#and violently gouge my eyes out with rusty nails

[isa-belle1367]

I AM ONE MILD INCONVENIENCE AWAY FROM PURE INSANITY I STG

[latenightsuburbansprinklersystem]

sometimes I go and watch the mud water commercial just to make myself violently angry for no reason on purpose. the part where he says he bought into the coffee paradigm makes me want to gouge my eyes out with rusty nails

[theatricalsorrow]

The Bang (part 1 of 4)

An original short story by me

With a Chai Tea in my hand, I exit the Tree Spirits coffee and tea shop. The friendly, tucked away store has always been my first stop every morning before my first college classes. Without my Green and Chai teas, I probably wouldn’t even get out of bed in the brisk city’s mornings. I tug my backpack’s strap up high on my shoulder and take a sip of the sugary drink.  The warmth that spreads through my veins feels fantastic during fall. A smile spreads my lips as I hop over a small crack in the pavement and people rush past me. This was home.

The hustle and bustle of the streets doesn’t really bother me, even when I was little it didn’t. I tried once to live in the countryside, but the stillness that surrounded me out there was more unnerving than relaxing.  Born and raised a city boy I welcome the screech of tires on the streets and the honk of horns in traffic. It all becomes the daily background noise to whatever I’m doing. Today, I hear sirens. The loud whooping of the police cars in chase catch my attention due to how close they are. I turn my head to look down the street for the source,  but the action must be going on around the corner. I’m not sure what urges me to follow the racket, but curiosity has always been a strong part of my personality.  Taking up a light jog, I weave through the masses of people and reach the end of the block. Just, as I stand on tiptoes to peer over the heads of the crowd, I loud bang sounds out. Blinding white light sears my retina’s and heat washes over me in a heavy wave. I can hear the the screams of panic from those near me only for a few seconds, before I lose consciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My ears are ringing as if old church bells have replaced the brain inside of my skull. The ground beneath my prone body is uneven, hard jagged shapes jutting upwards to contort my limbs. Slowly, I peel my eyes oven, wincing at the pain the light brings. My chest and stomach tighten, and bile rises in my throat. Forcing my body upright with push off from my arms, I get to my knees before I throw- up the contents of my stomach; apparently, all that is in there is my stomach acid. With shaking hands, I reach up and pull my ginger hair away from my eyes. I can feel the grime and dust woven into the curly strands before I can, once again, see. Then, I suck in a harsh breath through my burning esophagus at the mess that surrounds me. Through the coughing fit that follows, I scan the crumbled remains of  buildings. I myself am a top a pile of rubble with shards of glass, rusty nails, and stripped wires scattered about. My entire body aches. As I attempt to stand, my legs wobble as if the bones are about to snap in two. My arms are jello; even as wave them back and forth, they have this hollow throbbing inside of them. I take a single step and nearly fall face first into large, ragged edged, chunk of concrete. I cannot even begin to express how relieved  I am to not have my eyes gouged out, or to have my whole face broken. As I steady myself, I finally notice the one thing that is the most out of place. It’s not the crumpled buildings,  the shattered windows, or even the cracked pavement that makes up what's left of the streets. It’s not any part of what I can see, or the musty and dry smell that lingers in the air; it’s what I can hear. There is  nothing but wind. That is wrong on more than one level. A heavy shudder runs down my spine, nearly knocking me off my feet again. My fingers start to twitch restlessly by my side, and my shoulder spasms for a second.  Where is the noise? My gut twists again and I retch and heave for a moment, nothing coming up, before I collapse to my hands and knees. That’s when I make my first sound beyond that of throwing up, a mangled cry of pain, and discover just how dusty and strained my vocal cords are. My right hand is covered in blood when I hold it up; a deep gash has been gouged into the palm by a torn sheet of metal.

Where am I? What happened to the city? How much time has passed? Why is there no noise? Am I all alone here?

These questions race through my mind as I watch scarlet slide down my wrist and drip onto the concrete slab beneath me. Drip... drip...drip... Red on red on grey.

Why am I doing nothing?

This questions send me to my unsteady feet, and I nearly fall over again. “I’ve got to find somebody,” I rasp. My voice is far too loud in my empty ears. It takes a while to pick my way down the hill of rubble I had woken up on, as it is unstable and littered with trip hazards. Also, about halfway down I have to stop to bandage my wound with the scarf I had been wearing before being knocked out. Upon reaching the street, I take a moment to catch my breath before I take in my surroundings once more. The buildings loom far overhead, their foundations either crumbled or threatening to; broken glass was literally everywhere, creating a dangerous walk for anyone without strong shoes on. Fortunately, I am wearing my winter boots, as it had been cold on my.... On my way to class... Another wave of questions slams into my brain, paralyzing me for a moment, but there is no answer to the repeating word in my head.

WHEREWHEREWHEREWHEREWHEREWHEREWHEREWHERE????

I can’t breath, my heart and lungs have constricted, and it takes all of my will power not to fall into the glass splayed underneath my feet. My head aches, and my stomach is sick, and my eyes sting with tears. My body starts to tremble, and I try and cross my arms to hold it in. A nervous laugh bubbles up in my throat, and suddenly it’s out in the air, bouncing off the buildings so sharply it comes back to pierce my ears.  I stop immediately. My whole body is frozen as listen to the sounds of my crazed outburst echo and fade; its the only sound until it isn’t. My blood runs cold at the INHUMAN noise that follows mine, some kind of  wail or high pitched shriek mixed with a howl of pain... or maybe...bloodlust. Fear quickens my heart; my brains goes on autopilot. I’m in my city, but at the same time I’m not. This place is foreign to me, but my mind knows what I need to do. I take off running if what I hope is the opposite way of where that god awful scream had come from.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

I can’t think straight. The glass crunching underneath my boots, the dust that hovers in the air starting to coat my lungs, the beam that I almost hit head on; they all are afterthoughts to the word RUN flashing behind my eyes on a neon sign. Something is following me. I can hear it dashing over the broken streets.

IT’S NOT HUMAN. IT’S NOT A FUCKING HUMAN.

My mind is screaming this as it processes the speed at which the THING is moving, and how it can’t be moving on two legs. I want to look back, but I don’t. I used to watch horror movies for fun, but feeling like you're in one is terrifying. So I tell myself if I look back I’ll die. Maybe I should have been a watching the ground instead. There’s a beeping noise as I sprint through the opening in a chain link fence. I barely process it before I’m thrown violently by an explosion behind me. My cry of pain and surprise is lost in boom, and the screech of the thing that was following me. I land on my back. What little air that was in my lung is knocked out by the hard come down. I skid across the glass and tar a few feet  and come to a stop in the middle of the street. I’m not dead, but I now wish I was. My arms are bleeding from the glass embedded in them. I can’t feel my right leg below my knee; there’s just an agonizing pain that is spidering out from whatever injury is down there. The sky looks red and grey... I wonder if it had been cloudy since I woke up. My visions tunneling, my head is spinning with dizziness. I can feel myself sitting up, but I don't feel like I’m controlling my body anymore. An unfamiliar scent seeps through my unfocused senses... I know it at the same time through... two words float past my eyes. Burnt flesh. I register faintly, that there are body parts scatter across the ground. A smattering of scarlet and blue decorate the fence, and the concrete. My head feels heavier; I drop back onto my elbows.

My leg? Where is it? Wait, why am I asking that? It’s right-

A cough rattles through my chest, and then blood is dribbling out from between my lips. “The fuck?!” A human voice, but they sound like they’re so far away....”HEY, KID!!!” Breathing is really easy right now. “Oh fuck, he’s injured bad. We gotta get him......  stupid idiot.... didn’t.....  mines... ” I’m warm all over, and I feel safe. Maybe I could just take a nap....