I was driving home, and I knew something was off right away. I could tell I was being followed, but the vehicle was different every time I looked in the mirror. See, but I knew I was being followed because the presence was the same. Also because the car behind me never moved. It was like some sort of glitch was causing it to appear different I looked. I just kept going home though, I didn’t think much of it. Whoever-or whatever-they were didn’t matter. I could take care of them.
I finally made it home, pulled into the garage and got out of my car. The vehicle following me had faded away, and now the street was clear as I turned back to check. I didn’t think much of it, things were usually trying to chase me down. I walked the short distance to the button that would close the garage door, and reached for the door handle to the inside of my house.
That’s when I heard it.
A soft rustling. Like dead leaves across pavement. Then, punctured by the scuttling of slick feet, a vicious groan. Something dark flashed through my peripheral vision. I turned to catch the last edges of the thing as it swooshed under the door just as it tapped down.
Everything went still. I was barely breathing. I had only seen it for a second, but now the thing was burned into my mind as if I could still see it in front of me. Even now, I can recall it in detail.
It had the twisted form of a human, bent over crawling in that way those creepy flexible people can. Arms turned with elbows outward, there were two pairs of arms no less… legs twisted horrendously back with the knees up. It was dark, almost liquid like ink, yet solid. It glistened with an oily light. Sometimes I still feel the way it gazed at me for that one second. Its eyes were a void carved into its face. It had upwards of ten eyes all scattered across its face.
It was a horrific sight that froze me in place. I slowly closed the door to my house, and turned to face the dark shadows of the garage. There was no time for fear, I had to eradicate this thing before it latched onto anything important. But, despite its horrifying looks, I could already tell this wouldn’t be difficult to destroy. It was a weakling, sent only as a distraction, or possibly a spy. It would serve no purpose in the grand scheme of things. So I set off to take it out.
I was right, it only took a few minutes with minimal damage to my car and other various possessions in my garage.

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I was hiking in the forest when there was another attack. I’m ashamed to admit how long it took for me to realize they were following me. I should have recognized them sooner, I should been more attentive. But by the time I finally sensed their presence, it was already too late to take control of the situation. They had already surrounded me, and were now closing in. Of course, I didn’t do anything to reveal I had only now noticed their presence. Only a few moments later I recognized the fear that had set in.
I should have noticed them sooner. I don’t know how they had evaded my awareness for so long. I must be losing it. I know there’s more than one, what if I can’t take them all? I didn’t tell anyone I was out here, though, to be fair, if I had known they would be out here I still wouldn’t have told anyone. This sort of business isn’t the type that you share with others. The birds have all gone quiet. As a matter of fact, they’ve been quiet this whole hike. Has it really been that long and I’ve only noticed them now?
No. I took a deep breath. The fear is what helps fuel them. I should know that by now. I’m sure I can take them. I’ve never met a thing that I’ve struggled to destroy. And anyway, since they’ve been following me, trapping me, luring me in, I can be sure none of them have latched onto anything here. And even though we’re out in the middle of nowhere and there’s nothing to hold back the extend of their horrors, there’s nothing to hold back me either.

Eventually I stopped. I turned slowly, waiting for their flickering forms to finally take shape. There stood twenty or so things, all hungry. Each was slightly different, but overall they looked like nothing but a few faint shadows. I could feel their gaze on me, the hunger, the desperation, the desire.
Even though they look like weak flickering flames of darkness, one who would underestimate them would quickly find themselves in more trouble than seems physically possible.
Even a thing that is no more real than the wind can destroy someone who is unprepared.
These things clearly feed on fear, even one thought — “There’s so many of them…” — is enough to make them visibly stand taller.
They already stood at least six feet tall, then gaining a few inches each, with nothing to call faces or even bodies. They were something I can only describe as jellyfish, or octopuses. A mass of quivering, floating tentacles and whatever it is jellyfish have. These sorts of creatures don’t have the same sort of limitations something with a fully corporal body might have. They can stretch and extend, using the blurred lines of their forms to their advantage. It’s difficult to know exactly where they are until it’s almost too late.
They still have their weak points however, and I’ve taken care of enough of creatures like these that they shouldn’t be a problem. Shouldn’t. And there they went, growing a little taller. I blew out a breath, and after another minute of stillness, set to work.
All in all it took around a half hour to deal with them all, noticeably longer than it should have for someone of my supposed strength. Once they were gone I had to time to recognize my growing weakness. For fear of another attack without the proper time to let myself regain energy, I hurried back home. I spent the rest of the day and well into the night agonizing over my current condition, struggling to focus on anything but the negative. If I hadn’t been inside the safety and protection of my home, I would have no doubt been consumed by the shadows that chase me.

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I have been afraid to leave my home. I have been afraid to walk near others. Everything looks like a shadow hiding at the edge of my vision. Signs, mailboxes, trees, everything. I see something there and I turn to look to find nothing. The persistent paranoia is present at every possible point of my day. It’s like when I first started to notice these things, before I was taught to use my abilities to destroy them. I’ve started avoiding everything again. It’s worse than before, because not only is there fear, but the knowledge that I’m letting everyone down. I’m supposed to be getting rid of these, but I just can’t. The biggest problem is that I don’t even think anything is following me right now. Their latest attack was in the forest. After an attempt like that, they usually wait a couple of weeks to regain their powers and come up with a new plan. I should be using this time to rest and relax, but all I can do it pace circles around and around. That attack was weak. In the forest. It was incredibly underpowered for my skill level. And yet, I could feel my grip slipping. What is it? Why now? I’ve been fighting these things for so long, what am I doing wrong?
Sometimes I fear one of these encounters I wasn’t able to properly get rid of the attacker. Maybe some part of it managed to latch on and now it’s slowly draining my energy. I’ve never seen one that could do such a thing, but there’s so many different types that it isn’t possible that I’ve seen them all. I’ve just got to keep my head up and keep on going. I need to start fighting them again. It was hard to face them at the start, but once I got used to fighting them it was fine. Once I got used to my power and ability, it was fine. Now I just have to do it again. Just… better. Somehow.

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I finally convinced myself to go out. Or, I suppose I was forced to go out. My once endless supply of food and necessities has been running out. I also can’t ration most things long, they’ll go bad soon. I needed to go out on a supply run, it shouldn’t take too long. The day I chose was dark and dreary, frigidly cold with a dense layer of clouds draped across the sky. It might not seem ideal for someone avoiding dark shadows, but if something’s going to happen, I rather it be when the least amount of people are out and about. It was one of those days that everyone wished didn’t exist. One they all avoided. The world had gone on hold. For most at least. Those poor souls who still had jobs were required to show up anyway. They’d spend this day doing nothing. 
The parking lot of the nearest ‘everything’ store is just about empty. The lights are all on, giving the area a strange in-between glow. A few lights flash on and off, trying to decide whether it was dark enough to be on, or light enough to be off. 
It’s been a silent morning so far, my drive here was borderline peaceful - if I hadn’t been paranoid that something might leap out… and even as I walk from my car to the entrance if the building, everything is silent. A cool breeze slides along the ground, but nothing moves in my peripheral, and no shadows creep along. 
The store is drenched in fake white lights. The sort that makes anything out of ordinary stand out. As soon as I stepped inside, something darted along the edge of my vision. At that moment I knew that it had all started. I could have turned back. I could have returned to my home. But in the back of my mind, I knew that if I walked out of this building and into the desolate streets of despair outside, I might never return home the same. 
I started in the food area, searching for groceries to restore my stockpile. But all the food was rotten. I’m sure it was an illusion, even on a Nothing Day like today the workers wouldn’t just leave this stuff out here. I wasn’t going to take any chances. There was a chance they were contaminated too, and touching it would only worsen my condition.
Leaving the open layout of the food department I found myself lost in the mazes of the clothing isles. It was an infinite maze. Every corner came with the sensation of eyes, millions of eyes, watching my every move. Hands crept along shelves and hangers, clothing shifting with unfelt winds. 
There were suddenly people everywhere. Fake people, false shapes. If you look them in the eyes you may as well plan your own funeral. Their defining feature was their image. It was blurry around the edges, shifting and glitching. But nonetheless they were hard to spot in a crowd of normals. Now, with a crowd of them,  they were even all the more obvious. Shadows were everywhere.

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I no longer have a purpose as I wander. The store has become infinite, looping back upon itself in ways that can't be possible. I entered into the furniture section half an hour ago, and it's expanded to remind me of the story of an Infinite Ikea I'd heard about once. At least now I can see everything around me. No more isles for things to hide behind. But, now I can see just about everything haunting me.
Dark twisted forms scuttling across the floor, floating shadows hanging suspended below the lights, false humans flickering and shuddering as they draw nearer. Things of inky acid hissing along the floor, tall thin appearences bridge the gab between the floor and the ceiling, things drip from the lights and rafters above. Eyes follow my every move, I feel as though things crawl up and down my spine, whispers of death echo in my ears.

I can't quite breathe. I don't know if one if these creatures is behind it, or if it's the fear. I feel as though something has taken hold of my throat and is trying to close it. As far as I know, maybe one if these things has. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing anymore. A deep unsettling silence has settled over my mind, smothering out the sharp panic. I just keep walking.
I can feel my energy slowly slipping away. The darkness hovers at the edge of my vision. The creatures have circled around. There is no where else for me to go. I find myself collapsed on a chair, panting to catch a breath. They creep closer and closer. I have not the energy to even consider fighting back. This is the end. They've finally cornered me. They waited until my darkest moment. And now, not only do I not have the energy, I've lost all motiviation and desire to keep fighting this losing battle.

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"Hey, kid. What're you doing here? This is a display."
I blink, and focus my eyes. I'd been staring into space for who knows how long. A quick glance at my surroundings proves everything to still be as it was. Evil creatures still drawing closer. But now... Without even thinking I look up into the face of the person standing next to me. As soon as our eyes meet I realize what I've done. This is a false human, and now I'm even more dead. But as I stare frozen into the young man's face, I notice that there is nothing off or out of place about him. Nothing in his form flickers or moves. 

"Hello? Are you alright?" He asks.
I don't respond, still struggling to properly catch my breath. I sit up, only to see just how close the shadows have gotten. One of them, a tall thin humanoid shape, stands close enough it could reach out and touch me.

"Can you see them? Wait, don't answer that. Of course you can. Don't acknowledge them."

"You... you can see them?" I ask, stunned that there was even a possibility of others seeing them. 

"That's right, I'm -------. You are?" He holds out his hand and has the audacity to grin. 

"=====" I reply begrudgingly. Strangely, the motivation to fight back has been growing stronger. The desire to still make it out of this alive has come back. I feel my energy gathering again. 

"Good," He says. "Come on, let's get out of here. Are you familiar with these things? Have you ever fought them before?"

"Yes, of course I have. I'm a professional." This guy is getting on my nerves. I don't know why. Maybe it's his tone. Maybe it's the fact that he's acting as though he knows more than me. 

"Right, well... let's go. Stay close to me, I'll keep them back. No matter what you say, you're not in the right condition to be fighting them now."

"What do you know? I can take care of myself." I push myself to my feet and give him a glare. 

"I'll explain my skillset better later, but for now, please. Let's go before the Normals start to notice." He turns to walk away, and the tall thin shadow behind me shuffles closer. I hurry to follow, walking uncomfortably close. The shadows and beings move back. I keep my eyes down, but I can feel their eyes, their hunger, their rage. I don't know why they aren't attacking, it's as if something is repelling them. Maybe something is. This person might be a false human yet, one that has a much better disguise. He may be leading me even deeper into a trap.

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