《Storm of the End》Chapter XX.IV: Cracks
Advertisement
Yet again I was in the cathedral, right where I had woken up last time.
"Did you not hear me?" the voice boomed with a tone that just barely concealed total fury, "Stand."
I tried to stand, but felt an invisible force weighing on my shoulders, pushing me down.
"Stand!" the voice shouted, vibrating right through me, causing my limbs to convulse in terror. An icy hand clutched the top of my head. Forcefully and yet gently, I was lifted off of the ground. My vision cleared and I stared directly into two pitch black holes, two paths into the ever expanding depths of the bottomless abyss.
I jumped up out of the bed, the sound of loud screaming echoing around me. I thought it was my own scream that I was hearing, but as I was wildly looking around, catching sight of Jared staring up the stairs, I realized that it actually wasn't coming from me.
A man was violently screaming outside, screaming so loudly that it hurt my own throat imagining how hard he was screaming.
Jared noticed I was awake, "I was keeping watch... I'm going to go see what the hell that is. You coming?"
I nodded, sheepishly. If someone was screaming like that, they obviously had to be in danger. I thought back to the man that had been killed by the eye-thing; I wouldn't let this end the same way.
If someone was in danger, we had to try to help them.
I grabbed my knife. Though without a gun...
The screaming increased in volume and violence, it sounded like the man was literally breaking his vocal cords he was screaming so wildly. Sarah and Aaron stirred awake, "Stay down here!" I said, "Me and Jared are going to see what's going on. If it's too dangerous, we'll come back."
Jared and I moved the chairs blocking the door, then flung it open and stepped upstairs. We quickly crept towards the window closest to the noise.
Advertisement
"...Do you see anything?" Jared asked.
The screaming somehow became even more exaggerated.
"No..." There was nothing outside the window, at least from what I could see.
"It sounds like it's coming from... above us?" Jared rushed out of the house, and I scrambled after him with my knife at the ready, the rain wetting the handle.
Wait... now that I really heard it clearly, the screaming was more like shouting. Like the man was shouting in anger, except... there wasn't a hint of rage in the tone of his voice.
Jared was staring up at the sky above the house.
"What's wrong? What is it?" I said as I came up next to him.
He pointed with his knife. My eyes widened.
There in the sky... was a trail of footprints. They were footprints from human feet, and yet they were branded directly into the air, about thirty feet above us. Each footprint blazed with a burst of flame before slowly smouldering away and disappearing in the rain as it put it out. More footprints appeared at the end of the trail, as if something was walking on thin air in the sky.
And yet... there was nothing there. Something invisible was creating those footprints and... that's where the shouting was coming from. It took on an entirely new level of violence that I didn't think was possible, filling me with sickening feeling of dread as it changed into an almost maliciously mocking tone with its wordless shouting. The footprints increased in speed as the thing sprinted into the distance across the air.
Jared and I stood there speechless for a moment, the rain coming down on our shocked faces, then we turned back to face the house.
"I just don't even know anymore man... I just don't even know..." Jared muttered as he was about to open the door again.
"Hey!" I said, pointing to my right, "Who's there?!"
Advertisement
Jared turned to face what I was pointing at, and instinctually readied his knife when he saw what I had seen, "What are you doing?! Come out from there!"
There was someone behind the fence on the right side. I shined the flashlight on them. All I could see was their arm, which was holding... a video camera?
"What the hell are you doing?" Jared shouted to them, "Come out!"
There was no response.
They didn't even move.
"We don't want to hurt you... we're just wondering why you're..." the lens zoomed, "Why you're... filming us...? What were you doing outside the house, anyway?"
Maybe they were trying to record what they were experiencing in this storm, so they could have some actual evidence that everything they saw wasn't just some crazy nightmare. That would make sense. They must have heard the shouting, came to see what it was and then hid when they saw us. We had knives out, so I didn't blame them for being scared...
No response came.
Jared stomped his foot, "Listen, I don't know what the hell you're doing... but you better say something or come the fuck out from there or I'm going to come over there!"
"Jared!"
The hand disappeared behind the fence, but the camera stayed focused on us.
"Alright, that's the last straw..." Jared started walking towards the fence, but the person suddenly stood up. His torso poked from behind the fence, clothed in a trench-coat. Both of his arms rested at his sides, leaving the camera to.... My mind couldn't process what I was seeing at first, but with a course of shivers I realized what I was looking at... The camera was the man's head.
With a shout Jared charged at the thing with his knife poised, diving over the fence and stabbing it directly in the chest. I ran after him, peering over the fence to find him on top of the thing.
As I climbed over the fence, he let out another shout as he brought the knife down again, and again. I heard Jared curse, the thing let out a low static hum, then pushed Jared off and scrambled away, keeping its camera head locked onto us.
"You alright?!" I said as I helped Jared back onto his feet.
"...yeah. Shit! Its body... it's all these wires linked tightly together." he said as he showed me the knife, which was broken in half.
The thing was now just standing there on the other side of the street, watching us through the rain. We had a staring contest with it for about minute, Jared and I were so utterly bewildered by the thing that we couldn't keep our eyes off of it.
"What do we do about it?" I asked.
"Shit... I don't know. It's not doing anything, just watching us, which is fucking creepy but... I guess we just leave the freak alone."
"Let's go back in the house, make sure everything's really secure." I said, climbing back over the fence. We stared at the thing for another long moment before we turned the corner of the house; now it was trying to hide behind a street pole.
"Hey Markus..." Jared started.
"Yeah?"
"What the fuck does this mean? I mean... what the fuck!?"
"I don't know," I turned away from the thing and went to the door, "I really... really do not know."
Without another word we sealed up the basement and went back to our beds. Sarah and Aaron fell asleep after we reassured them. But Jared and I... I think both of us kept our eyes locked on the stairs the entire time, expecting that camera-headed thing to be staring at us.
Advertisement
- In Serial134 Chapters
The Merchant Prince Book 1: Returning Home
Enter a world of deceit and assassins. Augustus DeCastellian is a member of a wealthy merchant family, with ports all over the known world. He is sent on a voyage to new lands to open trade routes, but when he returns he will need to fight, using his tools of manipulation and cunning, for what he is owed.Author's note: This story is somewhat slow-paced, especially in comparison to the norm on Royal Road. The first three chapters act almost as a prologue, to give you a feel for what the rest of the story will be like. So, I suggest new readers try to get to the end of chapter 3 before deciding if this story is for them.A few of my reviews have said that this story is abnormal for Royal Road. I agree with that sentiment, at least based on what I've read on the site. It was just an idea that was in my head, that I began trying to write once my hobbies were cancelled due to the virus. I found Royal Road after I started writing it. Honestly, it's probably not even tailored for the web-novel format. But it's the story I wanted to tell. Discord: https://discord.gg/sk63gep
8 298 - In Serial17 Chapters
Distant Leaps to Circinus
A dark fantasy story that takes place on a reborn Earth. "With all the planets in the universe, it just had to be this one." Not many thoughts came to mind when scientists said they could provide the Earth with nearly infinite power. Humans could only think about the future, after all: they could travel to the farthest reaches of space, never worry about their electric bills again, and give rise to new and innovative technologies. With such good outcomes on the horizon, there was no way humanity would sit idle; instead, they studied perhaps the most powerful entity in the entire Milky Way. It seemed that, after its appearance decades ago, the strange and unmoving black sphere was something of a godsend. There will always be a reason for these things. With one touch, our very reality was but a grain of sand in an hourglass. In an instant, the Earth was gone - replaced by something… different. More than a century later, Earth’s remains have reformed into a completely different beast - a planet both alive and dead at the same time. Physics that were once understood no longer made sense, giant land masses floated in the sky, and billions of people fought for their very survival. Work, sleep, and play were no more; it was time for the world, Circinus, to reign. The birth of Circinus could only be the beginning. The powerful yet ever-elusive black sphere seemed to watch the world from afar - casting light for those below, but never truly emitting light from itself. What does it all mean for the children of Circinus - children born with eyes that seemed to stare into God’s heart?
8 263 - In Serial19 Chapters
I've Transmigrated... with a Broken System
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [Rewarding 13x Silver Coins.] [##ERROR##] [1x Melon has been placed in your inventory!] Renard sighed, "Not again..." Updates every two weeks minimum
8 238 - In Serial120 Chapters
Memories of the Gluttonous Sage
Cain wakes up like any other day--well I guess it would be night now. He discovers that with the nocturnal life, very few options for food are available. As such, he orders food, follows his daily routine, then takes a nap. Only to find out it was no normal nap, but a transdimensional nap. He wakes up in an unknown world filled with many fantasy like features. However, unlike fantasy games, novels, and tv shows, this is real life. This fact just excites him all the more. Despite feeling scared, worried, or panic. He just feels... free. No longer bound by the rules of the previous world, he can finally chase his dream. His dream that others called absurd and even crazy. But who cares? To him, it was one of the very few things that will always be fun, no matter how much time passes. Boredom is an eternity spent in a second, an eternity he never wants to experience again. Even if it means passing time by mindlessly. Watch the journey of Cain as he explores the unknown, gets kicked out of a few restaurants for eating too much, hibernates (sleeps) for 14 to 24 hours, and wreaks havoc in this new world. No one shall restrict his freedom any longer, and to those who do, he'll annihilate the obstacles and use the people or organizations in ways we can't even begin to imagine.
8 125 - In Serial7 Chapters
Semi-Risen
A life of mediocracy is ended in a freak accident. However this does not turn out to be the end. Waking up in a strange space with no memory Roger is informed that he has in fact died. Struggling to understand what is going on he is soon thrust into danger and misery. What is the place of someone constantly ignored and overlooked in a world where the gods compete and war through the souls of the departed? Where actions in life gets turned into strength after death. Where the weak get cast aside to perish while the strong are revered as champions. To what lengths will those cast aside have to go to in order to survive? Cover art is made by amazing artist Lihallerix. http://loy-ashivara.deviantart.com/
8 59 - In Serial69 Chapters
Iakesi: They Call Me Homeless, but I Cast Fireball!
They were the greatest heroes the realms had ever seen, until they died. Death was not the end of their adventures, divine powers call them to be heroes of a new land. A land called... Earth?
8 181

