“Finally, we’re here.” I bit my lip while looking at Stacy in front of me. She seductively sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at me with those puppy eyes. As weak as I was, I lunged towards her and pushed her down onto the bed. We locked our eyes and we both smiled widely, finally. We’d been on a road trip throughout the country and it had been a long day of driving. Luckily, we found a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere.
“Kiss me then big boy.” Stacy giggles and bit her lip. Just as I was about to kiss her, there was a knock on the door. We froze and I turned my head to the door.
“Who could it be…” I stood up and opened the door. There was a woman standing there, late 50s if I had to guess. Her broad smile reached from ear to ear while holding out a flier.
“Hello! Sorry to disturb you, but we have a local event that starts in an hour! It only happens once every five years so we encourage everyone to come! Even visitors. In fact, I think everyone will appreciate seeing some fresh faces in this town!”
“Uh miss, we’re really busy and tired I-”
“Come on, only for one hour or so, please swing by!” I sighed loudly and turned to Stacy. She rolled her shoulders and I turned back to the woman.
“Well, we’ll think about it. Where is this event held?”
“Oh, sounds great! Just follow the road up ahead and you’ll see a lot of lights. You can’t miss it!” She pointed to the left of the main road and just kept smiling. I give her the best smile I could of my own and closed the door slowly.
“Thank you, miss.” As I closed it, I still had eye contact with her. That smile of hers became more eerie for each millisecond I looked at it. I shiver crawled up my spine and my body shook for a second.
“Well Steven, that’s fun isn’t it?” I sat next to her on the bed and kissed her.
“We still have one hour to go. Am I wrong?” Stacy smiled again and we continued our own festivities.
We began walking down the road, looking out for any lights in the distance. But no lights in sight yet. More minutes of walking and we were cloaked in darkness. At this point both me and Stacy worried if we’re going int he right direction. But soon after, far away to our left on a field there were lights in the distance.
We hurriedly made our way over there and just like we’d been told, there were festivities going on. There were tables with food, people dancing and a massive fire that lit up the night sky. As we reached the crowd, the woman who’d given us the flier approached us and dragged us towards the others.
“Everyone! We have guests.” Stacy and I stood there like statues, a little embarrassed. We shook our hands to say hello. Everyone’s faces turned towards us, all wearing that smile and wide-open eyes like the woman. I got goosebumps. Something felt wrong. I couldn’t really pinpoint what it was but something was off.
“Welcome!”
“Welcome you two!”
“Welcome and have fun!” Everyone welcomed us and slowly made their way towards us. We shook hands with some people and then they placed us near the food. We ate some, then just watched as others danced around the fire. There were no kids. If I had to guess, most people were around their 30s. This went on for some time and their laughs had echoed inside my head. It was eerie rather than happy.
A tap on my shoulder brought back my senses and I jumped into place. I turn to my right and it’s that woman again. Her wide smile from ear to ear and that piercing stare. But as I was looking at her I noticed. They never blinked. None of them had. It’s as none of them had any eye sockets in the first place how wide their eye always was.
“Enjoying your time young man?`”
“Y-yea, but we have to go soon.”
“Oh, do not worry, we just have one event coming up soon. After that, you are free to leave.” I nod in nervousness and Stacy noticed. She gripped my hands tightly and I answered the same. The woman clapped her hands and the music, dancing and cheering stopped. Two other people brought chairs over to me and Stacy and we sat down. Everyone else stood around the fire, just watching it. This went on for a minute. I was terrified the whole time. I don’t know why. The setting, the people, their faces, their smiles. Something was not right. The people around the fire began chanting something otherworldly, in some language I’d never heard before.
“Stacy, let’s go.” I grab her hand and was on my way to stand up but two people behind me put me down and began tying me to the chair, and two others doing the same to Stacy.
“Hey stop it!” I tried my best to resist but it was futile. The chanting became louder and louder and everyone began raising their hands up to the sky. But then everything went quiet. Not even the wind made any noise.
Then it happened. It was as if the skin of everyone around the fire slipped off. All at the same time. Everyone turned to purple meaty figures standing around the fire. I can’t explain it any better. No detail, no face, just purple flesh constructed as a human body.
“What is going on? What the fuck is this?!” Looking behind me to the two people who’d tied me down they looked the same. Their skin was on the ground and their purple bodies stood upright. I could get a closer glance. There were some details. Scars, stripes, something. Maybe it was just their blood vessels crawling around under their skin.
My breath got faster and faster and my heart began throbbing. I could hear Stacy panic and she screamed for help. But no movement from anyone.
“Suddenly, the people around the fire began moving towards it. They all stepped inside one after another while laughing ominously. They began piling up into this huge meat pile of purple alien bodies.
After everyone had done their deed, the pile began moving on itself. It had become one, a massive beast. Shapes conjured. A mouth, thousands of teeth. A single purple eye and thousands of tentacles. The creature rolled out of the fire, let out this deep monotone growl and begun coming towards us.
I began screaming for help as well but no one was in sight. The purple figures behind us push the chairs forward and we fall over to the ground.
“Fuck fuck STOP THIS!” I tried my best. But I knew it was over. It was my fault. Why did I open the door? Why did I decide to go here in the first place? The purple figures behind us became one with the beast as well, making it grow. It was slowly making its way towards us.
Suddenly, someone was untying the knot, holding me down. I looked to my side just to see Stacy had gotten free.
“Oh my god Stacy, hurry!” I could hear her sobs and heavy breath as she did her best. The beast was meters away from us when she somehow managed to set me free. I began running without looking back. I ran and ran.
“Stacy, we did it! Let’s get the fuck out of here!” No answer. I looked to my side. No one. I looked back. I saw her. The gaped open mouth, the jaw dislocated, hanging free. Her eyes rolled up into her head. Her gasping for air and her hand reaching out for me. A tentacle was penetrating her head.
“I will remember you.” Her voice had become dark, eerie, otherworldly. The beast was controlling her. The beast threw her body into the air and she merged within it. I kept running without looking back, back to the motel. Grabbed my stuff, jumped into the car and got the fuck out of there.
It was my fault; I killed her. I’ve told no one what happened that day. I’m too scared. I can’t trust anyone who knows when someone’s skin will drop. There are creatures out there that no one knows of, creatures from another world. We humans are only tools for their great ascension.