Chapter 4: The Sands of Time
By X-treme X-taggano (backfire@subdimension.com)
The alleyway . . .
I hope I can make something perfectly clear, and that is that I did
not want to re-enter that alleyway. I still was not positive if what I
had experienced in there was reality. I was having my doubts, due to my
lack of wounds. It must have been a dream. But maybe, just maybe, that
dream was trying to tell me something.
Maybe it was trying to tell me where Cheryl had gone.
The road I had to take to get to the alleyway seemed even longer than before. I had to look at my map to figure out just where exactly I was to go. This town all seemed so big, and the fact that no one was there made it seem that much larger. Never before in my life had I felt so insignificant. The only thing that accompanied me was the constant moaning of the wind.
When I had finally reached the line of houses, I looked down the
road. I remembered this road so well. It was funny how much that dream
seemed like reality. How could I remember the details so vividly? It was
almost like I was there, but not really. I can't possibly explain how it
felt, so I won't even try.
I walked to the end of the line of houses. I met the brick wall.
To my left was the rusty old gate with the lonely sign that hung . . .
Beware of Dog.
Beware of the dead dog. Beware of the hideously mutilated dog.
The dog that had been horribly fucked with. If I remembered my dream accurately,
this dog was dead. I swung the gate opened.
The dog was there, and still hideously torn apart.
I gagged at the sight. I thought that what I had felt was
just a dream, and yet some of the details remained very firmly the same
in reality. I walked passed the remains of the dog. I didn't care to remember
that detail. Hopefully, other memories wouldn't reappear here either .
. .
Such as skinless children.
I ran into the alleyway in the back of the yard. It was dark,
just like in my dream. The same two sets of stairs were there, and it still
smelled terrible. I ran through the darkness quickly, trying to find my
way to the gate.
I soon found the gate. I didn't open it right away, however,
and perhaps in good reason. My apprehension was most certainly justifiable
in this manner. Would there be any more of these monsters? I prayed there
wouldn't as I touched the handle. I slowly opened the gate, my other hand
gripping the handle to my gun. My whole body shook as I looked inside.
It didn't seem to be getting darker, so I walked into the deeper area of
the alleyway..
It looked like the place had been caved in, however. I couldn't get deeper into the alleyway where I dreamt I had found a mutilated body. It almost seemed ironic. I guess that proved that everything that happened was just a dream and nothing more. I laughed off the thought that I even had thought that maybe . . . just maybe, there was some mutilated body in here.
I walked over to the pile of ruble to examine it. To my surprise, there were a few objects there. I looked down at the floor to examine the objects. There was just a simple lead pipe, which must have fallen from the ceiling, and a sheet of paper.
Wait . . . the paper had something written on it. I kneeled down to pick it up. I soon discovered another object. I gasped as I instantly recognized the second object . . . Cheryl's notebook! I picked both of the objects. I examined the notebook first to make sure it had the one picture on the cover.
Cheryl's first drawing of me . . .
I saw it in the middle. That must have meant that Cheryl was
here! I couldn't think of any other way that the notebook with the picture
of me, crude as it may be, could have ended up here. Maybe she left some
note here. I picked up the sheet of paper, hoping it would lend some clue
to her whereabouts.
The paper seemed to have a thin red line trickling down it. I realized the reason for it's supposed transparency was because the whatever marked it was on the back. I'd examine that later. But what did this note say?
To school...
So this was from Cheryl! She must be at some school around
here. I took a moment to check my map. Sure enough, there was a school.
It seemed relatively close, so I circled it. Cheryl was probably waiting
for me there. She was smart to have gone to a safe place such as that.
I put my hand on my chest and gave off a sigh of relief. I then turned
the paper around to examine this red line.
A red line written in blood . . .
So much blood constantly defiled the streets of this strange town. I usually had to force myself to believe that this wasn't unusual or I might have gone off the brink of insanity. I shook my head and continued to examine this line made with blood. On the back there was a sloppy map of the town written in pencil and certain streets were marked with blood. The red line lead to some sort of street corner. I decided this might be helpful in some way or another, so I copied it to my map. I then put my pen away.
I heard some sort of snapping noise. I turned around and looked at the floor, trying to figure out what the sound was. I saw my gun about 4 feet away from me. How did it get all the way over there? I shrugged, deciding nothing of any possible harm could come from just picking up the pistol that had strangely found it's way to it's current position. I got up and walked over, keeping my eyes locked on the pistol. I extended my hand to pick it up from the floor.
Something then bit me . . .
I jumped back, staring at the large wound on my hand. Blood started
to trickle down it lightly. I stared in horror and the tooth marks on my
hand. Only one creature that I knew of had a tooth formation like that.
A dog . . .
I looked forward. A skinless dog . . .
It growled at me, curling back, ready to attack. The dog's pink muscles moved like burnt rubber and it's blood red eyes glistened. It guarded my pistol with it's threatening position. I found myself quivering. I was defenseless against this dog. The dog slowly approached me. I kept my slow pace backwards, trying to stay the hell away from this . . . thing.
I suddenly tripped over the pipe on the ground. I hit the damp floor with a great force. The dog jumped at me on impact. As if it was in slow motion, I grabbed onto the pipe in front of me. I didn't take the time to gather my energy as I swung the pipe forwards. I felt the dog make contact with it, resulting in a sickening sound of bone and tissue coming apart. I opened my eyes in time to see the dog go flying backwards. It was then the one to crash to the floor, defenseless. I didn't take much time to get up. The dog lay there on the floor. It whimpered meekly. I might have felt sorry for it, but instead I swung the pipe over my head and struck it once more.
Blood spurted out of the dog's head as it cried out. I was too blind from rage. This damn dog had almost killed me!
Son of a bitch!
I swung repeatedly at it. Time after time I struck the almost dead body of the dog. Every time I hit it, I heard the blood curdling cry of it and the splashing of it's thick blood hitting the ground. I couldn't concentrate any more. When I finally finished, I realized what damage I had done. I could barely tell that this was a dog anymore. It bared striking resemblance to the mutilated one by the fence. I started to quiver. I hadn't just killed it . . . I had hideously murdered it. This was the second thing I had killed, and by far the most gruesome thing I had ever done to any living creature. It's red blood flowed off the pipe I held in my hand.
I felt an odd sense of emotion come over me. It felt like . . . sadness. I felt a hot tear come to my eye. Why the hell did I kill it? I didn't have to! I could have left it as it was! But instead, I had killed it. I had torn the helpless thing apart. The emotional burden it had left me with was almost more than I could take. It may have been some creature present for no other reason than to harm others, but it had a soul just as I did. I started to quiver. What had I done?
I threw the pipe aside and grabbed my gun, which laid next to the dog's remains.. This was no time to kill animals, even if they were a threat. I had to get to the school. I walked out of the alleyway, trying to forget about what I had done. After leaving the yard with the mutilated dog in it and walking down the line of houses, I stared down the road.
Which way could possibly be the quickest route to the school? I remembered that a certain street had a straight route right to the school. It took me a few moments to find it, but at long last I got there. I started running down the road. I still couldn't see more than three feet in front of me. Like snow still fell that melted the second it hit the street. After a matter of minutes, I wondered how far down this road went.
I soon found out as I made a sudden halt.
The road had been destroyed.
What the hell happened to the road? I looked over it and found I couldn't even see the other side of it. There was just a large canyon where the road used to be . . . almost as if some sort of explosion had occurred here before I arrived. I looked over the vast hole. I could hear the wind echo in it, creating more of a song than before.
I noticed a sheet of paper on the floor. I was quite surprised it hadn't been blown away by the wind. I decided to examine it. It was another piece of Cheryl's notebook! I picked it up immediately and studied it for a moment. It was written in big red letter, though not written in blood.
Don't forget to check the dog house.
The dog house? I didn't want to even think about dogs at the time . . . not after what I had done . . . or what it had done to me for that matter. My hand was still bleeding from where it bit me. I tried to ignore the pain. The wound on my shoulder had seemed to heal now, but fresh blood still flowed out of my hand. I shook my head, still trying to focus. Look for a a home with a dog house in front of it.
I spent what seemed like hours searching the city, only finding more and more of these road blocks. I began giving up on searching, wondering where I could possibly look. I couldn't figure out any way to the school. I checked my map once more. Was there any possible way to get to this school?
I took some extra time to examine the red line I had drawn on the map. It lead down a specific street. My map was full of marks by now, mostly with large X's where the roads had been destroyed. But why hadn't I even thought to check that road? I didn't think Cheryl would leave me a note with markings without knowing that was possibly the only way to the school.
It seemed funny, though. If these notes were really from Cheryl, which I had every reason to believe, than how on earth did she know this town so well? Too much seemed unusual about her knowledge of her surroundings. I decided not to think too hard about it. All I cared about was getting her back. Why should I be complaining about how well she knows the town? It was more of a blessing than a curse.
I found my way to the street marked on my map. I started to walk down it, the cold air biting my flesh. I examined the line of houses thoroughly. I was guessing one of these houses was the one Cheryl wanted me to go to. But which one could it be. They all looked the same to me. Whoever designed this area of town was certainly able to keep a consistent look. I wondered if anything Cheryl had said in her note hinted as to which house got passed the canyon proportioned holes in the road.
My eyes suddenly turned to a specific house. One specific object in the front yard had caught my attention..
A dog house!
I suddenly remembered that in Cheryl's note, there was something about a dog house. I smiled. This must be the house she was talking about! I ran up to the front door. The house looked fairly standard. Nothing too fancy, yet also nothing to complain about. I guessed that most of the residential homes were this way. I reached up and put a firm grip on the doorknob.
Locked.
I started to ponder. There was something else about the dog house in that note. I realized I should have kept it for future reference, as where I certainly didn't have the greatest memory in the whole world. Suddenly, I had remembered.
Don't forget to check the doghouse.
I raced over to the doghouse. It was fairly old. The paint was chipping off of it and several pieces of wood stuck of it almost like quills on a hedgehog. I knelt down next to it to look inside.
The interior was splattered with blood.
More blood. I held my head, realizing that if I was to see any more blood that day, I would lose my grip on reality. I was convinced I was having some sort of nervous breakdown. The way my spine tingled at the sight of blood made me want to hide somewhere from everyone and everything. The only thing that pushed me forward was Cheryl.
I saw something shining inside. I tilted my head forward to examine the object. It was a key! Two of them, in fact. I grasped both of them in the palm of my hand and yanked them out. One of these keys probably unlocked the door. I quickly raced up to the door.
My heart stopped as I heard a growl. I could recognize that growl anywhere.
Another one of those dogs . . .
I quickly picked up one the keys, looking over my shoulder. Sure enough, it was another one of those skinless dogs . . . very similar to the one I saw in the alleyway. It started racing at me. I panicked as I shoved one of the keys into the lock. I turned it furiously.
Wrong key!
I swore as I pulled it out. The dog was getting closer. I quivered. I couldn't kill it. No more violence . . . no more death. I hated it all! I took the other key and slammed it into the keyhole.
I felt the dog bite the back of my coat.
I quite literally screamed as I shook my back, furiously trying to get this thing off of me. I swung my body around rapidly as I kicked the dog as hard as I could. I felt it's cold body slamming into my shoe as it fell back a couple of feet. I put my hand back on the key as fast as I could. I turned it frantically.
It unlocked!
I turned my head to look at the dog. It slowly got back up. I trembled as I quickly opened the door. I saw the dog crouch back, ready to attack. I flung the front door opened and ran in. The dog leapt at me. I yelled in terror as I slammed the door behind me.
I heard the dog slam against the door. Moments later, I heard it scratching it. It barked and wailed as if it were ready to close in on it's victim. Too bad, dog. Your victim is safe inside.
I ignore the pandemonium the dog was causing as I examined the house. The first thing I noticed was the door to my right. I soon realized, however, that it was barricaded by something. The handle turned, but the door wouldn't open. I ignored it as I looked at the dining room. It was directly outside of the kitchen. It was a small place but safer than anywhere else I might have gone to.
I walked into the kitchen. I saw the sink as I approached it slowly. I turned it on. Cold water flowed from it as I stuck my hand under it. I let the water wash away the blood flowing from the wound. I was surprised I was still bleeding. As soon as I finished cleaning it, it examined the cupboards around it. After a few moments of exploring, I found a medicine cabinet. Inside of it was some anti-bacterial cream and some band aids. I sighed, relieved, realizing how lucky I was to have found this. After tending to my wound, I looked across the counter. There were some magazines, mainly about firearms and such. I realized whoever lived her was probably some sort of gun owner. Maybe he'd have some spare ammunition. I didn't want to kill anyone or anything, but it was important to protect myself at all costs.
I discovered some bullets nearby. They were all contained neatly in a red box. I didn't know if they'd work with my gun, but I decided to take a chance with them. I shoved them into my pocket. I realized I couldn't stay here for long, safe as I might have felt. I need to get to the school. But I didn't even know where I was in this town. All I knew was that I was on Levin Street. I walked towards the back door, knowing that it was probably the way to the school. I examined it for a moment. There was some sort of thick lock on it.
I then looked to my right. There was a map of the town on the wall. Marked on it was a big circle somewhere on Levin street. I realized it was on the position of the dog house! That the mark would help me figure out my own position. I wondered silently to myself how everything was turning out so convenient for me. I hoped that things would stay this way, leading me to Cheryl.
Yet it all felt strange. I felt like it wasn't just convience . . . I felt like it was more of a call. These findings were just leading me on to something. I hoped whatever something was, it wasn't anything that would be of misfortune.
I looked back at the lock. Maybe the other key I had found would open this thick lock. I reached into my pocket and took the key out. I then placed it in the key hole and turned it. It unlocked. I laughed happily as I opened the door in front of me.
I saw the back lawn. There was a table there with some patio chairs.
A grill was also nearby, causing me to believe that these people were ones
who enjoyed hunting and cooking. I saw the gate on the other side of the
yard. I stepped outside.
And suddenly, everything got darker.
I looked around curiously. Sure enough, what little light was left in the sky slowly faded out. I wondered what was happening. Soon, the fog cleared up, but the light was gone. No stars in the sky, no sun overcasting all . . . just a pitch blackness the devoured all.
I remembered about the pocket flashlight in my coat pocket. I searched for the switch on it. I soon found in and turned the flashlight on. Light once again shined, although not adequate enough to see everything perfectly. It only had a radius of about three feet. I trembled as I paced forwards. I had never been this genuinely scared of the dark before . . . except in that dream.
I suddenly realized that in that dream I had, things became darker too, and I was sure the darkness in it was warning me of the dangers up ahead. I started to wonder to myself what the hell was going on and if this darkness was warning me of something. I pulled the gun from my pocket, clutching it with both hands. Whatever was out there had better stay away from me. I shook my head. I wasn't scared of the dark.
I was scared of what it might be hiding.
I opened up the gate. I then stepped forwards. According to my map, from here I'd make a left and then a right. Then I'd just follow the road until I got to the school. I folded up my map, putting it into my pocket, then turned left and started running. I didn't like being outside in this kind of darkness. I was literally terrified, surprised that I could even carry myself in these conditions. I ran left, desperately seeking the right turn I had to find. I soon found it and followed it tightly. I knew nothing was following me, but I didn't want to find anything that would.
My thoughts halted as I saw a car in front of me.
I heard wings flapping.
I remembered the flying creature that attacked me at the cafe. It's wings sounded the a lot like the ones I just heard. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to shoot it, but I didn't want it to attack me. I grabbed the switch on the flashlight and turned it off. I then hid behind the car. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.
I heard the flapping wings approaching. I started to tremble uncontrollably. It eventually passed me. The second I couldn't hear it's wings flapping, I flipped on my flashlight and continued running. I wanted more time to catch my breath, but couldn't stop. I had to get to the school and find Cheryl. I continued running through this nightmare of a town, wondering when the school building would show up. I started to pray silently to myself.
No more monsters. Please, God. No more . . .
I suddenly caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It looked brightly colored to me. It had a yellowish tint to it. I suddenly realized what it was!
A school bus!
Sure enough, there was a school bus. I looked at a nearby sign. It read "school crossing". I shined my light to the right.
That was the school building all right. I laughed as I ran towards it. It was much bigger than I could have imagined. Probably a very large public school. I proceeded up the sidewalk leading to the front two doors. After scaling the small flight of stairs, I reached the door.
Suddenly, I had this feeling . . . almost like a vision being unfolded to me. It looked like the front of the school, only bloodstained. It was made of rusted metal and looked as if it had been burnt. The vision ended in a matter of seconds. I held my head as I shook it.
Was that vision trying to tell me something?
I shook my head, realizing I was cracking up. I had to carry on and control my fear, no matter how bad it was. I then turned the handle in front of me and entered the school building.
