ArtisticVicu
Member
The power went out.
His head snapped upwards, his gaze latching onto the light fixtures adhered to the high ceiling. The large windows prevented darkness from sinking its claws into every nook and cranny but the sun was already on the far side of the building setting. It would get dark soon no electricity in a mall meant there was going to be some thick shadows.
He swallowed thickly at the thought and tore his gaze away to seek out the store he needed.
His blood ran cold.
Where there had been a crowd of people was nothing more than an empty mall. His head whipped this way and that and before he knew it, he was racing down the length of the building in hopes of running into someone. Anyone.
The mall was deserted.
Totally and completely.
Inside and out.
He nearly ate pavement as he stumbled, catching himself painfully on the back of a bench. His lungs heaved, trying to suck in as much oxygen as he could get, but it wasn’t enough. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest trying to break free and his stomach was twisting as if wanting to empty itself in protest to the sudden marathon.
The metal bench was freezing cold as he sat down. He pulled his coat tighter around him, too hot in it but not wanting to get chilled. He tried his phone, knowing it should have had at least another day’s worth of battery only to find that it was completely dead. The screen didn’t even light up with the imagery that stated such. And without her, he couldn’t even get into the car and drive anywhere, though he could test to see if the cars themselves had power by smashing into a few to see if he set the alarms off. He thought against it as it registered how much noise that would make. He bristled at the thought of drawing unwanted attention and quickly settled back. With his breath curling in front of his face, he stared at the parking lot daring something to move.
Not even a bird showed itself
The shadows were nearly the length of the parking lot by the time he was shivering. Standing, he sent the setting sun a longing look before returning to the mall. The door opened with as much ease at it had when he had slammed into it earlier. He walked through the mall as he formed a plan. He made two stops - one at some bag store for the largest thing with wheels he could find, another for a pillow and blankets - before selecting a store he figured would be the best thing to hunker down in.
He was starting to get hungry as the last of the light slowly faded, quickly swallowing him in darkness, but he was without a light source and he wasn’t about to go wandering about with no light. Zipping the massive bag almost completely shut and using his shoes to make sure he had fresh air, he burrowed into his makeshift sleeping back and tried to sleep.
Something curled its fingers around the edge of his breathing hole.
He jerked about, wide awake and in a panic. He shoved himself out of the bag not even trying to unzip it more and stumbled, looking about.
There was nothing there with no sign that there had been anything to disturb the store. He looked to the main part of the mall and saw sunlight pouring in through the large windows. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep not remembering having fallen asleep and wasn’t about to ask questions. He had a long way to go if he wanted to make it home before it got dark again.
On his way back to the bag store, he crinkled his nose at the smell of spoiled food. He pulled his shirt up from under his jacket but that didn’t help much. Not even breathing through his mouth seemed to ease the stench. Thankfully the smell didn’t permeate the entirety of the mall yet so he was free from the scent when he entered the outdoor sports store. He was surprised to find a vending machine but the energy bars were to be expected. He grabbed a few different backpacks, broke the vending machine surprisingly easily, and worked on figuring out which pack worked best to carry water and food.
He didn’t even bother cleaning up the mess he left behind.
The store had a good number of bikes and an even better selection of accessories. He was able to not only get a bike that would work for what he needed, he was able to attach a rack to the back that held a decent sized box with bags hanging on either side of the back wheel which he packed with more water and food. He was going to have to see about actual food at some point but, for now, this would have to do. With a sleeping bag, thermal blanket, and supplies to tend to the bike in the basket and himself bundled against the cold outside, he exited the store.
The parking lot was empty.
His hands tightened around the handles of his new bike, his heart rate spiking. There were no vehicles anywhere, not even on the main highway he could see from where he was standing. Swallowing thickly against the anxiety, he mounted the bike and kicked off hard. The streets were completely clear and the route home was obvious. He didn’t know for sure how long it would take to get home but he had a plan. He would use the gas stations as pit stops along the way. There were a ton more of them than anything else and his trek home took him by at least five decently spaced apart.
He barely made it to the first one before it got dark.
The doors were still unlocked when he hurriedly yanked on the handle. In his haste, he caught the door with the bike handle and buried the other in his gut. Wincing from the pain, he adjusted and tried again, glancing about when he made it over the threshold without another incident trying to see if anything was drawn to the ruckus he must have made.
There wasn’t a sign of movement anywhere.
He found glow sticks on his way to the back room and was elated when they worked. The plumbing still worked in the restroom as well and he utilized it briefly before slipping into the back room. The back room itself was a bit dingy but he was able to barricade himself within and light the space with the glow sticks. He tucked some unopened ones into his sleeping bag so that he would have light when he awoke before going about to see what was all in the back room.
Luck was on his side because he found bread, peanut butter, honey, and an assortment of canned goods all still good. He quickly readjusted his packing to accommodate for the new supplies before diving into the store room once more.
He found matches in the last box. A lot of matches. Ecstatic, he found the food storage bags he had seen earlier and started waterproofing as many of the match boxes in a gallon sized bag. It was a hearty amount and he carefully tucked them away in the backpack he wore on his back for safe keeping. He ate a quick meal before slipping into his sleeping bag and settling to sleep.
A weight pressed down upon him.
He kicked at the sleeping bag, struggling to free himself as he scrambled to light a few glow sticks. With a snap, the few in his hand started to glow brightly and he waved about the half lit glow sticks trying desperately to see what had settled on top of him.
The store room was empty of any other creatures.
Shaken, he quickly packed and grabbed anything else that caught his eye, before undoing the barricade and shoving the bike through the store.
He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide on the scene outside the large windows.
At first he had assumed the glass had simply fogged up. It wasn’t overly warm in the small structure, especially not with the electricity out, but when he had gotten close enough, he realized it was a dense fog. It was so thick, he couldn’t see the pavement beyond the front sidewalk. Turning right around, he marched the bike back to the storage closet and mentally claimed that he was staying there till it cleared enough for him to see.
He only looked out the windows two other times before night fell.
He had searched the store room and found a moderate supply of glow sticks but he wanted to make sure he had all the store had to offer so went out on the floor to scoured the shelves. So focused on his task, his gaze never made it to the window till he was on the isle against the windows. He was pulling the glow sticks off the peg when he was overwhelmed with the sensation of being watched. His head came up and he whipped around so quickly that he lost a good amount of supplies to the floor. The fog had thickened even more, half of the sidewalk missing. Heart racing but seeing nothing amiss, he quickly gathered what he had grabbed from the shelves and booked it back into the store room.
Later, after the fear had ebbed away, he had moved to the restroom in order to freshen up. He figured it would help him feel a bit a bit better than he was feeling so he gathered a number of large water bottles, a roll of paper towels, some soap, and propped the bathroom door open for the best light, a few glow sticks in the darker corners to help even the lighting. He cleaned the floor around the drain as best he could before stripping - careful of keeping his cloths safe and out of the way - and cleaned himself to the best that he could with bottled water and paper towels. It was freezing so he was trying to be quick but he glanced in the mirror as he moved.
There was something in the fog staring at him.
There were many somethings staring at him.
He spun around so fast, he slipped on the wet tile and landed hard on his bare bum. His heart was trying to beat itself out of his chest as he stared at the empty windows obscured by nothing more than the fog. Scared out of his wits, he prayed to whatever deity would listen that all of it had been a trick of the light.
He hurried as quickly as he could and barricaded himself in the store room for the night. He hunkered down in his sleeping bag not even trying to sleep. He simply wanted the feigned belief that there was something between him and whatever was out there in hopes that it would help him live to see another day.
Something touched his hair.
He ended up kicking his bike as he scrambled to get away from whatever had touched him. He winced as the bike hit the ground hard, glad it had missed him on the way down. He just hoped nothing was severely damaged.
Turned out, everything was fine. He peaked outside to find the fog had receded so far back, he could see the highway a mile off. Or, at least, where the highway should be.
He pressed up against the glass, staring at the scene before him. Whatever the stuff was, it looked like the ground was softly coated in a soft gray snow, though the stuff looked more like cotton than snow. Making sure his face is covered and eyes were behind something protective, he pushed the bike out only to discover the stuff behaved like cotton too. It was the strangest thing and he felt on edge about all of it. He was glad the stuff was only a few inches deep, though. Made it easy to guess where the edge of the road was without hitting a curb and faceplanting to find out.
The stuff on the ground didn’t cling to him or the bike but he kept himself completely covered. At one point, he felt something shift with the pedals and he glanced down to see the chain had slipped. Coming to a stop, he fixed the chain as quickly as he could, feeling uncomfortably exposed. A sensation almost like faint static electricity washed over his back, making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and seemingly all the way down his spine. He looked up and about but there had been no signs of anything, let alone buildings, for as far as the eye could see, which, honestly, was hard to tell. The stuff on the ground and the fog blended nearly seamlessly, making his eyes hurt, and on this stretch of highway he knew it was possible for the fog to be obscuring the buildings farther back from the road than the fog density allowed. It didn’t help his unease.
He got moving again.
The stuff on the ground hid much more than he had thought.
He shot over the handlebars as the front wheel came to an abrupt halt, throwing the rest of the metal frame and contents after him. Just as the stuff on the ground didn’t cling to anything, it didn’t make a cushion either and he hit the ground hard, rolling a few times only to come to a stop, his cheek pressed into the rough ground and the backpack resting against his back.
He opened his eyes to darkness. He blinked a few times, deemed he could in fact still see but it was simply nighttime, and promptly closed his eyes again with the intent of going to sleep.
The sensation returned to his back and his eyes snapped open. The darkness was relentless but he refused to shut his eyes until he was certain that his mind was playing tricks on him even as he held very still.
Something was standing over him.
He couldn’t see it but he could feel it. At least, he thought he did. He snapped his eyes shut not sure if he wanted light to see or not.
Something smacked him in the face.
He rolled away and up, stumbling as he spun around trying to find what had smacked him only to come to a stop. There was nothing beyond the fog and the stuff that covered the ground layered now up to his stomach. Completely turned around but not wanting to stay in one spot, he started walking.
An hour into the walk he realized the backpack was missing. About a minute later he decided it didn’t matter.
When the dense fog seemed to darken with night, his legs were burning, his feet ached to the point of being painful to walk on, and his eyes hurt from staring at the soft gray expanse for who knew how long. He happily collapsed onto his stomach and watched as a hazy darkness enveloped him as the stuff that covered the ground shifted and covered him completely. He dosed like that, a feigned safety soothing any anxiety that probably should have been there.
He came to when it was completely dark. Knowing he wasn’t going to be seen now, he opened his eyes, wondering if even in the darkness he would be able to make out whatever was in the darkness. He doubted it but curiosity was overrunning the logical thoughts.
The sensation started faintly on his back what felt like an eternity later. It jolted him out of a light dose and he forced himself to relax back into the ground. The sensation of something standing over him returned. His initial reaction had been to tense but he eased himself back into relaxing. Whatever was standing over his moved to stand over his head and shoulders and just stayed there.
It stayed there so long that he thought it had left and found himself on the brink of sleep.
Something came at him as if to bite his head off and he bolted upright only to stumble backwards and fall onto hard earth.
There was nothing around him, nothing but the barren ground free of the fluffy gray stuff and the fog a hardy ways away in every direction. There was also nothing on his body. He was bare from head to toe and, while his first instinct is to cover as much as he could, he got up and started walking, vehemently ignoring just how bare he was.
His bare feet were murdered by the dry, cracking dirt and when he stopped, he wasn’t sure how he was going to continue on with his feet so raw. Even sitting on the ground was uncomfortable with nothing to separate skin from the hard earth. He took what he could; at least the temperature was mild with no rain.
It felt like he was stopping constantly but the fog never darkened. Nothing changed, for that matter. He couldn’t memorize the ground enough to figure out if he was walking in circles. He had tried. It didn’t work.
Hitting the dirt was a painful experience but he was too exhausted to care. He had been walking for so long that everything felt like a boulder to him. He let his eyes slide close in hopes of gaining some rest before moving on.
The static electricity feeling returned to his back and his eyes snapped open.
The fog was still light in color and he could still see the brown of the dirt very easily but the feeling was there. Fear kept him from being able to close his eyes and he waited, holding his breath.
The stronger the feeling got, the more freaked out he grew.
As it grew unbearable, he forced his eyes shut and focused on his heart pounding in his chest.
Over and over he repeated that it would pass, it would pass. All he had to do was remain still.
It felt like he laid there for an eternity and a second all at once as his eyes snapped open.
All he made out was the glowing eyes before his throat burned and his lungs worked to shove all the air out.
The power went out.
His head snapped upwards, his gaze latching onto the light fixtures adhered to the high ceiling.
His head snapped upwards, his gaze latching onto the light fixtures adhered to the high ceiling. The large windows prevented darkness from sinking its claws into every nook and cranny but the sun was already on the far side of the building setting. It would get dark soon no electricity in a mall meant there was going to be some thick shadows.
He swallowed thickly at the thought and tore his gaze away to seek out the store he needed.
His blood ran cold.
Where there had been a crowd of people was nothing more than an empty mall. His head whipped this way and that and before he knew it, he was racing down the length of the building in hopes of running into someone. Anyone.
The mall was deserted.
Totally and completely.
Inside and out.
He nearly ate pavement as he stumbled, catching himself painfully on the back of a bench. His lungs heaved, trying to suck in as much oxygen as he could get, but it wasn’t enough. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest trying to break free and his stomach was twisting as if wanting to empty itself in protest to the sudden marathon.
The metal bench was freezing cold as he sat down. He pulled his coat tighter around him, too hot in it but not wanting to get chilled. He tried his phone, knowing it should have had at least another day’s worth of battery only to find that it was completely dead. The screen didn’t even light up with the imagery that stated such. And without her, he couldn’t even get into the car and drive anywhere, though he could test to see if the cars themselves had power by smashing into a few to see if he set the alarms off. He thought against it as it registered how much noise that would make. He bristled at the thought of drawing unwanted attention and quickly settled back. With his breath curling in front of his face, he stared at the parking lot daring something to move.
Not even a bird showed itself
The shadows were nearly the length of the parking lot by the time he was shivering. Standing, he sent the setting sun a longing look before returning to the mall. The door opened with as much ease at it had when he had slammed into it earlier. He walked through the mall as he formed a plan. He made two stops - one at some bag store for the largest thing with wheels he could find, another for a pillow and blankets - before selecting a store he figured would be the best thing to hunker down in.
He was starting to get hungry as the last of the light slowly faded, quickly swallowing him in darkness, but he was without a light source and he wasn’t about to go wandering about with no light. Zipping the massive bag almost completely shut and using his shoes to make sure he had fresh air, he burrowed into his makeshift sleeping back and tried to sleep.
Something curled its fingers around the edge of his breathing hole.
He jerked about, wide awake and in a panic. He shoved himself out of the bag not even trying to unzip it more and stumbled, looking about.
There was nothing there with no sign that there had been anything to disturb the store. He looked to the main part of the mall and saw sunlight pouring in through the large windows. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep not remembering having fallen asleep and wasn’t about to ask questions. He had a long way to go if he wanted to make it home before it got dark again.
On his way back to the bag store, he crinkled his nose at the smell of spoiled food. He pulled his shirt up from under his jacket but that didn’t help much. Not even breathing through his mouth seemed to ease the stench. Thankfully the smell didn’t permeate the entirety of the mall yet so he was free from the scent when he entered the outdoor sports store. He was surprised to find a vending machine but the energy bars were to be expected. He grabbed a few different backpacks, broke the vending machine surprisingly easily, and worked on figuring out which pack worked best to carry water and food.
He didn’t even bother cleaning up the mess he left behind.
The store had a good number of bikes and an even better selection of accessories. He was able to not only get a bike that would work for what he needed, he was able to attach a rack to the back that held a decent sized box with bags hanging on either side of the back wheel which he packed with more water and food. He was going to have to see about actual food at some point but, for now, this would have to do. With a sleeping bag, thermal blanket, and supplies to tend to the bike in the basket and himself bundled against the cold outside, he exited the store.
The parking lot was empty.
His hands tightened around the handles of his new bike, his heart rate spiking. There were no vehicles anywhere, not even on the main highway he could see from where he was standing. Swallowing thickly against the anxiety, he mounted the bike and kicked off hard. The streets were completely clear and the route home was obvious. He didn’t know for sure how long it would take to get home but he had a plan. He would use the gas stations as pit stops along the way. There were a ton more of them than anything else and his trek home took him by at least five decently spaced apart.
He barely made it to the first one before it got dark.
The doors were still unlocked when he hurriedly yanked on the handle. In his haste, he caught the door with the bike handle and buried the other in his gut. Wincing from the pain, he adjusted and tried again, glancing about when he made it over the threshold without another incident trying to see if anything was drawn to the ruckus he must have made.
There wasn’t a sign of movement anywhere.
He found glow sticks on his way to the back room and was elated when they worked. The plumbing still worked in the restroom as well and he utilized it briefly before slipping into the back room. The back room itself was a bit dingy but he was able to barricade himself within and light the space with the glow sticks. He tucked some unopened ones into his sleeping bag so that he would have light when he awoke before going about to see what was all in the back room.
Luck was on his side because he found bread, peanut butter, honey, and an assortment of canned goods all still good. He quickly readjusted his packing to accommodate for the new supplies before diving into the store room once more.
He found matches in the last box. A lot of matches. Ecstatic, he found the food storage bags he had seen earlier and started waterproofing as many of the match boxes in a gallon sized bag. It was a hearty amount and he carefully tucked them away in the backpack he wore on his back for safe keeping. He ate a quick meal before slipping into his sleeping bag and settling to sleep.
A weight pressed down upon him.
He kicked at the sleeping bag, struggling to free himself as he scrambled to light a few glow sticks. With a snap, the few in his hand started to glow brightly and he waved about the half lit glow sticks trying desperately to see what had settled on top of him.
The store room was empty of any other creatures.
Shaken, he quickly packed and grabbed anything else that caught his eye, before undoing the barricade and shoving the bike through the store.
He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide on the scene outside the large windows.
At first he had assumed the glass had simply fogged up. It wasn’t overly warm in the small structure, especially not with the electricity out, but when he had gotten close enough, he realized it was a dense fog. It was so thick, he couldn’t see the pavement beyond the front sidewalk. Turning right around, he marched the bike back to the storage closet and mentally claimed that he was staying there till it cleared enough for him to see.
He only looked out the windows two other times before night fell.
He had searched the store room and found a moderate supply of glow sticks but he wanted to make sure he had all the store had to offer so went out on the floor to scoured the shelves. So focused on his task, his gaze never made it to the window till he was on the isle against the windows. He was pulling the glow sticks off the peg when he was overwhelmed with the sensation of being watched. His head came up and he whipped around so quickly that he lost a good amount of supplies to the floor. The fog had thickened even more, half of the sidewalk missing. Heart racing but seeing nothing amiss, he quickly gathered what he had grabbed from the shelves and booked it back into the store room.
Later, after the fear had ebbed away, he had moved to the restroom in order to freshen up. He figured it would help him feel a bit a bit better than he was feeling so he gathered a number of large water bottles, a roll of paper towels, some soap, and propped the bathroom door open for the best light, a few glow sticks in the darker corners to help even the lighting. He cleaned the floor around the drain as best he could before stripping - careful of keeping his cloths safe and out of the way - and cleaned himself to the best that he could with bottled water and paper towels. It was freezing so he was trying to be quick but he glanced in the mirror as he moved.
There was something in the fog staring at him.
There were many somethings staring at him.
He spun around so fast, he slipped on the wet tile and landed hard on his bare bum. His heart was trying to beat itself out of his chest as he stared at the empty windows obscured by nothing more than the fog. Scared out of his wits, he prayed to whatever deity would listen that all of it had been a trick of the light.
He hurried as quickly as he could and barricaded himself in the store room for the night. He hunkered down in his sleeping bag not even trying to sleep. He simply wanted the feigned belief that there was something between him and whatever was out there in hopes that it would help him live to see another day.
Something touched his hair.
He ended up kicking his bike as he scrambled to get away from whatever had touched him. He winced as the bike hit the ground hard, glad it had missed him on the way down. He just hoped nothing was severely damaged.
Turned out, everything was fine. He peaked outside to find the fog had receded so far back, he could see the highway a mile off. Or, at least, where the highway should be.
He pressed up against the glass, staring at the scene before him. Whatever the stuff was, it looked like the ground was softly coated in a soft gray snow, though the stuff looked more like cotton than snow. Making sure his face is covered and eyes were behind something protective, he pushed the bike out only to discover the stuff behaved like cotton too. It was the strangest thing and he felt on edge about all of it. He was glad the stuff was only a few inches deep, though. Made it easy to guess where the edge of the road was without hitting a curb and faceplanting to find out.
The stuff on the ground didn’t cling to him or the bike but he kept himself completely covered. At one point, he felt something shift with the pedals and he glanced down to see the chain had slipped. Coming to a stop, he fixed the chain as quickly as he could, feeling uncomfortably exposed. A sensation almost like faint static electricity washed over his back, making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and seemingly all the way down his spine. He looked up and about but there had been no signs of anything, let alone buildings, for as far as the eye could see, which, honestly, was hard to tell. The stuff on the ground and the fog blended nearly seamlessly, making his eyes hurt, and on this stretch of highway he knew it was possible for the fog to be obscuring the buildings farther back from the road than the fog density allowed. It didn’t help his unease.
He got moving again.
The stuff on the ground hid much more than he had thought.
He shot over the handlebars as the front wheel came to an abrupt halt, throwing the rest of the metal frame and contents after him. Just as the stuff on the ground didn’t cling to anything, it didn’t make a cushion either and he hit the ground hard, rolling a few times only to come to a stop, his cheek pressed into the rough ground and the backpack resting against his back.
He opened his eyes to darkness. He blinked a few times, deemed he could in fact still see but it was simply nighttime, and promptly closed his eyes again with the intent of going to sleep.
The sensation returned to his back and his eyes snapped open. The darkness was relentless but he refused to shut his eyes until he was certain that his mind was playing tricks on him even as he held very still.
Something was standing over him.
He couldn’t see it but he could feel it. At least, he thought he did. He snapped his eyes shut not sure if he wanted light to see or not.
Something smacked him in the face.
He rolled away and up, stumbling as he spun around trying to find what had smacked him only to come to a stop. There was nothing beyond the fog and the stuff that covered the ground layered now up to his stomach. Completely turned around but not wanting to stay in one spot, he started walking.
An hour into the walk he realized the backpack was missing. About a minute later he decided it didn’t matter.
When the dense fog seemed to darken with night, his legs were burning, his feet ached to the point of being painful to walk on, and his eyes hurt from staring at the soft gray expanse for who knew how long. He happily collapsed onto his stomach and watched as a hazy darkness enveloped him as the stuff that covered the ground shifted and covered him completely. He dosed like that, a feigned safety soothing any anxiety that probably should have been there.
He came to when it was completely dark. Knowing he wasn’t going to be seen now, he opened his eyes, wondering if even in the darkness he would be able to make out whatever was in the darkness. He doubted it but curiosity was overrunning the logical thoughts.
The sensation started faintly on his back what felt like an eternity later. It jolted him out of a light dose and he forced himself to relax back into the ground. The sensation of something standing over him returned. His initial reaction had been to tense but he eased himself back into relaxing. Whatever was standing over his moved to stand over his head and shoulders and just stayed there.
It stayed there so long that he thought it had left and found himself on the brink of sleep.
Something came at him as if to bite his head off and he bolted upright only to stumble backwards and fall onto hard earth.
There was nothing around him, nothing but the barren ground free of the fluffy gray stuff and the fog a hardy ways away in every direction. There was also nothing on his body. He was bare from head to toe and, while his first instinct is to cover as much as he could, he got up and started walking, vehemently ignoring just how bare he was.
His bare feet were murdered by the dry, cracking dirt and when he stopped, he wasn’t sure how he was going to continue on with his feet so raw. Even sitting on the ground was uncomfortable with nothing to separate skin from the hard earth. He took what he could; at least the temperature was mild with no rain.
It felt like he was stopping constantly but the fog never darkened. Nothing changed, for that matter. He couldn’t memorize the ground enough to figure out if he was walking in circles. He had tried. It didn’t work.
Hitting the dirt was a painful experience but he was too exhausted to care. He had been walking for so long that everything felt like a boulder to him. He let his eyes slide close in hopes of gaining some rest before moving on.
The static electricity feeling returned to his back and his eyes snapped open.
The fog was still light in color and he could still see the brown of the dirt very easily but the feeling was there. Fear kept him from being able to close his eyes and he waited, holding his breath.
The stronger the feeling got, the more freaked out he grew.
As it grew unbearable, he forced his eyes shut and focused on his heart pounding in his chest.
Over and over he repeated that it would pass, it would pass. All he had to do was remain still.
It felt like he laid there for an eternity and a second all at once as his eyes snapped open.
All he made out was the glowing eyes before his throat burned and his lungs worked to shove all the air out.
The power went out.
His head snapped upwards, his gaze latching onto the light fixtures adhered to the high ceiling.
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