Showcase Magazine - Central and Southwest Virginia's Exclusive Entertainment Magazine

August 16, 2005 (Part 1)

The rest of Sunday evening was quiet. There was a cool gentle breeze blowing as I saw Jess off Monday morning. She seemed to be fine as she pulled out of the driveway. I didn’t want to see her leave. I never do but this time I was really worried about her. Even though she acted normal there had to be residual effect to what had happened to her.

I watched the taillights on her car fade as she reached the hill to the highway. Turning around to walk back in the house I caught a reflection in the window out of the corner of my eye. It seemed to be a black cloaked figure looking directly at me. I blinked and it was gone. I thought to myself “that could have been the glare from the sun”, and walked to the front porch. As I reached for the door knob I was greeted by a debilitating cold. Fighting through the cold I went inside.

Once inside the cold subsided. The cat was sitting in the kitchen waiting to be fed. As I opened the cabinet to get the food I heard a slight moan. It almost sounded like the cabinet door squeaking, I attributed it to that. After the cat was fed I turned to walk toward the bedroom when I saw a dark cloaked figure sitting in a chair in the living room. I was paralyzed with fear. The figure reached for the hood and slowly pulled it away from his head. The first glance was nauseating. He had pale blue skin, sharp yellowing teeth, glowing sunken in eyes and a gaping hole in his forehead. Maggots crawled from the hole, as soon as they reached the chair the maggots disappeared. The figure emitted the most pungent stench. Looking directly at me, he said “don’t be afraid, I am here to give you the salvation that you seek”. The paralysis lifted and I felt some unseen force pushing me toward the living room.

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