The Blinding Darkness

The Blinding Darkness

Author Notes: This was a story that I wrote that needed to have a Halloween theme. I actually wrote a second part of this story that involved a different point of view and what happened after the ending of this story. It was rushed to meet a deadline and I have it hidden in the depths of a file to perhaps edit someday.

This story isn't attended for younger readers.

The detective restlessly entered his house. It was the same thing every night. He went through the usual routine of putting his hat and jacket on the nearby hanger. His thoughts filled up his mind and his body was simply moving on by rote memory. He had gone over this case with a fine-tooth comb, but where he looked for answers he had only formulated more questions; each one creating more of a complex and contradicting case than the last. Victims were found in pieces spread out in different towns and locations. No fingerprints, clues, hints, or evidence had been left behind. The oddest thing about this case was that the cuts on the victims resembled that of an animal's claws ripping and tearing through the flesh more than it did a human's weapon. The killer either had created his own crude killing tools or had a pack of animals to carry out his cruel commands.

"Yeah, or it's a monster."

I was tired; we were all tired. I half convinced myself that it obviously couldn't be a monster, but I also couldn't come to terms that a human could be doing this. I wanted to quit my job. I could have easily been a truck driver or a factory worker. Hell, if I had finished college then I could have been a teacher. I always filled my thoughts with dreams such as finishing college but I wasn't one for learning. In fact, I couldn't remember anything or anyone from my few miserable college years. Deep down inside I knew why I had chosen my career. Ever since my parents had been murdered during a robbery I had sworn that I would protect the innocent.

"Hell, listen to me. I want to help others and most of the time I can't even control my own life."

The night would end like any other, with me taking a few shots of cheap vodka and some pills to calm my nerves. I'm sure a doctor wouldn't recommend the combination, but at that point in my life I didn't really care anymore. Soon I would drift off into blackness; the blackness of my sleep - the blackness of my life. It always seems like I haven't slept. It's almost as if my alarm goes off as soon as my head hits the pillow. The morning differed very little from the night. I still went through the usual routine, but just with different activities. There was no time for the usual breakfast. Only time for a shower, which was surprisingly still damp from the last time I had used it. The torture of leaving the warmth of the shower was like no other. I soldiered through and before I knew it I was on the road heading to work.

The town had been full of petty crimes ever since the killings started. I could have pulled over several speeding cars on my way to work, but we had been given orders to only go after the major offenses. I didn't receive much of a greeting when I reached the office. As soon as I walked in I was prompted to leave. Samuel hadn't shown up to work today and hadn't been answering his phone too. We were supposed to be finding a way to end this killing epidemic, but here I was, a seasoned vet, doing a wakeup call for one of the rooks. It was only a few miles to Samuel's house and I still knew the way from the one night he had invited some of the guys from the force over for a few beers. As I pulled into his driveway I noticed his car wasn't in the usual location. I casually exited my car and made my way to the front door. It was actually a nice change of pace to get out of the station and its inevitable mountain of paper work and evidence.

"Huh, the front door is open..."

For the first time, the thought that this could be a perilous situation entered my mind. My hand instinctively grasped the gun holster on my belt as I carefully entered the half open door. I instantly knew something wasn't right. There was furniture carelessly flipped over and many things that pointed to what might have been a robbery. Chances were the person that had done this was long gone, but with the way the crime rate had risen I had to be prepared for the worst. I walked into the living room. It was all too familiar to the time that I had come home late that one Halloween night; the night my parents were murdered.

I was a senior in high school at the time. Like most other teenagers the night consisted of destruction of public property and a large amount of alcohol. I had put off coming home to prolong the inevitable screams and yelling for not following my curfew. I entered the house through the back patio in hopes of avoiding my parents. Even though it was pitch black inside I had entered my house enough in similar situations in the past to know my way around.

"A few paces ahead, three to the left, feel for the... that's not right..."

I went to feel for the TV stand, but was met by nothing but air. Perhaps I had one too many to drink and ended up losing myself in the darkness. I blindly guided myself to the far wall where the light switch was located. At least I assumed I was heading in the right direction. My hands aimlessly felt the wall.

"There it is."

I flipped the switch and my eyes reacted as they had just seen light for the first time in hours. My eyes focused. The TV stand had been flipped over, the house lay turned upside down, and my parents were murdered.

A crash interrupted my thoughts. It had come from a nearby hallway. Sweat poured down my forehead. As tough as I made myself appear on the outside I was just as weak on the inside. Behind the bedroom door was the source of the sound I had heard just moments before. With one hand gripping my gun and the other slowly twisting the door knob open, I cautiously made my way into what appeared to be a bedroom. This room was just as trashed as the rest of the house. A quick scan of the room failed to locate the source of the sound, but I knew there was something there. I could feel it. I made my way to the opposite side of the bed. I caught sight of a foot, attached to a leg, attached to a body - a body of a man. The body lay there motionless with a cover blanketing its upper torso.

I was scared before, but now I was practically shitting my pants. I grasped the cover and slowly pulled it away from the body. I had found out why Samuel had never shown up to work. He was dead.

His eyes and mouth were open as he lay dormant on the ground. I couldn't stand to see him like this. Out of respect my finger tips gently closed his eye lids. An ear bursting scream emitted from what I had thought was Samuel's corpse. I tripped, stumbled, and landed on my face. As quickly as possible I spun around, gun in hand.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house Andy?"

I ignored the question out of pure anger and adrenaline.

"I thought you were fucking dead you cocksucker... you almost made me shit myself."

Andy reached for the clock, pulled it down, and immediately screamed.

"Piece of shit alarm clock!"

I was still utterly confused. Andy explained to me that the party he had the night before had gotten a little out of control. I gave him about twenty minutes to clean himself up before we'd head off. About twenty five minutes later he opened the front door, still half dressing himself.

"Get in the car rook. We have more important things to worry about then irresponsible police officers being late to work."

On the way to the station Samuel told stories about the wild night including how he had left his car at the convenient store after he was too drunk to drive home. I was clearly annoyed with him, but oddly enough he didn't notice. We couldn't have reached the station any sooner. Another minute of his ignorance and I might have lost it. We walked in together, but now his mouth was shut. Perhaps he had finally realized the massive ass chewing he was in for.

"Samuel, get in car five and make your rounds. Andy, go get the fax we just received from the back room."

That was just my shitty life. The rook is hours late and nothing happens, but I follow every command and I'm handling the grunt work. Just like a lab rat I followed the orders and found myself in the backroom. I figured there was no harm in taking a peek at the fax before anyone else.

"New DNA evidence found from the recent..."

Then there was darkness. The lights in the back room had just suddenly shut off. I walked towards the light of the exit.

"Slam!" The door had shut right in front of my face.

"What the fuck's going on?"

I slammed against the door, screamed, yelled, kicked, but no matter what I did the door wouldn't budge and my voice wasn't heard. The only connection that I had with the outside world was the view I received via a small square four by four window in the middle of the door. There was movement from the corner of the hall. My heart stopped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A creature covered with bloody, mangled fur emerged from the darkness. It scraped its claws along the wall making a terrible screeching noise. It peered through the window. There was no way it could have seen me because of how dark it was in the room, but yet it stared directly into my eyes. I was too scared to move. The creature snarled an evil grin. I felt as if its grin tore into my soul. My lungs started to burn, my head felt like it was going to explode, and slowly every square inch of my body was consumed by pain. I faint into the darkness.

I awoke, but it felt like no time passed. The door that had once locked me in was open. I slowly slid out of the door, gun in hand. The lights that had been filling the hallway flickered. I made my way down the hallway, but heard no commotions or noises.

"I'm dreaming... this has to be some sick nightmare."

What used to be my partners now were nothing more than massacred corpses whose spilt blood filled each and every room. I looked away from the vile sight. I needed to do something, but I was the only one left.

"Wait... no... we had five cars out on patrol."

I searched and looked, but every phone, every walkie, and basically every way to communicate had been completely destroyed. My house wasn't far. I could hide out there long enough to call in for backup.

"Looks like I'll have to call the army in..."

I couldn't stand it there anymore. I ran to my car. No stop sign, red light, barricade, or even crime could stop me from driving now. It felt like hours before I pulled into my driveway. I burst out of my car, my feet hitting the ground faster than they ever had before. I arrived at my door and the phone so quickly that I almost didn't notice the shadow, the figure; the same beast that I had seen in the station. Down the hallway stood this monster, motionless, waiting. I drew my gun and squeezed the trigger.

"Click, Click, Click... How could I be empty?"

More seconds passed; maybe minutes. One step at a time I managed to muster up the strength to advance. This creature - this beast; it was no monster at all. In fact, it was a mere costume. A costume that I had once worn during Halloween. Of course, it had been modified. Claws, teeth, and a bullet proof lining. I fell to one knee.

My parents sat there screaming at me. Something ticked this time. Their yelling painfully echoed in my brain. It would be the first time I killed.

My second knee hit the ground.

A woman pulled out in front of me on the freeway. I followed her home. The next night I came in disguise to rip her throat out with my claws. I spread pieces of her body around to make searches last longer than needed.

Both of my hands hit the ground, supporting my ever increasing weight.

I picked up the fax from the backroom of the station.

"New DNA evidence found from the recent murder cases reveal that officer Andy Jacobs has been directly correlated..."

That was all I had to read to realize what I had to do. I crumpled up the paper, put on a vest, and shot down each officer. Knowing that I could buy more time for when I turned back, I destroyed each and every form of communication in the station. Satisfied with my actions I returned to the backroom.

And now I was at my house. It might have seemed like a coincidence, but when I heard the sirens outside of my house I knew everything had gone according to plan. It was a plan that I might not have known about, but one that I created. I slipped on my costume. I was ready to kill again.

Revelation Extinction

Revelation Extinction

Author Notes: This story was for a competition where you had to create two stories that went together. The catch was the first story could only be 20 words. No more, no less, exactly 20 words.

This story isn't intended for younger readers.

Story 1 - Revelation Extinction

A person once said, "Men don't completely understand what true darkness is until they are left alone in complete seclusion."

Story 2 - Revelation Extinction / Part 1

April 14th, 2009

It happened so fast, but at the same time managed to last a life time. It was like time itself didn't even exist, at least not in a way comprehensible by the human brain. We were all just sitting in the lounge playing pool like we would on any other Tuesday night when the unthinkable happened. The ground opened up in a deafening roar. They poured out by the thousands in one fluent motion like a sea of darkness. Not one looked exactly the same, but many had the same common attributes. Boney sharpened claws, dark rotten flesh, and a mouth of razor sharp teeth that made me cringe just thinking about them. They struck so fast that nobody really had a chance to realize what was going on. Even if we did have the time, we still wouldn't have known what the phenomenon happening in front of us truly was.

Nick and I headed towards our room, but once we had reached our destination, we heard the crashing sound of shattering glass through the door. We knew that one of those things were inside. I just ran with no idea where to go. I noticed that the door of the study lounge that separates the male and female sections was slightly ajar. Before my mind could catch up to my body, I found myself running towards the door. I threw it open and entered the lounge, with Nick following close behind. As soon as he flung his body into the room, I forced the door shut. Without giving ourselves a chance to rest, we quickly took some of the desks in the room and fortified the only door to the room. I quickly glanced around the room, looking for other things to barricade. There was only one window, which was too small for anything to get through. Regardless, we took a metal bed frame that was stored in the corner and blocked the window, further bracing it with one of the remaining desks.

And then we sat. We didn't talk to each other and I doubt we thought of much. It was nearly impossible to think as everything was being drowned out by the ferocious howls of the monsters and screams of horror and pain. As the night went on went the sounds lessened and lessened. Whether it was due to the receding adrenaline from my body or because of the lack of noise, I reconnected with my thoughts and my mind started to race. As the night grew quieter with each additional hour that ticked by, I started asking myself questions. Was this happening everywhere? Was my family dead? When would we be rescued? Were we even going to be rescued? These thoughts, accompanied by hundreds of others, repeated in my head over and over.

I did manage to go to sleep though I never believed that I would or even could. I quietly searched the room to get familiar with my surroundings. It's probably something that I should have done the night before, but exhaustion and shock probably wasn't letting my mind think straight. There really wasn't much in the room, actually. There was a mirror on the wall opposite of the door, two chairs, a couch, a couple of extra bed frames, the desks that used to barricade the door and window, and a table. On top of the table there were a few scattered papers with chemistry notes written on them. Those are the papers that I'm writing on now. I figured that if these beasts were ever stopped or that I had ever gotten through this event alive that some sort of documentation could be beneficial. Not to mention that it kept my mind busy long enough not to go insane. A loud crash from down the hall made Nick jump out of his sleep in a violent manner.

April 15th, 2009

We hear the cry of people dying less and less as time goes on. We haven't dared risk a look outside the window, but I could only imagine what the scene would look like. When I think about it the memories of the night before flood my mind. People having their limbs being torn off, almost as the creatures were making a game of it. The tossing of bloody limbs and people back and forth, making people suffer before they died. There was also the terrible smell of death that seemed to surround us more and more as the day went on. Just the thought of it made me want to vomit, but with each time I somehow managed to choke the vile impulse back.

Nick and I had finally spoken, but we did it quietly and sparsely, in fear that we would compromise our position. We talked about where these things could have come from. It could have been a species that lived underground and had finally found its way to the earth's surface. Perhaps it was a government experiment gone wrong or a terrorist attack. That's what my brain told me, but my heart told me something else. What if these creatures were actually demons from hell? Of course, this brought the next set of logical questions to my head. Why, and why now? What made this time so special? Perhaps hell had reached its population limit? If so, what better place to move on to then where the source of its population was coming from in the first place? It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Before the night we figured that we had a pretty bad problem on our hands. In the rush to find shelter we hadn't thought of getting food or water. Even if we would have thought about it at the time we wouldn't have had access to any supplies. We'd have to venture out eventually if we wanted to stay alive. Our room wasn't more than twenty feet from our location, but that twenty feet might as well been twenty miles. We had no clue what would be in the hall or in the room itself. However, we knew that we had to do it and there wasn't any time like the present. Frankly, we didn't even know if there would be a tomorrow.

April 16th, 2009

Nick died today.

May 4th, 2009

I've finally found the will to write again. God, the horror that I saw once we left the room was unbearable. We had to venture out for some sort of food to stay alive. The trip only resulted in one of us staying alive though. Was it really worth it?

We moved the desks away from the door as quietly as we could. While the area always smelled horrible, once we opened the door, it engulfed us. The air was thick with the smell of a misty blood, and pieces of what used to be parts of human bodies were splattered against floor and wall alike. The room wasn't far, but I couldn't have gotten there any sooner. I unlocked the door and peered into the room. The window had been shattered in and the inside of the room had looked the same as the hallway we had just come from. We didn't dare look out the window to see what the world had become. There wasn't any time for it, anyway. Nick shut the door behind us and we started to gather supplies.

What we wanted more than food was water. We had a new unopened case of bottled water in the room so we threw it in my dirty clothes bin. We then proceeded to put in all of the food that would fit. I non-verbally agreed to carry the supplies as Nick would lead the way opening the door to the study lounge for me. We turned one corner and had a straight stretch to the study lounge. As soon as we reached the door it swung open seemingly on itself. One of the beasts was already inside, waiting for us. Its claws ripped for Nick's face as he was thrown down to the ground. I didn't even attempt to save him, but God I wish I would have died trying. I got inside the room and threw the door shut as fast as I could. I scrambled to get enough desks up against the door to stop anything from getting through. Nick screamed on the other side of the door. He didn't exactly scream for my help, but I realized that he didn't want help to live, but he wanted help to die faster.

After the screaming had ended, I spent the next couple of hours crying. I beat my fists against the floor and the wall, Nick's scream for help repeating over and over in my head. Why the hell hadn't the beast taken me instead? Why hadn't he killed both of us? Had we made too much noise moving the obstacles from the door, or had the creatures knew we were there all along? I came to the conclusion that it had only killed one of us as some sort of sick game. In reality, what better way to make someone suffer than taking the lives of everyone they love? The pain by far exceeded any physical torture I could have gone through.

I did finally muster up the stomach to eat the day after he died. A part of me thought that he wouldn't have wanted me to save him, as deep down in his heart because he knew I would have died with him. At least this is what I told myself, because it slightly helped me cover up the tremendous amount of pain that I was in. But still his screams echoed in my head. When I do manage to fall asleep I am only woken up with this scene of horror. To pass the time, I tried to figure out what to do after this food and water have ran out, but I couldn't think of any possible scenario that would get me to a location with food and back to my safe haven without dying. On top of that, I would also have to leave through the door where Nick had died, and I don't think that I'll ever be ready to deal with that situation. Time will only tell, but I'm afraid of exactly what it's going to tell me.

May 7th, 2009

It's odd how weak humans are as a species. At one time I would have thought we were the dominant species and almost a vital part of the world. My desire to live was completely dependent on having another person here with me. Now that I have nobody I have lost this desire. I studied myself in the mirror for the longest time today and what I saw wasn't a man anymore. I saw no emotion whatsoever. Doesn't that make me the same as those creatures out there? I'd like to believe that they didn't have emotion, and now neither did I. When this whole thing started I was afraid, confused, and saddened. When Nick died, I was angry at myself for being such a coward and not dying by his side. I even wanted to take my own life, but I now know I can't do that because I don't feel alive anymore.

Now I don't feel anything. I don't want to be sad. I don't want to be happy. I don't want to be angry, and I don't even want to be content. I don't want to live and I don't want to die. I don't want anything. I do find it kind of ironic that as the rest of my last piece of paper is being consumed with my thoughts that I have finally given up on this thing called life. I had once said that this was all happening because hell had become overpopulated. Now that hell has moved onto Earth, where will it go next or is this its final destination? There are many questions that I can't answer right now, but what I do know is that I have lost all desire to survive. I now know what true darkness is.