It Never Ends From Shaun, This all started one very normal night. No clouds in sight and stars as far as the eye could see. Some of my friends and I enjoy being scared, so much so that we actively seek out terrifying thrills. This night was no different. We had spent several nights “investigating” different places of alleged high paranormal activity. Investigating probably isn’t the right word to describe what several young adults are doing trying their kicks from getting their pants scared off but that’s a little beside the point. The place we were on our way home from was purportedly one of the worst. Even so we had no strange encounters outside of the common creaks, moans, and bangs afforded to old buildings long past their #life expectancy. My two friends were fast asleep, one in the passenger seat and the other in the back of my beat up, old sedan. Listening to the familiar tune of “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd, I began to doze off because of all the sleepless nights we’d been having trying to scare each other shitless. I jerked awake realizing that I was driving when I noticed the headlights bearing down on me. I swerved to the right to get back in my lane and as I did I swear I saw something between our vehicles. I couldn’t make it out entirely because it looked as though it was made of smoke or fog but it did have a vaguely human shape to it. My friends, both shaken awake by my sudden swerve began to curse me out for nearly killing us. We made it home fine that night, maybe a bit shaken but no worse for the wear. I slept soundly that night and most of the next day, well into the afternoon. I stumbled into the kitchen half awake and threw on a pot of coffee. I turned around and realized something about my apartment seemed amiss, like something minor had been moved or slightly misplaced but I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s when I noticed it. The figure I had seen just before almost becoming a human pancake to a semi-truck. It wasn’t entirely there and I could barely see it as it stood on the edge of my peripheral vision watching me. I was too terrified by its presence to move or even turn my eyes to it lest it realize that I had noticed it. Fear built up within me as I felt a strong urge to turn on my heels and run but I knew I had to stand fast. I couldn’t let it know I had seen it. The more my eyes saw it the less I could comprehend the figure. It seemed human enough but it’s face looked like one of those scream masks except the jaw hung about a foot lower and the face was contorted to the side much further. It had no limbs as far as I could tell, everything below the neckline was just some amorphous blob. As I prepared to try and swallow my fear to turn around and act as though nothing had happened it faded away. It didn’t just disappear in some fabulous poof of smoke like you seen in the movies, it just faded away like smoke if could look like a fluid. I brushed the entire encounter off as my mind playing tricks on me or projecting something I had expected to see during my excursion with the fellas. I grabbed my coffee and sat at the table. I put on some cartoons to ease my mind. The rest of my evening was completely normal. Around 3 in the morning I began to get tired so I figured I’d head off to bed. I walked into my bedroom to find that my overhead light bulb had burned out so I turned on my bedside lamp. It cast long shadows on the walls in the light yellow glow of the bulb that stood barely at waist level. I could have sworn that I saw one of those shadows move but, once again, I chalked it up to my mind playing tricks on me especially considering I just spent the entire weekend hoping to be scared out of my mind. I crawled into bed and turned out the light when I saw it again, on the far side of my room. It seemed as though it was made of pure darkness as there was no light on it, I could only make it out because it seemed darker than the rest of the night. This time I knew it saw me noticing it. It proceeded to lurch closer to me one shaky movement at a time. I reached for the light hoping to cleanse the room of darkness but the switch on the cord wouldn’t turn, it felt as though it had been cemented into place. It crept closer and closer until it’s “face” was literally inches from mine. At this point I was too terrified to move, or even think let alone try to strike out at it or run. This thing opened it’s mouth in a hideous gesture like it had unhinged it’s jaw. The mouth was open enough for me to stick my entire head into and have plenty of extra room. Staring down into the cavity it seemed darker than the blackest black hole. It’s mouth filled with a crimson fluid that I knew all too well was blood as it screeched into the night. Blood poured from all of the orifices on it’s face. That’s when I blacked out. I woke about an hour later with a jolt. My bedside lamp was on and I glanced around the room quickly. There was nothing in here with me. I felt a sense of relief that’s indescribable unless you’ve felt it for yourself. Thinking it was all just a horrible dream I got out of bed needing to pee. I stumbled down the hall to the bathroom, turned on the light and peed for what seemed to be an eternity. After flushing the toilet I turned around and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my heart dropped into my stomach at the sight. I was covered in blood, still mostly wet but starting to crust around the edges. In sheer terror I ran to the front door wanting to be anywhere but home. The door wouldn’t open; it was as though it was just a prop built into the wall so I ran to the back door. Again the door wouldn’t budge, not even an inch. I thought to myself, “Screw this shit, I’m getting out of here no matter what it takes.” I went to the nearest window and tried to pull it open but to my dismay it again wouldn’t move. Now I could sense the presence lurking behind me. I stared out the window not wanting to turn and face it but what I saw outside I couldn’t comprehend. Outside was nothing, complete nothingness filled my view like the world outside didn’t exist. With a newfound sense of impending doom I turned to face the creature. It stood and smiled at me like it was trying to tell me if I just cooperated nothing would happen to me but I knew it was just a veil to it’s true evil intentions. The thing lurched forward toward me once again and I backed into the wall. This was it then, there was nowhere for me to run. As it bore down upon me it once again unhinged it’s jaw and opened wide. It bit down into my shoulder and I felt my legs turn to jello as I slumped to the floor unable to move. I could feel it’s poison coursing through my veins, a cold burning sensation that ran through every part of my being, paralyzing me. It bent over and from out of what I can only call the body an arm formed from the smoke. I tore into my flesh with it’s fingers ripping it from muscle piece by agonizing piece. It continued ripping flesh off my body for what seemed an eternity, the most painful eternity I had ever been a part of, until there was no flesh left. When my flesh was gone it started tearing out nerves like strings, slowly pulling each one as though it were a string wrapped around something extremely delicate. I screamed and screamed although I knew nobody could hear me, trapped in this hell. Once done with the task of removing my nerves it stood to leave me to die. Before it left it said something to me. It’s voice was sickening, it sounded as though it should be the wind coming from a human’s cut trachea gurgling with fresh blood. It said, “It never ends.” I closed my eyes as it left waiting for death’s sweet release from the agony I had just endured. I opened my eyes to be blinded by overhead fluorescent lights, a man in a white lab coat standing over me speaking his voice was muffled at first and it slowly became clear. “Can you hear me?” I tried to respond to say yes my lips wouldn’t move. “You’ve been in a terrible car accident. You’re in a hospital and have been in a coma for the last 48 hours. You will likely be paralyzed for the rest of your #life. If you can hear me and you understand this blink twice for me.” I blinked twice. “Good. I’m sorry to tell you that your friends didn’t survive the accident, none of the staff here thought you would wake from your coma. Get some rest, I’ll be back to check on you in a couple hours.” I blinked twice again. I closed my eyes and let darkness fill my vision. As I began to fall asleep I felt something brush my cheek and whispering in my ear. “It never ends.”