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Authors: Brian Keene
Tags: Fiction
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the darkness. “What the hell is going on?”
“We’re each hearing something different again.”
“What do you want?” Russ shouted at the shadows. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
The darkness responded. This time, we all heard the same thing.
It was laughing at us.
“Let’s get out of here,” Christy pleaded. All the resolve was gone from her voice. “Please, Robbie?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s bail.”
We walked back to the car. We didn’t run, although I think all three of us probably wanted to. Personally, the only reason I resisted the urge to run was because of the pain in my gut. We didn’t tarry either, though.Christy held my hand tightly, refusing to let go. She squeezed so hard that my knuckles got ground together, but I didn’t stop her. Russ shuffled along beside us, breathing hard.
“You okay?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. None of us are.”
I turned around and glanced at the darkness. I don’t know what I was expecting to see or hear, but the result was nothing, in either case. The darkness was silent again.
But I was sure that it was watching us leave.
C HAPTER S EVEN
I don’t remember a lot about the drive back to town. We didn’t talk much. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, shaken by the visions the darkness had shown us and what had happened after the firemen went into it. I mean, let’s be honest—the whole thing was pretty fucked up. It was hard to know how to react. I felt numb and emotionless. Not tired or scared or freaked out—just… numb .
We discussed stocking up on supplies from the stores but ultimately decided against it. We knew that we needed to, but all of us were just too tired. Hell, we weren’t just tired. We were physically and mentally exhausted. Scared as we were, all we wanted to do was go home and hide. Supplies would have to wait.
Occasionally, Christy quietly sobbed, but when I tried to comfort her, she’d pull away.
We passed quite a few cars and even more pedestrians. Apparently we hadn’t been the only people to ignore the chief’s request to return to our homes. Other curiosity seekers were turning out to investigate the darkness for themselves. Some drove the speed limit. Others zoomed by, heedless of any traffic laws or posted speed limits, passing the cars in front of them. Of the people walking alongside the road, some lookedfrantic and others seemed merely passive. As we went through one intersection, we saw a motorcycle lying on its side in the middle of the road—one of those big touring bikes. I couldn’t tell what make or model. It was dinged up pretty bad, but there was no sign of the driver. I carefully swerved around it, almost hitting a dog that was running around off its leash. If the dog had a master, he wasn’t there. Russ rolled down the window and called to it, but the dog ran away.
After the intersection, we came across another car—a blue Honda Civic. It was broken down in front of the storage unit rental place. The hood was up and a woman stood bent over the engine. Steam rose from the motor, swirling in the headlight beams. I pulled alongside her and stopped. I checked the rearview mirror, but there was nobody behind us. I hadn’t really figured there would be. People were heading toward the darkness, but no one was coming from it.
I rolled down the window. “Need some help?”
The woman straightened up and turned to me. Her eyes were wide and distraught. It was hard to tell in the gloom, but it looked like she might have been crying.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I think maybe it’s overheating or something.”
“Have you checked your coolant lately?” Russ called out from the backseat.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. My husband usually takes care of all that. I don’t know anything about cars.”
“Well,” I said, trying to muster some sympathy even though I still felt numb inside, “it looks like you’re stuck for a while. Want us to give
“We’re each hearing something different again.”
“What do you want?” Russ shouted at the shadows. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
The darkness responded. This time, we all heard the same thing.
It was laughing at us.
“Let’s get out of here,” Christy pleaded. All the resolve was gone from her voice. “Please, Robbie?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s bail.”
We walked back to the car. We didn’t run, although I think all three of us probably wanted to. Personally, the only reason I resisted the urge to run was because of the pain in my gut. We didn’t tarry either, though.Christy held my hand tightly, refusing to let go. She squeezed so hard that my knuckles got ground together, but I didn’t stop her. Russ shuffled along beside us, breathing hard.
“You okay?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. None of us are.”
I turned around and glanced at the darkness. I don’t know what I was expecting to see or hear, but the result was nothing, in either case. The darkness was silent again.
But I was sure that it was watching us leave.
C HAPTER S EVEN
I don’t remember a lot about the drive back to town. We didn’t talk much. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, shaken by the visions the darkness had shown us and what had happened after the firemen went into it. I mean, let’s be honest—the whole thing was pretty fucked up. It was hard to know how to react. I felt numb and emotionless. Not tired or scared or freaked out—just… numb .
We discussed stocking up on supplies from the stores but ultimately decided against it. We knew that we needed to, but all of us were just too tired. Hell, we weren’t just tired. We were physically and mentally exhausted. Scared as we were, all we wanted to do was go home and hide. Supplies would have to wait.
Occasionally, Christy quietly sobbed, but when I tried to comfort her, she’d pull away.
We passed quite a few cars and even more pedestrians. Apparently we hadn’t been the only people to ignore the chief’s request to return to our homes. Other curiosity seekers were turning out to investigate the darkness for themselves. Some drove the speed limit. Others zoomed by, heedless of any traffic laws or posted speed limits, passing the cars in front of them. Of the people walking alongside the road, some lookedfrantic and others seemed merely passive. As we went through one intersection, we saw a motorcycle lying on its side in the middle of the road—one of those big touring bikes. I couldn’t tell what make or model. It was dinged up pretty bad, but there was no sign of the driver. I carefully swerved around it, almost hitting a dog that was running around off its leash. If the dog had a master, he wasn’t there. Russ rolled down the window and called to it, but the dog ran away.
After the intersection, we came across another car—a blue Honda Civic. It was broken down in front of the storage unit rental place. The hood was up and a woman stood bent over the engine. Steam rose from the motor, swirling in the headlight beams. I pulled alongside her and stopped. I checked the rearview mirror, but there was nobody behind us. I hadn’t really figured there would be. People were heading toward the darkness, but no one was coming from it.
I rolled down the window. “Need some help?”
The woman straightened up and turned to me. Her eyes were wide and distraught. It was hard to tell in the gloom, but it looked like she might have been crying.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I think maybe it’s overheating or something.”
“Have you checked your coolant lately?” Russ called out from the backseat.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. My husband usually takes care of all that. I don’t know anything about cars.”
“Well,” I said, trying to muster some sympathy even though I still felt numb inside, “it looks like you’re stuck for a while. Want us to give
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