Among the Dark

Chapter 1

The world was in chaos. People scattered across the country. Many fled from cities, heading to the countryside, hoping to escape the terrors that wracked the once bustling concrete jungles. Bodies littered the streets of those who decided death was better than what the creatures would do. Nobody knows where these creatures originally came from, but they arrived one day taking anyone brave enough to venture out in the dark.

One man saw the creature with his own eyes. He survived the encounter, and when asked what he saw, all he could describe it as was a beast from Hell. The way it looked was like the skin was burned. It could change its size, switch from claws to tentacles, and even mimic others. The man said he saw the creature using hypnosis on his friends, tricking them to open the doors to let it in. They didn't survive after that. The man said there was nothing left of his friend. One minute he was being controlled like a puppet, the next he was gone. He had been snatched away, never to be seen again. The creature hides in the darkness, but when hunting, uses its powers to lure others to it. It only seems to come out at night, but that was proven wrong when many went missing in the daylight. It doesn't only come out in the night; it comes out in the shadows. It comes out in dimmed rooms, closets, under beds- anywhere it can hide, it will.

The creature is very intelligent, going after anything that can stop others from communicating. In a way, it was keeping us isolated from one another. If you get separated, there is a slim chance of survival. These creatures were fast, a blur in the corner of your eye.

No one knows where they came from, but many suspect a group of scientists found some ruins in the ocean. They had gone down, grabbed some pictures and samples, and came back up. It was days later that the world fell into chaos. It was thought to be that the creatures had latched onto the machines underwater, and when it was brought up, so too were they.

For months, nobody has been able to find a weakness in these creatures. Being unable to get close to them without the possibility of death, the world has been slowly dying off, close to extinction. Many with pessimistic thoughts thought it was better to die. With the world heading the way it was, these creatures can start a new world order. Others thought this was another trial humanity needed to overcome. To band together and bring down the next threat to life itself. The only problem is that humanity itself has been forcibly pulled apart.

The only thing we know is that they come from the ocean. More and more keep coming out of the water. That's where the first casualty came from. Before the world knew about this, drowning was becoming a problem daily. Many thought it was due to teenagers looking for a thrill in their mundane lives. It wasn't until the drownings and disappearances were getting closer to the shore. After that, beaches were forbidden to go to. Anyone who trespassed either was never seen again or was caught by the patrols.

With the beaches empty of people, the creatures moved to the land. They lurked in the shadows, the dark, anything that could hide their hideous form. The death count continued to rise in numbers, the government put our country on lockdown. No planes were going in or out of the country, and shipments stopped. The rest of the world caught word of what was happening, trying to get news coverage. They were told that something was coming out of the water, killing people. They laughed at us, thinking we were crazy. We've been on this Earth for centuries, why would something decide to pop out now? We've been questioning that for weeks.

Everybody lost contact the first time the creatures showed up in other places. The last time anyone heard from one another, was when news coverage was coming in from across seas of deaths appearing in the waters. Even the lakes weren't safe anymore. America was already weeks in, our cities devoid of life, many leaving to escape to areas they thought they would never be found. With weeks of this going on, we knew how to survive and what to stay away from. The other countries didn't have that luxury.

TVs were forbidden, as the sound could attract them. These things were known to mimic voices, and though they are still getting the hang of our language, it can be easy to know when it's fake. The grammar is off, as it struggles to adapt. TVs will help it progress faster if they listen in. Phones were forbidden too, as they could listen in and take the voices of our friends and families, using our vulnerabilities against us. Many have been killed for following the voice of someone they knew when it was a trap.

Radio falls under the same category as TVs but is more limited in use. It can be used if the volume is low, and you use it for less than an hour. That's how we get our messages around. People still stick around radio stations, going in to give messages, updates, and even strategies. That's how we learned about a new force being formed by the government.

The government was looking for people who were willing to fight for the good of humanity. They would be in the history books and die a hero. Many fell for it as most wouldn't even be mentioned in the books. They would say anything to get as many people signed up. People as young as 20 were signing up. The average age for cadets was 20 to 25. Even with all this going on, they were able to train these people to put their lives out there.

We had a base here in Jux, Maryland. We were a few hours out from Baltimore and the ocean. That gave the government cause to have one in our area, as we were more susceptible to being attacked. How right they were.

We had many college kids apply within a day. Parents were proud and many fought to keep their children from doing something like this. If only they knew the base would only be operational for five days. On the fifth day, we were attacked in the night. The base was obliterated, and people were slaughtered and taken. There was no one left. With our force gone, that left the town to fend for itself. The people of the town didn't stand a chance.

By the end of the week, the town was a shell of itself. All that was left was me, the lieutenant of the local police department, and a few people I found along the way. It was a journey I was willing to push through to find an end to. If these creatures believed they could wipe us out, they had best keep their eyes open. They may be unpredictable, but humans have been known to be just as unpredictable, if not more so.

This would later be known as the Year that Humanity almost went Extinct or the War between Earth and Humanity.