I woke up and smelled something familiar. I looked beside me. Vomit. Yep, I was drunk last night, probably fucked some chick because she left her bra behind probably as a souvenir. I lay for a while longer feeling weak and weary, closing my eyes to regain the strength to clean up. Soon enough I get up and hobble over to the kitchen with my leg asleep to look at the microwave clock. 4:06. That explains why it's still dark out.
After cleaning the vomit, I sat down and got a glass of water and made a sandwich to make up for what I lost last night. I had no plans today so I thought of what I would do next. I am probably the only one awake so I wasn't going to call and see what my friends were up to. As I took the last bite out of my sandwich, I saw the TV and it was calling my name. Sure, maybe I'll plug in the old PS2 and play Kingdom Hearts or something. I finished my meal and I sat there debating. Fuck it, I'll play Borderlands 2 on the PS3. It's already out and ready to use. So I head downstairs to my room and fetch the game from it's shelf, put the disk in and began play.
When the game would load the next area, I would sometimes look outside to see if I could see the sun rise. Every time I looked- nope. Still pitch black. After what seemed a long time of playing and still seeing no sign of sun, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. (I turn it off during parties so I won't get distracted). 7:27 PM.
Is this a prank? There's no way this is possible, it's clearly dark out. Maybe when I was drunk someone decided to pull a hangover joke on me, so ha-ha, good for you. There's a clock they probably didn't think to change because they know I don't play games often so I pushed the PS button in the middle of the controller. 7:28 PM.
Ok, maybe they did remember to change it or... Oh, I know this one. They didn't change any clocks at all, they just put a tarp or something over my windows. I remember hearing from a party about a month ago about someone doing something like this and making the victim of the prank miss work. This problem is easy enough to fix, so I walked over to my sliding glass door and put my hand on the handle but hesitated. I don't know what it was, but I feel like something was off with my theory. It could just be the hangover, so I shrugged it off and pulled anyway.
That's when I knew something was very wrong the second I opened that door. Black mist began to slowly flow into my house like a thick fog or smoke. It was ice cold on my skin and I slammed the door shut and backed away. Whatever kind of mist that was, it dissipated in my living room and disappeared. What was happening? After the feeling of extreme cold, there was no way I was asleep. I turned off the PS3 and changed the TV to the news. All I got was a blue screen with the words popping up here and there, "No Signal Found".
I took out my phone and dialed my friend Coty. The phone rang for a few seconds before I got those three beeps. Instead of hearing a voice after the notes that said, "we're sorry" I got static that faded in. I walked over and sat on my couch. I tried so hard to think about what was going on, then I had an idea. I got up and turned on the outside light. I think I could see it, but its so faded that I couldn't tell for sure. I sat back down and prayed.
I reached and grabbed the remote and turned the TV off and sat in wonder and silence. I couldn't hear one noise except of the pounding in my ears. I need to calm down. I need a distraction.
After a shower and brushing my teeth, I stood once again in the living room, feeling recovered from my hangover, when fear struck me. Are all of my windows closed and sealed off from this stuff? I rushed into the rooms on my current floor and ran downstairs, only turning on the hall light. I threw every door open, not bothering with the lights because the hall light was enough, and checked the windows on the walls. When I opened the last door at the end of the hall I let out a sigh of relief. All the windows were sealed off. I turned around and began to walk back upstairs and glanced back into the rooms. The first room I passed by fine but the next made me stop. I had to double take.
It stood there. It stood tall and looked between a human and a crow. It was covered in what seemed to be either fur or feathers except for its mouth. There was no hair or whatever the fuck around it, it was just a pale flesh with no lips and had yellow/brown teeth that seemed slightly thicker of needles and there were many as they were seen poking outside its face.
Adrenaline. Tunnel vision. I don't know how long exactly I looked at it, but I ran with no other senses but my vision. Sound, smell, touch, and taste were no longer being processed, just looking and fucking running. I ran upstairs and ran past the living room and into my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Was it following me? Was it still there? Did I imagine it? No, the last question had a clear answer: No.
I moved my bed over to barricade myself. I pulled my hunting knife out of its sheath and I stood by the door and waited. Listened. Not a sound was heard. I waited and watched the clock. An hour passed but it felt like a year. Even after the adrenaline wore off I still stood there. Finally prepared to fight whatever the hell that was, I quietly pulled my bed out of the way and slowly opened the door. I slowly walked around the upstairs fearfully looking around every corner, turning around quickly out of suspicion. My eyes were watering and after exploring every nook and cranny of my current floor, I stood at the top of the steps, looking downstairs, just hoping for it to show it's face.
After finally gathering my energy and courage, I ran down sword ready to kill, running through there as fast as possible, thinking I would surprise it and slay it before it realizes what happened. I looked left and right quickly glancing through rooms not seeing it, even the room I initially saw it in. I got to the room at the end of the hall and threw my arm behind me without looking hoping to hit it, yet my blade hit nothing. I looked back down the hall. Nothing. I looked through every room and still did not see it. I left them all with the light on.
I walked back to my couch and tossed the knife on the floor. Did I really see it? I'm questioning my sanity. I'm questioning if this is just a bad dream. Yeah, maybe I dropped acid or something at that party. That must be it. I'm probably on the floor drooling or something and am still at that party. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief. Still, for an acid trip, this is quite tame except for that fucking monster thing.
I was just about to dose off when something caused my eyes to fly open. It wasn't a sound, or anything, it's like I felt a presence. I looked across my living room and saw it climbing up the stairs. The beast I saw earlier. The way it moved was the smoothest I have ever seen and it was dead silent. After reaching the top of the stairs, something obvious was new to this thing. It had claws extended, two on each hand, long, razor sharp, and had a slight hook at the end, kind of like Wolverine from X-Men, but more curved. I stared in horror as I approached with its quietness, it appeared calm. It seemed like forever, but I knew it would be upon me in seconds. I looked at the hunting knife at my feet and lunged for it and thrust it into its chest as it slashed me from the bottom of my jaw and up my face, the wound stopping above my temple. I juked and ran around it and strangely felt air rush from it's wound, flipping my hair around for the split second I was facing it. I slowly back from it, keeping my eyes facing it while it felt my face with my hand. A lot of blood, the most I have ever seen in my life. The pain was blinding, I could feel that the claws cut into my jaw bone.
I wanted to treat it so bad, but I had to see if this beast dies. It looked at me, stumbling and the sword was propelled from its stomach and hit the floor with a loud thud, bounced and dented the wall. I almost screamed, but was cut short by the shock. It's blood and organs shot out of its body, as if it itself was carried by air coming from its body. I saw it begin to implode, gushing itself on my floor, with dark red and black substances. I could hear the bone cracking, as the skull and other parts started coming out as well. After what I thought was ten minutes, the most put together was a hunk of skin and some tendons, muscles and ligaments still attached. It was about the size of a backpack.
There was no smell or sound. This thing was sprayed around my entire living room, but it had no smell. My face was becoming numb, I have to treat myself. I jogged to my bathroom and began to pour alcohol over my face and using most of my band aids on the long, deep cut. Fuck, it really burns, and my eyes are watering. Maybe I was crying. I sat down against my shower and began to rest. It's dead, now I'm safe, right? My eyes once again closed as I drifted aslee- Fuck, I don't know if I'm safe! I crawled out of the bathroom, praying there was nothing else out there. My prayers were answered as I got my weapon and retreated to the bathroom. And with exhaust, fell asleep.
I woke up, groggy and fell asleep, and used up the rest of my band aids. I got up and used the shower as support. I lost a lot of blood, and I was covered by it. The mess was still in the living room as so was the black mist outside.
Is it time to take action? My house definitely isn't safe as that stuff my carpet soaked up proves. So what can I do about it? I don't even know where it came from, did it just spawn in that room downstairs? That's impossible... Impossible? How is any of this possible? Ok, so they can just spawn in places, that's now plausible. Ok, is there anyway to prevent them from attacking or appearing in my house? I don't even know where they come from. Maybe, I should go outside? Hell no, the mist and the monster are definitely connected, its probably worse out there in the black. The Black. Good name for the mist. So, who else is this stuff affecting?
For two hours I thought like this trying to come up with an idea. Nothing came to mind. Maybe it'll just go away. Maybe The Black is nothing to be afraid of. Maybe like Half-Life, they're two foreign things from a different dimension or something, and it's a coincidence that they both are here.
I looked around my refrigerator and looked for a jar. I found a few but I took out the jelly and made a quick sandwich using what little was left, washed out the jar and headed for the window in my room. I held the jar to the crack I made and allowed The Black to creep inside. I caught some in the jar (the jar obviously didn't cover the whole window so some went around it) and closed the window and hurried away because The Black licked my legs with its freezing touch. I ran to the kitchen table and watched my catch. The jar was pitch black on the inside and faded away as if nothing was in there to begin with. I waited to see if anything would happen and as I guessed, nothing did until I screwed open the top. The Black reappeared at the opening and dissipated like the rest that entered my house.
I looked in the jar again. No condensation. I put my hand in the jar, trying not to touch the sides. Somehow it's room temperature, I was expecting it to be colder. Then I touched the side. Felt like a normal jar. Ok, I'm stumped. It doesn't appear dangerous. Then again, it could slowly be killing me and I wouldn't know about it. I shuddered at the thought and touched my face and quickly jerked my hand away, gasping. The pain sent a shock throughout my body, and the bone felt severely bruised. My eyes watered a bit.
I tried my other senses. No odor, no sound, no taste. I'm still baffled. I need to know about the nature of this mist. I sat there thinking. Maybe if I got water and tried to mix the two. Maybe the water would hold on to it... Wait, maybe the Wi-Fi still works and I could just Goo-
A slight noise was made downstairs. It very well could've been my imagination, but do I really want to make the mistake and assume no. I grabbed the blade and slowly made my way back downstairs. Something was off. I checked the first room to the left, nothing. The room where I first saw it: the same. I moved further down the hall. Two rooms are across each other, the left is the other bathroom, and something was clearly here because some towels were on the floors and a few soap bottles were knocked over. This could've been before I killed it and it was probably just exploring before coming upstairs. My skin crawled at the thought of its smooth, graceful movements as it checked out my house right under my feet.
After regaining my sinking heart, I turned around and flipped on the light of the room across the hall. Nothing in here either. Now it's for the room at the very end. I poke my head into the room with growing anxiety. Something suddenly seemed very wrong. My heart once again was pounding, each throb painfully felt on my face. It wasn't this room. I paused and my mind went blank. I'm not sure how long I stood there, I was completely zoned. Like a bolt of lightning realization hit me. I turned back around and faced back down the hall. I checked out the previous room once again. I left this on before I killed the monster, so did it turn the lights off? If it could figure out how lights worked then that means its quite intelligent. No, no, no, please God, no. For all I know, the one I killed wasn't even the smartest. There are probably more of these and they could easily figure out how to open a door also which just may be an important hiding tool.
I took a deep breath. There aren't any here. For now, I'm safe. I carefully wiped the sweat from my face, avoiding my wound. I headed back upstairs and grabbed a bite to eat. I ate bread and that's it. A lot of bread, very fast. I couldn't taste it and didn't feel the need to. As I ate, I thought of how I killed the monster. Maybe there's a trick to doing it like fishing or hunting. The scene replayed over and over in my head when a stroke of genius came upon me. I opened the door to the garage and grabbed the broom on the wall. I began to screw off the broom stick from the sweeper thing, and looked at my car thoughtfully. Maybe I can drive slowly through the Black, turn my high beams on and drive slowly if needed. Keep the seat belt off in case of I get attacked and need to escape. I tossed the sweep aside and looking at the car, I turned the garage light on and closed the door behind me. It may not be the best idea to flee my house right now, but I'll keep the escape plan in mind.
I proceeded to my desk in my room and pulled out my roll of duct tape. I grabbed my hunting knife and taped it onto the broomstick, making a makeshift spear. Another blow like the last one, and I'm sure I won't survive. Now what? There was something I was going to do before I was scared for my safety. Ok, now I remember. I set my weapon down and turned my computer on and waited in anticipation for the computer to boot up. I hit internet explorer and hated the wait. The circle loaded and loaded and it felt like an eternity when it said "No page is found". In frustration I walked over to my alarm clock and tried to turn on the radio. Static, nothing but static. Being alone had never felt so real. Isolation is much more painful and stressful as people would think. We know you can be surrounded and feel alone, but this is different. I don't even have an option to talk to anybody.
I sat on my bed and I felt as if I could do nothing. All there was to focus on is how much my face hurt. All this was interrupted by a loud shattering of glass from the garage. I inhaled unevenly and grabbed my trusted stabbing stick and made my way to the beast. Just stab it and I'll be in the clear. But how do they spawn in my house? No, focus has to be concentrated on the murder of the intruder. I threw open the garage door to see something that took me even longer to process. This wasn't the same kind of creature I killed earlier. This one had ripped through my steel door, tore the seats and constantly moved making me feel like its changing shape when it's not.
It was maybe 6 feet tall, and had maybe a 4 foot long, pale jaw while the rest of it, like the last creature, was mainly black. The jaw itself is a marvel, the top and bottom protruded from it's face and thrashed asymmetrically, waving around like octopus tentacles with jagged teeth instead of suckers. Its arms were covered in spikes while its long fingers had even more jagged claws at the end, with scraps of my car hanging on them. When it walked toward me, it was hunched forward and it wobbled bipedal, in a way that's hard to explain. I didn't want to fight this, so I closed the door and ran back upstairs.
This is it, my house isn't any safer than out there. One could probably spawn in the room I'm sleeping in. It's impossible for me to survive by myself, but it is possible to find other survivors. I could hear it wrecking the door, I have to move. I ran into the closet and pulled out the flashlight and tested it. Yes, it works fine. It might help me see something! I rushed to the bathroom where I left my phone on the sink and shoved it into my pocket. I run back out into the hall. It's already up the stairs and walking toward me. I run back into my room and closed the door. I grabbed the first hard thing within reach and threw it, smashing the window open, the Black slowly flowing in. I don't know what I threw, but it doesn't matter, it's already shredding the door down. I got a running start and leapt out.
My leg hit the ground with pain that also resonated in my sensitive face injure. I can see nothing. The flashlight doesn't help in the least bit. I stumbled absolutely blind until I hit the fence that bordered my neighbors back yard and my own. I jumped over it and pressed on through the darkness. I'm dead, aren't I. I'll probably get there and the mist would've engulfed the inside of his house as it would probably do to mine. I'm dead, I'm being stalked by the biggest monster out here, aren't I. The Black will be my tomb.