A sharp pain shot through Levi's head, spreading out like a web in his skull. He reeled over, it hurt, bad. His head was in his hands, his eyes held tightly shut. Flashes. Flashes of events, of ideas, of the past or the future. It was hard to tell. He saw himself. Sculpting, chanting. A cave. Trees with no canopies. A forest. It was dark and dry. There was a light ahead. He was and wasn't himself. The sound of a hammer rang out. A raven. The visions came and went, the pain dulled into an ache and then a memory. Levi stood up, tried to shake it off but it stuck to him like cigarette smoke. A chill ran through him. It was quiet, quieter then he remembered.
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Around the garden was a sea of faces. A crowd had gathered, or appeared. Grayed out and smiling. All shapes and sizes. Men, women and everything in between. The whole town it seemed. The horror set in him immediately, deep down in the pit of his stomach. An angry mob, but instead of flared nostrils and mean looks they shared soulless eyes and smiles. Pitchforks and torches replaced with machetes and boards with rusty nails sticking out of the end. Anything that could inflict harm. A happy mob.
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Levi was frozen, but the mob wasn't. They crept towards him, humming, their feet shuffling. Levi hunched back against the two headed wolf statue. His mind in overdrive. Thoughts racing. Images of a daring escape, images of a gruesome death. The latter was more likely, there's a fine line between pessimism and reality. But reality was strange lately, he couldn't get a grasp of the rules. They inched forward.
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They sped up, stepping foot in the garden. Trampling flowers, their footprints behind them in the plush grass. Closer. Stepping over the little fences, onto the pathway. The circle of safety grew tighter, Levi's chest followed suit. The silence was loud, the grins a sinister mark of unholiness. Unnatural. The mob just a few feet away. Levi could smell the sweat on their bodies, the dirt on their clothes. He didn't see any of them blink once.
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A massive cloud rolled in, planting a shadow onto the mob, blocking out the sun and enveloping the town center and everything around it in a dusk. The happy mob froze in place. The eyes searching for their victim, now vanished. Levi could see the breaking sun rays following behind the cloud, like a curtain call to the end of his life, but in this moment he was sheltered. The racing thoughts crossed the finish line, dots connecting into a picture of the gravity of the situation and to the solution. Levi took advantage of the opportunity, bolting through the closest gap in the group. Bumping into some of the townsmen turned monsters, they turned their heads when he did. Some even taking a swing. Both half heartedly. Levi ran low until emerging from the crowd. The godsent cloud was quickly drifting away, though, and the light was coming back. The green light for the smileys.
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Behind, he heard a louder hum. A roar of wind and despair. Levi turned around, kept walking backwards away from the mob. The off white aura that hung in the air came up. Tendrils of grey, from the group. Spiraling up into a funnel, piercing the cloud above. Unearthing the trapped light, a circle being cut out. A spotlight shone through, directly above the wolf statue. And it was expanding fast. This entity, this fog-like presence, seemed sentient. It radiated from the monsters, now separating to attack the cloud, it blocked it from what it draws its power from, the light.
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Walking backwards in awe, Levi saw everything laid out in front of him. The tornado of grey glow swarling, the sunlight touching the smiley monsters, giving them a jolt back to life. In this place, light wasn't really light. It wasn't safety from the darkness, it was merely inverted darkness. And Levi was stuck in a shrinking shadow ring. Turning back around, he ran at full force. Putting as much distance between him and the mob.
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Sprinting and stumbling, Levi tried to keep his balance and footing. Hopping fences, darting between buildings and back alleys, through open porches and well manicured lawns. He couldn't fully wrap his head around what he'd seen. What he'd been through. Twisting and turning, weaving a tale of terror with his footprints. Keeping in mind to stay in what shadows there were. He didn't know where he was going, he didn't really care. His heart beat through his chest. Any second, he thought, inverted dark possessed people would cut him to shreds. He ran and he ran. In the middle of a pharmacy parking lot his eyelids began to flutter, his lungs overworked, his legs gave out completely and then, blackness.
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Collapsing, Levi laid flat on his stomach in the middle of a vacant parking lot in the front of an empty pharmacy. The lifeblood of a small town, now lifeless. No pulse. The townspeople turned into hosts for the dark presence to wreak havoc and torment a penniless sculptor. What was their goal? “It's” goal? That's what Levi's subconscious mind tried to answer as he lay there dreaming. A slideshow of cults and murder, apocalyptic prophecies and power, souls as currency for eldritch beings. Some primal urge or status quo left unchecked. Or maybe he'd been dreaming this whole time, maybe he was a character in a book, or maybe it's all just a simulation. The dream made less sense than the reality Levi found himself in, until he woke back up and was reminded of the world.
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His eyes opened, his cheek buried in grass. Not on concrete where he has fallen. He noticed the different sensation instantly. He shot up like a rocket. Shocked and scared. Not knowing where he was or how he'd gotten here. He was in the backyard of a two story house. Between a tall privacy fence and an above ground pool. Empty and partly full of leaves. It was bright, it was like the sun hadn't moved an inch. In front of him was the house. A back patio, grill, sliding glass door. A water spicket and a big basement door.
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He tried to shake off the unpleasant feeling of waking up in an unfamiliar place. He hoped this wouldn't become a regular thing. The cut on his chest mostly stopped bleeding now. Dry blood. But it still stung. His legs were on fire. He still hasn't fully caught his breath. His entire body screamed to stop moving. He decided he'd had enough of the elements, figuring a breather and a snack would do himself good. Levi was a lot of things but a criminal wasn't one, he wasn't too keen on breaking and entering but he thought if there was one exception it was to seek shelter from happy, emotionless monsters. He tried the glass door, locked. He peeked inside. Nothing out of the ordinary. A normal living room. Couch, TV, fake planets and pictures on the wall and nick nacks that are always dusty. He expected there to be a clichè key under the mat, he was wrong. He decided to try the basement.
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The heavy wooden doors swung open, he took care to make sure they didn't fall and make too much noise. He let them down easily. In the newly opened passage there were cement stairs leading down to the basement door. Every fiber of his being was saying not to go down there. Every movie he'd ever seen had taught him basements were the nesting grounds of all ilk of terror. He stepped down anyways, the thought of at least a moment of safety was worth the risk.
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The door at the bottom was sturdy and made of black walnut. Dark, another sign to not go in. He twisted the doorknob, it was unlocked. Of course. He felt like he was a lamb being led to the slaughter. Signs clear as day marking the way to the kill floor but he couldn't quite read them. He swallowed his paranoia, swinging open the door and closing it behind him.
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Inside was dimly lit with fluorescent lights that let off a soft hum. It made Levi nervous. There were rows and rows of shelves, all fully stocked. Cans of all kinds of food, bags, almost anything you could ask for. The air was stale, a not so subtle musk lingered, but it wasn't exactly unpleasant. A loud click echoed, Levi turned to face the noise. A heavy set man in a chair, an overloaded desk behind him, brandishing a revolver. The stainless steel looked polished, like it just came out of the shrink wrap. The man held it casually with one hand, his elbow planted on his belly. A crazy look in his eye. The gun pointed right at Levi's head.
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“What are you doing in my shelter?” He said, not loudly but stern. His voice held bass.
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Levi froze, put his hands up. He answered back that he was just trying to find someplace safe. He tried explaining everything that's happened, the smileys, the inverted dark presence, not knowing where he even was or how he got here.
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“Finally!” The man said, “I knew the day would come when those chemtrails the government got over us would do something! End the world! But I've been ready!”
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Levi heard about people like this, doomsday preppers. So lost in their conspiracy theories that they lose track of reality, they miss the trees looking for the forest. He'd always pitied people like this, so blind to what's happening around them, an aftertaste of envy, too. The bliss of ignorance would be nice sometimes. But even with the surreal things that's been happening, his ramblings made little sense. Levi started letting his hands fall as the man talked.
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“Hey! That don't mean you can stay here!” The man shouted. “For all I know you're working with them.”
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Levi shot his hands back up. He pleaded to stay just for a little while, to recuperate, to eat. “My name's Levi, I promise I'm just a regular guy, I just need to rest. Can you tell me where we are? And how to get out? Just give me an hour and I'll be outta your hair.” Levi said.
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The man shifted, the metal in his chair scraping together, nails on a chalkboard. He stroked his beard, his eyes came to a squint. “Fine, sit.” He said, pointing at a couch in the corner with his gun. He clicked the hammer back down, tucking the revolver in his waistband. Levi squeezed by the table in front and sat down on the couch. Started thinking this was a bad idea.
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“You can call me The Raven.” The man said. Putting his hands on his knees and standing up, walking over to one of the shelfs. Levi hated the name. It reminded him of crows and that made him think of death, like he needed another reminder of it. He could see the man's desk, a laptop, an old ham radio. It was cluttered with papers and books, scribblings of a scared man and confused man. He wondered if this was his future, if he got out of here alive. The table in front of him was in equal disarray. Magazines, loose bullets, old plates, batteries.
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The man kept Levi in the corner of his eye as he dug through things. Not taking his eyes fully off of him. Finally coming back, tossing a small backpack on the empty seat next to Levi. “This ain't no handout, you owe me now.” The man said. Walking over and unrolling a map onto the already cluttered table, pushing something's off. Levi sifted through the backpack at the same time. A bottle of water, some beef jerky, a first aid kit, flashlight, a few other things. He wasted no time eating and drinking a little while the man talked.
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“We're in Bright Falls. Not a lot of people here this time of year, they say it's because they're at Moose Fest in Watery but I know the truth. Making themselves scarce so They can spy on me, change things, I'm onto em’.” He says. Levi nodded. He decided to play along, it might be too dangerous not to. Levi leaned in, “I think they're watching me too.” He said, hushed. Figuring if he can convince the man they're on the same side he wouldn't send him off to the wolves just yet.
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The man's eyes burned, wide, “Look at this!” He says with his chest, excitement in his voice. He grabbed another map that was on his desk and put it on top of the one on the table already. “This here's an old map, used to be this little video rental store right here.” He pointed at the map. “Small place, like a shack. But look here!” He says, ripping the old map off of the table and pointing to the same place on the new map. “They replaced it! Now there's a big hardware store, nowhere near the same size! But it's scratched out! They tried hiding it but there it is!” Levi nodded, acting surprised, shocked. Clearly he was the one that scratched it out of the map, poorly. Businesses go under all the time, someone else took over. And video rental stores haven't even been around since he was a kid. “Oh you're right!” Levi said. “You're onto something with this.” He added, trying not to sound sarcastic.
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The man, going back over to his desk, rummaged through things before coming back over and tossing something to Levi, landing in his lap. He picked it up, examined it. It was a piece of marble, fit in the palm of Levi's hand. Carved into it was some sort of small building. “See! I found that on the shore, got me thinking!” The man said, sitting back down in his chair. “I knew I wasn't alone!”. Something about the piece of marble made Levi uneasy, a feeling of deja vu. He'd worked with marble before so he wanted to blame it on that but this felt different. The grooves were so familiar, even the building. He tried not to think too heavy on it.
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“Me neither.” Levi said. He didn't mean it. He listened to the man go on and on about his theories while eating and taking sips of his water. It didn't take much for him to believe Levi was on his side, it was the desperation and the loneliness, mixed with an impressionable mind. Levi listened before he couldn't take it anymore and asked to use the bathroom to clean himself up. The man pointed to a door on the other side of the room. Levi fished through the first aid kit in the backpack, pulling out a roll of gauze and walked over to the bathroom. Happy for a moment of peace and quiet.
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The bathroom was surprisingly clean, with a hint of vanilla in the air. Flora hand towels, laminate floors, a greyish wood finish. A standup shower in the corner, soft yellow walls. A lot of care.
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Levi stood at the sink and looked at himself in the mirror, studied his face. Eyes bloodshot with bags under them, dirty. He didn't like what he saw, barely recognized himself. He splashed water on his face before taking his shirt off. He didn't like this sight more, avoided looking at the mirror. He wiped the dried blood on his chest and wrapped the gauze around his body.
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“Ya know, we never got a proper introduction.” The man yelled from the other side of the door. Levi closed his eyes and sighed. Gripped the sink. The man went on, his voice like a hand reaching out, “Do you even remember what you're doing here? Where ya came from?” Levi wished he was mute so he didn't have to talk anymore. He could listen until his ears turned blue but talking was an ordeal. He replied, “Well, I'm a..” he hesitated, “A sculptor, Levi Rem. I don't..” The man interpreted, “Wait, Rem? Mr. Rem?” His voice got louder, “Rem! It's you! You're the one!” There was a wild anger in his voice now, heavy footsteps,“You did this!” Levi heard the hammer on the man's revolver click again, ready to fire.
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