The heat was sweltering as Kayla walked the two blocks to the liquor store. She rarely had a Saturday off, and she planned to spend the entire day drinking. She fingered the gun in its holster on her right hip, just under her jacket. There was no way she’d ever walk around Addison without it. She pushed the door open and saw an employee that she didn’t recognize. She slowly moved her left hand to her pocket and showed the guy her enhanced concealed carry permit.

“You ever use that thing?” he asked.

She smiled sweetly at him, “Yep, had to kill my last boyfriend.”

The employee stared at her wide-eyed as she walked to the back of the store. She had never killed anyone. She bought the gun for protection after her last boyfriend threatened to kill her. Choosing another jug of Canadian Mist, she stepped up to the counter and said, “Give me one of those strawberry delta 8 cartridges.”

The guy rang her up and said, “I didn’t mean any offense, ma’am.”

“None taken,” Kayla replied. She took her bag and started walking back to the apartment. She made it to the parking lot when a strange man approached her and said, “We’re having a party in 20B if you want to come. Plenty of weed.”

“No thanks,” she said bluntly, holding up the bag. “I’m about to have my own party.”

The man shrugged, “Suit yourself.” He walked off toward that row of apartments.

----------------------------------------

Kayla reached her door and unlocked it. She hurried inside and quickly locked the door’s deadbolt. Her knee was aching from the walk, so she took another hydrocodone. A few minutes later, she sat down with her vape in one hand and her drink in the other. She opened her laptop and started scrolling through her social media again. Just as it had happened in her dream last night, a beep sounded and the chat app opened on its own.

hope: Kayla?

The girl sighed. She wasn’t asleep this time, and she didn’t know anyone named Hope. Would these pranksters ever stop? She typed a reply, using her real handle—not the stupid one from the dream.

kamillr2020: who r u?

hope: Hope Hamilton

kamillr2020: i dont know u

hope: I know. I’m here to help.

kamillr2020: thx but i dont need any help

hope: Actually, you do. The thing that killed Emma is coming for you.

kamillr2020: how do u know abt that?

hope: Someone told me. Do you remember what Emma whispered to you as she was dying?

Kayla frowned and thought back to that awful day, to her friend struggling to speak. The two words floated to the top of her mind.

kamillr2020: crawling chaos

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

hope: Do you know what that means?

She never understood why Emma spoke the strange phrase. Kayla had googled it, but she recalled little what she had read. That was in 2020—about 650 whiskey bottles ago.

kamillr2020: no

hope: Try to remember.

kamillr2020: something abt a scifi character

hope: Nyarlathotep

kamillr2020: i guess

hope: He was a character created by H.P. Lovecraft.

kamillr2020: yeah i dont read much and that story was way too hard to understand

hope: That’s ok. What you need to know is that there’s a kernel of truth in that story.

kamillr2020: r u trying to tell me that stuff is real?

hope: The creature that killed Emma is the basis for that character.

kamillr2020: ur insane

hope: No, I’m not and neither are you. Lovecraft was one of the few humans who was attuned to these beings. Most people who pick up their communications die instantly or go insane. Since Lovecraft could channel that energy into writing, he survived into adulthood. The same goes for John of Patmos, who wrote the Book of Revelation.

kamillr2020: wait u said beings? plural??

hope: There are many of them, and I don’t have the time or the permission to tell you any details.

kamillr2020: permission from who?

hope: It doesn’t matter. Write this down:

Dr. Patricia Reed

3124 Providence Blvd

Addison, MS

(601) 555-2436

kamillr2020: whos that?

hope: Someone who can help. Ask her about Dr. James Baker. Ask her about her taped interview with Fannie Wilson.

kamillr2020: srsly? why should i believe any of this?

hope: What happened in Wickham is just a taste of what that creature can do. It’s got its eye fixed on you, Kayla. When it’s done with you, it will turn its gaze on the rest of this planet. You are all nothing to it except playthings.

kamillr2020: why me?

hope: Because its first contact was Charley Miller, your great-grandfather. It intends for its last contact to be you. It appreciates that kind of symmetry.

kamillr2020: i dont understand

hope: That’s the problem. The “Crawling Chaos” cannot be fully understood by humans.

kamillr2020: why does it want to kill everyone?

hope: Because it can. It enjoys watching people suffer.

kamillr2020: what am i supposed to do about this? i can barely take care of myself

hope: I have a gift to give you. Put your hand on the screen.

Before she realized what she was doing, Kayla put her hand on the laptop’s screen. Energy surged through her body, seeking her brain and scrambling it completely. Her body tensed as if she were being electrocuted. She tried to cry out, but her breath wouldn’t come. As the “electricity” vanished, she sank back into her chair.

hope: You are no longer addicted to alcohol. I also healed your knee, so you no longer need the drugs. You will not even want them. Finally, I put a question deep inside your mind. When the time comes, you will remember that question and you will ask it.

The screen disappeared. Kayla just sat there and stared blankly for a few minutes. What the hell had just happened?