“I’ve seen the man use the needle; I’ve seen the needle use the man...”(Megadeth, Use The Man, Cryptic Writings) His will to live ran out today. The monkey hadn’t just become a craving, but a rabid mandrill that had sunk its fangs into his neck and sucked his soul out. He would do anything for a fix and that was why he was here now, in the alley. Neon graffiti hinted at cryptic phrases and patterns he could not discern, but they were there. Perhaps that’s what summoned the other. A perfect storm; wrong place and right time had allowed the entity to enter into him. The entity drew upon the knowledge in the man’s mind, but not much remained but still frame photographs of images that meant nothing to it. Still, it served some purpose if but to help it blend in. It had come from beyond the spheres of mortality, trapped beyond for eons where the old ones slept. It would use this man to bring them back. It would prepare the way, but right now it hungered. It walked unsteadily upon the two bipedal legs. Street lights flickered over head as it passed underneath them. The stars were out and it could feel the pull of its masters from beyond the corners of the universe. They were eager and sensed his new plane of existence and longed to return to their primordial home world. It had been young then when the first native life had crawled from the oceans. That was long ago and their food had ended up becoming masters in their own right. They became intelligent over time. They learned. Then, they learned how to control the portals. The portals connected the universe and all universes and the Ancient Ones were bound to the portals. It was by simple chance this one had stumbled halfway into its plane of existence, opening the portal wide enough for it to slip through. It would take much more food for it to be able to open the portal wide enough for its masters to be able to come through. And so it began. It could sense food nearby in the tall buildings, but it needed more than just a small meal here or there. It needed food in plenty. Only then would their life’s blood be enough to open the other’s portal and allow its masters to come though. It would search the sacred sites. Sites like the one the food had stumbled into. It closed the food’s eyes and reached out letting itself hone in on other sites nearby. The other sensed an area close by and with it, more food. It came to a squat grime encrusted warehouse. Loud rhythmic sound emanated from behind closed doors. As it neared the structure waves of sound vibrated the ground visibly shaking the dust. It put the food’s hand on an old rusted metal door handle and it could feel the pulse of the sound reverberating in its palm. The door offered no resistance even though the hinges had rusted shut long ago. Inside it was thick darkness punctuated with neon ringed lights. The lights bounced and shook; the food danced to the sound’s rhythm. The neon lights reminded it of past eons spent in the beyond when stars were birthed and when they died. The food would serve its purpose. It would prepare the way. And so it did. The other wound it’s way through the mass of neon-ringed food and stood directly in the middle of the sacred site. The other reached its vessel’s arms into the air and tilted its head back and opened its mouth. The other’s real arms slipped out every orifice of the vessel’s body. Long black claw tipped tendrils oozed throughout the mass of food. And then the screams began. The other could feel the food’s life blood puddle on the floor. It could feel the blood being drawn to it. It could feel its master’s pull from beyond. The blood was the key and the portal opened. From its core it could feel the ancient ones coming though. The warehouse strained to contain the titanic form and then it didn’t. Cracks splintered along the outside edges of the structure and then raced up the walls zigzagging as they reached the roof and then exploded. A scream not heard for unknown millennia rent the air. And all over the world glass shattered and buildings crumbled as the Ancient Ones returned.