0 reactions
iI always wondered why my godfather lived in the sticks and always carried a gun. Now I know why.
My godfather Steve is a weird guy. He’s a gun nut who lives in the sticks and eats roadkill. Dad says that Steve saved his life in Afghanistan, and he’s never trusted anyone more. He says there’s more honesty in that hillbilly’s bones than a legion of college educated city slickers. He say’s I’ve become soft and judgemental. That I should take a leaf out of my godfather Steve’s book because this man is the salt of the earth. We visit him every year around this time. It’s cold in the mountains, so come evening time when we sit out drinking beers round the fire while they recount their war stories. There is only one rule when we visit Steve – no phones! He is completely off grid.
Once the beer starts flowing, they get pretty rowdy. When I turned 15, they decided I was old enough to drink. “Damn I started at twelve” said Steve. He always carries his gun. I don’t always feel super safe around it. Especially when everyone starts drinking. After that night however, I changed my mind. Now I won’t take a leak without bringing a gun.
We came up to the mountains a few days ago. It was great. We did some trout fishing, a little ping pong. One night we ran out of beer and dad said he was sober enough to drive into town and restock. I volunteered to come, but he said no, I should stay and talk to my godfather. Talk about things you’re too embarrassed to talk to me about. I trust my dad. If he thinks I can learn a lot from this man, then he must be right. Before he left my godfather Steve suggested dad take a shotgun with him in the footwell, just in case. This seemed pretty absurd to me.
I couldn’t think how to get the conversation started and I regret what came out my mouth.
\-“So my dad said you saved his life. How many mujahedeen were there?”
\-“Mudja-har-deen. Where do ya get these ideas boy? It wasn’t no Mudja-har-deen we had to worry about. They stayed the hell away from our valley. Your pa found himself on the wrong side of a Div. If we had listened to the Mudja-har-deen I would still be living in Chicago”.
\-“What’s a Div?”
\-“Oh nothing boy, forget I said anything.”
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I twiddled my thumbs. Had I heard him right? A Div. I asked my second stupid question of the night:
\-“So why do you live all the way out here in the sticks? It’s an awful long way from civilisation. What if you need something?”
\-“Nature’s bountiful out here. There’s a liquor store in town, I stock up when I need to. I’ve gotten real good at ping pong. And No one and no thing I don’t want to find me can find me here.”
He was right about that. There was no chance you could find this place if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for. My godfather reached into the breast pocket of his military jacket and took out a hip flask with something engraved on it that looked like Arabic.
\-“before you ask, it’s Farsi. It has the same script as Arabic y’ignorant fool. This here is a spell to keep the Div away. That’s why I keep it in my breast pocket close to my heart. You want some.”
\-“What is it?”
\-“What do you think boy, it’s hard liquor. It’s about 50% pure ethanol. It might be whisky; it might be vodka. We’re not doing a wine tasting here, we’re trying to get drunk.”
My Godfather is a rough guy but when he talks like that it’s done with affection. This stuff really was moonshine though. I got drunk just smelling it. We talked for a while about things like girls and work and it was nice. I felt bad for thinking Steve was a bit weird. He was an ok guy. He spent most his time out here philosophising about the world and getting in touch with nature. He enjoyed being alone, but he loved our company too.
Suddenly we heard my dad’s pickup truck screaming down the lane to the house. We heard a crash followed by two shots. We ran around the side of the house just in time to see my dad limping up the driveway.
“It’s found us. It’s here. Get inside!”
My godfather grabbed me with one hand and pulled out his revolver with the other. He chucked me inside and held the front door open for my dad. He emptied his revolver into the night with 6 shots then shut the door and turned the lock.
\-“Did you get the beer?”
\-“What? Yes I got the beer. It’s in the truck.”
\-“That’s a damn shame coz I could really do with a beer right now.”
My dad and godfather started laughing.
\-“Batten down the hatches!” shouted my godfather.
We ran around the house closing windows and locking doors. We were too full of adrenaline to be scared yet, but that would come soon enough. Both these men, My Godfather Steve, and my dad, they knew the nature of what stalked us, and they had been preparing for this day for a while now. I was about to find out just how my dad’s life had been saved and exactly why my godfather lived in the middle of nowhere.
\-“How do you think it found us?”
\-“I don’t know Goddamnit. Boy did you bring your phone?”
I reached into my pocket for my phone. I know I had broken the rules by bringing it but thank God I did because now we could call someone for help. But Steve looked at me in disbelief.
\-“It’s OK boy you weren’t to know. Goddamnit couldn’t you have one weekend off the TikTok?”.
My dad tried to explain:
\-“21st century warfare breeds 21st century demon’s son. It first showed up on our radio, then at the door. Because it took the form of people in our unit it was able to move among us. Picking us off one by one. Once that thing locks onto you it won’t stop until it finds you and kills you. It locked on to me that night in the valley. Moments before it could kill me, Steve played a ruse and lured it away. It’s been chasing him ever since.”
\-“But why’s it here?”
\-“You can run from your demons for only so long. It moves through the communications systems and finds a way.”
\-“Can we defeat it.”
\-“Not really. A bullet will slow it down and sap a bit of energy, but it’ll be back. It’s out there right now licking its wounds, but you can bet in 10 minutes time there’ll be a knocking at the door.”
Steve came out of the basement. He was armed to the teeth. The plan was to empty as much ammo into its physical form as possible, then my dad would lure it away. It was his turn to be on the run for a while. I wasn’t happy with this plan at all. But then I saw something that made my heart leap with joy. My mom was walking up the driveway. She must have known something was up somehow. She could drive us home.
“Dad, moms out there”
“no she’s not son. Son, stoppp!!!”
But it was too late. I had opened the door. My mother grabbed me then stuck out her tongue, but it was over a foot long. Her eyes became wide and dark and she whispered something in a language I couldn’t understand. My dad ran and cupped my ears while Steve took a big swig from his hip flask. He spat the booze in a long plume and managed to light it as the last of it left his mouth. The Div was engulfed in flame and ran screaming into the woods. I now knew why the alcohol was 50% proof. The scream was blood curdling. We slammed the door shut. My dad was beside himself. He was crying with his head in his hands.
\-“Did you hear what it said? Did you hear all of it?”
\-“Yes, why?”
\-“It’s imprinted on you now. The plan is void. It won’t stop until it finds you. Son I’m sorry to say you’re looking at a life on the run.”
\-“But I didn’t even understand what she said.”
\-“It’s not a she son, it’s a thing. It can take on any form. I just looked at the side window and saw my brother.”
Steve piped up and asked how badly damaged the truck was. My dad said:
“are you kidding, it’s a Toyato pickup. You could drive through a volcano with that thing. It’s just a little dented.”
Steve hashed out a plan. It involved creating a diversion while I made it to the pickup. The Div wasn’t fast, but it was relentless. If it knew where you were it would get you. Even at 4 miles per hour it could go almost 100 miles a day, or 3000 miles a month. The choice is to either keep moving or go completely off grid and hope it never catches up to you. And we know how well that worked.
I’m ashamed to say, but because I had my phone with me I took a couple of pictures. We also caught the Div on the ring doorbell begging to come in. Each time shapeshifting to a different person we knew. Please only click on the links https://imgur.com/a/p8Au2N9 f you are fully mentally prepared. As far as I know the image of it is a weak facsimile and can’t do any damage but we know that this thing is constantly evolving.
The lights started to flicker. The whole house shook. We could hear panes of glass smashing upstairs. The room went cold and fell silent. It was as if all the joy had been sucked from the world.
\- “I don’t like this” said my dad, “It smells just like the cold mountain air of Afghanistan.”
We stood back-to-back in the living room with our eyes trained on the stairs, doors, and windows. Clump. we heard something fall over. Clump. Something else a little closer now. Clump. The damn thing must have been on top of us. I looked up and saw it’s black godless eyes staring back at me.
“It’s above us.”
Everyone Shot at the ceiling. The lights were hit in the process plunging us into darkness. Bits of plasterboard filled the room with dust and debris. I searched for my dad and called his name. He called back and I got out the torch on my phone to see him. He grabbed my shoulders, and we locked eyes. Just as his pupils started to dilate until the whole eye was black. I realised it was the Div. It’s head exploded from the left. Steve who had become stuck under the rubble had let rip a shotgun cartridge. “Take that you shapeshifting shit.” He said. My dad – my real dad, dragged me out the front door. He pushed the keys to the pickup into my hands and simply said:
“Godspeed son.”
I ran to the truck, started the engine and reversed round the corner. In this moment the headlights caught my dad’s silhouette on the porch just as two gangly arms wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him back inside. I sped off down the lane. About five minutes passed when I reached a fork in the road. I wasn’t sure which way to take though it didn’t really matter where I was going, just so long as it was away from that thing. At the moment I heard an explosion and saw a fireball in the distance rise up into the night sky. No doubt Steve had rigged the place up. I don’t know if they made it out alive.
I’ve been driving for a while now. The sun has come up. But I’m still in the middle of nowhere and the radiator on the pickup is busted. I calculate that the Div could be here by noon, but I’ll start walking now. I wanted to post this story before I chuck my phone into the ravine. I’m going off grid for a while. If someone claiming to be your mom, or your dad, or you brother, or your best friend, calls at the door. You better be sure it’s them before you let them in.
#entertainment
source
My godfather Steve is a weird guy. He’s a gun nut who lives in the sticks and eats roadkill. Dad says that Steve saved his life in Afghanistan, and he’s never trusted anyone more. He says there’s more honesty in that hillbilly’s bones than a legion of college educated city slickers. He say’s I’ve become soft and judgemental. That I should take a leaf out of my godfather Steve’s book because this man is the salt of the earth. We visit him every year around this time. It’s cold in the mountains, so come evening time when we sit out drinking beers round the fire while they recount their war stories. There is only one rule when we visit Steve – no phones! He is completely off grid.
Once the beer starts flowing, they get pretty rowdy. When I turned 15, they decided I was old enough to drink. “Damn I started at twelve” said Steve. He always carries his gun. I don’t always feel super safe around it. Especially when everyone starts drinking. After that night however, I changed my mind. Now I won’t take a leak without bringing a gun.
We came up to the mountains a few days ago. It was great. We did some trout fishing, a little ping pong. One night we ran out of beer and dad said he was sober enough to drive into town and restock. I volunteered to come, but he said no, I should stay and talk to my godfather. Talk about things you’re too embarrassed to talk to me about. I trust my dad. If he thinks I can learn a lot from this man, then he must be right. Before he left my godfather Steve suggested dad take a shotgun with him in the footwell, just in case. This seemed pretty absurd to me.
I couldn’t think how to get the conversation started and I regret what came out my mouth.
\-“So my dad said you saved his life. How many mujahedeen were there?”
\-“Mudja-har-deen. Where do ya get these ideas boy? It wasn’t no Mudja-har-deen we had to worry about. They stayed the hell away from our valley. Your pa found himself on the wrong side of a Div. If we had listened to the Mudja-har-deen I would still be living in Chicago”.
\-“What’s a Div?”
\-“Oh nothing boy, forget I said anything.”
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I twiddled my thumbs. Had I heard him right? A Div. I asked my second stupid question of the night:
\-“So why do you live all the way out here in the sticks? It’s an awful long way from civilisation. What if you need something?”
\-“Nature’s bountiful out here. There’s a liquor store in town, I stock up when I need to. I’ve gotten real good at ping pong. And No one and no thing I don’t want to find me can find me here.”
He was right about that. There was no chance you could find this place if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for. My godfather reached into the breast pocket of his military jacket and took out a hip flask with something engraved on it that looked like Arabic.
\-“before you ask, it’s Farsi. It has the same script as Arabic y’ignorant fool. This here is a spell to keep the Div away. That’s why I keep it in my breast pocket close to my heart. You want some.”
\-“What is it?”
\-“What do you think boy, it’s hard liquor. It’s about 50% pure ethanol. It might be whisky; it might be vodka. We’re not doing a wine tasting here, we’re trying to get drunk.”
My Godfather is a rough guy but when he talks like that it’s done with affection. This stuff really was moonshine though. I got drunk just smelling it. We talked for a while about things like girls and work and it was nice. I felt bad for thinking Steve was a bit weird. He was an ok guy. He spent most his time out here philosophising about the world and getting in touch with nature. He enjoyed being alone, but he loved our company too.
Suddenly we heard my dad’s pickup truck screaming down the lane to the house. We heard a crash followed by two shots. We ran around the side of the house just in time to see my dad limping up the driveway.
“It’s found us. It’s here. Get inside!”
My godfather grabbed me with one hand and pulled out his revolver with the other. He chucked me inside and held the front door open for my dad. He emptied his revolver into the night with 6 shots then shut the door and turned the lock.
\-“Did you get the beer?”
\-“What? Yes I got the beer. It’s in the truck.”
\-“That’s a damn shame coz I could really do with a beer right now.”
My dad and godfather started laughing.
\-“Batten down the hatches!” shouted my godfather.
We ran around the house closing windows and locking doors. We were too full of adrenaline to be scared yet, but that would come soon enough. Both these men, My Godfather Steve, and my dad, they knew the nature of what stalked us, and they had been preparing for this day for a while now. I was about to find out just how my dad’s life had been saved and exactly why my godfather lived in the middle of nowhere.
\-“How do you think it found us?”
\-“I don’t know Goddamnit. Boy did you bring your phone?”
I reached into my pocket for my phone. I know I had broken the rules by bringing it but thank God I did because now we could call someone for help. But Steve looked at me in disbelief.
\-“It’s OK boy you weren’t to know. Goddamnit couldn’t you have one weekend off the TikTok?”.
My dad tried to explain:
\-“21st century warfare breeds 21st century demon’s son. It first showed up on our radio, then at the door. Because it took the form of people in our unit it was able to move among us. Picking us off one by one. Once that thing locks onto you it won’t stop until it finds you and kills you. It locked on to me that night in the valley. Moments before it could kill me, Steve played a ruse and lured it away. It’s been chasing him ever since.”
\-“But why’s it here?”
\-“You can run from your demons for only so long. It moves through the communications systems and finds a way.”
\-“Can we defeat it.”
\-“Not really. A bullet will slow it down and sap a bit of energy, but it’ll be back. It’s out there right now licking its wounds, but you can bet in 10 minutes time there’ll be a knocking at the door.”
Steve came out of the basement. He was armed to the teeth. The plan was to empty as much ammo into its physical form as possible, then my dad would lure it away. It was his turn to be on the run for a while. I wasn’t happy with this plan at all. But then I saw something that made my heart leap with joy. My mom was walking up the driveway. She must have known something was up somehow. She could drive us home.
“Dad, moms out there”
“no she’s not son. Son, stoppp!!!”
But it was too late. I had opened the door. My mother grabbed me then stuck out her tongue, but it was over a foot long. Her eyes became wide and dark and she whispered something in a language I couldn’t understand. My dad ran and cupped my ears while Steve took a big swig from his hip flask. He spat the booze in a long plume and managed to light it as the last of it left his mouth. The Div was engulfed in flame and ran screaming into the woods. I now knew why the alcohol was 50% proof. The scream was blood curdling. We slammed the door shut. My dad was beside himself. He was crying with his head in his hands.
\-“Did you hear what it said? Did you hear all of it?”
\-“Yes, why?”
\-“It’s imprinted on you now. The plan is void. It won’t stop until it finds you. Son I’m sorry to say you’re looking at a life on the run.”
\-“But I didn’t even understand what she said.”
\-“It’s not a she son, it’s a thing. It can take on any form. I just looked at the side window and saw my brother.”
Steve piped up and asked how badly damaged the truck was. My dad said:
“are you kidding, it’s a Toyato pickup. You could drive through a volcano with that thing. It’s just a little dented.”
Steve hashed out a plan. It involved creating a diversion while I made it to the pickup. The Div wasn’t fast, but it was relentless. If it knew where you were it would get you. Even at 4 miles per hour it could go almost 100 miles a day, or 3000 miles a month. The choice is to either keep moving or go completely off grid and hope it never catches up to you. And we know how well that worked.
I’m ashamed to say, but because I had my phone with me I took a couple of pictures. We also caught the Div on the ring doorbell begging to come in. Each time shapeshifting to a different person we knew. Please only click on the links https://imgur.com/a/p8Au2N9 f you are fully mentally prepared. As far as I know the image of it is a weak facsimile and can’t do any damage but we know that this thing is constantly evolving.
The lights started to flicker. The whole house shook. We could hear panes of glass smashing upstairs. The room went cold and fell silent. It was as if all the joy had been sucked from the world.
\- “I don’t like this” said my dad, “It smells just like the cold mountain air of Afghanistan.”
We stood back-to-back in the living room with our eyes trained on the stairs, doors, and windows. Clump. we heard something fall over. Clump. Something else a little closer now. Clump. The damn thing must have been on top of us. I looked up and saw it’s black godless eyes staring back at me.
“It’s above us.”
Everyone Shot at the ceiling. The lights were hit in the process plunging us into darkness. Bits of plasterboard filled the room with dust and debris. I searched for my dad and called his name. He called back and I got out the torch on my phone to see him. He grabbed my shoulders, and we locked eyes. Just as his pupils started to dilate until the whole eye was black. I realised it was the Div. It’s head exploded from the left. Steve who had become stuck under the rubble had let rip a shotgun cartridge. “Take that you shapeshifting shit.” He said. My dad – my real dad, dragged me out the front door. He pushed the keys to the pickup into my hands and simply said:
“Godspeed son.”
I ran to the truck, started the engine and reversed round the corner. In this moment the headlights caught my dad’s silhouette on the porch just as two gangly arms wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him back inside. I sped off down the lane. About five minutes passed when I reached a fork in the road. I wasn’t sure which way to take though it didn’t really matter where I was going, just so long as it was away from that thing. At the moment I heard an explosion and saw a fireball in the distance rise up into the night sky. No doubt Steve had rigged the place up. I don’t know if they made it out alive.
I’ve been driving for a while now. The sun has come up. But I’m still in the middle of nowhere and the radiator on the pickup is busted. I calculate that the Div could be here by noon, but I’ll start walking now. I wanted to post this story before I chuck my phone into the ravine. I’m going off grid for a while. If someone claiming to be your mom, or your dad, or you brother, or your best friend, calls at the door. You better be sure it’s them before you let them in.
#entertainment
source
| 11,000 mlx | |
| 11 | |
| 0 |