February 8th, 1977
Bartholomew:
I fell to my face, biting my tongue hard.
How long had I been out here? How far had I run? I swore it had been more than a day. Every time I tried to go back home, I saw that... thing, again.
(***)
I woke up the night before... or was it two nights before?
I was home alone for the night, my parents just trusting me... I had been so happy with that.
I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. I groaned to myself, not wanting to leave the comfortable bed, but... I had to go, so I had to go. I got up, throwing off the blanket and pulling on my slippers. I kicked away the toys around my feet, I had forgotten to pick up my legos before going to bed and now they were just making this process take longer. I didn't want to turn the light back on so I just pushed them to the side to make a path to my door and make it so I could open said door.
When I looked back into the room I saw a large figure with dark black eyes staring straight at me- I jumped. I then slapped my own head, only not blushing because no one else was there. I had just freaked out at Terrance my stuffed T-Rex. I chuckled at myself and walked out the door.
I went, then returned to my room.
I... I didn't remember shutting my door.
I pushed the door open, having it catch on several of the legos that had been pushed away earlier. I must have missed a few. It was also colder than I remembered. I smiled at Terrance and froze.
The plastic eyes of my toy were not looking at me. In fact, I didn't see him at all. The window to my room was open and the screen had been cut wide open. My heart started to pound.- I wanted a babysitter now.
What looked like a tall dark straight object was now in my room. The figure was taller than me and almost looked like a straight pole. I slowly noticed it did have arms and a head, but the head and arms were so thin, at first glance, they couldn't stop the figure from looking like just a straight pole. The head of thing turned. My breath caught in my throat. It just looked at me, not moving. It was just black, no clothes, no eyes, no skin just a black human form.
Its right hand started to slowly reach up- I quickly ran past the creature in the middle of my room and jumped onto my dresser, throwing Terrance to the ground as I scrambled for the open window.
I scrambled out of the screen and dropped to the ground in the snow. I jumped to my feet and ran several meters away, cutting across the backyard to the gate. I was only wearing my slippers and pajamas, but at the moment I didn't care. I turned back around, resting on the gate. Maybe it was a trick of the dark...
A black hand grabbed the edge of the window. A head came out of that window, black with no eyes and no mouth, just the outline of a nose. I heard a growl. I pushed my back to the wooden gate, heart racing.
"It's not real, there are no monsters.- It's not real, there are no monsters.- It's not real, there are no monsters.- It's not real, there are no monsters.-" I just kept saying over and over.
Suddenly, it had teeth. Black lips pulled back revealing pure white jagged ones, like a shark, the mouth splitting straight down its face. The creature opened its mouth in absolute silence, the top of its head going back at a near ninety-degree angle.
I screamed turning and slamming into the gate. I fumbled with the frozen latch. The creature was out, now seven feet tall, taller than I remembered. Some twenty feet away it started to reach for me with its right hand. The arm started extending, its hand growing and the arm stretching towards me as the rest of its body remained still. The creature's head tilted to the side, mouth still open wide, the hand getting closer and closer- "Open you stupid gate- please- open!"
I screamed again and slammed both fists into the underside of the latch. The gate flew open and I tore away into the woods.
(***)
That thing had chased me for what felt like hours, each time I looked back it was there again, one hand reaching out and its unnatural mouth grinning. Its legs jerked rapidly back and forth like they weren't attached right, its hips swinging wildly with each step.
I finally looked back and it wasn't there- I had no idea where I was. I was standing in a large clearing surrounded by trees on all sides. My feet sank deep into the snow and the cold cut into my skin past my thin pajamas. I held my chest tightly shivering. Tears were streaming down my face as I looked back to my own footprints.
The last thing I wanted to do was go back the way I came, but I had no other way of getting back home. But it was so cold, I had to try.
I trudged back, a few feet away from my prints, moving parallel to them keeping far enough away so I could just see them. I kept scanning the trees as I went.
Several minutes passed as I just kept going. I saw the prints of the thing that had chased me, its feet apparently just stumps, leaving circular impressions in the snow.
As I kept going... I slowly realized something about the prints of the creature. There were too many... it was like the creature had doubled back.
I kept going. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tree that didn't have any branches and I stopped dead.
The head on the tree tilted. This was no tree. The creature was standing before me again, now nine feet tall. Its arms stretched silently so they were on two trees on opposite sides of it. Its lips pulled back, those shark-like teeth becoming visible again. Again my heart raced and I ran back the way I came, too scared to look back.
Finally, I came back to where I had been. I couldn't stay here, I couldn't go back... I tore off to my left. If I stayed I would freeze.
I ran left a few meters through the snow and trees and- there it was again- what was this thing? It was seven feet again, now standing by itself with its strange gangly arms spread out. Its head turned to the side as it grinned at me again.
I ran back again.
I ran right and- after several meters, again the monster, smiling, arms open and head tilted, was standing in my path. This time it looked exactly like the last time.
I ran back. It was like I was being herded here.
I spent hours, running back and forth in different directions, each time it was standing in that same arms open stance, grinning at me, like it was ready to give me a creepy hug. Finally, I must have passed out from exhaustion.
I slowly woke up and pushed up to my feet.
I was so cold... if this thing wasn't going to let me go... I would make it. I scanned around me. Finally, in the direction of the rising sun, I saw something. There was a large branch. It was around two inches thick and almost as long as me. I ran over to it and picked it up. It was light. I slammed my palm into it a few times to test it. It was still pretty sturdy. Perfect.
I tore back into the woods, unsure of where I was headed, but I cared more about my objective, killing that thing.
I shot forward for several minutes, running through the trees, my feet not even feeling the snow by this point. Sure enough, soon, there was my monster, standing in a space between two evergreens, arms open wide with that stupid grin. I ran forward, yelling with my stick held high and- in a blink, one of the creature's hands was around my branch. I slipped on the snow, the branch being pulled up and away from me. The creature snapped my weapon with one hand. It tilted its head a little more, opening its mouth, its hand descending towards me, as I was now on my back in front of the creature.
I screamed again, scrambling back to my feet and dashing back to my... spot.
There had to be a way to get rid of this thing... I scanned the area and started kicking the snow. I gathered a handful of rocks and looked around for more loose sticks. I saw three more large branches laying on the ground. Running over to one I slammed my largest and sharpest rock into its joints to remove its various twigs. I pulled it over to the next repeating my process- and again for the third. I then took each of three branches, now long wooden poles, and held them against a large sturdy tree. I smashed my rock against the poles sharpening their ends.
I gave a small side smile at my work. This thing, if it wanted me, I was going to give it one heck of a fight. I forced the three wooden poles through my pajama shirt, the only way I had to carry anything at the moment.
I tore back through the snow, eyes wide. I gave out an angry scream.
I wanted to see it this time.
It had a pattern to how it moved. Creepy maybe, but predictable- there it was. A tree with no branches.
Its head slowly cocked to the right as I yanked back my right hand and threw a large rock straight at its head.
The creature caught my rock in its strange mouth, as I loosed the rest of my stones straight at its stomach. The rocks bounced off like nothing, but I did my best to ignore the lack of results. I yanked out my first pole and chucked it at the creature's chest.
The monster caught it, tossing it away as I threw my second. Again the pole was caught, but I was getting closer. I reached for my final pole as- it grabbed the branch first, yanking it away and pulling my shirt clean off.
I slammed my fist into my palm, watching the creature's hand come straight for me. Maybe it wouldn't grab me? It did. I was tossed across the snow slamming into a nearby tree. Who was I kidding?
But this thing had another weakness, it didn't follow me to the herding area. I started running back- hearing its footsteps behind me.
My heart started racing again as I looked back. It was coming after me. This was like a horrifying dream. The cuts on my arm and the near numbness of my left arm where I slammed into the tree- it all served to let me know this was no dream.
What was going on? Why did it want me here? I was cold, hurt and despite everything I had tried, helpless.
I shot into the clearing. "HELP!... MOM!... DAD!" I had called out over and over. But nobody came. The creature stood at the edge of the clearing, just smiling at me. I watched as its hand swiped out at me and- everything went black.
This new morning... maybe it was morning. I looked up- that thing was just standing there, staring at me with no eyes. I was so cold... my arm hurt so much and my fingers were numb.
I finally gave in, crying and hugging my knees to my chest. "MOM!... DAD!" I shouted again. "HELP!" I looked up at the rising sun. A white light seemed to be coming through the clouds, its light almost masked by the sun, till it got closer and closer.
A flying saucer-like object in the light started to come into view as it left the clouds. It suddenly shot down and in seconds it was just a few feet above the ground, me having to hide my eyes from the bright lights now mere feet from me.
The light faded and I looked at the object.
The craft had an oblong shape from the front and looked some seventy feet wide while being a full thirty feet tall... basically, it was the wrong shape, but the size of a house. The object had no windows and no seams at first glance. The center seemed stable, with the outer housing spinning rapidly around it.
I saw steam come out of the bottom of the craft, dumping out and covering the area under it. A ramp lowered from the center of the ship, blurry through the mist, but just visible. I pulled my legs to myself, shaking more from fear than cold. I saw three-toed footprints being made in the snow getting closer and closer to me, traveling away from the ramp. Whatever was making those prints... I couldn't see anything, just footprints being made... nothing was making them.
The footprints were getting closer and closer to me. Tears were streaming out of my eyes by this point. "HELP!"
The thing making the prints was some ten feet from me now, but I was so cold, so scared, and in pain, I couldn't run. "HE-"
Two bolts of electric energy shot overhead, hitting the side of the ship and causing it to fall to the side.
I looked over my shoulder to see a young girl with two swords trained on where the ship had been hit. She looked smaller and younger than me. She smiled. "Don't worry kiddo, we got this," she said.