The money crunch I'm feeling from my lack of work is really starting to affect me and my family in a bad way.

I think I'm going to have to lay low for a while until this... "stimulus" thing comes through, considering I haven't had any real work in at least two months.

Sorry to have to bring you all bad news. I'm really not in a good place right now.

I need to focus on this or we'll be in even worse shape.

Foreward: (sorta, this isn't a book)

First person stories are my strong suit. It's not that I dislike third person stories, but I like first person stories in particular for their ability to create a "viewpoint" that obscures information the main character would not otherwise have. I just wanted to clarify since the last story I shared was in the third person.

This is a story about a woman.

I hope you enjoy. I don't write a lot of suspense horror so this is maybe my best shot at it in a very long time.

My name is Samantha, but I would rather be called Sam.

I live in the town of Eclectic.

I won't tell you where it is, but I'll tell you that I'm in the United States. At least, I'm pretty sure. There are times when this place feels like it's own insular world. There are things that happen here that don't seem to happen in other towns, but it feels like the people who live here just accept it and try to pretend like it's normal. It's a very cold place to live most of the time. When summer comes, it's usually never very intense.

The winters are a completely different story, and well, it's worth mentioning that things get a lot weirder in the winter.

There's another town near where I live. I'll tell you about that one some other time. It's not a place I like to think about, and a lot of people have gone missing there. But this isn't a story about that town, this is a story about Eclectic. My home. A place I've been living ever since I was a little kid.

I don't know when people will be reading this. It's November right now. 2004, specifically. I feel like I should have clarified the date a lot sooner than that. People are still mulling over the results of the election, and no one's really surprised that President Bush got another term. It's not that I really like talking about politics, but it's the most recent thing that happened on a national level that people here have actually been able to hear about.

There are times when information just... doesn't arrive in Eclectic. Or we hear about it much later. There's something wrong with the signals, someone once told me. The only stations that come through loud and clear are the local stations, mostly right in the local county. It creates a lot of problems when there's a real emergency in town. People used to make a big deal about it and said that it seemed really unsafe. They threaten to move sometimes, but no one ever seems to really follow through. My town is weird, it's like people want to stay here and they don't know why.

I can't explain it either. It feels... safe? Safer than out there. Safer than something I can't explain. I can't put it into words but there's just this bad feeling that people get when they go too far away from town, they start to feel so anxious to the point where they come back. Maybe it has something to do with that other town I mentioned. Maybe we're going crazy because someone put something in the water. I'm just kidding; but sometimes it really does feel like this isn't a normal way to live.

I've seen... things. Things on the outside of town, out in the woods. I know they weren't always there.

When I was a little kid my mom and dad used to go on picnics near those woods and just spend time out enjoying nature like anyone else. It felt just like any other part of town, even if it was further down the road. Maybe I would even say it felt safe. But that feeling isn't there anymore. Not during the winter. But even during the summer, I can't bring myself to go out there. Not after some of the things I've seen.

I don't know if I can describe the things I've seen but I can try. I don't usually get a good look at them. I used to think they were people? I swear to God. And I've only ever seen them at night. They would always walk between the trees like people taking a midnight stroll, so it was easy to mistake them for people. I was a little worried they were criminals or something. Recently, I've seen one up close.

I borrowed some binoculars from my friend Stacy. I didn't tell her what for, because she's one of the people in town that is too nervous to talk about the strange things that are going on. Well, they're stranger than they've ever been, as far as I can remember. But thinking back, I really wonder if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Here's what I saw.

It looked like a person. Tall, for sure. It walked just like a person, but slowly. They always seemed like they were taking their time getting anywhere that they were going. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, or whoever. The one thing that stood out the most about them is the fact that in the darkness I could clearly make out something strange about their... hair.

I should probably explain something about my house, first. I live in a small one floor house with a porch. My house is on the outer edge of Eclectic, but it's still part of town. The forest isn't very close to my house. It's close enough that I can see it from my porch. With the binoculars, I felt like I could see anyone or anything in the forest well enough to tell what is or isn't what I'm actually looking at. That's why I can without a doubt... I don't think they *were* human.

That hair, that freaky hair. It wasn't like hair at all. It looked like it was *moving* around their head. It didn't look like it was being moved by the wind or being brushed by anything- it sure didn't look like they were moving it with their hands. I couldn't stop staring at it. I must have stared at that thing for at least 4 or 5 minutes before...

It looked at me.

It looked right at me. It didn't move. I'm not even sure if it could see me as well as I could see it, but I know it was staring at me because it almost felt like a staring contest. Those eyes. I still can't get that image out of my head sometimes, the image of those white glowing eyes. I promise you, I wouldn't joke about something like this. I lowered the binoculars and I just went into my house. I locked the door. I went as far as taking one of my wooden kitchen chairs and propping it up against the door handle.

I didn't go for a weapon or anything. I don't own a gun, or a bat, or anything like that. I hoped I would never need it, and I never felt unsafe in my own town. That's the one thing I used to like about Eclectic the most. It was strange, but it was safe. So... safe.

I waited for hours thinking something bad was going to happen. The thing I saw never came for me, but I cried a lot that night. I made extra sure to cover the windows with the drapes and keep the lights low. I kept some low burning candles near my bed, on the night stand. I didn't want to be in total darkness.

I'm writing about it now because it's over. I haven't had a night like that. It's been at least a week. I don't know if those things are still hanging around in the forest, but I'm willing to bet that they are. I've been having really scary dreams lately where I'm lying in my bed, and something shaped like a person passes right by the window in the darkness. I really hope they're just dreams. They always feel so real. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while.

I know it's not really likely that anyone will read this. But please. If you visit Eclectic, don't go to the forest. I think those things are still out there. They look like people, but they're not. I don't know what they are.

Goodbye for now. I guess.

©DreamHollow4219

I mean, most of them are unfinished but they are indeed actually stories.

I have a ton of stuff just on the backlog that I've wanted to deliberately write out and maybe I can actually do that this time around.

That would be nice.

That being said you're going to see more Storyposts on my page.

Newgrounds is really acting up on my end so I'll probably be on sparingly until the connection improves.

This is a storypost, which obviously means it's not a regular blog post. All storyposts will have the obvious tag "story-post" rather than a standard post tag.

This one is about my character Kalo, who was originally written and played out in AI Dungeon. I'm going to consider this chapter a deviation from the regular story, because the AI left little room for sub plots or alternate plots. I wanted to write some non-canon stuff or possibly just some unexplored arcs I had considered.

That means this post is just me, without the AI. This is just my pure writing ability.

The main story is over on AI Dungeon.

If you're interested in that, here's the link.

[This story will be written in third person]

Chapter 1:

Kalo found himself blinking the sleep out of his eyes the morning after the attempt on King Gruzub's life. There wasn't much that he felt he could say to the old orc, someone who he had become an unwitting ally to in his strange new life. The most they had agreed to in the meantime following the attack is that they would discuss the events and what it meant for the kingdom in the morning. Until that time, Gruzub would surround himself with his most loyal guards and refuse to meet with the citizens of the Orc Kingdom.

Kalo sat up with a start as he heard the door to his room being opened suddenly. "Boss wants to talk to ya. I mean er, the King," grumbled a tired orc guard from the entryway. Kalo brought his right hand to rub at both of his eyes in the adjustment to the light from the hallway. "Thanks. I'll be right there." The orc shut the door with more care and precision than he had bothered in opening it, but Kalo was simply grateful the orc had not ripped the old oak wood from it's hinges. Feeling slightly more energized, the protector started to open the drawers of his room dresser and started to change into a new outfit. He knew there was little time to freshen up more, and he did not want to test Gruzub's patience.

There was a sense of unease as Kalo started his walk towards the throne room. He knew exactly how orcs could get when they were sent into a blind rage, or really any situation where they might be irritable about things not going their way. He felt sure that King Gruzub was no different, despite Kalo's own treatment as an esteemed guest. He found himself temporarily barred from entry by two large orcs carrying spears, crossing their spears to deny the human entry to the throne chamber. "None may pass," they said in unison, as if practiced in execution.

"Let him in," bellowing from the inner throne room was enough to force the two green giants to look each other in the face. Then, they relented. Uncrossing their spears, Kalo nodded nervously as he pushed open the old doors. He was met with the bright light of a well furnished hall of royalty, once again reminded of his relatively unimportant position within the Orc Kingdom. A human, hundreds of miles from home, serving at the behest of his orcish allies. "You wanted to see me?" Kalo asked outright, walking over to and kneeling before Gruzub.

"Ah, I like that you recognize your place even when you ain't an orc," Gruzub commented. "You may rise. Time for us to talk about the goblin threat." Kalo brought himself to his feet and stood at attention, wanting to make sure he made no mistakes in the orders he was about to be given. Gruzub stroked his chin, though lacking any sort of facial hair, most likely in careful thought. The orc was a cut above standard orc intelligence to be sure, and he may as well have been openly posturing. "We got a lot of goblins living in this kingdom. They wouldn't all be traitors to the orcs, they know it would get them killed. We got at least 5 orcs for every goblin in most cities."

Kalo found himself waiting for Gruzub to make his point. "I want to know who might be paying these assassins. We track 'em down, we can maybe stop this before they take another shot at me. Something tells me they aren't too smart, because if they really wanted to mess with orcs, they could have killed one of my generals or a high commander. But they went straight for me. Bad, bad move."

Kalo felt gears turning in his head as he pondered what might be going through Gruzub's mind, starting to speak up. "Gruzub, are there citizens in the goblin kingdom who would have a reason to want to attack you?" The human paused as he continued to watch Gruzub rub his chin thoughtfully. The orc king was leaning on his right arm now, so deep in thought that it might as well have weighed down his entire body. "Yeh. I mean yes. One group did, sure. One comes to mind, anyway. Did you hear about the thieves guild from a month back?"

Kalo opened his mouth to speak, but realized he had nothing to say. He couldn't remember the actual details of the thieves guild, as they were elusive enough to cause the town guard a lot of problems. The human man started to share what little he knew about the finer details of the event. "I remember they had some bold aspirations, making themselves known enough to say they were planning to steal from the royal treasury. But you think they would go as far as trying to murder you?"

Gruzub rose himself from his slumped posture and gave a much more affirmative nod. "Yes. Why wouldn't it be? No king means they could have all the treasure; if they could manage to sneak it out of the castle." His brow seemed to further as he thought on it further. "Ungrateful goblins. I give them a safe place to live, makes sure they have plenty ta eat, and they still try and kill me for my riches?" Kalo could audibly hear King Gruzub slipping deeply into his orc slang and accent with his growing frustration. Then almost as suddenly as his anger seemed to build, he reclined in this throne with an irritated sigh. "I only got- have one man besides you that's good enough for a mission like this."

"Who might that be, Gruzub?" Kalo asked curiously, finding himself still ruminating the details of what he had heard so far. He saw the old orc shift forward in his seat with a small wry smile. "You ain't the only human living in the Orc Kingdom. Go and see a woman named Leeyan, she lives in the market district of the city. She's our best messenger, and she's real good at finding just about anyone."

I got the idea from Dang3rN00dl3 and I think I might give it a shot myself.

I've actually been writing for years and I haven't been sure where to post my stuff, so I'll use Newgrounds built-in blog posting system for this.

Hope you like.

I guess I'm not getting a job at that one place after all.

I'm being directed to another offer to somewhere in town, and I will more than likely be taking that one.

It's a start, but I hate how weird my life is, jumping from thing to thing.

My job search hasn't been going too well, but I was told about an offer with a nearly 99% hire rate so I'm probably going for that.

Here's the caveat: the people hiring have a reputation for seriously overworking people.

On the upside, they have a phenomenal reputation for pay and benefits.

I'm mentioning all of this because if I get hired, I will most likely be working nearly nonstop from now on. It's the best offer I can possibly go for at this point in time, whether I like it or not.

I know at least a few people out there know what that feeling is like.

Give me a little bit longer and I'll try to upload something.

I'm having a serious struggle.

Art has never been my specialty.

Music? Eh, sorta.

Writing? I enjoy it immensely.

But art is extremely hard for me to do. I'm the sort of person that really needs to check that every single pixel is in the right place (most of the time.) Even with that kind of OCD, art rarely turns out as good as I have it in my head.

I posted some new art and I'm hoping to upload some new music in the next few weeks. Look forward to it; because I have no clue when it will be done.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone is doing well.