SNAPBACK
Published on September 2nd, 2019 on r/NoSleep
People change. Sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually. You can have things happen to you that turn you into someone completely new, some magical event or series of events alter it all. Well, one of those things happened to me. Something that would make sure I'd never be the same ever again. It was a late night. Sarah and I had been out for at least 5 hours longer than we planned, but that was okay. We had met up with old friends from high school that we hadn't seen in at least a decade. They'd all changed so much. Everyone changed, except Sarah and I.
Tommy Mason, for example, used to be a lazy kid who often hung out with some of the punk kids smoking weed and probably several other substances that would make his mother faint. And yet, years later, he was working as an esteemed engineer at some car manufacturer. Mitzi Kaczmarek had went from maddeningly logical and gung-ho about becoming a doctor to being a full time graphic artist who couldn't help but muse about colors and logos and shit. Wasted a whole 5 minutes when we got the drinks out just pointing out things she thought was interesting on the cans. Most shocking of all, Bill Forester went from being about 500 pounds to being close to 120, and apparently when he wasn't working at the office he was running marathons. The guy used to be a real sad looking kind of guy, which probably had something to do with why he was so heavy. I know his home life wasn't easy, but looking at him now you'd have no idea he came from an abusive household. He looked so happy and well adjusted. Guy went under so much pressure he came out of it all like a diamond.
It was all really surprising and kind of humbling. We'd all been friends since 6th grade, and Sarah and I were lovers since 8th. Everyone else remarked that we were like a living time capsule! Sure, we looked older and had our own house, but our goals didn't really change and neither did our demeanor. We were the same Zach and Sarah that we were ten years ago. As much as I liked to think I was deep and interesting, I was only a few hairs shy of being the equivalent of the tropey nerd character you see in lazily written movies. Sarah, similarly, was the same bubbly, acoustic-guitar playing animal lover, with the only difference now she was a veterinarian.
It's stupid, but we were a bit embarrassed about that, to be honest. Everyone else had noticeable growth and became something we'd never have expected. What were we? Clearly something stagnant. Maybe we didn't grow at all. Maybe we were worse people for that. I used to think that things never really needed to change, but you can't help but feel like you have to when everyone else is evolving.
The discomfort and shame bubbled in my stomach and I ended up asking them all a question: Why did they change? I had to know what made us so different.
Bill looked up, taking a sip from his Coors Banquet and mulling the thought over in his head a little. "Honestly? It was just kind of like... waking up. Like, I'm sure parts of my brain were working up to it, but it really was just like I woke up from a coma. I'd been in McDonald's eating four big macs and 20 chicken nuggets and I just looked at all of that and... I didn't wanna eat. I saw my body. I saw me, and what I'd been for years. And I just decided... enough was enough, I guess."
"Same for me, really," said Mitzi. "I would doodle sometimes in my notebooks and I remember one year someone complimented me on one of my drawings. It took a little before I really thought about how that made me feel, but suddenly one day when I was looking into getting a Pre-Med degree, I thought maybe I should give this other thing a try. My parents didn't approve, but I made sure I took on that financial burden personally. I mean I probably won't get to pay it all off until I have arthritis in all my joints but, it was worth it!" She laughed.
Tommy didn't really add much to the conversation. He wasn't much of a talker; that part didn't change. He did, however, quickly affirm that his change was similarly abrupt.
I imagine it works differently for different people, but if it worked so suddenly for all of them, I couldn't help but wonder if that shift was coming our way. Would we stay the same forever? Would we slowly change into slightly different people? Or would we get the similar slap in the opposite direction that the others had? Maybe there was some magical force behind our little group of friends and before Sarah and I would even notice, it'd wave its hands and say "Abracadabra!" and we'd suddenly be strangers to ourselves.
After the party was over and most of the alcohol buzz was gone, Sarah and I took to the car. We were both sober enough to drive I think, but she was definitely drank less than I had, so we decided that she would be the driver. Both of us were kind of quiet and lost in thought on the way home. Neither of us spoke a word, but we were close enough to hear the gears turning in our own heads, and in a way that was all the conversation we needed. We drove down the road flanked by scores of trees in the dead of night with the moon hiding behind thick, black clouds. The road took on a more secluded feel, almost as if we weren't really here at all. Like we were suddenly teleported to this pocket dimension of road and forest just to have all the time in the world to contemplate our existence. I may sound like I'm being a little dramatic here, but it genuinely felt that way.
At some point I don't remember, I rested my head on the cold window and closed my eyes. I was tired. Very tired. And I dreamt deeper that night than I'd ever dreamt in my entire life. I recall it all perfectly. So much so that I wonder if I even was dreaming or not, or if perhaps I never woke up. We'll get to that thought later.
Diving deep into the world of dreams, I found myself in a padded gray room, similar to what a psychiatric patient might be stuck in. In front of me was a cold metal table, behind which sat an imposing steel door. I was sitting on a metal chair, which sat a bit unevenly due to the cushioning of the floor. My hands were free, but my legs were bound to the legs of the chair. I should have felt confused and scared, but I didn't really. I didn't feel a need to struggle against my constraints. The room felt safe, and I felt safe as could be. Even when the door let out a metallic screech as it was opened. The feeling of safety vanished immediately though as I saw what came through the door.
The door swung into the room, and in stepped in something that had the vague shape of a human, yet got every detail wrong. It was adorned in an eclectic outfit that seemed to want to merge elements of modern suits, Venetian dresses, tribal garments, and puffy aristocratic attire. The creature's limbs were all of slightly off proportions; a leg longer and thinner than the other, same with an arm. Their torso looked like the vague idea of what a human torso should look like. It was composed of a confusing series of squares and lumps that bore no cohesion, and yet was able to suggest 'human'. The head of the creature looked like a wad of meaty tissues bundled together and rolled into a vague teardrop shape. I did not detect the presence of any eyes, but the creature's movements suggested it could see perfectly.
The creature lumbered in and stood in front of the metal table in front of me. I stared up at it in abject confusion and terror, and its head pointed at me in a manner that did not clue me in to its thought process. Then, I heard it speak in a voice that was reminiscent of grinding steel.
"Do you desire change?" it asked.
I looked at the creature, unsure of what to make of that. "Uh... I, uh... what is this? What are you?"
The creature tilted its head, then sputtered "A mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a something to everyone. I am here to be something to you. Answer the question."
"What does that even mean...?"
"Whatever you desire it to. I do not really care. I am simply here to ask if you want to change like those friends of yours."
"I, uh, I guess I do? I'm more concerned with what this is though. What even are-"
"I already told you," it said with a strong tone of impatience.
"Ah, right... right. Uh, why are you asking me this?"
"Because I want to know if you desire change. Do I need more reasons?"
I'd realized at this point I wasn't going to get any clear information from this thing. Besides, this seemed like a dream. Would it ever make sense? "I... I suppose not?"
"Good. Now, answer the question."
"I... I want change."
"Then change shall be granted," the creature said, already making for an exit.
"Wait, but, aren't you going to tell me what's going to change?"
The creature stopped just shy of the door. Its back was faced towards me, but its head spun around like an owl's to meet me. Despite the lack of eyes, I felt it staring deep into my heart. It then spoke one, simple word.
"Everything."
And then I woke up.
---
My heavy eyelids opened, and I found myself in a situation that I somehow found more unbelievable than the dream I'd just experienced. Something worse than whatever abomination that was I saw.
I was still in the car, but it was now upside down, and my head was touching the ceiling as the seat belt kept me uncomfortably suspended to the seat. My vision was blurred, but I tried my best to look out in front of me.I looked through the windshield, which was now completely shattered, and I had a perfect view of the tree we'd crashed into. I also had a perfect view of Sarah's big transformation. The headlights still were on, and they shown a spotlight on the worst sight I'd ever see in my life.
I can only surmise that similarly to me, the leftover booze and the tired eyes from the party put her to sleep. While we both slept deeply, the car swerved off the side of the road at great speed as her limp, relaxed foot had pushed the gas further in. The trees made sure we came to a violent stop since neither of us were of the mind to press the brakes. We may have both been safe, but Sarah had a bad habit of forgetting to put on her seat belt.
As the car tumbled and rolled, her body was flung out the windshield and right into a sturdy pine tree. She smacked into the tree with her spine, with enough force that she almost split in half. Her spine immediately had snapped and cracked, the skin had ripped as the bone ripped through her skin, and she was contorted into a horrible, almost 90 degree angle. A vile mixture of blood, fat, and spinal fluid oozed out of her cracked body into the ground in front of me. My world had turned upside down, and not just because the car had flipped. Sarah had changed from the beautiful girl who loved animals to something that bears would feast on if left to rot.
I looked at the scene for a long time. The fluids draining from her corpse created an ever expanding puddle that was making its way towards me. As I watched it grow and heard the sounds of the crickets, the creatures of the night, and sirens grow louder, I realized that I'd gotten what I asked that creature for.
I desired change, and I got what I asked for. Zach and Sarah are gone, and all that remains is an eternal sense of agony.
***
“Snapback” copyright 2019 by Stephen Faett.