Ch-1 (The Altering of History)

On the way back home, carrying a pile of books. Peter and Jeff rode through the dark, eerie day. A strange air lingered through the dense mist, filled with unsettling silence. Mist over the place, an undead silence. Suddenly he felt a strong, suffocating blood-lust presence piercing through his heart. Peter's eyes locked onto a man in the distance, lurking in the shadows, - human fur, tiger-striped clothes soaking in blood. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished into the thick mist.

Peter felt a creeping sensation down his spine. His breath was not enough, his heart pounding through his ribs. Just when it was Jeff's voice pulled Peter out into reality. Jeff noticed a strange fear on Peter's face but didn't say anything. As they got to a dimly-lit lane, flickering street lamps. An uneven silence filled the air where even footsteps sounded too loud.

They heard some footsteps moving towards them. Through the fog, a figure immersed. Standing still under the flickering light. The man wore a long, stretchy trench coat. A tilted hat on his head with an iron box in his hands. It man's stare felt like piercing through their hearts. His eyes glazed with an unwelcome stare. Something about this man felt... displaced. All of them stood there in silence, but soon enough the weight of silence felt even heavier. Jeff and Peter exchanged looks with that man. The air grew more dense. A dry leaf patch fell on the path, enough to break the intensity of the situation. A creepy fear started to rise in Peter's and Jeff's hearts. The ticking of the man's watch sounded too loud.

As the sun went down, the lights of the streets switched on. Easing up the situation, they started heading towards their homes, with trembling hearts. Their homes were close to the nearby. As Peter was entering his home, his whole body froze and stood there. The feeling of someone standing right behind him crept up his mind. He smelt blood and raw meat nearby. A hand came upon his shoulder, his heart pounding, and the breath of the person behind him went through his ears. Peter heard a sweet voice - "You are home, sweetie". He felt relaxed on hearing his mom's voice. Upon entering home, he tried to ease his mind by watching some TV. He hopped on the couch, while her mother prepared a meal in the kitchen. He wanted to redirect his fatiguing mind. Until he heard a knock on his front door. A shiver ran down his spine with the same feeling as before.

Jeff also reached his house. As he washed himself up, he thought about looking up through the books. As Jeff stood there, looking outside his window, he noticed a darkness creeping up the sky. The strong winds fluttered the glass panes, but an uncomfortable silence filled the atmosphere. As he started looking through the books consisting of tech, and human nature. An old, brittle piece of torn paper fell from pages of the book titled "The Human Brain". The ink smudged, saying a single line - 'In the deepest terror, the mind doesn't fight... it—'"

Searching amongst the books, stumbling across an old, withered-looking book with rough pages. The book read - "THE TIME RUINS", with a strange mark on the front cover. A little confused about the language written, which looked like Early Modern English, which no one knows today, read - "Heed mine words, traveler. To tamper with time is to beckon forth chaos most dread.". Looking further to the back cover of the book, Jeff read the line- "To seek greater powers is to beckon forth ruin most dire, for oft doth it lay waste not only to thee but to those thou holdest most dear...". He kept the book away, not understanding the language written in it. Jeff started going through other books.

The darkness in the sky, Thick air. Footsteps pounding on the ground, uneven cries through the mist. As Peter runs, his lungs burn, ribs hurt through his chest. A close call near his upper body, cutting through the air - a strike !. Peter trembles with fear, dry throat running restlessly. The wooden cracked club, tearing the air apart with every next swing. Not risking to turn back to look into the terrifying eyes of the beast chasing him down to the end of his death. Running steps in the rain intensifying, heavy breaths in the blood-lusted water. The phantom of fear looked like gripping his neck to stop the voices of screams. Continuous attacks with fatigue blurred Peter's vision and thoughts of Death crept up his mind. Spotting Jeff's house in the distance, using the last quarter of his power, he shattered through the glass pane with all his might into Jeff's house to break in.

Hearing the shattering of glass, Jeff rushes towards the noise. The smell of soaked blood filled the room. Jeff was shocked to see Peter, covered up in the drain of blood flowing into the wooden cracks of the floor. The stench of raw meat and unpleasantness started growing. Jeff froze in place, sensing a strong bloody presence near him. Jeff breathed heavily from the mouth as the nose breathing didn't feel enough. Jeff was startled and jumped when someone grabbed his leg out of the blue. He looked down to see Peter, soaking with his head in blood, trying to speak. Peter mustered his breath and mumbled - "R-RUN". But in the end, it was too close.

Heavy footsteps rise close, with every tick of the clock in that silent house. Smashing through the door, the wood creaked under pressure, which felt like a big boulder getting hit by the door. Through the darkness behind, the roaring of skies, WHOOSH !. The mist intensifies the tension in the house. The feeling of survival instincts kicked through Jeff's body like never before. The figure was filled - with primal rage, bloodshot eyes, and filling the air with murderous intent. Sharp jaws as if piercing your fingers with a needle, and a monstrous claw sharp enough to split the body in half like a slice. Matte-haired with unusual human fur with blood imprints and scars of jaws all over the body. Jeff froze in place as if the air had bound him to his place.

Shaking the wooden flooring with each step he took. The air getting cold and filled with blood smell. Narrowing up the distance between him and Jeff. The figure licked his fingers in joy with blood dripping on his nails.

A chill of fear went down Jeff's spine, as he looked into the shadow's eyes. Cold and heavy breaths came out of that man's mouth.

Jeff looked towards Peter who was soaked in red-stained blood all over. Before Jeff can even get a hold of the situation, a cracked large club smashes towards him, barely missing the head, tearing apart the air. Jeff starts trembling with fear and screams as he dodges the attack. As the man gets close, the smell of fresh blood and raw meat lingers around Jeff. Not giving Jeff even a moment before, another blow comes in, shooting through the air. Due to blood on the floor from Peter, Jeff gets misbalanced and slips with an inch of air gap between his face and the bone-cracking club. The boulder smashes right through the wall, splintering wood.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

A line from the book crept up his mind- "In excess fear, even the smartest minds stop working..."-

His mind at this very moment lingered with fear, his arms ached and burned with every next moment he tried to dodge the attacks. Sweat stinging in his eyes. Face covered in mud and blood, soaking wet. His legs were stained in blood, shaking from fear, going numb. It was raining heavily outside, thunder striking through the black skies. The next moment he heard the man's roar echoing in the tight space. Desperation surged as Jeff picked up the plates nearby and smashed them towards the man. The man staggered a little, eyes burning with something more primal than - rage. Maybe an intent- "To KILL ...!"

The man threw himself towards Jeff with a raging blow power. Jeff is already in a position to tackle throwing himself with the flowing wind. Banging a steel alloyed pan on the man's head with all the brute force he had left. Groaning in agony, filled with rage even more, to tear apart Jeff, the man lunges on Jeff throwing him on the ground with a big smash. Wooden planks creaked and snapped bones with a bash on the floor. The Man stepped towards Jeff, with the swirling winds and tooth fangs aching to slice up Jeff's body apart. His blood-stained nails were ready to open up Jeff's body in half with a swirl through the wind. A swift swirl of a sharpened knife tore through the man's back. A sprung fountain of blood spreads all over the room, traveling through the cracks in the floor and soaking through clothes. Trembling in fear with a face covered in red-flowered blood and torn clothes. Injuries and bruises all over the body, a soul ready to leave the body at any moment, stood Peter with a knife shaking in his hands.

Looking deep into each other's eyes with a fear intended, deep-rooted into their hearts, pounding through their own body. The silence started growing more intense with every passing second of clock ticks around the room. The voices of both Peter and Jeff are being held by the phantom of death gripping around their necks. Peter falls abruptly onto the floor with a knife in his shaking hands. Jeff rushes to aid Peter. The room is filled with the foul smell of Dry and wet blood, raw meat, and of someone not from this "TIMELINE...". The strong winds flowed through the room with a hurtful silence, through the wounds of everyone.

Jeff aided Peter with the necessary items to stop the flowing blood. While aiding Peter, the flash images of the incidents whirled up Jeff's mind again and again, haunting him more every next time. Everything around the house is soaked with splashes of blood on it. Treating Peter for a bit, Jeff went and sat near Peter on the floor in wind-swinging silence. He tried to take a breather, holding up his losing mind with his hands. After a few flashes up his mind, he jumped in fear and noticed Peter making slight movements. Jeff's face brightened up despite all the dense air, a big smile upon his bloodied face. As the room's silence broke a little bit, from the tense one. The ragged, cold breath of both of them filled the room.

Jeff mustered all his breath and courage, pulling himself together, and asked Peter in a low voice - "W-Wha-What is H-Happ-Happening !". Peter lay down with his face filled with fear, eyes sweating, not a blink of an eye. He hauled himself up from the pressure of air around the room.

When Peter got inside his house with his mother, He felt a sharp eye with Bloodlust watching him from the Mist. Peter added that, after the incidents with them on the street, his mind was filled with strain. He tried turning on the TV to divert his mind, which didn't stop him thinking about the day. He didn't dare to tell about this strange feeling in his heart to his mother, who was preparing a meal in the kitchen. When at that very moment, he again felt that strong presence in the air that crept his soul out of his body. His body froze and was not able to move out of fear. He then somehow tried to look through the window into his garden, when he freaked and screamed as he saw this man. Standing in the dark with eyes filled with a hunger for blood, Mouth with fangs, teeth wide open dripping with blood. Eyes shining for prey, staring directly into the soul. Tilted head hunting my life.

On screaming, my mother came running and asked me about what had happened. I, with trembling hands, pointed towards the man to hear the answer to which my body didn't even respond. "Who is there, I don't see anyone, standing there." - my mother straight away. My mother went back in and asked me to stop playing with her.

As she left, the gap between that man and me just narrowed. The next moment I looked into his eyes filled with hunger for blood in the dark. He shattered through my window, blowing up the wall, his club attacked piercing through the dense silent air just to hit me with a one-inch difference. In the next split-second, he grabbed me by the neck, choking the life out of me, and tossed me out through the door. That's from where I have been trying to run him out but my body burned and ached with every next step running in the rain.

Peter notices a strange but feared look on Jeff's face as he speaks and asks him what happened. Jeff was struck with silence, ragged breathing, as he replied - " I guess it's not because your mother is not able to see, but only you and I can see". These words sent a chill shiver down Peter's spine, his eyes popped out and sweat dripped from his face. "Or maybe-" The sound of a knock on the door silenced the room with shock. As they both start trembling, seeing a repaired door that the man smashed. Breaking up the silence of the room comes a voice from beneath the door. "Peter, it's me, Lucy. I'm coming inside". The door opens with a creak in the silent room. Peter and Jeff were still shivering with fear and eyes pinned to one point, not daring to move.

Lucy, with white short hair, and bangs covering her face, thin and slim, appears before them and is surprised to see both of them sitting on the floor in utter silence. Lucy, a university friend of Peter and Jeff, tries to strike up a conversation and asks them what happened ?. Not getting any response from any of them, she leaves them alone and starts inspecting the house. She looks around the house normally and starts looking up the books lying around the floor. Going through the books one by one, she notices other books - 'The Human Brain, The Science Behind the World, and Time Ruins'. Upon none of them catching her eye, she puts the books down and stands up to look around. Both Jeff and Peter were watching this silently, sitting in the corner of the room not having the courage to muster a word.

Lucy stood up like a swirl of wind and as soon as she turned her back, a cool breeze of air wafted through her body. She screamed to the highest of her voice and fell trembling and shivering all over her body.

The after-scream silence filled the house, and the sight of bloody winds flowed through the house in front of her eyes, chilling down her spine. Lucy started crawling back to the ground into a corner. Blood-filled house, draining through the cracks in the floor, from the door stretching into the house. Both Peter and Jeff were soaked in blood from head to toe. The air grew dense with every passing second. Lucy looked down at her feet, imprinting the whole house with the pool of blood. Tears rolled from her eyes as she saw a rotten, hair-furred body lying on the floor, drained in a pool of blood.

Peter and Jeff rushed immediately to Lucy to ease her of the tragic moments she was seeing. Jeff looked after Lucy as she fainted after seeing the room filled with dense air, stench of raw meat, and blood mixed with sweat. While Peter was trying to grasp a little hold on the situation of what happened around the house and with them in the last 24 HOURS !!! Or was it just 24 HOURS...

© [PhantomW] [2025]. All Rights Reserved.

This work is protected by copyright laws. No part of this chapter may be reproduced, distributed, or used without the author's permission.