SHAD-OID

In these dark streets that feel a bit broken and unlike they once were, I was following a clue about a widow that has a missing spouse but it ended in a dirty alleyway with the stench of burnt wood and trash. As I walked the shadowed-filled alley I saw a figure covered in the shadows that only a forsaken city could give, as I walked slowly toward the creature it ran like a bolt of lightning toward the exit of the alleyway and into the busy streets of the city with towers that reached the stars and small storefront shops, was it a man or a ghost? i ran after the shadow but i hoped my curiosity wouldn’t kill me. As i jumped over garbage cans and dashed through the streets the figure seemed to fade into the lights of this noir fog, i ran as fast as i could and my heart was beating as fast as i was breathing but yet i felt slower than a snail as it runs for its life, was i chasing a criminal or was i chasing my own past in shadow form? As i slowly got closer to the phantom he suddenly disappeared as if he never existed. as i stood in shock i was brought back to reality by the sound of a telephone booth ring, i found myself in the middle of a crosswalk just as the street light turned green. My office that once felt the warmth of feet walking in and out of the door now feels like a cobweb set from a movie, the room lit by a single lamp with a bulb that flickers and with all the crimes and mysteries I’ve chased, this shadowed figure makes me think. I intend to search for clues about this that can only be found in one place. As i pulled up in my car to the side of the road, a red and blue glow clouded me in its light. The sign said “XXX” i knew I’d find answers here, As i walked into this hallway of loud club music and the smell of sweat and alcohol the music got louder as i walked deeper into this narrow walkway and yet felt like an eternity until i got to the end and entered the main scene of the underground city of sin. I sat down in a chair that was far off from the stage and i heard a voice that was like hearing a demon cloaked as an angel, Her name was Jane but the underground knew her by many other names but i didn’t come here for a good time so i cut through the small talk and was straight forward with this dame in an unholy version of a bikini. “Have you heard anything about, Shadows.” she replied with a silence that could cut a diamond, “Don’t play with me doll face, I am hot on a trail but need more info and your silence isn’t getting me any further” She then whispered in my ear “They are watching” It was good that i brought my gun with me but before i could ask another question she gave me a tip that might help in my search in this unknown mystery.

The tip led me to an abandoned house that was grown with moss and broken glass i’d say it had been like this for some time, the floorboards creaked with every footstep i took, and the door was unlocked as i slowly opened the door, It creaked as loud as a cricket. It was a log cabin type of home that was copped and built by hand, but it was long forgotten by the people who loved and grew old in this place. With every creaking step i took i felt an ambiance watching me as i entered the basement with only the flashlight in my hand that shined on a dusty floor as i descended deeper into the house my flashlight spotted a television-type of contraption but smaller, I have no words for what this creation and it sparked my interest but then it was as if a typewriter was attached to the screen as it typed out “You’re getting to close.” Then the ground shook from under me and it was as if i teleported into a realm of unknown worlds and timelines, then as soon as the ground started shaking, it stopped. I was suddenly woken up in my bed by a phone call, my head in a daze but yet I answered and a voice that sounded unhuman was on the other side and said “I think therefore I am.” I said “Who is this?” and the voice went silent and left me more invested in what this all meant. Was i just dreaming or was this real? As i walked into my office i sat at my desk and was confused, So i wrote down all that had happened in the past two days and in the center of it all. “I Think, Therefore I Am” What does it truly mean? Am i in hell? I couldn’t answer this because it could be true but false at the same time, how would i know if i was awake or asleep? if i was in Hell or alive on Earth? As the sun grew dim and night reigned, i was kept awake with the question of reality. As i thought in my office a Street light was warped into existence outside across from my window and i was unable to not believe it, And i then had my answer but i needed proof.

I once again found myself walking the shadowed streets of this city that now feels like my cage and not like the city i once knew from my childhood, As i walked for around a mile or two hoping to catch some air for my thoughts so i don’t feel so trapped inside my own mind. but as i looked up to see where i was headed, i saw what looked like a demon in a black cloak standing far from me. It looked to have long arms that almost reached the ground and legs that made it stand at least 8 feet tall it had a hunt close to its neck and it had glowing yellow eyes and no mouth. It stared at me like it was a deer in front of Headlights but yet i felt a sense of dread come upon me that made me feel like i could collapse from just looking at it, as the rain of that night hit the ground, I found myself stiff and unable to move as i saw it move as if it is warping through time and space but yet still keeping eye contact with me every time it reappeared. I finally got the strength to run and i fled into a nearby diner the jukebox was playing some soft jazz and as i was still in shock i looked to a waitress and asked “Did you see that monster?!” She looked at me like i escaped from an insane asylum, She sat me down in a booth asking me if i was okay and i ordered a coffee and hoped that would wake me from my sense of insanity, as i drank the coffee i felt like i was tasting nothing yet as i looked at the liquid in the cup it was coffee but i tasted nothing and i looked over at the waitress to tell her about the coffee, Everyone in the diner was gone and when i looked out the window i saw the monster Staring right at me as if i was looking at my reflection in a mirror. I jumped out of my booth as the monster warped through the glass without breaking it. I grabbed my gun and never stopped firing every bullet in that barrel until it was empty but yet not a single bullet hit the creature as it stood over me and keeping eye contact it crouched to meet me at my level and i heard a voice in my head say in a calm tone. “Do you believe yourself to be awake or asleep?” I replied in fear, “I... I don’t know, i pray that i am asleep” The calm tone of voice continued to say “John, This is more real than your dreams.” I was in shock as if i was paralyzed at the fact that this demon spawn knew my name and had yet to kill me.

The monster got closer to my face and said “How do you believe that your thoughts are your own?” I replied with the only logical answer that doesn’t take a scientist to figure out, “Because i am a Living being” The monster said softly and slowly “How and why do you believe that to be true?” Then the creature vanished into nothingness and i was stunned as i was glued to the floor and all i was able to feel at that moment was fear, Later that night as rain covered my window i was stuck in this feeling of fear and curiosity that only could be cured with the truth but the question that the monster left me wondering was What Is Truth? But how could i trust the monster? I was on the verge of a mental breakdown yet to find out why this was even happening to me. Suddenly 4 monsters similar to the monster before, entered John’s office through the windows shattering them in the process but as they came in, the windows seemed to warp and melt back together as if it was brand new. John in shock grabbed his pistol from his holster and started shooting bullets that were passing through the monsters then a shadow warped into the office and took me away into another side of town and the monsters Followed me and i ran into the alley but the darkness seemed to cover every inch of the sky and corner of this filth called an alleyway, then the darkness seemed to disappear then a second later the monster warped into vision in front of me and said “John, they are coming!” then The monsters came out of nowhere as they ran towards me like lightning and as if Speed and time didn’t apply to them, then i reached for my gun but it warped out of my hands and the fear i felt was unlike any version I’ve felt before i was frozen like i was staring at death himself, but like a miracle, i got strength in my bones to run from this unknown.

With every step of my attempt to escape, i heard a growl that sounded like demons from the pit of hell following me as fast as i took a step, then i reached for the door nob to an apartment complex and i desperately searched for the stairwell and climbed for my life as i looked back and saw the monsters shapeshift into all types of creatures like Spiders and Ravens with Multiple eyes, and as i felt death come close. my gun warped and fell on the ground in front of me and i leaped for it, as i grabbed it i fired bullets like they were unlimited, I saw the monsters just look at my gun and it melted in my hands and i was against a wall and they slowly walked towards me as they did the most demon laugh imaginable then they glitched and they were gone and then the familiar monster warped and grabbed my hand and warps both of us to my office to find my desk broke in two and my windows shattered as i just couldn’t stop trying to catch my breath as the monster said “Wake up, John” Then as if time slowed, my sight slowly went dark while my eyes were still open then i felt cold and suddenly i awoke in a room that resembled the basement of the abandoned house but it was fully lit by these futuristic lights, I felt like i was dead but yet alive i had no words to explain what i felt or saw. But i noticed that i was strapped to a table with metal wrapped around my wrists, Then i was warped back into my office sitting in my chair and i barely remember what i just saw.