I was late leaving the laboratory that night, the sky had turned dark and the flames of the street lamps were ablaze. Having scarcely made my way back home, I noticed something that I should only describe as a presence. Although I could not say exactly what it was, it filled me with a kind of dread, one that would not be easily shaken. Walking now at a brisk pace, I hurried back to the warmth of my home, familiar and comforting. Upon my arrival I flung the heavy wooden door open, quickly slamming it shut once inside. Wasting no time I flicked on every lamp and light I could find. Finally I sat in my arm chair and kept awake until my eyes began to disagree with my thoughts and I drifted to sleep.
The following day I felt almost hollowed out, I was unsure what had caused me such a fright, yet certain that it had put me in some mortal danger. I decided to resign myself to work, keeping those cold intuitions in the back of my mind.
On that day a man arrived at the laboratory and was quite up front about his reasons for being there. He carried himself with a self assured swagger while remaining very neat and tidy. His suit was a dark blue and his watch sparkled under the fluorescent lights, even while speaking he checked it often. His intention was to give our laboratory a hefty grant in exchange for us delving deeper into the research of cellular regeneration. I realized this man must be very wealthy, given his reasons for being there and fancy clothing. After a few days of deliberation on the details it was settled. We would accept the grant and pour more resources into our research of cellular regeneration, perhaps, we thought, there could be a way to keep our bodies intact for much longer than nature allowed.
This development generated an excitement in my mind. We could bring on scientific innovation that would change all of society and more. To lessen the suffering of families and allow important work to be carried on, longer. As I closed the doors to my place of work after an extended work day, I felt tired, but accomplished. This was work that could impact the world and I was on the front line. This feeling was hardly with me for a moment before that old dread came over me once again.
I glanced around through the dark, alone, although I became sure that I was not. Increasing my pace, I hurried from street lamp to street lamp, their light seeming to me bastions of safety. There was a long stretch barren of light however, and through this area I began glancing frantically. I needed to remain certain nothing might come out sharply from a sly corner, hiding in the dark. That was when I first laid eyes upon it. In the direction from which I had traveled, there was a silhouette and a slight glint, standing perfectly still. There was a menacing aura around it, no light touched it and yet it seemed to call an even darker black than night to its side. I stood frozen as well, but only for an instant, before sprinting desperately back into my home. I could not say why at the time, why this filled me with such unbridled terror, but it did and I knew it deep inside that it was justified. That night, after switching on the lights with fearful urgency, I found the old whiskey bottle my father had gifted me years ago and allowed it’s warmth to lull me into sleep.
Upon my groggy awakening, my head was still swimming and I clumsily made my way back to the laboratory. Despite the sun’s light, an echo of the anxiety from last night still rang in my skull. As before, I took sanctuary in my work, desperately indulging in the mentally challenging work of learning the secrets of the cell. If I could do this, I thought, then there would be little in the way of Earthly things that could cause fear. After all, if we are able to turn back the clocks of our physical selves, bodily harm should seem a silly thing to worry about. This is what I continued to tell myself as I worked, now sleeping most nights at my desk, or had I left at all? It was as though I had paralyzed myself into a trance of work and worry. That figure was still out there, somewhere and if this code could be cracked, well then, it would cease to be a threat.
That thing! Oh how I despised its hold upon my mind, always there if only in the background. Sometimes I felt that I could see it out of the corner of my eye, only to turn and find nothing. I felt consumed by its gaze and the only way to break it’s grasp was through my work at the laboratory.
My boss came to me at the end of one day with a look of grave concern. They informed me that while my great efforts and lengths were appreciated, that I needed to go home and rest. Although I gave much protest, there was no relent and upon my acceptance I felt that sense of doom wash over me like a dark wave in a sea of black. I was almost at a breakthrough, I was sure of it. I made my case, which was then summarily dismissed by my boss, who merely repeated the request for me to spend at least one night at my own home. Then, I was also informed that our billionaire benefactor had died. While much of the grant was still ours to use, this was unnerving. He seemed the picture of health not so long ago and now, he was simply gone. Whatever hopes he had for our research in his own life were gone now too. I had asked about the cause of death, to which my boss replied with all the grace of a hammer, “heart attack.”
My own heart began beating ferociously against my chest as I left that day. It was like a ravenous dog tearing at flesh in a desperate bid for survival. Despite this I tried to remain composed on the long walk home. It felt darker outside now than ever before, a blackness that extended from the sky and reached right into my soul. As I walked over a bridge I felt it. The piercing gaze of the figure. I knew it had its eyes fixed upon me from somewhere and I stopped. My chest hurt from the maddening rhythm pounding from within. Turning around slowly I peered cautiously at my surroundings. About 50 meters directly behind me, there it stood. That perilous shape, it was a man, or was it a woman? Perhaps it was neither. That glint I had seen before was now clear to me, the only thing I could make out upon it, was it’s smile. It was a horrible smile, grinning with some knowing pleasure. Teeth whiter than a sheet and larger than any mortal man’s should be. Somehow, I worked up the courage to shout,
“WHAT IS IT THAT YOU FOLLOW ME FOR?!”
It remained silent, with its disgusting smile, and it’s dimming presence. Then it took a step forward, or at least it seemed to, I never noticed a leg pushing it towards me. At this, I turned around to run, but as I swiveled my body in the other direction, my vision was enveloped with that hardy black and now that awful THING was now blocking my path. A mere 10 paces ahead of me. It smelled rotten and it’s mouth twisted with a horrible delight.
“you should know…” it’s voice sounded as though it was several people, or things, speaking at the same time, slowly. “…there is no escape.”
As rapidly as it had appeared it was now gone. I was now on my knees, my legs had failed me. I was still conscious, but completely unable to move. Mouth wide with terror and shock. There was nothing that could explain this, science I thought could shine light on everything of our world, but this thing was from somewhere else. Some primordial creature that had shook me down to my very soul. I still can’t speak to what it was, but since then I have rarely left my home. Instead, I imbibe myself with whiskey and sitting patiently by the fireplace, for now I know, there is no escape.