He had never planned on attacking them. He didn’t want revenge; he didn’t want war… That is until they brought the war to him.

Sir Aldrich gazed below from his stone balcony. What once was a clear, amicable view of the town of Sapphire Village, with houses built up to scrape the air with their imperial height, became a cloudy, bothersome vision of the ruined, shattered Sapphire Village. The foxes had rode on their black horses into the towering walls that shielded the city. The horses were powerful enough to make the walls fall as if they were obliterated by the hand of Moros. Then, the foxes rode through the town, lit torches in their hands, prepared to cause devastation.

Sapphire Village had a policy to never saunter their way into the vicious clutch of war because they weren’t appropriately qualified to battle other cities for any reason, whether it be for civil, resourceful or commandeering purposes. They’ve always been the town to flutter out of the way of the heinous road that was destruction and hellfire. They’ve perpetually managed to stay away from the glaring limelight of the crosshairs of rival cities. But today was greatly different. 

The village smelled of flaming wood from the flames lit by the foxes’ torches. The sounds that surged from the village were cut-off as soon as they were uttered, sobs, tweets and gasps. The blue sky was coated with the pain of thousands of years of arduous work and peaceful harmony damaging the once dominant town. The sapphires were all being demolished with the tremendous hammer of the foxes’ paw, making them forfeit all of their gleam and glitter that made them so luminous.

At last, it was Aldrich’s turn to relinquish the very town he had cherished for centuries. A commander fox had found him on his stone balcony, and drew his sword at him. The conclusive words uttered by the fox before it severed the defenseless commander’s head off was “Goodbye, son.” Down the head plunged into the ruined town, a fatal recollection of what could have prevailed, but ultimately never was. 

Farewell Sapphire Village, the foxes shall feast on an enormous amount of birds tonight.

The darkened waves crash on the shore You wish this beach day would last some more

The blue sky is becoming orange and pink Straight out of a painting made of ink

The beginning of the end is here And the most beautiful part of the day is near

As the sun rolls behind the waves The darkness reached the caves

The rays streak across the sky It’s the start of another evening in July

Have you ever heard a ringing in your ears while you’ve been in a quiet place? This is temporary, although rarely it’s the symptom of a serious health problem, like a tumor or possibly blood vessel damage. Whenever it’s temporary, it’s usually from when you’ve been in a loud setting, like a concert, or sporting event.

Ringing in your ears is more common than you think. But sometimes, this ringing can be what you least expect. Sometimes, it can be the result of something otherworldly.

My name is George. Last night, I was at a sporting event. It was a game between the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings. The Devils won the game by a score of 7-6.

The game was extremely loud so I knew my ears were gonna be ringing for quite a while. But I never truly thought about what would happen that night.

I got home an hour after the game had ended, tired. I took a shower, and after I finished, got in some sleeping clothes and laid down in my bed. I fell asleep quite fast.

I woke up with a huge headache. It was painful, like a pounding in my head. I thought I was simply dehydrated, so I went to the restroom to get a drink of water.

When I got into the restroom and looked into the mirror, I saw something strange about my right ear. It began to leak out a black liquid. What was this black liquid? I investigated further, only to see a tiny hand in my ear!

I jumped back, startled. I almost fell into my bathtub in shock. Why was there a hand in my ear, what was in my ear? I investigated further, this time getting a flashlight and shining it in my ear.

What I saw absolutely frightened me. There was a swarm of devils in my ear! They were red, and had tiny horns, teeth and fangs. It was like they were inside my body the entire time.

What am I supposed to do with them?

It was a cloudy, overcast morning. The sun was blocked by the gray clouds but a few rays shined through. I didn’t pay much attention to them, but for the purpose of this telling of my encounter with this identical parallel universe, I feel as though it sets the tone.

Have you ever felt your own breath on your face? I’m sure most have. For those who haven’t, it’s when you’re close to a surface opposite you. You exhale and you feel your own breath cover your face like fog covers a city that’s waking up.

What if that breath was from something else though? You don’t know what’s on the other side of that wall, but what if whatever it was was breathing on you as you breathe? I believe something like this wild concept occurred to me.

Here’s some more information.

My name is Ryan, and I was getting prepared for another job interview, this time for a company known for selling televisions with the best picture quality. Anyhow, I was tying my black tie around my neck. Then, it was on my way to the bathroom.

I stepped into my bathroom, it had a black and white checkerboard pattern as if it were a 1950s diner. I stood in front of the mirror, brushing my teeth, washing my face and combing my hair. I then looked at myself, seeing my face seem more presentable. Something looked off about the way my reflection stared back at me.

That glare it emitted upon me. It did not feel like the way I was staring at it. This reflection’s eyes were wide, as if it was surprised. Meanwhile, I remember that I wasn’t surprised at all. I didn’t think much of this bizarre occurrence, and so I rushed out of the house. Not knowing what I had just unleashed.

I got accepted for the job, so I was in a bright mood opening the door to my house. I remember seeing a sentence on my refrigerator door. It was written in lowercase.

𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 s⃠c⃠r⃠e⃠a⃠m⃠.⃠

I thought I was just tired when I saw what was in the bathroom. It wasn’t a rat, an insect, nor was it an infection. It couldn’t have been anything that made me feel like screaming.

It was me.

It stood in front of the mirror, brushing its teeth, washing its face and combing its hair. It then looked at the mirror. It was doing the exact same things I did when I was in the bathroom with the checkerboard floor.

It then walked out of the bathroom, walking right through me. What was I witnessing in front of my eyes? Then, I started to feel like I was experiencing deja vu. I stood in front of the mirror, but instead of brushing my teeth, washing my face or combing my hair, I just stared. I watched at how my reflection just glared at me, as if they were observing me.

My reflection, well, the one that was in the same room as me, left the room. And I sat there, looking at the figure in the mirror, observing it. It looked exactly like me. No differences whatsoever.

The reflection was standing there. It stared into the mirror, at myself. It then brushed its teeth, washed its face and combed its hair. It then left the bathroom. I felt a weird feeling to climb through the mirror, so, I did. The world felt exactly the same as the world I just exited, except the directions were reversed. I turned around and looked back at the mirror.

Ryan entered the bathroom, staring at the mirror. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and combed his hair. He looked at me, as if I looked off. It was as if I was glaring at him. Ryan then shrugged and left.

I climbed back through the mirror, to my side. My universe. I stared at the empty other side of the mirror. The door to my universe then opened.

It was me.

Here we go, another test, once again The timer is set to ten

The designs are formed into a line The timer is set to nine

The rocket looks great The timer is set to eight

The astronauts will be sent to space heaven The timer is set to seven

There’s nothing left on the rocket to fix The timer is set to six

We hope the astronauts will survive The timer is set to five

Fire erupts, spreading all over the floor The timer is set to four

The fire is causing burns of the third degree The time is set to three

The rocket lifts up, it’s about to go through The timer is set to two

The anticipation of the space race has begun The timer is set to one

Liftoff.

𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢

𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘! 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝙸𝚘𝚠𝚊. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖. 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜.

𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗞𝗜𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡

𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗, 𝚠𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝. 𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚝. 𝙹𝚘𝚒𝚗 𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗!

𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦

𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎-𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜, 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚎𝚗𝚍-𝚝𝚘-𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢, 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚡. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕-𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝.

𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗘

𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝙼𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙, 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙-𝚊𝚗𝚍-𝚐𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚜. 𝙰𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙-𝚊𝚗𝚍-𝚐𝚘, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚔!

𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗥𝗢

𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝙸𝚘𝚠𝚊, 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝, 𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚞𝚜!

It was a dark night. There was no moon to illuminate the paths. There were no streetlights on the road outside my house to give any form of visibility. The only thing that could be seen outside were the stars up in the blackened sky.

I was watching television in the living room, sitting on my wrinkled brown linen couch, trying to relax after my accounting duties. I flipped through channel after channel before ultimately settling on a documentary.

I was dozing off while watching the documentary. As soon as I was about to go to sleep, the TV shut off. I felt irritated by this, I was just about to have a nap, and now I have to rewire the power box.

I groaned, getting up from my couch and heading to my closet. I grabbed my flashlight and trudged outside to get to the basement. As I approached the lit door of the basement, I began to hear a noise, resembling white noise.

The white noise got louder as I stood outside the basement door. I decided that I’d check out what was making that noise. I opened the wooden door to the basement, it creaked loudly. Taking a deep breath, I shone my flashlight down into the darkness, as black as a shadow. I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

I crept down the stairs, underneath the surface of the Earth, underneath my house. I shone my flashlight in every dark corner of the room. Suddenly, my eye caught a glimpse of something out of the ordinary.

I shone my flashlight back in the corner I just shone my flashlight on. When the beam hit the corner, it didn’t hit the wall. Instead, it hit a tall, mysterious black figure. The figure was as tall as a horse. It had long fingers, almost as long as pencils. It’s smile was as curved as a crescent moon, a red smile. It’s eye was yellow, as if it were a glowing light bulb. It stared at me, as I stared at it.

The doors to the basement swung shut from the wind. I was trapped with the creature. There was nothing I could do. The creature crawled over to me, backing me up until I was cornered. Then it opened its mouth, ready to bite.

(End of my series for now)

The boss, Brooklyn, had finally had enough of the lazy worker Lenny. So he’s decided to let him go.

“Lenny, come into my office please.”

“Hey, boss!”

“Hello Lenny. Please take a seat.”

Lenny took his seat across from Brooklyn’s desk.

“So,” Lenny began, “what’s this about?”

Brooklyn sighed before starting, “Well… I’ve been noticing you haven’t been doing what I’ve been asking you to.”

Brooklyn put some papers on the desk.

“You’ve never filed these like I asked you. Instead, you decided to hang out with friends.”

“Boss, I’ll get them done…

“Don’t interrupt me!”

“Okay, sorry.”

“Anyways, it’s been two months since I gave you these assignment. And not one has been filed.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I got busy.”

“No you didn’t. I’m sorry I have to do this but you leave me no choice. You can come in tomorrow and pick up your last paycheck because you’re fired.”

“What?!”

“Yes. I wouldn’t have to had you actually been working. Now pack your stuff and leave.”

“Fine sir…”

Lenny left, saddened. Brooklyn felt regret, however he felt like he had to do what he had to do. Lenny would no longer be an employee unless he can get back into the working mindset.

(There was another conversation between Lucky and Jason at the same place. We shall see how that unfolded.)

Lucky began the conversation. “Hey, nice to see you again.”

Jason replied, “I’m especially glad.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I haven’t been the best lately.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been having nightmares lately.”

“Nightmares?”

“Yeah… they’re getting rough to deal with.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s okay.”

Jason coughed into his elbow. “To be honest, I just think they’re normal.”

“What do you have nightmares about?”

“To be honest, I have nightmares of the night I got arrested, you getting shot, my past when I was home alone, and now what I’ve done to the members.”

“Oh… wow.”

“Yep. They’re rough but hey, who cares?”

Jason coughed again, this time harder.

Lucky asked, “Jason, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jason got in a coughing fit, coughing as though he just got saved from drowning.

Lucky panicked. “Jason, you don’t sound okay. Do I need to call someone? I’m starting to get worried!”

“Yeah, I think so…”

Jason coughed harder as Lucky quickly dialed 9-1-1.

Lucky stated what was currently happening. “I’m on the roof of the high school and my best friend is coughing hard, as if he can’t breathe!” Lucky turned away from Jason briefly. “I may need some medical help for him.”

Sirens were heard faintly, Lucky began getting hopeful. The ambulance was on its way. But something’s wrong. Jason’s completely missing.

“Jason? Jason?!”

Lucky called out his name a few more times to no avail. The sirens got louder as the ambulance sped through the streets towards the school. Lucky looked all around before Jason appeared once again.

“I’m sorry Lucky. All those memories have gotten to me. I have forgotten.”

“No, please!”

BOOM!

The beams shone through the windows of the house, engulfing anybody inside. It was February 2007, in San Francisco, California. It was a cloudy, purple birthday. Soon, the mist that once rolled over the ceiling would become smoke.

Smoke that becomes toxic to anyone who happens to breathe it in, however the smoke was deadlier this time. It had come from a dragon. A dragon’s smoke can make anyone go unconscious due to it damaging oxygen particles.

The dragon invasion had begun that cloudy day. And over many hours, they wreaked havoc upon the city, burning buildings, humans and anything that stood in their way, even bridges.

The deadliest of these dragons is the purple dragon. Purple dragons have glowing purple eyes. These glowing eyes emit beams of purple fire down. If these purple beams strike anyone, they will become supernatural.

The dragons arrive every ten years. Their eyes looking in every door, crack and window. Beams flowing everywhere they can. Anyone can become supernatural. Even you.