Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-31482346-20170309155630

Darkness Within

June 12th, 2020

“Hey. Stop day dreaming” She said. I blinked and saw Emily sitting next to me. I smiled, “Sorry, Haven’t gotten any sleep.” I said. She smiled, “Studying?” She asked. I nodded. She laughed. “Wow, you’re actually studying.” She said. My face turned red. “H-hey, I don’t want to fail.” He said. She patted my shoulder. “You won’t” She said. I smiled, “Not unless you don’t go on that online game you play” She said. “What’s wrong with playing an online game?” I asked. “Nothing” She said, smiling. We talked for a while until it was dark out. I drove Emily home before driving to my old apartment i convinced my parents to let me buy. I walked inside to find auntil I saw something. I tried to focus on the thing but it was covered in shadow. I felt my heart sink as I kept staring at whatever it was.

Emily gave me a weird look. “Something wrong?” She asked. The thing was gone. “No, nothing’s wrong” I said. She nodded and stood up. I followed her as we walked out of the old park.

I felt..weird, as we left the park. Like someone is watching me. I tried to forget it while me and Emily spent the day walking around. Emily walked up to a window display that had a necklace. “Do you want it?” I asked. Emily looked at me and smiled. “I would like to have it but I don’t have the money for it” She said. I told her that I would meet her at the pizza restaurant a few shops away.

She nodded and walked away. I pulled out my wallet and walked into the store. A minute later, I walked into the pizza restaurant. I sat next to Emily and handed her a small box. “What’s this?” She asked. I just held her hand and smiled as she opened the box.

Her face lit up as she held the necklace. She hugged me tightly. “Thank you!” She said. I took the necklace and placed it around her neck. “Now I need to get you something” She said. I chuckled a little. “No you don’t. You don’t need to get me anything.” I said. She smiled.

That’s when I felt the same feeling as the one in the park. I looked out the window and saw nothing. “Are you okay?” She asked. I realised that my hand was shaking. “I-I’m fine.” I said. I gave her a smile and looked back out the window. She laid her head on my shoulder and held my hand. We decided to take the pizza back to my apartment. “So what are you going to do after college?” She asked. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe head into the army or go work at some game store.” I said. She chuckled. “You always liked video games” She said. I chuckled with her. “How about you?” I asked. Emily smiled and sighed. “I thought about getting into science.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">But I don’t know what my parents would think about that.” She said. I took her hand. “Doesn’t matter what they say. You have my support.” I said. Her face lit up. “Thanks” She said. I nodded as we headed into the apartment. After walking up five flights of stairs, I unlocked my door and walked in. We had fun as we ate pizza and watched tv. Emily then said goodbye and left. I cleaned up my house and that’s when I saw something. It was only there for a split second so I wasn’t able to make out anything except for a tall figure.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">June 13th, 2016.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I woke up to feeling a small weight on my chest. I looked out the window. And saw that it was morning. As I got dressed, all I could hear, were the sounds of my footsteps as I walked throughout the quiet apartment. I took out my phone and called Emily. “Hey sorry I can’t talk right now, I’m probably out with a friend. Please leave a message and I’ll call back” Her voice mail said. I put my phone on the table but that’s when my vision blacked out. I heard a large thump as my body hit the floor. I saw a tall creature who walked over to me and opened it’s large mouth as a loud roar came out. I tried blinking, thinking it was a dreams. I quickly sat up covered in sweat. I looked around my room and saw that everything was normal. I realised that I was laying in my bed. I felt my heart pounding against my chest.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I slowly sat up “It was just a dream” I said. I got ready and walked to school. During class I felt the weight on my chest get heavier. I kept staring out the window for the entire class. Once the bell rang and we all headed to lunch. I saw the same creature. I blinked and it was gone. Emily ran over and took my hand as we headed to lunch.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Zack and his friend walked over and sat with us. “You look like hell” Zack said. I chuckled a little. “Had a rough night.” I said. The image of the creature flashed across my mind. I knew it couldn’t be real since monsters don’t exist.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The thought vanished as the bell rang. “Hey. Did something happen last night?” She asked. I felt my heart sink. The creature came back to my mind. I felt my palms sweat. “I saw something. I don’t know if it was a dream or a hallucination. But I saw a creature.” I said. Emily looked concerned. She took my hand and I looked into her eyes. “Don’t think about it. Monsters don’t exist. It was probably just some hallucination.” She said.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I felt a bit of the weight on my chest leave after hearing those words. I smiled and kissed her cheek. “I’m here for you Mike.” She said. “Thanks.” I said. We stood up and went to our next class.

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">June 16, 2020

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I haven’t left my house for a few days. Emily has tried texting and calling me but I never answered. I kept repeating what she told me but that creature still felt real. I spent the days sitting on my laptop searching for anything about this creature, but there was nothing about this creature. As if it never existed. The weight on my chest got to the point where I felt like I would fall over. I was startled at a knock on my door. I looked through the peephole and saw Emily. She looked like she was crying for hours and kept knocking on the door. I slowly opened the door to Emily wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her as she sobbed.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“What’s wrong?” I asked. She looked up at me. “I’ve been worried sick about you. You wouldn’t answer any texts or calls and I was worried you were going crazy.” She said.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">As soon as she said crazy, I felt the weight on my chest vanish, as if it was never there. That’s when I cried. I hugged Emily and cried, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s been going on. I’m sorry for worrying you.” I said. She looked up at me. She started speaking but I couldn’t make out what she was saying,

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Like my ears were blocked. Her voice started growing distant as my vision slowly went black. I felt my body hit the ground and could hear Emily’s faint voice as she tried to wake me up. That’s when things started flashing across my eyes. My heart pounded against my chest, I knew who it was. I knew that he was coming for me. I screamed, but my voice wasn’t my own. I heard the creature’s scream coming from my own throat.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I tried to stop but all I could heard was screaming. “Get away from me!” I finally yelled. That’s when it appeared. “What do you want!” I yelled. It smiled as it walked towards me, like a lion stalking it’s prey. “Leave me alone!” I screamed before the creature’s face filled my vision. It’s mouth opened as I saw rows of sharp teeth. I screamed and screamed as the creature roared at me. “Wake up! Wake up!” I thought.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">June 26th, 2020

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I saw that I was in a hospital. I was strapped to the bed and Emily was sleeping next to me with her head on my shoulder. I then realised that I felt....Normal. The weight on my chest was gone, I felt as if nothing happened during the past few days.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I woke up Emily and her face lit up at seeing me. I smiled and hugged her. I let go of her and looked into her eyes. “What happened?” I asked. “You passed out. I tried waking you but then you started shaking so I called 911.” She said. I sighed and looked at her. “How long was I asleep?” I asked. After a few seconds of silence she said, “A week”. I felt my heart sink. “A-a week?” I said. She nodded. “The doctor said that you went into some kind of coma.” She said. I asked her about the straps and she said that the doctors tied me down so I wouldn’t hurt them or myself.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I sighed and laid my head against the soft pillow. “The doctors said that you have something called psychosis” She said. “So that thing I saw. It wasn’t real?” I asked. She nodded. That’s when I smiled, I finally knew that the creature wasn’t real. All that has happened to me. It wasn’t real. I looked at Emily, “Let’s go home” I said. She smiled and walked out of the room. An hour later, a doctor walked in and took off the straps. I sat up and got dressed.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Just take it easy for a few days” He said. I nodded and followed Emily out of the hospital. We were going to drive to my apartment when Emily stopped me. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Why not stay at my house for a few days? Just so I can keep an eye on you” She said. I nodded and drove to Emily’s house.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">June 26th, 2020. 11:30 pm

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I woke up with Emily sleeping next to me. She looked so peaceful, I slowly stood up and looked out the window and into the night sky. That’s when I saw something. I couldn’t focus on it because it was dark outside. I felt a weight on my chest that slowly got heavier as I kept trying to focus on this figure. But in an instant, The figure was gone. The weight kept getting heavier and after a few seconds, I realised what the figure was. My heart started pounding faster and faster as I walked away from the window.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:'ShadowsIntoLight';color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I looked at Emily who was still sleeping. I looked out the window and saw that the creature was standing right outside the window. I managed to find a paper and pencil as I wrote something down. I placed the paper next to Emily and gave her a kiss. That’s when I heard a hum. I turned around and saw that the creature was inside the room. It was smiling. The weight was gone as the creature reached out with his long, rotten, tar black fingers. My vision was filled with darkness and all I saw. Was that glowing white smile…

<ac_metadata title="Darkness Within"> </ac_metadata>