the next hour

the darkness only lasted four long hours. everyone fell sleep. everyone was tired for different reasons. the most normal thing is to fall asleep when it is dark outside.

John was the first one to wake up. he stands up. John feels a bit weak. John walks out of the mart. he looks at Jane's corpse. it was so graphic.

she was missing parts of her skin on certain parts of her body. on parts of her legs, parts of the arms, parts of the back. Jane has a huge hole on her chest. her heart is standing on a silver plate a mile away from her. someone carved on her face with some kind of knife leaving deep wounds.

the scene was gruesome. it was brutal. Jane was annoying. she was difficult. but she didn't deserved to go out on this way. it was too brutal.

there is a loud scream. John looks behind of him. Wendy screams loudly. it was so horrifying for her. she starts to cry loudly. John runs towards the mart. he looks at Karla who was woke up by the scream.

"don't look outside. stay down there."

"what happened? what is going on?"

"no, you don't need to know. it is better if you don't know."

Russell runs outside. he looks closely at the corpse. he is shaking on fear. whatever happened to her will happen to them if they don't leave. now the question is, can they escape from this? everything is so strange.

"oh dude. that looks so bad. oh poor soul. damn boy, I hope she didn't suffer that much."

"what is your fucking problem? show some respect please. she is dead. and you could be next at any moment if we don't leave this fucking desert."

Lorenzo walks forward. he puts a bed sheet on top of the corpse. Lorenzo looks at his brother and he slaps him. Lorenzo asks Alessandro to be a man and not a clown. Lorenzo looks at Russell. he apologizes for his brother's behavior.

inside of the mart Jacob is eating some chips. the old man looks at his glasses. he wants to cry. he drops his glasses. the old man starts to laugh like a maniac. he keeps laughing louder and louder. he then falls on his knees.

the others asks him if everything is okay. the old man keeps laughing without answering nor looking at them. the old man feels so much frustration. Jacob finally stops laughing. he stands up trembling. he smiles at the others.

"is there a problem sir? how may I help you."

"I am no elderly cunt. I am forty-two years old. it eats my youth.... 92 days.... for 92 days it ate my youth. bloody hell. I am dead. we'll are."

"no. there has to be an explanation to all of this. there has to be a way out. we are all going to live. don't lose fate jet mister."

there are only seven people now. anyone and everyone can die at any moment. none of them is safe. not even inside the mart.

whatever is out there, it is hungry.

the sun has been bright since John woke up. it seems so bright and hot outside. John look at this as the opportunity to run away. John looks at Karla. he asks her to stand up. John goes outside. Karla and Alessandro follow him. they get inside of John's car.

"what are ya waiting for. it is time to get the hell out of here my dude. I ain't waiting on my bro. keep going my dude."

"are you sure? John is this right? I am so scare, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't know. but running and fighting is better than to wait to die. we can make it. tomorrow this will be just some silly joke, or a nightmare of the past."

Russell went outside of the mart. he was running behind them. he asks them to return inside until they know it is safe to leave.
Russell yields loudly. he seems to be angry. but no one seems to be listening to him.
Russell calls John by names. he keeps repeating the same words. Russell kicks and punches the car. he tells John to return inside.

John doesn't seem to be listening. John doesn't care about Russell. he hates the hell out of him. John's priority is Karla's and his safety. John turns the car on ignoring Russell's warning. he then leaves.

John, Karla, and Alessandro. the three of them were on the middle of the desert. they see some creepy looking scarecrows on the road. Karla covers her eyes.

if you look closely the scarecrows have human remains around of them as ornaments. those scarecrows are so creepy. they feel like if they were alive. one of the scarecrows moves it head on their direction. the other scarecrows start to move their heads.

John has been driving for a while. he doesn't see anything human. there is nothing. the desert seems to be endless. there is no living being, nor building.

John starts to feel irritated. he can't find the way out. John hopes that he didn't put Karla's life on danger. that is something for which he could never forgive himself.

Karla is scare crying. she holds John's right arm. she places her head on his shoulder trying to feel better. she closes her eyes.
Alessandro is drinking a soda. he doesn't react much. the situation becomes more inconvenient. but nothing to feel worry about. he had worse days.

"it has to be a share dream. it has to be a share hallucination."

"dude are you sure? maybe we're just dead. maybe we are on hell. better jet purgatory. you never know dude."

"John tell him that he is wrong. John it has to be a lie, or a bad joke."

"dude we're screw. do you have anything green? no? I guess so. if we run out of gasoline before finding shelter. dude, you don't wanna know."

John keeps driving for another two hours. he wants to return, but there is nowhere to go on this vast desert. they are in the middle on nowhere. John saw a small cabin not so long ago, but it seem so old. it look like falling down at any second.

John is running out of gasoline. John starts to scream feeling desperate. Karla tells him to calm down. John looks at the gas station far away from them.

maybe it is better inside of the gas station. the sun is so bright. John is sweating even when he has the air conditioner on. the car stops moving. John tries to turn it on. in seconds it gets dark. it is so dark is impossible to see anything.

Alessandro takes a lantern. he turns it on. he opens the door. Alessandro gets out. he closes the door. Alessandro starts to walk on the darkness. the darkness doesn't feel like normal darkness. it is dense. it feels alive somehow.

Alessandro keeps walking slowly. he trembles on every step he takes. Alessandro hears a strange sound. he looks up. four meters above of him is a giant eye. the eye is yellow and it is of the size of a building. there are other smaller eyes around of the eye.
Alessandro is frozen on fear. he starts to bleed from his nose. Alessandro bleeds from his mouth and eyes. he spits some teeth covered on blood. he falls on his knees. Alessandro tries to keep moving. he knows that if the lantern turns off, he dies.

Alessandro hears a voice talking to him. the voice is talking directly to him on his mind. the voice isn't human. it sounds terrifying. the voice speaks on an unknown language. Alessandro can't understand what is happening to him.

Alessandro tries to keep the lantern on. he is almost dragging himself on the ground. now he can either return to the car. or he can keep going towards the gas station. the car is closer to him. Alessandro turns around. he runs for his life.


.....


inside of the mart.

Jacob O'Brien is standing in front of the door. the old man looks at the darkness. behind the old man stands Russell, Lorenzo, and Wendy. there is a strange sound similar to a yowl coming from outside. they all freeze on horror.

"lads have any of you seen a Pagan God."

"no Mr. O'Brien. why?"

"bloody hell. those cunts don't look human at all. they don't eve look like anything on earth. that makes Pagan Gods scarier. so scary and fascinating."

"what do you mean Mr. O'Brien?"

"mate, I lie when I told ya my story. bloody hell I lie. I know everything about it. that darkness isn't here for the lack of a sun. that darkness is a Deity. a Pagan God. it eats to live. day time is the only door out. but the key is on the darkness."

"Mr. O'Brien I don't understand. what is going on?"

"oh lads. my last gift to you is a final clue. it hates the heat of the sun. to walk on the sun it uses a mantle. be aware of your inner self. it is scarier inside of you."

Jacob O'Brien opens the door. he walks out on the darkness. he takes light steps. black hands are caressing his face. slowly Jacob O'Brien starts to age more. in a step his left leg breaks in pieces. there are only bones left. Jacob falls on the ground.

there was blood, dust, and broken bones left. Jacob looks like a mummy. Jacob O'Brien died without screaming once. with him died the answers to solve the mystery of what is going on here. the answers to where they are.

Wendy is crying on a corner covering her eyes and ears. she cries. Wendy never wanted to be here on the first place. she was driving on her way to a student's home. she notice that the kid had bruises. and there were other examples of abuse.

all that Wendy wanted was to save a child. and now she is on a cage made of the worse nightmares she can ever imagine. it is all a fucking hell. Wendy tries to stop crying. she feels something cold. she looks up. Lorenzo puts a beer on her hand.

"no, no, no. I don't drink, neither do I smoke. my mama used to tell me. 'honey the bad habits start with a beer, and then there is no limit found after.' so please don't tempt me, you sweet devil."

"pumpkin. you are so innocent at your age. just give it a try, you may actually like it without needing to become addicted to it. every time I feel like the world is falling on my shoulders. a single beer brings me so much peace. the beer was God's finest work."

Wendy takes the beer. she opens it. she tries some first. then she starts to drink it until she finish the whole bottle. she then asks for more.

Lorenzo laughs softly. he gives another beer to Wendy. the night may end soon. if the information that the old man told them is true. then that darkness is an artificial night. it is a product of the presence of a Pagan Deity.
and that Pagan Deity had already had its feast of the night. it no longer has a reason to be awaiting for them. Lorenzo doesn't care if it is a Pagan God or not. if that thing has to eat like every other creature. if it has weakness like any other creature. then it is mortal.

Russell is thinking about something similar. he keeps thinking about every possible culture or mythology that can describe a shadow like Deity. Russell thinks that if he knows more about it. then he can know the way to kill it.

Lorenzo may not show it. but he is worry for his younger brother. anything and everything could happen on the next hours. he hopes his idiot brother is doing okay. he then thinks about the past. the time he spend caring for his brother since an early age.

Wendy drinks some more beers before falling asleep. Russell and Lorenzo talk to each other about their opinions. Russell puts a cigar on his lips. Lorenzo shows his lighter. Russell tells him he doesn't want to smoke jet.

just like they expected. the darkness is gone. they look at Jacob O'Brien's corpse. it is so brutal that they tremble on fear to see it. Russell looks up. for the first time he looks up. there are four suns on the sky. one is yellow, one is orange, one is green, one is purple.

"fuck. I didn't saw that. what if we are not on a part of earth?"

"you mean like if Aliens had kidnapped us?"

"no. not on an earthly area. but on a area between dimensions. a spiritual zone."

"what are you talking about?"

"it can be. everything is possible. there are many possible answers."

Lorenzo feels horror to think about that possibility. if they aren't exactly on earth then the way out will be harder to find. again there are no right answers, nor wrong answers. every opinion is helpful.

Russell looks at Jacob's corpse. he feels the temptation to get closer to the corpse. he wants to make sure if there is anything important on the corpse. any clue. he then looks up at the suns. he looks around at the colorful heat. he gets inside.

Lorenzo follows him inside. Lorenzo tells Russell that he should sleep. he will need to rest as much as it is possible. because it can get dark at any moment. it won't be wise to be sleeping with the Pagan God around of him.
Russell lies down close to Wendy. he seems tired. he haven't sleep well since they arrived on this damn place. Lorenzo smiles for a moment. he then takes a bottle of soda with grape flavor. he eats some cookies.


.....


John opens his eyes. he is inside of the car. the heat is heavy. he then looks at Karla who is sleeping with her head on his lap. John blushes. he plays with her hair. John has a secret crush on Karla. he loves her since they were kids.

Alessandro wakes up behind them. Alessandro opens the door. he gets out of the car. he closes the door. he leaves walking trembling. he walks on his way to the gas station. he has his clothes cover on blood. he can barely stay alive.

John moves Karla. he asks her to wake up. Karla opens her eyes. she moves slowly away from John. she is blushing. John asks her to leave the car with him. Karla doesn't seem to be happy. Karla tells him to look behind. there is a car coming from behind.
they can barely see the lights of the car. Karla leaves the car. she takes her purse. John and Karla are running towards the upcoming car.