An Absence of Colors

Episode 2

Dmitri only heard half of what he said. The whispers started again. His head felt like it was under water. He stood there, frozen, while the whispers made noise in his head. Brendan was shaking him now and talking to him. But he couldn't understand anything Brendan was saying. He started to get dizzy. The cacophony of noises in his head is louder than it was before. Brendan kept on talking to him, asking him questions he couldn't hear. He could see his friend struggling to get to him, not knowing what to do. He was staring out into nothing. Looking past Brendan but not focusing on anything in particular. Then everything went black.

His vision returned a moment later, but everything looked like it was in grayscale. The voices stopped again. He was still in his house, but it didn't feel like it. Everything looked exactly the same, but with no color. He moved around the living room while touching the furniture and ornaments. Everything felt solid, but it also felt unnatural. He couldn't see Brendan anywhere. He walked into the kitchen and saw the food they had laid out earlier. It felt really strange. It's like the world turned into an old television, only showing black and white. The sky outside was also in black and white. He was moving around the house when he heard the footsteps again, only this time they weren't running anymore. It was like someone, or some creature, was walking casually in the hall upstairs. His instincts are telling him to get as far away from whatever is upstairs as possible. Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to throw caution into the wind and investigate the unknown. He moved upstairs. Every step he took was a fight against his better judgment and his curiosity. When he reached the landing, he saw the small creature with the smoky hair floating up. He wondered how such a small creature could create such loud footsteps. Up close, the creature looked like a humanoid stuffed toy. He wanted to get closer but thought against it, remembering how it had jumped up behind him earlier. He kept looking at it, as if it were hard to comprehend that it was really there. It looked like a "chibi". He remembered that word from an English-dubbed show that was originally from Japan. Chibi meant small or short. It can also be cute, but something that's tried to harm you before is hardly cute. The creature had white eyes and small, pointed ears. It didn't look like it had a mouth, but he decided not to dwell on that just yet. It started moving closer to him. It was slowly inching towards him. Dmitri was moving cautiously now. Taking small, silent steps back towards the stairs. They were staring at each other while moving. Dmitri was still a couple of steps away from the stairs. He noticed how it was slowly growing while inching closer to him. He was getting more and more agitated, not knowing how to defend himself when he needed to. He was running out of time, and one wrong move might send him plummeting down the stairs. The creature was only a meter from him now. It has grown to the point that it was already towering over him. It was only a couple of steps away, and it was raising one of its hands to hit him. He ducked just in time before the first swing landed, and he rolled onto the floor. They have switched places now. The creature was near the staircase, and Dmitri was near the guest bathroom. He saw the mirror, which resembled exactly where he first saw it. That's when he noticed that, aside from the creature's smoky hair, he was the only one who had color. He can see his dark blond hair and the green in his left eye. The creature turned to him and rushed at him again. This time, he was quick. It grew so large that its movements have become slower. He avoided two swings from it and ran towards the staircase. He was near the staircase now when it turned around and took chase. Dmitri was faster, and when he got to the staircase, he could hear the doorbell. It sounded exactly like the doorbell in his house. The doorbell was loud, and whoever was ringing it was becoming impatient. He ran toward the door, the creature rushing after him. He could hear the loud, thudding footsteps it was causing. Whoever was ringing the doorbell was getting really impatient. He still wasn't sure who or what was on the other side of that door. The creature was still a good distance away from him. When he reached the door, he hastily opened it to run and get farther away from his assailant. The moment he opened the door, his stomach turned.

On the other side of the door, there was a giant hole in the ground. The momentum from his running almost threw him into the chasm. He gripped the door frame so tight that he thought it would break and fall into the chasm, taking him along with it. He looked at his surroundings, and sure enough, there was nowhere to run. The doorbell kept ringing, but there was no one there. He looked back and saw that the creature was running directly toward him. It was only a couple of steps away, and he had absolutely no idea what to do. It was so close now that he had nothing left to do but brace himself for the impact. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the towering creature running at him. He felt the creature's weight against his, tackling him. The force was so strong that it sent both of them plummeting into the dark hole. They kept falling and falling. His screams were eaten up by the dark walls of the chasm. It felt like he was falling for such a long time, not knowing when it would stop. He was slowly blacking out. All of the light is disappearing. His vision was going in and out of focus until it was only pitch black. Maybe passing out while falling is a better way to go than actually having to feel the pain when his body hits whatever lies at the end of that pit. He thought of his parents, whom he never got to see in these final moments. His birthday turned out to be a complete horror show of unnatural events. He thought of Brendan, whose whereabouts were still unknown to him, and of Annie, who made him a tray of his favorite food, not knowing that he would not visit her again. Dmitri closed his eyes and fell, letting the dark chasm take him.

There was a sudden rush in his head. He felt before he saw. After falling for what seemed like a long time, he suddenly felt that there was a chair beneath him, supporting his body. He could hear a voice that he couldn't understand at first but was slowly starting to get clearer. He slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was back in his house. All the colors were there. Brendan was standing in front of him, talking. 'Dmitri? Can you hear me? ' Brendan was waving a hand in front of him. Dmitri blinked his eyes and tried to move. He raised his hands in front of him, but it felt like it wasn't him who was making his arms move. Brendan saw him moving and coming back to his senses. He looked so relieved when he saw Dmitri was back, and his face turned from happy to frustrated. 'YOU GOT ME ALL SCARED DIM! That wasn't FUNNY!' he exclaimed. Dmitri felt fuzzy all over and really couldn't feel much. 'What happened?' he croaked.

'What do you mean "what happened?" You looked like you were in a trance!'

Instead of answering, Dmitri tried to stand but got a head rush and immediately sat back down.

'Let me get you some water. Don't go anywhere.' said Brendan.

Dmitri had a clever retort in mind but decided against it. His throat felt like it had sand in it. Brendan got back a moment later with a glass full of water. Dmitri finished it almost instantly and got some feeling back in his body. He is sweating all over again. His clothes are already drenched in sweat, and his hair is all damp. 'Okay. Now, can you tell me what happened back there? How you suddenly just sat there like you were some caveman frozen in ice? And don't even think about lying to me. I saw you flinch earlier while we were looking at the mirror. You thought I didn't notice that? I want to know everything. Whatever is happening to you, we need to figure it out quick, before your parents decide to show up.'

And, as if on cue, the doorbell rang.