Robbie was a twenty-nine year old man who liked to think he was a decent person. He had finished Law school with a decent grade, got a job as an intern for a while and now he was working as a lawyer for a big firm. He even had his own office with a good sized chair that rotated and a cabinet full of dossiers. A considerable chunk of that good salary of his always went towards non profit organizations or the homeless shelters in his city. Every year he got ready with food boxes and toys for Christmas, standing in line with other people and offering them to whoever was in need. He had a girlfriend named Aoife and a cat named Toto. He loved them like crazy and his favourite free time activity was cuddling on the sofa with both, girl on his arm, cat on his lap watching movies.
He called his parents often and went for dinner at their house a couple of times every month.
Robbie laughed with his friends and had the occasional drink with them but never got actually drunk. He was more of a one cocktail guy than a beer devouring machine. He disliked spirits with all his heart, but he enjoyed a glass of wine with his dinner sometimes. Never a full bottle. He preferred a clear mind any time of the day or night.
So when the accident happened and the officer shoved the breathalyser in his mouth, Robbie could have said proudly that not even 0.1% percent was in his system before even blowing in it. He had been out to the movies with some friends, Aoife waiting for him at home, probably sleeping on the couch cuddling with Toto. He had been full of popcorn and soda before he had vomited it all out anyway, but nothing else. He blew into the damn thing with his stomach free of illegal substances and his mind full of questions.
The time had been 10:45 when he had left the cinema, got into his car and went on the motorway, eager to get back home. He was listening to some k-pop, mumbling with the song, when the other car appeared right in front of him, going slow, way too slow for the motorway. The time was 11:10.
Robbie used the break and tried to steer away, but there simply wasn’t enough space for manoeuvrability. He bumped the other car’s back with his right side, his own vehicle flying into the bushes. It was a miracle he didn’t tumble or roll. In fact, he had been amazed to notice he was perfectly fine, except for a vague pain in the back of his neck from straining too hard while holding the wheel and trying to survive.
He got out of the car with difficulty (those damn bushes were dense!) and looked towards the motorway where there was no sign of the other car. There were tracks on the cement though and Robbie followed them careful not to get too close to the road where the other cars passed in high speed. Walking, he remembered he had a fluorescent vest in the boot, debated to go back for it and decided against it. If the others weren’t so lucky, they might need help fast. His phone was in his pocket. He took it out and dialled 112. He gave the operator his name and told her what had happened and while doing so, he found the other car.
The vehicle was turned over and Robbie hurried to see inside while screaming in his phone for an ambulance. ‘We need a fucking ambulance. NOW. Right the fuck now’, he said while his knees hit the ground. He turned on the phone’s torch, ignoring the lady on the other side of the phone call (she had all the details already goddammit) and looked inside. It took him three, maybe four seconds to understand what he was seeing before turning around and vomiting all his popcorn and soda on the ground, next to the car that was a collective coffin for three people. There were only two adults and one very small baby.
He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket and bent down once again to look inside the car. He didn’t want to do it, but he had to make sure. The baby’s head was tilted at an impossible angle and Robbie knew he didn’t have to check anything more. The little thing (oh, God, why so small?) had been finished even before he had a chance at living. Turning towards the adults, he found himself looking into the glassy eyes of the man, his mouth opened, tongue out like he had a chance for a grimace right before kicking the bucket. Robbie didn’t think the man was alive anymore but he still forced himself to put two fingers on his skin (still warm) and check his pulse. Which wasn’t there anymore(well, would you look at that), probably because the man’s lower body was a pile of mashed organs, blood and meat tangling together like a macabre painting.
Robbie felt vomit building up in his throat once again but managed to fight the urge and keep it down as he went around the car to the woman’s side. There were pieces of glass in her blond hair, but more than that there was a big triangle sticking out of her right cheek, blood coming out of the wound still. He touched the woman’s neck, same as he did for the man and there it was: a faint pump, barely there, but oh so precious. Robbie put the phone to his ear and said: ‘Hello, are you still there?’
‘I’m here, Mr. Gibb. I will stay on the line until help arrives.’
‘The woman… I think she is alive. What do I do? Can I do anything?’
‘Listen very carefully Mr. Gibb. Check for a pulse first by placing…’
‘Yes, yes, already done that. Next?’
‘Check the victim’s breathing. Don’t try to move the victim, Mr. Gibb. That is very important. Place your palm under her nose. Simple as that.’
Simple my ass, he thought, but did as he was told. At first, Robbie couldn’t feel anything. It was cold outside and his hands were freezing. But after a few seconds, his skin tingled and a warm sensation tickled his fingers.
‘She is breathing’, he said to the operator, but then whatever the lady at the other end said, it was lost to him, because the woman in the car opened her eyes and looked around her until her gaze settled on Robbie.
‘I…’, she mumbled.
‘Shh, don’t speak’, Robbie said. ‘Help is on the way.’
And then two things happened at the same time. The woman started wailing and the man next to her moved his eyes.
Robbie jumped, falling hard on his back, dropping his phone and kicking it by mistake in the process. The damn thing got under the fucked up car but he was too scared looking at those glassy eyes to care about the phone or the police at the other end of the call.
From the mangled guts, something moved. The woman was shrieking now, her voice dangerously high, close to rupture her vocal cords. Why wouldn’t she shut the fuck up? Robbie thought. But then the thing came out of the meaty stew the husband of the banshee was and started crawling over the woman’s torso. It jerked and shook a couple of times and then let out a few strands of itself all over the woman’s lower belly. And below, between her legs there were now its tiny babies for fucks sake, wriggling and eating away at the woman, probably going up her vagina and devouring her from the inside.
What the fuck am I looking at? Robbie had time to ask himself before the black thing charged for him. When it got out of the car, it started stretching and moulding until limbs grew out of it and a humanoid shape began to form. Its head was still grotesquely misshapen and gooey stuff was coming out of the three holes that were on its face.
Panic stricken, Robbie felt his legs move in a daze and his body jerked up, ready to take control and help him survive. He didn’t care about the wailing woman anymore. His own life was in peril and that was more important, damn the consequences and damn the expectations. He was no hero. Besides, the screaming was now accompanied by gurgled sounds. Robbie was sure that was a sign the woman was very close to her end anyway. No point in trying to fight for a lost cause, wasn’t it?
So he got up, or better said he let his body do the survival action while he kept his gaze on the black shape. It wasn’t moving towards him anymore, but the holes on its face were wobbling and white matter was pouring out of them, swirling at the entrance, turning into… eyeballs.
‘The fuck is this shit?!’ Robbie shouted. His legs stepped backwards slowly two more steps. He didn’t really dare turning around and loosing sight of the malformation.
The thing’s mouth opened and a mist like substance came out of it, heavy and putrid. Then the stench hit him, making his knees buckle and for the third time that night he felt his stomach protest and trying to send out into the world the last remnants of the popcorn and soda. And when the limbs lifted as to grab him, Robbie turned on his heels and ran for dear life. He noticed the woman wasn’t waling anymore and he found out that he was thankful for that, much for his benefit but also for hers. The suffering had ended at least.
He ran, arms and legs strong, breathing hard out of his mouth, all the way back to his car, hopping he could get inside and lock the doors before the monster caught him. Because he was sure that’s exactly what it was. A fucking paranormal monster. His mind didn’t have time to process this information or to think how ridiculous the notion was. He was bent on survival.
He could hear rasping behind him. His lungs hurt. Was my car really that far? I remember walking a very short distance, he thought. But he kept on pushing until oh, behold, his salvation: his vehicle with its doors open and the light pouring outside on the grass like a sign from God.
He jumped inside and pulled the door closed. His fingers fumbled with the lock button for a little while but he managed to push it. He heard the click but didn’t relax just yet. The thing was outside and he couldn’t see anything. He realized his light was still on. He must have turned it on before he got out of his car. He turned it off and it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the dark but once they did he scanned the area around his car and saw no creature lurking close. His flashlights didn’t show anything in front of the car either.
Robbie’s breath finally started to slow down.
What the fuck was that thing? And those poor people. Behind lock doors his empathy was coming back and he was overwhelmed by a sense of dread. He felt disgusted by his actions. He had never even tried to save the woman! She could have been saved if he hadn’t been such a chicken. He let his head flop down onto his hands and closed his eyes. Fuck this. Fuck tonight. He thought about what had happened. It was impossible. The way the car just appeared out of nowhere! And going so slow! How was it that they got it so bad while Robbie didn’t even have one bruise?
A bang on his door made him jump almost banging his head on the roof of the car, his heart doing a somersault. His eyes snapped to the creature outside, the humanoid thing that was… knocking with his made up fists like he wanted to have a conversation with him. Robbie opened his mouth to tell it to go away but instead started screaming when the thing put its face to the window and opened the hole that was supposed to be a mouth. And when the black putrid tongue came into view, Robbie’s vision darkened and he passed out.
Later (he had no idea how much time had passed, but the night was still there so he guessed not that much), his eyes opened and he saw that a woman was looking at him. The door was opened and she was bent over him, two of her fingers at his neck, checking for a pulse. He thought she must have been an angel sent to relieve him of his nightmare. She was looking serious, no smiling on her face and Robbie noticed the uniform very soon, the badge shining.
‘Mr. Gibb? Are you with us? How are you feeling?’
‘I’m OK I think. I just… fell asleep or passed out. I don’t know.’ He rubbed his eyes and stretched his legs. ‘May I come out of the car now, please?’
The officer straightened, making room for him to get out. ‘Yes, but keep your hands where I can see them. Standard protocol, you understand. I need you to blow in this too,’ she said and shoved the breathalyser in his mouth.
He thought it really wasn’t protocol and this woman was afraid he would attack her or run or do something stupid like that. But Robbie had no intention of misbehaving. He only wanted this night to end so he could go home to his girl and join her on the sofa, cuddling with the cat.
He suddenly remembered the other people. As he got out, he started shaking his legs (damn, they were stiff!) and asked: ‘What about the other car…involved in the accident?’
‘What car?’
For a moment there Robbie just looked back perplexed at the policewoman.
‘The car with those three people in it… I talked to the dispatcher on the phone. Told her about the…the victims.’
‘Oh, those ones.’ The officers smacked one hand on her forehead like she just remembered. ‘You mean the family you just butchered?’
‘I… It wasn’t my fault.’
‘Oh, yes, it was. You were driving too fast, nicked their car, sent them flying. And then, as if it wasn’t enough you killed their baby, you went to the car and murdered the adults too.’
Robbie’s mouth hang open. Is this what the police thought had happened? They were wrong! And he was so fucked! His night was going to be a very long one.
‘Excuse, Mrs. Officer. That is not what happened. Not even close. I am innocent and it must be there in the clues!’
‘Let me tell you what’s there in the clues, Rob.’ She took one step towards him, her body facing him, a look of rage on her face.
Nobody called him Rob. His given name was Robbie. It always had been. But he had no time to say this because the woman started pushing one finger into his chest while speaking, her voice growing and growing until it reached what resembled a controlled scream. ‘You went there, saw the mess and decided this turns you on. You rubbed one quick, letting all your juice shoot onto the poor woman who was already in agony, and then bent over and vomited all over the man. When that was done, you used this knife and fucking stabbed them to death!’ The officer pushed the weapon into his face, holding it by the handle without any gloves. There was blood on the tip of it and suddenly Robbie understood that the woman in front of him wasn’t really a policewoman. Where were the other policemen? She seemed to be alone, not even a partner around, not to mention any sign of the patrol car.
‘Who…are you?’ He mumbled.
‘WHO AM I?’ The woman screamed, spit landing on his nose. ‘I’LL SHOW YOU WHO I AM!’ The woman hugged him and pressed her lips onto his like in a fiery kiss. Robbie struggled to get away but her grip was strong. He closed his eyes and pushed as hard as he could. It was like he was being hugged by a rock with moving arms. Impossible to move. And the stench that came through her lips and invaded his mouth was the same one he had felt earlier when the humanoid monster had released that mist out of his middle hole in its face.
Robbie opened his eyes.
The black gooey thing was kissing him.
Without thinking, he opened his mouth to let out an involuntary scream and that’s when the black stuff started going down his throat, making him choke. He struggled to breathe, his mind focused only on getting one more gulp of air, his lungs constricted. His vision blurred and his stomach filled up. He thought this was it. This is how he would die.
And then the most unexpected thing happened. Robbie found himself back in his car, his hands on the wheel, his legs on the pedals, driving on the motorway, the taste of popcorn still strong in his mouth.
He was aware of the bizarre situation and could remember everything that had happened. But as seconds passed, he started to think that maybe it had all been a dream. He must have fallen asleep for a second or two and his brain did that thing where he created a whole story for him in the span of those seconds. Could that be the case here?
He rubbed his eyes and checked the time. 11:09 PM.
Well that only meant he still had fifteen whole minutes until he will reach his exit to his home town. He had to stay awake. Bad things happen when you fall asleep at the wheel and you might end up killing others too, not only yourself. Flashes of the family in the overturned car hit him again. He remembered the sight of it all. God, he remembered the smell. The taste of his own vomit. He rubbed his eyes trying to push away those nightmarish memories.
There was a car now in front of him. It was going very slow. Or was he really going too fast actually like the officer/monster had said in his dream? Robbie shuddered and checked the time. It was 11:10 PM.
He only had time to say fuck before slamming down on his breaks and pulling the wheel to the left. He felt the car flying into the bushes but thankfully this time he didn’t touch the other vehicle. They at least continued to be safe.
Or so Robbie thought.
His body jerked when his own car hit the ground, his neck snapped and he was dead before he even had a chance to think about what was happening.
And it would have been so good to just let it end there for Robbie, the twenty nine year old decent man with a Law degree, partner to sweet Aoife with her golden eyes and owner of Toto, the fluffy tabby cat that farted in his face in the mornings. But good luck was not on his side, not tonight and not ever for him.
His mind did a tumble and his dead eyes watched his own entity (or soul if he wanted to be more poetic) leave his mortal form, gather in a mist and travel at light speed until he entered the man’s body in the car that was going too slow on the motorway. His hands became the man’s hands and through his eyes he could see the road and the speed on the dashboard which was 120 km per hour, the limit on this stretch of the motorway. He felt the woman’s hand on his thigh and turned to her and smiled. She was beautiful. And she was going to die a slow agonizing death.
Robbie’s astral projection or whatever the hell he was now spilled inside the man without his control. He felt himself invading the insides of his victim, eating away at him. He saw his hands leave the wheel and press on its own stomach in agony. He heard his wife ask ‘What’s wrong, sweetie?’ before his chest heaved and his foot pressed hard on the accelerator pedal. The baby started wailing. His mother tried to soothe him. The car hit the parapet on the right side of the road and then the car tumbled a couple of times until it landed into the bushes on the left side of the motorway.
And then stillness.
Robbie’s essence still throbbed inside the man’s guts but he felt hungry now and unsatisfied. He wriggled around, looking for an opening and saw that the torso was a mangled mess, entrails coming out and he knew that was his way out. But before he actually managed to do that, he saw another person coming towards them, his feet wobbling, the light of his phone a flashlight into the dark night.
Robbie saw himself bent over and look at him as fucked up as that was, unable to do anything to communicate. Simply existing and watching in horror as the man (himself) bent over and vomited, remembering how that had felt in what seemed to have been a lifetime ago.
He then felt his own hands touching the dead man’s neck, looking for a pulse that wasn’t there anymore and he saw himself checking the woman’s pulse too and heard himself telling her not to move, that help was on the way. Which was a joke of course. There was no help. Robbie hadn’t been speaking to the police. How could he if he was already dead?
He couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed his unshaped form through the dead man’s guts, squelching as he did so. He felt the body jerk, its glassy eyes moving, its bowels releasing the last of its garbage that had been stored there, kept like a precious cargo ready to be deployed back at home in the family toilet.
And when he was finally out, the most fucked up thing happened to him, even more fucked up than whatever else had been happening until now. He felt arousal building up and as he trailed out, he felt his own seed spilling out all over the woman and then rummaging inside of her through her vagina, eating away at her flesh, devouring all that was left of her.
Out of the car, Robbie’s black form stretched and elongated. He saw his human form there, his eyes staring back, his mouth opened and he remembered the terror. He wanted so much to let himself know of what will happen, maybe try to prevent the whole thing from happening. Maybe this was a second chance to change everything. Maybe this wasn’t a nightmare, it was a chance at redemption. He wanted to tell his human form that next time he wakes up in his car to press the brake pedal and slow down so he can reach home safe and not die on this god forsaken motorway, transforming into this black gooey mass and killing this sweet family without being able to say no or fight back.
He had arms now and he tried to show his human form what was going to happen to him. He couldn’t talk but he tried to do so. He opened his hole and a mist came out of it, the stench of putrid meat nauseating. He tried to speak but no sound came out of him. He tried to form eyes, his own eyes, so he could show himself that he was not a monster, not really, he was a decent person, but it felt like he didn’t have all the necessary ingredients. He lifted its arms to grab his human form and shake him and make him fucking understand the high stakes that were at risk here. But the man turned around and started screaming. Robbie’s gooey form tried to follow but its own legs weren’t strong yet. He rasped and gasped trying to keep up the pace.
When he finally reached the car (his car) he saw himself inside there, head covered with arms, resting on the steering wheel. He knocked on the window gently, hoping he wouldn’t scare himself, hoping to make himself understand. To stop this from happening again. But the human form screamed and fainted. Two hours passed and his gooey form got stronger, enough to pry open the door now and bend over himself. He let his hands fall onto his own shoulders and thought about how frail he felt from the outside. He needed to start going back to the gym if he survived this. Such a weird thought to have, he wondered.
Robbie’s human form opened its eyes and came out of the car mumbling something like he was talking to himself. He watched in fascination as he didn’t seem to be scared anymore and he thought now it was his chance. He came closer to himself and when the human asked who he was, he wanted to scream back ‘I AM YOU!’ but words didn’t form so he hugged himself hard and kissed its own lips wishing with all his might that thoughts from him will pass onto his past form, make him understand goddammit the scale of the tragedy that was ready to happen again.
Robbie’s human mouth opened involuntary to scream in terror and his gooey astral form entered him with ferocity. It devoured and melded with his every cell in his body until he made him jerk back into his car seat.
On his way back from the movies, going 160 km per hour in a rush to go back to Aoife and Toto, Robbie didn’t have time to slow down when he reached the other vehicle. He tried to avoid the accident but the speed killed him like it claimed many others every year.
But Robbie had the bad luck of waking up something dark and ancient that was sleeping under those bushes he landed his car into.
And the thing was hungry and bored.
THE END
