Emergency Alert: Do Not Look At the Sky

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/googlyeyes93 on 2024-11-15 15:56:43+00:00.

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Can’t remember the last time I left the house. I do know I ran out of my medication a few days ago, but the apathy I was feeling just kept telling me to stay in, lock the door, and go back to bed. Not like I could afford it anyway, with no insurance to speak of and barely ten bucks to my name. Hell, the last grocery delivery I got is barely hanging on, despite my depressed appetite forcing me to ration it.

I had about twelve different voicemails from Mom, asking why I wasn’t responding, begging to know that I was still alive, but I just… couldn’t. It wasn’t worth it because she wouldn’t believe me anyway. Hell, I’m surprised she hasn’t flown over here yet to drag me out. I can hear her now, “You know you’re better than this, Daisy. Get up.” Yeah, great motivation, there.

It was the voice in my head, telling me that I was worthless, that it would be better for me, for everyone, if I just took myself out of the pool. Not like I contributed much, just a struggling writer who posts horror stories on the internet, not like it was enough to keep the lights on. Then again, I don’t know if anyone would notice if I stopped paying rent in this shithole high rise, other than the slum lord that already bled me dry like a damned vampire. He didn’t even come around anymore, and knew that eviction wasn’t worth the trouble. Cops didn’t give a damn about things out here, and this guy was already on their shit list. Must not have paid his dues to the police union lately.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!

Loud, discordant tones rang from my phone, sitting on the charger beside my bed. I don’t even know why I bothered to keep it charged other than doomscrolling anyway, not like anything was looking up in the world recently. Figured it was just another silver alert, some old dementia patient taking the keys when they shouldn’t. My grandpa made it all the way to Mexico like that one time. Unlike his decaying brain though, mine found the idea of being outside fucking terrifying. Just the slightest hint of stepping out of my apartment was dread-inducing, with an insane amount of things that could go wrong at every moment. Hell, just going to the grocery store can get you shot these days, why risk it?

Not the point, Daisy. Check your damn phone. The sleep in my eyes wasn’t leaving, taking every chance when I tried blinking it away, desperate to put me back under its dreamy spell. My hand darted out, limbs heavy, still not awake, and pulled my phone to my face. It wasn’t even dark out, despite the blackout curtains making it look like the dead of night. No, the phone read 2:37 PM, with the alert notification in full right below.

EMERGENCY NATIONWIDE ALERT: ALL PERSONS

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, LOOK AT THE SKY. PLEASE CLOSE ALL WINDOWS, DOORS, AND ANY OTHER WAY TO VIEW THE OUTSIDE. PLEASE SHELTER IN PLACE UNTIL THE ALERT HAS BEEN LIFTED. IF YOU ARE NOT IN AN AREA TO SHELTER IN PLACE, PLEASE CAREFULLY MOVE TO THE NEAREST BUILDING WITH ADEQUATE SHELTER.

REPEAT, DO NOT LOOK AT THE SKY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. IF YOU OR SOMEONE NEAR YOU HAS MADE THIS MISTAKE, IMMEDIATELY ADMINISTER THE FOLLOWING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:

RESTRAIN THE EXPOSED. RIGID, STRONGER BONDS ARE RECOMMENDED. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REASON WITH THE SUBJECT. THEY WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE UNAFFECTED. TERMINATE THE SUBJECT THROUGH DISMEMBERMENT OR IMMOLATION. USE BOTH TO BE SAFE. REMAIN HIDDEN UNTIL THIS ALERT IS LIFTED.

”The hell’s’goin’on.” I mumbled, still in my half-asleep state. I’m barely through the message when a call starts coming through from Mom. God… I don’t want to speak to her but with something like that coming through… I want to think it was a prank, some joker hacking the system for some kicks like Max Headroom back in the day. I don’t know though, so I better at least set Mom at ease. Guess it’s the best time to let her know I’m alive. Deep breath, Daisy, answer the phone.

I hit the green button, with Mom’s voice coming in almost immediately, frantic, screaming. I can barely make out what she’s saying.

”Daisy? Oh god, Daisy are you okay? Are you safe? Don’t do it! Don’t look out, please!” She was tripping over words and sobs started coming between. “You father… oh, god your father…”

”Mom, what the hell is happening?” The sleep is shaking out, with my fear spiking instead. She never sounded like this. Mom is always the tough no nonsense type, more likely to curse at a problem and beat it into the ground instead of walking away. I barely ever heard the woman cry, much less utter the word ‘god’ without it being in Sunday School reverence. “Where’s dad? What did he do?”

”He was outside doing yard work… you know how your dad is. Next thing I know he’s bashing at the door, trying to get in. He’s… he’s changing. I swear his eyes are gone. He’s practically foaming at the mouth but it’s like all his teeth are just… growing or something. They keep getting longer in his mouth, sharper… I don’t know what to do, Daisy. What do I do? He’s trying to say something but I can’t understand the words.” The words are coming out more forced now, sobs more pronounced and breaths cut short in fear. Whatever apathy I had about talking to her before was gone, now full of fear that this may be the last time I speak to her.

”Mom, you need to hide. Go in the bathroom, there’s no windows or anything. Grab a phone charger, a knife, whatever you can. Don’t. Look. Out. Do you understand?” Jesus, is that me talking? I haven’t had this kind of command in years, not since I burnt out around my mid-20s. Adrenaline is one hell of a drug. “Mom, I need you to confirm. Do you understand me?”

”Y-yes…” She stuttered. “Daisy… Winston was out there with him. He’s gone.”

Shit. Their dog. Stereotypical bulldog name aside, he was a good boy, probably got spooked about what happened with dad…no. Can’t talk to her about that right now. Got to keep the confidence going or she’ll break down completely. “We’ll find him later. He probably ran off.”

”No, no… he’s gone. Your father has him. He’s… he’s making something with the body. Like a statue or something.” She was muttering now.

”Mom are you moving? Are you going to hide?” I asked again, pressuring her to keep going. “I need you to hide in the bathroom. The one connected to your room, okay? Lock every door on the way, and keep yourself safe. Please, mom.”

Glass shatters as she screams, a garbled sound coming from nearby. There’s a brief thud as Mom drops the phone, making it hit the hard wooden floors of their house. I can hear Dad’s raspy voice, speaking with something unintelligible through a warped mouth.

“HE HAS ME! DAISY! DAISY PLEASE! TALK TO HIM! HELP!” Her sobs were punctuated by scrapes along the floor with periodic thumps, shattered glass tinkling and crunching on the ground. “NO! NO JEREMY PLEASE, I DON’T WANT TO GO OUT!”

”Come and seeeeeeee,” A hiss was barely audible over her screams, Dad’s voice. I could recognize it anywhere, even through the strange noises he was making. “Worship with usssss”

“NO! NO PLEASE! STOP! NO, DON’T MAKE ME LOOK!!!” Mom’s screaming pleas are cut short, complete silence on the other line now before she was suddenly begins to whisper, “Praise be…”

”MOM! Mom please, are you okay?” I was screaming into the phone now, holding it to my face on speakerphone to try and get any attention possible. Instead I only got silence, punctuated by the occasional scream in the distance. Nobody answered my cries.

I finally hung up, knowing that nothing would come from staying on the line. My only thought was that at least I have peace of mind knowing my parents are already gone. It’s not some mystery that I’ll never know the answer to, so at least there’s that, I guess. Now I know it’s not a prank either, something really fucked up is going on.

Okay, be logical, Daisy. The alert said don’t look at the sky. Dad was outside when it happened so that confirms something there. Restraining them makes sense now but… destroying them? Good god, that’s… that’s bad if the government is recommending it. Maybe there’s something on the news…

As soon as the thought crossed my mind I found the remote, flipping it to the local news on my hijacked cable. The anchorman was sitting there, worry on his face as voices from behind the camera clamored in nervous agony. I get it, I got to hear my parents die. How many of these people have loved ones they have no idea about? How many were there out of some sense of duty, trying to keep anyone who watched safe?

“We have yet to know if anything can cure the… result, of what’s happening. What we have heard from the CDC and WHO is that this is not an isolated event. This is happening worldwide, with the same symptoms presenting regardless of nationality, race, sex… nothing is discriminatory about this. If you look at the sky, you are dead, effective immediately. If someone you know looks at the sky, immediately seek safety and isolate them, restrain them if possible. This has a one hundred percent infection rate, and will not pick and choose who receives its horror. We hope to have a representative from the CDC on soon to speak.” He was stammering, barely keeping it together. The phone ringing nearly made him jump from his chair, the sweat on his brow drenching his perfectly groomed hair. “Yes, that seems to be them now. Professor Sigurd?”

”Yes, yes this is Professor Sigurd. Please, if you’re listening, we beg you to not go outside. Don’t look out of your windows, don’t do anything that c...

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