immatations

Epilogue

Beyond the grasp of ordinary men, lies a truth. In every person though they do not yet know it. The irony of the situation is they will never know it until they are dead. And by then of course it’s too late to do anything about it. That’s where my story changes. Because the day I died, and I realised what lurked in the shadows of our realm something went horribly wrong. I was sent back. To everyone else I was gone seconds. But when your dead seconds can feel like an eternity. An eternity running from them, killing a few and more would appear. An eternity learning to fight them!
When I came back of course, I’d lost my mind to them. They’d seen me awake on the stretcher and restrained me as I shouted about the monsters, how they killed, that they would come for me.
After seven months in therapy I felt like a sitting duck in the asylum. They didn’t know I was here. But how long would it take them to follow my trail? Hunt me down?
And I was answered as I opened the door that Sunday morning…..




The hunt begins…

When I opened the door I expected to find the psychologist sitting waiting. Note book and ink blobs at the ready, poised to give me the miracle cure my parents say he can. (if I allow him that is). Instead I stared at his lifeless corpse upon the ground. The creature standing over him has not spotted me yet. If it had I’d be dead.
A flicker of motion bellow caught my eye. He was still alive, clinging to life that was being lapped up by the impression over him. I wanted to reach out and help him. Where I failed the others, but it was useless.
A scratch in my throat, sudden alarm. Too late, the cough escaped me. a hiss and I looked up to see the creature standing, yellow eyes fixed on me. I froze, I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. My insides grew icy as it extended one smoke like limb over the man, towards me! mere meters from me now. I would be stone dead when the receptionist called.
The door opened. Together mine and the creature’s eyes darted to it. The red hair rotund women entered. Her eyes fell to the dead man, body twitching on the marble floor. Her mouth opened but no scream escaped. She looked to me and turned darting out. oblivious to the danger of the impression before me. it jerked and I realise it was hesitating. Any moment help would come and though they wouldn’t see it, it couldn’t kill me in public. Its colour suddenly changed from black to red, the smoke coming off it’s hide now a mass of flames. And then it did something that made my blood run cold. It spoke. “Persil”, it said again, eyes fixed on mine. Something stirred in me. I knew that voice. It smiled and the smoke like skin split and oozed the psychologists blood. It leapt for the window and smashed straight through it.
No time to wonder where it’d gone. I could hear the footsteps bounding up the hall. They’d be upon me in a second. They’d blame me for him, lock me up, and drug me. Without another thought I leapt for the window. I was two stories up. The impression waiting bellow. It darted seeing me to the far tree line. Do I go after it and stand a fighting chance? Or do I wait for them to drug me. It’d seen me. It would be back. I dived. The fall was quick and the landing painful. I heard the crack of my left leg as I landed on the ground. I stayed put panting for moments before five faces appeared out the window pointing down and screaming at me. I stood then realising I’d landed on bins. I got up and forgetting the pain of my swelling indigo ankle I ran.

The chase is on…

I reached the trees and kept running. The asylum alarm was still ringing in the distance. By now they’d have a search party organized. The branches of the pines whipped and scratched my face.
I stopped in a clearing, as still as stone, listening, poised for any nugget of sound. My eyes searched for any hiding place where I could rest my ankle.
I lurched onward.
Fifteen minutes later I discovered an abandoned fox burrow and stowed away. It was a squeeze even on my stomach. The walls of the main chamber where dry and the floor full of leaves and old hair. The smell was sickly but it was warm, safe.
I lay on my side and checked my ankle. The purple stain had darkened and moved up my leg to just bellow my calf. I panted. My head fuzzed up. My eyes rolled into their sockets. I fainted.
It was the moonlight bouncing off the burrow walls that awoke me.
I sat up aching. To find my ankle healed. The shock made me shoot up. I whacked my head off the stony roof. I winced and looked through the sea of hanging roots to the entrance. My stomach growled. I crawled out. The wind was chill and vented under the hospital gown. I huddled against it. The perfect time to head for town. No witnesses.
Under the curtain of night I snuck away.

The deadly alliance…


I reached the village. I watched from a distance. No movement apart from the odd car or alley cat ducking between metal bins. I headed for the cover of the alley.
In the time I had spent in the other realm I had never come across a talking impression. And why should I? They were stupid creature’s.
From the alley’s mouth came a passer by. A Women dressed in tight short clothing revealing little and a pair of fish-net stockings. This wasn’t a rare sight in New York.
From behind me a pipe released a jet of steam. I looked down. I realized I’d stepped in a large puddle. And sighed. A car drove by. Headlights lighting up the alley walls. To my horror I realized the puddle was red. i wretched, turned away. Dry heaved and my eyes caught A trail of blood drops that lead around the corner. A low growl from the shaddows and I took a step backward. What ever was around that corner I didn’t want to see it.
I twitched as a hand cupped around the bricks, a man pulled himself into view. “Hey! You alright…”. The man collapsed forward to the ground. His entire bottom half had been torn free of his body. I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop me screaming. Bloody entrails dangled as he did and I thought I could make out the white gleam of his ribs. The man choked and was still. An awful slurping reached my sensitive ears. Before me another form appeared out. Smothered in red flames. The impression sneered, its yellowed tongue rolled out over its crusted lips. Blood and mucus seeped out. “Greetings” It spoke. My body steadied. I took a step forward. “Who are you?” I demanded. Its eyes narrowed. “Why Persil, don’t you remember me?”. I took a step forward. And I took three back. It stopped and sneered. “You fear me, when before you sought me out, so passionately to gain my help?”. It sounded almost hurt but a creature like this had no feelings, but then it shouldn’t be talking either.
Something clicked. I did know it. “What? I’d never ask your kind of help! What you possible give me?”. It studied me a moment before it reached up and extended a long boned digit towards me. “Life”.