I remember the night it all started, as vividly as a waking nightmare. I was 30, a decade older than when I should have died in that rollover accident. I survived, but something in me changed that day. I began to see things, glimpses of a world that should not exist, a world of unspeakable horrors, just beyond the thin veil of our reality.
It was a cold evening in Seattle, the kind where the fog seems to whisper secrets. I was at the Whiskey Bar with Conner, my friend from ERAU, talking about the old days. That's when she walked in - Kennedy, or as we knew her back at Camp Sealth, Venus. She was all black ops mystery now, but to me, she’d always be the girl who knew the woods better than her own mind.
We were laughing over a shared joke when the door opened again, and there stood Alex. I hadn't seen him since middle school, back when he was Raven. He recognized me instantly, his face lighting up with that same mischievous grin I remembered. We reconnected as if no time had passed, sharing stories and catching up on lost years. Alex... Raven. The girl who shared secrets with me under the shade of the old oak tree in the park by Salmon Bay, the friend I lost to the labyrinth of adolescence, he had grown into a centered, steadfast man. It was a transition for us both, in more ways than one. He found his true self, a path that demanded courage I couldn't fathom, and I, I was swept into a world that eventually had me looking to the stars for solace.
Later that evening Kaden Ripley, a friend from elementary school, showed up to say “‘Sup?” He’d seen my insta post and was bored enough to head down to the bar. He’d spent the last few months as an up and coming DJ in Ibiza. He knew Alex but they were never close. That night, though, as the drinks flowed and the music played, we all became fast friends.
As the night wore on, the conversation turned strange. Kennedy, or Venus, started talking in hushed tones about her missions, things she had seen that she couldn't explain. Conner chimed in with tales from his Air Force days, stories that made my skin crawl. Alex, usually so grounded, confessed he'd been experiencing odd dreams, ones that felt too real to be mere figments of sleep.That's when I decided to share my secret, the visions I'd been having since the accident. I told them about the thin veil I could sometimes see through, the glimpses of otherworldly creatures, things that defied explanation. They listened, their faces a mix of skepticism and concern.
We left the bar, the night air crisp and biting. As we walked, I felt that familiar prickle at the back of my neck, the sensation I’d come to associate with the veil thinning. I stopped, my friends turning to look at me. That's when it happened - the world around us shifted, and for a brief moment, we all saw it, the other dimension, a place of eldritch horrors.
The creatures were like something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare, tentacles and eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. We stood there, frozen in terror, as the beings writhed and twisted on the other side of the veil. And then, as quickly as it appeared, the vision vanished, leaving us in the cold, silent night. We didn’t speak of it again that night. But in the days that followed, something unspoken yet palpable pulled us together, a magnetic force born from the shared terror and bewilderment of what we had witnessed. Regular meetings became our norm, in dimly lit rooms, over cups of coffee that grew cold as we delved into discussions that stretched into the early hours of the morning. It was a peculiar team we formed - Alex with his pragmatic skepticism, Conner with his military insights, Venus with her covert experiences, Kaden with his technological prowess, and I, the unwilling seer of the unexplainable.
Our gatherings often revolved around trying to understand the veil and the eldritch abominations that lurked just beyond our perception. Venus, always the most enigmatic among us, revealed snippets of classified information she had stumbled upon during her black ops missions. "There's proof, indisputable proof of alien life and advanced civilizations out there," she said one night, her voice low and steady. "But for reasons unknown, they're avoiding us. It's as if Earth is a forbidden zone in the cosmic map."
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Our planet, a blue gem in the vastness of space, held a secret far more terrifying than any of us could have imagined. It was on a rain-soaked evening, in the depths of an ancient library, that we came face to face with the stark reality of our world's true nature.
We were there to retrieve an ancient codex rumored to hold knowledge about the Great Old Ones, entities whose very existence was a blight on the fabric of reality. The library, a gothic structure with towering shelves and shadows that seemed to move, was the perfect setting for a revelation that would forever change our understanding of the universe.
As we navigated the labyrinth of books, the air grew colder, the silence more oppressive. It was as if the library itself was alive, watching us, its invisible eyes filled with ancient knowledge and unspeakable secrets. Venus led the way, her steps steady and purposeful, while Conner and Alex flanked her, their expressions a mix of determination and fear.
Kaden stayed close to me, his eyes darting around, trying to pierce the gloom. "Do you feel it, Sage?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "The air... it's charged with something ancient, something malevolent."
I nodded, the familiar prickling sensation at the back of my neck intensifying. The veil was thin here, thinner than I'd ever felt it before. I could sense them, the Old Ones, lurking just beyond our perception, their presence a suffocating weight on my mind.
It was then that we found the book, hidden in a forgotten corner of the library, its pages yellowed with age, the text written in a language that seemed to shift and change as we looked at it. Venus reached out to take it, but before her fingers could touch the ancient leather, the world erupted into chaos.
From the shadows, a creature emerged, its form a swirling mass of tentacles and eyes, a physical manifestation of the nightmares that haunted the edges of our dreams. It moved with unnatural speed, its limbs lashing out with a hunger born from eons of imprisonment.
Conner reacted first, his military training kicking in. He lunged at the creature, his shouts echoing through the library as he fought to protect us. But the creature was too powerful, too otherworldly. In a blur of movement, one of its tentacles wrapped around Conner's arm, the pressure immense, unyielding.
We heard the sickening snap of bone before Conner's screams filled the air, a sound of pure agony that cut through the terror paralyzing us. With a violent tug, the creature ripped his left arm off, blood spraying across the ancient tomes.
Venus acted then, her movements precise and deadly. She attacked the creature, drawing its attention away from Conner, who lay on the floor, his face white with shock. Alex and Kaden rushed to his side, trying to stem the bleeding, their hands shaking.
I stood frozen, the horror of what I was witnessing rendering me immobile. The creature turned its many eyes on me, and in that moment, I felt a connection, a terrible understanding. It was a guardian, a keeper of secrets not meant for mortal minds. Our presence had disturbed the delicate balance that kept the Old Ones imprisoned.
With a final, desperate effort, Venus managed to drive the creature back into the shadows from whence it came. The air lightened, the oppressive presence receding, but the damage had been done. Conner lay unconscious, his life hanging by a thread.
We left the library with the codex, but the cost had been high. Conner's sacrifice was a stark reminder of the dangers we faced, of the truth we sought to uncover. Our planet was not just a home to us, but a prison to entities so terrifying that even advanced civilizations feared to tread upon its soil.
As we ventured deeper into the mystery, as we poured over the ancient writing, we could feel our sanity slowly being pulled from our minds.We found the truth, the reality of our situation. The Great Old Ones were not just myths or legends; they were real, and Earth was their cage. A cage that we, in our ignorance and curiosity, had begun to unlock.