Wind whistled through swaying trees as Jake gazed into the descending dark. In the distance, the sounds of baying hounds drew closer, drawn to the scent of flesh and blood emitted by the ancient horror rising from the ground in front of him.

---

Dale walked to the meat aisle of the store and took a gander.

“haha, this streak looks like a peen!”

---

The dark figure rose, taking on an alien yet disturbingly familiar visage. A humanoid monstrosity with tentacles for limbs expanded to full size before looking toward Jake and gazing deeply, seeming to penetrate into the depths of his soul. Jake felt as if he had seen this face before, but his mind was in a fog… Slowly, grim recognition accompanied a dawning horror...

---

As Dale was exiting the aisle he encountered Dave.

“Dale,” said Dave.

“Dave,”

“How are you?” said Dave.

“I’m good,”

“That’s good,” said Dave.

“Your wife?”

“She’s fine, started yoga, yours?” said Dave.

“Same actually, I don’t like yoga,”

“Me neither” said Dave.

“You want to see the new spiderman with me?”

“No sorry, I have already seen it,” said Dave.

“That’s a shame, maybe we could see the next one?”

“Maybe,” said Dave.

“Do you want to play some league of legends tonight?”

“No,” said Dave.

“Understandable,” said Dave.

“Read any good books recently?”

“I read the final Harry Potter book,” said Dave.

“That came out quite a while ago,”

“I know, but I never got around to it,” said Dave.

“Why”

“I don’t know,” said Dave.

“What?” said Dave.

“What?” said Dave.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” said Dave.

“Well I guess I just never followed the hype train,” said Dave.

“So you do know,” said Dave.

“I suppose,” said Dave.

“So why did you say you didn’t?”

“It was a spur-of-the-moment conversational decision,” said Dave.

“Interesting,” said Dave.

“Have you read any good books recently?”

“No,'' said Dave.

“Why?” said Dave.

“I don’t like books,” said Dave.

“Oh,” said Dave.

“Yeah, said Dave,” said Dave.

“Are you going to the gym still?” said Dave.

“Yes,” said Dave.

“Good to see that you are sticking with it” said Dave.

“Indeed” said Dave.

“I can’t go tonight,” said Dave.

“Why?” said Dave.

“I am picking up my daughter from school,” said Dave.

“How is your daughter?”

“She is good, she is now 9,” said Dave.

“That’s good”

“They grow up so fast,” said Dave.

“That is what i thought on her birthday”

“Interesting,” said Dave.

“Seen any good tv recently?”

“I have,” said Dave.

“What is it?” said Dave.

“A show called Fire-Fighters,” said Dave.

“What’s it about?” said Dave.

“Firefighters,” said Dave.

“Cool”

“Have you seen any good tv recently?” said Dave.

“No”

“Do you watch any tv?” said Dave.

“No”

“Interesting,” said Dave.

“Is it?”

“Yes,” said Dave.

“Why?” said Dave.

“I do not know,” said Dave.

“Why?”

“Because I am not familiar with my own neurology,” said Dave.

“Then become so”

“Why?” said Dave.

“To avoid confusion,” said Dave.

“Why should I avoid confusion?” said Dave.

“I do not know”

“Well goodbye then,” said Dave.

“Goodbye, Dave Dale.”

“Who’s Dale?”

“What?”

---

A haunting familiarity. The writhing mass of tentacles and gristle in front of him bore the visage of an estranged relative, calling to something buried deep within Jake’s mind, releasing the seals on expansive and disturbing visions of the past. “Jake…” The aberration spoke in a deep, eerie fusion of the man’s original voice and a guttural hum that shook the bones. “You must remember, child, or you will never escape...”

--

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---

Jake clutched his scalp. Images flashed through his mind, steeped in confusion, dread, and a perverse longing for the unfathomable. Those stormy summer nights spent in the basement of his uncle’s decrepit mansion… the tunnels leading below… the fate of his childhood friend… In a flash, it all came back to him. Jake let loose a primal and blood-curdling scream before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Days passed before he awoke, and when he did, deep restlessness and a piercing headache were all that remained.

---

Grabbing a thick throbbing shaft of steak in his hand, Dale gave it a sniff to check that it was young enough. He slapped it into his basket, firmly, and hummed as he approached checkout.