Shadows in Light
A young woman succumbs to darkness that twists light.
The branches left hundreds of thin scratches as she sprinted through the forest blindly. Her mind raced, but very thought came back to the same thing, This isn't supposed to happen during the day. It wasn't a dark, stormy night. There wasn't fog creeping over the land and blotting out the sun. It was a beautiful, sunny morning with a bracing chill in the air, and it was the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. It had started harmlessly, with strange shadows in the corner of her vision, but she'd chalked it up to nerves at camping alone. Then it had gotten worse, with the map changing every time she looked at it. I should've gone home then, would've if I had any sense, but I didn't want to let dad down, since camping had been our tradition before he got sick. Then the wrongness of the day became all too clear when she stepped out of her truck, and immediately found herself in the woods. The truck was in sight, camping supplies still piled in the back, but every step dragged her further from it. She'd tried to figure it out, but then one of the shadows grabbed her ankle, like tripping on air. That's when she'd started running. Now here she was. Finally, the trees parted into a clearing, but as soon as she stepped into it, she found herself falling down a steep, rocky hill. She closed her eyes and tried to curl up, to protect her head, until she suddenly stopped with a loud clang against something. Her eyes refused to open, or she refused to open them. If she couldn't see it, maybe the shadows would go away. Maybe she'd be back home.
Eventually, the cold air reaffirmed that she wouldn't be home anytime soon, and she gave in. This isn't supposed to happen during the day. Her truck was half buried, with the bed sticking straight up into the air. The ground wasn't muddy, and the camping supplies hadn't been scattered like a crash. It simply was this way. She tried to stand, and felt too dizzy to move her legs. Looking over herself, there wasn't a single scratch from the hill or the trees, nor bruises to be found. She ached, ached inside and out, but there wasn't anything there. She turned to the side and vomited, spewing up the last of the protein bars she'd been eating on the road. As she wiped her mouth, she looked up and saw eyes filling the shadows between the trees- gleaming things, watching her from a forest the sun had abandoned, though it still shined on her. Then it was gone, and the forest was normal again. Finally, with tears filling her eyes, she stood, and took a bottle of water from her supplies. She drank slowly, concerned about throwing up again, and about the eyes returning. She watched every stone, every shadow, just in case. Nothing moved, save for the leaves in the breeze, and, yet, the trees inched closer every time she blinked. She chugged the rest of the water, and backed against the hill. Her ankle caught on one of the rocks and she fell back, only to be caught by something. It was cold, and pillowy, and swirled around her like wispy smoke from a small fire. She screamed, and tried to drive her elbow into it, but the blow merely sunk into the ephemeral vapers that had now begun to climb up her. The smoke enveloped her slowly, even after she'd managed to stand and sprint into the woods ahead. It clung to her clothes and drifted up her fur, almost the same color, until she was forced to inhale it. It smelled of seawater and roses so strongly that it gripped her attention with every breath. It weighed ever so slightly on her whiskers, making her face twitch as she tried to shake it off. With every breath, the leaves and bark blurred, and she grew ever less able to focus on it. Up a tree, she climbed unthinkingly. She went as high as she could, desperate to be in the sunlight, and there she sat, staring into the sky while her tail twitched.
The metal of the truck bed was cold beneath her, as she sat, watching the sun set. She should have made camp hours ago, naturally, but the moon was full, leaving her plenty of light to see by. And it's not as if the eyes in the trees would be hindered by the dark. It hadn't been meant to happen during the day anyway.
Tears dripped from her chin as sense came back to her. She was in the parking lot again, but her tires were slashed. She forced herself to eat something from the camping supplies, though fear made her choke it down. It wasn't until she finished that she saw that a group of the eyes had inched closer to her. She could almost make out a humanoid outline drawing near. She jumped from the back of the truck, but the shape met her as she landed. To her shock, it had only two eyes now, and, more importantly, it spoke.
"It's already over. They come and never leave. It's shocking, the thoughts you already believe. We do not consume."
She grabbed at the truck bed, and found a flashlight. She swung it through the shadow, dropping it to avoid the clinging shadows. Then she rushed to the driver's seat and started the truck. It lurched forward as the flat tires crumpled. Each turn of the wheels was another jolting shake and loud crash, but still she forced the vehicle to turn and rush away, back onto the road proper. She drove in the dark for nearly a minute before her panic subsided enough to remember the headlights.
Click
Easy, light, and an empty road. It wasn't peaceful, not with the repeating thuds, but She finally began to feel a sense of relief. Relief that turned to burning rage when she saw it on the road, singled out clear enough in the light to be the same that had been hit with the flashlight. She pressed down the accelerator, and did her best to keep the truck on course until she rammed straight through the shadow. The figure immediately dispersed into mist covering the hood, and the tires finally gave up all pretense of traction on the road. The truck spun, and crashed through the railing tail first. Down, again, the exact same experience as the earlier hill, save for being in the truck. Branches tore with cracking roars as the vehicle tore past them, and the airbag slammed into her face before the vehicle could slow. Additionally noises, primarily wood splintering like bone, came through only as muffled tones compared to the ringing in her head.
The truck stopped almost gently, somehow rolling to a stop even after every window had shattered. Its inhabitant was bleeding profusely from the nose, and desperately clawing at the airbag that had attempted to smother her.
The airbag finally died, and the world came to her eyes again. Outside, leaves, stones, and cracked branches shined in the light, while, inside, the darkness was clinging to her hands yet again, and still pouring in through the AC. She tried to wipe it off on the other seat, and only managed to cut her hand on shards of glass. The darkness even clung to her blood as it dripped, while still crawling up her arms. It could spread endlessly, but it would never leave without replacing her breath, infesting her lungs. She tried to open the truck door, failed, and kicked it open. Her breath still reeked of blood, but it was covered up with a rose filled sea before all too long.
The truck was gone, somewhere behind her, and she was by a river. She ought not be drinking unfiltered water, honestly, but there was something so clear, so refreshing about it. Her hands ached from the cold of it, but it was a small price for each sip she could take from it. While she drank, the figure returned from the shadows, ever more defined. Is there a tail? Perhaps he's a rat. Strange that shadows could be people.
This time, its voice conjured an ocean filled with waves, each one red with petals, "There is no end but it is lessened. It's a choice that's predestined. Fate for taking futures. We're so sorry but the second's not enough. You'll know it too."
She tried to take it, to breath it, but it was gone, and so too followed the river. She was further now, feet bloodied. A cave, empty but filled with eyes. They backed away as she approached. Snow fell as she laid down inside. By morning, a spire filled the distance. It was a needle of ice, rising into the sky. Every snowflake that touched the ground melted, save for it. The obelisk. In broad daylight. Even out here, someone had to be able to see it. Her horror slowly abated into gratitude. If someone else could see it, they'll surely fucking investigate. One step and it cracked. Another, and tears had already begun to flow from her eyes. Third, and it shattered, scattering into the trees in a sparkling storm. Gone.
She dropped to her knees and screamed. The smell returned. It spoke.
"The choice is not a choice. Make yours."
She threw herself at the shadow, attempting to pumble it into submission. This time, her mind didn't fog, but her flesh. Translucent, almost the same color. The cold woods were gone. She was one of thousands, the most present one for now. They all watched a young person, planning for a week of solitude.