Malevolent Shadows

Names have been changed.

Malevolent Shadows
''Eyeless: Remember when I said it was "snowing like Russia's ass"? Eyeless: I have another one. Candypop: Omg Eyeless: "That smut was shorter than Eri's dick" Candypop: oMG Candypop: you have no idea how loud i snorted''

Ah, Candy was always so funny, I enjoyed talking to her. A few winters ago, I have been talking to her on voice chat when I looked out the window and exclaimed the utter nonsense of "It's snowing like Russia's ass out there". It became a sort of catch phrase for me, and since then I'd been trying to top it. While this insult to not only our friend's genitals, but to someone's smut story as well, was funny, it didn't seem to have the same hold as Russia's ass. After a few more rounds of humor, I switched to my chat with GZ. GZ was a wonderful, fun girl who shared a lot of my interests. No doubt something beautiful would spark from it one day. We always felt so comfortable with each other. The only problem I was was that, while she was only two hours ahead of my timezone, she still insisted on staying up at night and sleeping in the day. The only way I could talk with her was if I stayed up excessively late.

On one particular night, as I talked to GZ, began to hear strange noises outside. While I hate hearing sounds outside my door, I decided it sounded similar enough to raccoons to dismiss it. I turned on my music to block out the sounds, and soon the sounds went away and I forgot about it. I would much rather talk to GZ about what we wanted to do with out lives than worry about noisy raccoons. Despite the music, I couldn't help but feel a dark, powerful... aura, so to speak, coming from my kitchen, directly attached to my small apartment room. Still, I tried to focus on my music and conversations, eventually passing out from lack of sleep. I slept the entire next day, waking up just in time to see GZ sign in. As I sat in the darkness of my room, I began to see a shape in the corner of my eye. With a frown, I turned to realize that all I was looking at was a stray shoe I had left there. Curse the mind and it's tricks.

The rest of the evening consisted of GZ and I talking about our likes and dislikes, and about past relationships. Oh yes, things were going quite smooth. Every moment of smiles between us made me more and more sure. It only took a couple more days for me to finally decide to take the first step. But what if she didn't like me? What if the feelings weren't mutual? My body trembled and my eyes watered only just a little as pressure built up both inside me and in the room. I felt like a thousand eyes were staring at me and I hesitantly began to type.

''Eyeless: GZ Eyeless: I need to talk to you GZ: hmm? Eyeless: I've been thinking for a while now Eyeless: And Eyeless: I GZ: ? Eyeless: i GZ: you what?'' ''Eyeless: im sorry i cant say it right now i just cant get my hands to type it out absconding now bye Eyeless: >-<''

I quickly set my status to invisible, tears filling in my eyes. How much more of a coward could I possible get? My hands trembled, frozen over the keyboard, my throat seemed to swell with a thick lump lodged in it. MY stomach twisted and churned with the undeniable fear that it could go all wrong. I had been friend-zoned before. I had been rejected before. It was a painful experience. The thoughts rolled through my head repeatedly, a stabbing feeling in my heart and stomach. After a few minutes and a few deep breaths, not to mention some reassuring words from another friend, I set it back to online, determined to get it all out in one huge blast. I looked at the messages she sent me while I was supposedly offline, taking a deep breath and typing it all out rapidly.

''GZ: Eyeless!! GZ: tell me GZ: please GZ: ....... Eyeless: gzithinkimightreallyreallylikeyouaspossiblymorethanafriendbutimafraidtotellyo u andthatswhyivebeenactingsostrangetodaybecauseivebeentryingtothinkofwaystotellyouwithoutchickeningoutlikeijustdidandimreallyreallysorryibeactingsostupidtonotevenbeabletotypesomesimpledumbasswordspleasedonthatemeimjustreallyscaredofwhatyoumightsay''

I went invisible again, afraid to see, but still wanting to. I felt as though someone were laughing at me.

''GZ: well eyeless GZ: i feel the same way GZ: i have been scared to tell you''

My heart stopped, and tears of joy burst from my eyes like a river breaking free from behind a dam. We shared emoticon hearts and began talking about our new relationship. As we talked, I gradually began to get the strange feeling of being watched as I sat in the darkness of my room. With a sigh, I turned on the TV and forgot about it. Tonight was not the night for eerie sensations.

The next night, as I sat in my dark room, I began to notice things from the corners of my eyes again. My coat kept making itself look like a person standing by my bed. The shoe looked like a cat. I felt that unnerving feeling from the kitchen. I wanted to turn on the light, but my bed was so comfortable, plus the light had a tendancy to hurt my eyes, due to it being so bright. After quite some time of the disturbing feeling, I finally gave myself the excuse of hunger and stood, crossing the room and turning on the light. Almost immediately, I felt all unnerving sensations disappear, though there seemed to be an air of hatred and annoyance left in the room. Dismissing it as perhaps my mind speaking for my stomach, I found myself some food, turned out the lights once more, and enjoyed the evening until I passed out.

More nights passed, and the uneasy feelings grew stronger. It wasn't until a week after I asked GZ out that I suddenly had a strange dream. I have trouble remembering it now, but it left me quite terrified. I left lucky to see GZ online, and I frantically told her my concerns, my body trembling. I wish I could remember what scared me so bad, but it seems as though my memory is being unkind to me. Regardless, it was at this time that GZ confessed to me that I had been involved in something. She wouldn't make sense as to what of, but she promised she wouldn't let anything happen, and sent a wolf spirit to protect me, a show of her native lineage. It made me feel a little better, and I cuddled up with my favorite doll, custom made for me by my mom, and began to go back to sleep. I hadn't been asleep for very long when I was abruptly awoken by a wolf lunging at me in my dream, seeming to want me awake. I decided at that point to stay awake the rest of the night.

Days went by and nothing seemed to happen. No bad feelings, no nightmares. I was in such good spirits, that I turned off my lights like the self-conscious fool I am, and dance to some rediculously energetic music. I had been goofing around for perhaps fifteen minutes in the dark when I suddenly felt a strong shove against my back, and I toppled to the ground, injuring my knee. Needless to say, there was nobody there, as I live alone. After turning the lights back on and spewing a few grumpy words, I limped back to my computer and complained about it. GZ seemed particularly worried now, and apologized numerous times. I tried to convince her it was likely just a thing of my imagination, and that there was nothing to worry about.

''GZ: Just stay away from the dark areas. keep the lights on''

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her protectiveness. There was nothing to worry about. Surely I had merely lost my balance, and my mind was trying to make up some excuse for my slip. As I sat, yet again, in the dark the following night, I began to get a strange feeling. I was seeing a figure in the corner of my eye again, but I hadn't hung up my coat, and there was nothing there when I looked. I could hear strange noises outside. I told GZ, and she immediately began to panic.

''GZ: oh god GZ: im so sorry GZ: please just turn on the light Eyeless: I can't, I have a headache''

It was true. Having the light on made my headache worse, and it was easier to make it disappear when I had the light off. Even as I typed that, however, I began to feel a hand on my back. GZ began crying when I told her, and continued to apologize. She knew, as I did, that whatever was going on, she couldn't do anything to help. I pulled my blanket tighter and tried to dismiss the feeling, only to jump as I heard a loud knock against the wall behind me. I looked, but there was nothing there, as I had expected. My heart began to pound, my stomach churn, as I began to think that perhaps I should indeed turn on the light. I could feel eyes glaring at me from all directions, and a very powerful aura seeped from the kitchen again.

I jumped to my feet and approached the light switch on the opposite side of the room. Before I could get halfway, however, I tripped over a shoe, slamming shoulder-first into the hard floor. My already injured knee had also hit the floor, and I rolled on the floor at the pain surging through it. At that moment, a book fell from its secure location on the shelf, missing my face by mere inches. I jerked away, scooting toward the lightswitch. As I reached up, I felt a hand pull me away, pulling me toward a darker area of the room. I yelled out and tried to move away, but I soon discovered I couldn't move my legs. They were filled with the stinging pins-and-needles sensation you get when you sit uncomfortably for too long. "What the holy hell!?" I screamed, attempting to drag myself across the floor. It should not be this hard to turn on a light switch. Not to mention, I should not be dragged across the floor by an unknown force. That simply doesn't happen. It finally managed to flip the switch, and the bulb hissed before popping in the cover. I cursed some more, reaching for the kitchen light, but it too went out. I ran to the bathroom, but whatever was bursting the lights seemed to be following me. I could feel claws dragging along my arms, neck, and back as I sat in the shower and tried to hide in my own limbs, begging for it to go away. I kept my eyes shut tight, on the verge of tears, saying nothing but "Make them go away" over and over, as many times as my tongue would allow. After perhaps fifteen minutes, the clawing had faded away, and I could hear my laptop playing in the other room. Slowly, fearing it would happen again, I made my way to my computer, and told a frantic GZ what happened, though it never happened again. I still have clawmarks from that night.