//------------------------------// // "I'll Still Love You..." - Thingpone - [Dark, Sad, First Person] // Story: Stranger Than Fiction // by Not Enough Coffee //------------------------------// There was a chill that ran ominously up my back. There was no noise, all was silent, but that only made the fear within me grow stronger. I was hiding from her… or was it even still her? I did not know, I did not want to know, all I want right now is to get the hell out of here with my life still intact. There was an ear wrenching moan that broke the silence in the other room. It was coming this way, and I was not ready. Despite the flamethrower I was carrying at my side prepared for action, I myself was not ready to pull the trigger. I still loved her, I still needed her, and deep down I felt she could pull herself out of this and be mine once more. But, the rational side of me knew that that was a slim possibility. Her form was in disrepair, her consciousness losing its sense of self. What was out there was not the Amber I knew and loved, what was out there was the creature posing in her skin. As it drew closer, I hid myself in the nearby closet, slowly shutting the binding door so that it made as little noise as possible. Though, as I heard it move rapidly in my direction, I knew it must have picked up on the slight vibrations through the air. I felt my breath draw short as it entered the room I was hiding in. It was almost indescribable in its appearance. Jutting from all its sides were malformed tendrils of flesh and gore. Mouths opened here and there, all of which filled with razor sharp teeth that could tear through my flesh like butter. The creepiest part was the many faces shifting and morphing around it, all of which looked like they were in utter agony. Though… The part that stood out the most… The part that made my heart ache… Amber, the one I onced loved, the one consumed by this thing, lied in the center of its being. It’s eyes bloodshot red, tears streaking down its face. Compared to the other faces it looked rather tame, but to me it was the most brutal display. “A-A-Anon…” It uttered forcefully from dead lips. I couldn’t help it, it just snuck up on me, but I felt warm tears freely falling down from my eyes. I loved her, I couldn’t help but love her, but seeing her like this, seeing what she had become… It destroyed me from the inside out, and I just wanted nothing more than to go back to the way things once were. But, that was not going to happen. I was stuck here, and I had a choice to make. Despite how much it was going to hurt me, I was going to have to do it, I was going to have to pull the trigger. I had to do it for her, it’s what she would have wanted… I pushed as hard as I could on the closet door, nearly breaking it from its hinges. My flamethrower was pointed at it, ready to do its damage. Though, despite my resolve, I couldn’t push down on the trigger. At that moment, what looked to be a dozen tendrils shot out in my direction. I flinched, closing my eyes, ready for the inevitable. Though, despite what I clearly saw, nothing came. I opened my eyes once more to see then stopped in mid-strike. It was a grizzly sight. “A-A-Anon…” It spoke again in a pale imitation of her voice. I somehow found it within me to reply. “Don’t do this to me…” “Do it!” She screamed at me. It left me stunned. Do what? What did it want from me!? “I-I don’t think… I d-don’t think I’m c-coming back from this… Anon… Please, pull the trigger.” fresh tears washed down her face, coating her bloody coat with her misery. It, no, she was still there. She was fighting, she could make it through this. “A-Amber. I know you’re still there, you can fight this. You ca—” She cut me off. “NO I CAN’T!” Her scream was ungodly, primal, and sent shivers up my spine. My instincts were telling me to run right then and there; get away from such an unsightly beast. But I didn’t. I refused. “No!” I shouted back. “You can do this!” In that moment, the tendrils armed at me started to vibrate, inching their way towards me. “N-no… I can’t, Anon. I feel it slipping… I’ll be gone in a few seconds.” She started to sniffle as the tears broke out into a torrent of emotion. “I love you…” I gritted my teeth, tears of my own blinding my vision. “I-I-I love you… Too!” I screamed at the top of your lungs as I forced my hand to push down on the trigger, sending forth a wall of flames to destroy my once, and most likely, only lover. The guttural scream that echoed forth from her was like chalk on nails. I had to will myself to keep pressing the trigger as all my mind was telling me to do was to let go and cover my ears. Crys, moans, screaming, it all coalesced into a crescendo of pain and agony as I kept blasting her. After what felt like an eternity, the creature’s voice stopped, and I figured it was long dead by now. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and nearly made me puke my guts out. Somehow, I managed to tolerate it. There was now a new issue I faced, one I was not about to escape. The room was now alight in flame, and the one exit was where the growing inferno burnt brightest. I guess I wasn’t making out with her with my life after all. Well, it wasn’t like I was going to have much of a life without her anyway... I’ll always love you, until death do us part.