If You Live Near Shiloh, Alabama, Don't Let Your Power Go Out

I’m a resident of Shiloh, and I’m begging everyone in the r/nosleep community who lives in this area to heed my advice. I know some of you may be affected by Irma worse than I have, but please understand that I’m not trying to steal attention. This is a real warning. The hurricane is nowhere near as dangerous as what happens when you let your lights go out.

It’s been a rough week, I’m sure you all know. The storm has wreaked havoc across the Southern states, and Alabama had been able to escape the torrent for the most part, up until yesterday. Since then, the rain has been pouring down, and the streets are rivers of rushing floodwaters. Power lines are down all over the city. Nobody can go anywhere without risking being stranded in the middle of the storm.

Most of my neighbors packed up and headed north, but I don’t have the money to spend on a trip. I’m waist-deep in mortgage debts, if you must know. So I’ve been isolated in my home since last night, without power. And, good God, I have seen some shit in that period of time.

It was around 4:00 that the power went out this morning. I’m not actually sure what the exact time was, since all my clocks are digital, and they all shut down at the same time. But I know the sun rose about an hour later, so it’s my best guess.

I was watching TV when it happened. The rain had been pretty docile up until that point. During the weather update, the storm suddenly turned into a downpour within a matter of minutes, and the power went out almost immediately. The wind howled as I turned out the window and saw the power lines sagging a few inches from the ground, and as I got up from my seat and walked towards the window, I saw that the tree in my next door neighbor’s front yard had been completely uprooted. It had knocked down two poles further down the street, and as a result, power had most likely been cut off from the whole neighborhood.

Now, I may be poor, but I’m not dumb. I’d prepared for the storm beforehand; I’d stocked up some bottled water, batteries, a flashlight, and canned food, and set up my old gas-powered generator in the back corner. Actually, I’d like to go back on that first statement. I’d put all those supplies in the basement, which had no windows whatsoever, and was in complete darkness. Likely to be flooded, too. I am incredibly dumb, it seems.

In any case, I had to go down there to start up the generator, or at least get a flashlight. But when I say it’s dark, I mean that it’s completely and utterly black. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you couldn’t see ANYTHING down there.

I started the walk down the stairs, feeling the railing for grip. You know when you close your eyes while going down a set of stairs, and you always stumble when you reach the last step because you think there’s still another one below it? That was me the whole way down. Each step creaked loudly and noisily, as if they would break at any second. I was surprised I could distinguish it from the deafening sounds made by the rain and wind outside.

Eventually I made my way down, and I leaned against the wall with my hand to try and feel where it turned the other way. I was slowly making my way towards the corner, taking note of the texture of the wall so I could find my way back out. Suddenly, I felt my toe smack against something hard and sharp-edged. Swearing, I let go of the wall and clutched my throbbing appendage, crouching on the floor.

Then I heard the creaking.

It came from somewhere behind me, probably from the stairs. My heart raced. I heard about how people go crazy and start looting places in a disaster. The last thing I wanted was someone stealing my things while I was down there. Against my better judgment, I called out into the pitch blackness.

“Hello?”

As I spoke this, the area fell deathly silent. All I could hear was the muffled *whoosh* of the billowing gusts of wind from outside.

“Is anyone there?”

Still no response.

I stood up and found my way back to the wall, now with a slightly more hastened pace. Soon after, I found the corner, and swung around it. I knew it was a straight line from here to the supply chest, and then a door that led to the generator. Cautiously, I tiptoed over what I assumed to be boxes littering the floor, almost losing my balance a few times.

After a few minutes of stumbling, I finally reached the chest. I undid the hatch and lifted it open, sticking my arms in and rummaging around for a spare flashlight. Amidst the rustling of the colliding batteries and cans, I thought I could hear a faint pattering on the wall behind me. I dismissed this and breathed a sigh of relief as I retrieved the flashlight and flicked it on.

Just in time to see a box finish sliding across the floor.

I began to panic. “Hello??” I called out. “You’re trespassing on private property! Whoever’s there, I have a gun in here, and I’m going to use it legally if you don’t evacuate the premises immediately!”

I didn’t have anything of the sort. I hoped whoever it was hadn’t realized that.

I waited for several minutes. After seeing no further movement, I decided to turn around and get to the generator as quickly as possible.

I could have sworn I saw a vague outline of a black tendril in my periphery as I swung around to face the door.

Grasping the freezing metal handle, I pulled it open and shined the light inside. Cobwebs littered the place, with mouse droppings and spider molts peppered all over the walls and floor. I put the flashlight in my mouth and brushed away the debris, looking for the handle.

A rustling noise came from behind me.

My heart beat rapidly as I felt around the machine for the pull cord.

Another rustling noise. Close.

I exhaled as my hand touched the plastic handle of the pull cord, then sharply took in a breath as I strained to pull it.

The rustling was now only a few feet away from me.

I pulled, almost throwing out my back. Nothing. It was cold as ice.

It grew louder.

Come on.

I pulled again. Nothing.

Come on!

Silence.

Please, just START!!!

I wrenched my arm into the doorway and yanked as hard as I could.

My heart skipped a beat as I heard a series of snaps. Then, the basement was filled with the familiar cacophony of internal combustion.

I leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief as the generator buzzed away.

But the relief didn’t last long. It wasn’t until I’d cleared my mind of the fears of looters that I realized that something wasn’t right.

It hit me like a pile of bricks.

The lights were still off. The noise wasn’t coming from the generator.

And as I turned around, I found myself face-to-face with the creature that was producing the noise.

It was freakishly tall, with pale blue skin and glowing blue eyes. It was suspended by what I first thought were legs, but were actually arms that stretched from its shoulders to the ground. It had no legs.

But, most disturbingly, it had no lower face. It was like the top part of a skull.

Panicking, I swung back around and thrust my arm back onto the pull cord, tugging it viciously and screaming. I could feel the thing’s breath on my neck, cold and moist.

Suddenly, with one final tug, the generator wheezed into life, lights coming on and power flooding to the rest of the house. The ceiling lights blinded me for a second, and I raised my arm to shield my eyes. In that split second, I was able to witness the creature darting around the doorway, shrieking in a higher-pitched version of the generator buzz, just out of the corner of my eye. The movement was instantaneous, like a bungee cord retracting. I peeked outside, expecting to see it going up the stairs. But it never did.

I don’t know exactly what I saw, but I know it’s still out there. If it moves during the day as fast as it did this morning, who knows where it’s gone, or whether it’s still here. But what I do know is that, if it IS still here, it doesn’t have long to wait. I’ve run out of gas cans to refill the generator, and it can’t last much longer than a few hours, at most.

When the light goes out, it’ll come back to finish what it started. It waits until you’re isolated, secluded in the darkness, and then it gets you.

And then it comes for everyone else.

If you’re reading this and you live near Shiloh, please, don’t be cheap. Buy a generator. If you can’t, go somewhere that has power. Do anything to stay in the light.

As for the rest of you, I simply want to thank you for donating to those who have suffered loss from Irma.

God knows they need all they can get.