Welcome to the Dark...
You may want to keep a light on while you read this.
Click to read — Prologue of Trapped Within Darkness
Table of Contents — Click here
How to participate — Click here
Referral Reward System — Click here
The Chosen Path — “Jump right into what happens the night the prologue takes place.”
Trapped Within Darkness
Part 1: Welcome to the Dark
The sound of the clock was gone, along with the warmth and comfort of my bed. There was no longer a dim glow creeping from the crack in my bedroom door. In fact, my bedroom no longer existed, nor did my house or the world I left behind. “Where am I – What is this?”
All that I could see was darkness, nothing more. I lifted my arm up expecting to see my hand – nothing. It was as if I had gone blind, but I knew better than to believe that. Something is wrong, but that was obvious. This time it was different, my nightmares have never felt like this. The darkness felt unlike anything I have ever experienced; It feels alive. Before, when I dreamt of darkness I would hear whispers, voices that would torment me until I woke. Usually I felt alone and somewhat trapped; more like a small room with the light turned off. This felt like a vast expanse of nothing but the pure absence of light.
The darkness felt like a thick fog, making it hard to breathe. The air, however, did not feel humid as you would expect with fog. It was very dry and unsettling. I could not decide if it was hot or cold, hell, it wasn't even room temperature. No draft of any kind could be felt. Never in my life have I experienced the inability to feel my environment. I felt like I was swimming in a vaporous sludge.
What dread was brought upon me just by listening carefully to my surroundings. It was ludicrously quiet, but within the silence and darkness I heard things. Things that were scampering around in the darkness. Some were very close, making my heart race, but the noise would always disappear and reappear somewhere else. It felt as if I was being watched, or stalked. The anxiety I was experiencing was second to none and I’m sure you could hear my heartbeat from a mile away.
There were random clicks here and there that sounded like someone smashing two rocks against each other. I could hear leaves rustling, not caused by wind, but caused by something brushing against them. In the distance, very far away, I could make out screams of anguish and pain. There were other people here, but they were in pain and suffering. “How were there other people here? Where the fuck am I?” Most ominous though, out of everything I could hear were whispers. You could not hear them unless you focused on them. Nothing could be made out of it – just voices talking with no direction. They were raspy and jumbled together like they were speaking over each other. In the dreams I had before they spoke together, perfectly in unison with a clear voice.
The moment my thoughts turned from the terrible noises around me my nose started burning. The smell was horrendous. Nothing so foul had ever crossed my nose before. It smelled of rotten, decomposing bodies and sewer runoff mixed into a smelling salt. I could feel my eyes start to well up with tears at the pungent smell. I covered my nose with my hands, pinching down on both nostrils making my best effort to relieve myself of the smell. My stomach became very unsettled, making me nauseous and light headed. I felt as if I was going to pass out or throw up everything inside of my stomach – or both.
Even more unfortunate, I could actually taste the horrible smell inside of my mouth. The air was so heavy with the foul aroma that my taste buds picked up on it. The closest thing I can relate the taste to, is as if someone force fed you a jar full of rotten eggs that had been brined in a toilet. With that image in my mind, my stomach evacuated all of its contents. “Great, now It’ll smell even better here.” I couldn't focus on the stench anymore, I needed to take my mind off of it and focus on anything else. “C’mon Kolt, figure out what is going on.”
Feeling around with my arms it became quite clear to me very quickly that I was not home anymore, or inside anywhere for that matter. My hand brushed up against the very rough bark of a tree, instantly startling me. The darkness gives the feeling of complete emptiness and absence of anything, which is why I was surprised to find out I was somewhere with trees – at least I thought they were trees. There was no way to truly tell. After pulling my hand away, a chalky substance was left behind on my hand, but there was no way to tell what it was without seeing it.
I started to slowly walk around, being more than cautious of where I was stepping. There could have been a cliff in front of me and I wouldn't know the difference. Walking around in a place you can't see is probably one of the most nerve-wracking things anyone can experience. Especially when you do not know where you are, how you got there or how to get back.. From what I can tell the ground wasn't solid, it was more like loose gravel. Every step I took I found myself sinking a bit, loose pebbles covering my feet. Not enough to trap me, but enough to cover my feet and slow me down. It seemed like it was impossible to run.
There were other people in here, so maybe I wasn't entirely alone. There could be a person near me and I wouldn't know the difference. Are other people experiencing the same thing as me? I hope not, but you never know.
"HELLO?!" I screamed into nothingness. I hoped for a reply, but I was only met with silence. Absolute silence. Everything seemed to have stopped as soon as I made a sound. No more whispers, or rustling leaves. The clicking noise had disappeared somewhere into the void. I couldn’t even hear the distant screams of agony. Absolute silence in absolute darkness, lovely.
"hngghh." a random noise in the distance interrupted the deafening silence. It sounded different than anything I’d heard so far – more life-like. “Do I dare head towards it? What if it’s a trap? What even would be laying traps out here?”
"Is anyone there?" I whispered loudly as if I was asking the darkness.
"Y.........yes." a coarse, weak voice replied. It sounded close, but not too close. It was at least a few meters ahead of me. That was a long way for me, considering the whole time I have been in here I have barely moved from where I woke up..
"Okay, wait there. I'm going to try and make my way to you." I told the mysterious voice. “I better not be wrong about this. What do I have to lose though? I'm stuck in a giant fucking black hole, with no way of knowing if I will ever get out of here.” The only real choice is in front of me and that's to go towards the voice. I start to crawl again, slowly, feeling everything in front of me. I felt another one of those chalky, tree-like things right in front of me, causing me to have to change direction and go left. All I could hope is that I'm going the right way.
"Am I getting closer to you?" I asked nervously.
"hnnghhh...y..yes." he answered weakly. I could tell at this point it was a man, because his voice was a bit more clear. His voice was so weak and coarse that he sounded like he could be 90. He only sounded like he was much closer, slightly to my right. Seems the tree threw me off my path a bit. Crawling closer, I began to sweat out of fear. I was never afraid of the dark, but there's something about not being able to see what's in front of you that is just terrifying. Especially when you're about to encounter someone you don't know, and can't see.
"I think I'm almost the--" I was letting him know, before something grabbed onto my arm. I yelped and instinctively tried to pull my arm away, but the stranger gripped me like an ape. After a bit of unsuccessful tugging I could feel his grip weaken, and soft hand slide off my arm. It was slightly unsettling as there was something sticky left behind on my arm.
"Get..get out of h-here." He demanded softly.
"I can't, I don't know how. Where am I?" I asked, hoping for an answer, but not expecting one.
"The...The Sh-sha,” the stranger coughed, attempting to clear his throat. "Shadow...realm." He choked, barely able to get the words out.
"What the hell is a shadow realm? How long have you been here?" I urged.
"No...no time,” he hacked up a lung before continuing, "In h-here. Don't..know." I was just now realizing that he must be hurt. The sticky, warm substance. The coughing and heaving, god am I slow sometimes.
"Where are you hurt?" I asked him. Almost without hesitation, he grabbed my arm again and moved my hand towards him. He put it on his chest, and slowly moved downwards. I could feel his shirt torn to shreds and soaked with what was obviously blood. I didn't feel anything wrong with him though. He moved my hand down a bit lower, towards his stomach. I started to feel lacerations, still bleeding profusely – this was recent. It wasn't until he moved my hand lower that I would start to understand the gravity of this place. I have to admit, I was already downright terrified of the situation I was in but my feelings were quickly dismissed by absolute, pure horror. He moved my hand down to his waist, but instead of meeting his junk I was met with his intestines hanging out from his lower stomach. I fell back in shock, hyperventilating.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! I don't know how to help you, I'm so sorry!" I apologized profusely. I felt useless. A man was dying before me and I could not do anything. Even if I could, I wouldn't be able to see what I'm doing. Right now was the first time I was thankful I was in pure darkness. He grabbed my hand again, somehow, as if he knew where to grab. Come to think of it, this entire time he seemed to know where to grab me. “Can you see in this place?!”
"No…time." He told me, pain in his voice. "Ge-get out of...here. It is com....coming." he begged. Almost as soon as the last word left his mouth he took his final breath and I felt his hand go limp. I couldn't help but cry. “Why is this happening?” Before I could even start to console myself, I felt his hand move. For a second I thought he was still alive – foolish me. Around me, the gravel started to move in ways I could not explain. Before I knew it the gravel had enveloped the body and it had disappeared as if he were never there. Nothing left behind.
Suddenly the whispering was back. The voices came slower than before, and not as jumbled, but were still hard to make out. They seemed so close to me, almost as if I could reach out and touch them.
“Kolt.” a whisper so close to my ear, I jumped and my hair shot up on end.
"Who's there?!" I asked, starting to panic. I swear to god I just heard something whisper my name. I don't even know how to get away, there is nowhere to run.
The whispers started getting louder and making less sense. One after the other voices were fighting to be heard. I couldn't tell anymore if the voices were in my head or all around me. “Did it even matter? This could all be in my head.” The voices grew more shrill with each passing second. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by the whispers, forcing me to place my hands over my ears. Unfortunately this was more an act of comfort than it was effective at reducing the noise.. They grew so loud I couldn't help but scream as the deafening voices pierced my eardrums.
Hundreds of voices, in the most malicious tone imaginable, shouted all at once, “Welcome home!” Then absolute silence.
Suddenly, I felt a breeze which took me aback. It made no sense, there was no wind in here, unless… My hair stood on end when I realized it wasn't a breeze. Someone, or something, was breathing down the back of my neck. The breathing sounded heavy and forced, almost like it was having a hard time catching its breath. I felt a drop of liquid hit my neck and run down the middle of my back. The breathing stopped all of a sudden and behind me I heard a clicking that started to fade after a few seconds of moving away – so that's what the clicking was. Whatever it was made a clicking noise when it walked. I knew it wasn't human though, the pace that it kept as it hurried away was too fast for two legs. It had at least four.
My imagination started to run wild, picturing where I was at and what the thing was that stood behind me. What my mind came up with absolutely horrified me, but I knew it couldn't be real. This must be the most vivid dream I have ever had, even though I can’t see anything. I need to figure out how to get out of here, fast, before that thing comes back. “Should I just pick a direction and run? What if I run into something worse?”
Too late – I heard the clicking start again, except for it was very subtle and distant. It's probably circling me. “Was this the thing that ripped that man apart?” my body was tingling from adrenaline and fear. I was shaking like a leaf, which I'm sure was greatly intimidating to whatever beast was out there.
It grew closer, taking its time, the feet moving a bit faster. My breathing started to get heavier in anticipation. “Why was it playing with me?” It was behind me, and it could have struck, but it chose not to. To say I felt like prey would be an understatement. Again it moved away until the clicking was barely audible.
Out of nowhere it started moving towards me, faster now. I still didn't know what this thing was or what it wanted. “How am I supposed to avoid this thing if I can't see it?” I would say that it is unfair, but look at where I am. It sure seems like this thing can see me. Maybe there is a way to see through the darkness. That man knew exactly where to grab onto me, surely he must have been able to see.
The creature stopped; from my best judgment, about 50 meters away. Everything was silent. Not a single sound was made by the leaves, or scampering little animals. Dead silence. It lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like hours.
From out of nowhere, the creature let out a blood curdling screech into the empty darkness. I forced my hands up to my ears and pressed down tightly due to how painful the noise was – another attempt that yielded no success. The piercing noise was too much and I screamed out in pain as one of my eardrums burst. I felt blood well up and run down my hand that was covering my ear. The whispers were nowhere near as painful to listen to.
It was running at me as fast as it could go. I started to panic, making breathing very difficult. Gulping for air, I just stood in place, too struck with fear to do anything. All my body could manage to do, in what my brain thought was its last moments, was hyperventilate. It was getting close now and I feared that I was going to die at the hands of some horrible, twisted creature. My heart, now practically jumping out of my chest, was beating faster than the creature's strides.
Seconds before it was on top of me something woke up inside of me – possibly my fight or flight response. The adrenaline coursing through my veins took control. As I could feel the air plow into me from the beast's momentous body, I dodged to the right, just quickly enough to get out of its way. I managed to dodge its body, but not its legs. Once I moved out of the way, one of its legs whacked into me sending me flying back a few feet and I landed on my back, which knocked the breath out of me.
It didn't even stop, it just kept running past me; until I heard it skid in the gravel, making a sharp turn so it could charge back towards me. “Are you fucking kidding me? Give me a minute to get back up at least.” The ground started to tremble under its power – I must have pissed it off. It was coming a lot faster this time and I could hear it grunting as it took its strides. In the last moment all I could manage was to stand up and let out a gut-wrenching scream until the beast was upon me, screeching as loud as it could. I felt a sharp pain well up inside my chest as I flew through the air and hit the ground hard.
Bong...Bong...Bong.
I sat up trying to force a scream, but unable because the wind had been knocked out of me. Gasping for air, I realized my shirt was soaked in sweat and nothing was left on my bed – I was back.
In disbelief, I started to calm my breathing down. Relieved to finally be out of that nightmare, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. Weirdly, when I wiped my forehead something sticky was left on my forehead. “No. Fucking. Way.”
I ran to the bathroom, which was much harder than expected. I winced as I turned the corner and turned the light on. All I could do was stare in horror at the reflection that stared back. Blood was running down my ear and down my neck, staining the collar of my shirt. I snapped next to my ear and realized I couldn’t hear out of it. Lifting up my sweat drenched shirt and I could not believe what I was seeing. A bruise spread from one side of my ribs to the other in a wide arc that nearly reached my collarbone. Even touching the skin caused a great amount of pain.
Wide-eyed, all I could do was stare at myself in the mirror. Only one thing repeated in my traumatized mind – these are not dreams.
Wow, this was exciting to write! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did creating it. It would not be possible if not for your choices made, so thank you for helping me create this epic horror story! Keep on choosing and see where this story goes! Trapped Within Darkness will return in 3 weeks after the next issues of Expedition Epsilon and Perthro: The Rune of Mystery. Look out for the character sheet of Kolt, coming out on Tuesday for paid subscribers! You could earn a free premium membership if your refer 3 people, and you will have access to the character sheets! I hope you have a great week, and as always — Choose Fiction!
OMG, Love it!
😨 so terrifying I felt like I was there in the dream ! I can't wait to hear more about the shadow realm it's very intriguing 😊