As I sit here, gazing at the abomination staring back at me. I begin to think back to the day it all began. It started out as any other normal day would have, and how I wish it stayed that way. I woke up late for work… again. I decided to go ahead and continue my morning routine of going to the store, getting an energy drink, and checking the mail. I sat down at my computer, as I work from home, but couldn’t bring myself to even start. Something was off. I was numb. I went day in and day out doing the same things. My team and I would sit in calls complaining about the direction our company was headed, knowing damn well that we had no control over changing it no matter how much we could prove we were right. I decided instead to take a few extra minutes to go grab a quick bite to eat, but when I stepped outside and approached my car, it happened.
The sky turned a mysterious shade of green, and a mysterious rumbling began. Not like an earthquake or the sound of a train going by, but a genuine disturbance in the atmosphere around me. I could feel the air rumbling. As I stared at the sky, a crack began to appear as if from some plane of existence beyond our own. The open air had physical cracks in it. I distinctly remember the pit of my stomach feeling like it was trying to fall out the back end of me. Then, it appeared. The cracks began to widen and an eye appeared. In case you’ve somehow not seen it yet, let me describe it for you. It appeared in the sky 3 times larger than the sun, but clearly in the uppermost levels of the atmosphere or beyond as it was shrouded by the atmosphere separating it from me. Its iris was a toxic shade of green and it had a pupil not unlike a goat. You know that flat rounded line? What would typically be the white of the eye was so bloodshot in appearance that one would assume it was naturally red in color. Ironically the thing that stood out to me the most, as the most unsettling feature. was the fact it never did blink. I never once saw it blink.
What came next was the thing of nightmares… people. Panic. It’s a powerful thing that can never be underestimated in its ability to create monsters of men. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me tell you how quickly society descended into madness. As I stood there, staring at this monstrosity that almost appeared as though it was focused on me, I called my parents. “Hey, mom. Have you stepped outside today?” I asked. My mom replied, “Honey, of course I’ve seen it. It’s all over the news.” After making sure they weren’t in a state of utter panic, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I proceeded to drive into town. To put this in perspective, I live in a small town of only about 350 people. However, there is a larger town only 7 miles north of me. As I began to leave I noticed things were quiet in my neck of the woods. People were all outside gazing into the eye the same as I was, but honestly, I was still hungry. I went to the local dollar store, and it was empty. In hindsight, I assume whoever was working probably left to be with their loved ones. So yes, I stole a protein bar, another energy drink, and a bag of chips. I don’t think it mattered at that point. Well, curiosity got the better of me and that brings us to the chaos of man. I drove to the previously mentioned larger town, and it was like the apocalypse had already happened. There were buildings on fire, bodies beside the street, looting, the works. Keep in mind, all that the eye had done to this point was appear. Nothing else. After seeing more than enough of the downfall of society, I turned around to head home. That’s when I got a first person taste of how awful people can be when they panic.
As I exited from the highway to hit the overpass and exit back southbound I saw a car on the side of the road with a somber looking man sitting next to it. I rolled my window down and asked if he was okay. He stood up and began walking toward my car. His eyes. I’ll never forget, his eyes were more terrifying than the looming monstrosity above. By the time I had noticed and decided to act it was too late. He got to the window and proceeded to reach inside and grab me by the throat. Out of sheer panic I slammed the gas, but he didn’t relent. He just screamed, “Nothing is okay! The world is doomed!” Eventually, his grasp slipped and he hit the pavement. I don’t know if he survived, but considering I was going 55 mph by the time he loosened his grip, I’d assume he didn’t. I got home and flipped on the news to discover my small neck of the woods had nothing on what was going on on a global scale. Death tolls were already estimated to be in the millions. Between the killings, the suicides, and the accidents caused in the panic, humanity was falling apart. There were places that hadn’t even seen it yet because it never left its spot in the sky… right above me… staring at me. That didn’t stop people from losing their collective minds. Some claimed it was God coming to “take us home.” Others claimed it was the outer gods of Lovecraftian lore. I didn’t know what it was. All I know is that the numbness never subsided. Almost as if my brain was fried at the lack of comprehension of what was happening.
Then, the strangest thing happened, nightfall. As The sun began to set, I stared, unrelenting at the eye. How could I not? It was staring right at me. The longer I looked the more uneasy I felt. Once the sun finally went down you could still see the eye, although it was just a perfectly round black silhouette blocking the stars and moon. Just a solid black disc in the sky. I did my best to fall asleep, but it simply wasn’t going to happen. Instead I lay awake in my bed and that was when my mind began trying to rationalize what was happening. Why was I unusually calm given the circumstances? Why was it directly above me? Why was it staring at me? Lastly, why did it never blink? All of a sudden a shift in the air happened. A noticeable change in the atmosphere. Almost as if a weight was lifted. I looked at the clock, and it read 8:34 a.m. Had I really been awake all night?
I stepped outside to notice the sky was still green but the eye had vanished. At that point only 2 thoughts crossed my mind. The first was obviously, “Where the hell did it go?” The second I’m ashamed to admit was, “Shit, I should’ve got a picture.” I guess I could’ve at least proven it was staring at me, but alas that ship had sailed. I flipped over to the news to discover the world was in absolute shambles. I guess living in a tiny area like mine has its advantages. I drove to my parents’ place to check on my mom and dad to make sure they were still okay. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t call. Luckily, the worst of it for them was just being shaken up by the whole ordeal, but they’ll live. It’s been 6 months to the day since the eye came and went. Life has changed drastically. Power grids took a lot of damage, ironically from people. Again, the eye never moved. There were some residual issues after the eye disappeared. The day the eye vanished, cell phone towers, internet, everything went down. We still haven’t gotten that back yet. Luckily the TV stations are still up and running, but not if you were running a satellite. People have begun to adapt and adjust. The wounds are still there, the scars will never fully heal. However, it would seem that in the end, humanity was its own greatest enemy in this whole ordeal. I don’t know what became of the eye, but as I’ve been telling this story, I can feel the air get heavy. Almost as if I can feel a rumble.