Trigger warning: Strong language, mild gore, horror theme<\/p>\n
The Man<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGet out of here, asshole!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cScrew you, Stace,\u201d Cole spits, pushing up from the couch. Stacy shoves his back, causing him to jerk forward as he stands. Stacy\u2019s complexion is unmoving, with hot rage steaming beneath. Whether it be in spite of the absurdity of the argument or the embarrassment he feels, Cole gestures with his middle finger, boldly displaying it before disappearing up the basement steps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cole\u2019s palms slam against the door, causing the tattered screen to bounce before settling in its original position. Standing on the porch, Cole shakes his hands at his sides, hoping to reduce the sting. Before heading out, he checks his watch: 7:00 pm.<\/span><\/p>\n The block is illuminated by a soft, warm glow, characteristic of picturesque summer evenings. The delicate breeze and pinkish sky evoke a sense of calm in those traversing the patchy sidewalks, apart from Cole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As he grumbles toward home, his scowl deepens into a defiant squint. He holds a hand to his forehead to take in the view. At the tree line lingers an impatient August sun, barely holding onto the sky, wishing for dark winter nights. Its light pours between each pine needle on every tree, producing beams that project onto homes bordering the street.<\/span><\/p>\n Cheerful people cross Cole\u2019s path, accelerating his fury. They amble without intention or direction for the sole purpose of breathing in the evening air. One such passerby approaches Cole from a great distance. As he gets closer, a white cane comes into view. It passes the pavement like a pendulum, sweeping back and forth. The man looks to be in his late sixties. His face is worn and tired with age, accompanied by browning age spots. His white hair is intact but thinning and almost the texture of cotton. His walk is a hunched shuffle, slow and effortful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the man approaches, a chill runs down Cole\u2019s back, causing his hair to stand atop his skin. The clicking of the cane crescendos as the man reaches him. Despite wanting to look away from the man, Cole finds he cannot. He is by no means a sight to behold but remains inexplicably captivating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The man is a few feet away, still sweeping the ground with his cane. \u201cBoy,\u201d the man calls, \u201cI am looking for <\/span>Empyrean <\/span>Drive. Do you know where I can find it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cole blurts, \u201cCan you really <\/span>look <\/span><\/i>for it? You seem pretty blind to me, old man.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The corners of the man\u2019s mouth contort into a smile.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the warmth of the sun still hanging in the sky, a cool breeze rushes past them both. Cole shivers, and abruptly, a realization overwhelms him: \u201cIf he <\/span>is <\/span><\/i>blind, how did he know I was here?\u201d Cole looks back at the man to find his features strangely distorted. Up close, the man\u2019s face is almost skeletal. Defined curves and jagged edges make up his emaciated aspect. Cole\u2019s stomach twists as he observes the man\u2019s sunken eyes. The skin surrounding them is scarce, giving the eyes an unnaturally placed appearance as if foreign to the face. The eyes themselves are large and oddly round. Grey hues swirl in spiraling patterns around obsidian centers. Each eye is thickly glazed over, yet the blackness deepens, and the pupils dilate the longer Cole stares.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know where I can find it?\u201d the man happily asks once more.<\/span><\/p>\n Unable to speak, Cole continues in his perusal of the eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n As he does so, shadows creep onto the man\u2019s flesh, shrouding his skeletal appearance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, Cole draws his gaze away and looks to his feet, now disguised in the black of night.<\/span><\/p>\n Cole rubs his arms with clammy palms, attempting to soothe himself. \u201cLook man,\u201d he finally starts, \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of that street and I really need to get home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n With that, Cole begins walking, which soon evolves into a frantic jog.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After passing two blocks, he stops, sucking in shuddering breaths. \u201cShit, that guy was weird,\u201d he declares to himself. Lifting his head, he observes that the sun has set prematurely. \u201cAlso weird.\u201d Cole reads his watch: 7:05 pm.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell? It\u2019s only been five minutes? Is this thing broken or something?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Two clicks. Cole whirls around. Two more clicks. The darkness is thick, the stars and moon dulling fast. Squinting, he finds the man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStacy is very upset with you, boy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFuck you, man! What is your deal?\u201d Not wasting any more time, Cole sprints, scraping the pavement with the soles of his shoes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Click. Click. Click. The noise is in Cole\u2019s ears, growing louder than his breath.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Click. Click. Click. It gnaws its way through his ears to his brain. The sidewalk is enveloped in pitch black. Each step is taken only by faith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As Cole sprints, he can\u2019t help but question, \u201cWhere is everybody? The street lamps? The moon? <\/span>Anything<\/span><\/i>?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know where I can find it, boy?\u201d The question arrives, conveyed through the air by the clicking echoes.<\/span><\/p>\n Up ahead, a single street lamp remains, illuminating Cole\u2019s home. Not stopping, Cole rushes to the door. He gasps in relief as he locates the key in his pocket. His hands shake violently, making it near impossible to push the key into the lock. With a succinct click, he twists the door handle, pulls upon the door, and slams it shut.<\/span><\/p>\n Cole is greeted by solitary darkness. The blackness consumes his wood-floored hallway, the kitchen table, and everything else. A pang of panic rushes through his fingertips as he reaches beside the door. There is no light switch. Vigorously brushing his hands along the wall, he feels nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n Hopeless, he presses his back to the door. His forceful pants slow to trembling, shallow breaths. As he sinks to the floor, he realizes that the tapping has ceased. Now enveloped in strange darkness, he cannot see his hands squarely in front of him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Something knocks into the door. The walking stick. \u201cLet me in, Cole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGO AWAY!\u201d Cole screams, fear ripping at his throat. \u201cGo away, go away, go away,\u201d he mutters incomprehensibly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know where I can find it?\u201d The man\u2019s voice is lower than before. \u201cDo you know where?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPlease go away,\u201d Cole whispers through pleading sobs. Despite the blackness of the room, he squeezes his eyes shut.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know you\u2019ve seen it,\u201d he says in a distorted, otherworldly tone.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSeen what?\u201d Cole asks, gasping for breath.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCole. Let me in, Cole. Let me <\/span>see <\/span><\/i>you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Upon that last word, a violent pain rips at Cole\u2019s eyes. He gasps and clutches at his eyes. It is as if they were set ablaze by hell\u2019s fire. The scorching compels agonizing screams and pleas for mercy. Each optical nerve twists and tugs under immense strain. Cole rocks back and forth before getting on all fours, face pressed to the floor. Then, everything stops. The pain disappears, although the panic lingers.<\/span><\/p>\n Cole opens his eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s over,\u201d he thinks, as something trickles down his cheek, seeping into his mouth. It is vile and metallic. \u201cOh, God,\u201d he cries. All is black. No figure, shape, or object, not even the floor or street lamp outside, is visible. The void is all that is left. The viscous blood continues to flow from his eyes as Cole\u2019s breathing diminishes. Finally, he slumps to the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Cole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Trigger warning: Strong language, mild gore, horror theme The Man \u201cGet out of here, asshole!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cScrew you, Stace,\u201d Cole spits, pushing up from the couch. Stacy shoves his back, causing him to jerk forward as he stands. Stacy\u2019s complexion is unmoving, with hot rage steaming beneath. Whether it be in spite of the absurdity of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2246,"featured_media":20290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1847,1774,1392,1361,1848,1143],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2246"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20468"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20496,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468\/revisions\/20496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}