The Thing in Purple

Day 1, February 5th

As I made my way through the forest to seek shelter from the impending danger that was closing in on me, I watched as the trees swallowed my shadow, thus putting me in a small sanctuary… for now, at least. And sorry, got a bit sidetracked there for a second. My name is Raymond, but my friends and partners called me Ray.

But what was I running from, you may ask? I honestly didn't know exactly what it was, but what I knew was what my allies told me of an unknown creature who roamed the land murdering whatever it sees, leaving a path of destruction everywhere it went. All that was recurring in every tall tale I’ve heard of it was that it was wearing purple upon its body. Its origin had remained unknown and it was never seen too very often, but the threat was still there, seeing as I hadn't seen many of my old friends anymore, they had all disappeared and their cause of death was unknown. Sometimes I feel like it should have been me to go instead. But I press on forward and am always thankful that I haven't had any deadly encounters with the mysterious creature.

Today, unlike normal days, where I sit around and torture the little light bugs or whatever they're called trying my best to pass the time, my stationary partner, Bill, who had stationed himself in a part of the woods in the opposite direction came to warn me of the "Thing in Purple," as we called it. “Ray, there’s a monster coming after us. I was just sitting around, minding my own business, and I saw this creepy looking thing just start running towards me. I think it’s chasing me, man! Get out while you still can!” he said. At first, I wasn’t too terrified by it, and doubted his word. He’s never been too very trustworthy, as he occasionally lied to get out of duty. Plus, he gave me no details, so I regarded what he said as pretty unreliable. Having only heard rumors of it personally, I didn’t even know if it existed or not. I was never one to believe in many stories without evidence. I told him right then and there, “Aw, you’re full of it. You really think that thing exists? It was probably just a stupid animal or something like that.” But right at that very moment, I heard a loud scream in the distance of the expansive trees and could identify it as Darrell, who was my best friend and warned me of the creature as well just a couple of days ago. Bill cried, “Every man for himself, man!” and he disappeared into the depths of the forest. I ran as far away as I could, too, unsure of how to face whatever menace I was facing. Once I heard Darrell’s ear piercing cry out, I knew it; I was alone, and he was gone forever. He’d been my best friend through the worst and best of times, and his loss added to my now devastated feelings. Things began to worsen as I realized how everything looked so similar and I quickly figured out I was lost. And worse still, vulnerable to the creature. I was angry, and scared. I knew I had to find a safer place to hide but my newfound anger wouldn't let me. I was enraged at the loss of my friend and the only thoughts that were on my mind now were of vengeance. So I devised a way to ambush that monster and make it pay for its crimes and my losses. My plan was simple, just jump out and whack it with a stick and use it to beat it to death. I waited for any sign of it. I had almost fallen asleep waiting for it to come, until suddenly I encountered something. Or rather, it encountered me. When I had finally laid eyes on it, it looked stranger than I could have imagined. It had strange colored hair, a strangely large nose, just strange… well, everything. I couldn't really describe it all too well myself, since I hadn’t seen it before, and my fatigue was starting to get to my mind, so don’t rely on my description. I jumped out and tried attacking it until I felt something touching my back. Somehow, a detached hand had managed to sneak up on me. No blood, none at all, just a floating, small, white hand. I swung at it to attack it, but it was too fast. I was put to the ground once it hit me and was knocked out.

Day 2, February 6th

I was lucky to have survived from the attack. I guess the creature, whatever it was, fled the scene thinking I'd die like the rest, but I guess it didn't do the job well enough. For some reason the creature wasn't built to be too threatening. I didn't see any limbs on it, like I said before, but maybe it was because I was still tired from waiting it out for my original plan. That or it was too fast for me. For all I know it, was just a dream. Or maybe it was a hallucination...

For all I knew it was the norm. Strange things are always happening in this forest, so a floating hand is nothing short of surprising.

I figured I'd go back to my regular duty of guarding the sieged forest… for now, at least. I found a new place to stay for a bit and stayed there. My boss wasn't really specific about his goal at all, really. He just wanted us to stand around and do nothing for the most part. It made me wonder and think about what was really going on here. Amidst my thoughts, I ended up falling asleep yet again.

My dreams were very… awkward to say the least. I tossed and turned on them, wondering what my fate would be and whether I'd ever find that creature again. Where I come from, dreaming is powerful… some more than others. I knew mine didn't really matter much. Or so I thought. I never really questioned them much, and this time is no different. I dreamt I was in the woods once again, face to face with the creature. I fought it head on, and right when I was about to defeat it with a whack from my club, I woke up. My guess is this was just me once again wishing vengeance for my lost friends. I disregarded it quickly. As I awoke I found myself in an unfamiliar part of the forest. The ambiance and silence of seclusion was killing me. I felt lonely of course, and adjusted to the sounds I was starting to now hear. Everything from the animals, to the little yellow creatures, to the streams, it all sounded so clear to me. But at the moment I was about to take it all in I heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. I slowly moved closer towards it, unaware of what could happen to me next. I readied my club and pushed back the bushes, only to find….

It was nothing.

As I calmed myself down I sat on another rock, and thought more about my dream and the small scare I’d just had. I asked myself, “Am I being watched…?” It had run through my mind now. But after a few minutes, I figured it was just my paranoia getting the best of me, like before. As I walked along, trying to find my way back to my other companions I left behind, I figured it best to find something to eat and drink. I haven’t had any sort of meal for a couple of days. All this hunger had probably fueled my hallucinations and paranoia, and maybe even my strange dreams. But for the time being, I had found some fruit in a tree, where another strange creature was. It had a rather large red beard and no real visible appendages. It seemed to be sleeping while smoking on some sort of pipe, so I figured it best not to bother it. I took as much fruit as my arms could carry and made my way back to where I was before. As I kept walking I eventually saw some familiar faces and thought we could get back to normal again… but sadly, I was wrong…

At this point I had seen my comrades. Or thought I did. But it turned out to be yet another hallucination. I started looking around for any signs of life, but still, I found nothing. I walked through the forest and passed by nothing more but trees and rocks and just felt like giving up. At this point I long doubted I’d find my way back to my friends. Everything started looking the same, everything started getting more and more familiar, and everything just… lacked any real variety where I was, wherever that is. With a loss of hope, I hung my head low in despair. It had been a few hours since I last saw any signs of life, and even then, it was that giant bearded creature. For all I knew that thing wasn’t even real. That was my only real question here- what’s real and unreal anymore? I remember not too long ago I could answer that…

It started to get cold, as the moon’s light started to rise into the sky. I looked for some shelter to stay for the night. I quickly came across a cave that was covered with a black substance that had a bloodshot eye on it. Since I was too tired to really worry about what it was, I simply swung my club at it a few times. It quickly disappeared and I began to explore the cave. Inside there was a little cage that looked like it was holding something. Emphasis on was. I was far too tired from moving around all day to really care about what was in it previously, and since there was nowhere else to go, I figured I’d spend the night in the cave. I laid my head on the ground and proceeded to drift off to sleep.

Day 3, February 7th

When I’d awoken this morning, I found myself once again thirsty and hungry. Customary for someone who hasn’t eaten a decent meal for a couple days, yes, but nonetheless, it’s just how I felt. I didn’t really see myself as making the cave a new temporary home, as I wanted to continue on forward until I found my way back. I may have lost all hope, but I wasn’t ready to stop just yet. I quickly happened upon some fruit and picked as many as I could carry. I figured it best to ration them to make them last me longer. My drowsiness continued as I kept walking along. The woods were still the same green they always were, but as I kept going, the scene had started changing more and more. I observed the plants and… oh my God… WATER! I’d finally found some water! This part of the woods had a few lakes, much more than the last part did, and pleasantly enough to enjoy. I drank it and was finally starting to look up on my current situation, despite how hopeless I’d seemed. As I kept going on through the forest, I saw less and less of the same old green I’d seen before and more of the beautiful forest. So lush and vibrant, I thought to myself. I’d wondered where this part of the forest had been my whole life and why I hadn’t noticed it ever before. I almost wanted to stay there forever, just to escape all my problems…

That is, until I heard a rustling in the trees near where I was. I immediately jumped to attention. I figured I’d simply fight it. As I approached them, my club ready to strike, I heard nothing. Not one single sound muttered from it. I felt a bit confused by this; just a second ago I’d heard the sound of something in the trees. But sadly, nothing was there. I wondered whether this was all a dream or not. It was now that I decided I couldn’t trust anything anymore, and that it was no longer safe for me no matter where I went. Over the past couple of days since the incident with the Thing in Purple I’ve been feeling like I’m being… watched. I didn’t know who or what it was watching me, but I just knew that I had to have been watched by something of some kind. This striking paranoia had been put to rest for a bit but I knew I couldn’t have constant peace of mind. My head ached as I thought harder about just what was going on. My brain was like a stage; and I was just a puppet having my strings pulled. I knew for a while I’d been running from something, but I had no clue what. Maybe… just maybe I was running from myself. I was still pretty skeptical as to whether the Thing in Purple was even real in itself. I felt like my sanity slowly dwindled away, provided it had ever been there. I wished I could sit and think about things, think about what has happened to get to this point, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t put the pieces together. It was almost useless to try, I imagine. I decided with what was left of my wits at this point that I’d probably never find my way back home, especially with where I was at this point. It was hopeless, I realized, my eyes must be playing tricks on me. I had no idea what to believe anymore, it all seemed so confusing. I had been at peace at one moment and gone to hell at another.

It was at this moment that I’d heard a loud scream, followed by random gibberish that had sounded like someone had yelled “YEAH!” at the top of their lungs. I cringed in fear, unbeknownst of what was to happen next. I quickly let out a loud scream of terror and started running away as fast as I could, only to hear more indiscernible screams chase after me. Now I knew I was being hunted. By what, I didn’t know, nor did I want to know. I knew I’ve never run so fast in all my life, and whatever it was that had been chasing me for such a short amount of time was closing in…

I tripped and fell over as it stood over me. At this point I knew I could no longer run. The creature that stood before me was limbless, had strange colored hair, two floating white hands, a large nose, and had a white symbol on its purple colored chest. I instantly recognized it- the Thing in Purple had caught me before I could catch it. I wouldn’t have been as scared as I was at the moment, but being so secluded for just a couple of days and losing all trust in my own eyes and my own mind, I was wishing, praying it was all just a dream, and that in moments I’d wake up safe and sound…

With its eyes fixed on me now, I knew that there was nowhere to run or hide anymore, and that I’d have to accept my fate. There was no escaping the inevitable.

Epilogue

I had listened to him sit there like the little wench he was and yell out over and over, “please, God, save me! I don’t want to die, not now! Please, I… I just want to live to see another day; I’ll do anything, ANYTHING!” I waited, and watched him in his moment of pity and anguish. I stayed silent, and thought, “Sad how disappointing he was. It is a pity, a true pity, to see. He thought he would take me down, that he was so high and mighty, but in the end he crumbled to my feet in fear.”

I gladly finished the job before I left his cold, dead body lying there, motionless. That way, there would be no next time.