“Come to us…”

  “Nathan! Nathan! Wake the heck up, bro!” Nathan groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he pushed himself upright, which earned him a few protests from his own body that urged him to go back to sleep. His back hurt, and his overall body just felt like crap, but there wasn't much he could really do about it. “What the heck do you want, bro? Just leave me alone.” His voice was hoarse, and his head throbbed with a dull ache, though he didn't know why. He certainly didn't remember drinking any alcohol last night, so the sensation itself felt kinda weird. “Dude, seriously, get up. You're about to be late for school!” Nathan's eyes widened as he glanced at the clock, which, to his horror, read 8:47 AM. “What the?!” he yelped, his face alight with shock as he threw off his blanket and scrambled off the couch. “Why the heck didn't you wake me up earlier?”

  Nathan shot a withering look at his younger brother, but Leo only grinned back, lounging lazily on the armrest of the couch. He tapped a rhythmic beat on the coffee table with his fingers, pretending to examine the half-finished jigsaw puzzle spread across it. Or at least that’s what he wanted Nathan to think, but his sidelong glances gave him away. He was waiting for a reaction, and Nathan knew it.

  And then the pieces just started to click. And that was when he realized what was going on. “There's no way… you didn't do that, did you?”

  "Maybe.”

  He did… he really did. His face said all that needed to be said. Nathan’s face twisted in fury as he lunged toward Leo, who let out a laugh and darted away from him just in time. "You little shit!" Nathan yelled as he gave chase.

  Leo bolted down the hallway, his sock-covered feet sliding slightly as he took a sharp turn toward the kitchen, which was just in time, too, as he narrowly avoided the cup that Nathan threw at his head. Nathan tried to tackle him but quickly regretted the action as his feet slipped, causing him to crash face-first into the wall. His vision nearly went white as a loud thud sounded through the house, followed by an 'oof' as Nathan slumped to the floor. "If you catch me!" Leo said between laughs as he headed upstairs, probably to the bathroom in his room, and locked both doors.

  Groaning, he rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with a scowl. “Fuck,” he muttered. Reaching into his pocket for his phone, he quickly began to dial the number of an old friend who could give him a lift to school, since he had essentially missed the bus and there wouldn't be another one coming by for at least another 3 hours, which he couldn't wait for.

  Just as Nathan pressed the call button, the ringing barely lasted two seconds before a groggy voice from the other side of the screen answered. "Who the hell is calling me this early?" a voice grumbled. "Jason, it's me, Nathan. I need a ride, man," Nathan said, still rubbing his aching forehead, his ears ringing as his vision blurred. Jason let out a long sigh. He clearly didn't want to do it, but Nathan didn't have any other options, so he was going to just press the issue as much as he could until he eventually got his way. "Dude, do you have any idea what time it is?”

  "Yeah, I do, and that's why I need you to get over here. I overslept, because my little brother was messing with my alarm clock and now I’m going to be late.”

  Jason chuckled. "Sounds like a you problem.”

  "Come on, bro, I'll pay for your gas and even buy you lunch. Just help me out here man.”

  There was a pause, then a groan of resignation. "Fine, fine. But you owe me extra fries.”

  "Deal.”

  “And a meetup with that hot chick in your class.”

  "Fuck you, bro… Ah—shit!" Nathan hissed, gritting his teeth in pain as he pressed his hands against his forehead, feeling a sharp wave of agony pulse through his skull. His vision swam for a moment, and he clenched his jaw to keep from groaning outright.

  “You good bro?”

  “Yeah, I'm fine.”

  Nathan shoved his phone back into his pocket and groaned as he pushed himself off the floor. He snatched his backpack off the couch, slinging it over his shoulder before slipping on his sneakers. After that, he headed for the door, and immediately after opening it, the morning air hit him like a slap to the face when he stepped outside. It was refreshing, but at the same time, it was bad for him.

  And he knew it.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The street was way quieter than it usually was at this time of day, which was odd but good. He didn't really like loud noises anyway, and the only sounds that surrounded him were actually kind of refreshing. He rubbed his temples, breathing deeply in an attempt to shake off the pounding in his skull.

  “Oh Nathan dear is that you?”

  Nathan turned his head toward the voice, Standing on the porch of the house next door was Mrs. Holloway, the elderly woman who had lived there for as long as he could remember. She wore her usual pastel-colored cardigan, her white hair curled neatly behind her shoulder, while a cigarette hung lazily in her mouth. To most people, she looked intimidating because of her face which resembled a perpetual scowl, but she was actually pretty nice.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, morning Mrs. Holloway,” Nathan muttered, trying to sound as normal as possible despite the throbbing in his head. He forced a small smile, but even that felt exhausting.

  “Oh, okay, You had me scared for a moment. I barely recognized you because of that haircut of yours, and you look so pale. Have you been eating well?”

  Nathan forced a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve been eating fine. Just, uh… didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  Mrs. Holloway squinted at him, taking a slow drag from her cigarette before exhaling a thin stream of smoke. “Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, clearly unconvinced. “You young folks never get enough rest. Always up to some nonsense at all hours. Back in my day, we had curfews, and we actually followed ‘em.”

  Nathan offered a weak laugh in response. “Yeah, well, times have changed, I guess.”

  Mrs. Holloway gave him a look that walked the line between fondness and suspicion. “They sure have. Still, you take care of yourself, Nathan.”

  “I—”

  “You best get going now, your friend has arrived to pick you up”

  Nathan blinked in surprise and turned his head just in time to see Jason’s beat-up silver sedan pull up at the curb. The car gave a tired wheeze as it stopped, its muffler letting out a loud pop! to signify that he was there. “Speak of the devil,” Nathan muttered under his breath. “Thanks, Mrs. Holloway. I’ll see you later,” he called back over his shoulder.

  “You better, boy. And don’t forget to eat something!” she added with a pointed wag of her cigarette.

  He ran for the car, only to violently hit the ground with a loud thud.

  “COME TO US MY DEAR!!!

  "YOU ARE MINE!!! MINE!!!”

  “Ughhhh,” Nathan yelped in pain as a surge of white-hot agony blasted through his skull like a gunshot. He stumbled mid-step, nearly dropping to his knees right there on the sidewalk. His vision pulsed, flickering between reality and something… else. For a brief moment, the suburban street in front of him shimmered like a mirage, replaced by a swirling black void filled with thousands of whispering voices.

  "Come to us…"

  "You are ours. We miss you."

  He clenched his jaw so hard that it ached, his fingers digging into the strap of his backpack as he staggered toward Jason’s car. “Get a fucking grip, Nathan,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s just a headache. Just a bad headache…” Jason rolled down the window, his brow furrowed in concern as he looked down at his friend. “Dude, you okay? You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

  Nathan forced himself to nod, even though his knees were trembling. “Yeah. Just didn’t sleep. Let’s get out of here.” Jason raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the issue. “Whatever, dude. Hop in.”

  Nathan slid into the passenger seat and let the door close behind him with a thunk. As they drove off, he leaned his head against the window, the cool glass doing little to soothe the pounding behind his eyes. Something was wrong, he could tell that much. He debated whether to turn around and just go home, but he was afraid of getting Jason mad, and he had paid good money to go to that college, so he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something move in the rearview mirror. A figure? No, that was not right. There was no one there, there wasn't supposed to be. But he could have sworn he had seen a tall, thin figure cloaked in some kind of viscous fluid that resembled darkness, standing motionless in the middle of the street where he had just been.

  It smiled at him, before disappearing from view.

  But when he turned to look, there was nothing there.

  Had he Been imagining it?

  Nathan kept his eyes glued to the window, refusing to look at the mirror again. He didn’t want to know if the thing was still there or, worse, closer. He was probably imagining it, but still, he didn't want to look at that thing again, even if it had come from some fucked-up corner of his mind.

  "Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?" Jason asked casually, his eyes flicking to the side for a second. "You’re sweating like crazy, dude. At this point, you're going to start sinking up my car if you keep this up.”

  "I said I’m fine," Nathan replied far too quickly than he would have been comfortable with. And it was also enough to let Jason know that he was not okay.

  But again, he didn't press the issue.

  “Out of everyone in this world, only you know your body best, so if you say you're all right, I'm going to take your word for it.”

  Nathan gave a weak chuckle, but it died in his throat as another flicker danced across his vision. For just a moment, Jason’s reflection in the window wasn’t Jason at all. Rather, the reflection that stared back at him was that of a monster. Its appearance somewhat resembled Jason, but his face and everything about his expression were all warped and twisted, like a child trying to copy the drawing of an adult artist but failing to get the proportions right and ultimately causing more harm than good to the actual art itself, instead of successfully copying the piece.

  Its facial expression and the way its jaw bones and back or hands were shaped and placed were mismatched and chaotically arranged everywhere but in the right place. What was gross was the fact that, because of the deformities around its body, blood, along with its intestines, were strewn out all over the place.

  It lunged at him.

  And Nathan screamed.

  Jason slammed the brakes with a screech, slowing down the car as he turned to look at Nathan with an angry but concerned expression. “Nathan! What the fuck, man?!” he shouted, his heart pounding as he turned to see his friend curled up in the passenger seat, clutching his head and hyperventilating while he kept spouting words that didn't even make sense. Nathan's eyes were wide with terror, darting around as if he were trapped in a nightmare.

  “There was something—it tried to—Jason!” Nathan stammered, barely coherent, pointing at the glass as if whatever he saw had left some kind of residue.

  Jason’s jaw tightened. “Just relax! I’m bringing you to the hospital. Whatever this is—it’s getting out of hand!” And then the road screamed. The car jolted violently as if something enormous had struck it from underneath. Jason cursed, gripping the steering wheel tighter, but it spun uselessly in his hands as the vehicle veered hard to the right. Nathan was thrown sideways, his shoulder slamming into the door as he shouted, his words coming out in incoherent phrases that he himself couldn't even understand.

  “What the hell? I can't control it—!” Jason’s voice broke as the entire dashboard flickered. The lights glitched and by now there was nothing he could do as he slammed into the car in front of him.

  The engine ignited with a sharp whoomph, and then the whole front of the car erupted into flames, the heat surging outward in a blast wave of fire and shrapnel while the shockwave tore through the surrounding air, the windows of the nearby houses rattling violently as smoke billowed into the sky. Nathan, barely conscious, didn’t even have time to scream. The force of the explosion ripped him from his seat, flinging his body through the shattered side window like a ragdoll caught in a storm. For a moment, he was airborne, the mangled form of Jason slumped behind the wheel while flames licked at the seat, catching his eyes before a loud thud sounded all around him as his vision blanked.

  And he died.