of the disgusting beasts, but it still beats having nothing. He then takes a look down both of the aisles on his sides, then leans out and peeks further down the row just behind him. The areas are clear, staring back over his shoulder he can somewhat make out the large looming wall cutting slightly through thick red haze off in the distance. This is the glimmer of hope that fuels him to move towards it. Taking one final look forwards, he stands up and makes his way to the wall behind him with a brisk jog. Avoiding a sprint so he can preserve his energy and take in a careful look of his surroundings.


    Strolling along down the lane he keeps closer to the right side, taking in the scenery before him is much less terrifying as it was before. He has gotten somewhat accustomed to the view, the rows of octagons with their array of lights crowning them. The white tiles with splotches of blood every now and then with the engulfing red ceiling, being braced by massive endless white beams and the towering fleshy spires supporting their weight. As he further pushes on, the wall he thought he saw before comes closer into view, curving downwards at a harsh angle from the ceiling it takes on the same appearance. At the end of the aisle he can finally see it meets with the floor, but in between him and the end of this gaping room he sees a man slowly walk into the lane silhouetted by the whites and reds. The man was staring at him with a turned head as he walked into the lane. He then stopped in the middle of the aisle and rotated the rest of his body to face him. This brings his jog to a halt as he stares back at him, squinting his eyes to try and make out the man off in the distance. Focusing on him with diligent effort, he sees the man begin to move towards him, building up from a walk and then into a full blown sprint. As he gets closer he can see that it is the one that saved him before, except this time he doesn¡¯t feel any sort of friendliness from him.


    Looking at him he feels like his eyes are just before his own, staring deep into his soul almost as if he could read his mind and feel his intentions. This man charging at him seeks to kill him, he can feel the malice pouring out from his mind and into his own. Just a flash from his eyes as he is sprinting towards him, he is stricken with fear like being chased by a dangerous wild animal. Reacting quickly to what he imagines is his instincts trying to keep him alive, he turns his body to run back the way he came, but he doesn¡¯t turn his head so he can keep an eye on Chet for as long as he could. Getting a few steps back he gets momentum building, then finally turning his skull to face the same direction his body is going, abruptly, his sight gives him terrible news. Only catching it in his peripherals before being caught by his neck, which he then is lifted up off the ground as he discovers the original body of the man who has played him for a fool with a ruse.


    ¡°Now, how come I didn¡¯t feel you out before? Are you playing some kind of trick on me?¡± Chet says to him as he is holding on tightly to his neck.


    Struggling to grasp for oxygen since his air passage is being strangled, he looks down at the man¡¯s right arm that is hoisting him into the air and sees that it is grotesquely deformed. Taking on the appearance of flesh still, but almost as if it had melted and was re-molded, it was larger than normal and he could feel sharp claws digging into his neck. Chet¡¯s face before him looked quite sinister and deeply satisfied for having caught him. He knew from the beginning that the look in his face was not to be trusted, deep in his eyes he got a good look at the dark obsidian pools, feeling a jolt rush throughout his body telling him what his thoughts were.


    ¡®He¡¯s going to eat me?¡¯ confused and shocked for he could believe him to be capable of such a thing. Squirming and kicking about, he grabs onto the limb that is strangling him with one hand and soon after recalls the knife in his other. Gripping it firmly between his fingers, he swings it forwards as hard as he can into Chet¡¯s left temple. Blood sputters out as he feels the shock travel into the handle from the impact, astoundingly the man doesn¡¯t even react to the blade that was sunk into his head. Still staring forwards unto his caught prey, he then begins to laugh loudly right in his face, laughter that stretches his already wide smile bringing his eyes to a close. The embedded pointed steel then begins to wiggle slightly up and down as the side of his head begins to morph into what looks like exposed muscles, peeling away individually like appendages. The strands reel back while cradling the knife, then suddenly the blade is violently shot off into the distance as you can hear it zip off through air. Then the tentacle-like strips ooze back into his head, resting and reforming to the likes of a normal face.


    With dread drowning out all thoughts in his mind, he can only accept the fate before him as he still struggles for air. His vision which encompassed the crazed smiling demon before him starts to fade along with his weakening limbs as they soon begin to tingle from their tips. The man then tightens his grip unto him as he suddenly feels pointy teeth digging into his skin that seemed to have sprouted from the shaped monstrous hand. He could also feel heat beginning to be produced from this clutching appendage but only for a few seconds. His body reacted to this sensation as he felt a pooling of energy building up around his neck. The man holding him up notices this flow of power as he looks down to his neck with a concerned look. Suddenly it pulses outwards like an explosion, an orange dispersing light radiates from the source sending them both flying in opposite directions. He flies backwards slamming onto the ground as Chet slides away from him on his feet, bracing himself with shielded arms as the emitted light fizzles off of them. After hitting the ground he writhes in pain and gasps for air, desperately trying to fill his lungs. Shortly afterwards he props himself up with an arm held backwards and the other caressing his stinging neck, looking up to set eyes back on his threat. The man who had been repelled by the unknown force introduced to his body begins to stumble off kilter. Exerting himself just to keep his body upright, he is holding the wrist to his other hand, the hand which is struggling to keep its altered form. It is twitching sporadically as portions of it are switching back and forth from the molded figure to a regular hand. He is looking back at him with one eye open and panting as if he is about to peel over. His disgruntled face then returns back to the skin crawling grin that he hated to look at. The man begins to chuckle, which slowly turns into a deep belly laugh.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Just what in the fuck are you?¡± He had the audacity to ask him this with his disgusting misshaped hand and strange cloning powers that he still could not comprehend. Suddenly stamping feet can be heard coming down the aisle from Chet¡¯s left, interrupting their stare off. He turns his head looking towards the sounds, letting out a deep groan followed by a rage induced growl as he braces with a bent knee and arms reeled back ready to catch the incoming danger. He watches him carefully as he continues to regain his composure, pulling himself farther up from the ground into a sitting position while caressing his singed neck.


    Eyes pressed forward unto the dangerous man down the open lane he observes as he readies to defend himself, but from what? Is there another being like him in this void wielding other strange powers? The person producing the sounds enters his view, disappointed for it is another one of his clones. The clone had come to a halt midway through and turned around to face the threat that was chasing him. Suddenly long stabbing tendrils whipped through the air aiming for their heads from one of the disgusting floating bugs. A bone-like carapace immediately sprouted out from the bottom of their jaw lines, encapsulating just their heads like a smooth helmet. It furled at the edges and had angled slits affront of the eyes for vision.


    ¡®He makes clones, shifts his hand and can grow a helmet? What the hell is this guy?¡¯ He thinks to himself, the more he learns about Chet the more feels the need to remove himself from his presence. The two embracing both manage to catch the flying limbs with raised arms as they slide back on the ground from the impact, which made an audible whack. Observing them, he could only see one with the hulking hand, assuming that ¡®he¡¯ is the main body being the real Chet.


    Surprised by the sheer strength the man had possessed for he did not think anyone was capable of taking a blow from one of those gargantuan creatures; for a few moments he is lost in awe, but then he suddenly realized that his hunter is now distracted. Rushing to stand up, his body suddenly lurches forwards and back onto the ground by some force hitting him from behind. A cord flew into him and had wrestled him to the floor by securing his limbs tightly together(much like a hog-tie), the touch of it on his skin deeply reminded him of the weave from the beds with its moist warmth that slithered across his skin. Footsteps approach him from behind that are somewhat drowned out from the struggle happening just meters away in front of him. He then feels a pat on his shoulder from the clone he forgot about who was previously closing in on him.


    ¡°Just hang tight for a sec will ya?¡± He says as he then runs forwards to help himself against the hovering travesty. He is still able to turn his body round on the floor so that he can spectate the struggle, turning then onto his side so he can witness the battle between monster and monster.


    The two previously were ducking and sliding from side to side and dashing underneath the flailing behemoth as they watched its movements with utmost discretion. The monstrosity seemed to get enraged from its inability to land a strike. Animosity ensues as it begins to swing its limbs with growing ferocity. The intensity can be heard as the spindly limbs audibly whooshed through the air. Still unable to secure a kill, the beast then quickly turned its focus onto just one target in hopes for better luck. It turned to the one that it was originally pursuing and took flight with its deadly spears. Encircling the clone''s surrounding area with jabbing points, forcing it to the center of its vision for a strike which it then felt sure to hit its target. Thrusting forwards with one leg, its end bounces off of the bone helm leaving a chip in the foundation, this rocks his head back from the force and sends the limb upwards just above and behind him. Before he could react appropriately the beast had followed up with two more jabs, swiftly piercing the clones torso. The clone then grabbed onto the legs which had buried into its body, futile for it began to crumble and fall to the ground. As the beast was distracted, Chet had latched onto the joint of a limb closer to him which was at its rear, squeezing and shearing it from the body with his razor sharp claws from his deformed hand. Blood and orange fluorescent liquid began to pool out from the torn section that was quickly sealed off like a scab. The floating monster reacted hastily, turning and shooting a pointed leg in an attempt to skewer him. He dove and tumbled to the left sideways while still wielding the severed limb, dodging the attacks as they flew past him while one leg suddenly came to a halt. The leg had been caught in the hands of another clone (the one who had put him into a hogtie). Catching the surging tip just inches from his unshielded face with raised arms. The other tendrils are still flailing about, assailing the other body as it rolls and dodges the flurry. A stray leg shot towards the clone striking him in his left side, gouging his flesh which broke a dam from his body as blood started to rush out. Like the monster before him, his wound quickly seals up as the red flesh bubbles and expands refilling the area that had been ripped away, looking as if nothing had happened.


    ¡®What? Why did that one start bleeding and not crumble away like the other?¡¯ He thought to himself as he watched this fierce battle before him. The clone was still gripping the leg, his right hand shifted and bulged out violently which then took on the same monstrous and exaggerated form, melding his fingers into two hefty feelers that were tipped with hulking talons as his thumb jabbed forwards with an intrusive pinnacle. The hungry amble claws dug deep into the dashing limb that wished death, he bore and dug trying to shred the nuisance.


    Unsuccessful in his attempt, the monster hurls him flying into the side of a nearby octagon. The building from which two more clones came lunging and plunging down with maniacal smiles stretched across their faces.


    ¡®Just how many bodies can he make?¡¯ He asked himself as he sat up on the ground once more, still with bound arms and legs. The bug responded to the incoming duplicates by swatting them away violently while airborne, they turned into nothing but dirt as their busts were struck. Chet and a clone took advantage of the turned head and grabbed onto another leg. He struck it with his claws as the other pulled it tight, separating it from its body. The fight continued as two more clones came running in from separate aisles, having taken much damage the hulking monster began to slow down in its actions. One, then two more legs were torn away from it as it struggled to keep up against the numbers with seemingly never ending stamina. With only four legs left it continued to swing wildly, actions being caught like a moth in a web, the clones latched on and kept it still. One ran and then jumped into the air reeling back a hand that shifted into the fierce form, striking forwards with all of his might and stabbing the claws into its great big eye. The surface had been pierced and cracked harshly as liquid began to ooze out from the splits. The monster at this point finally lets out a cry of pain from this impact, it looked as if some kind of emergency protocol had been activated within the beast along with its whimpers. Its fin pulsed with a red and purple strobing light that sent out a shock wave, much like the one that came from himself. An explosion that sent the clones holding it to the ground, an explosion so loud that made his ears ring for he wished he was able to cover them. Chet, who seemed to be switching bodies amongst the clones, still had his grotesque hand buried in its eye. Shortly afterwards he was swatted away by a remaining limb and flew into the ground with great force. Cracking the floor and slamming his head onto the hard pavement which caused his helm to shatter.


    He stared at the body before him, into the eyes that appeared to be lifeless. To his dismay, his corpse suddenly began to crumble into the dirt that he has come to be familiar with. Turning his attention back towards the distraught bug, he discovers that it is fleeing, rapidly ascending into the air while still emitting the emergency lights from its fin. He looks back down and sees the clones gathering, hoisting the one holding the severed limb slightly above them. He is looking up unto the bug, gripping the leg like a weapon and devout to finishing the job. They dip him first for momentum and then launch him flying into the air with great force like a ballista. The monster is moving at a breakneck speed, swimming through the air like a barracuda in the ocean. Alas, for it is not fast enough to escape the great dashing bolt encroaching it from below. The man wielding the limb like a spear, pierces deep into the beast and shatters its bulbous spherical eye. The jets stop propelling it upwards as the lights from its fin die out. Halting in the air for just a few moments, it begins crashing down. Tumbling about as it came closer to the ground, all they do is stare unto the dastardly beast who has been slain before them.


    Within the same aisle the great mass had collided into an octagon that was roughly sixty feet away. The structure crumbled as if it was made out of clay, giving into the hefty beast that was thrown into it. An explosion was produced from the bug''s body, engulfing the radius in plumes of expanding flames. Shaking the ground which was followed by the accompanied shock wave, tossing him backwards from the forceful jet of air. Wincing from the tumble, he forces himself to peer upon the incident once more with diligent efforts, wishing not to miss any details of the event. The clones before him are shielding their faces from the gust as smoke begins to spire out just yards away. Clumps and shards of the structure begin to rain down onto the surrounding area, pouring from the sky and pelting them with unpleasant force. Entwined with the chunks is a sprinkling of the orange luminescent liquid that absorbs into the bodies and fades atop of the floor. A leg lands nearby with a thud, close enough for him to make out, he sees that the severed end is healed up and covered with skin as it kicks about on the ground like a fish out of water. Overwhelmed with surprise and shock, for having witnessed the great power this demon of a man before him possesses, he feels doomed, marked for death as he lays there bound and unable to move awaiting his fate.

 Chapter 8: The Carrion Queen

    He sat there, frozen, the abundance of emotions had an ice cold grip over his mind: staring forth unto the flames and pillars of smoke billowing out from the crash site, he could not believe what this man before him was capable of. The surroundings were licked with hues of red and orange from the fire as they wavered and lashed that clung to the structure like an infant spider monkey, feeding and being nurtured by it. Striking him inside of his body was the same strange sensation he felt before when he saw -Chet- for the second time, thus which led to his unconventional confinement.The growing and eating sensation building from the direction of the rubble was grossly embalming him from the pressure and powerful sickening emotions of animosity making him feel tiny like an ant.


    ¡®There is no way that his body survived that crash.¡¯ Was the thought stirring in his head as he and the fake bodies continued to gawk forwards, feeling the devouring power that has continued to accumulate within seconds. Abruptly, an elongated arm stretched out violently, leaping from the remains of the building. It appeared to have three joints instead of two given its disgusting length, it unfurled and was brimming with life as its muscles and veins were demanding to squeeze the life out of anything(alas all the muscles could do was fight against each other). Unexpectedly another arm floated in from the disaster as it rotated and turned in the air with dancing fingers that felt like they were tickling the back of his neck. Meeting along a joint of the stretched limb, the orange liquid had flown in and swirled around them like a vortex, flowing into the contact point as it then melded them together unto one living organism(presumptuously). Once they were one, the multi armed limb slammed onto the floor with both palms, pressing firmly with great power as it pulled the rest of its body out from the crumbled mess. The other conjoined pair of arms shortly emerged lagging behind with the same arrangement. As the creature defecated itself out slowly a head was revealed, a head that was covered lightly in patches of hair on top where the horns didn¡¯t grow across, as the side had a circular hole taking the place of the ear. The face of this creature was covered by a furled and twisted horn that sprouted from where the nose would; they curled around the front of the face, burring out at the edges before the ears and atop of the scalp as it grew in five directions like a starfish. Between the gaps of the horns were glowing yellow eyes with two on each side of the face, along with the twitching head they were darting back and forth quickly taking in the fresh scenery and its livestock that was down the lane who were frozen like statues. The upper mouth and jaw had a deep split along the middle, which then splayed outwards like mandibles of an ant. Symmetrical lines grew across from the center of the five pointed horn which opened as the face peeled outwards accompanied by a moist noise and slimy strings. Within this opened aperture of a skull lay another face below that took on the appearance of a woman, her eyes were closed as the shell before it left a film of blood. Her expression was mostly flaccid but also bore a sardonic smirk, she knew how little threat any opposing force was to her. As this abhorrent figure unprobed the rest of its body out, it kept its incapacitating closed gaze fixed in their direction. Its back adorned two more arms that skidded around like antennae getting a feel for the area. Tearing away from the wreckage were its legs that stretched forwards over its own head and shoulders like a contortionist as they had three joints that bent backwards and forwards, only the front shins bore spines but the worst was the feet; the feet didn¡¯t appear to have toes but more of something like short fingers edged with claws as the ankle sported a talon. A posse of taps were heard on the floor as these heaping hooves made contact upon the floor. On its rear a fleshy tail grew from it that appeared to adorn a glaive that wagged back and forth at a leisurely pace, waiting for something to strike. The disgusting bugs he witnessed beforehand in this realm were already enough to make him sick, but this being that emerged from the wreckage made his heart circles as his pectoral muscles strangled his chest.


    After this harbinger fully stood up, the beast appeared to be a terrifying nine feet tall in the short distance it was away from them. Its chest was armored in the same way that Chet¡¯s helm was, a jagged frame of white bone blushed with yellows, might as well just have been its ribcage worn on the outside. What took his attention away from the traumatizing view was a sudden piercing reverberation that felt like it was pelting him from above and deep into his whole body. The sound was so intense that its pressure tore at his ears and insides. The immense discomfort and pain was unbearable, alas all he could do was squirm and writhe on the floor for his limbs were still bound. The clones standing before him winced little to this sensation as they buckled slightly in their stance as they kept focused and weary attention on the monster before them. The beast nonchalantly glanced up into the air, pondering where the sound was coming from with a stoic posture. It then turned its head back to them resuming its glare, drowning them with its overwhelming presence. Its outer rib cage bulged out with a pop and a snap as it seemed to separate into even portions, then these sections began to open outwards much like the flayed head, revealing a black sphere that bore great resemblance to the eyes of the floating aberrations.


    Staring into this abysmal black ball he felt as if his soul was being ripped away from his body, with his conscious eyes a thick vignette grew over his vision. The eye of the beast had begun to consume him even just from its distance. His eardrums began to quiver as his body had started to release rigor mortis to the limbs, an overbearing vertigo stirred his brain about while a low pulsing hum started to drown out the reverberations of the room. Vaguely still able to make out the clones on the sides of his vision, he can see that they all begin to slowly(but violently) stomp towards this creature while twitching frantically about much like a zombie would. The closest body to him forces limbs to a stand with a shudder and tense muscles; he then swipes his right hand flat out to the side through the air starting from above his left shoulder and coming to a stop fully stretched out. This action seemed to be a command, a command to dismiss the rest of his clones for they all crumbled to the ground before them in mounds of dirt. Distraught in his already ruled mind, he is confused, for he saw this man crash into an explosion along with the body of the beast. His right hand whilst still at his side, shifts again, but not into the form that he witnessed beforehand, taking on a much rounder and defined shape that soon divides and splits into a haze of squirming tentacles. The tentacles look exactly like the weave from the beds and the ones binding his limbs together. First he winds this grueling arm back behind him, then ferociously swings it forwards releasing a group of the weaves. The vines then whip through the air, whistling as they swing about in their revolutions that seem to then backspin along their distance unto the fiend who was made out of corpses.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Five whistling and swerving about, the beast makes easy work of four with its many limbs and razor tail, but one slams into its left shoulder with a harsh blow that makes it lurch backwards. The successful deviant strand darts around with great haste, slithering across its body and wraps around the bust of the great beast. Distracted by this sentient piece of wire it manages to grip a section of it as its strength proves to be difficult to deal with. In these few seconds he proceeds to hurl four more tentacles in its direction, the tail of the monster had acted unconsciously as it slashes two of the flung strings into pieces. The others boarded this beast and reenact the cord prior to them, gripping the opened chest to a close as the creature finally managed to rip the first one off of its body, thus setting him free from the sphere''s freezing gaze. The penetrating ringing sound from above is still rocking his body about but he was able to adjust to its hammering pulse, in the background past the beast he can see the floating bugs retreating into the ceiling ports with their greeting signal displayed on their fins.


    With the closure of the chest cavity, Chet¡¯s body fizzles a bit from his backside as a clone shoots out from him running in his direction. Startled by this sudden emergence he lets out a short scream while pushing himself away backwards on the ground with his bound legs. The clone grabs him and picks him up off the floor effortlessly like he''s a puppy. Grunting from the sudden force he isn¡¯t capable of doing nothing more than to accept his fate to this accursed demon''s will. Being carried away down the lane he looks over the dirt copy¡¯s shoulder and sees two more clones shoot off from Chet, both of which dart off down the right and left lanes to avoid the crippling gaze. The beast manages to shred off another assailing strand as it then closes its open face to the more bulky one with the horns. It opens its grotesque mouth wide much like an anaconda and lets out a blood curdling shriek as it begins to kneel down to the ground on all limbs. The monster then begins to gallop fiercely towards the body behind them which he assumes is still Chet¡¯s main vessel, who also begins to stride in its direction to meet head on as he materializes his helmet.


    Watching with great anticipation his head suddenly shoots backwards as a strong burning pain begins pulsing from the spot on his neck like before, but with greater intensity. He feels the hulking hand once again upon him but just over this spot on his body.


    ¡°You seem to be quite the prized target there buddy.¡± Chet says to him as he scurries along with him still in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sure whoever put this here won¡¯t mind if I high-jack it.¡± Saying out loud as he then proceeds to laugh, he cannot muster words for a response as he is pulverized by ongoing pain deep in the side of his neck much like a burning needle. Once the pain dulled, he notices that Chet had pulled his monstrous hand away and that they have made a left turn and are now going down a path which was perpendicular to the wall he was attempting to reach. He stared forwards as he watched the octagons zip by, one by one they passed along with the white beams on the wall that he could very clearly make out now. On his left behind his courier and within the wall somewhere, he noticed shrill screams that sounded like a crowd of people.


    ¡®¡¯Why were there so many of them? What was causing them to scream?¡¯ He wondered as he remembered seeing a myriad of bugs escaping through the ceiling. Thoughts were hard to muster given the cacophony of numerous sounds entering his eardrums. The loud throbbing ringing, the clash of the titan assaulting the clones, the stomps of Chet¡¯s feet as he carried him to god knows where, the perils screams of strangers he wished he could have seen, and the pounding of his heart that wailed throughout his body as though he was going to die from a heart attack. The sounds of this hell paired along with the still searing pain deep within his neck was far too much to take in at once.


    They soon came to a halt next to an open bunk within one of the octagons as Chet sets him on the ground while still resting his gross tumorous claws on his shoulder.


    ¡°Well, if I can¡¯t eat you here then I¡¯ll just have to try on the other side.¡± He says to him looking deep into his eyes.


    ¡°Huh!?¡± Is all that he can manage to utter out as he looks back into his obsidian opal eyes. Then he feels a noose tighten around his neck which he can only assume was a cord produced by this horrifying individual. Choking and kicking around on the ground he falls backwards and thuds on the floor. All he sees is an octagon with his sideways vision that is then disturbed by the man walking into it who crouches before him who then begins to wave goodbye. Wearing that same disgusting grin he had on before as he watches him lose consciousness. His vision then fades to black along with a deafening silence.

 Chapter 9: Clarice

    The room was illuminated by the vibrancy given off from the TV, its array of LEDs shined their light outwards like a search squad trying to find a man overboard at sea. Cascading their beams of light onto every wave, waves that were luminesced which were various objects within the tight living room. A dresser at the very left wall containing a one gallon fish tank which housed a rust colored betta fish. The kitchen in the background hiding behind the couch which was getting only the farthest reaches of luminous particles. The hallway that ducked off to the right not wishing to be seen, regardless as it still made an appearance. On the left wall hung several pictures of her and her family, but one stood out the most, and that was of Her and Anthony; they were on their second date as they smiled at the device that froze time onto the paper. And last that was left was the coffee table holding leftover takeout, waiting in vain for it was going to be tossed the next day due to negligence. All of said items basked in the alternating luminescence giving live to their appearances with the shifts of hues and brightnesses, casting dancing shadows on various walls within the confide. The only wave in this room that had motion to it was Her. Clarice. Being quite slim, she had wavy, long brown hair(which was done up in a bun), an angular face made of a slightly strong jawline and cheekbones, she was dashing to look upon with her rich light brown eyes as well that glowed in the sunlight. She laid there, semi-supine with a knee arched up having the other leg resting on it. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue gym shorts, the lining of this fabric was trimmed with lines of white. Hands were hoisting up her phone which would wiggle every now and then from using one to gesture with as if moving about like a marionette. The TV that was casting its rays of light was also producing a murmur of audio which was barely detectable, white-noise as you could call it. Actors moving about on the plane, putting up a performance that was frivolous, being overshadowed by the smaller screen that contained a person of higher status lying between her fingers. Above the tiny moving picture displayed his name along the shining pixels. Tai.


    ¡°Look, I know things between us are kinda rickety right now, and that is my fault.¡± The woman says as she undoes her hair to let loose the strands that were beginning to become fatigued from their trusses. ¡°It''s just that, I don¡¯t know? Things for me have felt complicated for a while. I shouldn''t have led you on like that.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it is okay. I understand, I am also partly to blame for it. I apologize on my behalf.¡± She is talking to a Black man on the small screen who is wearing a white tee. Just from the head-shot in which you can see, he is quite masculine and has a notch of blond accompanying his short buzzed hair along the left temple. ¡°I knew that you guys were together, but you gotta see the situation that you are in.¡± She turns to the left and plays with her hair more, undoing the knots within. ¡°If someone ignored and pushed me away for a whole month, I''d drop em. Hell, after the first week, I don¡¯t see why you are so hung up about this?¡± The man on the screen has a raised lip and brow from confusion, feeling the words he jutted out.


    ¡°I just don''t even know what to think of it, I see what you are saying but we were together for three years.¡± Weight was laid into those last two words as she gestured with her free hand as well. Her TV and the whir of her fridge spoke lightly, filling these few seconds of silence. They vibrated and filled the open air. She sighed and then picked up where she left off. ¡°I get that his mother died and I just wanted to be there for him. It is so hard to do that for him cause of his crazy ass family. They interfere so much with us. I fucking hate his bitch of a sister, her crazy eyepatch having ass. But still, fuck them! I feel like he has some sort of bonds tied to him so that¡¯s the only reason that they care for and keep him alive.¡± Her words became shaky as she started to feel a twinge in her eyes and throat.


    ¡°That sounds like a massive yikes, I ain¡¯t never had to deal with some bullshit like that before. I remember that you said his father wasn¡¯t around, that kind of thing can fuck with you from the inside out, some kind of psychological shit. Speaking of which, I''d say that you can relate considering your own relationship with your parents.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I was there.¡±


    ¡°It is just exposition, but anyways, as I was saying, no one should have to put up with all of that, you didn¡¯t deserve any of that. Not that anyone actually does, but, you know.¡± She is now wiping tears from her eyes, the actors on the TV can suddenly be heard for just a few moments again. ¡°I can tell you right now, if my momma passed away, I don¡¯t know how I would deal with it. Hell, I love my momma. My pops on the other hand, no one knows if he is alive or dead at this point in time. I¡¯m mean, at least you know where yours is.¡± The background is now filled with his kitchen as she assumes that he is sitting at his dinner table with his phone propped up, resting his face on one hand as his fingers curl around one side with sparse separations, he is absorbed in thought as he staring blankly off into an unimportant direction, getting lost into the confines of his mind.


    ¡°Yeah that piece of shit could die in a hole for all I care, both of them.¡± She awaits a reply, but he is still lost into a sea of thoughts. One side of him is twitching up and down, she can only assume that he is doing it himself upon a leg, pumping blood to one side while he is distracted by the horrible thoughts of losing a loved one. He feels the silence creeping in and tries to steer the conversation elsewhere after a shake to his body and a deep sigh, this section of conversation has gotten dry and he is unsure of how to respond to her comment.


    ¡°I''m also really glad you decided to call me back Clare. I was starting to get worried about us.¡± She was shook to a fit from this utterance of words that dug drilled back into her moralities. She responded like she was on autopilot.


    ¡°Don''t, say it, like-that.¡± The words trembled out of her mouth, they came slower than the water from her eyes. The man looks down, taking a resentful sigh as he moves his lips from one side and then to the other as he continues to listen to her outburst. ¡°It makes me feel horrible about-¡®us¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry Clare. I didn''t mean it like that. You are a great friend and I don¡¯t want anything to happen to our relationship.¡± He says looking intently at the screen before him, the actors from the TV chime in again, but are masked behind snivels and sorrow.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. My head has just been so messed up lately. I¡¯m glad you talked to me at this hour. Just hearing someone''s voice pulls me out of that slump, even considering what we did. I try not to think about¡­¡± She continues to push away droplets with her thumb.


    ¡°Hey, it happened and now we are past that. You called me first and I recognize that you did. That kind of thing takes strength. You showed me how brave you can be and I admire that. You had been at the back of my mind for awhile, well, since after that night. Honestly? I was scared to call you ha ha.¡± She laughs back at his open insecurities but is comforted by his vulnerability.


    ¡°You should have called me! It was eating away at me all week!¡± She says this while forcing herself to sit up from her exultation and excitement.


    ¡°I''m sorry, it''s just one of these things you know? Damned if I do, and damned if I don¡¯t. But yeah, you¡¯re right. Getting all of this stuff dealt with asap should have been something I jumped on.¡± He seems to have stepped outside of his house as the lighting on his face changes and the sounds of cars passing by can be faintly heard muffled in the background emitting from the speaker of her phone.


    ¡°Things aren¡¯t going to be weird now are they?¡± Clarice asked while pushing a strand of hair out of her face, being strung up with uncertainty. He chuckles at this question and her facial expression.


    ¡°Hey, we are talking right now aren¡¯t we? I can see you, you can see me. If you really want to find out I can drive over right now?.. Hey, how you doin brotha?¡± He casually says to a person out of the frame, breaking the odd tension that was in their conversation. She hesitates a bit before answering, a cheek rose along with hearing his proposition.


    ¡°Who was that?¡± She uttered out, trying to change the topic of their conversation.


    ¡°Just my neighbor Michael, He is honestly one of the chillest dudes that I have met. Also don¡¯t be changing the topic after a question like that, are you going to answer my question Ms.Mam?¡± He says to her with a tamber of playfulness and seriousness to his voice with a raised eyebrow, expecting the authority of his brow to coax her into answering his question.


    ¡°Eh, my house is dirty and it is actually super late.¡± He laughs again at her response as he can see that she had broken eye contact with the screen.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I get it, I won¡¯t push. But, I just want you to know, I am always here for you.¡± Cars can be heard passing by, their sounds play through the tiny speaker in her hand as she absorbs his reaction. She smiles in response.


    ¡°Thank you Tai, I really apprecia-¡± Unexpectedly, interrupting their conversation, her phone starts vibrating and displays an incoming call from Anthony. Her heart sinks just gazing upon his name. She puts the phone face down on her chest as she turns her head whose lips are being pressed on by her closed fist. Choking back more tears, she tries her best to ignore the ring-tone buzzing away, feeling a sudden intrusion of frustration pool over her as they take over the wheel she lost control.


    ¡°Goddammit!¡± She screams as she stands up and lets her device know her pain by hurling it through the air at the drywall, thus adding another dent to its menagerie of knicks and scuffs. Miraculously, the phone survived unscathed given its wonderful case, still, it was beating on the floor as the motor rattled in the name of ambivalence.


    ¡°Clare? Clare you alright?¡± The tiny man on the rectangle then shakes his head and ends his video chat as he got no response and only a black screen. Clarice had then propped up from her resting spot and stomped over to her kitchen table, holding a pack of unopened cigarettes wielding them much like a rotating pedestal under a singular spot light. In her desperation she unsheathed the plastic seal and packed it a few times into her other hand. Trying to take her mind off of the screaming device on the floor it was in vain, but she knew that an old cowboy killer could do something about it. Her mind was in shambles, as all she could do was think about the one calling her, the one she committed adultery to in her books, for her library was vast, and a growing collection. The ring-tone of her phone was like a crowd of people screaming obscenities at her, shaming her for what she felt was wrong which was a turmoil that felt like ages to pass.


    When she could hear a rerun of friends clearly solo in the air she realized that she had an unlit one hundred between her lips and was slightly skewed, smelling the cut packed tobacco that it vaguely let off. She took five steps over to the trash bin, stamped the petal and let those cowboys know the abyss. Turning back and making her way towards her carapaced friend, she picked it up off the ground and saw the video chat had ended with Tai. The notification bar and micro-bulb at the top was showing her what she wanted, an icon of a phone deflecting an arrow and a pulsing deep green dot. The sight of those two contentious beings burrowed deep into her ailing mind. Still, she didn''t know whether to feel enmity or compassion towards them, the battle was still being duked out in the back of her library of books. Incinerate this man from your life, or make him a commandment? Before she knew it, she could feel trails of moisture tickling the surfaces of her cheeks.


    Anthony! The whole screen goes dark and his name takes over the majority of it as she feels it shake in her hand. This time she is composed. This time she does not fall into the disarray of emotions that beheld her prior. She sets aside uncertain emotions as well as him, and with management she is able to not fall into autonomy with the press of the decline call button.


    She wasn''t able to sleep at all that night, she was thankful that he hadn''t tried to call her again, either of them. No text messages as well, but it still concerned her. Clarice was off to work, driving on the freeway and pulled onto an exit. She worked as a CNA at an old folks home. She didn''t feel justified by it cause most were there for a paycheck. She wanted to help them as much as they could but they drove her patience harder than a diamond drill. But she continued to make her way there in her pre-owned prius and black cold brew in a free hand. She was listening to the radio, it was some gag channel that did nothing but make fun of celebrities. She didn''t care about today and thought


    ¡®Hey, why not take a little edge off with some Baileys?¡¯ so she pulled in-lane towards the liquor store close by. As she was coming close to the store her eyes caught something harsh. Anthony''s vehicle was sitting right out front of the place which stood out like a sore thumb among the others, it made her do a double take. She slammed on the brakes so hard it spilled her coffee all over the dashboard and her scrubs. All she could do was stare in bewilderment as she shook her hands trying to get rid of the liquid hugging her skin.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡®What the FUCK!? I just don''t want to be thinking of him right now!¡¯ she thought. A few cars started queueing up behind her as they soon started to blare on their horns. All she could do was make a hasty u-turn to return back home with runny mascara and damp navy blue scrubs. She called into work that day wishing that she never had the pleasure to lay sight onto his car.


    Clarice was now out on the walkway outside of her apartment in a dark purple plaid fleece with gray sweatpants and pink fluffy slippers. She is indulging in a cowboy killer as she leaned on the railing and looked off into the distance as a gentle breeze played with her unkempt hair, the same breeze that was coaxing the pink clouds along the sky. Her face has been cleaned of any make-up showing the bags underneath her dimmed and squinted eyes. As she puffs on the relaxing carcinogens, she sees her co-workers car pull up into the parking lot below as the windows of her car glint from the pastel colors of the setting sun. Megan gets out of her tan Camry and waves to her. She waves back at her and is quite happy to see a familiar face, disintegrating the loneliness that was ailing her. Megan opens up the back door and pulls out a rather large bottle of red wine and proceeds to walk up the stairs to Clarice.


    ¡°Hey girl, you doing alright?¡± She asks her with a tilt of her head as she eyes the cigarette in her fingers. Clarice lets out a sigh and then skims a smile across her face.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing better after seeing you, sorry about today.¡± She flicks the ashes off of her lit stick.


    ¡°Oh, well no need to be sorry, I know what you¡¯ve been dealing with lately. That is why I brought this.¡± Megan says as she lifts and shakes the bottle of red blends. ¡°Only had a few visits today, so the workload wasn¡¯t bad at all. Looks like you gotta start over on the smoking though.¡± Clarice grimaces a bit from this remark and then takes one last puff before snuffing it out on the ground.


    ¡°Yeah, I should have took out the trash when I had the chance.¡± She lets off of the railing and walks into her apartment with Megan trailing behind her. The ambience is cozy with all of the curtains closed and being lit by only a dim lamp along with the TV. The air is pleasant to the nostrils as a sandalwood incense is slowly being charred by an ember down its shaft with a string of smoke teetering through the air. The background airwaves are filled with the sounds from a movie being played that has no audience.


    ¡°You look pretty tired there Clare, did you get any sleep?¡± Megan asks while she cracks the top off of the bottle of reds.


    ¡°Maybe just for a few hours, got shaken awake by some horrible dreams.¡± Clare answers back as she hands Megan a couple of wine glasses who reminisces about her own dreams as if she never had the chance to speak of them before.


    ¡°I dreamt that I was back in highschool, walking around the hallways trying to find my next class. It¡¯s so weird, I knew I was back at my old school but everything looked different and weird. I forgot how much school blows.¡± Megan says with a smile as she hands a filled cup to Clare.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t too fond of it myself, prom was nice.¡± Clare takes a drink from her glass, tasting the dryness of the red gold along with some fruity notes as the alcohol warms her stomach, putting a satisfied grin on her face.


    ¡°Prom was nice, that was when I lost my virginity.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, Tommy Lewis and his weird balls.¡±


    ¡°I told you that it was a birthmark, they are still the most interesting balls that I have ever seen or felt, mind you.¡± Megan says as she wriggles the fingers in her free hand in a wave-like pattern. Clare turns her head away and puts out a palm.


    ¡°Oh my god, stop! You are unbelievable.¡±


    ¡°Okay, no more ball talk.¡± Megan says while throwing her arms out in a sign of resignation but still holding a grin on her face. She turns her head while she waits for Clare to take another drink and then side steps closer to her. ¡°Like velvet¡± She says to her in a sardonic tone, Clare instantly turns around to the sink behind her and spews out wine through pursed lips into a fine mist as a few dribbles out of her nose, sprinkling most of the surfaces in her kitchen. Megan has a hearty laugh in reaction which is soon followed by her friend who is cradling a hand beneath her mouth and chin. She hands her the hand towel that was hanging on the handle of the fridge which Clare then used to wipe her face dry.


    ¡°Goddamn you!¡± Clare was able to utter through the cracks of her own mirth. Megan went to the table and ripped some paper towels to help her clean the mess that she created.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± As she then imitates the noise she made and laughs some more. Clare playfully punches her shoulder while wearing a smile she wasn¡¯t aware of.


    ¡°Fuckin bitch, oh my god.¡±


    Glasses refilled and splotches were now cleaned, Megan and Clare were now sitting in chairs nestled at the dinner table. Megan has a shit eating grin and could feel Clare looking at her, done soaking in her enjoyment she turned to meet her eyes ending with a sigh.


    ¡°So. What was it that woke you up?¡± Clare was taken off guard as she forgot about her pains from the enjoyment of her friend and actions, nonetheless, she was in a better state to process emotions. She herself then sighed and looked down onto nothing, as her focus now was on communicating what was bothering her, a tremor grew through her lip as she started to speak with closed eyes.


    ¡°I was sitting there in a chair, everything was dark except a single light that was shining on me from above. Soon people started to walk past me, they were all dressed in nice clothes, you know in the 60s when everyone wore suits and suede dresses, but the thing was they all had a red towel covering their faces. I could see them look at me, look at me with their hidden faces, glare into me even though that red fabric.They were small movements, but you could tell they were looking at me as they passed by. The weird part was that they would all blow air out of their mouths, almost like a hiss of disapproval. You know, ¡®PFFT¡¯ like I was nothing to them. Shit was pissing me off, but whatever, the worst one was a guy sitting across from me that I only noticed after watching one of the strange people walk by, he was only like three feet in front of me but he had a white towel covering his.¡±


    ¡°God that is some weird shit.¡± Megan said with a frown as she took another swig from her glass as she broke eye contact with her again, pondering everything her friend was telling her about her dream as she continued to listen.


    ¡°I know right?- But anyways,- That towel he had over his face, started to get soaked in blood, the sheen from it could be seen as it further soaked the towel. It was horrible cause I could tell that he was staring at me, he was looking at me in the hopes that I would be able to help him in some way. I wanted to help him, but I was just like him having my hands tied behind my back. I couldn¡¯t get up or move my legs, that bound feeling is terrifying, especially when you want to help someone that is in need of aid. The people kept walking by doing nothing to help us as I started to scream at them for it.¡± Tears had started to form droplets within her ducts as she continued to look at her friend with a face of sorrow. ¡°He nudged and grunted as if trying to break free as if he was begging to choke on the blood. Then the blood started dripping down from his face and the towel, right down onto his clothes. That is when I could see that it was Anthony, I know what his wardrobe is and the tattoo of a bee on his right forearm. He started squirming more violently to break free as the noises he was making got worse. And, that is when I woke up.¡± She finishes her long recalling with a resigning upwards swipe of her free hand while the other raises her glass to finish what was left in the cup. Megan is taken aback by her story as she is kneeling her head a distance away, a distance as far as her cradled sitting position had allowed. Her face is stretched with concern as she looks down and then back up while still holding her own glass.


    ¡°Goddamn girl, what the hell you be taking? At least warn me next time before you trauma dump a nightmare like that on me.¡± Clare looks at her friend and her response giving a light smile as she then takes a sigh whilst fingering the rim of her vacant glass.


    ¡°¡±It is definitely something out of the ordinary. It was so horrible that I had to tell someone about it. Horrible in the sense that I know, It was about Anthony.¡± She says his name with slight vulgarness as she looks up, trying to take in the emotion from her companion. Megan takes a sigh and relaxes, relaxes and sees that her friend is still troubled by the descriptions that she told her. She waits a few moments in which she is glancing back and forth between her unwavering eyes and the cup she holds between her hands.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want anything to happen to him right?¡± she asks her with great hesitation. Clare''s face had then folded into itself as if a string had snapped that was keeping her emotions in check. Her next words were falling apart just like she was.


    ¡°I still want to call him my boyfriend, but at this point I¡¯m not-. I am not sure about it anymore-¡± She couldn¡¯t keep talking as tears started flowing while her lips began to fight each other. Megan stood up and held her head close to her body as she began to stroke her hair, caressing her shape unto her own.


    ¡°Honey, I am so sorry. I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡± She says to her as she continues to embrace Clare. Megan raised both of her hands to cradle her face as the curves then captured the rainfall from above as she looked into both of her eyes intently. ¡°We all love you my dear, I do, Tai does, hell, even Anthony does. With all of the relationships that I have been through, I know that they never stop loving you. Their actions may hurt, their words may hurt, but trust me, no matter how horrible, they are only doing it out of love. That or therefore lacking of it, which in his case I can confidently say the latter. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this shit turns you into a goddamn animal. Love is worse than any drug out there, it makes you do things that you would never do, makes you agree with thoughts that go against what you believe in.¡± Clare lets off of Megan¡¯s hold while sitting up straight, she is still brushing off stray tears from her face.


    ¡°Why?¡± That is all that she asks. ¡°Why do I have to care so much about what, HE, thinks about me?¡± Her eyes are swollen and red, the look is turned towards her comrade. ¡°WHY?!¡± She screams at her. Megan then breaks eye contact as she lets her glass rest on the table. ¡°The reason that I called into work today,-¡± She lets off anticipating Megan¡¯s reaction as her friend then looks up at her and holds contact. ¡°He tried to call me last night. But the icing on the cake was that I saw his car parked outside of the liquor store.¡±


    ¡°Go to him.¡± She says without a shimmer of doubt in her mind or body.


    ¡°What?¡± Clare responds in confusion. Megan then turns her head and looks deep into her eyes. Staring, absorbing the front that she has been unwillingly put forth for her to see. Clare adverts her sight to the side like a child, in a bout of insecurity for a few moments, then right back into the fray, the fray of which was her trusted companion''s pupils. Megan then closes her eyes, takes in a deep breath and holds it. After a few seconds, she expels the air and rests her lungs for a stint, regaining the confines and replenishes what was lost. Then, she opens her eyes which pierce Clare''s status, shaking her into alertness. She has never seen her closest friend in a state like this, in this manner, in this aptitude that had altered her facial expression within this fever.


    ¡°He had tried to reach out to you once more cause he still loves you as well. Go to him now and pull him out of that muck that he is in. If you don¡¯t do that now, then I fear that you will never have another chance, given the road that he is going down. I know that you have tried before but if you really love him, then you cannot give up. I can see just how strongly you think about him. Not just in your words but also in the back of your mind through your dreams.¡± The words rang through her ears and within the confines of her mind. Strangely ringing about without reverberations, they were almost unbearably resonating with what she didn¡¯t want to believe for so long. The words exploded inside of her, driving her compulsively, before she knew it, she was right outside of his complex, like all of her past actions had happened within the snap of a finger. She was leaning forwards in her car, looking up to his apartment window through her windshield. She could see that the lights within his room were on, given the yellowish glow that was painted on the curtains and edges of the rectangular sill, piercing the darkness of the night. Two bodies were moving back and forth from within, painting their silhouettes on their unnoticed captors. She removed her hands from the steering wheel and angled one of them backwards involuntarily as her brow furrowed.


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± A hint of dryness and fruits were still at the back end of her throat, that was all she could taste as she smacked her gums after a glug from a water bottle. The street lights were smeared across her sight as the static image of her boyfriend''s window burned into her mind. The cold air was but a mild nuisance upon her vessel considering she didn¡¯t grab a coat, the only thing that she could think about was Anthony. Anthony and their intimate relationship. ¡®If I am here, why is he up there with another person?¡¯ Was the question that she assumed. Stepping out of her vehicle, she then made her way down the left side of the sidewalk, in ways to the other entrance as it was easier this way to get to his room. As she turned the corner she could see an ambulance and a fire truck parked outside. Somehow she didn¡¯t notice the lights changing the surrounding scenery as she was shocked by this site. Frozen in her steps for a few seconds, this brought her to a great haste as she ran further up to the secondary entrance. Incidentally, a crew of EMT¡¯s and a stretcher were already coming right out of the doors. As their paths met she caught sight of the person held within the moving cot, it was Anthony.


    ¡°Oh Jesus Christ! Is he okay?!¡± She demanded the first responders as she ran up to his side.


    ¡°He is okay for the moment mam, we resuscitated him just fine. Only time can tell from here that is.¡± One of the men said to her as he walked off from his side holding a tablet.


    ¡°What the fuck are you kidding me?! Resuscitated?!¡± She says, looking at him with a dire and frantic look. The face he has is pale and the bags under his eyes are a noticeable blue hue. His breathing appears to be in rough shape. She doesn¡¯t notice the streams coming down from her eyes. ¡°Can I ride with him in the back? Please, Please!? I¡¯m his girlfriend!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry mam, but his condition is critical, we need the cabin clear for best operations.¡± The man says to her as he soon joins his coworkers in operating the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Clarice falters back and comes to a stop brimming with defeat and guilt, staring forwards unto the one she loved so dearly.


    ¡°I was too late.¡± She utters under her breath with a flaccid stare that could say a thousand words.

 Chapter 10: The One In White

    He felt his back being cushioned from the weight of his body into a soft cradle that had his torso angled slightly upwards. His midsection and legs were lacquered in a soft warmth that kept his waking status at bay, a weight was noticeably present along the left side of his torso which was pleasant, like his arm was being hugged by warm coals. What had awoken him from this strange daze was the sounds of what he thought were people to his right, footsteps and chattering entered his ears, none of which was intelligible along with a squeeze to his bicep that slowly got tighter, but then let off before he knew it. He was only able to pry his eye lids ajar with a sloggy effort, they were heavier than bricks. What greeted his eyes was the amalgamation of white and light blue hues which seared at his previously hibernating irises, looking down atop of his belly was a blur of light brown that smeared into the white and blue surroundings that he thought what was giving the weight in which he felt. Still in his daze he felt the scorching of his eyes which further held them shut as they wished to convalesce. He tried to lift his right hand since the other was buried underneath what he could not make out, then his heart began to race as the sensation rocked his system that he had once felt before in the form of a tugging coming from within his arm that he so dearly hated. Flashes of the other world pooled into his mind as he then thought of the schizophrenic man who had seemed to commit great atrocities with his red drooling face. Then others of the two unfortunate damned beings that had met a swift end. Images of the reaper flooded his sight, its grotesque swallowing black hole of an eye along its bulbous figure that made your skin crawl. With no face but only a sphere, all he could think about was the pointy, spiny tendrils that moved with violent ferocity. That and the two gaping mouths on either side of it, the mouths that engorged humans whole with ease and melted them into oblivion. The woman''s shrill screams filled his mind as he felt his heart rate rise and chest tighten once more.


    Only a second had passed for him to re-imagine all of these events as he ripped the needle from his arm with great vigor, disregarding the one that was weighing him down as he yanked his arm free, thus waking her from his violent motion. The machine to his right that rested at the wall behind him had started to emit intermittent beeps of two raps. Discarding the finger monitor unknowingly set off another alarm as a bead of blood started to form from the opening he just violently released.


    ¡°Babe, What the fuck!¡± the woman who was resting on him shouted whose words made no sense to him.


    ¡°Whoa whoa, calm down man!¡± The man who was in the corner of the room said with an uneasy, raised tone. The new voice made his head waggle in his direction with diminutive haste as his eyes revealed only a thin white and black figure, his unfocused eyes created abstract art without him realizing it.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± Anthony shouted, slurring his words heavily as he attempted to stand up from the bed. The other man who was in the corner of the room had halted him and pressed his palms upon his chest to keep him rested on the medical bed. All the while the beeping continued, his grunts and the sounds from whom was around him filled the air.


    ¡°Brotha you can''t walk right now, you need to stay put!¡± The man said out loud to him, reassuring him that he would be okay just from his tone of voice. He could vaguely make out his figure as he seemed to be well dressed in a pressed long white tee and a black tie. His face was hard to discern but he saw that his hair was short and black.


    ¡°Babe, please. You are safe, we are both here for you.¡± The woman''s voice chimed in as he then turned his head with a sloppy effort towards her. She had the light brown hair he made out earlier, she was now close enough for him to make out any facial features. He was comforted by what seemed to be her eyes and soft face. He felt her soft hand gripping his left, woven through his fingers individually with a comforting squeeze. The only thing he could think about was how much longer he would be able to look at her grace. When was it going to be when he wasn¡¯t able to enjoy the features of her face? He was astonished by her and halted his attempts to escape while saying nothing, he rested back into the bed, holding his eyes on her expecting nothing as his heart simmered down.


    A nurse had come rushing in to assess the situation, running over to his side where the iv was ripped out and dangled onto the floor.


    ¡°What the hell happened here?!¡± She asked the room, exercising distress.


    ¡°I don''t know, he kind of just woke up with a jolt, ready to sprint off.¡± Said the other man who was waiting.


    ¡°Is that normal? Is he going to be okay?¡± Asked the woman who was resting her head on him but now clutched one of his hands. She silenced the machine that was keeping track of his vitals and then walked over to a cabinet to grab some cotton. Walked back to his right side and handed a swap to the other man.


    ¡°Press here on that spot, he won''t bleed all over the place but this will help stop it. I need to get a clean needle since the one he ripped out has touched everything.¡± The man follows directions as he watches them move about in amazement. The fear that struck him before has completely vanished as he is now encapsulated by his doped consciousness and the comforting touch of others, watching these figures dance about before him he forgets what was putting a fire underneath his ass. He looks side to side at the ones who are next to him, he can see the woman¡¯s face is now tilted downwards as tears are dripping, she is wiping them away along with snivels. The man on the other side has a rather flaccid expression and takes in a deep sigh while he still presses at his arm with the cotton.


    ¡°Who are you guys?¡± The words slip out of his mouth with an uncooperative tongue, but just clear enough for them to understand. A slight shock skims over the man''s face who then glances over to the woman at his other side. He slowly follows this look with a sluggish turn of his head. She is staring at him desperately as more tears flow from her eyes. She clasped his hand between both of hers endearingly while keeping a leaking stare.


    ¡°You mean to tell me that, you don''t know who I am?¡± Her words are shaky and somewhat difficult to discern, but after a few seconds he is able to fully grasp her communication. All he does is give a shake of his head with distant eyes.


    ¡°Hey, Clare, come on. He probably doesn¡¯t even know who anybody is right now let alone himself.¡± She disregards the man''s words and then lets go of his hand as she rests both of hers over her mouth while taking a stand. She lets out a few chokes of whimpers and then walks over to the corner of the room where she proceeds to cry. He watched her walk her short distance before his altered vision was interrupted by the nurse returning to his right. With a few blinks of his eyes, he falls back asleep effortlessly.


    He didn''t know that he was walking around in this white void, he didn''t know that he was dreaming. The vividness and reality of it were strange to him considering the altered state in which he was before. Looking around aimlessly from side to side into the corridors of white whose shade were but a tint darker than white which gave away their stealth. The ever so slightly dimmer white walls made these hallways in which took up most of his sight. Gazing upwards only led into a blinding white abyss that swirled in a difficult to discern spiral; strange for how bright it was that it wasn''t hard to look at but easy to get lost into. As he walked down the aisle into nothingness he kept close to the right side and brushed his hand against its temperature devoid surface. Smooth and dull, nothing exciting at all was to be noted of this plain plane. It didn''t matter which direction he moved either, both were the same flaccid white. As vivid and as real as this dream felt, it progressed in a sense of jumps in time. One second he was looking up, the other he was running, and lastly he was walking at a slack pace holding hands with the wall, or at least pretending to. Then another frame jumped into his mind, down the lane in the middle of an intersection laid a man on the floor, short blond streaked hair and young in the face. He also bore clothes of the surrounding colors, white long sleeve shirt and thin white pants. Before he knew it he was kneeling before him and looking him in the face, wondering why his eyes were so empty of life. He could tell that he wasn''t dead since his chest was moving ever so slightly.


    ¡°Oh don''t worry about him, he''ll be here for quite awhile.¡± A strange voice came from behind him as if uttered from a male with a high toned voice who sounded like he was right behind him. He turned quickly in reaction to the sounds to see nothing but the empty white lane. ¡°Oh such a pitiful state to be in, tsk tsk tsk.¡± Turning back around he sees a Black woman kneeling down on the other side of the man, looking down at him just like he was. She was dressed in the same attire.


    ¡°You know this man?¡± He asked her, or rather he thought that he asked her. The words seemed to play out themselves, but he wasn''t aware that they did.


    ¡°No, well, I guess I do. I know him but he doesn''t know me if that answers your question.¡± Her voice is somewhat raspy but pleasant to the ears, much like what you hear from older people but her face appears to be of a woman in her early thirties and doesn''t match her at all. She stares at his head for a few moments, then the balls of her eyes roll nearly to the top of her sockets as she holds an endearing smile before standing up. As she stands up her appearance flickers and smears along the movements into a taller asian man with neat black hair and glasses. He thought that this person was on the other side of the body before him but he feels mistaken as the man is now standing just a few inches away as he leans his head down lower than his own while still maintaining eye contact. He can see off to the side that the person who was laying on the ground is now behind him and that he himself seems to have been a few feet away from his position.


    ¡°Do I know you?¡± He asks hesitantly as the person continues to study the likes of his face while their hands are coupled behind their back. Making him rather uncomfortable considering how close they seem to be getting. Their mouth drops open with shock that then switches to one full of excitement.


    ¡°Remarkable! I did not figure how much of your own self that you would actually forget.¡± He is now staring at the person as they paced back and forth within the small well they resided in. Sometimes they would step on the man who laid on the ground that may as well have been a corpse, this step would lift them slightly into the air as a tiny grunt could be heard from him. Each time this being turned around to walk back the other way they would smear into another person, be it that of race, gender, height or weight. Pacing back and forth as they pondered deeply about what he imagined was himself. Clicks of frames were what it was like in time, what was minutes was shortened down to seconds, but it wasn¡¯t noticeable and only felt natural.


    ¡°What do you mean forget?¡± He asked out to them, the being stopped and turned their head towards him while still holding their chin between forefinger and thumb.


    ¡°Well in the matter that you take yourself to be this young man here on the ground instead. The self in which you take on the appearance of here is of who you truly believe who you are.¡± The person is talking to him now in the form of an Arabian man with thick stubble and an accent. His sentence confuses him and clears up nothing.


    ¡°Uh, what are you talking about?¡± His question only makes the person laugh from their belly, suddenly he is standing by his side and turns him to the wall nearby from his shoulders, the wall that is hard to differentiate from the surroundings. He waves his hand up and the surface becomes perfectly reflective. Looking into this mirror he can see himself, the Indian lady that is leading him at his side, and the man he saw before on the ground. Startled at first from the sight, he could see that they were identical. He takes a look back behind him to reassure himself. The man on the ground didn¡¯t change, looking back at the reflection he can see very much so that they are like twins. Out of the side of his vision he can see that the person guiding him is now that of a black man who is laughing at his reaction to all of this.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay man, I¡¯ll be sure to take good care of you.¡± The person says to him, reassuring with a grip and light shake to his shoulder. His face and thoughts are lost from bewilderment, but the strange eerie dream-like air of this world makes him soon forget what he was thinking about.


    ¡°You sure are a strange being, why don¡¯t you stay the same person for more than a few seconds?¡± the being doesn¡¯t answer, they only stare at him with a blank smile. Interrupting what seemed like it was supposed to be a reunion, voices were starting to be heard from the so-called sky of this world in what sounded like an argument. Nothing could be understood as the voices were mangled like a walkie talkie with bad reception. They both turned their heads upwards in light of the new sounds that echoed about. At the sides of his vision he could see the person shift into another once more, it didn¡¯t feel strange entirely, just like something that was accepted.


    ¡°Well, looks like time''s up, can¡¯t hold you here much longer even if I tried.¡± The now short white woman said to him while she patted him on the back in a friendly manner. He turned to her as his vision was starting to blur violently, streaks of everything were growing and slipping outwards as they flew away in their stagnant lines.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Whoa, wait-, -w-h-a-t?¡± He could hear coming from his own mind and mouth which had reverberated into the surroundings as they slowed down to a deep pitch. Suddenly he felt her push him into the wall where they were standing next to, meeting contact with its surface had felt like falling into a pond of water, the liquid splashed around his entrance while each droplet that sprang from his force was sent spiraling outwards in slowmotion. The lady stood and watched as ¡°Anthony¡± disappeared into the wall with a grin. She snapped her fingers at her side and out of the ground a tall lanky human-like black figure oozed out with haste. It was hunched over and seemed to have long hair covering its face. It''s shade contrasted harshly with the white void as the edges or it''s figure blurred and shook about like it was resisting the air.


    ¡°Make sure he doesn''t figure out how to get back here.¡± And the moment she stopped speaking the figure shunk immediately back into the floor.


    He kept closed eyes from the anticipation of meeting impact with the wall before him; Noticing that his ears weren''t plugged with dull and muffled noises from being submerged in water, he felt a weight throughout his entire body fighting off a weak force of numbers who he was forcibly introduced to. He understood that he was pushed into a wall that was sideways, but it was pulling him deeper into its own void. The farther along that he sank, the more weight he could feel press amongst every facet of his physical body, or whatever he thought was to be his own body. Strangely as this progressed, so did the speed in which he felt on his own core. The farther that he fell the faster that his body was flung. Soon enough, he was flying at mach speed and through space, eyes were forced forwards as the front of his torso was determined to be his center mass that catapulted through the sky.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Were the words that emitted over the disastrous amounts of air moving past his ears and body as he homed in towards a landmark within the planet. For just a few moments time seemed to have stopped itself as he sat there in orbit, staring down at the planet itself. Taking in its awe, he knew that being in space like this would kill you in seconds, but he could feel no negative effects upon his body. The sun glinting around the right side while the moon watched in jealousy, the stars sparkled trying to distract and pry his attention away from the titan before him. Earth. He was lost deep in its enveloping gaze, he felt like it was right to gaze right back. The contrast of the deep space surrounding it, the sheen that was painted across its beautiful angles in which none of them were ugly. The light of the sun spun round and round of this centerpiece that his sight was taken captive to. The moon danced around in the background, showing off all of her dresses trying to get his attention, but his eyes would not dare falter from this sight before him.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± The words tore through again to him through the air, these were the words that ripped him from his euphoric isolation, his nirvana, the words that brought him right back to reality as he felt a warm embrace grow into his right hand and through his fingers. This time instead of zipping through the air violently, all it took was a turn of his head down to his hand and then looking up to the one holding his hand to be brought back.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± He heard through a slough of stinted consciousness. Head lifted up as he was now comfortable with the sensation of another human, the feeling was tight but comfortable in his left hand. Looking up to the emittance of words that pierced his slumber he could more clearly make ¡®Her¡¯ out. What he can make out of her in his severely dazed state is her fierce expression and the cell phone she is holding up to her left ear as she hovers over his supine body.


    ¡°You cannot prove any of that bullshit that you are saying!¡± She says. He can make more sense of her words this time around, but is still lacking in thought process. He slowly looks back up at her and admires the woman who is clutching his hand.


    ¡®Even though she is angry, I wish that she would never leave my side.¡¯ He thinks to himself unconsciously. His mind is still moving at a snail¡¯s pace.


    ¡°Mam, I am going to have to ask you to please calm down.¡± He turns his head to the right and can see two men in cop uniforms as a woman with a scowl and an eye lags behind them. She is staring at the one right besides him with arms crossed and a face that is the definition of contempt. The one thing that stood out about her was the eyepatch adorned to her face, hiding one eye that he wondered if it was there or not.


    ¡°Tai, once you get this message, I am probably going to be in jail. I just needed you to know that these people are taking Anthony away into that Estate that he never wanted to return to. I have already sent you permission to access my bank account.¡± He hears her say into the phone with a stern and concerned voice. She then hangs up and turns the phone towards their invaders.


    ¡°Come on. Is any of this really necessary? For Christ''s sake this lady is his sister?¡± One of the cops jutted out trying to cool down Clare¡¯s alleviate state.


    ¡°I know just how horrible that woman can be! You are going to have to arrest me to get me out of your way. I can show you scars on his body that have been fought over, and proven in court that were inflicted by her. I don¡¯t know how much that bitch is paying you, but what you two are doing here today is uncivilized.¡± Both of the men looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then proceeded to peel her off him. All he could do was watch in a confused daze, not sure of what was happening before him he caught a glance of the woman who was proclaimed to be his sister at the side of his eye. She was standing in the doorway staring at him with a disgusting grin stretched across her face, knowing that she was getting away with crime.


    He had then turned his head towards the struggle that was happening before his eyes as Clarice resisted the two men the best that she could without hitting them violently, in the shifts of bodies her phone fell to the floor with a clatter towards the door. Looking up from the spot in which it landed, he saw a nurse peeking in for just a second with a turned head as she walked by, then disregarding what she saw, she resumed her path pretending that the altercation wasn¡¯t happening. He then thought to jump to action, to try and aid in the injustice being dealt against the one who gave him comfort. Motioning his body to stand from the bed while he tossed off his blanket, he was then unexpectedly forced back down to his pillow by his neck. Instinctively, he moved his hand up with efforts to pry away what was closing off his airway. Eyes following the arm up to its owner he could see it was the one with the eye patch. Behind her he could see that she kicked the built-in door prop which led it to shut, keeping others within the building mostly unaware of their actions. Looking back up at her face above his, he could see that she was still grinning. She moved a hand up that only had a raised pointer finger, rocking it back and forth in a no no motion as she sucked her teeth to match its motion.


    ¡°Anthony! Anthony!¡± He could suddenly hear in the room being screamed out from Clare who was struggling to ward off the two policemen. He darted his eyes over to her yelps to see that she was facing towards him past the foot of his bed. One of the men had her arms folded behind her, but what caught his attention was the other man standing adjacent to them with a yellow box shaped gun ready to fire. As he struggled to breath the man shot and tased the one he fell in love with for just the few moments that he saw her. Upon seeing this he fought harder to rid his neck from the woman who was strangling him. She then knocked him in his temple with her free hand, the glove she wore seemed to be reinforced at the knuckles. Knocking back into his stupor he felt his limbs go numb as they themselves seemed to have given up. He watched in a blur that seemed to jump in time frames as they happened before him. First he saw Clarice being arrested as they shouldered her weak body off into the halls. Then with the closure of his eyes he could see that he was pent up in the back of a limousine while being constrained within a straight jacket. A slight look over he could see his sister in the same cabin scrolling through her phone and typing within it, she gave him a glance in which he then turned his eyes to the outside. Past the window was hard to see given what seemed like approaching dusk and heavy rainstorms streaking across the glass. Then he saw them pull up to a gate that was watched by an armed guard, they stopped here for a few moments before he could feel the motion of the car rock his body. All he could think about was going back to sleep, but he felt like that would be doing a great injustice to the one who had fought so hard for him. He knew what she said was real considering how they were treated by the supposed ¡°cops¡± and the one who is claiming to be his sister who had knocked him in his head.


    As he fought off the daze he felt like his mentality was building slowly like behind a dam, the next thing he noticed was them stopping at the front of a mansion within the roundabout that was right out in front of it. He felt like he was blinking out of unison with one eye at a time as his head was still spinning, spinning from both the administered drugs he felt in his system and the knock to his head. As he sat and watched with building curiosity, he saw the driver crack the privacy window from the front and into the cabin just enough to reveal his eyes which were peering through the crack with startling seriousness. The coldness from his stare felt like it penetrated deep into his body, tearing away at every shred of his soul. It was just for a mere few seconds that they locked eyes, but it felt like an eternity. As soon as the driver ripped his vision away to step out of the car he felt like he could breathe freely again. The taps upon the roof of the limo were present again within his ears from the rain, like a child trying to get attention from their mother they tapped away, pounding at his swirling head. He looked back up at his sister who was watching him intently, she was sitting in a rather leisurely posture resting her on the seat with one leg over the other as it bobbed up and down while her hands rested atop of the higher knee, one hand naked while the other bore the knuckle embraced glove. She gave him a hearty smile which made him hate her even more so than he already did.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± He was able to muster up enough air from his lungs through the twists of his tongue and mouth to sputter out those words, but shortly after his efforts, he had to regain his breath. She stopped smiling and bobbing her hung up leg in response to his question, a raised eyebrow and a stern look grew across her face as she leaned in to study him further. Just a foot away from his face she stopped as a frown crescented over her mouth.


    ¡°Because you are my brother stupid.¡± She then smacked him on the flat of his forehead with an open palm like there was a fly resting there. He was taken aback by her actions and words, she had the appearance of an adult but the demeanor of a child. Still surprised from her reaction, he sat there pondering in his dulled state. Abruptly the door on his right slid wide open as she then grabbed him by the nape of his jacket, for her size he was surprised by her strength as well. Shook from her fortitude, he was flung out of the vehicle by her and onto the cold wet concrete. There, he laid for a few moments, filling his lungs back up with air for the wind was knocked out from his own body weight. The breaths from his mouth pushed tiny waves across the small accumulations of puddles in which his face had landed upon. Two men had then grasped him by the jacket close to his torso and brought him to his feet. He only had time to look at one in the face before they forced him up the stairs. The man¡¯s expression was incredibly identical to the one he saw in his dreams, dead inside without the will to push forwards. He wore a cap to cover his face from the elements and a long sleeved navy blue fleece. Before he thought of turning to make out the others'' faces, the background of the small parking lot before the Estate caught his eyes as he glimpsed past the man''s face and at three other vehicles with varying colors nestled on top of the asphalt. One silver, one white and the other was red while the lawn behind it gave great contrast to the cars with its wonderful dark grey brown, full of wet dead foliage.


    As they entered the great structure, pushing the doors open, he heard a feminine voice from within call out to them upon their arrival.


    ¡°Oh so great to see you boys, care for a towel?¡± He turned his head to see a dark skinned woman standing before them within the midst of the foyer. She had a button up short sleeved dress that was also navy blue like the others, sleeving the rest of her body was a white long sleeve shirt in which the collar rested above the other, making her outfit pop from the contrast. Her legs were covered with a thick dark panty hose ending with dark glossy dress shoes. What stuck out the most from her was a bright pink bow that was tied at the top of her bust, it was ostentatiously present along with her appearance. This ebony woman bore the same forced smile that was stretched across his sister''s face, the sight of her expression made him sick to his stomach. As they proceeded to move his body into the foyer and dump him onto the couch close by, he could not take his eyes off of this woman. She felt unreal, even if this was a dream or a creation from the medications that they put him on, he could not pass this person to be what they were trying to be.


    ¡®Uncanny!¡¯ Is the word that popped up into his head and thoughts, he knew it was rude to stare, but for this instance his eyes would not follow any of his commands. No matter what he tried to tell himself, he could feel an ominous energy, sprouting and pooling off of the one in which he had glued his eyes upon. She kept her figure, her stature, form was straight and tight but her eyes were loose, and once the pupils of what he was looking into had met with his own, his heart dropped. It was worse than gazing into the driver¡¯s eyes in which he noticed that the man wasn''t present within the foyer. He felt his mouth getting dry along with his eyelids as they seemed to droop as he got lost into emotions. He could feel himself running, running away from something deep within the black pools of her pupils as they held eye contact.


    ¡®Blink, breathe, think, feel!¡¯ Were the words that took over his thoughts in a voice that he wasn''t sure of. It was intrusive and he could feel his body give in slightly to the commands like some sorry sap with a strange fetish. All he could do was tighten the grip in his bound fits and grit his jaws, he thought that he might actually be going crazy, but he wasn''t willing to submit into the words he felt pouring into his mind. She saw his contemptful eyes and only greeted them with a smile. ¡®Maybe I am going crazy?¡¯ He thought to himself as she then turned her attention towards the lagging female who had just entered the building. He watched as this distrustful woman padded his so-called sister dry. It might have been the medicine, it might have been the knock to his head, but from what he witnessed seemed almost to perfect of an interaction. No accidents happened, she raised her arms perfectly in sync with the one who was drying her, she turned around without the other telling her to. The motion from the lady with the pink bowtie had never rested and was continuous throughout their entire interaction which was rather quick and appeared to be rehearsed. So lost in observing, he had barely noticed that the two men near to him had picked him up and motioned his willing legs father into the cascading halls of the mansion. When he caught on to this, they were already heading down a corridor.