Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S3 Ep123: Episode 123: Stories of the Devil

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

Today’s opening terrifying tale of horror is ‘The Devil and Max Sullivan’, a fabulous original work by getyaisha, kindly shared directly with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission. user/getyaisha/ Our second terrifying tale of terror is ‘Devil in the Dark’, an original work by J.E. Maurice, kindly shared directly with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission. user/J-E-Maurice/ We round off this evening with ''I'm a Deputy in a Rural County: I Met the Devil on Night Shift '', an original work by cesly1987, kindly shared with me for the purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all, with the author’s express permission. user/cesly1987/

Think about your health for a second. Are your eyes the first thing that come to mind? Probably not. But our eyes go through a lot. From squinting at screens to driving at night. That's why regular eye exams matter. And at Specsavers, they come with an OCT 3D eye health scan, which helps optometrists detect conditions at early stages.

We believe OCT scans are so important they're included with every standard eye exam. Book an eye exam at Spexsavers.cavers.ca.caps are provided by independent optometrists. Visit Spexsavers.cavers.com to learn more. Welcome to Dr. Creepin's Dungeon. There are several reasons why we believe in the devil. Firstly, there's religious teachings. The belief in the devil is a central tenet of many religious traditions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

These religions the devil is often seen as a powerful malevolent being who represents evil, temptation and opposition to God. Then, of course, there's the existence of evil. Many people believe in the devil as a way to explain the existence of evil in the world. The devil is seen as a force that tempts people to do wrong and commit sin, and is often blamed for the misfortunes that befall individuals or societies. And then, of course, there are cultural and folklore beliefs. The belief in the devil has been deeply embedded in many cultures and folklore throughout history.

The devil is often portrayed as a trickster or a figure who preys on human weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We shall see aspects of all of these in tonight's three tales of terror. Now before we begin, as always, a word of caution. Night stories may contain strong language as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then let's begin. The devil and Max Sullivan. 3 a.m., a neon sign flickers in the distance on an isolated stretch of highway. The roar of an engine cuts through the night air as.

a car speeds along. Behind the wheel sits a career criminal named Maxwell Sullivan. He's celebrating pulling off the biggest lick of his life and he couldn't be happier. Just a few hours ago Max, along with two of his associates, robbed a drug dealer named Eddie Lang. While the robbery may have been a success, it didn't come without a prize. Mr. Lang and his wife were murdered by this treacherous trio, so they could walk away with one and a half million dollars.

Once they were on the road, Max decided. that splitting the money didn't suit his lifestyle. When they came to their first stop, Max killed his cohorts and dumped their bodies in a shallow grave before heading to his final destination. He raced along the dark highway, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of his favourite song.

Max knew this stretch of highway well. The cops didn't patrol it, and most people don't drive it, so he was free to mash down on the accelerator and push his speed well into the hundreds. White lines and scenery zipping by in a blur, while Max laughed and made plans for his newfound wealth. He took his eyes off the road for a split second to grab a cigarette,

but that was all it took for a deer to leap out into the road ahead of him. The next few seconds were a flash of blood, fur and twisted metal that left Max unconscious in a burning vehicle. Mr. Hey, mister, are you okay? A child's voice cut through the darkness as Max slowly opened his eyes, blue skies and buzzards circling overhead with the first things he saw as his vision cleared. The child's voice called to him again.

What are you doing, laying in the road, mister? You should get up before someone runs you over. Max slowly turned his head to see a young boy sitting on a bicycle a few feet away. Once the kid saw he was awake, he smiled and waved to Max before riding away. After a couple of seconds, he got up off the concrete, dusted himself off while looking around.

where the fuck am i the car was gone the money was gone and he had no idea how he ended up laying in the middle of the road the heat was staggering max held up his hand to shield his eyes from the light as he looked around eventually spotting a diner not too far down the road he was a little sore but other than that he felt just fine the idea of not knowing where his money was had his blood boiling anger was his motivation as he walked towards the diner. As he got closer, he checked his pockets and found a couple of wadded up twenties. Better than nothing, he thought, as he stepped through the door. The chimes sounding as a cute, blonde waitress smiled and greeted him. Welcome to Lucy's. Have a seat and I'll be over shortly to take your order. Max sat in a booth near the restroom watching the waitress. Something about her seemed so familiar, but for some reason he couldn't find her

a face in his memory. After a few minutes, she came to his table. Okay, sir, what can I get you? Max glanced up at her name tag. Callie. He smiled. The name didn't ring any bells, but it didn't matter. He's taken eggs with coffee.

Well, this is a strange question, but where are we right now? She smiled and walked away without answering. Max sat there looking out of the window. The landscape seemed so foreign. After a few minutes, Callie came back with his food and sat it on the table. So, you never did tell me where we were. What is this place? She smiled that same odd smirk.

This is Lucy's diner just off Highway 6. Didn't you see the sign when you walked up? I don't know how it was possible for her to answer me without telling me anything, but she did it flawlessly. before I could restate the question she was walking off the food smelled amazing so I shrugged it off and dug in after a bite or two I heard the chimes over the door and looked up standing in the doorway was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen

her body was full and curvaceous her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders and framed her face perfectly her skin seemed to almost glow under the fluorescent lights as she moved effortlessly through the diner, stopping at my table. Hello, Max. I've been waiting for you. She took a seat across from me, and as she did, time stopped.

I looked around the room at everyone, frozen in mid-motion, then turned to face her. Looking into her eyes made my stomach turn. I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Who are you? And how do you know me?

She smiled a wicked smile and placed her hands on the table. Oh, Mr. Sullivan, let's not waste time with pointless questions. I have something that belongs to you, and I'll double it if you agreed to help me acquire a few things. I look down at my plate to see it covered with millworms, maggots and mould. Pushing it away, I sat back. As beautiful as she was, I couldn't look directly at her. Help me, Max, and I'll give you riches beyond your wildest dreams.

Her words floated across the table and exploded in my brain, filling my mind with images of her, sitting on her throne made of living flesh as the world burned at her feet. What if I say no? She smiled at me and snapped her fingers. Suddenly I was trapped in a burning car, my lungs filled with smoke as my skin bubbled and blistered from the flames charing my flesh. I screamed and howled in pain, while her laughter made the flames grow higher. and just as I slipped into darkness I heard a finger snap

and I was sitting back in the diner smoke wafed it up from my skin as the blisters vanished holy shit what was that how did you she cut me off and got up from the table four souls

and you are free the first the man named Fletcher Sims good luck as she walked away the people in the diner slowly started moving again Wait, how am I supposed to find this guy? She turned and shot me that wicked smile. Look for him, as the words left her lips, my vision blurred.

The world around me started to spin and everything went black. The next thing I know, I'm waking up at a bus station in some shithole town called Idlebird. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke. I looked down at my hands and saw charred skin slowly returning to normal. A phone vibrating in my pocket nearly made me jump out of my skin. As soon as I picked it up, my stomach lurched. Time is wasting, Max, get it done, or burr. Then the line went dead and I pute a pile of black ash onto the sidewalk.

Once I got myself together, I walked around town until I found a bar and stepped inside. Two beers and a shot later, I had the address and was on my way. The house was on the edge of town. It took all day to find the place, and by the time I got there, the sun was setting. I had to laugh when I finally found it. Everything in me was thinking I was going to see the murder farm from House of a Thousand Corpses. But what I got was the cover of better homes and gardens. From a distance, you'd never know what was going on in this place.

But the moment I got close enough to see the barn, I smelt it. the rants's stink of rotted flesh hung over the place like a dark cloud I stayed hidden in the bushes for hours waiting to see someone when I finally saw my target I knew this wasn't going to be easy a fairly new model truck all up to the barn and parked out stepped Fletcher Sims tall bastards

close to seven foot if I had to guess slim-billed clean-shaven with short dark hair and glasses He walked around to the bed of the truck and let down the tailgate, then stood there staring into the back of the truck. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could see by the way he was moving that he was talking to someone in the bed of the truck. After a few seconds he reached in and dragged out a body. By the way he manhandled the corpse, easily tossing it up onto his shoulder, I could tell this guy was a lot stronger than he looked.

He carried the man into the barn and slid the door shut behind him. I waited a few seconds and then moved in. I stayed low and got to the truck as fast as I could. From where I was squatting, I could see the barn door was slightly open, but I couldn't see Fletcher. When I made it to the door, I peeped inside to get a quick look at the layout. They were walking freezers lining either side of the building and the floors looked like weather-treated concrete. Overhead there was a track with meat hooks hanging from it. At the end of the walkway was another area, but it was blocked off by those hanging rubber flaps.

The sound of someone rushing up behind me caught me off guard. I ducked and spun around out of reflex and caught a hard ride across the chin. I stumbled back, squared up and threw two stiff jabs in his face and followed up with a pair to the body. He reached out with both hands, grabbed me by the head and bounced my skull off the barn door, then punched me in the stomach so hard I nearly folded. My reaction was to throw an uppercut and cracked his jaw, but I swear it didn't phase him. He just leaned in more. He threw a brutal left hand that damn near broke my nose.

But he slipped and dropped his right and left his chin exposed. I dipped in and led with a hard left hook. It didn't work. I never saw the punch that dropped me, just a flash of white light as my knees buckled. The next thing I know He's got me by the leg dragging me into the barn With his back to me

But with his back to me The Big Dope couldn't see me Taking the knife out of my pocket I snatched my free leg And got to my feet The second he turned around I drove that knife through his eye socket Until I felt the handle

Scraped bone He didn't make a sound He just smiled as he dropped to his knees And started having a seizure I waited till he was stopped twitching and gurgling, then dug my knife out of his head and cleaned it on his shard. Since old Fletcher was dead, I decided to take a look around. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the freezers, size of beef, whole hogs, goats, and I think I might have seen a rabbit,

but not one human corpse. By now I was getting curious, so I stepped in the back. The place was clean, not a drop of blood anywhere. There were three bodies being bled out on tape. then processed and mixed with cuts of beef and pork. He was packaging it himself and selling it to the local grocery stores and restaurants. I found receipts going back years. I also found a couple of envelope stuffed with $100 bills. I kept those. In the middle of snooping around, I started smelling smoke.

My skin started to itch and burn and it felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I panicked. I had to get air. I turned, pushed through the flaps, into the barn, and there she walks. I fell a cool breath of air into my lungs, and my body cool off just as my stomach turned sour, and I puked a clout of black ash. She smiled at me while I was trying to wipe the taste away on my sleeve. Not bad, you're the second one I've sent.

The other one, she glanced over to the body on the table, didn't do so well. There was something about her smile. It was horrible and beautiful at the same time. I didn't want to look at her, but I couldn't look away. I watched her step over to Fletcher and wave a hand over his body. A few seconds later I could see him start to move, but not like he was about to get up. It was more like his skin was shifting, bulging,

rippling as the sound of bones being broken slowly filled the room. Baseball-sized, dark brown maggots tall. their way out of his body and turned to black ash when there was nothing left. She looked at me and smiled that smile one last time. See you soon, Max. And with a snap of the fingers, everything went black. When I opened my eyes, I was back at the diner, staring down at my steak and eggs with my steaming hot cup of coffee.

I ran my hands across my face and rubbed my eyes then looked at the clock on the wall. 7.45 a.m. The waitress walked by with a glass of water and I stopped her. Hey, um, Kelly, how long have I been sitting here? She gave me an odd look. It's been about 20 minutes since she pulled up. Why? Are you waiting for someone? I shook my head.

No. Wait, did you say I pulled up? What do you mean? She smiled like she thought I might be joking. Then narrowed her eyes and looked out of the, window pointing up my car you're in the Chevy I remember because you came speeding into the driving lot crazy you okay sir do you need me call someone I chuckled to myself no um I'm fine thanks Callie walked off I sat there stunned for a moment as the memories of what had just happened

vanished from my mind like a bad dream oh I must be losing it I thought as I dug into my food When I was finished I reached into my pocket and found two enveloped stuffed with cash For some reason I couldn't remember where the money had come from I pulled out a hundred dollar bill and dropped it on the table Then got up and walked out The second I slammed my car door was back in the diner Staring down at my plate of steak and eggs Callie walked by with a glass of water but before I could stop her

The phone in my pocket vibrated and I got nauseous it took everything in me not to vomit as I answered it Hello The line crackle with static Then I heard her voice Stay put I'll see you soon Max Part two

I'm not sure how long I've been here The second I hung up the phone Everything stopped The clock still reads 745 And everyone's standing exactly where they've been For who knows how long I couldn't take it anymore so I got up and rushed out of the diner to my car

but this time when I slammed the door nothing happened I cranked the engine and tore out of that parking lot as fast as I could I made a left onto the highway and punched it speeding down the road I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye way off in the distance taking a quick peep I spotted what looked like some sort of animal keeping pace with me

running along the hilltops I glanced down at the speedometer. I was pushing 90. Whatever that was, shouldn't have been able to keep up. I pushed down on the accelerator and heard a loud metallic clank as smoke erupted from under the hood and the engine died. Shit. The car rolled to a stop and I sat there, banging on the steering wheel.

I yelled and screamed every curse I could think of before popping the trunk and getting out of the car. in the trunk was my 1911 and a duffel bag filled with cash i slid the pistol in my waistband and grabbed the bag just as i started to hear dogs barking i slammed the trunk shut and looked around but didn't see anything whatever that thing was maybe it had given up i slung the bag over my shoulder and started walking but the sun was blistering it was that type of heat that makes the concrete look wet as you stare down the road. I walked for what felt like ours, but when I finally did look back, the car was just a few feet away. I dropped the bag and sat in the middle of the road. Staring down the road, the diner looked impossibly far away. With this heat, the walk was going to be held. Close my eyes and drop my head and defeat. While I was sitting there, something big and heavy landed just off the road to my right. A dust cloud rolled over me and suddenly all I could hear was vicious snarling dogs.

I shielded my eyes and got up, grabbing from my gun with my free hands. As the dust settled, I saw it. A three-headed dog, the size of a city bus. It growled and barked just before it charged me. I pulled the pistol and fired off a shot, but it didn't make a difference. It snapped me up, tossing my body. in the air for one of the other heads to clamp down on my legs and ragged on me like a toy. I thought I would have blacked out, but instead I stayed conscious right up until it chewed me up and swallowed me.

Her laughter cut through the blackness, and I could smell smoke. As my vision cleared, I found myself staring into her empty black eyes. Back at the diner, and she's sitting across from me. So are you ready to get back to work? I looked around, noticing the diner was empty now. Do I really have a choice? She smiled. No.

She brought her hand up and snapped her fingers. In the blink of an eye, I was looking out over New York City from a high-rise hotel. All I could do was smile and shake my head. New York is one of those places I'm technically not allowed in anymore. Long story. I looked around and spotted my duffel bag next to the door. before I could even take one step towards it she came walking in

tonight's going to be very easy for you Max there's a club on the bottom floor of this building go there order yourself a drink and pick up this woman she held up a picture this is Veronica get her to come back to your room and offer her a drink anything you give her from that bar is going to do the trick so let her pick

when it's over I'll be back to collect She stood there for a second looking around, then tapped her wrist and motioned towards the door. Why are you still standing here? Get moving, I don't have all night. I in the back of my mind I kept wondering what this one could have done. I mean, I kind of understand that fledge guy. He was doing some messed up shit. In the end, I guess it really didn't matter. Whatever she'd done or might have been doing, it ends tonight. I stepped off the elevator and made my way to the club.

I wasn't there long. Getting Veronica back to my room turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. Starting to understand why she'd been picked. This was clearly a set-up. I don't know what she was planning. This was all a game for her. I could tell when we finally made it back to my room and she got comfortable and I'd fixed her that drink.

We sat talking for a while and the second her cup went empty. I smiled. So, tell me, Veronica, what do you do to end up here? The expression on her face changed to concern. What do you mean? She reached for her purse just as her eyes rolled over white in her skull, and she started spitting up brownish-red foam. I shook my head and stood up, watching her try to suck in big gults of air only to

gag on the foam. Blood poured from her nose, as thick, dark veins spread through. her face, then she slumped out of her seat to the floor. Veronica managed to let out one last good and scream through the thickly mess, as she curled into the fetal position and went still. I stepped over her and picked up her purse. There was a decent amount of money that I gladly took, and a syringe filled with a yellow liquid.

I slipped the needle back into the purse and tossed it on the couch, just as the bedroom door slid open. There she was. that horrible sick feeling lurched in my gut as she walked over to Veronica. She held up her left hand, and using her right, she took her little finger and sliced open her palm. She made a fist as thick black blood dripped down onto Veronica's body, and suddenly the room filled with the sound of her flies buzzing. I glanced up to see the ceiling covered with millions of them,

and the swarm swept down and covered the body. She looked at me and smiled Then wagged a finger at me As if she was telling me no I knew what was next I tried to say something before she could do it What the fuck is it But I didn't get to ask

She snapped and just like that I was back in the diner Chapter 3 The diner's empty now All the food is rotten and that dog thing is sitting in the parking lot watching my every move. The sun never stopped shining here, wherever here is. Why is she taking so long?

How long has it been? The day? A month, a year. She's trying to break me, punishing me for trying to escape. It's like a prison with a better view, so that makes this solitary confinement, I guess. I laughed at the thought, then, stood up and stretched. On the upside, there's plenty of.

of coffee, sugar and powdered creamer. I win. I reached in my pocket and dug out one of my last two cigarettes, sat it on the bar, then went to make a fresh pot. As I was pouring my first cup, I heard the sound of someone striking a lighter. I like mine, black, no sugar, no cream. The smell of smoke slowly drifted in and I almost lost it. I damn near turned around and threw the pot at her. I took a deep, breath poured another cup and then slowly turned to see her smiling at me i walked over and set the cups down as she took another drag enjoying that she exhaled and smiled yes i am i nodded my head and then reached over and plucked my cigarette from her hands get your own shit well the smile left her lips and she snapped her fingers

sending my entire body up in flames before she snapped a second time leaving me standing there trembling she calmly reached over and took it back and dropped it in my coffee while looking me straight in the eye i've got good news for you max someone beat me to one of my last two targets she rolled her eyes and pointed up with a disappointed look on her face so after this you're free to go back or now hear me out of on this. You could stay on the payroll and handle things for me on the outside. I nodded my head, then pulled out my last cigarette and lit it. I think I'll pass on that one. What do you want? She stood up and stepped towards the door as the phone started to vibrate in my pocket. There's a woman at the address on your GPS. She's carrying something that I need. Go there,

pick her up, and take her to Ransberg. There's an old opera house there. In the basement there's a hidden doorway that will lead you to a burial chamber. Deliver the woman there as you're free to go. As she stepped out of the door, the diner was suddenly filled with people, and even the staff had changed. I walked outside to see the setting sun and cars flying by on a busy street. No more desert, no more giant dog, just the cool breeze and the sounds of city life. I walked to my car and glanced back to see the diner. It was gone. In its place was a steakhouse dealing with an early dinner rush.

I checked the trunk, found two identical bags stuffed with cash. Couldn't help but smile. I slammed it shut and then went around to the driver's side and hopped in. The sound of the engine roaring to life made me very happy. Threw it in drive and peeled out of the parking lots. I wasn't wasting any time. I made it to the address in an hour. Pulling up, I spotted a crumbed-out chopper in the front yard.

standing on the front porch was the stereotypical biker guy he looked exactly like opi from sons of anarchy I checked my pistol and got out of the car before he could say a word I shot him in the face then kicked in the door and went inside on the couch was an old guy who tried to leap up when I came in and put two in his chest and saw a woman running towards the back of the house aiming low I put a bullet through the back of her right leg

She hit the ground screaming Please don't kill me I'm pregnant I walked over Pulling out my phone And checked the picture It was her I got her up off the floor

And took her to my car As I slammed the door Two guys came running from across the street Hey What the hell are you doing I turned and shot both of them Then hopped in my car and drove off Oh she did the usual

begging crying, telling me her husband's gang would track me down and kill me, but in the end I didn't give her shit. I found the town and took her down into the burial chamber. There was a huge black room with white glowing symbols carved into the walls.

In the center of the floor was a huge hole with the same symbols all around the edge. The sound of her clapping let me know she was there as she stepped from a shadow in the corner of the room. Are you sure you don't want to come work for me? I shook my head and let the bleeding pregnant lady sit down.

No, but I am a little curious. What's in the hole? She smiled and walked up to the edge. Famine, the last piece of the puzzle. I laughed myself. Famine, yeah, okay. Good luck with that. See you later unless I see you first.

A turn and started to walk away. She started laughing. I said you can go back. I didn't say you could leave. I turned around just in time to see her snap her fingers. Instantly I was speeding down a dark stretch of highway. Glancing down at the clock, it was 3 a.m. I slowed down, pulled off the road and stopped the cut. I grabbed my smokes and stepped out onto the road, just as a deer leaped out of the bushes and crossed a few feet away. I shook my head and lit up as my phone started to ring I answered

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Icey rain patted on the damp leaves outside my window as I relaxed in bed. The bitterly frigid drops tapped against the panes of glass, as if they were knocking gently to request entrance. The warm glow of my lamp beside me paved the room in soothing orange light, effectively scattering the dark shadows of night away. I could hear my little brother all the way downstairs as he protested against my mother's executive decision to put a stop to his six-hour streak of digital entertainment. I was pretending to read a book to avoid a similar lecture, but I had really been browsing

the web on my phone. Every time she'd walked by my open doorway, I'd use the pages of the book. to hide it. A flurry of light footsteps emanated from down the hall, and I quickly set my phone onto the open book, and then lifted the front cover to block it from view. I need not have worried about my mother's prying eyes, however, as it was only my little brother running by as he headed towards the bathroom. I relaxed and continued browsing social media on my touchscreen. Moments later, the sound of the shower activating could be heard from the end of the hallway, but I paid at little attention and resumed my activities.

The shower turned off ten minutes later, but it was another twenty before my mother briskly walked by my ajar door. I scrambled to hide my phone, but it was again an unnecessary action as she clearly didn't notice. I heard a knock on the bathroom door, and her irritation was clear through each sharp knock's resonance against the thin wood grain. You've been in there for half an hour! I heard a say, brusquely,

"'It's past your bedtime, Hollis. You need to come out now.' I looked up from my phone, blinking. Had he really been in there for that long? Judging from the sounds I'd picked up on, he'd gotten out of the shower over twenty minutes ago. "'What on earth were you doing in there?' My mom asked him as they both entered his room,

which was just next door to mine. Her question echoed the exact curiosity in my own head, and I purped my ears up to hear the answer. I was talking to my new friend, my brother replied. His name is Hirfein, he said. The word sounded so alien coming out of the mouth of a seven-year-old child. His response caught me off guard, and I blinked in confusion. My mother, however, seemed relatively unbothered.

In fact, she sounded like she was trying not to laugh when she next spoke. Oh, I see, she said. her tone that odd mix of condescension and amusement that adults use when talking to an imaginative child. Well, here Fane needs to know when it's time for bed, okay? We can't have him keeping you up all night. Now, put your bell on. Hollis acquiesced to her behest, and I heard the soft jingle of a tiny bell. Both of my parents had decided to put a rule in place that Hollis was not allowed to go to bed

without wearing a bell on his wrist, ever since he started sleepwalking at odd times throughout the night. He'd been doing it for almost three years, and the one time he'd wandered out of the house had been enough to inspire the tradition of the bell. The sound of Hollis and my mother wishing each other good night was enough to snap me out of my reverie, and I threw my phone onto the bed and covered it with my blankets. It was only a moment later when she was nudging my door open a little more, smiling. "'Hey, Jack,' she said, lights out. I agreed, and she also wished me good night before closing my door. I listened to her saunter back down the corridor into the living room and strike up a chat with my dad's, though their voices being muffled through the walls

made it sound like a string of disconnected syllables rather than a real conversation. I flipped my lamp off and a sudden lack of light in the room triggered my automatic nightlight, filling my room with a soft red luminescence. I turned over onto my side with a yawn, my head burying deep into my pillow. It was long before I awoke. My eyes snapping open for a reason I could not discern. Then I realized what had broken my slumber. The soft jingle of a bell out in the hall. I rolled my eyes as I tore myself away from my warm bed, grumbling to myself. Whoever was awoken from the bell adopted the responsibility of leading Hollis back to bed, and this time it was evidently my turn.

I felt my heel collide with something warm as I swung my legs over the bed, which was a far cry from the cold hardwood that I'd been expecting. Through the dim red light that pervaded the entire room, I peered down at the floor. Goosepumps crawled up my arms as a pair of eyes met mine. But the feeling of sudden alarm was counted immediately by relief, as I realized it was my dog, Parker, who apparently had decided to sleep next to my bed. I gave Parker's head a gentle pat before stepping around him and shuffled sleepily toward my bedroom door.

I noted that it was open despite my mum closing it before she turned in for the nights. Well, I assumed that she hadn't closed it all the way and Parker had simply nudged it open when he wanted to come in. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the hallway, and I spotted Hollis standing near the entrance to the bathroom. I was about to take another step towards him when I heard him talking, almost like he was having a conversation. I assumed for the moment that he was speaking with his newly acquired imaginary friend, but what he was saying made my skin crawl. Why do you look like that? His hush voice could be heard easily through the silence of the night.

I heard no answer, not that I expected to. Were your mummy and daddy blind too? came another question in that same tone. A creeping feeling began to inch its way at my spine, and I shivered. Whether it was from the cold air around me, the uncomfortable feeling in my gut, or a combination of the two I did not know.

Still, I was too curious to stop listening. You mean Jack? Hollis spoke again. Yeah, why don't you like him? Well, that final sentence was too much for me to handle. The side of my little brother standing alone in the darkness, facing an empty wall and talking about me to no one sent a chill through my whole body that spurred me into action. I immediately flipped the whole light on and walked towards

him as I tried to shake off the sense of dread that hung in the air. I winced against the glare of the sudden bright light, but I refused to turn it back off as I led him back towards his room. He didn't react to my presence or to the light in the slightest, and that confirmed my hypothesis that he was indeed asleep. Returning him to his bed proved as easy as it always was. As I made my way back into my room, his one-sided conversation replayed in my mind, chilling me down to the marrow in my bones. He'd never talked in his sleep before that I knew of, let alone mention me. It was unsettling. Despite convincing myself that he'd only been reacting to whatever dream filled his mind, I slid.

with the light on that night. I awoke to sunlight streaming through my window. A dreamless sleep was normal for me, and I'd all but put last night behind me. In the light of day, I chalked it up to Hollis having a dream while he was sleepwalking, and me being overly paranoid. The memory faded as I went about my activities for the day, and Hollis seemed to have no memory of the incident, seeing as he'd neglected to mention it. Once I completed my list of chores, I plopped down at my desk with the full intention of wasting my weekend away with a new video game I'd purchased with my allowance the week prior. Parker curled up under my chair and seemed determined to waste his entire weekend sleeping, which I could hardly blame him for. I'd seen it fruitless to report

Hollis's sleepwalk into my parents, as they wouldn't have found anything unusual about it whatsoever. As long as he made it back to bed safely, they were more or less uncaring about his nighttime wandering. About an hour into my playthrough, I began to to detect the temperature in the room increasing as sun rays shone brilliantly through my window, I lazily hauled myself out of my chair. Dragging myself over to the window and sliding it open, I let out a relieved sigh as a wall of cool air invited itself into the room. I tilted my head as I unexpectedly spotted Hollis sitting alone on the swing set my father

had constructed in our large backyard. Hollis rarely sat out there, especially on his lonesome. His head was turned to face the swing. next to him as he absent-mindedly allowed his suspended seat to sway forward and back very slightly. He seemed to be talking to himself, but what he was saying sounded like it was directed at someone else. It's called whistling, he said. It's easier, I can teach you how. He pursed his lips and began to whistle in a very, breathy manner. I would have found it endearing that he was attempting to teach someone to do something when he himself wasn't capable of doing it correctly,

but there was no one there. With a shrug I assumed it was that odd imaginary friend his mind had concocted, but it still bemused me. He had real friends and plenty of them. Why did he feel the need to create a fictional one? I returned to my game, unnoticed by Hollis as he continued tutoring his non-existent companion to whistle. I put my headphones back on and turned up the volume to drown him out, not wanting to think about it anymore.

Afternoon turned to evening and evening turned to night. Rarely did I find myself tired of video games, but I'd played my fill. I closed the game and occupied myself with drawing for a little while, until I became bored with that too. I meanded into the bedroom, took a long shower to occupy myself for a time, until my mother knocked on the door to inform me that dinner was ready. I finished rinsing my hair and shut off the water.

I opened the door to let out the shower steam, as I finished getting dressed. Hollis's breathy whistling could clearly be heard from his room as I stepped out into the hall, leaving wet footprints on the hardwood. I passed by Hollis's room, letting out a sigh as the whistling began to grate on my nerves. Oh, if your imaginary friend is too stupid to learn to whistle after this long, I thought to myself, maybe you should get yourself a new one. This quip, though, not supremely witty.

still enough to make me smirk as I continued down the hall into the dining room. My dad gave me a good-natured wave as I entered the room, and I returned the favour with a grin. However, the smile dropped off my face in an instant, as my eyes fell upon Hollis sitting with his back to me at the table. I felt my stomach lurch slightly as a familiar chill crept up my back. If Hollis was here. Pretending that I'd forgotten to wash my chest,

hands, which was a flimbley excuse for someone who'd just gone out of the shower, I turned on my heel and raced back to my little brother's room. The light was on, but the room was devoid of life entirely. There was no sign of the whistling I'd heard before. I shook my head, belittling myself of being so ridiculous as I turned back to walk back to the dining room. I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard a perfect wolf whistle behind me. It was so pitch-perfect that it was almost cartoonish. My parents couldn't whistle that expertly, let alone Hollis. I whipped around, my breath catching in my throat, my pulse quickening to an alarming pace. My eyes scanned the room before me, but there was still no one in sight. I took a step into

the room, my eyes darting to every corner multiple times. Seeing nothing, my fear warped into anger. In a frenzy of adrenaline, I checked behind the door, under the bed, and in the closet, but to no avail. There was no one. I began to laugh at myself as I left the room, trying to calm down and think rationally about the situation. God, I must be imagining things, I thought. Just the stress of all that weird shit that's been going on, that's all. With that thought, forcibly pressed to the front of my mind, I strolled back. to the dining room for an uneventful dinner. Though I still felt tense,

I wouldn't have admitted it, not even to myself in my current stubborn denial. I poured up a chair as my family conversed among themselves. I've been teaching him to whistle, Hollis was saying. This phrase made my heart rate climb ever so slightly. The unease that settled over me whenever he talked about his new friend was uncanny. Despite Hollis having provided everyone,

with a sizable lack of details about this newfound companion of his. It felt eerily unnatural whenever he articulated anything about it. It awoke some nameless anxiety in me that I couldn't explain. Isn't he a little too old for an imaginary friend? I muttered to my dad, but he shrugged nonchalantly. That thing usually diminishes around nine, I heard. He replied dismissively. I wouldn't worry about it.

He's never had one before. just a late bloomer in that aspect, I guess. The conversation continued through dinner as Hollis told us more about his activities with his friend, until I became uncomfortable enough to excuse myself under the pretext of catching up on homework for Monday, which was blatantly untrue. I tried to occupy myself with my usual routine, having already finished my homework the day earlier, but I was too distracted. It was easy to rationalise things away when there were others around,

but now that I was sitting alone and watching the moon rise above the treetops outside my window, a cold uneasiness was curling its fingers around my heart. I soon turned in for the night, leaving my bedside lamp on again in a sad attempt to preserve my peace of mind. I tossed and turned for many minutes before I finally fell into a restless slumber. The familiar, distant tinkle of a small bell very slowly pulled me back to my conscious mind. annoyance flared inside me as I threw the covers off of my legs before it was subdued by an abrupt anxiety

Hollis's eerie behavior the night before came flooding back and suddenly the darkness around me seemed very daunting. I cautiously approached my bedroom door and eased it open. The hallway was black as pitch, a gaping chasm of perfect shadow beyond my wooden floor. A gentle jingle of my brother's the other's warning bell spurred me on. I stepped out into the hall and flipped on the light immediately, unwilling to let my fear of the darkness get its hooks into me. This helped to quell, my dread, only a little as I looked around for Hollis, but didn't see him anywhere.

A few steps later I was standing outside his room and staring warily at his sleeping form resting upon his race-car bed. My attempt to justify this turn of events to myself was unceremoniously, crushed when I heard it. The soft pinging of the bell to my left was undeniable, and I turned my head to locate the cause. I still saw nothing, but the sound of the bell persisted. The bathroom door was wide open now, and the tenorosity of night prevented me from seeing clearly in size, but the trace amounts of moonlight filtering in through the single window provided enough clarity to confirm there was nothing visible to my eyes, but I knew in my heart that the noise

of the chime was coming from the restroom. Despite my better judgment, I took a step towards it. Someone or something I couldn't explain was taking an interest in my family, and the more information I had, the more effective I could be in combating it. My progress was agonizingly slow, but I continued through the gnawing dread that filled me. I cursed internally as I realized the light switch in the restroom was too far away to reach from the doorway. And still, the bell tinkled softly as I entered, seemingly coming from my right now. Whatever this thing was, it was behind the shower curtain. A new sound reached my ears, and the goosebumps I already had crawling all over me, holy doubled.

Whistling, that damn whistling. It was soft and breathing. the, but in the silence that surrounded me, it might as well have been a train whistle. Terror gripped me as I felt eyes on me. I could no longer stand it. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest as I clenched the red shower curtain in my sweaty fist and yanked aside in one swift motion. My wide eyes met with only my brother's bell plummeting down through the air and clattering into the porcelain floor of the bathtub. There was nothing else there. Nothing at all. The bell had fallen almost as if someone had been holding it and then dropped

it the moment I moved the curtain. I stood in stunned silence for an unknown amount of time, trying to make sense of it. My stare slowly moved from the bell to the shadowy corners of the room, expecting something hideous to be gazing back at me. I jolted in a fright when my eye above the sink, and I saw myself pale and slack-jawed. The sight of my face appearing so ghostly was jarring. My body went numb and I realized I was unable to breathe, unable to move. Just behind the reflection of myself, I could see through the entryway to the hall. Five long, brown legs or arms I couldn't be sure, slowly dragged themselves through my brother's

open bedroom door, soon disappearing behind the frame. were almost gone before I could even register what I'd seen. They looked like the legs of a giant arachnid, though the joints were in all the wrong places. I wanted to turn around to run into my brother's room, but I could not. I was petrified, rooted to the spot. It felt like a dream where you knew something was coming for you, but you were unable to move. My mind was going berserk, but my body refused to respond. I gritted my teeth together and began to make myself turn around.

The process was excruciatingly slow, but I managed to haul myself out into the corridor and began bellowing for my parents. To their credit, both of them were in the hall with me in a matter of seconds, and I breathlessly tried to explain to them what had happened. Hollis raced out of his room, bewilderment and alarm clear on his face as he asked what was going on. And my parents continued to talk me down until I could really be able to. reasonably communicate again. Though they were concerned and kind about it, they dismissed it as a particularly disturbing night terror. I refused to go back to sleep that night, and my mother, being the wonderful parent that she is, brewed two mugs of hot cocoa and stayed up with me to watch some TV in the living room. Eventually I did fall asleep in my dad's recliner, around six

o'clock in the morning, to the best of my recollection. I awoke less than an hour later to Hollis getting ready for school, and my dad getting ready for work. My mom was snoozing peacefully on the couch, but Parker had made his bed on my lap. Hollis seemed to be giving my dad the cold shoulder as they interacted briefly, which I found odd. Exhaustion overtook me again, and again I fell into the embrace of sleep. Around noon the same day, my heart. My mum shook me awake to tell me she was about to leave for work. She assured me that she'd placed a phone call to my school's principal, who'd been a friend of her since elementary school, and informed her that I'd come down with something and wouldn't

be attending classes today. I greatly appreciated my mother's thoughtfulness, but not until she was pulling out of the driveway did I realise I'd be spending the day alone in my house. Well, not quite alone. Not too keen on bunking with some insectoid abomination. I rode my bicycle around our small town for a few hours, my mind racing with ideas and schemes to put a stop to whatever entity had moved into my home. It could clearly move without being seen, if it wished, and that didn't exactly serve

to bolster my confidence. By the time three o'clock in the afternoon rolled around, and I was cruising home, I still had no solid plan. My only thought was that I had to talk to Hollis about it before something worse could happen. I was storing my bike in the garage when he arrived, sauntering almost sullenly across the front lawn towards the door. When he saw me, he made no greeting, but simply averted his eyes and proceeded inside the house. I closed the garage door and entered through the side door to head him off. We crossed paths in the hallway outside our respective rooms.

Hollis, I said, stepping in front of him, I really need to talk to you. Why? He asked snippily. I instantly disliked his tone. It's about your friend, I explained after a moment of hesitation. I think he might be dangerous. Why? Hollis asked again, this time with a surprising amount of hostility for a seven-year-old. Because he told me the truth.

I blinked in shock, taking abat by this bizarre, accusatory statement, and asked him what in the hell he was talking about. He crossed his arms and attempted to walk around me, but I stepped in his path again, repeating my question with renewed intensity. Herefane told me about you, Hollis snapped, pushing me out of his way. He told me about all of you. Leave me alone. His door slammed resoundingly, leaving me standing in the hall, aghast at what had just happened. I sent both of my parents a text, but only my mom responded, promising to work it out out when she got home.

my parents both arrived at around the same time as they usually did and i explained to them exactly what had transpired between hollis and i both of them attempted to talk to him but all he would say to any of us was that he wasn't feeling well and they suggested we leave him be for a while oh my dad theorized it was very early preteen angst rearing its ugly head but my mum supposed he was probably coming down with something i inquired as to why he would say such a strange thing and such brash things but they brushed it off under the rationale that he was seven and something was bothering him that he was having a hard time expressing. Well, it turned out they were right, just not in the way that they thought. Hollis skipped dinner that night and stayed in his bedroom with a door shut. He declined every offer anyone made to talk to him, and my mom finally decided that he would talk to us when he was ready, but that didn't stop all of us from fretting about him.

We all retired to our rooms. I went to sleep a little earlier than usual that night. I sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide open. My ears caught hushed voices in the hall, and I slid out of bed as silently as I was able to. The voices continued, strengthening my certainty that I had not been detected. Pressing my ear to the door,

my sense of hearing seemed to transfer itself through the woodgrain, allowing me to catch snippets of the conversation. One of the voices belonged to Hollis, and I started to feel reassured that maybe he was finally confiding in one of my parents about whatever had been troubling him. But the voice that was answering him did not belong to my dad, and it definitely didn't belong to my mum either. It had a bizarre rhythm and timber. There was unlike anything I'd ever heard.

It hissed out its sentences as if the words he was saying were distasteful, or that it hadn't practiced them enough to articulate them very well, and its tone was full of feigned empathy. It was unnatural. I sight myself up for several more seconds before flinging the door open, terrified but ready to face whatever was on the other side. My breath caught in my throat as I spotted Hollis in the dimly lit corridor, his eyelids notably not shut as they would have been if he'd only been sleepwalking. His gaze locked on mine, and the coldness behind his eyes was breathtakingly sinister. I didn't hold his gaze for long.

My eyes were drawn to the spindly creature dangling above him like an enormous black widow. He's watching us here, Fain, Hollis said. His eyes never leaving me. The spidery abomination suspended from the ceiling by its many limbs slowly turned to face me, and my body went entirely numb. It was alien and wrong, wholly unnatural. to this world, and yet there it was. It stood nearly nine feet in height,

its numerous appendages each ending in a cruel hook, which latched onto every surface they could. There were so many limbs. It was impossible to tell which ones were supposed to be arms and which ones were supposed to be legs. The creature used not only the floor to propel itself, but the walls and ceiling, as it suddenly skittered towards me with maddening speed,

like a mutated spider. Its pale face was devoid of any features, aside from a gaping moor of teeth that enveloped nearly its whole head. Many of the jagged teeth pointing at odd angles, as there were too many to comfortably fit inside its mouth. Four insectoid-like mandibles around its massive jaws chittered hungrily.

Its eyeless face turned in my direction, and I knew it was somehow looking right at me. I slammed the door with all the force I could mind, master and backed into the corner of the room, expecting the grotesque creature to tear the door off its hinges and writhe its way into the room. But it never came. My heart pounded violently in my chest. Every hair stood on end as I stood in the midst of a deafening silence. The quiet was only broken by a soft scuttling in the hall, the movement of something with many, many legs. I jolted where I stood as my door banged open to reveal both of my parents. Their expressions, masks of panic and

disorientation. What happened? My dad demanded. His voice high-pitched with alarm. What's going on? What was that? The thing. We have to go, my mother cut in. Her voice rising with hysteria. We have to get out of here. Where's Hollis? We didn't... Oh, my God. My dad's volume overtook my mums as he ran to my my bedroom window, throwing it open with ease. Hollis! My mother and I rushed to the window to catch sight of what my dad had spotted. Hollis walked hand in hook with his new best friend across our backyard, swiftly departing

towards the woods behind our house. My mother screamed his name hysterically as my dad and I raced out the door, down the stairs and to the back door. My father flung the sliding glass door open and sprung it with all his men. might after his youngest son. Adrenaline coursed through me as I followed. We had no strategy, no plan of attack. The only thing we knew is we had to stop this monstrosity from stealing Hollis away from us.

Parker stood stock-still in the entrance as we hurtled by him. All he did was stare ahead, his fur bristling on his neck. But he made no sound. He did not bark even a single time. My father summoned up all his cup. as he attempted to grab Hollis by the hand, but with only a single strike of one of its numerous limbs, Hirfein batted him away like a fly, sending him soaring fifteen feet into the air. I pumped my legs as fast as they would go towards Hollis, hearing nothing but the wind whistling

around my ears. I never saw the creature's arm coming as it swatted me away, as if I were nothing more than an annoying flee. My vision spiraled out of control, and finally fixated on the world. the night sky when my back collided with the ground. I lifted my head dizzily, my eyes desperately attempting to refocus, and all I could detect was an overpowering ringing in my ears. My dad lay unconscious, 20 feet to my left, and was just beginning to stir as hereofane

lifted my brother up on its back and scuttled effortlessly over our back fence and into the forest beyond. The media frenzy, the endless search parties, the thoughts and prayers. all of it has been futile we never found a trace of my brother he was stolen and we have never fully moved on despite that fact my mother never resented my father or myself for failing to rescue hollis she told me once that she was so proud of how we fearlessly gave chase to that beast but she was more relieved than anything that she didn't lose us too i understand exactly what she meant just losing hollis was enough sorrow for a lifetime. Here, fame, that otherworldly horror lives on in my nightmares. That's not the worst part. I could deal with the trauma, I could bear the night terrors, I could stomach the constant paranoia if I just had my brother back. That demon poisoned his mind, turned him against his family until he left us willingly. If it was capable of that, what else is it capable of? What else is it

capable of. Where did it take him? And for what purpose? And where is it now? If only I knew for sure that herefeing could never hurt me or anyone else again, maybe I could put all this behind me. But that thing is still out there. That twisted monster. That devil in the dark. I worked for a sheriff's department in East Texas for the first two years I was a cop. I currently work at another department in the same area. I'm going to have to change names so I don't get into any legal trouble or upset surviving family. Also, don't want to rustle any feathers with colleagues. Law enforcement community is very tight-knit and egos bruise like bananas.

Some of you will probably deduce what county I'm talking about from the few clues I give you anyways. But I've got to change up the story enough for plausible deniability. You know the drill. Standard creepy pastista. My county was as big as Dallas or Austin County, but only has a population of 14,000 people in it. A lot of places you can only travel on foot. It's as bayou as you can get and still be in Texas. Creeks and rivers run through it like veins, proning the area to flash floods.

The most common side is tightly packed forest pushed up against black top roads. The most common way to die is falling asleep at the wheel or being ambushed by a sweet, suicidal deer. Since there's not a lot of people, these people are poor, it means deputies are paid crap. Not that I was only in it for the pay. I love being a cop. I pledged to be one of the good ones that stuck to his ideals and didn't become a cynical asshole. Well, I stuck to my ideals, but became more of an asshole each passing day. What's worse than the pay is the safety concerns. There are only two deputies out on a given night, one for the south end and one for north. This means your only backup is usually 20 to 40 minutes away from you, and if your partner is also

handling an emergency, then you're out of luck. This made the area seem like one of the last remaining bits of the Wild West. It really had to keep your wits sharp and watch your six when all alone in the woods. As romantic as the idea it was of being like Walker, Texas Ranger. and almost got me killed. It was the perfect storm of circumstances. My county had suffered severe flooding the week before this story happened. The water was going down in most parts, but some places were still flooded.

Another great thing was our radios had been down all day. Someone coming to fix it in the morning, and the rain began pouring down. The call came in around midnight about a man beating on a woman's door. The man was demanding to be. be let in out of the rain. The woman said she was alone with her baby, needed a cop fast. I was in the dispatch located in the jail side of the sheriff's department when the call came in. My dispatcher, who was like a mother hen, gave me a look. The, I've got a live one, look. Her eyebrows raised as she snapped at me to get my attention. Her phone tucked to her ear

while the other hand typed furiously. I listened to her repeat information out loud for me as I scribbled down the caller's address in my notepad. He was in the flash flood zone. It was passable, but the continuing storm was changing this quick. Another hour of hard rain would cut it off from the rest of the world. My dispatcher swiveled in her chair to look right at me, her face serious. Call on me when you get close. Radio's still down, so I'll call you every ten minutes for a security check. Got it, I said, as I spun around to hurry to my patrol car. her. I let the south end deputy know what she got in case he needs to get you. She quipped as the heavy door to the jail slam behind me.

I appreciated the gesture from her, but having backup almost an hour away didn't mean much if things popped off. Backup could be coming from the moon for all the difference it would make. I squeezed myself into the crowded front seat of my patrol vehicle. I hadn't even entered the address into my onboard GPS when my phone started ringing. It was dispatch. What did you got? I asked. There was an unusual pause before she spoke. I could hear the concern in her voice.

Hey, I just learned this. I called us that it might be Ezekiel Burrows out there. I paused before turning the key in the ignition. This was not good. I dealt with a physique before. It was back when I was a rookie. Well, I'll have to put this story on hold to fill you in with a flashback episode first. So I'd been working for about two weeks at the time. I was still

riding shotgun with my FTO. An anonymous caller rang the sheriff's department complaining Zeeke and his old brother were driving around pointing guns at people and firing into the air. My FTO was a stereotype of an old county cop who was about to retire. He was laid back and calmly gave instructions between drags of the cigarette. He wore a bushy white walrus mustache. and cowboy hat that fitted him perfectly. When the call came across the radio, his demeanor flipped like a switch. He sat forward and flicked his sig out of the window.

His face darkened. Okay, deputy, this could get serious. Stay alert, stay close, and do everything I'll tell you. We were burning towards the call pretty fast when he offered his additional piece of information. On all these two brothers, they've been known to fight with, please. Don't be afraid to go hands-on if you need to.

He said in his slow, Texas draw. My body dumped a ton of adrenaline for a fight or flight response, and I felt my stomach turn. I was glad my FTA was so calm for me. In those days, I used to be ashamed of the butterflies in my stomach. I thought it meant I was weak or a coward. Now I realize it's my body's way of protecting itself, and I needed to embrace the feeling. We found the brothers slow rolling around in a hunter-green Dargenyon. It was missing a driver's side mirror and had a giant hole where a red brake light should be.

It was great when they made our job easy. We initiated a felony takedown. That's pretty much when you point your weapon at the suspect vehicle while standing behind your open car door. You give loud verbal commands like, Driver, step out of the vehicle slowly. Anyway, we have both of them pulled out and detained in handcuffs. Nothing have not really happened except for there being two shotguns and three rifles in the back seat. Ammo and shell casings everywhere.

Not illegal in the state of Texas, just highly suspicious. The original caller wanted to remain anonymous, so we had nothing to prove they were firing from the vehicle. My FDO dealt with Zeke's order brother, while I talk with Zeke. Well, I can't remember the brother's name. We'll just call him turd for now. My FTO had our dispatch run both of their names to see if they had any active warrants. So we got some tense and awkward minutes with the brothers while they waited to see if they were going to jail or not. Tird ran at the mouth for the duration of the stop. Called us every racist and vulgar thing in his extensive vocabulary of no-no words.

Me, being a rookie, got a little flustered at some of the things he'd allegedly done to my mother. So I turned my attention to Zeke. Zeeke stood there downcast and drenched in sweat. It was only 80 degrees, but he looked like he was about to suffer a heat stroke. His whole body began to tremble slightly and swayed back and forth. You okay, Zique? I asked as I stepped closer to him. I thought I might have to catch him if he passed out on me. You see, Zeek smelled like hot garbage.

It was pretty overpowering, a mixture of sweat and ass. I didn't want to touch him He was cuffed behind his back I couldn't let him tip over With nothing but his head to break his fall Lucky for me Zieg straightened up when I reached for him His eyes bulged as he looked right at me His teeth bared in a grimace

Is this one gonna kill me Jesus? He whispered in a raspy voice His vacant eyes locked with mine No Zieg You're just being detained while we check if it's good to let you your brother's go. I said, well, trying to hide how creeped out I was. Zeke paused and tilted his head to the side slightly. A smirk touched the edge of his mouth, as he nodded like he was in agreement with something. The next thing he said was something

really strange. It's been a while since that day, so my memory is foggy, but I remember it being something like, I'm supposed to tell you to remember my face during the massacre. What? I said as I turned to face him squarely. His brother must have heard the change in my tone of voice. He leaned over to yell past my FDO. Ah, keep your mouth shut, Zeeke. Let me handle these pigs. Zeke considered his brother calmly and replied,

You'll be all alone when you die, brother. Tard's eyes widened, and I saw pure fear flash across his head. face. He scoffed and tried to play it off by laughing, but I could see through his bravado. His brother scared him. Long story short, both brothers came back clear of warrants. The original 911 caller wanted to remain anonymous. This meant we had no witness to any alleged illegal activity. With nothing to hold them for, we let them loose. But I do remember one more creepy thing, Zeke said. When they were uncuffed, the two walked back to their car. Tud went for the driver's seat, and Zeke went to sit in the seat behind him. I'm your chauffeur for now, Bish, Tud asked angrily.

Zeke was staring at something in the passenger seat while shaking his head slowly. No, Zieg replied coolly. He's already sitting there. I'm not going to make him mad. He's been staring are you all day. Tert sent something muffled to Zieg and got into the driver's seat. As they drove away I could see Zeek sitting in the back, half turned and pointing at something beside his brother in the passenger seats. Before they pulled out of airshots, I could hear Tud begin to scream profanities at his brother. So that's the, uh, previously on the TV show of my life. That was my first running with Zique. Now it seemed I was racing to him again years later. Zeke's little origin story always sat different with me.

I never encountered him in person after that initial contact. But word of his exploits would always reach me. An elderly woman had her door kicked him by the two brothers. She was beaten and robbed. Didn't call the cops until a week later because her grandson made her. She was too terrified to give a witness statement, but the grandson told me the entire street knew it was Zeke and turd. An outdoor birthday party cancelled when Zeke popped out of the woods and started firing a shotgun in the air.

I spent the rest of the night trying to reel in a trigger happy relative looking for Zeke in the woods. A caller we 90% knew was Zeke kept calling dispatch and threatened to kill the sheriff on recorded lines. He was mad his brother had been arrested. The problem was. Heard was arrested by a neighbouring county, not us. It was evident Zeke was sliding further and further to the dark side. He was the redler to my Batman. I could never catch up with him.

He just left problems for me to deal with. But now maybe I had him. I could physically put cuffs on him. My GPS said I was ten minutes out from the caller's house. It's going to be a little longer because of the downpour. Visibility was low and I could feel my ride trying to hydropole. plane a few times. When I was about two minutes out, the road before me just seemed to disappear.

The white lines just vanished as water flooded the road. Turning on my takedown lights didn't reveal where the high water ended, so I stepped out of my car to take a better look. In the darkness, all I could hear was a sporadic thumping of droplets hitting my raincoat and the mechanical back and forth of my wipers in overdrive. Before me was a flat plane. of water rippling from millions of raindrops. Every few seconds the area would illuminate with lightning. Showing me the deep water continued around the bend in the road. My mind went back

to the PS1 days of Silent Hill. First thing I did as a terrified fifth grader was trying to leave the town, only to find an endless drop-off in the dense fog. I had the similar feeling of dread now. But this time it was an impromptu lake and not a cliff, and I was running to towards the danger, not away from it. I was aware my options and considered letting dispatch know it was impossible. I was in a charger, not a taro. Maybe Zeke found somewhere else to stay dry, I mean, and I mean he hasn't broken any launch yet.

My phone began to ring. It was dispatch. Before I could even say hello, I was met with. You there yet, deputy? I'm around the corner. There's a... He's back. My dispatcher half shouted.

She's saying he's kicking the door and beating on the windows. I can hear and threatening to hurt her in the background. At this moment only one course of action was clear. I guess I'd be swimming if I had to. I slowly but steadily submerged my vehicle into the dark waters. I was praying it wouldn't drown out as the waters rose to about two feet high around me. Water began seeping in from the bottom to the doors as I made my way around the bend. in the roads. I could see land before me as I began to get more traction and pull up out of the water.

I gasped my vehicle to give it one last lurch to exit the water and spin out into the muddy road. I hit the brakes to get a quick layout of my surroundings. The red stop sign of a four-way intersection reflected back at me. I was now in a small residential community. My GPS told me the caller's house was across the intersection and three houses down on the land. left. It was hard to see it through the downpour, but I could see the road disappear under the water again. I got out and began to walk. I wasn't going to risk getting my car stuck and trapped in the driveway. As I sloshed forward, tension began to build in the back of my neck. Silent lightning would periodically illuminate me in a sea of ripples. A cold feeling surrounded my thoughts.

A black hole opened in my stomach, sucking all the confidence from me. This was new. I'd been scared before, but fight or flight always set in with a burst of nervous energy. This was surreal. I felt like I was dreaming. I felt dread. I felt alone. I was in water up to my knees when I reached the yard.

I finally got some higher ground the closer I came to the front door. I squished around to my left and my right, checking the sides of the house. The house was a double-sized trailer elevated three feet off the ground on stilts. I had to walk up the steep stairs to knock on the door. Sheriff's Department, I yelled over the rain. I jumped back down with a splash of the narrow steps and scanned the darkness. I had heard rumbling at the door as it opened a couple of inches. I could see a feminine face peeking out at me.

"'Can I see a badge or something?' came her fearful voice. I cocked my head at this before I realized I was completely covered in my yellow, wired-irped raincoat. I unbotted my trench coat and shot my flashlight on my badge and Judy belt. "'He was here just now,' she said nervously. Her eyes darted back and forth, scanning the darkness. I could hear the frantic cries of her child from deeper in the house. I'll lock the door, but stay by it for me. I'll check around back, so don't worry if you hear me making noise back there.

I waited till I heard I locked the door before pulling out my gun and circling around to the left. I circled round the whole house slowly, making the corners with deliberate slowness. A small but powerful flashlight held at the center of my chest with my gun at low, ready. The entire perimeter of the house checked clear. My head was on a swivel, checking the thick forest pushing in from the darkness. I even checked her small car, pulled on the doors to see if they were left unlocked. There was nothing suspicious. He was gone. But I felt eyes on me.

The cold dread sat heavy in my stomach, making me slightly nauseous. I could feel a nervous tingle at the base of my skull, making me want to turn. my head frequently. Then the obvious realisation hit me, causing an extra punch to the gut. He was under the house. It was three feet off the ground. My dumb ass had been walking around him. I was standing with my back a foot away from the house. I immediately dropped to one knee with a splash and twist to aim my weapon and light under the house. My mind half expecting the jump-skirts. The jump-skirts air from Zeke, akin to the scene where they first showed the xenomorph in the vents on alien. My finger slowly loosened off the trigger as I saw nothing but interlocking planks of woods,

cobwebs and more darkness. I couldn't see fully under the house because it had been used to store old junk like a lawnmower sandbags and old bicycles. I stared intently for a while, trying to make out a human fall. Every time I moved the blinding bean. of light, it caused dark shadows to dance underneath, mimicking movement. I wasn't satisfied that he wasn't under there, but I couldn't see a damn thing. I backed away from the house and began to think. He was near, and he was probably watching me. I comforted myself with the realization he was scared of me and I had a captive audience. He was either under the house or waiting in the forest, trying not to make a sound by running.

Zieg, I projected my voice with as much authority as I could. This is the Sheriff Department. We know it's you out there. I did a 360 scan around me with my flashlight as I slowly continued. You haven't broken any laws yet. Go home now and that's the end of it. If I have to come back, you are definitely going to jail. I promise that.

As I finished my speech, I let the silence hang in the air for a dramatic effect. Thunder rolled in the distance to punctuate my seriousness. Feeling confident in my ultimatum, I sloshed my way back to my patrol car. But don't get me twisted, dear listener. I'm not inept or cowardly. I had a plan and leaving was a ruse. When I got to my car, I called dispatch to tell her the plan. I told her to let our caller know I was going to drive back to the stop sign down the road and dark out to wait for Zeke to return.

Soon I was back in my car with all the lights out, staring down the dark road towards the house. As I sat in the darkness listening to the chaotic storm enveloped me. I checked my phone. Only ten minutes had passed when I swear it had been an eternity. The strange dreamlike feeling flooded over me again. I had a quick thought telling me I never should have gone to the house in the first place. I'd been just sitting here imagining the whole series of events that had just passed.

Unsure, I patted my ankles to see if they were still wet. They weren't. I'd never trudged in the water to check on the scared mother. But I remembered doing it. I don't know. Things are so foggy. I had the sudden urge to cry. Didn't know why.

I just felt scared. So alone. nothing made sense I fought back a sob the harsh voice spoke to me cutting through my confusion like a poison knife through my brain it said

I should just end it I should just use the tool holstered on my hip I put my head against the coolness of my window hot tears ran down my face as my hand fumbled with the retention locks on my holster

the coolness of the window was my only relief before the end Good thing it was snowing. The snow always made me sad as it formed a white coat of ice on my windows. Wait, what? Snow in Texas. I georgied with a gasp in my seat, as if waking from a dream. Maybe I was.

A microdream. I had had a couple of those in marine boot due to sleep deprivation. But why did it happen now? I shook my head vigorously to get my bearings back. The dark thoughts fled from me. I realized the power on the street must have gone out while I was in my reverie because no light was coming from any of the houses. Visibility was zero and the storm was at deafening cacophony by now.

Alone with my thoughts in the darkness, I doubted my plan. I'd had enough of my mind playing tricks on me and wondered how long I should just sit here like a creeper until I had to go back to regular patrol. My phone lit up and I jumped to answer it before it could even ring. I immediately recognized my dispatcher's voice, but it sounded too far away. He's back. Right now he... Her voice cut out and the call drop noise chimed in my ear.

Yeah, sometimes the cell towers were spotty out here, especially during storms. Now I had a useless phone I couldn't call back up with. My only hope was that my dispatcher would get my partner roll in my way. He was around 30 minutes to an hour away, remember. As I slammed my door behind me and began slogging through the rain, I thought to myself, on nights like this, I knew the future. I could just imagine the darkest timeline of events and it would happen.

The thought of my cell phone crapping out, I've been a whisper in my mind since the night began. I didn't bring it to the forefront of my thoughts in hope it wouldn't manifest, but it came true along with all the other bad vibes of the night. I prayed no more latent fears would come to fruition, especially the deepest fear we all have suppressed every time we wear a badge. I was splashing through the mini-ocean leading up to the front porch when I heard the screaming of the child,

Not the normal screaming of a fussy infant, but a sharp raspy scream, as if the child's throat was hurting from the exertion. Out came my gun again as I quickly ran towards the steep stairs. I did a quick duck to scan under the house with my light before I positioned myself beside the narrow stairs. I didn't go up them due to hearing about cops being shot off porches through closed doors as soon as they announced themselves. I banged on the lower part of the door with a fist and announced myself. I waited a beat for an answer or a gunshot. None came, so I weighed my options. I didn't have consent or research warrant,

but what I did have was good old exigent circumstance. Exigent circumstance is what firefighters used to kick your door in when they smell smoke. As long as I believe danger is on the other side of the door, I can ram it in. The baby screams became choking coughs, and I heard something thumped loudly inside. I hopped up the stairs and prepared to launch my shoulder into the door. A tiny voice in my head urged me to see if the door was unlocked.

It should still be locked from last time, but I tried it anyways. It opened a crack, and I was hit with an awful stench. The closest thing I can compare it to is someone with a severe sinus infection, waking up with morning breath, having eaten rotten eggs and they blew it in your face. I pull my head back to see a bulging eye staring at me from the top corner of the door. But this eye reflected like a cat's or a raccoon. It stared down at me with a dotted purple. In the split second before I kicked that door open, I could see the eye glint with a cat's. purple and then retreat.

I could hear a growl of a dog as the door swung open to the darkness within. My flashlight and my weapons swung around frantically searching for a dog or tall intruder with red eyes. I saw nothing but a living room. TV to my right, couch to my left, counter in front of me separating the living room from the kitchen. I could hear the child screaming and coughing from the hallway to my left. I took a couple of tentative steps to take.

towards the cries, when a figure rushed out of the hallway towards me. I let out a yell and level my glock to fire. I thank God I froze for an instant instead of shooting reflexively. In that split second that followed, I saw the mother with her head tilted sideways and her eyes rolled back. Her arms were trailing limply behind her as she fell. I sidestepped out of her way and she crumpled to the floor beside me with a thought. In hindsight, maybe I should have caught her, but maybe part of me knew she'd been thrown, so I kept my weapon aimed down the hallway,

or that's what I tell myself anyways. The hallway was only six feet long, a bedroom to the right and left with a bathroom in the middle. I had been in countless trailers with this layout. The bathroom door was closed, so whoever threw her could be. to the right or the left taking cover. I could see both of the doors were open.

I spared a glance down at the woman. She was on her side facing me. Young and attractive, she was only in a light shirt and underwear. Her eyes were open, and she was breathing in quick short bursts. Her eyes had a trance-like stare, and I could see her skin glissured with a layer of sweat. I couldn't see blood or any physical injuries on her. as she reminded me of a fish taken out of water, slowly dying. When I returned my gaze to the hallway,

my brain couldn't make sense of what I was seeing. It appeared the hallway had gotten longer, where my flashlight had once illuminated the bathroom door, now there was only pitch blackness. I moved my flashlight back and forth to reveal the darkness was a fixed object, like a cloud at the cloud at the, the lip of the doorway. Even as I squinted and tried to grasp what I was seeing, the darkness seemed

to grow closer. It leaked out like a fog into the living room. The doorframe faded to blackness, then the walls around it, then parts of the couch beside it. The best way I can explain it is it looked like the world in front of me was disappearing, being swallowed by the void. The dark reached out across the room to flood after me. I looked down to see the world drop off into nothingness about a foot away from me. The bare legs of the woman laying beside me had already been consumed by it. I tried in vain to wave the darkness away with my light, but to no avail. I backed into the TV and knocked it over.

A familiar panic began to boil over within me as the dark whispers tore through my mind again. It was the same despair I'd felt back in the car. I wasn't afraid of dying on the job, but this was different. What was this darkness? What unimaginable terror waited for me in the approaching void? Would it take me to hell? If I died here, would God even see me? The darkness was just out of arm's reach, when the glow of my flashlight was snuffed out,

and I was plunged into absolute dark. My last light of hope disappearing caused a primal scream to build up in my throat. One last terrified plea before the madness overtook me. Oh God. Oh, Jesus! I blink rapidly as my flashlight sprung back to life, illuminating the room around me. The unnatural darkness had retreated. I blink repeatedly as the horrid thoughts flew through me, leaving me shaking and whimpering.

I fought the urge to run out of the door and forget stupid ideas like honour and duty As I supported myself against the TV leaning against the wall I began to catch my breath I did a couple of rounds of combat breathing to lower my racing hearts I also let out a curse word every other exhale I had a job to do

and I knew I had to replace paralysing fear with something else life had taught me anger could override fear and pushed you past exhaustion in a pinch i also steadied myself with a mental checklist i would finish this call i'd find the baby call an ambulance for mum and stop zeke or whatever it was out here then i could go ten-eight and drink coffee at the office everything would be like normal and now down to check on the mother She wouldn't respond to anything, I asked her. Her pupils were as big as sources and showed no reaction to my light. A brief pat-down revealed no apparent injuries. But then I heard it again. A soft cry of an infant. But it wasn't coming from the hallway.

It sounded closer. I shut up and immediately saw a figure to the right of my periphery. I twirled to highlight a dark figure of a person standing in the kitchen. The figure's back was turned to me with shoulders hunched. It wore a ratty black raincoat, torn and frayed. Let me see your hands. I yelled. The figure didn't budge.

I could hear him mumbling as he bobbed his shoulder. Hey, listen to me, asshole. I swear to God I will shoot you. Hands up, turn around slowly. I could hear him start softly cooing. But my hands are fond of furrow. full deputy he croaked as he slowly turned around it was zeke he was cradling the baby in his arms my whole body tensed up at this sight the child couldn't have been more than a year old i could see

the child moving its arms and wiggling about thank god for that but zeke's grip was firmly around the base of its skull his disgusting hand palming its delicate head like he was holding a baseball the dirty nail of his on-point of finger, gently tapping the child's nose. I mentally weighed my options. Seeing Zeke, holding the child, reminded me of how terrified I felt when I first held my newborn nephew. It was so fragile. I thought I could crush him on accident. I knew Zeke was playing upon that fear to keep me at bay. I could shoot him in the face. It wouldn't be the hardest shot to make. He wasn't but safe. He wasn't but safe. seven feet from me, but he would drop the baby.

As if sensing my thoughts, Zieg let go of the child's head and it dangled upside down by the leg. Now the child commenced the screaming as it swung back and forth like a pendulum. Zeke outstretched his arm, presenting the baby to me, purposefully holding the baby directly in front of the muzzle of my gun. Take the shot, kill the bad guy, save the family, Zeke hissed. It's what you trained all these years for. He took a step towards me, shortening the distance to about four feet.

I could see the tears pouring out of the child's chubby face, running down its forehead to sprinkle to the floor. I pulled my gun away from the child and held it close to my chest, terrified to have something so dangerous, so close to something so precious. I took a half step back when I realized I was losing my one advantage. Zeek thought I had tunnel vision on shooting him. He expected me to step back and keep my distance like cops were trained to do, but I always liked a good fight.

I quickly came up with a plan to holster my weapon while rushing him. I grabbed the baby with my offhand while giving him a low kick right to the knee. I catch him off guard by springing my attack in the middle of telling him something, something everybody knew. Zieg, listen to me. You have the right to remain silent. My gun started to lower to my holster, my offhand pointing the light in his eyes.

Anything you say can be used against you. A grin began to widen on Zieg's face. If you cannot afford a... I tensed to attack. Zeke whipped the baby into the air. Time slowed around me as I saw the child arch upwards to almost hit the ceiling. I must have instinctly dropped my weapon and light

as my arms reached to catch the baby as it descended. My hands searched the darkness where my brain predicted the falling child should be. I've had its soft body and eagerly pulled the child to my chest. The instant my brain confirmed I'd secured the infant. My eyesight exploded with stars as my head rocked back.

While reeling backwards, another blow hit the inside of my right knee. knee. I buckled and fell to my back, the gear on my duty belt jamming painfully into me. The entire time my arms desperately wrapped around the screaming child. I immediately began frantically searching the ground around me with my right hand. I could not let Zieg get my weapon. I began to sit up and roll to my side in a desperate attempt to shield the baby. I received a crushing knee to the belly as Zieg landed on me with all his weight. I let out a grunt of pain and wrapped the child tighter to my chest.

He straddled me and pulled himself closer by the collar of my overvest. I could tell his telltale stench cascading off of him, his enlarged eyes staring into my. I realized with horror that Zieg had no intention of going for my gun. With a cray smile on his face, he embraced me in a hug and began to squeeze. He was going to use me to squeeze the life out of the baby. I had to recall my searching right hand to push back against Zeke, and we struggle like that for what seemed like an eternity. He was mounted on top of me, giving me a bear hug, and I desperately tried pushing him away

with my right hand while shielding the baby with my left. And I knew the amount of force he was putting on me was unnatural. He was wiring about six inches shorter than me. I had at least £40 on the guy, and I was in decent shape. But I felt my back crack and I gasped as my muscles were quickly pushed to the point of muscle failure. The poor child began to wheeze as our bodies sandwiched him. I was getting desperate, and my mind brought up a memory I'd tucked away for a rainy day, hoping I'd never have to use it.

I remembered a salty former devil-dog, SWAT instructor, teaching us room-clearing tactics in the academy. It was the end of the day and he began to share war stories about his time in the the call. Most people don't know the quickest way to kill someone who's putting your thumb right through the bad guy's eye sockets. He'd said with a wicked smile, mimicking the action by thrusting his gnarled thumb with a quick jab. Straight into the brain. He finished as he twisted his thumb and made a squish sound with his mouth. Yeah, my body cringed just like yours did as you heard this. He must have seen the group of us cadets physically withdraw and continued

The trick is getting your brain to override your sense of basic human decency Kill another human in this horrific way Your mind will fight you on it It's not natural to want to do this to your fellow man Even now that you know it you won't be able to do it when the time comes Well, I was used to the mind games and hazing from alpha military types trying to scare us into quitting. I thought on what he'd said that day.

I'm sure if I could kill a man or maim someone in such a horrible way. I would have to exhaust all other options. But now, as I lay on my back, my body failing, and a child being crushed between us, I had to dig deep to survive. Zeke blinked for the first time during this whole confrontation. A look of realization passed. over him. He grinned even wider as he began to chuckle. He released me from his hug and quickly

grabbed my head with both hands, his thumbs moving from my eyes. I closed my eyes as I felt his dirty thumbnail scrape across my eyelids. Panic leapt inside me as I realized what he was doing. Even though my eyes were closed, I had a mental picture of where he was. And my right hand struck out and my thumb pierced through something soft and warm. A warm liquid immediately aggrulfed my hand and splashed across my face. I didn't realize I was screaming until the copper-tasting liquid poured into my mouth. I could taste what it was, and I knew what I'd done. But I had to open my eyes to see.

Zeke's grip had slacken enough for me to open my eyes to peek at the damage. Sure enough, my thumb was deep. deeply embedded in Zeke's eye sockets. He still grinned maniacly at me as blood oozed out of him. I pushed him up and away from me as I bucked and twisted frantically. He finally rolled off to my left and my thumb came free from him. I heard him kicking, thumping away from me as he retreated into the darkness. I set up with a child and quickly searched to my right for my gun. I found it and snatched it up quickly and then scanned the room. I couldn't see-seek, so I scanned back and forth repeatedly.

The chard resumed its deafening scream, and I could feel my heart pounding through my entire body. After a couple of moments of pointing my weapon at the dark and cradling the child, my mind began to work again. I noticed how strange my weapon fell in my blood-covered hand. I noticed the screaming baby sounded loud and healthy, and I noticed we were both alone. alone. The child's mother was missing. I sat there, overwhelmed, but first things first,

I had to deal with the infant in my arms. Retrieving my light, I slowly stood and searched the room for a safe place to lay my screaming bundle. I settled with placing the baby on the floor and building up a pillow fought around it with throw pillows. I could feel precious seconds being wasted. As much as I wanted to stay with the baby, the longer Zeke was alone with the mother. Well, with trepidation I stood to face the hallway. Zeke must have taken her back there. A step forward, deciding on the door to my right first. My cake blasted the door open as my light flooded the room. It revealed a woman's bedroom that had been completely trashed. It looked like an explosion had occurred from a large hole in the center of the room.

Wood and torn carpet was scattered all across the area. The flooring was bent up and outwards like something had come up through the bottom. I leaned over the hole to see down into the muddy ground beneath. Is this how's he got in? Like the Hulk had smashed his way out through the floor. Any other time I wouldn't have believed it, but sanity had left the moment I was dispatched to this house. I knew he could still be down there with her.

If I crawled down there I'd be put with myself in dangerously tight corridors with Zeke again and I didn't want another wrestling match with his freakish strength a bolt of lightning crashed somewhere close the bright strobe outlining a tall figure outside the bedroom window I looked up to catch only a glimpse of it before it vanished but it was a tall imposing humanoid figure of blackness with purple reflecting eyes

It must have been ten feet tall, pressing its hands and face against the other side of the glass. As quickly as I saw it, it winked out of existence, only after the image of it in my mind. I shuffled around the hole to look out the window. Standing further out in the backyard, it was a group of shadows. I didn't have to wait long for another lightning strike to illuminate the night. What the light exposed hardly surprised me, but it may be able to be. me shudder anyways. It was Zeke, soaking in the rain, his outstretched arm holding the mother up by the back of her neck to face me. The unnatural ease in which she held her outwards was

as effortless as he had held the baby. It was as if he was presenting her to me. A twisted grin dominated his bloodied, one-eyed face as she hung limply. He beckoned me with his free hand to come before turning curtly and strolling for the woods with her. I spat a curse at him as he faded into the trees. I had to get her back. I couldn't care less if he got away in the end, but I couldn't live with my final memory of her being taken by that grinning cyclops. He'd sought her out this night,

and I had to stop whatever morbid plans he'd had for her. I ran back into the kitchen and located a back door. I flew out into the cold rain. jumping down the slick steps and sprinting towards the woods. I could see where the foliage parted to make a small pathway, and this was around the place I'd last spotted Zeke, so he must have taken it. Once I hit the tree line, my momentum almost came to a stop.

The water sloshed up to my knees as I took heavy steps forward. After trudging a few yards into the woods, I spotted a glimpse of movement pulling away from me. Every time I thought I'd lost Zeke's trail I'd see him slipping further into the darkness dragging the poor woman with him My legs burned as I forced myself forward Through the deep foliage

I tried to keep Zeke in my sights Through the blinding trees and vines I don't know how long I chased after him Time did its weird thing again I fell into a fugue state Of desperation and exhaustion all I knew was I had to keep moving forward. Though I was surrounded by a thick forest, I felt isolated,

like I was floating in the void of space or standing at the edge of a great chasm. The darkness outside the reach of my light was a void into nothing. It seemed only the immediate area where I stood were solid. The only things tangible around me were the figures my light discovered. As soon as I moved past the ground I stood on, All my light passed by the surroundings, the matter returned to nothing. I could fall into the abyss and never be heard from again. Another soul lost to the forest.

How long would it take before people noticed I was missing? Maybe it would be deemed important enough for a small local news report. My sheriff might call in reserves and troopers to have the woods search for me, but after a couple of weeks it would be called off. Too expensive to keep up. I know because I've seen it happen a couple of times. I would just be gone. No one would really know that I'd been swallowed up by despair,

but I had glitched out of this reality to be a forever falling in darkness. In my grim reverie of stalking after Zeke, I was vaguely aware of something shadowing me. From my peripherals, I catch the dark figure with purple eyes keeping pace with me. I could smell the stinking. of BEO and bad breath wafting around me. I wanted to turn my head and face the creature directly, but I was too afraid of losing the track of Zieg. He was pulling further and further away from me as my body screamed for rest. Zeek disappeared through some shrubbery, and I yelled in frustration

as I urged myself to speed up. The corners of my vision faded, and I knew I was on the verge of passing out, on the cusp of falling into the water in exhaustion. and I broke through the shrubs and entered a clearing. I looked around in wonder, a perfect circle with a 30-yard diameter. In the middle of the clearing stood an old tree stump, turning three feet out of the water. I could see a small sapling shooting out of the dead tree,

his skinny branches reaching about 15 feet above the water. With a flash of lightning, I noticed Zeke standing next to the tree, holding the slumping woman by the collar. He had his hand reached up playing with something swinging from the tree. As I stumbled over, I could see it was a noose. Something old for something new, Zeke proclaimed loudly, still focused on the news.

This is what my Jesus demands. The way he said, my Jesus, made it clear it wasn't the Jesus Joel Olstein was peddling. He finally turned to face me. With an effortless and fluid motion, he hoisted the limp woman atop the tree stumped. Ah, it's got to be something sweet, he says. Zee groaned, his one eye throwing daggers at me. Maybe it can be you. Let's see what he says.

But someone hangs from the tree. I want you, though. You and the baby are just a bonus. After the massacre I'll return to stop. the life out of that child. I'd had about enough of this cryptic voodoo talk and threats. I knew I couldn't take him hand to hand, but now he couldn't use the woman as a shield. I levered my pistol and fired two quick bursts. My ears rang after the shots, the smell of gunpowder enveloping me. Two sporadic sounds of bloop, bloop as the casings hit the water.

I'd close the gap between us to about five yards. an easy shot. So why didn't Zeke go down? Not even a flinch. I figured excitement and heart rate had made me miss. So in anger, I squeezed off five more rounds while marching towards him. It felt like I was shooting through his shadow. He just stared at me with his cyclops eye.

And when I came to about seven feet, I stopped. We stared at each other for a while. him glaring while I breathed raggedly. The only movement was the downpour around us. I knew I was out of options. It began to dawn on me I was going to die out here with the girl. We were both going to die, and I couldn't save her. I'd chosen to chase this possessed man to the place from where I would never return,

a willing sacrifice. A mental picture flashed through my head. I'd be laid out on the tree stump Like a tribute on an altar While the woman hung lifeless From the branch above me Zieg smiled at me And gave a short laugh

He stretched his arms out wide As if welcoming me for a hug And that's when I saw it No more hiding in the corners of my vision It revealed itself to me A tall figure peaked out from the hangman tree behind Zieg his purple eyes glinting.

I saw it clearly as I ever could. The inky black profile of a humanoid standing three feet taller than Zeke. It's made out of the same unnatural blackness that had almost consumed me back in the house. My light was useless at dispersing it. It stretched out an unnaturally long hand to lay it atop Zeke's head. Zeke closed his remaining eye and began to quiver, shaking like a holy ghost. tell evangelist. No, deputy,

Zick spoke in a throaty cackle. He jerked his head from side to side, the entity never releasing its grip. Zieg gave a terrible cough and heaved his chest like he was about to throw up. It was as if his body was trying to reject the monster leaching off of him. My Jesus has made a decision.

He wants the woman. She has a sweetness most deserving defilement. A kindness to rip and tear Her desecration Will be in agony felt most by those who love her In return I receive his gifts Ah, the fruits of the spirit Once again I felt the world around me

Fall out of focus Some dark magic was pulling me under a trance The veil of reality thinned And the cold darkness Waited for my soul to fall in I was so tired why fight it? I lazily put my gun back in its holster

and nonchalantly drop my light into the water. I felt the cold creep up my body like terrible claws. The unnatural cold took over and I realized I couldn't move or I didn't want to move either way it didn't matter. I realized the rain had stopped

turned off like a switch. I moved to move. I moved my eyes around in my frozen head to see millions of droplets frozen in the air. It was as if time had stopped and the rain was suspended like little planets floating against a dark galaxy. Zeke looked up and marvelled at the sight. The dark entity moved out from behind the tree. My eyes were adjusted enough to the moonlight in the clearing to see the inky black mass getting closer. Panic rose within me.

I didn't want that thing any closer. Not to touch me, I just knew if it touched me it would be the most violating thing ever, but I still didn't move. It was useless to resist. The darkness was inevitable. It lowered itself in front of me, his glinting sorcery staring into mine, and of course that overwhelming smell followed. It reached out a pitch black hand to lay on top of my head.

when it touched a jolt of energy shot through me I could feel its hate it's disgust towards me but it wasn't just me it was everything even Zeke Zeke was just a means to an end

the plaything used to spread wrath and to hurt others but then the real event started as I stood there dumbstruck it showed me things I saw the woman standing it told me her name was Elisa.

She wore the same blank look that I had. And then realization flooded back into her face. She blinked rapidly and began to whimper. She made eye contact with Zeke, with me, then the dark figure. Her eyes bulsh as if pleading for escape. What followed then, I am not sure of. Time was hard to measure, but it felt like an eternal. I don't know if it was real or I was in a trance, maybe it was a little of both.

Both of us locked away in cracks in reality. This crack that let the darkness in to infect and corrupt. I stood motionless with tears streaming down my face as they tortured Elisa right in front of me. Zeke ravished her in countless ways with the entity hovering closely over his shoulder. knives and cutting instruments would be handed to him out of the dark mass of the thing they committed acts of violence

which I will never repeat, never describe but I could see Elisa felt all of it she would scream through gritted teeth her eyes bulging so much it seemed as if they would pop out at the end of the mutilation Elisa always ended up hanging from the noose In a malicious display of sadism Elisa would be granted the use of her desecrated body

She would thrash around and weakly try to free herself from the rope around her neck That she never got free But right before she stopped struggling The scene would reset, jump back in time And she would be completely healed And standing there in the water Trapped in her own body Waiting for the ritual to begin again

I don't know how long it went on, maybe hours, maybe days, time had no meaning. As the macabre show played out on repeat again and again, I began to lose hope just as surely as Alyssa must have. I had given up, I had failed. I was a fool and deserved this cruel fate, and maybe even deserved worse. No, I deserved worse. It was his self-defeating statement that turned out to be my salvation. The lifeline to pull me out of the bottomless pit that I was sinking into, but at first it was just another arrow to my heart, another stone tied around my feet. I did deserve worse. It should be me up there. I'd taken the job to help people like her and how I had failed.

standing on the sidelines watching this mother be assaulted on repeat i had no kids i was just a single useless man nobody would really miss me not like her yes i should take her place this thought spart through my mind like lightning it was my job to stand in front of the innocent when the wolf came zeke spoke of sacrifice yeah i could take her place maybe find some sort of the innocent some semblance of honour for my pathetic actions. I felt a warmth begin to grow inside of me. As Eek could cut Elisa hundreds of times and now led her to step on the stump so he could put the rope around her neck. I didn't know what was happening at the time.

My brain was still caught in a feverish cycle of self-hate, wanting to take her place, hating it was her instead of me. I began to regain control of my body. I moved sluggishly towards Zeke, but he was too preoccupied with Elisa. I saw the entity spin around to face me, his eyes somehow bigger. I let out a deep growl that reverberated in my brain, but he did not attack. Zeke had fastened the rope around Elisa's neck and stepped down to admire his work. Elisa let out an audible whimper as tears flooded her eyes. She knew what was coming.

Maybe she prayed she'd be a little. allowed to die this time jump as ike said grinning through his teeth alisa stepped off the stump and began to choke her legs kicking slightly as she swung back and forth i noticed she didn't even attempt to remove the no she had given up no i screamed as i shouldered past zeke he reeled back in surprise I ran up and grabbed Elisa's legs and lifted, taking the strain off her neck. Let me do it. It needs to be me, not her, not her! I screamed with insane further. He took Elisa for a moment to realize I'd finally come to her aid.

I screamed for her to take off the noose. She began squirming and pulling at the rope around her neck. I lifted her up further and stabilized her enough to remove the rope and topple us both over into the water. The cold of the water completely knocked my body out of its sluggish stupor, but my mind was still all haywire. I pulled her leaves her out of the water and leaned her against the tree trunk. She stared back at me and began screaming as she wrapped her arms around me. She hid her face in my chest and refused to even look up at the monsters. I could feel her body quivering against mine as she continued to let out muffled screams.

I tried to turn to face seek, but Elise, her held me too tight, so I just looked over my shoulder. I noticed it was raining again. Time was unfrozen. No, take me instead, I pleaded. She's had enough. She's done. I'm a willing sacrifice. Let her sins be mine. I don't know where that last sentence came from. Divine intervention? I just don't know. My mind was still in a tailspin of misery. All I was a I know as the entity didn't like it. I heard a loud unnatural yell, a bark, a growl.

The closest thing I can compare it to is a mix between a boon and a jaguar. It was terrifying, and I knew it had come from the tall shadow. As if it was a command, Zeke started ruining blows down on my head, pounding hammer fists over and over. I squeezed Elisa closer to shield her from the blows. I could take the pain. I wanted the pain. Zeke then tried to pull me off of her, but I held on. And that's when I realized Zika lost his strength. His blows hurt, but they were the blows of a normal man.

He couldn't even pull me away from Elisa. A small beacon of hope bloomed in my soul. Zeke began cursing me. Hopefully he was reading my mind as I thought the most heinous things about him. and he reached my gun on my hip. I have a level three retention holster, meaning you have to press a button, hold it down and rock it forward to release the gun.

It takes practice, but Zieg manipulated it so smoothly and immediately pulled it away from me. I half turned to face him, still shielding Elisa away from him. Zeke huffed and pointed my gun at me with a shaky hand. You would die for her, pig? He screamed at me.

Yes, you backwards inbred. I spat in defiance. I had already accepted my fate. If I was to die, at least it would mean a Lisa would survive. One honorable thing during a life of failure. I'll kill you. Then I'll kill you girl anyways. Zeke shrieked.

I closed my eyes and waited for the hot bullets to pierce my body. What does it feel like being shot? Will he make it quick or go for the head? A closed casket for sure, but the shots never came. Ten seconds felt like ten hours before I opened my eyes. Zeke's face was one of confusion. His body quivered as his eye twitched around in its socket. That's when I finally noticed the entity had placed a hand back on Zeke's head.

Zieg gritted his teeth and let out a huff. of frustration. It didn't take long for me to realize Zeke was frozen like Elisa had been. Let me do it, Zieg begged. The muscles in his neck strained and his outstretched arm twitched. I could tell Zieg desperately wanted to put the required pressure on the trigger to blow my face off. He tried to look at the entity even though his head couldn't move. The creature was just inches from him, just outside of his field of vision and began to whisper in his ear. Zieg's expression transformed from anger to fear. No, we had an agreement, Zieg pleaded.

His hand sprung open and dropped the gun with a splash, and now his expression turned to anger. You forsake me, you liar, I still have time, I still have power. He's just a damn idiot. I'll get you the girl. The entity shot another hand into Zeke's chest and led out a sharp hiss. Zeke's face contorted in pain, and he began to cough. The shadow creature grew bigger, towering over him.

Slowly it pulled him into its dark mass, enveloping him completely. Zeke began to crowd in high-pitched yelps as his body disintegrated into the blackness. It looked like he was bent over backwards with the entity pushing him inwards by the top. of the head. Before his head was consumed, he looked at me and begged, just a little more power. Let me kill this cup. And then Zeke's head was pushed in, and he was no more. Only the looming shadow creature with the purple glinting eyes. I cradled Elisa's drenched and shaking body tightly. I tried to meet the creature's piercing stare, but it was just too much. It projected so much anger into my heart.

I knew this must be the end. At least Zeke wouldn't get the satisfaction. I didn't know what untold horrors the creature would perform on me. Maybe I'd be taken away like Zeke, locked away within this unholy creature. Just leave her, I said. The entity just stared back silently, the rain wiping around it.

and I heard a deep rumbling coming from within it. Was it laughter? It was a wicked sound. It began to back away from me as the deep chuckle continued. The thing made it to the edge of the tree line and all I could see was its reflecting eyes floating in the storm. And just like that, it disappeared. Just like that, it was over.

Took a minute for it to register with my rattled mind. but I knew in my heart it had left. The fog over my soul had lifted. I sat Elisa on the stump and stared up into the sky. The rain felt refreshing instead of drowning. I won't bore you with the after-action report or the mountain of paperwork that followed, but I fished my gun out of the water

and I silently helped Elisa limp back to her house. Not a word said between us. What was there to be? to say. Oh, and backup still wasn't there yet. The baby was fine, if not a little bruised, and the EMTs took Elisa to the hospital.

She'd returned to a semi-catatonic state. Not saying anything for about a week. She finally did start talking again, but she claimed she didn't remember anything. I consider that a mercy.

She and her child went to live with her parents. They told me she had extreme night terrors every night, but quickly forgot them upon waking. Well, hopefully she can have a normal life for her child, but she will never be the same. Oh, evil had left its stain on her. I kept my report short and sweet. I wisely chose to admit the shadow monster and the hell dimension of torture Elisa was in. I left out the part about emptying seven rounds into an unkillable demon-powered man. I just told the narrative of Cheshirellia. chasing Zeke out of the house and into the woods where I rescued Elisa.

Oh, and Zeke may have an injury to his eye. It was too dark to tell how bad I'd hurt him. That same night, Zeke's brother died. He was in the papers the next day. He was locked up in the neighbouring county. He'd suffered a heart attack in his cell. There was a whole investigation. The video showed him banging on the door and crying for help,

but there was a big fight in another part of the jail and nobody heard or paid attention to his cries as he died alone. I stayed with the department for another month. They put out a warrant on Zeke for burglary and assaulting a police officer, but I never expected him to turn up. Until one day he did. My sergeant had come into the office with a big smile on his face. He let me know they'd found my guy.

He said Zeeke had been found on some hunting lease in a neighbouring county. Sarge slapped down a folder with pictures in it. I opened it up to see a familiar sight. A clearing with a tree stump in the middle. Another younger tree growing out of the middle of it. And there hung the body of Zieg. Dangling from the noose. His body bloated and rotten.

I turned the page to see a picture with a close of view. He wore the ratty black raincoat and his left eye was missing. What happened? I asked incredulously. Well, some hunter found old Zeke about a week ago. Guess he got tired of running and laughed himself. My sergeant spoke, matter of factly. Strange thing is, the coroner said he'd been up there for months. Kind of messes up your timetable of events.

Maybe the docks are quack. Some heat does speed up. decom he was at least up there long enough for the birds to get at his eyes i felt sick i had a strange feeling that the z-guide encountered had somehow been hanging from that tree at the same time some sort of cruel trick played out by the power of the purple-eyed shadow i don't know how i knew this just like i'd always known if my sergeant walked into his office he turned to face me can you believe the bullets were found in him. Post-mortem, they say, but

people must have hated him enough to do some target practice instead of reporting him. I left the department shortly after that. You see, I'd been changed too, like a Lisa. Driving alone at night, I'd be terrified of the shadows moving in my peripherals, hoping I wouldn't catch a glint of purple.

I knew that thing was still out there, waiting for me on every call I went to. I could turn any corner to see it looming there, staring at me with its hate-filled eyes. I don't know what stopped him from taking me that night. Or why he stilled Zeke's hand from pulling the trigger? Maybe it was my willingness to sacrifice myself. Something pure in the midst of evil.

I hope it was. Rather it be Harry Potter logic or Sunday school logic, well, I don't care. No great. of love, right? But then, well, then there's the darker fault, the one that keeps me up at night. I volunteered, I made a deal, maybe the thing decided to honour my deal over Zeeks. Maybe I owe a debt that hasn't been paid yet, and the entity is just waiting, hoping I'll forget before he comes to me, pushing me into the void like you did, Zeeke. I work at a little bit. I work at a another police...

I work at another police department now. I took a step back to work in dispatch. Call of the wild still affects me. I want to get back in a black and white and be in the field. I know I can't live in fear. I have to reclaim my life. The test for a patrol position is coming up and I've already signed up. But there is a part of me I suppress every day just to keep moving.

It lingers in the recesses of my mind. I just know it for some reason, like I do other dark things now. Whether on my deathbed at 90 or answering another disturbance called tomorrow, I will see it again. It's inevitable. It knows me now. It marked me. Those purple eyes fill with hate.

Zeke's Jesus. And so once again, reach the end of tonight's podcast. My thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen. Now, I'd ask one small favor of you. Wherever you get your podcast from, please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review as it really helps the podcast. That's it for this week, but I'll be back again same time, same place, and I do so hope you'll join me once more. Until next time, sweet dreams and bye-bye.