Strange Happenings
Midnight. They always came at midnight. The chimes from the old grandfather clock in the den jolted Daniel out of his restless dreams. It wasn't the chimes that woke him so much as the knowledge that They were coming. It was the same horrifying ritual, every single night.
The room was illuminated by an eerie pale green glow. Three figures in haz-mat suits stood around his bed. One of them held a large briefcase, another held a gun, and the third--the apparent leader, from the way he acted--was making entries into a large handheld computer. Daniel tried to escape, to run, to even move, but some unseen force held him in place, as immobile as the bed itself. The leader looked up from his computer and signaled to the one holding the briefcase, who set the case down and began to open it. Daniel strained to see its contents, but couldn't from his position. If only he could move...
The leader reached forward, grabbed the bedcovers and--
The shrill blast of Daniel's alarm clock filled the room. He'd had that dream again, the same one he'd been having every night for nearly a month. Except that it didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt more like a memory, but one that had been partially forgotten. Anyway, Dan had more important things to worry about, so he pushed whatever it was aside for the moment. Today was the last day of school, finally. All he had to do was survive his last few final exams, and he'd be home free. He wasn't about to let a creepy dream get him down.
***
Dr. DiCaoz glanced over his biology classroom. "Is anybody still working on the final?" he asked tiredly. He paused for a moment, then said, "If everybody is finished, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves for the remainder of the period." As the class erupted in chatter, he went back to nursing his hangover.
Daniel loved his biology class. It wasn't just that he was good at it, or that it was the last class of the day. By some bit of luck or fate, he happened to be in the same class as his four closest friends, Gassan, David, Pammy, and Jake. Gassan, David, and Pammy had become absurdly popular since coming to high school. Gassan was Lebanese and therefore "exotic," David was a star swimmer, and Pammy was a cheerleader. In retrospect, popularity was an inevitability. To the other popular kids, Jake an avid follower of the Furry subculture (he called it a craze, but nobody else did) and Daniel, the introspective writer, were social liabilities. Still, Gassan, David, and Pam never let their newfound "friends" keep them away from Jake and Dan. Privately, Daniel was grateful that he had managed to befriend the four people who appeared to be immune to high school drama.
"So, what'd you guys think?" Pammy whispered.
"I'm pretty sure Dr. Di is a nutcase," Gassan answered quickly. He was met with a chorus of approval from his companions.
"Anyway," Pam continued, "are we having our annual Thank-God-The-Schoolyear's-Over party tonight?"
"I can't go," Jake said, "I've got a convention."
"I can't go either," said David, "My dad's taking me camping. He's on a back-to-nature kick."
"I'm visiting my grandma," Gassan said. Pammy rolled her eyes.
"Alright," she sighed, "when do you guys get back?"
"Sunday"
"Sunday evening"
"Sunday, but it'll be late."
"So," Pammy continued, "is Monday night alright with everyone?"
***
The days passed quickly. By the time Monday arrived, he had gone an entire weekend without his mysterious dreams. He was mostly relieved, but part of him wished the visitors would come back so he could find out what they were up to.
The streets were charged with an eerie calm. A summer storm was coming. As Daniel reached Pam's door, he couldn't help but feel a strange foreboding. Something was decidedly wrong. He rang the bell.
"Come in," called Pammy. Dan opened the door and found friend sitting on the floor in a tidy circle. They were all staring at him, an unsettling hunger in their eyes. "We are playing Truth or Dare," Pammy intoned mechanically. "Please, join us. Truth or Dare?"
"Please choose Dare," Gassan said, in the same unearthly voice.
"The Truth is never any fun," agreed David, still in the same tone. Throughout the exchange, none of the four took their eyes off of Daniel.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. "You all seem...different."
Pammy answered in the same monotone as before: "We are collectively unnerved at a series of recurring dreams we have been having. Perhaps you too are experiencing these visions?"
"Yeah," Dan said, "but I'm not acting that weird about it."
"Perhaps," Pammy said, "All will be made more clear if you answer this simple question: Truth...or Dare?"
Written by Zodiac on 31 May 2008
The Dare
"Dare," Dan said shakily.
"Very well," Pammy responded, "your dare is to go to Area 50. You are familiar with Area 50, I trust?"
Jake jumped in: "It is a military complex on the outskirts of our town. It has been abandoned for a long time, though, so it will pose no immediate threat to you."
"It is nothing to be afraid of," said Gassan, "consider it to be something of a rite of passage."
"If you are truly afraid," said Pammy, "then we will accompany you."
Daniel stared at his friends incredulously. They had never acted this strangely before, and they had certainly never gone for childish dares before.
David appeared to sense his hesitation, and added, "perhaps Area 50 is somehow related to...Them."
Dan knew what that was about, and David was right. There seemed to be some connection between his nightly visitors and the military base. He couldn't quite place it, but the link was there. "Actually," added David, "all this talk of Area 50 has sparked my curiosity." He didn't sound the least bit like his curiosity has been even remotely sparked."
"I, too, am interested," agreed Pammy disinterestedly.
"As are we," said Gassan and Jake in eerie unison.
"Perhaps," Pammy went on, "we should go to Area 50 ourselves, whether or not Daniel is interested." The four of them stood to leave. Pam stopped for a moment, and asked, "Are you joining us, Daniel?"
Written by Zodiac on 02 June 2008
Area 50 Arrival
Daniel looked at his friends nervously. "Al...alright," Daniel said reluctantly, "I will go..."
"Nice to have you coming David," Pammy exclaimed. All David could do is let out a sheepish smile. "We will meet at Area 50 at 9 P.M. tonight, everyone can run by their houses and grab anything we may need. Flash lights, snacks, etc."
"I am just going to relax at my house until it is time" David said
"We'll I will see everyone then," Gassan said. Everyone soon dispersed and left to their respective houses.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Later at 9 Daniel met his friends at the base.
"Everybody ready to go in?" Pammy inquired.
"Yeah!" Gassan shouted.
"Let's do it!" As did Jake.
"Sure am" David said
"Unfortunately..." Daniel murmured.
David looked around and saw the front entrance directly ahead.
Far down to his left a hole in the fence could be seen.
And to his right a large tunnel could be seen. Though it was pitch black, so somebody better have a flash light.
Written by Shuusuke on 03 June 2008
Split Up
Last week had been the last time ‘they’ had visited Daniel, and ever since then, strange things began to happen. Daniel had been seeing things, and exploring through this kind of place was not helping him handling things any better.
They had decided to split up, in order to cover the grounds better. Pammy went with David, of course, and Gassan was left with Jake. That ultimately left Daniel for himself, and the guy couldn’t be anymore worried.
He wasn’t even into any of this, but why did he have to be the only one who had to go by himself?
Written by Stella Purple on 10 March 2017
Into the Void
Daniel got a flashlight for his own. Since the bunker and the front entrance were taken by the others, Daniel was left with no any other choice but to go into the dark tunnel. He didn’t like where he had to go for one bit, but at the same time, he also didn’t one to be the one who spoiled the mood.
The tunnel was dark and rusty, with dirt covering pretty much every inch of the place. Every step he took caused the soles of his shoes to sank lower, almost making him slip for a handful of times. He had to be careful if he didn’t want to fall down.
He kept on walking until he found an intersection which one of them lead him to a small lab. The room, just like the rest of the place, appeared to be abandoned. The lab was so old that he could see mold growing on the surface. While the place was old and disgusting, Daniel couldn’t help it when curiosity started to creep in. This place seemed like it had a story of its own, and his curiosity was telling him to go and explore. But at the same time, shouldn’t he call for the others? What should he do?
Written by Stella Purple on 21 March 2017
Explore the lab
Daniel flashed his flashlight toward the center, when something strange seemed to be dunked in a water tank. He leaned in to take a closer look, not expecting it to move.
When the slab of meat jerked, it took him completely by surprise, forcing him to jump back. The sudden motion caused Daniel to trip, and in an effort to maintain his balance, his hands reached out, randomly grabbing onto something. He felt a fabric in his grip, before his back felt the impact of the fall, along with a series of fragile glasses breaking left and right around him.
Written by Stella Purple on 09 April 2017
The Shift
Daniel tried to stand, but he couldn’t. His body felt heavier than normal, even though he didn’t felt the slight bit of tiredness. Strange. What was going on? And what was wrong with his waist? No matter what he did, his body refused to bend up the right way. Daniel tried to move, but he could also notice that some body parts were not responding as they were supposed to — heck, he couldn’t even feel his fingers and toes.
His vision felt wrong, as if the reality itself had been distorted. At first he thought it was just because he was feeling dizzy, but the blurriness never really went away. It just stayed there, and Daniel couldn’t shake it off. Why was this happening to him?
The boy had accidentally inhaled some fumes, and it caused him to let out of fit of cough. Strangely, the sound that came out from him was so unnatural that he didn’t even recognized it when a screeching sound came out instead. To be honest, it startled him. What the hell was going on? This was getting creepier and creepier. If this went on, he did not think he would last much longer!
Written by Stella Purple on 17 April 2017
Run
Daniel bolted out of that place as soon as he could. Or at least tried to. He almost lost his balanced for the second time when he tried to stand up, and as a result, he was forced to hold himself still using both of his arms. Strange, even his arms were not working so well. He couldn’t even make them bend the way he wanted to. What was going on with him?
Overwhelmed with fear, the boy didn’t even bother trying to stand up this time. Instead, he just crawled his way out of the lab, not wanting to spend another minute in there. No good. He needed to find his friends. The sooner they get out of that place, the better it would be.
The boy was breathing hard; from both panic and his body being not used to running. Daniel didn’t care, though. All he wanted was to get away.
And while he ran, the boy failed to notice a familiar pattern of sound that he made while he did so, his mind too scrambled to register things properly, including the strange swishing movement that kept on brushing against his ass.
Written by Stella Purple on 04 May 2017
Rendezvous
Daniel was in the middle of making a turn back toward the main hallway, when he suddenly saw something entering his vision.
It was David and Pammy, and they seemed extremely surprised to encounter him. So surprised that Pammy let out an ear-splitting scream.
The sheer power of her scream caused Daniel to stumble back. He was so glad to finally find his friends, but his vision was still messed up.
“Pammy! Pammy! Help!” he tried to convey his distress, but all they could hear was that whining sound again.
“No! Get away from me, you freak!” Pammy unexpected stretched back, stumbling back toward David for help.
“Wait, Pammy, it’s me! Please, help me!” Daniel desperately said, but was ignored. Even David was trying to push him off. What was going on over here? Why won’t they help him?
Written by Stella Purple on 10 May 2017
