Weeks go by, I'm getting low on food... I grab my wallet, forty dollars would do. Although I hate it, I have to take out of my savings. My savings were to go live with grampa, but I don't think that's a choice anymore. 

The land has shut down no one goes in no one comes out. People have been disappearing and if I do see a person, it's like the soul has been taken out. Soulless decrypt people now walk the streets.

Nobody ever roams the streets anymore...Like a ghost town

I go to the walmart the R always flickers, the one thing that never changes. I step into the place. The shelfs are mostly empty. But I grab the eggs, some frozen meals and some ramen packets. I stand at the register no one's there... 

"Hello?" I call out but no one comes. I stand there for a while, Should I go take a look...  

I look around the walmart but no one. I leave my cash on the register, and leave. The walk home was boring, although I did see a man questionably eat gravel off the road?

Yeah, no I don't play around with that. That was some freaky shit. I stand outside my door and look around. I heavily sigh before going inside. Nothing seems real everything's just so grim. I place my groceries on the counter.

I stare at the clock for a second, I thought someone was behind me. But still no one, mom always said I'm too paranoid. I take out a frozen meal, good ol' alfredo. Before wrapping up I stare at the clock once again.

The time hasn't changed... I'm probably imagining it.

I wake up hours before my alarm. It's quiet, too quiet. My stomach then rumbles for the demand of food. I get up yawning, the moon is still high above the misty clouds. I open my door to the dark hallway. On the other side I can hear my name 

Alex 

Alex 

Alex...

It's a child's voice... A playful tone it is, yet I'm not scared. I tell myself that until I swiftly turn on the lights and scope the hallway. No one I rub my eyes it's a dream, just a dream. I close my eyes and skip down the stairs. 

Running to the kitchen, I pull out a knife from the knife block. Holding it I can hear the gushing sounds. "Mon...stera?" She says as she takes hold of my neck. I bite down on my lip. It's not her, my hands drop the knife. 

I slowly look down. And in the reflection, I can see her. With her deformed face. That's not the Fay-Fay I know. My eyes water, keeping the little of what composer I have left. I start hyperventilating, I can't control my breaths. 

I turn around and I'm in my bed. I take a loud gasp, sensing back to reality. One minute before my alarm goes off. Five am, I slink myself up I run my fingers through my hair. I stop to focus on my breathing.

Inhale... Exhale

My alarm blares it's reconning tune. I turn it off and lay in bed, reflecting on what happened. Loud thumps and sounds of things crashing come down from the living room. I open the door, just like the supposed dream.

The sounds become louder and louder I take a step back. Firm beefy arms wrap around me. A thick raspy voice starts "Ahem... I suggest you won't go down there." It pricks my neck sending chills down my spine

The grip tightens, locking me in their grasp. They pushed me against the wall "W-who are you!" I groaned. "Don't worry about that... Now stay still for me" I start squirming "Please let me go!" He huffed "Stay still!" The man roared back at me. 

I start crying and yelling for him to leave me alone. The man stabs my side I cried out. I then kicked the wall pushing back to the floor. 

I need to get out-... The man from the cave! Suddenly multiple tentacles came from his mouth. His face started to deform with bumps like pimples.  His eyes turn black. I move back but he pulls me in, the tentacles go down my throat...

A weird slimly grape flavored liquid is released into my mouth. I can't move the tentacles are too deep gushing down my esophagus. The grip is too strong. I need to release myself.  Liquid is gushing down my esophagus for what comes up splatters in my face.

The tentacles launch down my throat choking me I can't breathe.

I stay calm trying my best not to make it more unbearable. I close my eyes something on the man's outer thigh shines in the corner of my eye. A knife! 

I take a deep breath through the sticky situation. 

I hold his head down and slice myself away. The only thing I taste is a mixture of blood and grape. The tentacles left inside me exploded in my throat. It burns me but that doesn't stop me!

I stab him from the shoulder to the chest, slicing it nonstop as a dying hope. But this thing won't go down. Fluids plasters across my face entering my eye. My vision goes in and out.

The man does an indescribably unworldly roar.

His messed-up torso ties together before my eyes. And it looks like I did nothing...

Everything... healed

His hand swiftly charges for my face, but it's blown off from something else. Just for a moment silence. Before my eyes what unfolds is uncappable of processing it was too fast for my eyes comprehend.

they were there then they weren't

will be revealed in the next chapter...

word count: 939