Eldritch May Cry

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

["Speech Through Technology"]

…

So it was me that did this to me. How funny.

*BANG*

My fist slammed the corner of the desk as I gritted my teeth.

"How the fuck am I supposed to live in this world if you couldn't do so with powers?!" I screamed as the reality of my situation caught up to me.

Somehow, this version of me had switched places with me. He stole my life because he felt his sheltered life with everything given to him for free was too hard.

I don't know what the shadow entity was, but it was probably himself. When he denied himself that day, that shadow must have formed from repressed feelings.

That was the only thing I could theorize, as both that version of myself and the shadow seemed to move as one before the camera cut off.

"So you were strong as fuck and had complete control of time?! You're kidding! And here I am, left with nothing." As I finished speaking, I began to calm down.

I shouldn't be crying over spilled milk. I should be planning my next steps. Taking my hands, I patted down my sweatpants.

My eyes widened as I realized my phone was still inside my pocket. I took my phone out, turned it on, and entered my password.

Everything looked right, but still, I went to the App Store and looked at my downloads.

The second I did so, I noticed an app being downloaded, but it was already completed by the time I looked at it. I could only see "ver1.0.0" before it was gone from my sight.

I tried searching for the app on my phone but couldn't find it. I even went to the app store and looked it up, only to find that it had no icon or developer.

I was probably given some eldritch malware and might need to destroy my phone. I almost sighed at the idea of doing more work.

Only then did I realize that I was tired, but I was too cautious to sleep. I would never trust a bed again after today.

It was around 1 AM at the moment. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a clean knife.

Once I had the knife, I walked back to my room. Grabbing a pillow from my bed, I placed the knife on the ground right in the corner of my room and placed the pillow on top of it.

I then sat down on the pillow and tried to go to sleep sitting down. If I could master doing this, then I may be able to survive in this world.

I don't know when I started falling asleep, but eventually, I was whisked away to dreamland.

…

When I woke up, I tried to close my eyes again to get more sleep. At least until I realized that I was actually still sitting on the pillow on the floor.

Wiping my eyes, I tried to shake myself awake as fast as possible. My eyes darted across the room as the fear of the unknown grazed my heart.

Only when I realized it was still dark outside and that I was alone did I start to calm down. Checking my phone, I realized it was 9:15 AM.

It was time for the sun to be out, yet as I knew this world didn't have a sun, the darkness was still there.

Getting up and taking my knife with me, I went to the kitchen and checked the fridge. For some reason, it was still half full of food.

By my guess, the food would run out in around a month if I started with the things that spoiled quickly and ate the frozen foods last.

There was still milk and cereal, so I decided I would try to finish that first. Grabbing myself a bowl of cereal, making sure to pour the cereal first as I wasn't a monster, I took the bowl to my room and sat in the corner.

Looking at my phone, I unlocked it and realized I had two text messages. I didn't remember having any unread messages before I went to sleep.

Checking the number, I found that it wasn't readable. The number didn't exist, and it was just blank.

Checking the sent messages, what was sent were two images.

The first image was an outside picture of a corner store. It weirded me out because it looked exactly like the corner store that I had gone to before I was dragged into this reality.

Continuing on to the second was a picture of a street with street lights lit. The picture was taken from the center of the street instead of on a sidewalk somewhere.

The second picture I knew all too well. It was the street I had seen Long Horse on, but the picture was taken from where Long Horse should have been located.

I was thoroughly creeped out at this point, and as I ate my cereal, I sent a question mark to whatever it was that was texting me.

Continuing onward, I decided to watch some videos on my phone while I ate. Me having nothing to watch while eating is a travesty—something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. After all, I could wish them death or something.

When I finally finished my cereal and put my bowl back, I went to take a shower and brush my teeth.

I had to make sure I ate something first in case something came to attack me while I was naked. What was worse than a man with nothing to lose? A naked man with nothing to lose.

Only when I was dressed in another white shirt and sweatpants did I relax a bit. Once again, I should be thanking God that I had baggy clothes, as I would be mainly wearing these to hide the knives I would take to cover myself.

Getting on my phone once more, I checked the date. It was June, and the year was 2023.

So, I went backward in time? The year was 2024 before I was taken to this reality.

All of the world's landmasses looked correct, with the USA still being a powerful presence in the world.

When I started to search for cryptids on the internet, I noticed something was wrong. When I noticed what was wrong, I instantly tried searching for the SCP site.

I found nothing. Not a single thing related to the Foundation. It was honestly kind of unsettling, as I knew even the SCP Foundation should have a fake website for SCPs.

I could feel a sigh forming, but I held it in. I would definitely have to get a job, but it would have to be one that I have to go to in person.

Now that I'm Dante, I can say for certain that I'm one of, if not the most, handsome man on the planet. Becoming a streamer that makes women (and some men) want to give up thousands of dollars just for a message was a possibility.

But I would have to worry about the cryptids that attack people based on appearance or attractiveness. I would be a magnet to cryptids that go after the opposite gender.

My options were limited. Closing all my tabs, I went downstairs and opened the front door.

The two bodies I left outside, including all the blood, were gone. I knew that whatever rules this world worked on, one thing was common. The public doesn't know about these creatures.

The doppelgängers could have had a self-terminating feature to stop their bodies from becoming evidence, or something came and got rid of the evidence.

Either way, as I looked out toward the street, I saw people walking on the sidewalk, probably going to their jobs.

I only needed a part-time job as I wasn't going to be paying rent, and all I needed were clothes, food, and weapons.

I couldn't have a full-time job as cryptids might attack me. Full-time jobs take a toll on the body if the person isn't used to them.

There is nothing like not being able to run from a cryptid because you thought you were hot shit and took an overtime 12-hour shift, and now your legs are jelly.

There was a pizza place not too far away; I could see if they were still in business and try to work for them.

I'm 90 percent sure I'll get the job. After all, pretty privilege is a thing. It would also prove the point that you may meet a supermodel-tier, beautiful person working a minimum-wage job.

I always saw memes of that and couldn't help but laugh at them because of how correct they were.