Short Stories And Not So Short Stories

Story 1

          At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that we'd struck it rich and that we'd be able to retire and live in leisure. We actually started writing down all the ways we'd spend the money. Our first choice was to leave this shanty town. We could finally get my sister the medical treatment she needs. But... the black liquid started moving. I watched as the black liquid warped from a smooth liquid into a solid black shadow. 

          My body was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't breathe. The soulless figure seemed to be staring at me. My stomach twisted in on itself. It made its way towards me. Slowly. I force my body to move. The trek from the cave entrance is a little tedious, but I manage to get through. 

          I burst into the warm mid-day sunlight, a drastic change from the chill of the cave. My chest heaves for the air that feels as if it's not reaching my lungs. I dash down the hill as fast as my legs will carry me, not daring to look back. I made it half way down the hill, when my vision goes black. I stop, stunned, as a chill seeps into my bones. Everything around me feels thick and oily. 

          I'm suffocating out of fear. This has to be a dream. This can't be real. I continue to tell myself that I'll wake up. I close my eyes tightly, and when I open them, the inky darkness is replaced by the starry night sky. I waste no time in sprinting home. How long was I in there? Days? Weeks? It doesn't matter now.

          I reach my house and go straight to my bed, with no dinner and no explanation from my family. It doesn't seem to register that there was no one in the house, and the town seemed dead. I hope desperately to fall asleep. To wake up knowing this was just a bad nightmare. But as I lay there, begging for sleep. I have an uneasy feeling, that I am not alone.