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No Rest Tonight
Posted By: kr142616<kr142616@aim.com>
Date: 29 August 2008, 2:34 am
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what…? where are they? where'd everyone go? the dark it's the dark…they were taken in the dark…by the dark they're all gone where are these devils these monsters THEY'RE COMING from the dark they're coming these monsters i can hear them where are they? where'd the sound go there was sound before dreadful sound there was sound…screaming SCREAMING…but the sound stopped…swallowed up by the dark…something in the dark…devils…monsters…lost them, lost…they're gone…so quiet…
so quiet in the dark, the dark I won't be afraid of the dark…
wait…no more…but there's still sound, inhuman sound yipping like children, wicked children…but there aren't any children here, nothing human here…the monsters, it's the monster…there's a sound, a deep sound…they're coming oh god THEY'RE COMING! those devils, those monsters, those BEASTS oh god…
oh god…
i…i'm afraid…i…i can hear them again…my heart's deafening, they can hear me too, where do i run, so quiet so LOUD where can i go, dark, where is there to go they'll find me…i can hear them and they can hear me…alone in the dark, stumbling, tired, numb…where'd the sound go? gone again…
they're coming…
so quiet…
Joseph slammed into the tree, his armor plates clacking against the rough bark, chest heaving steadily, burning from exertion. He squeezed his eyes shut, tight, his fingers flexing on the grip of his assault rifle. For a long moment he remained still, no thought extending beyond the next shuddering breath. Then, he heard them, and his eyes snapped open.
"I won't be afraid of the dark."
It wouldn't have made a difference if his eyes were open or shut. The darkness was enveloping, suffocating. For an instant Joseph stopped breathing, letting it all close in on him, but then the moment had passed, and oxygen was once again pushed harshly through ragged airways.
"I won't be afraid of the dark," he repeated, his voice a hoarse whisper. He knew, logically, that he wasn't. But he also knew what hid in the dark, and that—that terrified him.
He needed to rest, needed any break he could get. But he wouldn't get any, he knew. Again, closer, he heard the sinisterly childish yipping, and the deep, guttural barking. No, there'd be no rest tonight.
With a grunt, Joseph lunged forward, wincing in pain, and fell back against the bark hard, eliciting an involuntary gasp from his lips. He pressed them shut at this betrayal, fearing the slightest noise in the pressing darkness would reveal his location.
For another long moment Joseph remained still, gathering his strength, lips moving in silent prayer. Again, he jerked forward, and again, he fell back, slamming against the tree as violently as before. And again, he heard them, ever closer.
Maybe they wouldn't see him. Maybe they were just as blind as he was in this God-forsaken darkness. The terror and vain hope tore at Joseph's heart, dragging him into despair, and it was all he could do to make one final effort. He leapt forward, but instead of standing upright, fell face-first into the dirt, stones scraping across his armor.
Joseph dragged himself across the ground, each movement sending a searing pain through his belly. Groping through the darkness, his hands found another tree. He pulled himself against it in a sitting position, and looked down. It took Joseph several long seconds to realize that, in the dark, he would see nothing. He removed his gloves, and slid his hands across his torso, seeking the source of his pain.
Almost immediately he found it. His hands met warm metal, jutting out nearly a handspan from his midsection. Without thinking, he pulled. The spike came free with a wet sound and a rasp of metal on metal. A fresh stab of pain shot through his body, and too late, Joseph realized his mistake. Fluids flowed freely from the wound, down his armor, soaking his hands, and, closer than any of the previous times, he heard a bone-rattling roar.
"I won't be afraid of the dark," he wailed, shaking, as he dropped the bloodied spike from his hands with a dull clatter. His head dipped, no longer able to support his heavy helmet, and he felt the tears welling in eyes he realized remained shut. "I won't be afraid of the dark."
The night had gone suddenly silent, all save a feral, grumbling chortle. Joseph opened his eyes slowly and lifted his head, not to dark but a night bathed in greens and oranges and violets and reds, and in that night those devils, those monsters… With a shuddering breath, he shut his eyes again, letting the weight pull his head down.
"I'm afraid of the dark."
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