A Collection of Short Stories

In The Dark

Do you ever wonder why humans are afraid of the dark? I don't. I know.

You see, it's not that there are monsters hiding in the shadows, just out of sight. No one is waiting around a dimly lit corner to drag you away. There is absolutely nothing in the darkness to be afraid of. The only thing you have to fear is the darkness itself. Which would be a comforting thought, if the darkness weren't out to get you.

As long as you're in the light, you're safe. If you can see, even a little, you'll be fine. Because, you see, the light is what's protecting you, fighting off the darkness. But as soon as it's gone, you're fair game.

Imagine you have to go somewhere late at night. It's not too far, so you decide to walk. As the glow of the neighborhood streetlights begins to fade behind you, you start to feel uneasy. But you shake it off, telling yourself not to be silly. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Nevertheless, you quicken your pace.

Eventually, you can't even see two steps ahead of yourself in the darkness. You're using the street's edge as your guide. Slowly, it starts to get harder to move forward, almost as if something is holding you back. Icy, black tendrils wrap around your ankle, the darkness itself coming to claim you. You can't wrench your foot from their grasp. The tendrils start to climb up your leg, slowly paralyzing you. In a frenzy, you dig your phone out of your pocket and shine it down. Nothing is there but the memory of their touch on your skin. You turn on your flashlight and run.

You run for a while, evading the darkness. Soon, you spot your destination, a well-lit oasis on the horizon. As you stop to catch your breath, you find yourself plunged into darkness. Your phone just died. Now you're on your own. You dash towards the light, slipping through the darkness as it grabs at you. Your destination is within reach, light mere feet away. That is, until a pitch black tendril seizes your leg. You struggle against it to no avail. The tendrils grab your other leg and pull, hard, sending you to the ground. They drag you away as you grasp wildly at the street, finding nothing to anchor yourself on. Your last thought is the realization that you should've driven.