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
Dare: bring something back
"Dare," Daniel said. "I'll go for a dare."
It was silly, something that a senior in high school shouldn’t really be participating in, but
he didn’t care. He had to know and it might be fun too. Plus, it made Pammy happy as
evidenced when she smiled and clapped her hands together.
"Perfect," she said. "Perfect! I have just the dare." Her smile broadened and she leaned
in towards Daniel, her next words a whisper. "Have you heard of Area 50?"
Daniel stiffened, and nodded.
"Good," she said. "I dare you to go there and I double dare you to bring something
back."
"Fine," Daniel said, smiling now too. "I'll bring you back a rock or maybe a few pebbles!"
"No." Pammy smirked. "I don't just double dare you--I double dog dare you to bring me
something strange from there!"
Daniel blinked, and then nodded again.
"Fine--I'll bring you a big spider! Or maybe a giant cockroach!"
She shrieked and shook her head, but he was already walking off.
"I'll be back," he said. "Then it's your turn."
Written by skiesofsilver on 13 January 2017
Duct Infiltration
The journey to Area 50 was nothing short of an adventure. Daniel had heard of the place before, a rumored government facility hidden away from public view, shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories. He wasn't entirely sure if the place even existed, but he figured it was worth checking out for the sake of the dare and the intrigue that had been building since his unsettling dreams.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the desert landscape, Daniel found himself standing before a chain-link fence with a sign that read, "Restricted Area: No Trespassing." The air was heavy with the scent of sagebrush and the distant howling of a coyote carried on the wind. The base was nestled against a rocky hillside, its buildings barely visible in the fading light.
Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Daniel slipped through a gap in the fence and into the barren expanse beyond. He felt a mixture of excitement and unease, a thrilling sense of trespassing on something forbidden. The dirt crunched beneath his sneakers as he made his way towards the base.
The closer he got, the more his heart raced. The buildings came into clearer view, and he could make out a series of nondescript structures with blank windows and metal doors. He kept to the shadows, crouching low as he approached what looked like the main entrance. The dim light filtering from a few strategically placed lamps did little to dispel the eerie atmosphere.
Daniel pressed his back against the wall, trying to decide his next move. He glanced around, his pulse quickening when he spotted a ventilation grate partially ajar. It was a risky move, but he had a feeling that if he was going to find something strange to bring back, it might be hidden away within the bowels of the facility.
He approached the grate cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the edges of the grate and slowly pulled it open. The sound of metal scraping against metal seemed deafening in the silence of the night. After a tense moment, he slipped inside the duct, wriggling through the cramped space with as much stealth as he could muster.
The inside of the ventilation duct was dimly lit by the occasional shaft of light filtering through grates above. It was a maze of metal passageways, and Daniel had no idea where he was going. He let his intuition guide him, hoping to stumble upon something intriguing.
After what felt like an eternity of crawling, he finally came across a grate that overlooked a room below. Peering through the slats, his eyes widened at the sight before him. The room was filled with rows of cylindrical tanks, each containing a strange luminescent liquid. Shadows danced across the walls as figures in haz-mat suits moved around, tending to the tanks.
The sight sent a chill down Daniel's spine. This was exactly the kind of strange he had been looking for, but it was also deeply unsettling. He watched as the haz-mat-suited individuals worked diligently, their movements precise and deliberate.
Suddenly, a voice crackled over an intercom, echoing through the room. "Initiating Phase 3 of Experiment A-17."
Daniel's heart raced as he watched the figures begin to manipulate controls and enter data into nearby computers. He had stumbled upon something far more than he had bargained for, something that seemed straight out of a science fiction movie.
As he continued to observe, a noise behind him made him freeze. He turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat as he met the gaze of one of the haz-mat-suited individuals. The figure stood in the duct entrance, their expression hidden behind the mask of their suit.
Written by - on 31 August 2023