I remember waking up in a hospital bed
I couldn’t speak and my legs wouldn’t move.
- What happened? I thought
The nurse told me I’d be in a coma for a year.
I remember the car accident, wondering if my parents were all right.
It took a while but I was able to speak and walk again, so I found out that my sister was in a coma and my father and mother were dead.
I didn’t know how to react when I heard the news.
I was also just a 15-year-old teenager.
it was a lot of information to process, the doctors told me
that she might wake up the next day or never again
There I was, a teenager who wasn’t quite right in the head.
with a shower of emotions falling on me
It took a while for me to be discharged.
The funeral was closed-casket, there wasn’t much left to show for it.
I left with my uncle and my aunt Anna, who would now be responsible for looking after me.
They lived in a small, cold town in the countryside.
And just like that my life changed completely
My uncle had a son who was three years older than me,
Jimmie, I hadn’t seen him for a long time. He was at the funeral but went back to college the same day.
My uncle Adam wasn’t very close to my family.
He was that uncle you see every 4 years who always shows up at your door out of the blue with a smile on his face.
I can’t help but notice that they had a nice big house with luxury furniture and other things.
in fact the town itself was quite prosperous I guess that’s to be expected, my uncle was a policeman one step away from becoming the sheriff my aunt was a housewife
Soon I would have to go back to school, if I already had few friends in Texas, imagine here.
I wasn’t very tall or short, I was about 1.75m, I was slim and had medium brown hair.
for a long time everything in my head was silent, when I was a child I ended up falling down the stairs due to my carelessness, I hit my head the doctor said that in the future it was possible that strange things could happen I did not extend at the time, until I began to see and hear things that for many were not real and small paranoia was not something very severe, they were small voices sometimes calling me or saying things that were too strange for me to understand, but soon my parents started giving me medication and for a long time everything stopped, my mind was quiet, but I always wondered how long it would stay that way.
I hated being a burden, I tried to give my aunt and uncle as little trouble as possible, they didn’t know about my problems and I preferred it that way, but who would have thought that I would trip over my own thoughts, I was quiet in class, I was very much my own person, but there was this guy his name was Thomas the personification of bullying a guy who had a face of about 18 but behaved like the age of 12 typical annoying bullying that every school has he never messed with me and I much less with him, but that day on the way out I saw him and 2 other boys sleeping with a boy from our class, clearly I didn’t want to get involved and just turn my back and walk away and say fuck it’s not my problem, but then they came back simply out of nowhere,
- help him
- what are you waiting for
- don’t be weak
- Damn it, I thought, I don’t know how long it’s been since I took my medication.
(The next thing I knew I was in front of Thomas and two other guys I didn’t know.)
Thomas- Hey, boy, nice hair, he said, opened his arms and said
Thomas- so can I help you with something? or just leave
(damn it, I couldn’t get into a fight like that out of the blue)
but the voices were getting louder and louder
I put my hands on Thomas’ face, gave him a little sarcastic smile
and I punched him right in the jaw before he could even get up and I punched him right in the nose, causing him to fall to the ground bleeding.
still on the ground he said
Thomas- Damn it, do you know who I am?
I just stared at him in silence
when the other two started coming at me Thomas said
Thomas- Don’t hit him now, it’ll be too little
Thomas- you’ll pay for this
so they left with Thomas still bleeding from the nose
I looked at the other boy and said
- Are you all right?
he replied
- he laughed and said, nice punch, possibly now you’ve made our school life a bigger hell, but thanks
- maybe
I held out my hand to him and said
- my name is Lucas, Lucas Williams
he shook my hand and said
- nice to meet you Isaac miller
Isaac- Williams, are you related to Officer Williams?
- Yes, he’s my uncle
Isaac- so i heard that officer Williams’ nephew was living with him now
you know how it is, small town things spread fast
So who was the bully? (I kind of already knew, but I asked to strike up a conversation)
Thomas Scott, son of city governor Brian Scott
(I seriously wondered what I had been doing for the previous 10 minutes - I didn’t know he was the governor’s son)
What the hell, I replied
Isaac said:
-Well, now we’re in the same boat
-why did you help me? you could have just left
I replied:
-Something tells me it was the right thing to do.
Who knew that guy would become my best friend
Time passed
strangely, our life didn’t become a living hell like Thomas had said, I just saw him giving me crooked looks sometimes, something like he wanted to hit me but couldn’t do anything about it.
time passed and nothing happened we were already halfway through the year
then out of nowhere Isaac comes up to me with a girl and says she’s his girlfriend.
her name was Sophia smith she was short about 1.65m around with long brown hair
I was happy for him, but like a good paranoid I couldn’t help but suspect that it might be something from Thomas, it would be good to be careful, I hope I’m wrong.
Sophia -Hey I see we have the same hair style
-yes it is I replied
-How did you meet?
Sophia- Ah well we met last year, but we never had the chance to talk and as fate would have it we have more in common than we expected.
I smiled and said, I’m happy for the couple
Sophia- Isaac told me that you’ve been living here for 6 months, so why did you choose a city like this?
My aunt and uncle live here and I moved here after the accident with my parents.
Isaac- I’m sorry, man, I know you don’t like to remember that.
No problem bro
1 years already, a year has passed, damn it, my sister hasn’t woken up, I was losing the hope I still had.
The voices were still there, I didn’t see the need to keep taking the medication, they hardly appeared in my daily life, which was great, but I knew they were still there.
But something in that town didn’t smell right to me, of course with time I saw that nothing “bad” happened there, which was normal because it was a small town, but the hospitals were empty as if no one got sick everyone was too friendly, I hit my head and said out loud (what the hell are you thinking) thankfully I was alone at home.
The next day the three of us went out for a bite to eat, me, Isaac and Sophia (apparently I was wrong about her, thankfully).
Sophia said: Have you heard any rumors about strange things happening in the forest?
-Weird stuff? like, what talking tree by any chance?
Sophia- Very funny
Sophia- I heard that there is a hole in the center of the forest, a completely bottomless hole, what do you think about going and seeing it?
-A bottomless pit? possibly just a well (or the perfect place to dispose of a body), I thought sarcastically.
Sophia- a well is very normal Lucas listening to stories that it is a hole how can I say it another way
- I laughed and replied, “I’ve never used drugs, but the one you used is certainly good.
Sophia, like Isaac and I, wasn’t born here, they lived here for 3 years and I for 1 so we didn’t know much about the city.
-What do you think?
Isaac-The forest isn’t very thick, but there’s still a chance we’ll get lost if we go there, but I’m a little curious-you know like no one else, Lucas, how things are still around here, don’t you want something new ?
(He was right, everything here is slow)
-You know what, let’s find that ultra-dimensional hole.
Sophia said with a smile
So are we going by day or by night, which is more exciting?
-Of course we’ll go during the day, I don’t want to fall into a hole without even being able to see it.
Sophia-Great, it’s a bit late, let’s go early tomorrow then.
We all agreed
We were on vacation, I thought it would be nice to get away from the all for a while, but I still couldn’t trust it 100%, damn paranoia, I think it would be good if I took a pocket knife just in case, my father was a gun collector, when he died they were all left to me, but since I wasn’t old enough to carry one, they were all kept with my uncle.
I went downstairs and my uncle was in the kitchen smoking a cigarette and I sat down next to him.
-Hey kid, how’s it going (we didn’t talk much)
-well I said
-Would you like a cigarette?
-What? I replied while laughing
-Here, take it, it’ll make you feel lighter.
I thought, fuck it, I took a Marlboro from the box, lit it and took a drag that went deep into my lungs and came back with a cough.
I hadn’t smoked a cigarette for about three years
-My uncle just laughed and said, I know everything you’ve been through kid, you need to de-stress a bit, I see you’re always quiet, I don’t know what’s going on in your young head, -here you can keep that cigarette butt, just don’t be curious enough to use drugs ok?
-I just laughed at the situation
he patted me on the back and said guess who’s going to be the new Sheriff from next week?
-Hmmm You?
he opened his arms and with a smile nodded happily
I got up from my chair, shook his hand and congratulated him.
Yes, young man, from the looks of things it seems like they saw my potential
-I’m happy for you
-Thank you son, thank you
-That’s it
he got up and went to his room
I wanted to ask him if he knew that there was a hole in the center of the forest, but apparently I didn’t have time for that.
The next day came and I met up with Isaac and Sophia near the entrance to the forest.
- I bet you 10 dollars we won’t find anything in there.
Sophia replied
- Bet accepted now let’s go
(Sophia was excited)
Me and Isaac will be right behind
- So what do you think?
Isaac-Maybe we’ll find an excavation hole or something, let her be happy.
I just gave a small smile and kept walking.
We walked and walked for a long time and nothing but trees and forest noises.
-- Sophia how long have we been here?
Sophia-you’re tired Lucas
Sophia-we arrived less than an hour ago
(It seemed like an eternity, my cell phone had broken, so I didn’t take it with me)
Out of nowhere, my body felt heavy, an unfamiliar sensation, a primal fear, I was breathless and dizzy.
Isaac- Bro, are you okay?
- I don’t know, I think my blood pressure dropped (no, I knew this wasn’t normal, much less my blood pressure).
Isaac-Let’s stop for a moment,
Sophia – are you okay?
- Yes, I just need to stop for a while
When I saw the hole between the trees
I pointed at him and said, “I think we found the damn hole.”
I got up, returned to normal and we got closer. It was a strange oval shape with roots coming out of it and looked strangely like a mouth.
I laughed and said - Well, there’s the hole, can we go now?
Isaac approached him and said
Isaac- Surely it’s not from some excavation or something
- What do you mean?
Isaac- It’s like something natural.
- Well, nature is a little strange
I didn’t say anything but I felt it, I felt the fear go to the depths of my soul and come back, an unknown fear, an overwhelming fear, it wasn’t natural, I took a deep breath, took a cigarette out of my pocket, smoked it and threw it into the hole.
Isaac-I didn’t know you smoked
- Someone needs to smoke this box here, I replied
- So what happens now?
- Are we leaving or what?
Sophia-Strange, it’s much less clear.
She took out her cell phone and saw that it was already 3:35 pm.
Isaac-what? How is this possible?
I felt a shiver run down my spine, as if something was watching us through the trees.
I grabbed my pocket knife
It was a fishing knife, not very long, with a wooden handle and a compass.
I had never seen a compass rotate like this before.
- I think we’ve had enough of strangeness for today. Let’s go.
We walked for about 20 minutes and we were already out of the woods, I didn’t understand, what happened? we walked for hours, how did we get out so quickly?
Sophia- ok ok ok that was very strange I’m going home I need to think about all this
At home I didn’t know what to think, what was all this?
When I realized it was night, I had nightmares about what had happened, I felt myself falling into that hole with the darkness hugging me, I woke up feeling cold,
- What was that?
- What was that?
- What did we find?
- Others know this
- The city knows something
- Run away, it’s dangerous to stay here
- Was it all real?
When I realized that the voices had returned, it was my mind playing tricks on me or warning me, I laid down to try to sleep but hours and hours passed until I saw the sun rise.
We met up again and from the looks of it, it wasn’t just because I hadn’t slept very well.
- So what the fuck was that?
Isaac- I don’t know, it was very strange
Sophia- We need to go back
- What? You are crazy?
- We don’t know what that hole
Sophia- This is exactly why we need to go back and find out.
Isaac- I didn’t sleep at all, I had a nightmare that I was falling into that hole.
You too,” Sophia and I said at the same time.
Isaac- Wait what? No, you dreamed about it too.
- Damn, what does that mean, let’s clarify the facts, this is not something normal, we don’t know what’s in that hole, but whatever it is, it manages to affect us in some way.
Sophia- Damn Lucas it’s not like we’re messing with a mind flayer that’s going to steal our brains
-Okay, sorry, but where did you really hear about that abyss?
Sophia- like I said I only heard some small rumors about silly things, it was like a story to scare children to stay away from the forest.
- apparently the stories are real
Isaac – then we’re not going to do anything, are we?
- I don’t intend to go back there, oh and Sophia here’s your 10 dollars
Sophia-Are you not going to go back there then?
- no
Isaac-neither fucking
- Sophia- okay then (lays down on the table somewhat discouraged)
- It doesn’t make sense, you can be sure that we are not the first to find it, as if that hole looked like it was years old, how come no one has found it yet?
Isaac- scared maybe?
- fear of what?
1 week later
The dreams continue every night with the same dream. I talk to Isaac and Sophia every day and they also continue dreaming about that abyss.
- I hate to admit it, but we have to go back there.
Isaac-What? Why did you change your mind like that?
- That thing is calling us, we can’t see it, I think we found something we shouldn’t have, something tells me that there’s something in there that we need to discover.
Sophia- Are you scared?
- Yes
Isaac – Yes
Sophia- Me too
- Tomorrow my uncle will become sheriff, so tomorrow we won’t be able to go.
Isaac- I heard it’s going to be a really big party.
- they like him a lot
- Let’s go to Thursday then
- Do you have weapons?
Isaac- I look like someone who carries a 9mm in their pocket.
Sophia- damn, I can’t argue with you Lucas, asking why you want to take a gun is such a stupid question, but no one in my house has one we don’t know what we’re going to find so taking a gun would be a good idea
Isaac- your uncle is the sheriff, there’s no way you can steal his gun.
- What a stupid question, of course not, but I have an idea.
- I’ll see you tomorrow at the sheriff’s party then.
At home I knew I had my father’s weapons, at least 30, pistols, rifles, shotguns and I only needed 3 pistols, the problem was that I would be putting weapons in the hands of people who wouldn’t know how to use them, my father had taught me 2 years ago, damn, my paranoia is at such a critical level, maybe there is nothing there, no, I know something like this is very unlikely
The next day we were all at the party, the whole city was there, I wasn’t much of a party person but I enjoyed it a little, as I didn’t know what awaited me in the forest the next day.
Isaac and Sophia were also there when I saw them I went towards them, when a man interrupted me it was the governor of the city, Thomas’s father, the same guy I hit 1 year ago,
Governor- Hey kid, so you’re the sheriff’s nephew, we’ve never been introduced, my name is Brian Scott, I’m the governor of the town.
-Nice to meet you I’m Lucas
Brian Scott- Oh I know who you are, I remember my son saying that a guy named Williams hit him at school about a year ago when I asked him about his bruised nose
(Damn, I thought, I don’t want to be branded by the city governor)
- Sir, I’m sorry about that
Brian Scott- No need kid, my son is a bit of a problem, I don’t think I had time to raise him properly, well, he won’t bother you, don’t worry, well, I’ll let him enjoy the party.
(Holy shit, if that wasn’t divine luck, I don’t know what was)
I approached Isaac and Sophia
Isaac- was that Governor Scott?
- Yes, apparently he’s not mad at me for hitting his son last year.
Sophia-that’s crazy no, if you hadn’t helped Isaac we probably wouldn’t even be here, well, changing the subject, do you really think we’ll need a gun?
- It would be nice to take one for each of us, but do you know how to shoot?
Sophia-I have no idea
Isaac-I just know that the trigger goes off
- Are you okay with not carrying a gun?
Sophia and Isaac nod
- Okay then, but at least take a knife
They both agree
Night fell and we were at home, the sheriff slumped in the armchair and my aunt asleep in the bedroom. It wasn’t hard to get the keys to the shed and, holy shit, there was an armory there, but all I needed was the M1911 eight-shot pistol, my dad’s favorite. I took two more loaded chargers and put them on my waist, closed everything and returned the keys to the same place I took them from.
Another night with that damn nightmare, it had to stop, the day was born again.
I met with Isaac and Sophia, we all had backpacks with water and something to eat.
We walked a long way and nothing came out of the hole, we arrived at the same place as last time, I looked at the ground and found the same cigarette I had smoked that day, my blood ran cold.
Did that thing move?
Isaac- how? it’s not possible
Sophia- maybe we came to the wrong place
- No, (I took out my pocket knife and the compass was normal that thing moves with the magnetic field if the pointer is crazy it means we are close)
I told them my theory
So we kept walking until the compass started going crazy and we were close.
And there he was, right in front of us, the Unknown.
- Look at him there
Sophia- My plan may seem crazy, but at first I wanted to go down there.
Isaac- No chance (holds Sophia’s arm)
(At that moment I thought what do I have to lose?)
Whatever it was, it was slowly messing with our minds, and I was certainly the weakest mentally, so I would be an easy target.
- I go
Isaac- wait, none of us are going there Lucas
- Dude, I need to find out, I already have enough problems in my head, I don’t need shitty dreams fucking me at night.
Sophia tied the rope to a tree
Isaac-What the hell, man? Fuck it, let’s go.
- You changed your mind very quickly, right?
Isaac- Come on man, I’m not going to let my best friend and my girlfriend go into an abyss that only God knows what’s inside. We are in this together as much as I hate to admit it.
Sophia- Well, I think you know my answer.
I approached that abyss while Sophia tied the rope, I pointed my flashlight and all I could see was darkness, it was like a black hole, we wouldn’t know what was inside.
We threw the ropes until we could no longer see them, it was today that we were going to find out what all the madness was about and that’s why we went down.
observation: It’s the first time I’ve written a story with a mystery idea that wasn’t so short so I decided to post it, I already have an idea for part II There are parts that I thought ran out of ideas, they may have seemed very empty, well I accept criticism and ideas :)