Chapter 1

The beeping of the alarm clock startled me awake. My back was drenched in a cold sweat as I recall the nightmare I just had. But no matter how I concentrated I cannot recall a thing except how I was swallowed by a horrendous creature.

                '7:00 AM'

                I sat in my bed and turned off the beeping alarm clock. Slowly calming myself down from the nightmare I just had. I can hear the soft clanging of dishes and the smell of something cooking downstairs.

                Mom was preparing breakfast for the family, but something does not feel right. I can smell something fishy downstairs albeit subtle but it was there.

                                "Phil... Come downstairs, breakfast is ready."

                I heard my mom calling me, something on her voice unsettled me but I did not know what it was. As I walked downstairs, I could not help but notice the fishy smell slowly getting stronger.

                                'Maybe mom is cooking fish for breakfast'

                I could not help but think.

                                In the dining room, I saw father reading the morning newspaper quietly in his seat, staring daggers at it trying to burn a hole through. Mom has her back turned against me as she was cooking some dishes.

                As a sat down on my chair I noticed the eggs on toast and bacon on the side, but strangely there was no fish.

                I turned and looked at my father's plate and he had the same food as mine, but only it was untouched.

                                'Odd'

                I think to myself.

                Father was not the type of a man to leave something in front of him uneaten before he goes whatever he does. That was one of his strict rules in the house.

                I turned to look at mother; she was still frying eggs and cooking bacon for herself.

                                'Something is wrong here.'

                I thought to myself as the beat of my heart slowly rose as I felt that something was amiss, mom had traumatic experience when she was young and that resulted in her having stomach ache and vomiting when she eats large amounts of meat.

                I can feel my heart pounding against my chest as the room suddenly turned cold; I noticed that the room was eerily quiet.

                I could not hear the sizzling of the oil, nor the pages turning on the newspaper.

                I called out to my parents.

                                "Mom. Dad."

                Nothing, mom was still standing at the front of the stove top but now she was breathing heavily and dad was clenching his fist like he was furious at something nearly ripping the newspaper apart.

                I was slowly getting up from my chair, ready to run away from this place but I stopped and noticed, I was paralyzed by fear as I watched in horror as I saw the skies outside my house. It was blood red and splotches of black can be seen like something bore a hole in the skies, there was no sun no clouds or chirping morning birds, everything was deathly quiet it felt like the calm before the storm.

                I called to my parents now with clear fear in my voice.

                                "Mom. Dad. What is happening?"

                But nothing, not even a reply they were just there like a picture frozen in time. Father was not even turning the pages of the newspaper or clenching his fist anymore and mother was just standing there staring at the frying pan.

                In the deathly silence, the thing I could only hear was the loud beating of my heart, my vision was slowly getting blurry as tears pooled in my eyes as seconds passed that felt like hours, then like a light at the end of a tunnel I heard a voice.

                                "Free..."

                The wind howled as it rattled the kitchen window, flashes of light can be seen on the sky but strangely there were no clouds.

                I called out to mom as I heard her talking quietly.

                                "Mom!"

                                "Set... Free..."

                She tilted her head upwards as I heard the bones in her neck break, her wide open mouth now in a smile as blood pooled out of her eyes and nose, the smell of rot and decay wafted out of her.

                                "Set... Free..."

                As she chanted her voice slowly changed, from the voice of a caring mother that I remembered to a guttural scream.

                                "Free..."

                Her body then collapsed on the floor as she twisted and writhed, clear cracking of the bones can be heard as more blood pooled out of her. Gurgling screams came out of her as blood filled her windpipe yet she still chanted.

                                "Set... Free..."

                My eyes bulged out, my throat hurt, I was screaming begging for whatever god to save my mother from what was currently happening to her.

                                "Father! Help! Something is happening to mom..."

                I called out to my father hoping that he might know what was happening. As I snatched the newspaper away from my father, I heard him muttering.

                                "Set... Me..."

                His eyes fell out of his sockets as I watched the eyeballs roll off the table. He tilted his head and in a maddening scream, he shouted.

                                "Set... Me... Free!!!"

                His eyeholes transformed into mouths as he convulsed slumped into the table. Tentacles burst out in his back as they waved wildly, black liquid seeped out of his body and slowly spread out on all parts of the room.

                The figure that was once my mother was steadily crawling towards me, its crooked head was looking up as it crawled with its limbs slowly. While the thing that was my father was still convulsing laughing maniacally as small tentacles sprouted on every part of his body. The stench was unbearable like rotting meat that was left under the sun; I could not help but gag and vomit on the floor. I noticed worm-like creatures wriggling in my vomit as I felt some of them in my mouth.

                I was vomiting more and more until I felt I could not vomit anymore, tears streamed down my face as I saw the two creatures slowly moving towards me, I dashed towards the front door but I saw the house slowly turning into a creature, the walls turning into flesh, eyes dotted the ceiling and mouths were popping out like weeds, tentacles were littered everywhere I see.

                                "No!! No! Somebody, help me!!!"

                I screamed as I can, my throat ached and my chest hurt. But all of it was for naught.

                The abominations that were once my parents were still chanting, louder and louder as the mouths on the wall joined its maddening cacophony. Black ooze with the smell of rot, death and decay slowly dripped out of the eyes that were watching me with maniacal glee.

                I ran towards the window in an attempt to escape from this hellhole, but before I could get near I was stopped on my tracks, to my horror tentacles covered the window. I can see the outside from the spaces between the tentacles, large creatures with mouths filled with jagged teeth littered its body came out of the holes in the sky devouring any structures that got on its way.

                My focus returned when I heard the chanting getting nearer

                                "Set... Me... Free!!!"

                My back is against the wall as I see the two creatures coming towards me. A tentacle bound my feet preventing me from running away and another was binding my hands crucifying me tightly on the wall.

                The creature that was my mother had its upside-down head towards me as a large tentacle was coming out of my mother's mouth, while the creature that was my father had its hand holding my head as tentacles pried my mouth wide open, his other hand was above my eyes as small tentacles were wriggling out of control.

                They stood there staring at me for a second grinning from ear to ear, then the abomination that was my mother jabbed the tentacle in my open mouth. I gagged as a thick tentacle wriggled inside my throat down towards my stomach. The creature that was my father stabbed its hands in my eye taking away my vision, the pain from my eyes was unbearable as small tentacles invaded around my eyeball and wriggled their way towards my brain. I tried to scream but I can't. The chanting was deafening, the smell was nauseating, the pain was unbearable, I was slowly passing out and thanking whatever god may be out there to put an end to this torture.

                                "SET ME FREE!!!"

                It screamed.

                I jolted out of my bed, drenched in a cold sweat while my heart was beating loudly. I was dizzy and slowly worked my way towards the comfort room as I realized that it was all a nightmare. I washed my face in cold water and stared in the mirror. I could not help but gag on the sink as I remembered the tentacle-ridden abominations in my dream, the nauseating smell, and the unbearable pain. I shivered and slowly make my way back to my room,  I huddled on the corner of my bed and looked at my alarm clock.

                '3:00 AM'

                Terrified to fall asleep again, I sat there staring at the wall waiting for morning to come.