This story was inspired by the story Welcome to Night Vale by cupidity11
This is Carlos/Cecil, rated M for possible adult themes and language (though I doubt I need it but it's better to be safe than sorry)
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I woke up in the morning with a start. I looked around a little, making sure I was still alive. I was in a motel room, one I had started renting. Then I began to question why I was freaking out, putting on my glasses. Obviously it shouldn't have bothered me. Why did it though? I looked at my notebook and opened it up. I re-read the passage about Cecil. It didn't seem to be from me, but I remembered writing it. Why was I—am I—so freaked out by him?
Cecil, on the outside, seems to be a wonderful guy, I added to the passage, but something about the monotone he uses disturbs me slightly. He has no distinction in his voice when he talks about things that obviously should have emotion. But when I am mentioned, his voice is soft and sweet. Why me?
Sighing, I closed the notebook. It was becoming more of a journal than an actual note-taking book. I stared at it for quite some time before just sighing. I might as well keep this going, since it was a good way for me to keep track of my thoughts. I stood up and stretched. As I did this I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked where I saw it, and nothing was there. I distinctly remembered a book being there before. It was one of my favorites, and it concerned me that it wasn't there. I picked up my journal and jotted down that the book had disappeared. I put on my watch and looked at the time. I checked the alarm clock next to me. It was a minute off. I blinked. My watch is an analog clock, meaning it's set to the exact time of whatever location I'm in. Meaning my watch would never be wrong. So, either I was imagining things, or this clock was off. I waited for the minute to pass, and it was exactly one minute behind my watch. I set the clock one minute ahead when the minute passed again, and sighed. I walked to the small kitchen in the hotel room and began to make myself some sort of breakfast. I felt something brush against my leg. I felt an intense chill as I looked down. It was just a stray cat. It mewed, as if expecting something. I picked up the cat and examined it, and it purred loudly. It rubbed its head against my shoulder, and I chuckled. The cat was an orange and black tabby, thin from not being fed often. I placed it on the counter. Judging by the body size and shape, I determined it was a tomcat. The cat stared at my bowl of cereal as I fixed myself another. I pushed the first bowl over to the cat. He looked up at me with dark green eyes, flicked his tail, and began to eat the cereal.
"I wonder how you got in." I mumbled idly. I scratched his ear. He purred as he ate. I looked up at the window. The window was broken, but it looked like it was broken from my side out.
"So that's how you got in." I told him. The cat had finished his cereal as I finished mine, and we just stared at each other for a while. He flicked his tail a few times, and I just chuckled.
"You know," I said, "I was always a cat person. I just always had dogs in the family."
The cat meowed in reply, and jumped down from the counter. I knew he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, since he took his place on the bed, on my pillow. He purred as he curled up. I stood up and headed for the shower. I stared at myself for a little in the mirror. I had some stubble and my black curly hair was getting long enough for me to pull it back into a ponytail. I took off my glasses and sighed. They were red, square glasses. I had black glasses, but those were the wrong prescription. Those were for a last resort. I sighed. My eyes were a dark grey, but they were basically black. I made a mental note to get a razor soon, since I needed to shave. I showered quietly, and dressed. I checked my phone that was now buzzing. It was Amber, another one of our scientists.
"Yeah?" I asked, putting my shoes and lab coat on.
"Samantha's going crazy." Amber said. In the background I could hear her yelling. I sighed.
"Why?" I asked. My tone sounded more frustrated than worried, which was by accident.
"She's still upset about the radio broadcast from yesterday." Amber said, chuckling a little, "She thinks Cecil is 'a creepy stalker who doesn't deserve you and he should end up with me' and blah, blah, blah."
"I see. Well I'll let her know when I'm interested." I said, chuckling. Amber laughed. She and I had met in college. She knew how I was about dating people within my occupation. It was a dangerous mixture, considering you couldn't exactly just leave the assignment you were on—unless it's this one of course. I walked back out to the main room after hanging up. The cat was watching the floor, flicking its tail. I sighed and waved to the little fellow before heading out the door. I turned around and saw a giant, glowing cloud in the sky. It confused me greatly. It was a dark purple. I blinked a couple of times and rubbed my eyes. The cloud was still there. I sighed, and headed to my car. The radio came to life.
…Although, I would not go so far as to endorse their suggestion to run directly at the cloud, shrieking and waving your arms, just to see what it does.
I drove to the lab, not trying to question too much about this town. When I got in, Samantha was sitting in a chair, frustrated. She looked up at me, and looked away from me. I sighed and went to my station, turning around in the chair.
"So what oddities are we looking for today?" I asked Amber. She checked the clipboard list we had started. She looked at the last one on the list and sighed.
"The microwave is causing food to explode." She said. I blinked.
"Frozen food or all food?" I asked. She sighed.
"Frozen food mostly. If we put in refrigerated food it depends on how cold it is. If we set it out and make it room-temperature we can microwave it." Justin said. I nodded. I glanced over at the fridge.
"I want to see what happens with water first." I said, getting up. The radio was on, and we all stopped when Cecil began his next segment.
Here's something odd: there is a cat hovering in the men's bathroom at the radio station here. He seems perfectly happy and healthy, but it's floating about four feet off the ground next to the sink. Doesn't seem to be able to move from its current hover-spot. If you pet him, he purrs, and he'll rub on your body like a normal cat if you get close enough. Fortunately, because he's right by the sink, it was pretty easy to leave some water and food where he could get it, and it's nice to have a station pet.
I blinked. I was intensely confused, and turned to Amber.
"Write that down." I said. She nodded quickly and wrote. Cecil and I have found cats today. Is this coincidence, or is this the town trying to do something to us? If I tell the others they're probably just going to say it's a coincidence and that I need to relax. This bothers me, though. I wrote in my journal.
Wish it wasn't trapped in a hovering prison in the men's bathroom, but listen: no pet is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is.
"Why did you want me to write that down?" Amber asked, looking at me. I sighed.
"Today I found a cat in my hotel room." I said, "Also, I want to know if you can take the cat and move it around, or if it's just stuck there."
"Ah. Well, back to the microwave." Amber said. I nodded. Amber guided me to the microwave in question. It wasn't plugged in. I walked and grabbed one of our spare beakers and filled it up with water. I walked quietly to the freezer we had and put it in there. I closed the freezer and sighed.
The City Council, in cooperation with government agents from a vague yet menacing agency, is asking all citizens to stop by the Night Vale Elementary School gymnasium tonight at 7:00 for a brief questionnaire about mysterious sights that definitely no one saw and strange thoughts that in no way occurred to anyone. Because all of us are normal, and to be otherwise would make us outcasts from our own community.
Remember: if you see something, say nothing. And drink to forget.
Amber sighed. I looked at her. I saw a blush across her cheeks. She closed her eyes and sighed again, one that sounded more like longing than frustration.
"Do we have to go to that?" She asked. I shook my head.
"We're not technically citizens. The full brunt of the rules apply after one year, if we stay that long. Most of what is said on the radio about stuff citizens have to do can be ignored." I told her, folding my arms across my chest.
"While we wait," I added, "What else do we have on the list that we can check out really quickly?"
"Well," Justin said, holding the clipboard, "I wrote the Glow Cloud on my list. I wanted to go do what the secret police were saying to do, since I've heard that nobody has done this before."
"I don't think that's—."I started. A thud was heard just outside. Then another. A third, then fourth, then fifth. It sounded like it was raining. I walked to the window. I saw small animals raining down from the sky, some of them bloody, while others showed parts of their internal organs. I felt sick. I closed my eyes tightly and gagged, covering my mouth with my right hand. I walked slowly away from the window. I sat on one of the nearest tables I found with my left. I breathed slowly. Amber came and began to rub my arm. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I gave her a weak smile.
"This is why I'm not a vet or a doctor."I said.
"Why?" Justin asked. This obviously didn't bother him. I sighed. I gave him a look, and he picked up on it, softly saying "oh" while looking out of the window. I sighed again and shook my head. I looked back at Samantha, who was just quiet. She was watching the ground.
"What's wrong?" I asked her finally. She looked up at me. She sighed.
"I just… I think this town is getting to me." She said. I nodded. There were now several people in the room.
"How many others are having the town affect them?" I asked. They all turned.
"That's a strange question." David asked.
"How many of you are feeling like I am? Like something is wrong, but they can't place their finger on it? How many of you are hearing someone whispering in your ear, telling you to leave?" Samantha suddenly shrieked. In a panic, I looked back at her. She grabbed a clipboard and began to charge for the nearest scientist. That was, unfortunately, me. Suddenly she froze. She blinked a few times, and then lowered the clipboard. She turned her gaze skyward.
"All hail." She whispered. She then collapsed to the ground, twitching. I stood there in mostly shock, and we all watched in confusion.
"I don't feel like that." David said, giving an uncomfortable laugh. I felt myself break into a smile, despite this serious situation. I heard Amber giggle. Richard was laughing. Thomas was even laughing. I suddenly broke into laughter. If people from the outside were looking in, I'm pretty sure they would think we were insane. Maybe this would have helped us fit in. I'm not sure. The man on the radio suddenly got my attention.
The Glow Cloud does not need to converse with us. It does not feel as we tiny humans feel. It has no need for thoughts or feelings of love.
I felt fear for Cecil. What was wrong with him?
The Glow Cloud simply is.
This did not sound like Cecil. Who was this imposter?
All hail the mighty Glow Cloud!
Why would Cecil be praising the cloud that glows in the sky, now dubbed the Glow Cloud? What's wrong with him?!
All hail!
He must be feeling what Samantha felt. Were they connected in some way?
And now, slaves of the Cloud, the weather.
"Carlos, is something wrong?" Thomas asked me. He sounded genuinely concerned, which snapped me out of it. I shook my head.
"Were you listening to that?" I asked him.
"The radio? Kinda." He answered.
"That didn't sound normal." I said. I walked to Samantha and lightly touched her arm. She stirred slightly. I inspected her causally, but noticed nothing wrong. She gently woke up, and stared at me. A bright red blush formed over her face. I sighed, standing up. I took out my notebook.
Samantha and Cecil both gave hail to the Glow Cloud. I wrote, Since she said the same thing as him, could he be psychic? Either that, or the Cloud just possessed them both. I doubt that though.
I went to the freezer and checked on the water. It wasn't completely frozen, so I just closed the freezer. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and listened to the thumps of dead animals. I realized my car was probably damaged to no end now. I sighed, and walked to the door. I braced myself, and opened it. The vans were okay, which was awesome, but the car was in shambles. The windshield was broken, the roof dented, the back window was broken, and dead animals littered the inside of the car. I winced.
"What's wrong?" Thomas asked. I carefully took the key to the car off of my key ring and handed it to Thomas. He took it gratefully.
"If you don't see the problem, obviously that means you deserve it." I told him calmly, patting his shoulder. I walked back inside, to catch what Cecil was saying next.
Sorry, listeners. Not sure what happened in that earlier section of the broadcast—as in I actually don't remember what happened. Tried to play back the tapes, but they're all blank, and smell faintly of vanilla.
I knew it. Something was wrong there. But, it could have been me smelling something, like I was sort of predicting the event.
The Glow Cloud, meanwhile, has moved on. It is now just a glowing spot in the distance, humming east to destinations unknown. We may never fully understand, or understand at all what it was and why it dumped a lot of dead animals on our community.
I smirked at Justin. Now I guess he couldn't go running at it now.
But, and I'm going to get a little personal here, that's the essence of life, isn't it?
Sometimes you go through things that seem huge at the time, like a mysterious glowing cloud devouring your entire community.
I walked to Samantha, missing the next few things Cecil said.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her. She stared at me blankly.
"Confused. I don't remember what happened." She said. I nodded, and smiled at her.
"That's not important right now. Do you want to stay here?" I asked her. She nodded intensely. I sighed.
"Why would I want to leave?" She asked me. A trace of something in her voice deeply crept me out. I stood up quickly and took a couple steps away from her. She smiled, and I shivered intensely.
Goodnight, listeners. Goodnight.