Chapter 5 – Transparent

I need a plane. To save my family, I have to travel around three hundred miles. So, I call my former employers and ask them for one, but they chuck me out.

Or, I just need a car. A fast as hell one. I scope out the area for nearby car dealers and end up driving sixty miles to get to a used car dealer. Without considering it, I buy a brand new 1969 Chevy Chevelle and ride to Minnesota, where my family is.

I stomp out of the car and towards the front of the hospital she got taken into. Ramming my way through carts, shuffling families and white coats, until two of them stop me. “Mr. Macintyre?” they ask with a twisted head. “Where is she?” I repeat twice… or thrice. They take me in.

My jaw leans downward and my hand moves to cover my mouth as I begin sobbing in front of the body that once was my wife. Strangle marks surrounded her neck caused by multiple ropes, leaving dents covered in transparent slime. Her face, grey and the remaining body, fading to grey too. The skin is dented to expose an upside-down skull. And she has no bones. Just a coat of skin.

But then, everything changes. I am back in the Amazonian village. I laugh at my wife on the phone. It becomes the best work day of my entire life. I could barely tell the difference.

Then, I move closer to the mic and say to her, “Honey, shut the doors and windows. Something is out there… Someone.”

She listens to my words and understands that it is a warning. She exits the call and does so. I call it a day and lay down in on the bed in my cozy little cabin.

Next morning, I see a woman dressed in police uniform sleeping next to the bed, on the floor. She wakes up, flings her chin-reaching hair to the back of her head. Then, she looks over to me and smiles. “Good night’s sleep?” She asks. “Yeah. And who are you, again?” I reply puzzled. “I am Spara. I just got assigned to a missing kid’s case. But, I see you here, dressed in a sheriff’s uniform, but studying out of a book of the… paranormal?”

“It’s for entertainment…” I say. I change the topic and show her the clues I found so far. “I’ll check it out. You go home to your little bean and your wife.” She replies.

I know what this is. The creature is manipulating me in an alternative reality. It wants me to stay, by giving me what I always wanted. So, what if I try to manipulate it back, by making it think that I want to stay, or I don’t know what is going on? While I do so, I can study it, observe it and begin making notes to find a way and trick it… or even kill it. I’m signing off for now. I’ll write more when something happens.

Okay, it has been a few weeks… I lost count. But I did notice that it is attached to the lake. And… it is not a creature. Basically, hell broke loose. This is basically a demon. It took the form of an anaconda originally. But as it grew, it got hungrier. So, instead of going out and hunting more, it fused itself with multiple anacondas to get a larger stomach. It worked for a week. But then, it attacked Morgan and his friends. Shortly later, it attacked again and took the man on the shore and lastly, it tried to get me when I stepped into the water.

My strategy worked so far. But since it is a demon, I have to lure it out, and try salting it in the eyes. According to local sightings, its length ranges from seven feet to a good fifty feet. They say that it has fused with around twenty anacondas now. So, I have to be cautious. It should NOT see me. I must be careful.

Before I set off, I need to say my goodbyes to my wife and kid. I call them and she picks up instantly. “Hey honey,” She says, “Wanna know what we had for breakfast?” “Oh, no no no,” I say, “I already know. Bacon, chips and chocolate cake with coffee sprinkled over the top.” “Are you sure you are not outside my window?” She asks sarcastically. “Yep… Hey, I love you and the little bean. Take care of him, okay?” I reply.

“Hey, Honey. Wanna know what we had for breakfast?” She asks again. Thoughts rush through my head as I answer, “I already told you right?” I ask. “No, you didn’t. You can’t get away from me that easy.” She replies.

My mind rushes into blackness and I get worried. My heart begins speeding up and echoing. I put down the phone and rush to her. A few hours later, I arrive, take her into the car and head to a hospital. Slamming the brakes, we come to a halt. I open the door, grab her hand and walk into the building surrounded by long, white robes. A nurse takes her in and I follow her. A couple minutes later, the nurse comes out with a worried look. “Nothing is wrong.” She says, “We tracked her brain wave and found nothing wrong. Come take a look.”

I follow her in. She turns on the computer screens. And the waves are just randomly swimming across the screens. Wait… I think something happened. One of the waves repeated itself.

It’s almost like she repeated that moment. Almost as if she did NOT do the first wave. But she did the second one. It’s like, she is just watching… Like she was somewhere else while right here. Like something took over her.