Never Alone

 October was nearly over. Halloween was just a few days away and with it the cold was settling in. The moon shone down onto a wooded parcel of land just outside Steven’s dorm window. It’s light managed to make its way through the breaks in the leaves. On the ground, red, orange and yellow leaves were at the end of their journey. The ones still clinging to life rustled in the wind. It was that same cold burst of air that brought some vitality to Steven’s weary mind. He closed his eyes, and let it wash over him. The cold was his escape. That crisp fall scent was like a childhood memory, faint but always able to bring joy. 

He looked back down at his notes. The list of terms seemed unreal. He’d gone over them five times already and yet they just refused to stick. His mind was a jumbled mix of krebs cycle and cellular respiration. He needed to have these down. If he wanted any chance to achieve his dream of becoming a vet he needed to ace this test. In fact He needed to ace every class. There was no room for error. 

“Come on one more time.” He sketched out the systems from memory. “Why can’t I get this?” He banged his fist against the desk in frustration. There were three other midterms he still needed to get to. He started again, his mind struggling to stay on task. 

Brrrrrrrr. Brrrrrrr. Brrrrr.

Stacy. The name scrolled across the screen. Probably something to do with vet club. Steven felt bad that he wasn’t more active but He just couldn’t bring himself to leave his room. Homework and tests definitely helped provide cover. 

He picked up the phone. “Hey, what’s up? Did I miss a meeting or something?” It sounded like she was sniffling. “What’s going on?” he asked, trying to piece together this strange call.

“Steven, Sam is dead.” her voice broke with each word. 

The pain reached through the phone and gripped Steven by the throat. “Wait, what? What do you? What happened?”

She struggled to hold back the tears just enough to talk. “They found him in his roommate’s car. He, He, He killed himself. They found a note.”

Steven’s vision closed in around him. He had just seen Sam a few days ago. The smile on his face was as wide as it had ever been. He had been laughing and joking. If anyone was destined to succeed it had been him. He could run circles around most of the other sophomores. The details came with a fresh punch to the gut. All he could picture now was his friend lying dead somewhere. All hope of a future shattered. How could Steven manage to keep it together if someone like Sam couldn’t. 

“I have to make some more calls, are you going to be alright?” She asked, still trying to keep her composure.

“I, Yeah, I think so.”

“If you need to talk I’m here.”

“Yeah same here.” He hung up the phone, in pure shock and disbelief. His mind was lost to a rabbit hole of what if’s and hows. No matter how he tried to rationalize it, every attempt fell short. It couldn’t be real. Someone was messing with him. It was too ridiculous.

Unsure of what else to do, He grabbed some fresh clothes to take a shower. The water would help him process it all. He turned around and standing behind him a hideous creature, clung to his plastic tower. The sheer size should have toppled it. This was no ordinary creature though. It’s skin was a mottled brown, full of cracks. Four legs held the body in a crouched bending at unnatural angles. It’s two red eyes were locked onto Steven’s.

The site of the creature broke what little sanity Steven had left in him. He fell to the floor, and clutched his head. “Go away.” He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew this creature was dead. He had been marked. It’;s body shimmered and faded away, but not entirely. It remained a slight shimmer, still watching Steven. Every time he looked up the creature was crawling across the floor, or climbing up the side of the bed. 

He fumbled through the room in a desperate attempt to find his phone. The creature waited patiently. 

He dialed up his mom and listened to the ring. This one wasn’t going away. What if it got him? He needed his mom to help him. 

“Hey what’s up bubby?”

“Mom, there’s something in my room. It’s crawling around. It’s there but it’s not. I don’t know what to do.” 

“Okay, take a deep breath. What happened?”

“I got a call that Sam killed himself.’

“What happened?”

“He shot himself.” the words burned. His body was shaking in terror. He told her every detail. The beast still, nearly invisible was just watching. The grief for the loss of his friend and this hopeless void that was consuming him. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

I don’t know. It just hurts so much. And  this thing showed up. I think it’s after me. I don’t want to die.”

It can’t hurt you. Just pray with me.” her sweet words took his mind away from the room. He closed his eyes and just listened. Tying to imagine the creature was gone. “In Jesus name, amen.” 

Hesitantly, Steven opened his eyes. It was gone. At least it appeared to be. But had it really left, or was it lying in wait? If he hung up the phone would it come back?