Blank & Concrete

The yellow sports car sped up, skidded in a circular motion, and then sped up some more before it appeared to crash sideways into a solo, thick fence post. The post existed oddly by itself, with no other structures, surrounding fences, or even buildings to be guarded out of, to be seen for miles. Think of a singular square-shaped pole surrounded by nothing but miles of empty and tainted, dark gray concrete. Normally this collision would most likely split the car in half, and would be a certain fatality for all of those inside the car.

However, right before the car hit the wall, the car seemed to disappear right out of thin air, as did the car’s driver and its four passengers. But just ten seconds before this, they were all there, recklessly driving out of control, fueled by nothing but adrenaline and bad decisions.

As I recollected this scene in my head, I felt a certain pain trying to think of specific details and the memories I could recall came back to me with a distinct, foggy aura.

I now stood an estimated ten feet away from the scene, and as I began to slowly approach the fence post, I noticed the sky had turned a dark, murky gray and clouds began to scatter throughout. Looking up at the sky, you would think that the worst thunderstorm of anyone’s life would be incoming, and knowing what I know now, it probably was.

I dragged my feet along the cold concrete sidewalk, scared out of my mind at what I had just seen, and as I grew closer to the post I could sense something was wrong. There were no remnants of the car anywhere, but again, I realized that there wasn’t much of anything anywhere. I turned my head from side to side, hoping to see something different, but still there were no buildings, signs of nature, or anything else but miles and miles of concrete and a singular fence post.

A little odd, I thought to myself, but I ignored any feelings of doubt as I felt almost a pull, both in my mind and in the soles of my feet, to keep moving towards this post. It felt like something, or maybe even someone, was manipulating my mind, drawing me towards this oddity. I took step after step, a pattern which no matter how hard I tried, I could not break. I felt like a drone, or probably more accurately, a machine in a supply chain, performing actions without control and a thought in my mind. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…

Until there I was, my feet at the base of this tall structure. Now that I had finally arrived, I realized how tall this post was, it towered over me, a formidable opponent that stood at least two to three times my height, a little smaller than a flagpole. And the width! The diameter of the post looked like it could fit two of me! Had I shrunk? I wondered to myself, impossible, I thought, but as I looked around I realized I had virtually nothing to compare my size to. I saw and heard nothing but pin-drop silence, bare concrete, and this post.

Frustrated and disoriented I yelled out into the air, expecting to hear a loud and booming echo, yet it was as if my voice was captured as soon as it left my mouth. No echo, just one moment of loud, harsh noise followed by immediate silence. For a few moments I stood there wondering, what I was doing here? Where was I? What was my purpose here? The incident with the car had momentarily escaped my thoughts, as bigger things filled my mind, soon I began pondering and questioning everything.

Then I heard it. At first it was faint, so I dismissed it as a product of my mind's hallucinations. After all, when was the last time I had eaten? Drank water? Bathed? I brushed my hand through my hair and was left with a greasy, oily residue. I looked down and saw the imprint of my ribs on my shirt. I began to wonder how long I had been here, but as my stomach let out another rumble, my thoughts were interrupted. There it was again, this time louder, and unmistakable. A loud scream, not just one, but five, each scream with their own distinct tone, coming one after another.

Five screams, just like the one driver and four passengers I had seen run into the very same post I stood just centimeters away from.

The screams sent chills through my spine, and I quickly spun my head in all directions trying to identify where the sound was coming from. But as I looked again, I was matched with a familiar and terrifying sight: cold, stark, dark gray nothingness. The screams kept going, over and over again, until I suddenly realized the obvious.

The screams were coming from the post.

I walked around the post, desperately attempting to find a speaker, a group of wounded people, or any logical explanation for where the screams were coming from. I refused to accept my reality.

Then the screams grew louder, and I felt a strange urge to move my body closer to the post. I reached down and cupped my ear to the post, until there were only millimeters separating me from the post. Suddenly, the screams began audible, and what were once loud screams, felt like I was being sent a message.

“Jo…”, the screams whispered.

“Join…”, the screams became more and more audible.

“Join us…” the scream’s message became clear to me.

I reached down further and pressed my ear against the post. The surface of the post had a scratchy texture, and was freezing cold. My ear began to sting and the edge of my hand began to go numb, but as hard as I tried, I could not retract my body from the position I was in.

Suddenly, in one motion, I was swept off my feet and felt my back give out, as I was at one moment floating, then in another thrown violently against the post. Then everything went black.

When I came to, my eyes were closed, but I could feel the warm bed sheets and pillows of what I immediately remembered to be my childhood bed. A wave of relief came over me, and I could feel a small smile start to form across my face.

After all, it was only just a bad dream.

I slowly sat up in my bed, and propped my back and shoulders up against my bed’s headboard. I slowly opened up my eyelids and rubbed my eyes sleepily.

But what I saw made my heart sink to my stomach. As I looked around, there was nothing but bare, dark gray concrete.

Oh yeah, and one yellow sports car barreling towards me.