Conditioned Fear
By: Outsider
Ch.1 Void Gazing
I grudgingly opened my eyes thinking about how much I wished I could stay in bed this morning. Then a strange feeling came over me as I noticed that I was laying on a soft piece of moss, a warm beam of sunlight barely piercing the canopy overhead.
“I don’t even want to know what I was doing last night” I mumbled to nobody in particular as I attempted to stand up. After many tries I finally stood up however, I quickly lost my balance and fell as my hands caught my fall. As odd as it sounds it was a surprisingly... natural feeling being on all four limbs as I attempted walking this way. After what felt like five minutes (more than likely the better part of the day) I was finally able to walk about on all fours without any major problems.
As I continued to walk I eventually came upon a small clearing which seemed to me like an oasis in this jungle hell. By this time the sun was retreating behind the distant mountains as the moon began its charge through the sky. I guess this as good a time as any to talk about myself, I’m probably what you would refer to as “that weird guy” since I’m rather socially... awkward. (I believe that would be the most accurate term) Typically the full extent of my interactions with others was either strictly business, or if I happened to be in the right mood (which is to say the vast majority of the time) go out of my way to scare the living daylights out of those around me. “Hehe” I chuckled to myself recalling the time I dressed up as one of the monsters from the game “Amnesia” and barged in on my roommate while he was playing it in the middle of the nigh- *SNAP* The sound of a twig snapping followed by a few, however faint terrified gasps interrupted my train of thought.
I looked immediately to the tree line where the sound originated and I noted what seemed like three distinct figures attempting to hide in the dense brush. “Hello?” I said in what I thought was a friendly tone (in retrospect it probably sounded odd and distorted, you know how the first words you say after a long time always sound a bit... off) to be responded by what sounded like three or four young girls screaming in terror, followed by the sounds of running away.
‘Oh well’ I thought realizing how high the moon was in the sky by this point; I reasoned that it would be fine time to get some rest. I stepped back out of the clearing and back into the dense forest to lie down on some moss. ‘It was nice the first time, so why not try it again’ I thought as I lay down onto the cool, soft ground as I found myself quickly drifting off to sleep.
‘That was a strange dream’ I thought to myself as my wrested itself from the calming grip of slumber, “I thought I was in a... aw crap” I mumbled to myself as I grudgingly opened my eyes only to find myself in the forest of yesterday. I stood (still on all four limbs) taking in my surroundings once again. The innumerable trees reached out to the sky blotting out all but the strongest rays of sunlight, the mosses below were thick and soft thriving in this low-light environment, a thin stream seemed to slice through the land, a handful of smooth, mossy stones bordering it.
I continued my aimless wandering through the dense forest when, as luck would have it I stumbled upon a trail, innumerable tracks strewn throughout it, a message of its common use. I followed the trail for a time pondering what I’m going to do once I reach civilization ‘get something to eat’ was fairly high on that list by this point (after a day and half of wandering about you tend to get rather famished)
By the time I reached the edge of the forest it was already dusk, the birds had stopped chirping, the background noise of animals and wind through the tree's now drowned out by an orchestra of crickets; it all seemed very peaceful and calm. As I continued a strange feeling came over me, maybe it was the tranquil silence of the area, or the cool night air but I began to sing.
“Last night as I slumbered I had a strange dream,
One that seemed to bring distant friends near,
I dreamt of the faces of people I loved,
And I awoke with a heart full of cheer
And I awoke with a heart full of cheer”
The final word echoed through the foreboding silent fields.
As I continued walking well into the night I happened on a small pond, the surface of the water glistened and seemed to dance in the pale moonlight as it seemed to call to my thirst. I neared the pond intending to get a drink however; I was petrified with fear as I gazed into the water.
I looked at a ghastly creature its gray skin (or possibly hair?) seemed to cry out death, it stood on all four limbs its legs ending in lethal looking bony spikes, the mouth of this odd creature seemed unnaturally large and lined with razor sharp, serrated teeth that resembled daggers stabbed through its jaw rather than actual teeth. A lone horn protruded from its skull, an odd symbol carved into it, the horn itself seemed rather mundane beyond the symbol which looked oddly familiar and yet completely foreign. Its eyes, oh god ITS EYES, they were pure black like infinite soulless voids gazing into nothingness.
In a pinch of courage (more like absolute terror) I jumped back freeing myself from the gaze of the creature. Oddly the monstrosity before me jumped back as well and it occurred to me that I was gazing into the reflective surface of the water; and that I was the beast.
“How did I not notice this earlier?” I asked myself as I gazed quizzically at my han... spike, apparently my brain realizing my own idiocy is more important than the fact that I am (physically) a monstrosity. After pondering how I could go two days without realizing this I finally managed to push these thoughts to the back of my mind as I began to wonder just how am I going to get back to civilization, well that and how I’m going to avoid getting chased by a torch wielding mob screaming “MONSTER!” while looking like this after I get there.
After some more walking my thoughts turned to the symbol engraved on (apparently) my horn, why did it look so familiar? I’ll have t- “now run along little raccoons” my train of thought was derailed by one of the softest voices I have ever heard. As of right now there is a war going on inside my mind, one side (more than likely my common sense) yelled “GET HELP YOU BLEEDING IDIOT” while the other side (more than likely habit) protested “easy scare hehehe” and against all logic habit won out. I slowly crept towards the source of the voice thinking about what exactly to do... “Perfect” I mumbled barely audible as I came to rest just behind some bushes. “Go on don’t you want to be with your friends?” the voice continued confirming it was still present. I cleared my throat and began “Can you help me please?” I began in a high pitched purposely distorted voice “They’ve hurt me SO BAD” I continued rapidly dropping the pitch as I made my voice louder almost sounding demonic by the end.
Oddly however this did not get the reaction I was anticipating, the world seemed to fall into a dead silence almost as if it was in shock of what I had just done for what felt like... roughly twelve seconds. This dreadful silence was finally shattered by the voice again “Um... are you alright?” the voice said shaky with fear and yet, there was a distinct tone of concern in the voice as I began to hear footsteps approaching, they seemed oddly frequent until I beheld their source.