I was in the snow on my hands and knees. I could feel the dry crunchy grass that felt like a barb wire underneath my hands as the snow melted. Drops of blood were scattered across in a little red patches. Everything was dark except the headlights for my still running car, it cast distorted shadows making even the bushes and trees seem ominous.

The door of the house opened and light flooded the front lawn. Anne came out, wearing her usual outfit of flip-flops, sweat pants and a T-shirt, with some kind of cringe gamer humor which she swore up and down was ironic, but those are the only types of shirts she ever wore. Her skin was the same shade of white as the original Wii consul and her hair was the same color of black as that special Wii consul they released later.

"Ward? Oh my god are you all right?" She said, rushing over to me. She wrapped her arms around me, I felt her body heat. Anne is one of the few people I let touch me.

I tried to tell her what happened, but all that came out was, “The Wii consules... I don’t remember the dates... I know the white one came out first but I don’t remember the exact dates...”

"What are you..." she started, but then she looked over at what was still hanging off of the side door of my car, it’s claws dug straight into the metal siding. She put her hand over her mouth to repress the scream.

I kept my eyes straight ahead, still looking at the house. I didn’t need to turn to see what she was looking at. The vaguely human shaped thing, twisted and broken like a glitched out ragdoll, it’s blood was everywhere. I could still see it’s from the depths of the uncanny valley doll face; like some kind of visual aftertaste.

"I never liked Nintendo as much as PlayStation," I said. "Most of Legend of Zelda is overrated in my opinion. Although I always had a soft spot for Majora‘s Mask."

Things get a little hazy after that, but I think I passed out.

****

I just sat in my car for a bit after it happened. I stared ahead of me at the streets, but it wasn't the same; it looks like a normal street, but it wasn't same one I was on before. I blinked several times. Eventually I turned the car off, putting the keys in my front hoodie pocket I stepped out of the car.

I got a better look around, everything seemed slightly off on closer inspection. The streetlights were yellow, they were very light and pale orange, and the Sky was not black but actually a really dark purple, like sunset except it was the middle of the night. The moon was yellow and misshapen, deflating almost.

I did a three-sixtey, there weren't any other cars on the street, and I didn't even see any pedestrians. I could only see the black silhouettes of buildings, and even they looked cartoonish, their corners were too pointy like they were Cardboard cutouts from a children's play.

Suddenly I heard barking coming from the sidewalk. I looked over where it was coming from but I didn't see a dog anywhere. Something was wrong with the Patch of concrete though, so I went over to investigate. I bent down to get a better look, it was like the sidewalk was rippling , like water , occasionally I could see tough stuff brown fur peek up from the ground. The barking was strangely uniform, like it was a single bark sound played over and over again.

"Sorry,"" I heard a male voice from behind me say. "My dog gets stuck sometimes.""

"How did your dog get stuck in the sidewalk?"" I said and then I turned around.

I jumped back when I saw who was talking to me.

Everything about them was wrong. Their skin was yellow, the same shade of yellow of a highlighter, and it looked like leather, dried and wrinkly. It's eyes where twice as big as they should have been, and it's mouth was half as small and way too low on the face, its tiny mouth was where its chin should have been. It didn't have a nose, it just had a line on its face and two nostrils. It looked like a five year olds drawing of a human person that had been brought to life buy a Wizards wish or something.

I wanted to scream, but for some reason all I could say was, "I'm sorry good Sir but I have to go.""

I ran back to my car and slam the door shut, pressing the lock button 12 times. I tried to pull my keys from my pocket but dropped them in between my feet. I awkwardly reached my hand down then between my legs. My face was pressed against the steering wheel, so I couldn't see anything. I desperately fumbled around for the keys, fingers brushing against wadded up fast food wrappers and dirt.

Eventually my fingers felt the touch of the cold metal and I grabbed it, quickly shooting up in my seat. I turned to look out from the driver side window. I saw the fuced up guy just standing there staring at me.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I found my dog,"" he said. His dog was completely still like a statue , and seems to be floating from his outstretched hands.

I jammed my keys into the ignition and twisted it with all the strength my thin arms could muster. Nothing.

Stalling? Are you fucking kidding me?

I kept trying to get the engine going, twisting the ignition over and over.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something seemed to bulge out of my driver side window. Still trying to get the car going, I turned around to see what it was. I nearly jumped over to the passenger seat. That thing out there was pressing his face against the window, but when he did so it caused the glass too…bend, it warped and distorted like it was just cellophane.

"You are from the inside aren't you?"" He said, his face twisting into an expression of emotion that I can't fully describe.

I tried to get the car started with renewed vigor. Still stalling. Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

"Please, take me with you, take me inside,"" it said. Blue tears were streaming down its face. I don't mean blue in the way water kind of looks blue if the light reflects off it right, I mean the actual color blue.

Stalling. Shitshitshitshit.

From my peripheral vision I could see other figures gather around my car. I didn't get a good look at them but they all had the same actual yellow skin as the thing that was currently pressing its face against my window.

Stalling. Fuckfuckshitshit.

The others got closer. They also pressed their faces against the windows, suddenly making them turn into something like plastic and bend. Even the front windshield was warped with crying yellow faces, they were also begging for me too take them back, back inside.

Stalling. Fuckshitfuskshit.

Like creatures in a monster movie they started to rip at the body of the car, their fingers digging in to the metal like it was nothing. I couldn't see most of it but I could hear the sounds of my car groaning, it's body tearing and breaking.

Then suddenly, the sweet growl of the engine coming to life.

Without a second thought I slammed my foot on the gas and the car launched forward. Several of the not-people fell off as soon as the car was moving. I was flooring it so the car just kept going faster and faster. More and more fell off , but some must've dug their claws in pretty deep.

As I accelerated their bodies began to stretch and distort like cartoon characters. Their limbs becoming elongated from the centrifical force, their forms unnaturally pressing against my car and spreading out like they were made of Jelly. All of my windows recovered in rippling yellow flesh. JayzusCHRIST.

The car hit a curb. I could see just enough out of the windshield to know I was going towards a building. But before I could start asking myself deep philosophical questions about the afterlife, the car no clipped right through the building.

Suddenly I was in an endless void, no features whatsoever, just an impressionist smattering of colors, Reds and oranges and pinks, all spread gently over white , like the colors of twilight. Even the lighting kind of looked like the sunset. I didn't fall, there was still solid ground, my car was still driving, but it kind of looked like I was flying through empty space.

Again, it was exactly like noclipping out of a video game into that void where you just see the skybox effects. It would have been tranquil and relaxing if there wasn't fucking monsters on my car.

My car kept accelerating. It was going over 100 miles an hour , the speedometer needle stuttering on the very edge. One by one the creatures bodies begin to rupture and burst at the velocity. Their yellow flesh would rip open to reveal black tarry insides, their blood was bright red and would splatter itself across my car. All I could hear was their distorted muffled screams and then they would let go leaving only at cherry smear.

The last hanger-oner was the very first one with the dog, His face still pressed against my window, black tears in it bleeding strawberry jelly.

"Please take me inside,"" it begged. "It's so cold out here.""

I closed my eyes. All I could hear what's the sound of my car engine stressing, occasionally broken up by desperate pleading from it's distorted voice.

I thought about my life, I thought about the things that bring me joy, how all of my favorite video games, my favorite music, my favorite fast food joints. At first mostly it was just various video games, Boones 3D Adventure, Gun-Toting-Totem, Food Fighters Final Fight. The thoughts shifted from the games to memories of me playing the games and from there the people I would play the games with.

Mostly it was Anne. Memories of her filled my mind, I remember the time I tried to get her to play Gun-Toting-Totem, I went easy on her in multiplayer but she still managed to lose every time, she's atrocious at FPS. Eventually she just threw my controller against the wall , it made a dent and shattered into a million pieces. She was absolutely fucking mortified, with a look of horror she grabbed my shoulders and told me how she pay to get the wall fixed and she'd buy me a new controller and she was so sorry , yadda yadda yadda. I wasn't really listening because I was just laughing so hard, the kind of deep laughter that shales entire body it makes you feel numb, I couldn't breathe and tears were just streaming down my face.

Tears were streaming down my face. I opened my eyes, at first everything was blurry but then I wiped the tears away. The car was stopped, it had come to a complete stop actually. The engine was still running. I couldn't see anything out of the windows, everything was black, it was just the vaguest hint of shapes. I knew I wasn't in the void anymore at least.

I opened the door and stumbled out, tripping over the corpse of the thing. I looked back at it, its body was almost completely black now and covered in its own thick viscous blood. It's form was completely twisted out of whatever original humanoid shape it was in originally. It looked like a fucked version of one of those floaty guys you see it used car lots. I don't know how but I knew it was dead, something from the lizard brain.

I looked ahead . It was a house . Anne's house.

I was in the snow on my hands and knees.

Ward? Oh my god are you all right?