Nicole is hanging out with friends

one boring Halloween

when she suggests "let's see the deads"

(the graveyard, she does mean).

She tells them that it's been awhile

since she has been for lunch;

they look at her with pity smiles

and wonder if she's touched.

She realizes her mistake

and goes on to explain:

her mom would pack a picnic case

and grab a thick wool cape-

then off to see the deads they went,

conversing while they ate;

as long as they were reverent,

mom said they would be safe.

The friends relax; they don their coats

and then head for the graves

while dodging little bats and ghosts,

the treating underway.

The graveyard gate is chained and locked

to thwart shenanigans,

so through the hedges they do slog-

a thorny garrison.

Nicole is shocked when friends raise hell;

their fresh-cut scratches bleed

all over stones with disrespect-

she begs them to pay heed.

But, they ignore her warning cries

and start to topple stones;

she's helpless as the spirits rise,

disturbed by teenaged rogues.

Her friends are slaughtered visciously

by cemetery shades;

the horror plays out visibly,

despite the moonlight fade.

Each girl is entered by a mist

which suddenly bursts free,

exploding with a forceful hiss;

now guts adorn the trees.

No piece of them is left intact;

their blood cells form a fog

that gags Nicole; she stumbles back,

her muscles stiff with shock.

When mom's soft voice pervades the air,

her tears begin to fall-

and mingled with the fresh despair

is love that death can't halt.

"My baby girl, you've done me proud:

you were not insolent;

you stayed polite on hallowed ground,

retained your innocence.

I miss you more than you could know,

but it's not your time just yet-

so run back home to Dad and throw

your arms around his neck

and whisper this into his ear:

'Mom loves you still and will...

forever and a day, my dear;

a bond like yours can't wilt.'"

Not one to disobey her mom,

Nicole heads home at once

to tell her dad what happened on

this night of fights and stunts.

I was wandering through the store

mind set on the tasks ahead

my day summarized into a list

my eyes roving for the correct brand

A motion in the corner of my eye

I look towards it and I think I know

I know you from somewhere, but where?

Your face is a mystery to me

You smile and wave good naturedly

I smile and wave back

You then give me the thumbs up

and I awkwardly do the same to you

I look back to the shelves

I want to ignore your gaze

I feel like I'm being xrayed

You continue to stare

I look to you again

I smile to try not to seem afraid

Your eyes ar out of focus

you begin to walk quickly to me

I begin to step back in horror

but you lift your hand to high-five

I just want you to go away

You shout out a loud hello

Trying not to cower from you

I also hold out my hand high

I shout my hello back

just I hear the same from behind me

You walk past me staring

You slap hands with the man behind me

You both look back and snicker

I wish to absorb into the floor

It had begun slowly. The parasite seeped into the cracks, infiltrating the bodies of those society wished to ignore. The homeless, sick, and dying. They were given new purpose as carriers of humanity's end.

Anna was one such carrier. The beginning of her death was orchestrated by the river, the river that would soon engulf the world. The parasite, which they would later call Gorgon, lived in the water. A camping trip would bring Anna to the river. And from there, just a drop of water would decide the rest.

She didn't realize what had happened for weeks. First she assumed the symptoms were just homesickness. After all, she hadn't seen her mother for a few days and wasn't used to leaving the house alone. But soon that excuse wore out its welcome.

Then, Anna decided it was a panic attack. It certainly seemed to fit. She was overcome with fear, the inside of her mind begging to find someone else to lean on, her mother, her family, her friends. Just someone.

But soon things started to change. Anna was moving slower, and was dehydrated no matter how much water she drank. She slipped while holding a knife and cut herself, and to her shock her blood was black. Something was wrong.

Anna had heard new stories about a mysterious illness overtaking the people of China, those living near the Yangtze River. Doctors wouldn't say much, but the sickness was reported to be one hundred percent fatal.

She decided she couldn't return to her home. The parasite would want her to seek out human comfort, to spread it to the rest of the world. Anna wouldn't let it.

A week later, she was crying. Sobbing in the middle of the woods, her tears streaked with blood that the parasite no longer needed as it slowly replaced the red with its own black fluid. The parasite was in her brain, forcing her nervous system to activate its fear response constantly, to scare her into running back into her mother's arms. Anna knew she didn't have much time left. The parasite was replacing her from the inside out, and soon there would be nothing left of Anna Reynolds. She would be a memory, a shell.

In a brief moment of clarity before the parasite convinced her to return home, Anna tied herself to a tree. She would resist the siren's call, would stay put. She wouldn't let anyone die because of her.

Three days after that, she broke through the ropes.

Anna ran towards her house, what was left of her mind begging her legs to stop. Stay away from civilization, lest it fall victim to the parasite in your veins. But Anna was outnumbered by the parasite in her blood. While she had been scared out of her mind, it had been replicating. The foreign invader had overrun her body's defenses, and now it was her.

She never made it home. Anna reached the middle of a small town at the base of the mountain and frose. The parasite, completely in control, trapped her in her own body as it went through rigor mortis. But over the months that followed, her body didn't decay.

The inhabitants of the town didn't see Anna run down from the mountain. They just saw a statue, very lifelike, but still a statue. They didn't know what was happening until it was too late.

For months, Anna's body was still. She was long dead-the parasite had no need for oxygen, and she had suffocated inside her own body. Her heart still beat, though. The parasite had to move through the infected mockery of blood to keep replicating, keep expanding, keep growing stronger. Then, as winter came and the small town was blanketed in snow, Anna's body moved.

It was slow at first. Stumbling around, as the parasite grew accustomed to moving its new legs. Then it ran. Ran towards the river as the inhabitants watched in horror. Ran into the stream. Its skin steamed and dissolved, a chemical the parasite had released making its flesh soluble in the smallest quantity of water. The parasite burst forth from the corpse, traveling through the river. The inhabitants of the town watched as their water supply was poisoned. Within weeks, every drop of water in the world was infected with the parasite.

And the end of the world came, with the bodies of the infected becoming their own graves. The statues littered the earth, the only remnant of a species long ago extinct.

To explain all that I have seen is difficult. Attempting to describe the unnatural horrors inspires the same fear in me as saying bloody mary to mirror frightens children. I will leave this journal inside the motel room where I currently hide. We will make an attempt to escape, but before that I must tell those who pass behind about the creatures that live here in the town of Elkenville. Maybe one day someone will discover this book and uncover the meaning of the eye and name Am'mil'g.

My name is Jon Eto, and I work as a paranormal investigator. Truthfully, I am a scam artist. Every paranormal encounter I have recorded were completely faked. I would hide noise makers, and alter images. Every sort of trick one could imagine, I have used to trick and deceive my gullible viewers. Using careful video editing I could make the most mundane house seem haunted. So when I heard the news about a monster in Elkenville I jumped at the opportunity to ply my trade.

The story was standard folklore and started as many do. A man wandering alone in the woods. Andrew Alden walked through the forest that surrounds Elkenville. The locals have named it White Forest, named for the creatures that they claim live there. Andrew was just doing a nature walk. Getting lost for a while before returning to his home. This is when he heard the scream. It was described as 'varying between pitches and growling.' He said he never saw them, because when he heard the screeching noise directly behind him, he sprinted from the woods in terror. He said the feeling of terror was indescribable.

I was hooked. I went out and bought white body paint that day.

Yesterday, the day we awoke in Elkenville was June 3rd. Warm with plenty of sun peaking through a dense forest, one could not ask for a more scenic view of the Midwest. With me were my camera operator and boom operator, Drew Jackson and Angelina Bathlow. As my long time friends and coworkers they were experts at shooting for my fake paranormal experiences. Like me, they saw it has harmless entertainment and the mood was jovial.

We left the hotel at 9 in the morning and felt wrong within minutes of stepping into Elkenville proper. We had arrived the night before, and the quiet stillness was expected. The only person we encountered during the night was the young woman working the counter of the hotel. Now, during the beautiful morning, the silence was eerie. During our walk to the local library, we encountered only one man.

The elderly man walked in the center of the road, his head tipped to slightly to the side and back. His eyes gazed towards the sky but were unfocused. Layers of tattered clothing were draped across his body and sweeping the street behind him. His mouth moved but we couldn't hear anything on the sidewalk.

Being brazen, I checked the street for oncoming traffic, and finding none I turned to confront the man.

"Excuse me," I called as my foot touched the pavement. "Sir!"

The pavement crunched under foot, immediately drawing the man's attention. His eyes locked to mine, yellow tinged whites with dark brown eyes bored into mine. I paused there, one foot on the road, the other on the sidewalk. I pushed myself to continue, and walked into the road. The man didn't move, he didn't even blink as he watched me approach.

"Excuse me, are you from around here?" I asked as I finally got close to him. He wrinkled his brow, and tilted his head. A terrible burnt smell filled my nose as I got close, not cigarette smoke, but more akin to burning plastic.

After a moment he finally spoke. In a clear and concise voice he replied, "Yes, I am from the town."

I hesitated. "I am filming a documentary on the Elkenville monsters. I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me about them?"

Once again, he scrunched up his face and jogged his mouth around before speaking. "What kind of information are you seeking?"

"Just anything you know about the creatures," I replied, at this point Angelina and Drew had joined me on the road.

It took him a minute to complete his facial ritual and respond, "I only know that they live in the forest."

"Oh, well thank you anyway," I responded confused but cheerful.

The man only nodded, his eyes still locked to mine. He watched me walk away and when I glanced over my shoulder some dozen feet down the road he was still staring at me. A chill ran down my spine, but I pressed on.

We saw no one else on our way to the library, everything in the city seemed to be closed. Stores were filled with modern clothing. Strangely the computer store seemed to have been picked clean. All of the businesses had modern interiors hidden behind old western facades. At 9:30 am on a Tuesday, there was not a single business open. All were locked or gated. The only building where this did not hold true was, conveniently, the library.

We had expected to meet Maria Parker, the librarian, but the library was silent.

"Maria?" I called into the labyrinth of books and shelves but received no reply. I shrugged and we began wandering the library.

We passed tables where books lay open. We filmed each book and I read the open pages. I wish I could say that what I saw was staged, but I hope having admitted to my past deceptions that you will know that I am being honest here.

The first book had it's title at the top of the page. Malleus Maleficarum, a book I am very familiar with. While being a fraud, I am a well read fraud. For those of you who are uninitiated, the Malleus Maleficarum, also known as The Hammer of Witches, is a guide to witch hunting. I had read it in the past and honestly much of it comical from a modern perspective. However, the title of the section did concern us: 'Whether children can be generated by Incubi and Succubi.'

This book was the outlier, the rest of the books explained deer hunting and showed maps of the area. Searching through the maps we found one with pencil marks. An area had been outlined in the White Forest. We decided to take a break for a minute and come up with a plan. It didn't take a genius to figure out something had happened. Drew decided to review some of the camera footage while Angelina and I discussed what to do next.

"It's clear that they wanted to hunt something down," I said, stating the obvious.

"Of course," she replied. "What would they be hunting? I mean they have the section of demon children open, so maybe they're just superstitious, and think they can hunt a non-existent creature?"

"Up here it could be a wolf, coyote, bear, or any number of potentially violent or aggressive creatures," I acknowledged

"Foxes as well, when they are fighting they make a weird cracking, barking, whining sound," she added.

"Uhhh, guys," came the voice of Drew pulling us from our conversation. "Look at this."

He held the camera toward us so we could look at the tiny screen, eyes wide and mouth aghast. "I was going over the footage of the conversation with the guy in the street and look in the background of this shot. It was when I was running into the street to catch up to you."

He had paused playback to show a specific frame from the recording. Angelina and I scooted together so we could see what had frightened our friend. The image on the screen was slightly shaky but it was very clear. A person was standing in the center of the road staring directly into the camera. The image was extremely blurry, but it distinctly human, with arms, and some sort of strange dress. It was completely white as well, but its face was around the eyes and mouth.

"No way," I said sitting back. "This is bullshit. Someone is fucking with us."

"If they are, then they are committed. The next time the camera swings to the same location the person is gone. They would have had to clear some fifteen feet in half a second," Drew replied.

"They must have known we were coming. This is just a show to get visitors," Angelina said shaking her head. "They made up some haunted village and now they have people playing actor to convince us its haunted. Then when we show to our followers, thousands of people will show up to visit the Most Haunted Town in America."

I opened my mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a slam that echoed through the library. We all ducked instinctively and scooted from our seats to the shelves of books. I found a spot where I could peer through the books towards the front of the library. There, I could see the door had been thrown open. The tempered glass showed a spiderweb of cracks across its surface. The library was silent and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. The three of us didn't move, all of us staring from hiding place towards the doorway.

I glanced at my friends briefly, just in time to catch a face peering in at me through the window. It was only there for a second, but it reminded me a lot of the face of the man that was in street. But more pale, and with blood seeping from his mouth. The face was gone in the blink of an eye, and slid backwards.

"We need to get the fuck out of here," I announced pushing myself back up.

Neither Drew or Angelina said anything, they just nodded, their eyes wide with terror. We made for the door, and exited onto the still empty streets. My eyes scanned every corner and every alley as we ran, but I saw nothing. We got back to the hotel in moments, with all three of us constantly glancing over our shoulder. Running into the hotel parking lot we searched in shock. Our car was gone, and more over, I had not seen a car parked in a garage or on a street the entire time we had been in the town. I told the other two this fact.

"There were no electronics anywhere," Angelina added. "There were desks for computers and places for phones but none of the devices."

We all pulled out our phones and saw the 'x' on our signal strength. "There's no way this is a prank," I announced. "I had full bars last night. They can't just shut off the phone service for a prank."

Drew's eyes seemed to focused on something in the distance, before snapping back to focus on mine. "What should we do?"

"Technology has been stripped from the town, no phone service, no car," Angelina tallied.

"Walk?" I suggested.

"If whatever is hunting us doesn't get us, the cold will. We're a hundred miles from the nearest city," he snapped. "We need to defend ourselves."

"With what!" I said, louder than I had intended.

"We've studied the occult, even if only to fake it," Drew started. "If they guessed right, and this thing that they're hunting is a demon then silver is our best bet. Maybe we can defend ourselves from it for long enough to wait for help. My girlfriend is expecting me back in two days, if we're not back by then, she'll know to contact someone to search for us."

"We don't have food for that long, and this thing doesn't seem to have any problem wandering around during the day." Angelina answered.

"But it hasn't attacked us," I offered, hopefully.

"Yet," Drew replied grimly.

We eventually resolved to wait for help in our motel room. We had water and five days without food wouldn't kill any of us. The room was on the second floor with only one window facing the walkway outside. Taking our mattresses and blankets we pushed them up against the windows and stacked them. Any other furniture was placed in front of the door.

Looking through our things we found a single silver necklace that belonged to Angelina. We improvised a bludgeon by taking the towel rack from the bathroom wall, and then proceeded to wrap the silver necklace around the end of it. A improvised anti-demon bludgeon.

Then, we just had to wait.

When night fell we remained silent and kept all of the lights off. Every sound made us flinch, each gust of wind made our ears perk up and our hearts stop. Everything was quiet until 3 am. That was when we heard it. It started with a shriek off in the distance. This was echoed by a shriek very near to us; no farther than the parking lot. The shriek was strange yet familiar, it seemed to sit at certain tones, and modulate to other tones rather than move through the pitches smoothly. It occasionally devolved into a crackling noise before moving back to the modulating tones.

As the world returned to silence I tried to control my breathing. Then the tapping started, something hard and pointed hitting our windowpane. It happened five or six times, before what had been tapping the window was dragged down it. The sound screamed like nails on a chalkboard, but we remained silent, Angelina even covered her mouth to stifle a scream. The scrapping went on for what felt like forever. I was too terrified to check my phone. Eventually it stopped and silence returned.

I fell asleep at some point, eventually waking to the sound of movement in our room. I sat up my eyes wide and scanning the room. Then I saw that the others had fallen asleep as well, and the only noise had been the rubbing of fabrics against one another as Angelina moved her legs as she slept.

Now wide awake, I checked my surroundings, daylight was visible through cracks in our barrier and it lit the room enough to see. Pulling out my phone, I saw that the time was 7:13 am. Still no signal. With a stretch, I pushed myself to my feet and made my way to the bathroom.

After urinating quickly, I made my way back to the main room where the other two were now awake.

They seemed scared to talk, so I motioned for them to come in close so we could speak in whispers. "What was that scratching?"

They both shrugged. Drew thought for a minute, then said, "It seemed like it wasn't just scratching the same spot, but was scratching different parts of the window."

I nodded, then stood. On the balls of my feet I padded towards the window. I pushed the side of my face against the wall so one eye could see through the barrier and to the glass outside. From there I could see the scratch marks, but the design wasn't clear. They had an intentional look but I couldn't make out the shape. I relayed this to the other two who just looked at each other.

"We need to see what it is. Maybe it will help us survive or at least understand what the fuck is going on," I whispered standing close to them again.

"That's stupid as fuck," Angelina replied, stunned.

"I'm with Jon," Drew resolved.

"You're both stupid," she responded, mouth hanging open.

With a shrug, we took down the beds, and moved them out of the way while Angelina stood at the back of the room. When the deed was done, we pulled open the blinds to see what was written on the window.

There were two things, an image and a message.

The image was the first to hit my eyes, and if I am to survive this I will remember it forever.

The design was carved with a combination of perfectly linear strokes combined with perfect curves. The shape was the of a square, with one corner chamfered. Ten lines spread out a few inches from the square, each equidistant from the others. In the center, an eye, carved with the curved strokes giving it the look of a whirlpool. There were two lines of text, one above and one below the image. It said, "Am'mil'g Has Come." And below, "Accept Eternal Life."

Using my phone, I took a picture of the window. The phone showed the image just before it added it to my gallery.

In that brief glimpse I saw the creature that had been hunting us, more clearly than ever, standing at the edge of the forest staring directly into our room. I describe this image now, in the hopes that someone else can identify the monster of Elkenville, should they be so unlucky as to find themselves here. The skin is porcelain white, with red eyes that glow intensely, and red liquid oozes from its mouth. However, an important trait that hadn't been visible from the shaky camera footage, a computer monitor had been merged with its form. Even across the distance I could see the scar tissue that had begun to grow over the edges of the plastic. It could see it's white entrails draped to the ground, hanging from its stomach. Centered in iris of the mural this monster had left us, I could see directly into the monitor. It showed a white background with a single eye, completely open with darkness spiraling in.

But my picture had another feature that told me that we had to run, or we would die in this room.

There wasn't only one of them. There were hundreds. Only visible in the digital images after we took them, as if they were implanting them into it after the fact.

I do not know who or what Am'mil'g is, but I know this for sure. I do not want their eternal life.

Now, the three of us prepare to leave this cursed town, so I must cease writing. May god save us all.