WARNING:
This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading.
Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story.
Viewer Discretion is advised.
Chapter 5: Lord of Chaos
I felt something paralyze me, seizing my bones, as if I had suddenly been frozen in time. I couldn't move my head, so I couldn't look at whatever terrifying thing was making that high-pitched, demonic voice. Yet by the mere words I heard, I was absolutely mortified. I could feel his power - as if, at any second, he could snap his fingers and turn me inside out.
"hOlY sHitArOni, WoUlD yOu LoOk At ThAt! It'S nOnE oThEr ThAn ThE fUcKiNg PiNe TwItS! aNd HeRe I tHoUgHt YoU'd DIE oN tHe FiRsT dAy!"
Every word he uttered felt as if it didn't belong in this reality, as if it was being torn between several different dimensions. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something painfully bright enter just within the corner of my vision, moving in front of one of the townspeople.
"hMm….WhO sHoUlD i FucKiNg AnNiHiLaTe ToDaY?"
Was that cursing even necessary?
"YoU tHiNk I gIvE tWo ShIts HoW yOu FeEl AbOuT mY cUrSiNg?"
My heart began pounding like a runaway train. There's no way he-
"yEsSiReE, dIpShIt! I cAn ReAd YoUr MiNdS! hAd To MaKe SuRe YoU cOulDn'T tRy FuCkInG mE oVeR wItH a PlAn, WhAt WiTh ThAt BiG bRaIn Of YoUrS!"
At this point, the entity's erratic change in pitch was starting to give me a headache.
"wElL, i'Ll MaKe ThIs QuIcK, dIpShIt, BeCaUsE i'M aLrEaDy GeTtInG bOrEd oF bEiNg HeRe! I gOt PeOpLe tO lOrD oVeR!"
Eventually, the entity floated just within his vision, and Dipper could just barely make out…
A Dorito?
"eXcUsE mE, bItCh?! WhAt DiD yOu JuSt CaLl mE?!"
Definitely not barbeque, that's for sure.
"wHat ThE hElL aRe YoU eVeN gOiNg oN aBoUt? yOu KnOw WhAt, wHo GiVeS a ShIt…PoInT iS tHaT-"
Christ, how long is this fuckhead gonna keep talking-
"yOu KnOw WhAt, FuCk YoU! I'M nOt EvEn GoNnA tElL yOu WhY i Am HeRe! JuSt Go FuCk OfF aLrEaDy!"
With that lasting remark, I heard a thunderous boom shake the earth below me as the entity emitted a light that began to fill my vision completely. As this happened, I felt extremely drowsy, and fell unconscious. Before darkness wrapped its shadowy folds over my conscience, I heard the cackling last words of that entity echo in my ears:
"I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU SUFFER!"
…
…
…
…
…
I awoke once more, this time without feeling groggy. It was definitely a more preferable way to fall unconscious, but the underlying solution here was to try not to fall unconscious as much as possible.
As my eyes opened, I could feel my back on the ground, my eyes staring upwards at the grey sea of clouds that continually flowed by in a mesh of hopelessness and despair. The occasional crackle of thunder was something I had gotten used to over the past week.
I was getting tired of lying on the ground. I lifted my torso up, taking a look at my surroundings.
Trees, trees, a path, trees, a path, and a gas station- Oh! A gas station could definitely have some resources in it.
"Hey, Mabel-"
As I turned to my left, I noticed that there was a lack of a psychopathic sibling. I was a bit confused at first.
"M-Mabel? Hello?"
I called out a bit more loudly, checking to see if she was hunting or scavenging somewhere in the nearby woods. I knew that she would never wander too far away, for fear of losing me in the wilderness.
However, as I continued to search around the area, I began to wonder more and more of whether she had gone off, or…
Wait, what had happened?
From what I had recollected at that dreadful event earlier, it seemed that some being had intervened in the slaughter-fest, and after that...I just...woke up here.
Was I...teleported?
Well, in this world of monsters and madmen, that wouldn't be too surprising. Regardless, his main problem was the disappearance of his sister. She was nowhere to be found, even when Dipper called out her name multiple times and extended the search area.
Is that a problem, though? The thought suddenly popped into his mind.
…
Holy shit.
Was I free of that psycho? Finally?
I was hesitant to celebrate prematurely, though. She could suddenly show up after a few minutes, and then she'd be questioning why I was jumping up and down, whooping and hollering in joy.
With that in mind, I decided the best course of action currently would be to go search the gas station. There was bound to be something to help me survive.
I made my way over to the gas station, checking my surroundings warily for any sign of Mabel or...unfriendly strangers.
After spending a dozen minutes or so searching the gas station, I was glad to find some supplies, including a tire iron, a water bottle, and some canned soup.
After taking a good swig of the bottle, I found myself to be hungry as well. Yet I didn't have a can opener. Hopefully, there was a store around here, somewhere.
Emerging out of the station, I had come to the consensus that Mabel had been teleported somewhere else by that giant triangle.
I was free.
Finally, with another mountain of stress off my shoulders, I grinned, jumping up in the air as I cheered for myself. Quietly, of course. There was no way in hell I wanted to ruin the moment by attracting the attention of any nearby monsters.
As the moment passed, I found it necessary to find something to carry this stuff. There wasn't too much, currently, but down the road, who knew what I might find? A backpack or bag of sorts would work, seeing as the backpack I had been carrying had disappeared along with Mabel.
I walked over to the two paths that branched off in different directions.
Left, and right.
I breathed in the stale air. Though it was musty, it was much more liberating with the thought that I was finally able to control my own path now. Looking between the two, I decided to head right. It seemed like the more optimistic path.
An hour or so later, I looked over the countryside. Walking down a dirt road, to either side of me were plains of green, short grass. Wooden fences would occasionally line the sides of the path, then cut off at random points, usually accompanied by a tree or two. Looking down the road, about a half mile ahead, the path headed back into the woods, but it seemed much more inviting than he expected.
I guess the landscape's beauty hadn't changed, I thought.
And it was true. Though this world was a corrupted wasteland of monsters and (as I had witnessed earlier) delusional maniacs ready to kill, the beauty of it all didn't change a bit. Save for the shitty grey clouds that constantly foamed over the skies, it was okay.
As my mind touched on the topic of the skies, I looked upwards.
Yep, still gray.
I hadn't seen the sun for an entire week now. Wouldn't that affect my Vitamin D intake?
That thought made me chuckle. It was quite ridiculous to think that I was worrying more about my vitamin intake than the ever-present threat of monsters at every turn.
Oh, well. Might as well enjoy the moments as they come.
They are painfully rare these days, after all.
"Finally, a store!"
Another hour having passed, I was starting to get closer to some sort of small town, as I had begun to walk by houses and shops. However, venturing a little further in, it was to my knowledge that there would surely be some sort of supermarket, even if it was much smaller than the average one.
In fact, the place was more like a general store than any market of sorts. The building wasn't too big, but it looked like it would contain plenty of resources.
As I began to head in, I felt a slight doubt wriggle around in the back of my mind. Something was a bit...off.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I decided it wasn't that important. The most essential task was locating storage for my resources, some other clothing than the same damn ones he had been wearing for a week (which reeked, as he hadn't been able to find time to shower), and possibly even a better weapon.
At the prospect of an actual plan, I felt a lot more confident in my actions as I entered the store.
I pushed the door open.
Ding.
Immediately, my confidence dropped like a hammer, and I froze in fear. That was the sound of the bell, when you entered a store. I had a terrifying thought that it would bring monsters. However, after a few moments of dashing my head around frantically to check my surroundings, there seemed to be no sign of monsters.
I wiped my head, which had been sweating profusely from the stress. I continued inside the store.
Searching the aisles, I found plenty of things for survival, including a large backpack to carry it all.
Thank god, I thought.
Plenty of food, water, and equipment that could be used for various things. To top it all off, I had even found a metal baseball bat! Not only hard to break, but much more reliable than a rusty tire iron. However, I wouldn't discard such a valuable item, in case something happened to my main weapon.
Sure, the problem of overburdening myself occurred at the moment, but I decided that it was more important right now to ensure safety over mobility. I threaded the end of the tire iron through one of the loops on the side of my newfound cargo pants, and sported my new bubble jacket. Things were looking up from here.
I made my way out of the store, but almost tripped on a rather sizable rock that laid in front of the main entrance. I was surprised I didn't see it-
"Huh?"
Looking down, I noticed some words painted onto the pavement below. I walked over and turned around to see the painting right-side up.
MONSTERS AMBUSH
DO NOT ENTER STORE
BELL ALARMS THEM
IF YOU DID, RUN
Before I even reached the end of the text, I turned around and bolted. The weight on my back dissipated as I fully sprinted as far away from the store as possible, hyperventilating as I imagined the monsters chasing after me.
You idiot, you idiot, you FUCKING IDIOT, WHY!? I thought frantically.
Behind me, the sound of skittering could be heard. I didn't even think about looking back, just about getting the hell out of here.
The skittering was getting louder. I was losing ground, and fast.
My footsteps beat into the pavement as my adrenaline coursed through my veins, almost propelling me into the air with each step. The skittering seemed to fade for a bit, then grew again in volume.
I couldn't keep up this pace.
It was time for me to face them.
And so, in the instance of a second, I turned around, unslinging my backpack and throwing it to the side, then whipped out my bat.
Five dog-like monsters standing upright stopped about 5 meters away as they saw me do so. Their skin was dark grey, almost matching the color of the pavement below, which made them harder to see. Claws at the end of their elongated fingers glistened with blood. They bared their teeth at me, blood staining the majority of them. Their black eyes stared at me in the same way that a lion stared at a gazelle.
I was their prey.
And so, the standoff began. I back up more and more, but slowly, so as to maybe pacify them. Fighting would surely lead to death, as there were five of those bastards. Of course, the last option, running, would probably just be a more futile and pathetic death. It was clear that these animals had the advantage of speed.
My eyes darted in between each of them. I noticed one of them try to skitter forward a bit, but I shouted in anger and waved my bat towards him. He growled, then receded back to his group.
This charade went on for a couple more minutes before one of them eventually decided to bum rush me. I didn't expect it, but his quick lunge at me took me off-guard, and he tackled me to the ground.
Then he began clawing at me. I raised my arms in defense, but he began to tear at them, leaving tons of gashes in my arms. The pain led me to scream, and I took up the bat with one hand and smacked him on the side of the head.
He fell to the pavement, and I got up quickly and began to swing the bat down, crushing his skull. I did this repeatedly before another dog came at me, this time biting my leg. His sharp teeth tore right through my cargo pants, and I screamed in pain once more, before swinging around the bat and smacking it right in the face. It fell over, growling as it hit the ground.
The last three swarmed me, knocking me over and clawing at my arms, my torso, my legs, and my face.
The pain was unbearable. Every new cut was deep and terrifying. I was being torn apart.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
My screams echoed throughout the parking lot, but they were hopeless. No one was around to save me.
That lingering thought made me realize that I had screwed up. I was too ambitious, too overzealous, and now I was paying the price for it. Eventually, as the claws gashed into my torso, arms, legs, and face, I could barely breath. I could feel one beginning to bite into my arm, trying to tear into it, but I couldn't even muster enough air to scream in pain.
And there I laid, getting torn to shreds by the very things I had feared since day one.
My worst nightmare had come true.
All because of my hubris.
As my eyes began to close, I got one last glimpse of one monster raising a single claw over its head, getting ready to plunge its claws into my face.
Goodbye, you disgusting fucking world…
SCHUNK!