Main horror theme(music):
https://youtu.be/hhmkqOygKac
Beginnings:
https://youtu.be/cGmHg2oJCpM
Frequently, Monstrosities of the world and other worlds collide with our small perceptions of reality. Those who seek the dark secrets of our world get sent into a spiral of insanity and destruction. Some of those looking to uncover the lies of our perception send others in search of answers. Those that get sent, their souls are damned to the deepest pit of perceptual hell, for ignorance is blissful.
David Hughes stood silently on his porch. His hands shook gently over the small cup of coffee he made himself. He took a sip. Green hills engulfed the land around David's old farmhouse. The white wood of the old structure was chipped and damaged, and a worn-down fence wrapped around a small plot of land around the house. He only inherited the specific spot on the old farm. A red, broken-down farm resided in his backyard of rolling hills. Refreshing bright yellow light from the sunrise reached across the hills and over his house. He pulled a rocking chair over, placing a pillow on the back of it. He didn't have to work today. Success did not come by easy for him. A profession of interest never presented itself for him. Money was always tight based on the small paychecks he got every two weeks from the old local grocery store.
Old age didn't grace him with the body of a young man, instead, he was graced with gray hair, wrinkled skin, and an aching mass. He wished he could turn back the terrible process that brought him pain by turning back the years. The life he thought he would be able to build was slipping from his fingertips faster than he could grasp it. He thought about the times he could've done anything if he would've taken the time. The memory of scientific interest came to his mind. But that is what always interested him, the unknown. All David could do to soothe his feelings in the past was to watch documentaries on such unknown findings.
The time of racism hadn't passed, though it was in a much better place. David was a black man in the town of Higgens, Utah, and this wouldn't be much of a burden, but the town was a hot spot for the Ku Klux Klan. At times he remembered the long white cloth masks they wore outside his home. He recalled his mother hiding him in a closet until they passed. The fiery crosses burned brightly over grassy hills often. Sometimes his dreams still brought him images of his horrifying pasts. It remained clear the evil organizations still had their claws rooted in the sandy dirt of Higgens, Utah. He still saw a few burned crosses far into the forest from his porch.
Holding his cup of coffee, David walked into his small but quaint house. A sofa with a nice rug accompanied a small TV and an old open kitchen. When he finished his coffee, he noticed that the morning was still young (it was time for his morning browsing), so he took out his laptop from a small shelf from under the coffee table in the living room. David browsed everyday and checked his emails. He hoped he would find something or someone in his emails that saw him or wanted him for a job. That morning, he was left with the same emptiness that he was familiar with feeling.
David was about to commence a morning stroll to get food. The image of strings controlling his limbs always came to his mind on this morning stroll. The system pushed him to do things he had hated his whole life. It was as if those above directed him- every movement- from the dark shadows of their offices, chairs, and churches of great sins. He pictured taking his voodoo doll from the man, woman, or thing that had taken his body from him. His imagination always took him to see the voodoo doll in a glass case in his farmhouse as a symbol of new beginnings. He knew this was in small likelihood.
David Hughes continued his stroll down the old dirt road. A thick line of trees was on either side, allowing small amounts of sunlight to seep through. A grin spread across his face, and he breathed in deeply, the smell of freshly cut grass engulfing his senses. Birds sang and danced about in the sky and on the tree branches. The walk was long, maybe miles. He never cared enough to count and thought it was good to keep his health. The town came into view. It was small and had only a little collection of buildings wrapped tightly around a poorly paved road. A small restaurant, bank, motel, and grocery store sat on the right side of the road; the left had a few small brick buildings that were used for businesses that he saw change ownership every 6 months. There was also an old, small and pitiful library on the left. Farther away was a jail, town hall, and court building that could be seen clearly on a hill.
Two blackened crosses caught David's eye in the far distance on top of another sandy hill. A few men were beating at them with axes. He watched as they worked hard at bringing them down. He wondered if everyone in the town had this prejudice, if everyone he saw, even the few working to take down the Ku Klux Klan were working together. Within a few moments, the two men glanced at David, and they stared for a long moment before he waved to them. They did nothing in response and continued to work in the sweltering heat. Maybe my suspicions have some weight, after all, he thought.
"Hey George, how's your daughter doing?" David asked a man who passed.
"Well, she's getting better. The flu really put her down."
The man kept his eyes locked on David, looking him up and down.
"I will be praying for her. Take care."
David nodded and understood that the man didn't want to carry this conversation, especially with him.
"Thank you."
They took opposite paths. Most of the people in the town were white, as to be expected in a town like Higgens. George Cox was a white entrepreneur that brought the grocery store to town and was David's boss. He strolled to the grocery store. He noticed an odd woman he'd never seen before at one of the elongated wood bins holding fruit. She wore a large, black floppy hat and a beautiful white dress that reminded him of the Victorian era. A jeweled glistening silver chained necklace presented itself clearly on her neck. Strange, she is definitely not from Higgens. I wonder why she'd come here for vacation? He decided not to confront her so as not to make her uncomfortable with him or the town (it wasn't in any place to deny money). The woman smiled, revealing a lovely face with bright red lipstick and red cheeks. She waved. And he reluctantly waved back before he continued to buy what he needed.
At last, David came out from the store with his grocery bags, dreading to carry them home. A bright neon sign caught his eye on one of the brick buildings. It displayed: "Video / Movie Store." He felt an itch on his shoulder as he imagined the strings on his voodoo doll at the very least weakened. Today, he felt like watching horror movies. He strolled into the old brick building and opened the door. The old wooden shelves were not all in the right spots yet. Cardboard boxes lined the back of the newly decorated store. Around the store, cardboard cutouts of famous characters were set up. Blue neon lights lit the place surprisingly well. Wow, it's actually nice in here. Maybe they'll have a great collection of movies. A teenage girl was at the front counter, her sneakers on the black countertop as she leaned back and played on her phone.
His legs carried him in the direction of the horror sections, illuminated with a bright neon sign saying "Horror." The classics were stacking the shelf, such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing, Scream, and more, including newer additions to the horror genre. Out of instinct, he picked the ones he remembered best and which had the moments he'd loved the most. He walked back to the front counter and bought the movies.
The stroll home felt short, and despite still seeing the voodoo doll he envisioned, he enjoyed these strolls. The smell of honey began to radiate beside him. His mother's scent followed him again. That's why I enjoy it. The grace of a mother shows itself in every way, he thought. He made it back to his farmhouse. The sun was directly above him, beating down on the ground and his head. Maybe I could cook an egg on the ground. Actually, eggs sound really good right now. His legs carried him to the kitchen and the refrigerator. He made himself breakfast, eating it quickly so he could get on with the rest of his day.
The rest of the day, just like the rest, was boring. A pattern had formed at some point, and David couldn't recollect where. He would usually skip breakfast and eat lunch and supper. Minor interruptions were watching mystery documentaries and browsing on his laptop. He glanced at the time, seeing it was 1:00 AM. His legs carried him down the hallway to his bedroom, which was once his mother's. Each time he expected to see her bed but only saw his. He couldn't bear to look at the bed she slept in every night, so he had replaced it with something more to his taste. Within moments of his head hitting the pillow, his vision faded to black, he fell asleep.
Tyler B
