Waking up is hard. The sun just went down and every inch of my body hurts. Today June 26th, I've slept outside for the first time since my landlord kicked me out with a chocolate bar as a "gift" and a "you'll leech off society in the streets now". Ah… it's cold. Anyways: I'm not going to fall asleep soon. I should wander around and take this occasion to help people. At this hour, the only people outside are the ones that need help. It's been years since the nights stopped being lively.
I'm wandering around the residential neighborhoods without meeting anyone for at least an hour or two. I'm getting close to a more lively one: I hear someone vomiting in a dead-end back alley, just nearby. Nice. Well, not nice. But I need to help them. I get closer to the alley.
"I'm coming to help!"
And there he is vomiting again. I get closer to him, holding his stomach.
"Are you alright?"
"Ugh… I've known better… nights."
"Wait, easy now, I'm holding you," I said, trying to get him back up. "What happened?"
"Got fired… then… into alcohol."
"That's never a solution, come on! Chin up, you'll get a new job!"
"That's… that's what I would think… if my wife hadn't used this as an excuse to dump me tonight…" He vomits again. "I've bar-hopped all evening… and got kicked out."
"Don't lose hope… I'm not leaving you, let's set down a bit."
"Thanks…"
I help him move, slowly, at his pace. Then, leaning him against the wall, I slowly got him down. He lets go of me and si– No. No no no no no no no no no no! I didn't see, no! He fell, I— the manhole, it was open and… thirty meters down… too drunk to swim… no no no what have I done no! I was just coming to help, no!
Hyperventilating, running, fleeing my crime scene. I just wanted to help! I just wanted to help, I just wanted to help… I only stop running when I get more exhausted than I'm panicked. I still can't realize. I caused a man's death! He's dead! I… I continue roaming without a goal for several hours in the night. What just happened is hard. I need to make amends. I need to help.
I hear a scream in a nearby street. I run as fast as I can. "I'm coming to help!" A young woman is running after a man with a bag in one hand and a knife in the other. He won't get away with this! I stand in his way, tackle him to the ground. While getting back up, I see with horror his knife stuck in his chest. He died on the spot. I'm feeling less guilty, it's weird. He surely deserved it. I take the bag and bring it back to its rightful owner, making sure to do it far enough from the dead thief, may God forgive him.
"He got stunned with the fall, I'm gonna call the police."
Of course I'm lying. I haven't had a phone for a long time, the subscription is too expensive.
"Thank you so much sir, from the bottom of my heart. I've got all my life inside."
I give her the bag and shake her hand. I then turn around to leave and… No, no, no! She's bleeding! Quick, I search for her phone in her bag… a code… well, 911… it's not answering? Why did the bag have to get stuck in my coat? She fell head first on the ground… her blood spills and flows between the cobblestones… I… I… again? Why? I'm running again, as far as I can. I need to escape. They will be searching for me tomorrow. I don't care, I just need to buy time. Fear and stress blend with panic. I'm running to forget, I'm running to get away. I was just coming to help.
After a good half-hour – I didn't think I was that hardy – I slow down, start walking again. I think of other things to forget. Of my parents, who certainly aren't missing me. These bastards. Of my wife, who is certainly missing me, up there. I do not look forward to joining her, though.
Suddenly, a new scream. I doubt, but my instinct takes over. "I'm coming to help!" A woman, in her thirties, is stuck in her car. She's struggling to get out, but seems way too panicked for someone who's just stuck in a car. I look inside: a yellowish liquid is rising. It smells like vomit, burp… gastric juice? No way… No time to think, I pull the car door, but it's dead stuck. I search around, find an iron bar. I stop for a second: I will hurt her with this, no? I reconsider. No matter my well-being, I will play the safety card. I start hitting the window with my fists while the liquid is continuing to rise and already reaching her neck. She screams, but the window finally breaks and I pull her out. The chucks of glass wound her a bit, but she gets out fine.
"Thanks, thanks a lot! Another hellish anomaly…"
"An anomaly? What do you mean?"
"Oh, that… wait, I'm gonna sit for a bit, you'll excuse me… Go on, do the same!" she invites me, pointing the sidewalk next to her.
"So, these ’anomalies’?"
"At night, terrors come into existence. During the day, everyone forgets them, but at night, they're here indeed. Always terrifying. I come to think their only goal is to harm us."
I laugh for a bit, but stop after seeing her serious — and somewhat disapproving — look.
"Seriously?" I say, a bit surprised.
"Seriously. Right now, you believe me because you just saw it. But in—" She stops to look at her watch. "Thirty minutes, you'll forget it and think you just saved me from a basic lock failure or something."
"I… I don't want to forget."
"That's how it is."
"And you… you don't forget?"
"I… I would rather, sometimes. But I've lived things… that you just can't forget. Fortunately, I've found people to help me. The SCP Foundation, does it ring a bell?"
"Not at all."
"Take this."
She hands me over a business card. On it is written: "One night in your life, you may realize your nightmares are real indeed. That night, call us. (000) 356-1054"
"It's hard to believe."
"In twenty-eight minutes, you won't believe it anymore. You wouldn't have anything to eat, by chance? I'm starving."
"I… I have this," I say, handing her my chocolate bar. "My landlord threw me this before kicking me out."
"Oh… I'm so sorry for you… Thank you very much, but I think you need it more than me, I can't accept this."
"Go on, go on… a chocolate bar won't feed me. I will handle things."
"I… Thanks a lot," she says, taking the bar.
She bites into it, once, then twice, then she eats everything. We continue talking for about ten minutes. And then…
"Ouch. Are you sure that was chocolate?" she says, holding her stomach.
"Well… that's what's written on the packaging."
"My stomach hurts as hell… I…"
No! She… I…
This time, I'm not running. I have a dead body just next to me. Oh, well. Four bodies in one night is too much. I'd rather talk about it in prison… and also, I might just forget everything in fifteen minutes! It might just be an anomaly, following me, something invisible that is torturing me… I'm staying here, waiting for the sun to rise. Here it is, the sun is showing u– What? No no no no no no… what is happening what is happening what is happening what is happening what– my leg, it's… disappearing? My hands, my arms? What? I'm not… But, that's impossible? I've got memories, a family! I can't be… I was just coming to help! I'm human, I'm not… I don't want to harm anyone… I'm coming to help…
Waking up is hard. The sun just went down and every inch of my body hurts. Today June 27th, I've slept outside for the first time since my landlord kicked me out with a chocolate bar as a "gift" and a "you'll leech off society in the streets now". Ah… it's cold. Anyways: I'm not going to fall asleep soon. I should wander around and take this occasion to help people. At this hour, the only people outside are the ones that need help. It's been years since the nights stopped being lively.