Tentacle Faces

It's a small town, with a dwindling population. You could say it's at the edge of civilization, fast disappearing. Most of its inhabitants live in an apartment complex that lines the town's main street. The residents take me in as if I were family, a lost son returning home. And at their apartment complex, I learn of the creatures responsible for the town's destruction.

Once in a while, these creatures walk through the town. Their black clothes match the colour of the tubes that spring out of their face and wiggle in the air. They sense movement and scent through their tubes; they never speak. When they arrive, everyone must close their eyes and not pay attention to them. If you ignore them successfully, they leave you alone. If you open your eyes and stare, they take you away.

I close my eyes and try to count numbers when the creatures arrive. A white light grows inside of me and, later, I learn I'm the first person to repel one of the creature's that way. I leave the town and find their hideaway. Kidnapped townsfolk are kept in prison cells. I free them.

I keep getting better at closing my eyes and ignoring them.