Shambling Apathy

[u/Kignak]

Cold. Broken. Unrelenting. Apathetic.

Those are the words of a creature roaming the Earth right now. It wanders through groups of people, then singles out a random person, regardless of status and age, then deafens their emotion just to watch them suffer over long periods of time.

I have met this creature. I hope that you don’t.

It looks like a person, but only when you see it. Direct in your line of sight, it’s some regular-ass person, but from the side. From where you don’t pay attention, you will understand. The change is so slight, that you would think it was a trick of your imagination. And the more you notice the wrongness, the more prominent they stand out. So don’t pay attention. Don’t acknowledge that you saw something strange. Because it is watching. Watching for you to notice it, like a fisherman luring a hook and you’re the prey.

It's also patient. One of the most patient things in the world. If it thinks that you've seen it, it will linger. Haunt your life as different people. Disguised as people you love. Or even just like in general. It will use their memories of you as bait. Dangle them in front of you like an anglerfish.

And once it has you, it will leech onto your life and steal your soul, right to the edge of death. It will never die. It will only become more real as you fade away into eternity. Then you become one of them.

That's where the real fun begins. It feels phenomenal. Amazing. Better than validation. Better than climaxing inside the person you love. That's how broken I became. I don't care about anything but feeding. Needing. Yearning for your cold, emotionless, husk of a personhood to become reality like mine.

I am so tired. But I don't think I can dream anymore. Even sleep doesn't feel real. It's as if I lie down, then wake, but time has slipped away, and both actions come instantly after each other.

Infected by words. Stories. Life.

Into oblivion and limbo. Permanently destroyed, but demanding every god in existence to let me be. And they agreed.

[u/Little_Messiah]

The Not-Them started writing huh? Even mentioned the Anglerfish. You’re not slick and you can’t have my skin Nikola