They Robbed Me

I existed in an odd state of awareness—floating in a dark, endless void, unable to tell how much time had passed. I couldn't feel my body, nor could I see anything around me. It was as if I were drifting through an abyss, weightless and disconnected from everything. The sensation was impossible to describe, beyond words, beyond reason. Some might have found this state terrifying, a prison of emptiness stretching infinitely in all directions. But to me, it felt peaceful. Almost blissful.

Time had no meaning here. Seconds, minutes, hours—they all bled together into nothingness. I might have stayed like that forever, content in my strange detachment.

But then, something changed.

A force—unseen but undeniable—gripped me, pulling me downward. The serenity shattered. My body, which I hadn't felt moments ago, now seemed to sink as if I had been dropped into deep water. The weightlessness faded, replaced by a growing heaviness, dragging me faster and faster until—

I hit the ground.

At first, I felt nothing. My senses were slow to return, like a machine booting up after a long shutdown. Then, gradually, I became aware of my surroundings. The hardness beneath me, rough and uneven—it was concrete.

A road.

My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I noticed was the sky. The moon had shifted from one side to the other, indicating that time had passed. More than that, I was no longer lying on the grassy area near the riverbank.

The paralysis that had bound me before was gone. Tentatively, I pushed myself up from the cold, unwelcoming pavement. My body moved without resistance, my limbs responding as if nothing had happened. The pain in my head from earlier had vanished, leaving me feeling… normal. Too normal, considering what I had just experienced.

Was it all just a dream?

I pressed a hand against my temple, trying to make sense of everything. There were too many questions. Why had I been lying in the middle of the road? Who were those men? And why did the silence around me feel so unnatural?

If I had been unconscious for a long time, someone should have found me, right? A passing car, a night patrol—anyone. But the road was empty, eerily so.

Instinctively, I reached into my pockets.

Empty.

Shit. They robbed me.

I sighed, rubbing my face. It wasn't like I had much to steal—just some chump change and an old phone. Still, the thought of being dumped here after getting robbed irritated me.

Sitting here wouldn't change anything. It was late, and I had college tomorrow.

I needed to get home.

With another sigh, I stood up and started walking.

The area I was in was mostly open land, with a few scattered buildings on either side of the road. Streetlights provided some illumination, but beyond them, the darkness stretched endlessly. Judging by the surroundings, I was near the western outskirts of Liac, a few kilometers from the border.

I frowned. How did I even end up here?

My home was in the general residential area—on the complete opposite side of the city. That meant I had a long journey ahead of me. Liac was about 30 square kilometers in total, which meant my house was roughly 20, maybe even 23 kilometers away.

Fuck.

Not only was I robbed, but now I had to walk all the way home?

I let out a long sigh. "Why'd they have to throw me this far? Wasn't robbing me enough?"

But... was it really them?

The memory of those two figures surfaced in my mind—how they had seemed more focused on fighting each other than on me. And then, there were the things I had seen before I lost consciousness. Those images, those unimaginable things...

I slapped both my cheeks lightly, shaking off the thought. What was done was done. Thinking about it wouldn't change anything.

A distant memory flickered in my mind, something from long ago—maybe those thieves needed the money more than I did. Not that it mattered now.

Besides, no amount of thinking would make the walk any shorter.

At this hour, there was no chance of finding transportation, and even if there was, I had no money to pay for it. I didn't even have enough for a cheap motel. Walking was my only option.

Minutes passed. Maybe more. I hadn't seen a single living thing—not a person, not even a car. Given the location and the late hour, it wasn't surprising, but it made the silence feel heavier.

Then, up ahead, I saw something.

An animal sat near one of the buildings in the distance, motionless in the dim light. As I got closer, I realized it was a dog. Its fur was pitch black, blending into the darkness, making it difficult to see clearly.

As I neared, the dog lifted its head, its eyes glowing red under the streetlights. Something about the way it stared made my skin crawl.

I forced myself to look away and keep walking. That thing doesn't want to be approached.

But just as I passed, something strange happened.

Its body… shifted.

Not in a natural way, but like ripples spreading across a pond. Like its entire form was unstable, shifting in and out of itself.

I blinked. "What the—?"

I rubbed my eyes, shaking my head. No, I was just tired. My mind was playing tricks on me.

I really need some sleep.

I pushed forward, ignoring the lingering unease.

~~~

Hours must have passed. The empty land slowly gave way to more houses, and the number of streetlights increased. Up ahead, towering buildings glowed against the night sky, signaling the city's edge.

I was finally nearing Liac's capital city.

Despite the long walk, I wasn't exhausted. In fact, I felt fine. Too fine. No thirst, no aching leg—nothing. It was odd, considering I had just walked over ten, maybe fifteen kilometers.

I frowned. Shouldn't I feel at least a little tired?

But before I could think about it too much, something even stranger happened.

Right in the middle of the road, a dark, jagged fissure appeared.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

It looked like a crack in the air itself, a vertical tear splitting reality apart. Its surface shimmered like a deep, cavernous void, shifting and twisting in a way that made my stomach turn.

My usually calm demeanor wavered.

What is even happening today?

I squeezed my arm, testing if this was some kind of dream. The sharp sting of pain told me otherwise.

Panic crawled up my spine. What am I even supposed to do with this information? Go to a doctor and tell them I'm seeing holes in reality?

Then, something moved.

A figure—tall, shadowy, and shifting like the dog from earlier—walked toward the crack.

Its body swirling with dark, living particles.

I stiffened. Nope. Absolutely not. I need to get out of here.

I stepped carefully along the side of the road, putting as much distance as possible between me and whatever that thing was. My mind screamed that I was hallucinating, but everything felt too real.

I quickened my pace.

Just as the shadow reached the crack, the fissure widened. The figure stepped inside, vanishing into the void. The crack pulsed, and then—

A sound.

A deep, wet, chewing noise.

I clenched my teeth, shutting my eyes tight. Don't look. Just keep moving.

I stayed frozen in place, heart hammering in my chest. Then, finally—silence.

Slowly, I reopened my eyes.

The crack was gone. The shadow was gone.

Nothing remained.

But instead of relief, fear rooted me in place.

What if I wasn't hallucinating? What if something was seriously wrong with me?

I swallowed hard, forcing my legs to move again.

I need to get home.