To Jen

CHPTR 4

The impact of the fall sent a shockwave of pain down my entire body. I kept my eyes shut and clenched my teeth together as hard as I could trying to hold in a scream of agony. I quickly opened my eyes and stood up only to find myself back in the clearing in my dreams. I realised an eerie similarity with the clearing and the area of the sinkhole. Instead of finding a monster or Blair contorted I saw ahead of me a picnic blanket with a basket beside it. Just how me and Jen's first date was, I thought to myself. Despite the far more pressing matters at hand like my daughter's safety or even my own body after the fall they seemed like a distant concern when I was there and I couldn't stop myself from going over to the blanket and sitting on it like I had so many years prior. I didn't see her but I already knew who was there when I felt a cold hand grab mine.

"Hey sweetheart, how you been?"

I sighed, clenched all my body and acknowledged how real everything seemed. The more I thought about the blanket and basket the more the environment shifted from the grim clearing to the sunset lit hill near our college overlooking a town surrounded by thick evergreens.

"Fine. I miss you."

She giggled to herself and I noticed in between the giggle a kind of. Error? It sounded like a distortion but it was so quick and short it could've been entirely missed if anybody else heard it, but it was me. And I knew how Jen laughed.

"Blair holding up?"

"I guess."

'She' clenched my hand harder but I still resisted the urge to glance at whatever was there. She deserved the response from me but it wasn't truly her, I just knew deep down. I jerked my hand off of her grasp and curled up into a ball.

"Jen."

"Yes swe-etie?"

I noticed the distortion again, more noticeable and more profound now again in 'her' voice in between words. Whatever the thing was it wasn't having an easy time replicating Jen's soft voice. I wanted to shout something, punch the thing, scream at it. How dare it take my beautiful wifes voice but I didn't have the strength to. I put my head into my knees and I cried. Lost in Oblivion and weakness, incapable of fighting physically or emotionally.

I felt a hug, arms holding me tightly. Bony and skinny limbs, skin disgustingly rough and hard, greasy hair dangled down onto my arms. I already knew what was holding me but I didn't want to face reality.

"I. Lo-ve y-ou"

The thing tried to mumble out but seemed to be barely able to hold onto her voice, leaking a black substance onto me.

"I love you Jen."

I clenched my fist and sighed preparing myself mentally

"But you're not her."

I elbowed the thing with the full intention of climbing onto it and beating the everliving shit out of it but as soon as I turned my head to face it, I was in the hole again.

I looked up and saw the moon shining overhead, multiple hours had passed since the fall. As much as I wanted to shout for Blair I knew I wouldn't have the strength to and it wouldn't matter, But I needed to get out of there as soon as possible. I desperately searched around me on the floor and was thankful to find the shotgun which had six shells chambered. And the flashlight which was cracked but still functioning. I turned it on and aimed the light into the passage within the hole, It seemed to lead into a cavern after a short crawlspace.

I felt agony all over the lower sections of my body but I was relieved nothing was broken, or atleast nothing was visibly broken, just badly bruised. With the flashlight and shotgun in hand I crawled my way through the passage. I hadn't been in a proper cave before in my life but squirming and pushing with my feet came naturally for whatever reason. After squeezing through, I faced the passage I had just entered, examining the crawlspace. There were huge bear-like claw marks, more than I could count going across all of the hole as if something couldn't fit but desperately tried to. I finally glanced into the cavern itself and saw something nothing could've prepared me for.