I believe im under serious spiritual attack I've been betrayed framed blamed falsely accused stolen from attacked hacked and anything u can think of ..but first ill explain a bit about me ..I'm 38 male and I live in Canada ..so looking back I can see that there was many times i was unjustly betrayed and always seemed to happen when I was vulnerable .for some reason I could only fall asleep late and suffered from sleep paralysis since I was little.. looking back this caused alot of problems with everything leading me to not do well in school but always felt like I don't understand I'm a good person I'm socially intelligent and can fix just about anything I always put myself last and remember spending alot of time being more excited about helping ppl get what they want and just overall assisting everyone but myself ..I don't know if this is relevant but moving on I would sometimes pray as a child and this I'll never forget while praying one night a crude immoral thought was almost pushed into my head ..it wasn't anything I was capable of thinking or understanding.it was vile to say the least and directed at someone who was the closest living being to an angel that a human could be ..now later in life I see it for what it was ..anywho fast forward things were normal or what I thought would be normal but as I got older the pressures of maturing and me not having the life skills/opportunitys I would lose jobs i would get fired for bullshit reasons or but mainly cause of my own choices but I came to a point where I found myself isolated and at that time no matter what I did there would be something or someone and I even said to myself ..I swear it's like there's an unseen force manipulating everything shutting every door on me it became more than coincidence and that went on for a year and it caused me to become sad about my situation and one day I was supposed to go to work but the guy never showed up when he volunteered to pick me up ..I needed to work cause I had nothing i had enough I started crying and openly ask God to help me from the deepest part of my heart ..this is where my whole understanding of the world changed ..I felt like I was becoming claustrophobic..and then I heard bells from the churnh down the street but it was so loud it was like the bells were in my room with me ..I felt I had to get up so I went down to the half set of stairs and did a circle in the living room ..and went back up to the room at the top of the stairs I stopped cause I felt something that I could only describe as being near radiation or something ..if uve ever taken a hot to the head that bright purple u see with brightwhitelight almost vibrating me with pins and needles behind me I didn't turn around its like I wasn't suppised to but in a knowing I felt a hand reach out and touch my sholder and i tecieved a msg and i knew who it was ..the msg was clear I may have even spoken it tto myself it said yours is a hard life but you will be ok or something to thst extent. i feel like another msg was inside that msg or that I had to pay special attention to the me part like as in it's I'm set apart or singled out that no one will help me it's my hard life and mine alone but ending the msg with I'll be ok I knew that this being is the final word and he knows exactly what will happen with me and confirmed I'll be ok through anything ...the fuzzy purple warm radiation seemed to back up and out back towards the stars the way he entered ..I was crying I've never cried like that before and I was a bit hysterical to be honest everything came back to normal. this experience changed my life I wrote it down in detail it was 4 pages that eventually went missing like every other document I had .. I pondered the whole day and he was guiding my thoughts through the night I came to a realization that I've had a have demonic interest in me since I was born ..and more importantly that almost everyone has entity's attached to them and also that most people can be forgiven and that I can be forgiven because it's not just us that are guiding our thoughts processes ..I forgave everyone I was shown /reminded of trespasses against me and that I could forgive all the things that stuck with me ..I later learned the things that stuck with me was like a base of operations if u will and instantly gone within a 24 hour period..now I had eyes to see ..but wasn't prepared for wat I saw in the next 48 hours I began hearing voices and they began flashing images of who they were when id close my eyes I'll describe them the best I can ..they were like children but had features of someone who aged like well into adult hood but body's of 10 year olds ..bizarre little evil things but had a way of engaging my attention and always casting doubt at the time all this started many strange things in the physical started happening as well ..ppl were attracted to me they were everywhere like the first day I went outside about 3 days after the initial experience I was just sitting parked in the back this dark skinned male just appears around the fence walks right up to the window and starts talking about what am I doing and he's just been walking all this guy looked frantic and eyes so wide just looking around totally paranoid and more than concerning he pulled out a bag of cocaine and offered me the bag I said no and told him to take care of himself ..and he left and I shortly after.. I stopped for gas on my way to 7 11 and at the gas station I'm just getting myself together to go in and pay and I hear a cpl screaming at the top of there lungs grabbing and slapping each other clawing and decided to walk up 3 ft away and continue this domestic dispute ..I get out of there as fast as I could I make it to 711 and there's a girl standing outside she's really dirty and has no shoes on I walk by her and she follows me in she's skinny with knobby knees like the ones that speak to me ..I look at her she looks at me that same look as the guy that aporoached me 20 minutes earlier frantic and disturbed..I felt bad for both these ppl as they looked like there in the middle of some sort of episode.. ...I knew my life would never be the same .. these things knew I could see them and they hated me for it .. the feed on negative emotion it's a theory of mine that they can show them selves to anyone but if they expose them selves they risk losing their food sources .ppl really would come to God and not sin if they knew the power these things have in this world ..they run this world they really do ..but anyways there's so much more and I believe my story can help someone ..this was 5 years ago I've had ppl break into my house attack me steal everything loved ones betray and hate me with lies totally out of character stuff my brother died because of this I shared everything with him and he actually took up drinking and became the most disrespectful person I've ever seen all within a few months of me sharing everything with him. he's the only one that believed me ..the enemy himself visited me one night of debate out of the 2500 I've experienced since..spoke to me in tongues that I understood I recall what he looks like...he spoke so fast and to be described in a few words ..frantic like he something just happened he couldn't believe and was so enraged fueled by a sense of loss ..surprised rage loss realization ..like if a gambler had his life savings on red and black but it lands on green ..if that makes sense ...so much and under 24 hr prosecution mentally and physically ..

Hey y'all, first time user of this subreddit because I don't typically do fantasy basketball but this opportunity that approached me last year was too good not to take; and I'm in desperate need of advice. Long story short, a person that I trust very much in my life and is well integrated into my family and extended family offered me to play for him in his fantasy league, where the buy in was 5k and "if we win, you can have it all." This hasn't been the first time I've played for him either. I played in the same league a few years ago with the same group of guys.
Skipping past the whole league and its ups and downs; I win it. I had sole control of his account and made every single waiver wire move, trade request/accept/decline, and all of the research involved in a fantasy league. Hours upon hours looking at advanced stats and watching tape. The only thing I didn't do, was draft (but I was on call with him and giving real time advice for who to buy etc etc).
I have receipts of him confirming the buy in amount at the beginning of the league and promising me it would be all mine if I won. Here's a few of the wrenches in the gearbox though:

1. His brother is the commissioner of the league
   
2. They committed the cardinal sin of not collecting the buy in cash at the beginning
   
3. I have no one's contact information except for him and his brother
   
4. There was a redraft because Devin Booker got sold for $1 at auction on accident (more on this later)
   

Because Devin Booker got sold for so cheap, we restarted the draft a week later and, supposedly, the buy in amount changed to an uncertain amount that he didn't tell me about. Sounds like pretty important information to tell the guy thats playing the whole thing for you, right? I was playing the whole year under the guise that the buy in was such a large amount. I asked about confirming the total payout and the buy in amount and got left on delivered when I said:
"What was the buy in amount then lol ? If it got changed half way thru the season I should’ve known"
What is really funny is that he completely ignored it and sent me a happy birthday message a week later. The payout equates for much more than a years worth of wages. I dedicated a lot of time to it that I could have spent studying for university.I can definitely find a way of contacting his brother to find out what is really happening in the league and ask about the buy in amount. But there is the off chance that he also knows what is happening. If push comes to shove I can stalk their instagram accounts and find the other people in the league to ask about what is happening. Obviously I do not want this to go to civil court because most of the money is going to be thrown into lawyers and legal fees.
Please ask for any clarifying questions, I'm sure I missed some details.

I was going to give details without saying that the person I'm speaking of is my husband, but there's just too many things where you (the audience) need to know that he's my (now) husband; and if you think I'm crazy that's fine. I don't give a shit what you think. I already wrestle with myself about my beliefs and my belief in myself. I'm what you call a sensitive. A "Paranormal Sensitive" - I'll leave the link to the article that explains my abilities and what I do at the end. Now before I start, don't take anything I say the wrong way ok? I know my husband isn't the only person who's had a hard life alright? I too have had a rough life starting from my growing up. I'm not stupid....
So let's get started; as I said, my husband hasn't had the easiest life. Ever since he was young, he was made to feel that he was weird or abnormal. He never understood why, but kids, teachers, and even his parents treated him differently than they treated other people. He has an older brother whom is the favorite, for only God knows why. It's not like he'd done anything, from what I know, is unusual. He was a freakin kid!! His parents treated him like he was weird, favorited his older brother, kids picked on him at school, teachers told him and treated him like he was weird and treated him differently than the other students in his classes. So he's been dealing with shit since he was young.
He told me that at eight years old he rejected God and cast Him from his life. I'm assuming and came to the conclusion that he did this at this age because, on top of not having friends, being picked on by not only his peers and other adults, his parents also got divorced. Jumping years later, he's in his late twenties, when he went to prison for - none of your business - and for his safety a few gang members took him under their wing so to speak and he got their name/symbol tattooed on him. Well... the symbol he used to let people know he was protected by them was the star of David. Now you may ask "star of David? Isn't that a good thing?" No. It's not.... I'll put this link below as well, but "The “Star of David” is a seal for the Jewish people. It is not a religious symbol for Judaism, nor should it be. The hexagram has in the west, from biblical times up through the enlightenment, been associated with witchcraft, the occult, and demonology. In most ancient occult usages the hexagram was seen as a portal for dark spirits, energy, or demons. It could only be cast by someone who had given themselves over to darkness/dark forces." And it goes into more detail but this is really all you need to know for my story and what I needed to know to understand.
Another jump to after meeting me and us getting married. For our wedding, we lived in down south, but all of our family was up in northern midwest states. So we rented a mansion on AirBNB and had a few family members and a couple friends stay with us while we were there for a week before our wedding. We wanted to get everything set up and be completely ready before wedding day!! Two nights before the wedding, he, his brother, his sister-in-law, and myself all had drinks and we got a little wasted. Well-deserved with all the work we had been doing to get "wedding ready". So, when he and I were alone, we were out on the balcony and we were talking about "them". He said he wanted to go out to the forest and purge them so he'd be "clean" for the marriage and idk. I honestly don't remember what all he said. He begged me to go with him but it was dark and creepy and I just didn't like the vibe/feeling I was getting from looking out there at the tree-line. So after maybe ten minutes of begging me to go with him and me saying no, he got irritated and went downstairs and I watched as he walked across the land until I couldn't see him anymore, but he wasn't out there for very long, like maybe five minutes, before I saw him walking back. Everything about that night after that is a blur. I don't remember asking him what happened and if I did, I don't remember what he said. I just remember waking up that next morning.
Ironically, I only just learned about the real story behind the star of David for his tattoo a couple nights ago when we were watching a YouTube video and a star popped up and someone thought it was the star of David or a pentagram. We've known each other ten years. It was neither a pentagram nor the star of David, but somehow his tattoo came up in conversation and he started talking about what I'd posted above about the demonology part of it and I had no clue what he was talking about. He looked at me in utter shock and couldn't believe that I didn't know it had a different meaning than what I'd thought; along with most the rest of the world. He tried to tell me, but then started acting weird as he was looking it up to show me what he was talking about. So while I started reading it, he was still talking about how he couldn't believe I still didn't know or how I never knew the story behind it and I kept answering him by saying "how would I?" or "why would I? Why would I know to look it up? I had no reason to" and then he got mad because I wasn't reading it and he's like "I'm trying to tell you!" Now the wedding night also comes up and I try to tell him about when he went into the darkness and tried to get to the treeline to purge them for me; for us. He looked at me and laughed and called me crazy. He doesn't remember this. He told me "I stayed with you on the balcony". When I tried to tell him "no. I literally watched you, anxious and terrified af, walk down and across the lawn to where I couldn't see anymore" and he just kept repeating "I was with you" or "I stayed with you". Now this was just two nights ago.
Also when they come forward (the entities I believe who are possessing him, yes I believe there are more than one; 3 to be exact), his physical features change. Literally! His eyes change and his facial features along with his expressions change. EXPLAIN THAT TO ME!! Tell me how this happens other than the possibility of possession. I know what I see! It's not just one time... it's every time I'm talking to them.
I don't explain things very well so I'm sorry that this is probably all over the place. Just looking for answers and looking for someone that can help me with what I can do next. I'm not finding what I need through the internet.
Links I said I'd post:
https://www.detroitparanormalexpeditions.com/single-post/2018/01/13/being-a-sensitive-in-the-paranormal-world
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Star-of-David-considered-evil

So I think most of you guys saw the theory about Firefly switching to the Astral Express and Sunday joining the Stellaron Hunters. I think this theory is probably true but I want to add more stuff to it.
So currently we only know 5 members of SH, I don't care if they add more people, it wouldn't effect this theory much anyways. And we have 5 Nameless on the train (I'm not counting Pom-Pom cuz fuck you that's why).
If Firefly switchs to express and Sunday joins the SH the number of members wouldn't be equal.
So I think Robin will join the SH with Sunday to not only make the numbers equal but also support her brother, since their wish is the same AND during the flashbacks we learn that Sunday wanted to support Robin's wish, so this time they will reverse the roles and make Robin support Sunday instead. It fits her role as a Harmony character too.
There is another theory that Firefly's 3rd death will be her quitting being SAM, but that would mean she won't have her life support anymore and have her lifespan shortened quite drastically.
So I think the next patches will revolve around the express trying to find a cure to Firefly's condition, aka. Abundance Caelus/Stelle, aka. Deus ex machinations.
We know that we will get a luofu patch this year, it can be the perfect time for us to get an abundance mc, and/or the new March form.
We could also get more story about Hanya and Xueyi, since they suffered quite a bit from the abominations of abundance tying them to the story line.
sorry that I couldn't post images with the post since I'm on mobile with limited time.
Tldr: Sunday, Robin joins SH, Firefly joins the express, Abundance mc and more lore

My fiance (29M) and I (27F) are set to get married in September this year and we keep having a reoccurring, nasty fight about a particular family issue of his.
For context, his stepdad did things to my fiance's older sister between the ages of 11-15. Even though there was a whole court case over it and CPS got involved, he never got in trouble because she couldn’t prove anything. My fiance and his older brothers witnessed it happening, but their mother would not allow them to testify since they were minors. The stepdad also did admit to my fiance’s mother that he had done it, and she blamed the fact that he has autism (which is NOT an excuse and doesn’t cause anyone to do such vile things) and her own daughter for “seducing” him. He was also very physically abusive to my fiance and his other siblings as in he would hit them, throw them around, and straight up beat them. His mother chose to stay married to him because she has decided that she doesn’t believe in divorce (even though she divorced my fiance’s biological dad) and that her husband has “repented” and God “forgave him”. She tells all of their family that her daughter is bipolar, crazy, and tells lies and they all believe her.
I knew about all of this up front before we even started dating. He was very up front and told me everything when we first met, so I guess you could say that I voluntarily walked into this situation. I was initially told that I would never have to meet his stepdad, which is why I decided that I was okay with going forward with dating him. Well, time came to meet his family so he took me to his mom’s house and guess who was there? Stepdad. I confronted him about this and he said that he hadn’t realized how unrealistic it was to never be around him and told me to just ignore him and not talk to him.
So for the first 2 years of our relationship I fell into a routine of going to her house for holidays and such and just ignoring the stepdad. I never spoke to him and I have never looked that man directly in the face. I always pretended that he wasn’t even there. I hated every minute of it. This past year I finally had to put my foot down. His stepdad started trying to insert himself into conversations that I was having with other people and was very insistent to be the one to give me my birthday gift. This raised a lot of red flags to me and I finally told him that I couldn’t keep going over and pretending like everything was normal and fine. I have very strong morals and values around certain issues and I just could not continue to be around a man who had done these things and sit at the holiday dinner table with him pretending that everything was all fine and good. I told him that I would no longer be going to his mom’s house and that any family members who wanted to see me could do so outside of the house.
My fiance reacted to this by telling me that I was being unreasonable to just stop coming around altogether because of the stepdad. He acknowledges that what his stepdad did is sick and evil, but told me that he hadn’t done anything in 10+ years and that I was not in immediate danger because he sits right there and protects me the whole time. I tried to explain that that doesn’t matter to me and that I can’t morally sit and pretend like everything is fine anymore. We had a huge fight over it and he finally gave in.
We ended up having a meeting in person with his mom where we told her that I knew about the stepdad’s history and that I would no longer be coming around the house. She didn’t argue with me, but sort of brushed me off and told me that maybe I’d feel more comfortable around him once I got to know him. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t going to get to know him, but I don’t think she took me seriously at all.
Anyways, I haven’t been to her house in months, not even for the holidays. My fiance and I stopped discussing it, so I thought it was resolved. Well now, 6 months later, apparently all of the sudden his family is complaining about how I never come around and are asking if I hate them. I told my fiance that I already explained to everyone why I wasn’t coming over, so I don’t see why questions are still being asked. He got mad again and brought up the same BS about how since I’m not in danger of having anything happen to me, that it’s ridiculous and unreasonable for me to not come around at all. I have continued to stand my ground and he continues to not understand. I am sick of having the same argument every 6 months.
Honestly, a big part of the problem is that his family sweeps issues under the rug. All of his siblings have been very complacent about the situation and just don’t talk about it. Everyone pretends it didn’t happen and I am the first one to say “hey, this is actually very messed up and not okay at all”. They don’t understand it or take it seriously.
I really worry about having kids with him in the future. I do not want any future children meeting his stepdad, period. I don’t want them in the same building as him ever. He agrees that stepdad shouldn’t interact with them or ever be around them without us there, but he says the same thing about how they wouldn’t be in immediate danger so it would be fine as long as we sat there with them. That is not good enough for me. I don’t want that man to ever even lay an eye on my hypothetical kids and I don’t care whose feelings get hurt.
So, am I actually being unreasonable? What are your thoughts?

Four months out and I’m still quietly furious (and ashamed) of how I (F23) let my ex (M24) treat me.
His worst offenses:

• Told me TO MY FACE that he “didn’t think he could date someone smarter than him.” (I should have walked out then and there.)
  
• Consistently gave little “tips” on how I could be more social, more fun, more confident, while simultaneously making fun of my insecurities/awkwardness (any guy who justifies/defends their hurtful actions instead of apologizing is an asshole. Period).
  
• Would drop significant amounts of money on HIMSELF throughout our relationship but balked any time he had to spend money on dates/me. I always offered to pay for myself on dates. By the end, I realized whatever he did buy/get for me was out of begrudging obligation, not love. Never love.
  
• Made me feel awful on my birthday because I decided to dress up for MYSELF. Took one look at me in my favorite dress and grimaced because I “made him look bad.” (It’s really hard for me to feel beautiful/confident in my body and I was crushed. Also, I had done my best to be the most doting girlfriend ever on HIS birthday, so I stupidly thought he would do the same…)
  

Long story short, we were horribly mismatched, and I’m glad that he broke up with me (in person, at least) now. But it also terrifies me how much my self worth was affected in just 6 months of being together. I came into the dating scene late and I know now how horribly codependent I am (I was raised to never have boundaries or express my needs/negative emotions). It’s an awful, sickening feeling, realizing how easy it was to let him treat me like that. How familiar it felt. It’s so confusing, too, because in the beginning, he was a wonderful boyfriend — when he wanted to be. (Or at least, when other people were looking.)
But the worst part? The thing I keep wrestling with? Somehow, I despite all this, I loved him.
So what does that say about how I see myself?
Everyone, how can I get past this? I want to start dating again, and I KNOW there’s good guys out there, but I’m scared at how bitter and jaded I still feel sometimes… :(

So for some back story, my anchor partner and I are both pretty close to poly-saturated at one, and both have lighter connections with others. (We both acknowledge that hierarchy exists so that we can do our best to be good to our other partners, but we definitely spend the most time and bandwidth on each other.)
Partner is brand new to poly- our relationship is their first experience with it. I’ve been at it for a few years. I am an anxious person, and admittedly have a hard time when Partner starts dating someone new until they settle into a groove. I handle this anxiety myself, by planning my evenings well and keeping busy when Partner is doing this- and I do make sure they know that my anxiety is my own responsibility to deal with, and that I like to know when their dates are (mostly so I don’t worry when they aren’t answering my texts, as we generally communicate quite a bit throughout the day) and for a quick good night text when they are headed to bed.
I like to keep it parallel until metas are established parts of any partner’s life, and then ideally kitchen table eventually. It usually takes me around 6-8 months before this transition feels right.
We’ve recently made it through a very rough patch. Partner was revealing too much to new Meta (they’d been dating about 2 months) about me and my struggles with anxiety, and telling me too much about how Meta was questioning why I’m polyamorous if I have so much anxiety about Partner when they are on dates. The hinging contributed to Meta and I not having particularly favourable feelings towards each other, then an event happened recently where I had an art show where I was featured and Meta decided to show up, despite me being uncomfortable with it, and not yet ready to meet. So I’m still feeling a bit sensitive about that. This whole thing almost split me and Partner up, because I didn’t feel like they were standing up for me, and that they were more focused on Meta’s feelings than mine, when the art show was my show, and actually had no real relevance to Meta.
Fast forward about 2 weeks- my birthday fell midweek this year and I had weekend plans to leave town and celebrate with Partner and a few close friends. Partner tells me on the weekend before that they have date plans on my actual birthday with Meta because that was the only day that worked that week. I realize that I had not specified that I wanted to hang out with them on my birthday, and they asked if it was important to me that we did. It was, and I asked them to spend my birthday with me. So they canceled their date and spent my birthday with me.
Here’s my question: is it unreasonable that this hurt my feelings? It hurt even more that it was with this particular meta.
My mono friends immediately jump to “it should go without saying that Partner spends your bday with you!” and then I feel deeply defensive of Partner. My polyam friends do the “wellllll, you set your bday plans for the weekend, so maybe they just thought that was it.” type of reasoning.
I just feel like we’ve been through SO MUCH recently, that this being yet another problem would break us.
I don’t want to bottle this up just to have it explode later, but I also am hoping that I can just let it go. I think I need advice on how to deal.
(Partner and I are both very Audhd, so keep in mind that we often need very explicit communication.)

Actually, gusto ko lang talaga mag rant kasi masama loob ko. My Family is very including yung Family side ng father ko. So ngayon, nakatira ako sa tita ko ngayon and ilang weeks palang ako dito. I actually don't like the vibe nung nagstart na siya magsalita nung unang apak ko rito. She's mocking other people, she's preaching bible verse, kinukwento niya pati yung manugang niya na napaka gastos daw niya ganyan tas hindi raw niya siya marunong makisama kasi hindi raw ini-include yung asawa niya kapag kakain sila, kinuwento niya pa yung pinaalis niya yung ano kasama niya sa bahay kasi inuubo like wtf. So the more na nagk-kwento siya, the more na na-off ako sa vibe niya. Syempre ako go with the flow kasi gusto ko mag aral. Yes, sumama ako sakanya kasi gusto ko mag aral.
For the background story saakin, tatlong beses akong nag stop na mag aral and may reason naman ako. Yung una, kasi nagkaroon kami ng alitan nung kaibigan ko sa pera kasi nagpapaliwagan kami noon and ako na yung magsasahod kaso hindi niya binigay yung pera ko na nasa 3k+ sana (Actually may utang pa siya saakin na around 1.5k and hindi niya pa binabayaran hanggang ngayon). Malaki laki na iyon for me kasi hindi naman mayaman yung family ko and nangangailangan din ako during that time. Nung 2017 pa iyon nangyare and nasa Junior High palang ako. Ayun nga nag away kami and pinagbantaan niya buhay ko noon. Natatakot ako syempre kasi kasali siya sa mga frat no'n and hina-hire yung gang nila nung government to delete people. Kaya nag drop out ako haha. Gusto ko pa sanang ipagpatuloy noon kaso sobrang natatakot ako sa buhay ko kahit pinipilit ako ng teachers no'n na pumasok. Hindi alam ng side ng Family ko na nangyari eto pero alam ng Lola ko. Kaya kung ano anong kinukwento nila sa ibang relatives namin. Yung pangalawa naman, pandemic na eto and sobrang depress ko that time. Like, 3 years akong depress noon. So nag stop ulit ako kasi hindi ko gusto yung mga classmates and teachers ko noon kasi sobrang toxic nila and mostly pa nung mga naging kaklase ko noon sila yung mga nang bully saakin nung Junior high (nag aral ulit ako and bumalik ako sa old school ko). Actually, pinilit lang ako ng Mama ko na mag aral doon and kapag di raw ako nag enroll d'on sa school na iyon hindi raw niya ako papaaralin. Syempre natakot ako and kahit ayoko, nag enroll ako ron haha. Kaso nag drop out din kasi sobrang na depress ako. And yung pangatlo is nag drop out ako dahil sinunog nung brother ko yung mga modules, project and work sheets ko. Umiyak ako ng malala noon kasi ipapasa ko na iyon ng friday and nawala lahat. Around 2021 to 2022 nung nangyare iyon. Sinunog niya dahil lang maingay yung volume ng pinapanood kong tiktok noon and naiirita siya dahil don. Ayun lang yung reason niya kaya niya nagawa. Sobrang na discourage akong mag aral ulit kaya nag work nalang ako ng ilang years kahit depress ako. Wala akong Senior High diploma kaya nahihirapan akong pumasok sa ibang trabaho. Yes, ayan yung reason kaya sumama ako sa tita ko dito sa Manila kasi gusto kong mag aral and mag work.
Ilang weeks palang ako sa bahay niya pero pinapalitaw na niya yung totoong ugali niya. Nung unang kita ko sakanya napaka nice niya and approachable. Akala ko nga hindi siya strict e kasi sabi niya nung nag video call sila ng mama ko hayaan daw ako matulog. Pero nung nandito na ako nagrereklamo kapag nasosobrahan tulog ko sa hapon. Tapos ang dami niyang bawal. Gumagawa naman ako ng gawaing bahay and dinidiligan naman yung mga halaman niya. Sumusunod naman ako kapag may inuutos siya. Oo, hindi siya madamot sa pagkain pero napaka damot niya sa mga gamit. Like, example, bawal manood ng TV kasi sayang sa kuryente, bawal mag electricfan kapag di siya kasama kasi sayang sa kuryente, bawal gamitin yung basong ganito ganyan kasi ginagamit nila, pati halaman may bawal diligan kasi raw baka lumambot yung stem niya e di naman niya sinabi anong halaman yung bawal diligan and etc. So ayun nga, kahapon medyo di kami nagkasundo and hindi kami nagpapansinan now. Nagstart uminit ulo ko nung tinago niya yung towel na sana gagamitin ko kasi marumi na yung towel ko and nagkaka breakouts ako dahil don. Di ko pa malabhan kasi kakalaba lang namin nung last week e hindi ko siya nasama kasi malinis naman siya noon. So ayun i have no choice but to use that dirty towel. Tapos ayun nga after ko maligo eh di tumambay ako sa sala kasi gusto kong mapag isa para mawala init ng ulo ko. Kaso pinipilit niya ako na sa kwarto nalang kami kasi para iisa nalang electricfan na gagamitin namin, kaso ako parang bingi bingian. Yes oo, binuksan ko yung electricfan kasi mainit. Tas ayon nagalit siya biglang lumipat ng sala and nagsabi sabi tas inagaw yung buong electricfan, hindi nalang ako nagsasalita pero masama loob ko that time kasi inagaw niya yung electricfan and ako sobrang pinagpawisan that time. Pawisin kasi ako kaya gusto ko naka electricfan tsaka siya naman mismo nagsabi saakin nung nag video call sila ni mama na pwede ko naman gamitin electricfan niya buong magdamag. So ayon, kinausap ko mga kaibigan ko na help ako kasi gusto ko ng lumayas. Ayoko rin ugali ng tita ko since napaka homophobic niya, insecure and pinapalo niya yung mga pusa rito tas once a day lang pinapakain. And nagpapatulong ako sakanya na mag apply ng work around QC kasi wala pa akong alam sa place dito and need ko help niya, ayaw naman niya kasi malayo raw. Sinabi niya rin na tutulungan niya ako magtanong sa Munisipyo about sa ALS, kaso di rin natuloy kasi tinatamad siya. So ano pang gagawin ko dito diba? Tapos ngayon nanonood siya ng TV and naka electricfan pa, tas ako bawal gumamit ng electricfan kasi sayang daw sa kuryente ahahhah. Sinabi ko eto sa Mama ko pero sabi lang niya dun daw ako sa may electricfan hayp. Hinahanap ko nga mga pamaypay, tinago rin niya. Hindi ako mamatay sa sama ng loob dito, kung hindi sa heatstroke.
So ayun, balak kong umalis dito and bumalik nalang sa province ko. Kasi andoon mga friends ko and maraming hiring na work sa province. Alam ko namang maraming hiring sa Manila, pero hindi ko naman alam yung mga sasakyan and pupuntahan lalo na lagi lang kaming nakakulong ng bahay tapos bawal pa akong lumabas, kaya babalik nalang akong province. I hope matuloy yung balak ko bukas na lumayas kasi nauumay narin ako sa kaka preach niya ng Bible verse pati sa Religion namin e hindi naman niya ina apply sa sarili niya. Hindi ako religious na tao, kaya nauumay lang ako sa sinasabi nila. Makikituloy muna ako sa kaibigan ko ng isang month lang hanggang makahanap ako ng work. Hindi narin ako uuwi saamin kasi pagod na ako sa ka toxic-an ng pamilya ko. If want niyo ng background story pwede ko namang i-kwento.
Wish me luck, i hope makahanap agad ako ng work and makapag aral ulit ako :>>

I’ve watched the documentary on Peacock but honestly, I haven’t dug incredibly deep into the details of the case like some of you have. I do, however, have personal connections to some parties involved in this case that have helped me develop a theory about Robert’s death.
As a queer person, I’ll say, it is ridiculous to assume that just because Robert had gay friends that he was gay. But what if he was?
Robert came from a traditional Chinese family where things like homosexuality were incredibly frowned upon.
What if Robert was homosexual, and had been hiding it from his family his entire life? Even going to the extent of marrying a woman (who I am sure he still loved and cared about nonetheless).
What if Robert found out he, like so far too many gay men, had contracted HIV? At least two of the men Robert saw that night were HIV+ at the time, what if he had been intimate with any of them in the past? How would he tell his family? What would he tell his wife? He would have to tell her to keep her safe if they were to continue to be intimate. This was more than 6 years before PrEP came out and HIV/AIDS was still considered by many to be a death sentence.
Perhaps Robert felt helpless and wished to end it all. Suicide would is also considered shameful in many cultures and religions. Maybe Robert was worried his wife and family would feel guilty if he were to kill himself.
What if Robert trusted his closest friends to help him with an assisted suicide? What if he came to them out of desperation to help him end his life on his own terms and make it look like a crime as to place the blame on an entity and not cause any suspicious to his sexuality or disease?
Joe’s brother was in school for phlebotomy at the time of the death, and it was confirmed that he skipped class that night. His alibi was only corroborated by two other close friends who could have easily been covering life him.
What if the five men, together, had a premeditated plan to help their friend end his life and had it all planned out. Joe, the lawyer, of course would plan the story down to the fine details and they would go over it many times before cops were ever called. They could have been planning for weeks it months. What if Robert showed up that night knowing it would be his last. What if the men gave him paralyzing drugs and put him in the bathtub where Michael used his phlebotomy skills to drain Roberts blood to reduce the mess/ cover the use of any agents or drugs used in the process. What if they stabbed him and then realized there was a finger print or something on the original knife so they had to fake a second one that was “clean”.
What if they packed up everything with blood and evidence and bagged it up and Michael left the house to dispose if the evidence before the police ever showed up? What f he was the person that was heard/seen using the back door but it was in exit not entrance? What if the remaining three men all took their showers and put on clean robes before calling the police to report the “stabbing”?

Well, my son turned 16, and every year the last five years all he ever asked was for a cat. So he got two cats for his birthday 🥳. Brother and sister. They turn seven months old and Both are getting fixed in two weeks. Wish it was sooner but the vet where I live always is so full it takes months to get pets in if not an emergency.
Anyway, how do we make it not stink?
He paid $300 for a self cleaning litter box because they were so picky that if their box was not clean, they were peeing in my tortoise enclosure. They love their box, and use it well. But boy does that room stink.
It gets raked after each use and poo goes into a compartment. It is completely cleaned out and changed weekly!
We use pretty kitty litter or the kind that came with the Pet Safe litter box. He sprinkles, baking soda in it daily. And there’s airflow to his room. He washes bedding weekly. He does a full sweep and mop weekly.
They eat dry food only. They do steal dry dog food. 🤣🙄
What are we doing wrong? Is it because our male is still intact, or the female? Will this stop once they are fixed. Is the stink always there?
I don’t want my son to turn into one of those people who smell like cat litter when they go out shopping or leave the house. I don’t want people to walk up to my son’s window and smell cat. 🐱
My aunt has two cats and it’s not like this at her house.
-help-
I’m allergic to cats, not to the point that I can’t be around them, but they make me itchy, they make my eyes itch. If I take allergy pills it doesn’t trigger my asthma. So I’ve always been a dog owner. I have no idea how cats work.

Yall, I’ve had this Reddit account for years but never actually used it. While enjoying my insomnia I decided to give it a whirl… and this shit is wild. After reading a ton of posts in this subreddit here are some things I think some of you need to know. (I’ve been with my husband for 10 years)
1.) Date him when you’re fat! - guys… the shear amount of posts where men can’t stand their wives weight and these women feel like they need to maintain the same body they had at 25 is INSANE! I’ve never been happier than I am tonight that my husband met me with a few extra pounds. 😂
2.) Find the unappreciated men! - if you’re looking for dudes who will love you for the long haul find the ones that flew under the radar! My husband is hot as hell, and is only getting better with age. He was a big kid and hit his glow up right before we met. He is humble and kind and women were stupid to pass him by.
3.) Suck it…. On more than his birthday
4.) Trade off on spoon positions! - don’t sleep on the power of being the big spoon! Im 5’4” and my husband is 6’2”. Sure his back is getting most of the love, but he keeps my boobs warm and he loves the change up.
5.) DO NOT LET FAMILY FUCK WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP! - toxic family? Get your shit in order immediately! Communication is key with your partner and boundaries with family. You are each other’s priority. End of story.
6.) Rough times come in waves - You will continue to grow and change because that’s what humans do. Marriage means doing that together and often that comes at different times. Communication is crucial. Patience is a virtue, and sometimes you just gotta be the bigger person.
7.) Have hobbies and friends! - you don’t have to do everything together… seriously. You are still an individual! It’s ok to have your own time and space. My husband loves hiking. I would rather read in a hammock. He goes fishing and I would rather throw some clay. And that’s great! Have one or two things you love to do together, but don’t change everything about yourself to make someone happy. That’s dumb and will only lead to resentment.
8.) Own your sex life! - try new things, sit on his face, stick a finger somewhere… just laugh and enjoy 😉 ladies, I promise you that a true ride or die hubby will not care if your legs aren’t shaved and your thighs could crush a watermelon. Let go of those insecurities that are holding you back!
9.) Talk about kids/responsibilities BEFORE you get married! - I wanted kids, he didn’t. Accept that what your partner is telling you is what they mean! And then decide if they are worth the compromise. If you both want kids you damn sure better talk about childcare, chores, meals, money, etc. BEFORE you push out that bundle of potential divorce.
10.) You only get one life. - Really, just one… so make sure you’re with a person who you can look back in 40 years and think, damn… how lucky am I.

So this was almost 2 months ago now but I just couldn’t figure out how to tell anyone about it. It was the day before my birthday and, as we know, the milestones are hard days after loss. I was walking to a restaurant near my house to meet my parents for lunch and while I walked down the sidewalk I was just missing my brother and wishing there was some way he could send me a sign. I’ve never really believed in a higher power but I always wish that I did. Not believing in any kind of afterlife and being so science and fact oriented about death has been devastating and lonely on many levels. But I was so hoping for anything, missing my brother so badly knowing that I once again would not be getting a FaceTime call from him the next day.
I got to the place we were eating at, we ordered at the walk up window and found a table to sit at. While we were sitting there waiting for our food, a man walked up to the window who made me do a double take. He was dressed exactly like my brother AND the way that he walked and carried himself was identical to my brother. Before I could even process it my mom noticed him and pointed it out too. Message from the universe or complete coincidence, not sure if I really care atp. All I know is that it was ultimately a comfort on a hard day, even if it made me sob as soon as I got back home.
Thanks for listening to my rambling if you got this far, just had to share it with people who can understand.

I look at society and everything outside of maybe politics seems to be going in the wrong direction (and even that is 50/50). I hate modern music, modern movies aren't evolving fast enough my tastes, gaming is a stagnat ditch of digital crap. And don't even get me started on beauty trends and how it makes finding someone even more difficult than it is for people like us.
Family life isn't much better. I love my parents but they make liking them extremely difficult. Mom's hypercritical about everything I do and dad turns everything I say into a fucking argument. On top of that my mom thinks my brother is sabatgoing her and her boyfriend despite the fact that he lives 400 miles away.
I want to do more activities with my two closest friends but they are both disabled. One lost half his eyesight in one eye due to a freak accident the other has Cron's that got really bad and long story short he got stuck with a colostomy bag and the doctors keep giving him false hope about being put back together. As such they can't do much with me except go to the movies.
I have no reason to believe society is going to improve and I'm already on as much medication as I can be. I don't see any path forward that doesn't involve me slowly rotting on this rock until my body gives out.

CANCER ZODIAC TAROT READING - UNEXPECTED INCOME MAY 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ5mIkLhCyY
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an origin story for the Mario brothers. Here's a quick synopsis:

• Mario and Luigi, Brooklyn plumbers, get sucked through a mysterious pipe while on the job.
• They end up in the colorful Mushroom Kingdom, a world filled with fantastical creatures.
• The brothers get separated and Mario teams up with Princess Peach and Toad to find Luigi.
• Meanwhile, the villainous Bowser, king of the Koopas, is wreaking havoc.
• Mario must navigate this new world, rescue his brother, and stop Bowser from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Click here to stream the Super Mario movie for free

"A family is left in mourning as twenty-one-year-old Natalie Rose was found dead over the weekend," the TV blared into the room, "seemingly attacked by some sort of wild animal as she sat in her tent on what was meant to be a relaxing camping trip alone. Natalie's parents have requested privacy at this time, but they appreciate the condolences they have received. In other news-" Roman grabbed the remote from me and shut off the TV.
"Hey, I was watching that!" I said as I flipped him off from across the room. "Bullshit, you're on your phone," he chuckled, fixing his hair up in the mirror. "Okay, well, I was listening. I like to have background noise, dickhead," I replied, watching him in the reflection, his focus clearly not on this important conversation.
"Where are you going all dressed up?" I interrogated him. "Morgan and I are having our engagement party, but we've got to be there early to sort out seating."
"You're having your engagement party and you didn't invite your own brother?" I questioned him, offended at the audacity this man had. "I did invite you, dipshit. You told me you had a date with Katie tonight."
The realisation hit me like a punch to the gut. I'd completely forgotten about my movie date with Katie. With a surge of panic, I leaped from my seat, heart pounding, and scrambled to get dressed. Every second felt like an eternity as I cursed my forgetfulness. Then, I heard Roman's car start outside. Without a second thought, I sprinted out the door and down the driveway. Knocking on his window, I pleaded for a ride.
The soft hum of the road and the whirring of the engine filled the car as we silently moved through the night. Staring out the window at the blur of trees, I thought about how I would apologise to Katie. Roman reached for the radio, and a Trace Adkins song began playing. Seeing this as the perfect time to start a conversation, I spoke up, "So, are Katie and I coming to the wedding?" I asked, grinning. Roman let out a deep sigh as he turned off the music. "If Katie doesn't plan a date night on the same day, then yes," he replied.
Silence filled the car as we drove along the empty road. The vast woods surrounding us created an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the winter darkness cloaking the night sky above. Yet, for Roman and me, who had grown up in this land, these woods evoked nostalgic memories of our childhood adventures. While for others, it might be an unsettling glimpse into the barrier separating civilization from the unknown, for us, it was a comforting window back into our past.
When Roman bought the land we had grown up on after our parents passed, I was probably more excited than I should've been, considering I had just lost my mum and dad in a tragic carbon monoxide leak. But my relief at not having to leave this place was immense.
We eventually reached an area where the city lights were visible in the distance. I noticed Roman yawn as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. "You're gonna have to tell me where to go, I can't remember where Katie lives," he stated as he changed gears and prepared to enter the busy traffic, a stark contrast to the remote rural road we were about to vacate.
“Just take a left up h-" I began, but was interrupted as a white blur ran in front of the car, causing Roman to slam on the brakes and swerve. I grabbed onto the side of the door as we spun out of control, the screeching of the tires filling my ears, jolting me out of the relaxed state I had been in due to the many miles of quiet driving.
We eventually came to a stop, now facing the opposite direction, gazing down the endless stretch of desolate road we had just traversed. Roman calmly checked all his mirrors for whatever he nearly hit but failed to see anything through the dust he had stirred up in the spinout.
“You all good?” he asked, a relieved smile creeping up his face, a deep breath escaping his lungs.
“Yeah, what was that?” I asked as Roman started reversing, then turned the car back towards the busy city street about a kilometre away and began driving. I looked over to him, expecting an answer to my question, but didn't receive one. His brow was furrowed in an uncertain expression, clearly lost in thought, like he was trying to remember if he locked the front door.
“Roman?” I said, causing him to blink a couple of times.
“I don't know what it was," Roman answered, not breaking his intense stare at the asphalt in front of us as we drove along, approaching the main road. “Probably just a sheep, there's a few acres of farmland behind these trees,” he continued.
As we approached the intersection, Roman flicked his left indicator on before turning onto the main road. “Okay, now take the next right,” I said, feeling the weird atmosphere in the vehicle slowly dissipating. After a few more turns, Roman said that he knew the way from here and turned the radio back on, which cut the remaining tension that I could tell we were both feeling.
The chilly winter night was starting to bite at my skin, and I cursed myself for forgetting a jacket in my hurry. I swivelled my head around to see the backseat. “What are you looking for?” Roman asked, finally looking in my direction as he turned the music down slightly.
“Uh, do you have a jacket I can borrow? I didn't realise it was gonna be this cold,” I sheepishly admitted.
“Hold the wheel,” Roman told me as he reached around behind him, shifting around his hiking gear that he hadn't taken out since his camping trip with Morgan last month.
Eventually, he pulled out his gym hoodie and threw it on my lap. “This is all I got,” he grunted as he readjusted himself in his seat and took hold of the steering wheel again. When we pulled into Katie's driveway, I pulled the hoodie over my head and hopped out of the car into the brisk night air, my breath visible in the cold. “I'll pick you up around 11:30.” Roman shouted out the window as I pulled the hoodie the rest of the way down and waved to Roman as he drove away, beeping his horn as he left me in the chilling winter breeze.
I knocked on the door, checking the time to see that it was 7:37, only a few minutes late. As I waited in the dark, a surprisingly chipper Katie opened the door, hugging me and dragging me inside. “You didn't miss much,” she whispered as we stumbled through the house that had all of its lights off. “Why do you smell like your brother?” she asked, shooting me a dirty look before grabbing a handful of the hoodie and sniffing it. All I could do was shrug and grin, “I forgot how cold it gets in the winter time, he let me borrow it.” She rolled her eyes, and we sat down next to a bunch of her friends and her parents, who all whispered their hellos in the soft glow of the TV.
Around 11:18 pm when the movie was long since finished, Katie's parents said goodnight and headed off to bed, and a few of Katie's friends who had been visiting said goodbye and drove home. I got up to get some water from the kitchen, and as I walked back, I stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room, which was dark, only lit by the TV. This allowed me to see Katie frozen, staring towards the window, which was out of my direct line of sight.
Confused, I peeked my head out of the doorway and looked toward the window. I froze and dropped my glass; luckily, it landed on the carpet and didn't make much noise, and the tall, pale creature standing an inch from the window didn't notice. The creature was foul, a gaunt, lanky humanoid. Well, at least the head was humanoid; the body and limbs were almost ape-like, with long, disproportionate arms and less exaggerated legs. The creature's whole body was covered in grey skin stretched tightly over its abnormally long bones. It had no hair anywhere. Its mouth was strangely wide, stretching around to where its ears would be if it had them, and its eyes were just sunken, inky black pits in its head. But I could tell it was staring daggers at Katie, who had tears rolling down her face. She slowly turned her head to look at me, shaking and breathing quickly. I had never felt so powerless. I was supposed to protect her, and I would. I would die to protect her, but I had no idea how to shield her from whatever this thing was.
Then I had an idea. I looked to the light switch panel to my left. I knew one of them was the porch light, but there were three others: the living room light, the kitchen light, and the hall light. If I pressed the wrong light, I didn't know what the thing would do, but I had to try. I had to remember which light Katie's dad used to turn the porch light on when he goes out for a smoke.
I reached for the light second from the bottom and flicked the switch. The hall light turned on. Luckily, the hall was on the opposite side of the kitchen from where the living room was, and it was out of view for the creature at the window. But I couldn't mess up again. If the kitchen light turned on, the creature would see me, and if the living room light turned on, it might cause it to attack Katie. I looked back at the creature, which was using one of its hands to scratch the window as it sniffed around. I had to do something.
I reached for the bottom light switch and flicked it; the porch light turned on. The creature spun around to face it and let out a screech that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I ran to Katie and grabbed her, dragging her off the side of the couch where there was about a metre gap between the armrest of the couch and the wall.
The sound of the window smashing filled the house, and Katie cried into my shoulder. I couldn't see anything; it was pitch darkness besides the slight blue glare from the TV on the wall above us. But I could hear raspy breathing and bones cracking as the thing searched the living room. I heard it sniffing the couch where Katie was sitting, and I heard it make its way closer to the end of the couch, one of its hands pressed on the wall above us. I saw the silhouette of its head begin to peak over the side of the couch, but suddenly the light turned on, and Katie's dad yelled as he saw us from the kitchen while he was holding a shotgun.
The creature ran at him but fell to the ground as a loud shot rang out in the night, leaving only the sound of our combined breathing and Katie's soft sobs. I watched intently as the body lying between Katie's dad and me moved around on the floor, before slamming its hand down, then the other, and pushing itself to its feet.
Katie's dad reloaded his shotgun, but it was too late. The creature grabbed the poor man by his leg and pulled it out from under him, causing him to shoot the ceiling. I grabbed Katie and dragged her upstairs as the creature began tearing into her father. She cried and screamed, begging me to help him, but what could I do? Whatever that thing was, it just took a shotgun blast to the chest and brushed it off.
I locked us in her upstairs bathroom as the creature's loud and hurried footsteps made their way towards us. Katie was crying loudly now, insisting that we were going to die. Honestly, not a super helpful contribution, but I can't blame her.
As the creature began crashing against the door, pieces of wood started to splinter off. I shoved Katie into the tub, and then lay on top of her. Hopefully, my body would be enough to shield her from this thing. Time slowed down as the door exploded inward. I looked at the girl I loved, makeup running down her face, pieces of door in her hair, mouth wide open as she let out the most ear splitting scream. For some reason, I felt no fear. Even as the monster began tearing at my clothes and clawing at my flesh, I felt strangely calm.
Eventually, the creature grabbed me, swinging me around by my hoodie, slamming me into every wall and surface in the room. I fell to the ground as the hoodie ripped off, and the creature just stared at me, then the hoodie in its hand, then back at me. I stared back, utterly confused, as it leaned over and sniffed my entire body from head to toe. It looked as puzzled as I felt for a moment before I heard Roman's car pull up outside.
The creature screeched as it sprinted out the door, slamming into the hallway wall in its haste. "NO!" I shouted, leaving my still-shaking girlfriend in the tub as I chased the monster out of the house. Somehow, I caught up to the creature and grabbed onto it, bringing it to the ground below. The thing managed to get on top of me, biting and clawing at my arms and hands as I shielded my face.
Before I knew it, Roman came out of nowhere, tackling the creature off me, yelling for me to run. The creature, sleek and deadly, wasted no time in retaliating against Roman's attack. With a primal growl, it lunged at him, its claws slicing through the air like daggers.
Roman had a size advantage that I didn't have, and managed to hold his own for a few seconds as he wrestled with the beast. He'd always been as strong as a bull for as long as I can remember, tall with powerful hands and massive arms and shoulders. But I couldn't risk watching my brother, as strong as he may be, get killed by this… whatever it is.
With strength I didn't know I had, I grabbed the back of Roman's expensive shirt and pulled him out of the way of a fatal blow to the head, throwing him towards the car before I lunged at the creature and went feral. I don't know what came over me; I started swinging on the creature as we tumbled around in the muddy grass. Just when I thought I was actually winning, the creature managed to get its legs between us and kicked me off, then swung its clawed hand at my stomach, ripping it right open.
I collapsed to the ground as my body tried to comprehend what had just happened. My eyes narrowed as everything was drowned out. I watched the silent scene play out before me, my heartbeat pounding in my head.
The creature charged at Roman, who leaped to grab his car's back door handle just as the creature snagged his foot. It yanked at his leg, but Roman clung onto his car door tightly. The creature persisted in pulling as Roman struggled to reach for something in his hiking gear stored in the back seat.
With an agonising yell, Roman's leg gave a sickening snap. Despite the pain, he finally retrieved what he was searching for. Releasing the car door, Roman watched as the creature stumbled backward. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly climbed on top of it, brandishing his trusty hunting knife from his camping trips.
As Roman wrestled with the creature, the air was filled with grunts and snarls. He plunged the hunting knife into the creature's body, eliciting a guttural howl of pain. The creature thrashed wildly, but Roman held on grimly, his determination unwavering.
With each strike, Roman's movements became more frenzied, fueled by adrenaline and the need to protect us. The creature's attempts to retaliate grew weaker as Roman's blows found their mark. With a final decisive thrust, Roman delivered the fatal blow, and the creature slumped to the ground, defeated.
Breathing heavily, Roman collapsed beside the creature, his body trembling with exhaustion and relief. I rushed to his side, concern evident in my voice. "Natalie-" he faintly murmured.
"Who? Who's Natalie?" I asked, my confusion growing.
Suddenly, the creature jolted up, its movements abrupt and startling. Without warning, it lunged at me, seizing me by the throat and hurling me against the car.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the creature sprinting towards me. In that moment, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body, as if something within me was shifting. I glanced down at my hands and watched in horror as they contorted and turned a sickly shade of grey. Long claws protruded from my fingers, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light.
As my bones cracked and deformed under the strain of this inexplicable transformation, a sudden surge of anger and ferocity overwhelmed my senses. It was as though a primal instinct had taken hold of me, consuming my entire being in its relentless grip. With each passing moment, the world around me faded into darkness until finally, I lost consciousness, my mind consumed by the terrifying reality of what I had become.
I awoke hours later in the back seat of Roman's car. The hum of the road and the whirring of the engine attempted to lull me back to sleep, but I sat up, rubbing my head as the memories flooded back. "What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse and strained.
Roman responded with silence, a familiar reaction from him, but this time, it sent a shiver down my spine. As I looked at my arms, then my stomach, and felt around my whole body, I realised the wounds and deep gashes caused by the creature were all gone, as if I had never been attacked.
I caught Roman's gaze in the mirror, but he quickly averted his eyes. That's when I noticed Katie in the passenger seat, her tear-stained face betraying her silent anguish. It was clear she wanted to say something, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Roman had warned her against it.
"What do you know about this place?" Roman asked sternly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We've lived here all our lives, Roman," I replied, confusion evident in my tone. "What do you mean?”
Roman pressed down on the brakes, bringing us to a sudden stop. I noticed a pained expression flit across his face in the mirror, a fleeting moment of vulnerability that he quickly tried to conceal.
"Your leg!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with concern as I recalled the events from earlier.
"It was a dislocated hip. I fixed it," he replied bluntly, his tone revealing little about the ordeal he must have endured.
"This isn't real, Jason. None of this is real. You are not real!" Roman's voice was sharp, refusing to meet my eyes in the reflection.
"Back at Katie's house, I remembered everything the moment I looked into that creature's eyes. I remembered... I remembered Natalie," he said, his words catching in his throat, revealing the first hint of emotion I'd seen from him.
I watched as a tear rolled down Katie's face. I reached to put a hand on her shoulder but stopped myself.
"Roman got me to remember," Katie said, her voice trembling. "I remembered the emergency alert, and when those things broke down our doors. I watched as they dragged my parents out, then my baby brother, then me. I woke up in this fake world, in a family that isn't even mine, dating a boy who turns out to be one of the monsters who brought me here." She spluttered, and I began to cry silently as I realised what she was saying.
Roman eventually started driving again, occasionally getting a call from Morgan, but after the fifth call he threw his phone out the window. We drove until I fell asleep. I don't remember what I dreamed about, but it was peaceful. I think I was in that forest with Roman. We were children again, playing around in the trees, finding cool sticks and exploring the endless expanse of what felt like a fairytale, which I guess it was.
I was awoken by the abrupt sound of Roman's car door slamming. I looked outside and saw that it was daytime again. Trying to figure out where we had stopped, I noticed a giant sign that said “Library.” I hopped out of the car and jogged to catch up to Roman and Katie.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, clearly still being avoided. It was understandable, but it still hurt.
“I need to wake everyone up,” Roman said as we walked in and approached a computer.
I noticed we were getting odd stares from everyone as we walked by, which is when I also noticed that I looked like I had just come out the other side of a paper shredder. My clothes were all torn up with bits missing, apparently not possessing the magic healing ability that I do. The sound of Roman typing snapped me out of my self-conscious thoughts and redirected me to the computer screen.
"I'm going to be a while, guys," Roman said as he began writing out his story. "I need to tell the whole thing from the beginning. Go find a book or something.”
I looked over to Katie, her face void of expression, but a great sadness filled her now dry eyes, having cried all the tears she had. “Why don't you just wake up?” I asked, probably coming across as more insensitive than I intended.
“I've got nothing to go back to. Roman told me what the world is like back there. If my family is here, I have to find them and wake them up first,” she responded, finally meeting my eye.
I wanted to hug her so bad, but I knew she didn't love me anymore. She probably had a real boyfriend in the real world.
Hours went by as Katie and I found a place to sit and wait in silence, watching Roman. He looked funny in the little library chair, hunched over the computer. Such a big guy looked out of place here, his muscular presence overpowering that of the rest of the library's patrons, who were all either very old or very young.
I hate to admit I fell asleep, but I'm just telling the story how it was. I was awoken suddenly by sirens and shouts. “We have got you surrounded, come out with your hands up or we will come in and show you no mercy,” a man's voice yelled from outside through a speaker. I looked over to Roman, who was limping over to us as all the customers flooded out the exits.
“Get up, we need to leave. They've turned the law against us,” Roman ordered. Katie and I listened and followed him.
We made our way upstairs into the empty employee lounge, and Roman opened a window... with his elbow. “They've got every exit covered but this one. We need to jump,” he calmly told us. He stood up in the window frame, kicked off some of the remaining glass with his boots, and jumped to the roof of the single-story building below, wincing in pain as he landed on his bad leg.
That's when six armed officers kicked down the door and opened fire on Katie and me. I moved to block the bullets from hitting Katie, taking several hits to the head and back. I then pushed Katie through the window, and Roman caught her before I jumped out myself and followed.
We ran from rooftop to rooftop until we reached a ladder that led down into an alleyway, where we attempted to catch our breaths. Roman and Katie watched me intently as the bullets lodged in my body began to work their way back out, the wounds closing up after. My skin color shifted a little, and I felt a rattle leave my throat as a cold sweat came over me.
“Hey, control yourself,” Roman told me sternly. I nodded, struggling to remain composed.
“Did you finish the story?” Katie asked Roman.
“Yeah, I kind of had to rush the last part, but I got the message across,” he replied, slumping to the ground behind a dumpster, exhausted.
“What now?” I asked.
Roman looked at me, panting. “I'm gonna help Katie find her family, then I'm going back to Natalie,” he said between heavy breaths.
“What about Morgan?” I questioned, causing him to look down at his feet. “I don't even know her in the real world, and I would never have chosen to be with her. This place… it's like it wrote me a life that was least likely to let me remember who I am. The girl I'm engaged to is the complete opposite of Natalie. I've got a brother who lives with me, my parents are dead. There's literally nothing here to remind me of home, bro,” Roman said, shedding a couple of tears.
We waited in the alley until night, hearing sirens go back and forth every now and then. When Roman said we were in the clear, we made our way back to the car and started driving again. I noticed Roman's eyes fluttering after about an hour, and I told him I'd be happy to drive if he needed to sleep. I could tell that his ego didn't want to admit he was exhausted, and he also still didn't trust me, but he gave in and pulled over, falling asleep in the back seat as I drove off into the night.

"A family is left in mourning as twenty-one-year-old Natalie Rose was found dead over the weekend," the TV blared into the room, "seemingly attacked by some sort of wild animal as she sat in her tent on what was meant to be a relaxing camping trip alone. Natalie's parents have requested privacy at this time, but they appreciate the condolences they have received. In other news-" Roman grabbed the remote from me and shut off the TV.
"Hey, I was watching that!" I said as I flipped him off from across the room. "Bullshit, you're on your phone," he chuckled, fixing his hair up in the mirror. "Okay, well, I was listening. I like to have background noise, dickhead," I replied, watching him in the reflection, his focus clearly not on this important conversation.
"Where are you going all dressed up?" I interrogated him. "Morgan and I are having our engagement party, but we've got to be there early to sort out seating."
"You're having your engagement party and you didn't invite your own brother?" I questioned him, offended at the audacity this man had. "I did invite you, dipshit. You told me you had a date with Katie tonight."
The realisation hit me like a punch to the gut. I'd completely forgotten about my movie date with Katie. With a surge of panic, I leaped from my seat, heart pounding, and scrambled to get dressed. Every second felt like an eternity as I cursed my forgetfulness. Then, I heard Roman's car start outside. Without a second thought, I sprinted out the door and down the driveway. Knocking on his window, I pleaded for a ride.
The soft hum of the road and the whirring of the engine filled the car as we silently moved through the night. Staring out the window at the blur of trees, I thought about how I would apologise to Katie. Roman reached for the radio, and a Trace Adkins song began playing. Seeing this as the perfect time to start a conversation, I spoke up, "So, are Katie and I coming to the wedding?" I asked, grinning. Roman let out a deep sigh as he turned off the music. "If Katie doesn't plan a date night on the same day, then yes," he replied.
Silence filled the car as we drove along the empty road. The vast woods surrounding us created an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the winter darkness cloaking the night sky above. Yet, for Roman and me, who had grown up in this land, these woods evoked nostalgic memories of our childhood adventures. While for others, it might be an unsettling glimpse into the barrier separating civilization from the unknown, for us, it was a comforting window back into our past.
When Roman bought the land we had grown up on after our parents passed, I was probably more excited than I should've been, considering I had just lost my mum and dad in a tragic carbon monoxide leak. But my relief at not having to leave this place was immense.
We eventually reached an area where the city lights were visible in the distance. I noticed Roman yawn as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. "You're gonna have to tell me where to go, I can't remember where Katie lives," he stated as he changed gears and prepared to enter the busy traffic, a stark contrast to the remote rural road we were about to vacate.
“Just take a left up h-" I began, but was interrupted as a white blur ran in front of the car, causing Roman to slam on the brakes and swerve. I grabbed onto the side of the door as we spun out of control, the screeching of the tires filling my ears, jolting me out of the relaxed state I had been in due to the many miles of quiet driving.
We eventually came to a stop, now facing the opposite direction, gazing down the endless stretch of desolate road we had just traversed. Roman calmly checked all his mirrors for whatever he nearly hit but failed to see anything through the dust he had stirred up in the spinout.
“You all good?” he asked, a relieved smile creeping up his face, a deep breath escaping his lungs.
“Yeah, what was that?” I asked as Roman started reversing, then turned the car back towards the busy city street about a kilometre away and began driving. I looked over to him, expecting an answer to my question, but didn't receive one. His brow was furrowed in an uncertain expression, clearly lost in thought, like he was trying to remember if he locked the front door.
“Roman?” I said, causing him to blink a couple of times.
“I don't know what it was," Roman answered, not breaking his intense stare at the asphalt in front of us as we drove along, approaching the main road. “Probably just a sheep, there's a few acres of farmland behind these trees,” he continued.
As we approached the intersection, Roman flicked his left indicator on before turning onto the main road. “Okay, now take the next right,” I said, feeling the weird atmosphere in the vehicle slowly dissipating. After a few more turns, Roman said that he knew the way from here and turned the radio back on, which cut the remaining tension that I could tell we were both feeling.
The chilly winter night was starting to bite at my skin, and I cursed myself for forgetting a jacket in my hurry. I swivelled my head around to see the backseat. “What are you looking for?” Roman asked, finally looking in my direction as he turned the music down slightly.
“Uh, do you have a jacket I can borrow? I didn't realise it was gonna be this cold,” I sheepishly admitted.
“Hold the wheel,” Roman told me as he reached around behind him, shifting around his hiking gear that he hadn't taken out since his camping trip with Morgan last month.
Eventually, he pulled out his gym hoodie and threw it on my lap. “This is all I got,” he grunted as he readjusted himself in his seat and took hold of the steering wheel again. When we pulled into Katie's driveway, I pulled the hoodie over my head and hopped out of the car into the brisk night air, my breath visible in the cold. “I'll pick you up around 11:30.” Roman shouted out the window as I pulled the hoodie the rest of the way down and waved to Roman as he drove away, beeping his horn as he left me in the chilling winter breeze.
I knocked on the door, checking the time to see that it was 7:37, only a few minutes late. As I waited in the dark, a surprisingly chipper Katie opened the door, hugging me and dragging me inside. “You didn't miss much,” she whispered as we stumbled through the house that had all of its lights off. “Why do you smell like your brother?” she asked, shooting me a dirty look before grabbing a handful of the hoodie and sniffing it. All I could do was shrug and grin, “I forgot how cold it gets in the winter time, he let me borrow it.” She rolled her eyes, and we sat down next to a bunch of her friends and her parents, who all whispered their hellos in the soft glow of the TV.
Around 11:18 pm when the movie was long since finished, Katie's parents said goodnight and headed off to bed, and a few of Katie's friends who had been visiting said goodbye and drove home. I got up to get some water from the kitchen, and as I walked back, I stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room, which was dark, only lit by the TV. This allowed me to see Katie frozen, staring towards the window, which was out of my direct line of sight.
Confused, I peeked my head out of the doorway and looked toward the window. I froze and dropped my glass; luckily, it landed on the carpet and didn't make much noise, and the tall, pale creature standing an inch from the window didn't notice. The creature was foul, a gaunt, lanky humanoid. Well, at least the head was humanoid; the body and limbs were almost ape-like, with long, disproportionate arms and less exaggerated legs. The creature's whole body was covered in grey skin stretched tightly over its abnormally long bones. It had no hair anywhere. Its mouth was strangely wide, stretching around to where its ears would be if it had them, and its eyes were just sunken, inky black pits in its head. But I could tell it was staring daggers at Katie, who had tears rolling down her face. She slowly turned her head to look at me, shaking and breathing quickly. I had never felt so powerless. I was supposed to protect her, and I would. I would die to protect her, but I had no idea how to shield her from whatever this thing was.
Then I had an idea. I looked to the light switch panel to my left. I knew one of them was the porch light, but there were three others: the living room light, the kitchen light, and the hall light. If I pressed the wrong light, I didn't know what the thing would do, but I had to try. I had to remember which light Katie's dad used to turn the porch light on when he goes out for a smoke.
I reached for the light second from the bottom and flicked the switch. The hall light turned on. Luckily, the hall was on the opposite side of the kitchen from where the living room was, and it was out of view for the creature at the window. But I couldn't mess up again. If the kitchen light turned on, the creature would see me, and if the living room light turned on, it might cause it to attack Katie. I looked back at the creature, which was using one of its hands to scratch the window as it sniffed around. I had to do something.
I reached for the bottom light switch and flicked it; the porch light turned on. The creature spun around to face it and let out a screech that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I ran to Katie and grabbed her, dragging her off the side of the couch where there was about a metre gap between the armrest of the couch and the wall.
The sound of the window smashing filled the house, and Katie cried into my shoulder. I couldn't see anything; it was pitch darkness besides the slight blue glare from the TV on the wall above us. But I could hear raspy breathing and bones cracking as the thing searched the living room. I heard it sniffing the couch where Katie was sitting, and I heard it make its way closer to the end of the couch, one of its hands pressed on the wall above us. I saw the silhouette of its head begin to peak over the side of the couch, but suddenly the light turned on, and Katie's dad yelled as he saw us from the kitchen while he was holding a shotgun.
The creature ran at him but fell to the ground as a loud shot rang out in the night, leaving only the sound of our combined breathing and Katie's soft sobs. I watched intently as the body lying between Katie's dad and me moved around on the floor, before slamming its hand down, then the other, and pushing itself to its feet.
Katie's dad reloaded his shotgun, but it was too late. The creature grabbed the poor man by his leg and pulled it out from under him, causing him to shoot the ceiling. I grabbed Katie and dragged her upstairs as the creature began tearing into her father. She cried and screamed, begging me to help him, but what could I do? Whatever that thing was, it just took a shotgun blast to the chest and brushed it off.
I locked us in her upstairs bathroom as the creature's loud and hurried footsteps made their way towards us. Katie was crying loudly now, insisting that we were going to die. Honestly, not a super helpful contribution, but I can't blame her.
As the creature began crashing against the door, pieces of wood started to splinter off. I shoved Katie into the tub, and then lay on top of her. Hopefully, my body would be enough to shield her from this thing. Time slowed down as the door exploded inward. I looked at the girl I loved, makeup running down her face, pieces of door in her hair, mouth wide open as she let out the most ear splitting scream. For some reason, I felt no fear. Even as the monster began tearing at my clothes and clawing at my flesh, I felt strangely calm.
Eventually, the creature grabbed me, swinging me around by my hoodie, slamming me into every wall and surface in the room. I fell to the ground as the hoodie ripped off, and the creature just stared at me, then the hoodie in its hand, then back at me. I stared back, utterly confused, as it leaned over and sniffed my entire body from head to toe. It looked as puzzled as I felt for a moment before I heard Roman's car pull up outside.
The creature screeched as it sprinted out the door, slamming into the hallway wall in its haste. "NO!" I shouted, leaving my still-shaking girlfriend in the tub as I chased the monster out of the house. Somehow, I caught up to the creature and grabbed onto it, bringing it to the ground below. The thing managed to get on top of me, biting and clawing at my arms and hands as I shielded my face.
Before I knew it, Roman came out of nowhere, tackling the creature off me, yelling for me to run. The creature, sleek and deadly, wasted no time in retaliating against Roman's attack. With a primal growl, it lunged at him, its claws slicing through the air like daggers.
Roman had a size advantage that I didn't have, and managed to hold his own for a few seconds as he wrestled with the beast. He'd always been as strong as a bull for as long as I can remember, tall with powerful hands and massive arms and shoulders. But I couldn't risk watching my brother, as strong as he may be, get killed by this… whatever it is.
With strength I didn't know I had, I grabbed the back of Roman's expensive shirt and pulled him out of the way of a fatal blow to the head, throwing him towards the car before I lunged at the creature and went feral. I don't know what came over me; I started swinging on the creature as we tumbled around in the muddy grass. Just when I thought I was actually winning, the creature managed to get its legs between us and kicked me off, then swung its clawed hand at my stomach, ripping it right open.
I collapsed to the ground as my body tried to comprehend what had just happened. My eyes narrowed as everything was drowned out. I watched the silent scene play out before me, my heartbeat pounding in my head.
The creature charged at Roman, who leaped to grab his car's back door handle just as the creature snagged his foot. It yanked at his leg, but Roman clung onto his car door tightly. The creature persisted in pulling as Roman struggled to reach for something in his hiking gear stored in the back seat.
With an agonising yell, Roman's leg gave a sickening snap. Despite the pain, he finally retrieved what he was searching for. Releasing the car door, Roman watched as the creature stumbled backward. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly climbed on top of it, brandishing his trusty hunting knife from his camping trips.
As Roman wrestled with the creature, the air was filled with grunts and snarls. He plunged the hunting knife into the creature's body, eliciting a guttural howl of pain. The creature thrashed wildly, but Roman held on grimly, his determination unwavering.
With each strike, Roman's movements became more frenzied, fueled by adrenaline and the need to protect us. The creature's attempts to retaliate grew weaker as Roman's blows found their mark. With a final decisive thrust, Roman delivered the fatal blow, and the creature slumped to the ground, defeated.
Breathing heavily, Roman collapsed beside the creature, his body trembling with exhaustion and relief. I rushed to his side, concern evident in my voice. "Natalie-" he faintly murmured.
"Who? Who's Natalie?" I asked, my confusion growing.
Suddenly, the creature jolted up, its movements abrupt and startling. Without warning, it lunged at me, seizing me by the throat and hurling me against the car.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the creature sprinting towards me. In that moment, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body, as if something within me was shifting. I glanced down at my hands and watched in horror as they contorted and turned a sickly shade of grey. Long claws protruded from my fingers, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light.
As my bones cracked and deformed under the strain of this inexplicable transformation, a sudden surge of anger and ferocity overwhelmed my senses. It was as though a primal instinct had taken hold of me, consuming my entire being in its relentless grip. With each passing moment, the world around me faded into darkness until finally, I lost consciousness, my mind consumed by the terrifying reality of what I had become.
I awoke hours later in the back seat of Roman's car. The hum of the road and the whirring of the engine attempted to lull me back to sleep, but I sat up, rubbing my head as the memories flooded back. "What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse and strained.
Roman responded with silence, a familiar reaction from him, but this time, it sent a shiver down my spine. As I looked at my arms, then my stomach, and felt around my whole body, I realised the wounds and deep gashes caused by the creature were all gone, as if I had never been attacked.
I caught Roman's gaze in the mirror, but he quickly averted his eyes. That's when I noticed Katie in the passenger seat, her tear-stained face betraying her silent anguish. It was clear she wanted to say something, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Roman had warned her against it.
"What do you know about this place?" Roman asked sternly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We've lived here all our lives, Roman," I replied, confusion evident in my tone. "What do you mean?”
Roman pressed down on the brakes, bringing us to a sudden stop. I noticed a pained expression flit across his face in the mirror, a fleeting moment of vulnerability that he quickly tried to conceal.
"Your leg!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with concern as I recalled the events from earlier.
"It was a dislocated hip. I fixed it," he replied bluntly, his tone revealing little about the ordeal he must have endured.
"This isn't real, Jason. None of this is real. You are not real!" Roman's voice was sharp, refusing to meet my eyes in the reflection.
"Back at Katie's house, I remembered everything the moment I looked into that creature's eyes. I remembered... I remembered Natalie," he said, his words catching in his throat, revealing the first hint of emotion I'd seen from him.
I watched as a tear rolled down Katie's face. I reached to put a hand on her shoulder but stopped myself.
"Roman got me to remember," Katie said, her voice trembling. "I remembered the emergency alert, and when those things broke down our doors. I watched as they dragged my parents out, then my baby brother, then me. I woke up in this fake world, in a family that isn't even mine, dating a boy who turns out to be one of the monsters who brought me here." She spluttered, and I began to cry silently as I realised what she was saying.
Roman eventually started driving again, occasionally getting a call from Morgan, but after the fifth call he threw his phone out the window. We drove until I fell asleep. I don't remember what I dreamed about, but it was peaceful. I think I was in that forest with Roman. We were children again, playing around in the trees, finding cool sticks and exploring the endless expanse of what felt like a fairytale, which I guess it was.
I was awoken by the abrupt sound of Roman's car door slamming. I looked outside and saw that it was daytime again. Trying to figure out where we had stopped, I noticed a giant sign that said “Library.” I hopped out of the car and jogged to catch up to Roman and Katie.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, clearly still being avoided. It was understandable, but it still hurt.
“I need to wake everyone up,” Roman said as we walked in and approached a computer.
I noticed we were getting odd stares from everyone as we walked by, which is when I also noticed that I looked like I had just come out the other side of a paper shredder. My clothes were all torn up with bits missing, apparently not possessing the magic healing ability that I do. The sound of Roman typing snapped me out of my self-conscious thoughts and redirected me to the computer screen.
"I'm going to be a while, guys," Roman said as he began writing out his story. "I need to tell the whole thing from the beginning. Go find a book or something.”
I looked over to Katie, her face void of expression, but a great sadness filled her now dry eyes, having cried all the tears she had. “Why don't you just wake up?” I asked, probably coming across as more insensitive than I intended.
“I've got nothing to go back to. Roman told me what the world is like back there. If my family is here, I have to find them and wake them up first,” she responded, finally meeting my eye.
I wanted to hug her so bad, but I knew she didn't love me anymore. She probably had a real boyfriend in the real world.
Hours went by as Katie and I found a place to sit and wait in silence, watching Roman. He looked funny in the little library chair, hunched over the computer. Such a big guy looked out of place here, his muscular presence overpowering that of the rest of the library's patrons, who were all either very old or very young.
I hate to admit I fell asleep, but I'm just telling the story how it was. I was awoken suddenly by sirens and shouts. “We have got you surrounded, come out with your hands up or we will come in and show you no mercy,” a man's voice yelled from outside through a speaker. I looked over to Roman, who was limping over to us as all the customers flooded out the exits.
“Get up, we need to leave. They've turned the law against us,” Roman ordered. Katie and I listened and followed him.
We made our way upstairs into the empty employee lounge, and Roman opened a window... with his elbow. “They've got every exit covered but this one. We need to jump,” he calmly told us. He stood up in the window frame, kicked off some of the remaining glass with his boots, and jumped to the roof of the single-story building below, wincing in pain as he landed on his bad leg.
That's when six armed officers kicked down the door and opened fire on Katie and me. I moved to block the bullets from hitting Katie, taking several hits to the head and back. I then pushed Katie through the window, and Roman caught her before I jumped out myself and followed.
We ran from rooftop to rooftop until we reached a ladder that led down into an alleyway, where we attempted to catch our breaths. Roman and Katie watched me intently as the bullets lodged in my body began to work their way back out, the wounds closing up after. My skin color shifted a little, and I felt a rattle leave my throat as a cold sweat came over me.
“Hey, control yourself,” Roman told me sternly. I nodded, struggling to remain composed.
“Did you finish the story?” Katie asked Roman.
“Yeah, I kind of had to rush the last part, but I got the message across,” he replied, slumping to the ground behind a dumpster, exhausted.
“What now?” I asked.
Roman looked at me, panting. “I'm gonna help Katie find her family, then I'm going back to Natalie,” he said between heavy breaths.
“What about Morgan?” I questioned, causing him to look down at his feet. “I don't even know her in the real world, and I would never have chosen to be with her. This place… it's like it wrote me a life that was least likely to let me remember who I am. The girl I'm engaged to is the complete opposite of Natalie. I've got a brother who lives with me, my parents are dead. There's literally nothing here to remind me of home, bro,” Roman said, shedding a couple of tears.
We waited in the alley until night, hearing sirens go back and forth every now and then. When Roman said we were in the clear, we made our way back to the car and started driving again. I noticed Roman's eyes fluttering after about an hour, and I told him I'd be happy to drive if he needed to sleep. I could tell that his ego didn't want to admit he was exhausted, and he also still didn't trust me, but he gave in and pulled over, falling asleep in the back seat as I drove off into the night.

"A family is left in mourning as twenty-one-year-old Natalie Rose was found dead over the weekend," the TV blared into the room, "seemingly attacked by some sort of wild animal as she sat in her tent on what was meant to be a relaxing camping trip alone. Natalie's parents have requested privacy at this time, but they appreciate the condolences they have received. In other news-" Roman grabbed the remote from me and shut off the TV.
"Hey, I was watching that!" I said as I flipped him off from across the room. "Bullshit, you're on your phone," he chuckled, fixing his hair up in the mirror. "Okay, well, I was listening. I like to have background noise, dickhead," I replied, watching him in the reflection, his focus clearly not on this important conversation.
"Where are you going all dressed up?" I interrogated him. "Morgan and I are having our engagement party, but we've got to be there early to sort out seating."
"You're having your engagement party and you didn't invite your own brother?" I questioned him, offended at the audacity this man had. "I did invite you, dipshit. You told me you had a date with Katie tonight."
The realisation hit me like a punch to the gut. I'd completely forgotten about my movie date with Katie. With a surge of panic, I leaped from my seat, heart pounding, and scrambled to get dressed. Every second felt like an eternity as I cursed my forgetfulness. Then, I heard Roman's car start outside. Without a second thought, I sprinted out the door and down the driveway. Knocking on his window, I pleaded for a ride.
The soft hum of the road and the whirring of the engine filled the car as we silently moved through the night. Staring out the window at the blur of trees, I thought about how I would apologise to Katie. Roman reached for the radio, and a Trace Adkins song began playing. Seeing this as the perfect time to start a conversation, I spoke up, "So, are Katie and I coming to the wedding?" I asked, grinning. Roman let out a deep sigh as he turned off the music. "If Katie doesn't plan a date night on the same day, then yes," he replied.
Silence filled the car as we drove along the empty road. The vast woods surrounding us created an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the winter darkness cloaking the night sky above. Yet, for Roman and me, who had grown up in this land, these woods evoked nostalgic memories of our childhood adventures. While for others, it might be an unsettling glimpse into the barrier separating civilization from the unknown, for us, it was a comforting window back into our past.
When Roman bought the land we had grown up on after our parents passed, I was probably more excited than I should've been, considering I had just lost my mum and dad in a tragic carbon monoxide leak. But my relief at not having to leave this place was immense.
We eventually reached an area where the city lights were visible in the distance. I noticed Roman yawn as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. "You're gonna have to tell me where to go, I can't remember where Katie lives," he stated as he changed gears and prepared to enter the busy traffic, a stark contrast to the remote rural road we were about to vacate.
“Just take a left up h-" I began, but was interrupted as a white blur ran in front of the car, causing Roman to slam on the brakes and swerve. I grabbed onto the side of the door as we spun out of control, the screeching of the tires filling my ears, jolting me out of the relaxed state I had been in due to the many miles of quiet driving.
We eventually came to a stop, now facing the opposite direction, gazing down the endless stretch of desolate road we had just traversed. Roman calmly checked all his mirrors for whatever he nearly hit but failed to see anything through the dust he had stirred up in the spinout.
“You all good?” he asked, a relieved smile creeping up his face, a deep breath escaping his lungs.
“Yeah, what was that?” I asked as Roman started reversing, then turned the car back towards the busy city street about a kilometre away and began driving. I looked over to him, expecting an answer to my question, but didn't receive one. His brow was furrowed in an uncertain expression, clearly lost in thought, like he was trying to remember if he locked the front door.
“Roman?” I said, causing him to blink a couple of times.
“I don't know what it was," Roman answered, not breaking his intense stare at the asphalt in front of us as we drove along, approaching the main road. “Probably just a sheep, there's a few acres of farmland behind these trees,” he continued.
As we approached the intersection, Roman flicked his left indicator on before turning onto the main road. “Okay, now take the next right,” I said, feeling the weird atmosphere in the vehicle slowly dissipating. After a few more turns, Roman said that he knew the way from here and turned the radio back on, which cut the remaining tension that I could tell we were both feeling.
The chilly winter night was starting to bite at my skin, and I cursed myself for forgetting a jacket in my hurry. I swivelled my head around to see the backseat. “What are you looking for?” Roman asked, finally looking in my direction as he turned the music down slightly.
“Uh, do you have a jacket I can borrow? I didn't realise it was gonna be this cold,” I sheepishly admitted.
“Hold the wheel,” Roman told me as he reached around behind him, shifting around his hiking gear that he hadn't taken out since his camping trip with Morgan last month.
Eventually, he pulled out his gym hoodie and threw it on my lap. “This is all I got,” he grunted as he readjusted himself in his seat and took hold of the steering wheel again. When we pulled into Katie's driveway, I pulled the hoodie over my head and hopped out of the car into the brisk night air, my breath visible in the cold. “I'll pick you up around 11:30.” Roman shouted out the window as I pulled the hoodie the rest of the way down and waved to Roman as he drove away, beeping his horn as he left me in the chilling winter breeze.
I knocked on the door, checking the time to see that it was 7:37, only a few minutes late. As I waited in the dark, a surprisingly chipper Katie opened the door, hugging me and dragging me inside. “You didn't miss much,” she whispered as we stumbled through the house that had all of its lights off. “Why do you smell like your brother?” she asked, shooting me a dirty look before grabbing a handful of the hoodie and sniffing it. All I could do was shrug and grin, “I forgot how cold it gets in the winter time, he let me borrow it.” She rolled her eyes, and we sat down next to a bunch of her friends and her parents, who all whispered their hellos in the soft glow of the TV.
Around 11:18 pm when the movie was long since finished, Katie's parents said goodnight and headed off to bed, and a few of Katie's friends who had been visiting said goodbye and drove home. I got up to get some water from the kitchen, and as I walked back, I stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room, which was dark, only lit by the TV. This allowed me to see Katie frozen, staring towards the window, which was out of my direct line of sight.
Confused, I peeked my head out of the doorway and looked toward the window. I froze and dropped my glass; luckily, it landed on the carpet and didn't make much noise, and the tall, pale creature standing an inch from the window didn't notice. The creature was foul, a gaunt, lanky humanoid. Well, at least the head was humanoid; the body and limbs were almost ape-like, with long, disproportionate arms and less exaggerated legs. The creature's whole body was covered in grey skin stretched tightly over its abnormally long bones. It had no hair anywhere. Its mouth was strangely wide, stretching around to where its ears would be if it had them, and its eyes were just sunken, inky black pits in its head. But I could tell it was staring daggers at Katie, who had tears rolling down her face. She slowly turned her head to look at me, shaking and breathing quickly. I had never felt so powerless. I was supposed to protect her, and I would. I would die to protect her, but I had no idea how to shield her from whatever this thing was.
Then I had an idea. I looked to the light switch panel to my left. I knew one of them was the porch light, but there were three others: the living room light, the kitchen light, and the hall light. If I pressed the wrong light, I didn't know what the thing would do, but I had to try. I had to remember which light Katie's dad used to turn the porch light on when he goes out for a smoke.
I reached for the light second from the bottom and flicked the switch. The hall light turned on. Luckily, the hall was on the opposite side of the kitchen from where the living room was, and it was out of view for the creature at the window. But I couldn't mess up again. If the kitchen light turned on, the creature would see me, and if the living room light turned on, it might cause it to attack Katie. I looked back at the creature, which was using one of its hands to scratch the window as it sniffed around. I had to do something.
I reached for the bottom light switch and flicked it; the porch light turned on. The creature spun around to face it and let out a screech that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I ran to Katie and grabbed her, dragging her off the side of the couch where there was about a metre gap between the armrest of the couch and the wall.
The sound of the window smashing filled the house, and Katie cried into my shoulder. I couldn't see anything; it was pitch darkness besides the slight blue glare from the TV on the wall above us. But I could hear raspy breathing and bones cracking as the thing searched the living room. I heard it sniffing the couch where Katie was sitting, and I heard it make its way closer to the end of the couch, one of its hands pressed on the wall above us. I saw the silhouette of its head begin to peak over the side of the couch, but suddenly the light turned on, and Katie's dad yelled as he saw us from the kitchen while he was holding a shotgun.
The creature ran at him but fell to the ground as a loud shot rang out in the night, leaving only the sound of our combined breathing and Katie's soft sobs. I watched intently as the body lying between Katie's dad and me moved around on the floor, before slamming its hand down, then the other, and pushing itself to its feet.
Katie's dad reloaded his shotgun, but it was too late. The creature grabbed the poor man by his leg and pulled it out from under him, causing him to shoot the ceiling. I grabbed Katie and dragged her upstairs as the creature began tearing into her father. She cried and screamed, begging me to help him, but what could I do? Whatever that thing was, it just took a shotgun blast to the chest and brushed it off.
I locked us in her upstairs bathroom as the creature's loud and hurried footsteps made their way towards us. Katie was crying loudly now, insisting that we were going to die. Honestly, not a super helpful contribution, but I can't blame her.
As the creature began crashing against the door, pieces of wood started to splinter off. I shoved Katie into the tub, and then lay on top of her. Hopefully, my body would be enough to shield her from this thing. Time slowed down as the door exploded inward. I looked at the girl I loved, makeup running down her face, pieces of door in her hair, mouth wide open as she let out the most ear splitting scream. For some reason, I felt no fear. Even as the monster began tearing at my clothes and clawing at my flesh, I felt strangely calm.
Eventually, the creature grabbed me, swinging me around by my hoodie, slamming me into every wall and surface in the room. I fell to the ground as the hoodie ripped off, and the creature just stared at me, then the hoodie in its hand, then back at me. I stared back, utterly confused, as it leaned over and sniffed my entire body from head to toe. It looked as puzzled as I felt for a moment before I heard Roman's car pull up outside.
The creature screeched as it sprinted out the door, slamming into the hallway wall in its haste. "NO!" I shouted, leaving my still-shaking girlfriend in the tub as I chased the monster out of the house. Somehow, I caught up to the creature and grabbed onto it, bringing it to the ground below. The thing managed to get on top of me, biting and clawing at my arms and hands as I shielded my face.
Before I knew it, Roman came out of nowhere, tackling the creature off me, yelling for me to run. The creature, sleek and deadly, wasted no time in retaliating against Roman's attack. With a primal growl, it lunged at him, its claws slicing through the air like daggers.
Roman had a size advantage that I didn't have, and managed to hold his own for a few seconds as he wrestled with the beast. He'd always been as strong as a bull for as long as I can remember, tall with powerful hands and massive arms and shoulders. But I couldn't risk watching my brother, as strong as he may be, get killed by this… whatever it is.
With strength I didn't know I had, I grabbed the back of Roman's expensive shirt and pulled him out of the way of a fatal blow to the head, throwing him towards the car before I lunged at the creature and went feral. I don't know what came over me; I started swinging on the creature as we tumbled around in the muddy grass. Just when I thought I was actually winning, the creature managed to get its legs between us and kicked me off, then swung its clawed hand at my stomach, ripping it right open.
I collapsed to the ground as my body tried to comprehend what had just happened. My eyes narrowed as everything was drowned out. I watched the silent scene play out before me, my heartbeat pounding in my head.
The creature charged at Roman, who leaped to grab his car's back door handle just as the creature snagged his foot. It yanked at his leg, but Roman clung onto his car door tightly. The creature persisted in pulling as Roman struggled to reach for something in his hiking gear stored in the back seat.
With an agonising yell, Roman's leg gave a sickening snap. Despite the pain, he finally retrieved what he was searching for. Releasing the car door, Roman watched as the creature stumbled backward. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly climbed on top of it, brandishing his trusty hunting knife from his camping trips.
As Roman wrestled with the creature, the air was filled with grunts and snarls. He plunged the hunting knife into the creature's body, eliciting a guttural howl of pain. The creature thrashed wildly, but Roman held on grimly, his determination unwavering.
With each strike, Roman's movements became more frenzied, fueled by adrenaline and the need to protect us. The creature's attempts to retaliate grew weaker as Roman's blows found their mark. With a final decisive thrust, Roman delivered the fatal blow, and the creature slumped to the ground, defeated.
Breathing heavily, Roman collapsed beside the creature, his body trembling with exhaustion and relief. I rushed to his side, concern evident in my voice. "Natalie-" he faintly murmured.
"Who? Who's Natalie?" I asked, my confusion growing.
Suddenly, the creature jolted up, its movements abrupt and startling. Without warning, it lunged at me, seizing me by the throat and hurling me against the car.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the creature sprinting towards me. In that moment, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body, as if something within me was shifting. I glanced down at my hands and watched in horror as they contorted and turned a sickly shade of grey. Long claws protruded from my fingers, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light.
As my bones cracked and deformed under the strain of this inexplicable transformation, a sudden surge of anger and ferocity overwhelmed my senses. It was as though a primal instinct had taken hold of me, consuming my entire being in its relentless grip. With each passing moment, the world around me faded into darkness until finally, I lost consciousness, my mind consumed by the terrifying reality of what I had become.
I awoke hours later in the back seat of Roman's car. The hum of the road and the whirring of the engine attempted to lull me back to sleep, but I sat up, rubbing my head as the memories flooded back. "What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse and strained.
Roman responded with silence, a familiar reaction from him, but this time, it sent a shiver down my spine. As I looked at my arms, then my stomach, and felt around my whole body, I realised the wounds and deep gashes caused by the creature were all gone, as if I had never been attacked.
I caught Roman's gaze in the mirror, but he quickly averted his eyes. That's when I noticed Katie in the passenger seat, her tear-stained face betraying her silent anguish. It was clear she wanted to say something, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Roman had warned her against it.
"What do you know about this place?" Roman asked sternly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We've lived here all our lives, Roman," I replied, confusion evident in my tone. "What do you mean?”
Roman pressed down on the brakes, bringing us to a sudden stop. I noticed a pained expression flit across his face in the mirror, a fleeting moment of vulnerability that he quickly tried to conceal.
"Your leg!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with concern as I recalled the events from earlier.
"It was a dislocated hip. I fixed it," he replied bluntly, his tone revealing little about the ordeal he must have endured.
"This isn't real, Jason. None of this is real. You are not real!" Roman's voice was sharp, refusing to meet my eyes in the reflection.
"Back at Katie's house, I remembered everything the moment I looked into that creature's eyes. I remembered... I remembered Natalie," he said, his words catching in his throat, revealing the first hint of emotion I'd seen from him.
I watched as a tear rolled down Katie's face. I reached to put a hand on her shoulder but stopped myself.
"Roman got me to remember," Katie said, her voice trembling. "I remembered the emergency alert, and when those things broke down our doors. I watched as they dragged my parents out, then my baby brother, then me. I woke up in this fake world, in a family that isn't even mine, dating a boy who turns out to be one of the monsters who brought me here." She spluttered, and I began to cry silently as I realised what she was saying.
Roman eventually started driving again, occasionally getting a call from Morgan, but after the fifth call he threw his phone out the window. We drove until I fell asleep. I don't remember what I dreamed about, but it was peaceful. I think I was in that forest with Roman. We were children again, playing around in the trees, finding cool sticks and exploring the endless expanse of what felt like a fairytale, which I guess it was.
I was awoken by the abrupt sound of Roman's car door slamming. I looked outside and saw that it was daytime again. Trying to figure out where we had stopped, I noticed a giant sign that said “Library.” I hopped out of the car and jogged to catch up to Roman and Katie.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, clearly still being avoided. It was understandable, but it still hurt.
“I need to wake everyone up,” Roman said as we walked in and approached a computer.
I noticed we were getting odd stares from everyone as we walked by, which is when I also noticed that I looked like I had just come out the other side of a paper shredder. My clothes were all torn up with bits missing, apparently not possessing the magic healing ability that I do. The sound of Roman typing snapped me out of my self-conscious thoughts and redirected me to the computer screen.
"I'm going to be a while, guys," Roman said as he began writing out his story. "I need to tell the whole thing from the beginning. Go find a book or something.”
I looked over to Katie, her face void of expression, but a great sadness filled her now dry eyes, having cried all the tears she had. “Why don't you just wake up?” I asked, probably coming across as more insensitive than I intended.
“I've got nothing to go back to. Roman told me what the world is like back there. If my family is here, I have to find them and wake them up first,” she responded, finally meeting my eye.
I wanted to hug her so bad, but I knew she didn't love me anymore. She probably had a real boyfriend in the real world.
Hours went by as Katie and I found a place to sit and wait in silence, watching Roman. He looked funny in the little library chair, hunched over the computer. Such a big guy looked out of place here, his muscular presence overpowering that of the rest of the library's patrons, who were all either very old or very young.
I hate to admit I fell asleep, but I'm just telling the story how it was. I was awoken suddenly by sirens and shouts. “We have got you surrounded, come out with your hands up or we will come in and show you no mercy,” a man's voice yelled from outside through a speaker. I looked over to Roman, who was limping over to us as all the customers flooded out the exits.
“Get up, we need to leave. They've turned the law against us,” Roman ordered. Katie and I listened and followed him.
We made our way upstairs into the empty employee lounge, and Roman opened a window... with his elbow. “They've got every exit covered but this one. We need to jump,” he calmly told us. He stood up in the window frame, kicked off some of the remaining glass with his boots, and jumped to the roof of the single-story building below, wincing in pain as he landed on his bad leg.
That's when six armed officers kicked down the door and opened fire on Katie and me. I moved to block the bullets from hitting Katie, taking several hits to the head and back. I then pushed Katie through the window, and Roman caught her before I jumped out myself and followed.
We ran from rooftop to rooftop until we reached a ladder that led down into an alleyway, where we attempted to catch our breaths. Roman and Katie watched me intently as the bullets lodged in my body began to work their way back out, the wounds closing up after. My skin color shifted a little, and I felt a rattle leave my throat as a cold sweat came over me.
“Hey, control yourself,” Roman told me sternly. I nodded, struggling to remain composed.
“Did you finish the story?” Katie asked Roman.
“Yeah, I kind of had to rush the last part, but I got the message across,” he replied, slumping to the ground behind a dumpster, exhausted.
“What now?” I asked.
Roman looked at me, panting. “I'm gonna help Katie find her family, then I'm going back to Natalie,” he said between heavy breaths.
“What about Morgan?” I questioned, causing him to look down at his feet. “I don't even know her in the real world, and I would never have chosen to be with her. This place… it's like it wrote me a life that was least likely to let me remember who I am. The girl I'm engaged to is the complete opposite of Natalie. I've got a brother who lives with me, my parents are dead. There's literally nothing here to remind me of home, bro,” Roman said, shedding a couple of tears.
We waited in the alley until night, hearing sirens go back and forth every now and then. When Roman said we were in the clear, we made our way back to the car and started driving again. I noticed Roman's eyes fluttering after about an hour, and I told him I'd be happy to drive if he needed to sleep. I could tell that his ego didn't want to admit he was exhausted, and he also still didn't trust me, but he gave in and pulled over, falling asleep in the back seat as I drove off into the night.

I don’t know if this is the right group for this but any feedback would be appreciated. The books is m/m romance, road-trip book.
What’s harder than cycling hundreds of miles down the west coast? Doing it with the annoyingly hot guy who hates your guts.
Cal is excited to go on a two-week cycling trip with his best friends. He doesn’t want, he needs the relaxation in order to kill his artist’s block—he has a new show coming up and he's nowhere near finished. However, things get complicated when one of his best friends, Alex, brings her standoffish brother Nate along for the ride without telling him. Which would be fine if the guy wasn’t a total jerk.
Sharing a tent with this guy every night should prove to be impossible, so when he and Nate actually start to get along he’s surprised. But Cal isn’t looking for love, he’s already been burned one too many times.
And so what if the guy has a couple good qualities, it doesn’t mean anything, right? Nate is a fancy coder and an obsessive cyclist with all the latest gear. He’s too black and white, too rigid, too perfect.
The total opposite of Cal, who’s had more jobs than he can count. He’s a mess. No way could they ever work out. Not to mention keeping a secret that huge from his two best friends might just be more than he can take.
Only 856 more miles to go. Can Cal and Nate put their differences aside to make this thing work?
Get ready for a swoony road trip story that features light enemies to lovers, only one bed, my best friend’s brother, a secret romance, and a vacation fling as a few of the tropes. From the meet-cute to the happily ever after 100 Miles Until I Love You crafts a charming romance you won’t want to miss.

"A family is left in mourning as twenty-one-year-old Natalie Rose was found dead over the weekend," the TV blared into the room, "seemingly attacked by some sort of wild animal as she sat in her tent on what was meant to be a relaxing camping trip alone. Natalie's parents have requested privacy at this time, but they appreciate the condolences they have received. In other news-" Roman grabbed the remote from me and shut off the TV.
"Hey, I was watching that!" I said as I flipped him off from across the room. "Bullshit, you're on your phone," he chuckled, fixing his hair up in the mirror. "Okay, well, I was listening. I like to have background noise, dickhead," I replied, watching him in the reflection, his focus clearly not on this important conversation.
"Where are you going all dressed up?" I interrogated him. "Morgan and I are having our engagement party, but we've got to be there early to sort out seating."
"You're having your engagement party and you didn't invite your own brother?" I questioned him, offended at the audacity this man had. "I did invite you, dipshit. You told me you had a date with Katie tonight."
The realisation hit me like a punch to the gut. I'd completely forgotten about my movie date with Katie. With a surge of panic, I leaped from my seat, heart pounding, and scrambled to get dressed. Every second felt like an eternity as I cursed my forgetfulness. Then, I heard Roman's car start outside. Without a second thought, I sprinted out the door and down the driveway. Knocking on his window, I pleaded for a ride.
The soft hum of the road and the whirring of the engine filled the car as we silently moved through the night. Staring out the window at the blur of trees, I thought about how I would apologise to Katie. Roman reached for the radio, and a Trace Adkins song began playing. Seeing this as the perfect time to start a conversation, I spoke up, "So, are Katie and I coming to the wedding?" I asked, grinning. Roman let out a deep sigh as he turned off the music. "If Katie doesn't plan a date night on the same day, then yes," he replied.
Silence filled the car as we drove along the empty road. The vast woods surrounding us created an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the winter darkness cloaking the night sky above. Yet, for Roman and me, who had grown up in this land, these woods evoked nostalgic memories of our childhood adventures. While for others, it might be an unsettling glimpse into the barrier separating civilization from the unknown, for us, it was a comforting window back into our past.
When Roman bought the land we had grown up on after our parents passed, I was probably more excited than I should've been, considering I had just lost my mum and dad in a tragic carbon monoxide leak. But my relief at not having to leave this place was immense.
We eventually reached an area where the city lights were visible in the distance. I noticed Roman yawn as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. "You're gonna have to tell me where to go, I can't remember where Katie lives," he stated as he changed gears and prepared to enter the busy traffic, a stark contrast to the remote rural road we were about to vacate.
“Just take a left up h-" I began, but was interrupted as a white blur ran in front of the car, causing Roman to slam on the brakes and swerve. I grabbed onto the side of the door as we spun out of control, the screeching of the tires filling my ears, jolting me out of the relaxed state I had been in due to the many miles of quiet driving.
We eventually came to a stop, now facing the opposite direction, gazing down the endless stretch of desolate road we had just traversed. Roman calmly checked all his mirrors for whatever he nearly hit but failed to see anything through the dust he had stirred up in the spinout.
“You all good?” he asked, a relieved smile creeping up his face, a deep breath escaping his lungs.
“Yeah, what was that?” I asked as Roman started reversing, then turned the car back towards the busy city street about a kilometre away and began driving. I looked over to him, expecting an answer to my question, but didn't receive one. His brow was furrowed in an uncertain expression, clearly lost in thought, like he was trying to remember if he locked the front door.
“Roman?” I said, causing him to blink a couple of times.
“I don't know what it was," Roman answered, not breaking his intense stare at the asphalt in front of us as we drove along, approaching the main road. “Probably just a sheep, there's a few acres of farmland behind these trees,” he continued.
As we approached the intersection, Roman flicked his left indicator on before turning onto the main road. “Okay, now take the next right,” I said, feeling the weird atmosphere in the vehicle slowly dissipating. After a few more turns, Roman said that he knew the way from here and turned the radio back on, which cut the remaining tension that I could tell we were both feeling.
The chilly winter night was starting to bite at my skin, and I cursed myself for forgetting a jacket in my hurry. I swivelled my head around to see the backseat. “What are you looking for?” Roman asked, finally looking in my direction as he turned the music down slightly.
“Uh, do you have a jacket I can borrow? I didn't realise it was gonna be this cold,” I sheepishly admitted.
“Hold the wheel,” Roman told me as he reached around behind him, shifting around his hiking gear that he hadn't taken out since his camping trip with Morgan last month.
Eventually, he pulled out his gym hoodie and threw it on my lap. “This is all I got,” he grunted as he readjusted himself in his seat and took hold of the steering wheel again. When we pulled into Katie's driveway, I pulled the hoodie over my head and hopped out of the car into the brisk night air, my breath visible in the cold. “I'll pick you up around 11:30.” Roman shouted out the window as I pulled the hoodie the rest of the way down and waved to Roman as he drove away, beeping his horn as he left me in the chilling winter breeze.
I knocked on the door, checking the time to see that it was 7:37, only a few minutes late. As I waited in the dark, a surprisingly chipper Katie opened the door, hugging me and dragging me inside. “You didn't miss much,” she whispered as we stumbled through the house that had all of its lights off. “Why do you smell like your brother?” she asked, shooting me a dirty look before grabbing a handful of the hoodie and sniffing it. All I could do was shrug and grin, “I forgot how cold it gets in the winter time, he let me borrow it.” She rolled her eyes, and we sat down next to a bunch of her friends and her parents, who all whispered their hellos in the soft glow of the TV.
Around 11:18 pm when the movie was long since finished, Katie's parents said goodnight and headed off to bed, and a few of Katie's friends who had been visiting said goodbye and drove home. I got up to get some water from the kitchen, and as I walked back, I stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room, which was dark, only lit by the TV. This allowed me to see Katie frozen, staring towards the window, which was out of my direct line of sight.
Confused, I peeked my head out of the doorway and looked toward the window. I froze and dropped my glass; luckily, it landed on the carpet and didn't make much noise, and the tall, pale creature standing an inch from the window didn't notice. The creature was foul, a gaunt, lanky humanoid. Well, at least the head was humanoid; the body and limbs were almost ape-like, with long, disproportionate arms and less exaggerated legs. The creature's whole body was covered in grey skin stretched tightly over its abnormally long bones. It had no hair anywhere. Its mouth was strangely wide, stretching around to where its ears would be if it had them, and its eyes were just sunken, inky black pits in its head. But I could tell it was staring daggers at Katie, who had tears rolling down her face. She slowly turned her head to look at me, shaking and breathing quickly. I had never felt so powerless. I was supposed to protect her, and I would. I would die to protect her, but I had no idea how to shield her from whatever this thing was.
Then I had an idea. I looked to the light switch panel to my left. I knew one of them was the porch light, but there were three others: the living room light, the kitchen light, and the hall light. If I pressed the wrong light, I didn't know what the thing would do, but I had to try. I had to remember which light Katie's dad used to turn the porch light on when he goes out for a smoke.
I reached for the light second from the bottom and flicked the switch. The hall light turned on. Luckily, the hall was on the opposite side of the kitchen from where the living room was, and it was out of view for the creature at the window. But I couldn't mess up again. If the kitchen light turned on, the creature would see me, and if the living room light turned on, it might cause it to attack Katie. I looked back at the creature, which was using one of its hands to scratch the window as it sniffed around. I had to do something.
I reached for the bottom light switch and flicked it; the porch light turned on. The creature spun around to face it and let out a screech that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I ran to Katie and grabbed her, dragging her off the side of the couch where there was about a metre gap between the armrest of the couch and the wall.
The sound of the window smashing filled the house, and Katie cried into my shoulder. I couldn't see anything; it was pitch darkness besides the slight blue glare from the TV on the wall above us. But I could hear raspy breathing and bones cracking as the thing searched the living room. I heard it sniffing the couch where Katie was sitting, and I heard it make its way closer to the end of the couch, one of its hands pressed on the wall above us. I saw the silhouette of its head begin to peak over the side of the couch, but suddenly the light turned on, and Katie's dad yelled as he saw us from the kitchen while he was holding a shotgun.
The creature ran at him but fell to the ground as a loud shot rang out in the night, leaving only the sound of our combined breathing and Katie's soft sobs. I watched intently as the body lying between Katie's dad and me moved around on the floor, before slamming its hand down, then the other, and pushing itself to its feet.
Katie's dad reloaded his shotgun, but it was too late. The creature grabbed the poor man by his leg and pulled it out from under him, causing him to shoot the ceiling. I grabbed Katie and dragged her upstairs as the creature began tearing into her father. She cried and screamed, begging me to help him, but what could I do? Whatever that thing was, it just took a shotgun blast to the chest and brushed it off.
I locked us in her upstairs bathroom as the creature's loud and hurried footsteps made their way towards us. Katie was crying loudly now, insisting that we were going to die. Honestly, not a super helpful contribution, but I can't blame her.
As the creature began crashing against the door, pieces of wood started to splinter off. I shoved Katie into the tub, and then lay on top of her. Hopefully, my body would be enough to shield her from this thing. Time slowed down as the door exploded inward. I looked at the girl I loved, makeup running down her face, pieces of door in her hair, mouth wide open as she let out the most ear splitting scream. For some reason, I felt no fear. Even as the monster began tearing at my clothes and clawing at my flesh, I felt strangely calm.
Eventually, the creature grabbed me, swinging me around by my hoodie, slamming me into every wall and surface in the room. I fell to the ground as the hoodie ripped off, and the creature just stared at me, then the hoodie in its hand, then back at me. I stared back, utterly confused, as it leaned over and sniffed my entire body from head to toe. It looked as puzzled as I felt for a moment before I heard Roman's car pull up outside.
The creature screeched as it sprinted out the door, slamming into the hallway wall in its haste. "NO!" I shouted, leaving my still-shaking girlfriend in the tub as I chased the monster out of the house. Somehow, I caught up to the creature and grabbed onto it, bringing it to the ground below. The thing managed to get on top of me, biting and clawing at my arms and hands as I shielded my face.
Before I knew it, Roman came out of nowhere, tackling the creature off me, yelling for me to run. The creature, sleek and deadly, wasted no time in retaliating against Roman's attack. With a primal growl, it lunged at him, its claws slicing through the air like daggers.
Roman had a size advantage that I didn't have, and managed to hold his own for a few seconds as he wrestled with the beast. He'd always been as strong as a bull for as long as I can remember, tall with powerful hands and massive arms and shoulders. But I couldn't risk watching my brother, as strong as he may be, get killed by this… whatever it is.
With strength I didn't know I had, I grabbed the back of Roman's expensive shirt and pulled him out of the way of a fatal blow to the head, throwing him towards the car before I lunged at the creature and went feral. I don't know what came over me; I started swinging on the creature as we tumbled around in the muddy grass. Just when I thought I was actually winning, the creature managed to get its legs between us and kicked me off, then swung its clawed hand at my stomach, ripping it right open.
I collapsed to the ground as my body tried to comprehend what had just happened. My eyes narrowed as everything was drowned out. I watched the silent scene play out before me, my heartbeat pounding in my head.
The creature charged at Roman, who leaped to grab his car's back door handle just as the creature snagged his foot. It yanked at his leg, but Roman clung onto his car door tightly. The creature persisted in pulling as Roman struggled to reach for something in his hiking gear stored in the back seat.
With an agonising yell, Roman's leg gave a sickening snap. Despite the pain, he finally retrieved what he was searching for. Releasing the car door, Roman watched as the creature stumbled backward. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly climbed on top of it, brandishing his trusty hunting knife from his camping trips.
As Roman wrestled with the creature, the air was filled with grunts and snarls. He plunged the hunting knife into the creature's body, eliciting a guttural howl of pain. The creature thrashed wildly, but Roman held on grimly, his determination unwavering.
With each strike, Roman's movements became more frenzied, fueled by adrenaline and the need to protect us. The creature's attempts to retaliate grew weaker as Roman's blows found their mark. With a final decisive thrust, Roman delivered the fatal blow, and the creature slumped to the ground, defeated.
Breathing heavily, Roman collapsed beside the creature, his body trembling with exhaustion and relief. I rushed to his side, concern evident in my voice. "Natalie-" he faintly murmured.
"Who? Who's Natalie?" I asked, my confusion growing.
Suddenly, the creature jolted up, its movements abrupt and startling. Without warning, it lunged at me, seizing me by the throat and hurling me against the car.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the creature sprinting towards me. In that moment, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body, as if something within me was shifting. I glanced down at my hands and watched in horror as they contorted and turned a sickly shade of grey. Long claws protruded from my fingers, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light.
As my bones cracked and deformed under the strain of this inexplicable transformation, a sudden surge of anger and ferocity overwhelmed my senses. It was as though a primal instinct had taken hold of me, consuming my entire being in its relentless grip. With each passing moment, the world around me faded into darkness until finally, I lost consciousness, my mind consumed by the terrifying reality of what I had become.
I awoke hours later in the back seat of Roman's car. The hum of the road and the whirring of the engine attempted to lull me back to sleep, but I sat up, rubbing my head as the memories flooded back. "What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse and strained.
Roman responded with silence, a familiar reaction from him, but this time, it sent a shiver down my spine. As I looked at my arms, then my stomach, and felt around my whole body, I realised the wounds and deep gashes caused by the creature were all gone, as if I had never been attacked.
I caught Roman's gaze in the mirror, but he quickly averted his eyes. That's when I noticed Katie in the passenger seat, her tear-stained face betraying her silent anguish. It was clear she wanted to say something, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Roman had warned her against it.
"What do you know about this place?" Roman asked sternly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We've lived here all our lives, Roman," I replied, confusion evident in my tone. "What do you mean?”
Roman pressed down on the brakes, bringing us to a sudden stop. I noticed a pained expression flit across his face in the mirror, a fleeting moment of vulnerability that he quickly tried to conceal.
"Your leg!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with concern as I recalled the events from earlier.
"It was a dislocated hip. I fixed it," he replied bluntly, his tone revealing little about the ordeal he must have endured.
"This isn't real, Jason. None of this is real. You are not real!" Roman's voice was sharp, refusing to meet my eyes in the reflection.
"Back at Katie's house, I remembered everything the moment I looked into that creature's eyes. I remembered... I remembered Natalie," he said, his words catching in his throat, revealing the first hint of emotion I'd seen from him.
I watched as a tear rolled down Katie's face. I reached to put a hand on her shoulder but stopped myself.
"Roman got me to remember," Katie said, her voice trembling. "I remembered the emergency alert, and when those things broke down our doors. I watched as they dragged my parents out, then my baby brother, then me. I woke up in this fake world, in a family that isn't even mine, dating a boy who turns out to be one of the monsters who brought me here." She spluttered, and I began to cry silently as I realised what she was saying.
Roman eventually started driving again, occasionally getting a call from Morgan, but after the fifth call he threw his phone out the window. We drove until I fell asleep. I don't remember what I dreamed about, but it was peaceful. I think I was in that forest with Roman. We were children again, playing around in the trees, finding cool sticks and exploring the endless expanse of what felt like a fairytale, which I guess it was.
I was awoken by the abrupt sound of Roman's car door slamming. I looked outside and saw that it was daytime again. Trying to figure out where we had stopped, I noticed a giant sign that said “Library.” I hopped out of the car and jogged to catch up to Roman and Katie.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, clearly still being avoided. It was understandable, but it still hurt.
“I need to wake everyone up,” Roman said as we walked in and approached a computer.
I noticed we were getting odd stares from everyone as we walked by, which is when I also noticed that I looked like I had just come out the other side of a paper shredder. My clothes were all torn up with bits missing, apparently not possessing the magic healing ability that I do. The sound of Roman typing snapped me out of my self-conscious thoughts and redirected me to the computer screen.
"I'm going to be a while, guys," Roman said as he began writing out his story. "I need to tell the whole thing from the beginning. Go find a book or something.”
I looked over to Katie, her face void of expression, but a great sadness filled her now dry eyes, having cried all the tears she had. “Why don't you just wake up?” I asked, probably coming across as more insensitive than I intended.
“I've got nothing to go back to. Roman told me what the world is like back there. If my family is here, I have to find them and wake them up first,” she responded, finally meeting my eye.
I wanted to hug her so bad, but I knew she didn't love me anymore. She probably had a real boyfriend in the real world.
Hours went by as Katie and I found a place to sit and wait in silence, watching Roman. He looked funny in the little library chair, hunched over the computer. Such a big guy looked out of place here, his muscular presence overpowering that of the rest of the library's patrons, who were all either very old or very young.
I hate to admit I fell asleep, but I'm just telling the story how it was. I was awoken suddenly by sirens and shouts. “We have got you surrounded, come out with your hands up or we will come in and show you no mercy,” a man's voice yelled from outside through a speaker. I looked over to Roman, who was limping over to us as all the customers flooded out the exits.
“Get up, we need to leave. They've turned the law against us,” Roman ordered. Katie and I listened and followed him.
We made our way upstairs into the empty employee lounge, and Roman opened a window... with his elbow. “They've got every exit covered but this one. We need to jump,” he calmly told us. He stood up in the window frame, kicked off some of the remaining glass with his boots, and jumped to the roof of the single-story building below, wincing in pain as he landed on his bad leg.
That's when six armed officers kicked down the door and opened fire on Katie and me. I moved to block the bullets from hitting Katie, taking several hits to the head and back. I then pushed Katie through the window, and Roman caught her before I jumped out myself and followed.
We ran from rooftop to rooftop until we reached a ladder that led down into an alleyway, where we attempted to catch our breaths. Roman and Katie watched me intently as the bullets lodged in my body began to work their way back out, the wounds closing up after. My skin color shifted a little, and I felt a rattle leave my throat as a cold sweat came over me.
“Hey, control yourself,” Roman told me sternly. I nodded, struggling to remain composed.
“Did you finish the story?” Katie asked Roman.
“Yeah, I kind of had to rush the last part, but I got the message across,” he replied, slumping to the ground behind a dumpster, exhausted.
“What now?” I asked.
Roman looked at me, panting. “I'm gonna help Katie find her family, then I'm going back to Natalie,” he said between heavy breaths.
“What about Morgan?” I questioned, causing him to look down at his feet. “I don't even know her in the real world, and I would never have chosen to be with her. This place… it's like it wrote me a life that was least likely to let me remember who I am. The girl I'm engaged to is the complete opposite of Natalie. I've got a brother who lives with me, my parents are dead. There's literally nothing here to remind me of home, bro,” Roman said, shedding a couple of tears.
We waited in the alley until night, hearing sirens go back and forth every now and then. When Roman said we were in the clear, we made our way back to the car and started driving again. I noticed Roman's eyes fluttering after about an hour, and I told him I'd be happy to drive if he needed to sleep. I could tell that his ego didn't want to admit he was exhausted, and he also still didn't trust me, but he gave in and pulled over, falling asleep in the back seat as I drove off into the night.