the void

Jacob wasn’t an intimidating man. Quite the contrary he was a withdrawn and passive man. He delicately managed his hair, took little time preparing his wardrobe, and systematically tied and cleaned his shoes. The rain shooting at him from the cold October night sky was making short work of all his preparation. This kinda night makes one feel that they are being follow or someone in some dark alley is watching and waiting for them to lower their guard. Such things never concerned Jacob for he was a realist. He didn’t fancy all the horror movies showcasing vampires, or where wolves or impossible to kill bad guys. On this night however someone was watching him and waiting.
Laclede Street had seen better days. Trash clung to the gutters; homeless warmed themselves as best they could with damp paper and old tattered coats. The few working street lamps did little to decrease the stagnant atmosphere. A few dirt and water ridden mutts could be seen digging through overturned garbage cans or fighting one another for what little scraps of food they could find. This street, this city once a hallmark of innovation and community is no more than a dark lilith whose teeth run with the blood of men who’s resolve and faith has reached its end. This city called Delsinto or Satan’s Clutch by other’s, is not the kind of place Jacob thought he would end up in, especially on a night like tonight.
“This is a fine mess... a great and monumental fine mess you have gotten yourself into ol’ Jake”, Jacob muttered to himself through shivers and awkward glances over his shoulder. A realist yes, but Jacob was no moron and knew full well to leave thought like these to young children or naive adults.” You just had fifty miles left but you wouldn’t fix the radiator, always tryin to save a buck and now look at you. Stuck in the middle of nowhere surrounded my filth with no working telephone in sight. You sure have made one heck of a situation for yourself.” Jacob thought if he kept a conversation, even with himself, he would feel much better about his present situation. There was no solace in listening to himself tell himself that he’s an idiot and he felt ever more wary about his surroundings.
The Iverson building was rotting from the inside out. This once thriving place of business was nothing more than a gutted brick square. Home to rats, dogs, disease, and the last remnants of the city still eager to live in hell. The roof however is what is of interest, especially to the current resident standing on the ledge overlooking Laclede Street and a wet, cold, and primarily frustrated man walking its length.
Jacob couldn’t help but feel isolated because he only had seen maybe 3 people since he ended up stuck in this town. “Three people... just three people... how can a town as big as this have only a handful of people and?” Jacobs mind started wandering into avenues that shouldn’t be wandered upon. He kept thinking about his grandparent’s old neighborhood and how since mostly senior residents dwelled there at night the streets were pretty much empty and sparse of human life. This however, was different in the fact that the air told of a reason why the population was null. This town held an evil which produced a thick miasma blanketing the area with a dark greenish haze. Jacob dismissed such thoughts as delusional and not on par with his realist ideals. There had to be a rational explanation for why the town was in its current state.
The dark figure perched on the north ledge at the top of the Iverson building began to feel the muscles in its body start to tense. This being knew this feeling well. The screams, the copper tinge of blood, this chaos in a torn black trench coat, worn black boots, and dark grey sweater knew that the moment to strike had come. Long gray fingers with razor black nails caressed the throat which uttered a hollow phrase, “This town, this black hell welcomes you Jacob.” The figure then leaned forward off the ledge.
“Excuse me… sir? Umm… do you know where I can find a working phone?” Jacob stared bewildered at the man, or at least what appeared to be one, hunched into a corner of what used to be the front window of a jewelry shop called Goldberg & Schweicoff. This man was minus most of the hair on his head which was now grey. He looked to be in his late twenties and had remnants of a pair of black slacks that were now torn above the knee, a collared shirt missing half the right sleeve and the whole left sleeve and marked with deep red stains throughout, and no shoes or socks. “Hello? Did you hear me? I’ve broke down a few miles up the road and I really need to call a tow so… umm… do you know where I can find a phone… or at least someone who has evolved the ability to talk?” The man shot a look at Jacob at a speed that normally would be alarming had it not been for the fact that this man was missing his left eye and most of the left side of his face as well. Jacob didn’t even realize he was running or that he was emitting a high pitch noise not unlike screaming. Jacob ran as fast as he could, covering about two blocks and a café whose eviscerated shell did nothing to hide the rotting corpses inside. His heart, legs, lungs, and head ached. He had hit the wall there was nothing more to do at this point but stop and look around. He didn’t know what direction he had run but he did know that more of these “men” had come out of hiding. He heard their cries and looked around to see a sight unlike any he had ever seen even from the movies his older brother Taylor used to make him watch. “You see Jake, Hellraiser will scare the bejebus outta you like not other movie. Also the lead chicks hot so you get the best of both worlds.” Taylor’s words did nothing to comfort him now and the fact that that was the only thing to come to mind at the moment did even less to comfort him.
The alleys, the streets, and the buildings suddenly spewed forth bile that consisted of men and women and even children that had no business being alive. Limbs were missing, the smell of blood and decay persevered, and the cries those terrible cries of a people who have lost not only their lives but their humanity as well rang throughout the streets. That is when the man in black walked seamlessly through the crowd as if dividing the red sea. The last words Jacob Daniels heard were, “This town's secret, you finally understand don’t you? I have engineered this black town and its citizens to perpetuate my needs and to feed my hunger. It is not happenstance you found this town. It found you because it works through me. I am the end Jacob… I am the void!”