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Late-night TV, reruns of teen comedy shows and blank news stories flashed colours throughout her dark room. The table reflected the glare of cartoons and sitcoms off of the glass surface, mirroring the canned-laughter-filled comedy. Sleep was appearing to be the most favourable option at this time, but something dragged her onwards to keep searching for whatever cheesy writing would entertain her that night. It got to the point where she’d even been watching the news for fun.
Stories of global sorrow passed through her sleepy, unattentive ears, singing horrid lullabies as she finally began to doze off. *BEEP* ‘Your normal broadcast is being interrupted with breaking news. All civilians in the Rosebush area are ordered to stay inside for their own safety. Please remain calm, staying away from all doors and windows. Further information will be shared momentarily.’ She jumped awake, staring at the flashing red screen, painting her darkened walls burgundy as the screen remained.
In her half-awake stupor, she stood up to lock her door and close her curtains. As she got halfway across the room, the television began to flash again. A rather pudgy anchorman sat at the news table, clearly shaken by something he’d seen or heard. ‘Further information on tonight’s warning, multiple homicides have been reported across Rosebush County. Inhabitants are being told to go or stay inside. Make sure all windows and doors are closed, locked and covered from the outside world.’ As he finished his sentence, she rushed directly to the window. The sky was no longer black, it was red. A scarlet shade passed over every inch of the sky and ground surrounding Rosebush county, painting the county a sickly shade of blood red.
Closing the curtains and locking her door frantically, she rushed back to the television in anticipation of more possible information on the homicides. The screen cut to black completely, leaving her alone in a room of complete darkness. The screen flashed as words began to appear. A sentence appeared to be forcing its way onto the screen, wavering vertically as if someone was trying to stop it. THEY WERE DRAINED. The large white words popped onto the screen. The meaning was unclear, but the message was unsettling. Who was drained? Drained of what? Who are they? Questions flew through her mind like cars on a busy highway.
CLOSE ANY OPEN WOUNDS, COVER SCABS. New words flashed on the screen, now beginning to scare her even more than she’d already been before. The words flashed off the screen, leaving the room in pitch darkness yet again. The screen flashed back to the news broadcast, showing the news anchor terrified and lost in the sentences that were put on the screen. ‘I’m sorry folks at home, it appears someone has found a way to hijack our channel. Here at Channel 14 News, we report the news and surely don’t attempt to spread fear to our viewers. We apologize for any inconvenience and for potentially scaring any of you viewers. Please stand by for further updates.’ The anchor rested his head in his hands, clearly frustrated by the messages shared.
She sat up further now, examining the Anchorman’s body language. ‘Well, what the hell are we supposed to tell them? We can’t even show that, can we?’ Channel 14 appeared to have accidentally continued broadcasting, leaving the camera on as they began talking about what information they’d share next. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, they began rolling again, believing they had just turned the camera back onto him. ‘Hello, Rosebush residents.’ The anchor sat up, further, adjusting his posture as he readied himself to share information on the homicides.
‘I would like to ask that any viewers that may be pregnant, at risk of any heart conditions, or those who would prefer not to view any graphic imagery to look away at this time. What we are about to show is highly disturbing and not to be viewed by children.’ The screen flashed black, suddenly filling with static. A video began to roll on the screen, surrounded by the blue Channel 14 banner. ‘In the video shown now, one of many victims of tonight’s homicides is shown. The victim’s corpse has been drained of all blood by who- whatever creature is even capable of this.’ The video panned onto a greyed-out corpse, lying face down as a police officer examined the area surrounding it. ‘Not shown in the video, all bodies are missing their eyes, ears, tongue and nose. Oh, my g-. We’re seriously running this? What kind of awareness is this supposed to spr-’ The video feed cut out alongside the audio. She stood up, now thinking of where in her own house she could hide.
‘We’d like to apologize for the last segment shown. The graphic imagery was not what we wish to share with the public and for that we are sorry.’ The anchorman sat at the news table, his slicked-back hair now beginning to fall to the front and sides as if he’d been sweating profusely. ‘What? We have further news to share! Yay! Doomsday is upon us, everyone! The skies are red and only in Rosebush! Doesn’t that give you hope? Outside sources have shared pictures of completely dark skies, but not Rosebush! Our skies are red and the death toll is up to 900! Isn’t that great? 15% of our population has died in one night! Now it’s just a matter of who’s next! Could be you, could be me!’ The anchorman sunk into his hands, breaking down into tears on the news desk. ‘We’re screwed! What the hell is even killing us? Everybody who knew is dead, guess we’ll all know soon!.’
The camera continued rolling, showing the completely inconsolable anchorman lose all hope as he leaned over his desk. Faintly in the broadcast, a high-pitched ominous tone could be heard playing in the background. ‘What in god’s nam-’ The anchorman froze mid-sentence, standing up and looking forward. It appeared as if he’d lost control over his own body, standing and staring eerily into the distance. His vacant eyes stood still, no longer blinking or tearing up as he watched something behind the camera. With a quick bang, the camera flipped over and onto the ground. In the background, a sound of struggle could be heard. ‘I can see him. I can hear him. I can feel him. I can taste him. I can smell him. O Holy Father.’ The anchorman blurted these words out before letting out a blood-curdling, primal scream. The camera feed cut out as her television turned off, completely by itself.
Stepping away from the TV, she moved cautiously in the dark in order to turn on a lamp. The lamp lit up the room. Dread filled her as she watched the unpowered television, now oozing blood onto the carpet, flash back on. The TV was now showing a feed of her living room, directly focusing on her from the corner of a room. A high-pitched ominous note could be heard behind her as she turned to face the source of the noise. Dimly lit in the corner of the room, a tall and slim figure stared at her blankly, as if waiting for her to do something. She could no longer move as it continued to stare. She was frozen in place, locking eyes with the creature responsible for the deaths of the entire county.
As she stood, her body began to force her to speak. ‘I can see him. I can hear him. I can feel him. I can taste him. I can smell him. O Holy Father.’ She blurted her last words out as the creature approached.