Baptism

And so my body begins to collapse, my skin burning in the cold as I nearly faint from exhaustion.

I was just trying to... I couldn't remember what I was even thinking when I closed that bunker door. The people inside... would they even care?

The snow crunched under my expensive shoes, ones I only got to seem presentable while going to an interview. Being rejected seemed bad enough, but now it all seems so uterly meaningless...

It was supposed to be the perfect day, not cold, not hot and just the right amount of shade to feel good. But then I just had to see something like that dashing streak of light cutting open the sky. Then came the cold, as if it had always been like that and what's more... it burned.

The cold snow felt like it was going to turn us all into cinder. Everyone ran, I think I heard some people getting trampled, and I was just lucky when I made it to one of the bunkers dotted around the city.

Now I think I should close my eyes for... at least a while. The pain on my skin is pretty exhausting, too much to really comprehend. I found this nice car... looks like no-one inside is even alive?

I didn't want to imagine how they could have died like that, looks like scars from being struck by lighting. Ah... My legs finally gave out, guess this is it... I slowly collapsed against the freezing surface of the car, feeling my rented clothes stick to it like glue.

"Oh... You poor thing...", that voice felt so nice. It had a kind of bass to it that would be amazing if used in a song. It felt warm, but... distant, almost like a parent who really did care about a kid despite never being around.

I tried to make a sound, but I guess my throat got dried-up by the cold. Most of my voice would sound better for a cheap B-movie monster.

"C'mon, stay still...", the voice spoke. It was..

getting closer? And now I could feel my bones tremble a bit. "Deep breaths..."

I don't know what it was, but my throat felt like it could actually not bleed-out trying to hold a conversation. I let out a sound of relief, the source of the sound clearly being surprised.

As I looked up, I caught a glimpse of strange lights hanging above me before seeing the towering, lanky figure crouch to my level. Off-putting, eldritch, sickeningly perfect, calming, but commanding. A couple of words could propably describe... it, but that would only apply for a single moment as I could only stop and gaze into it's strange glowing eyes that felt so empty and full.

"What's your name, little guy?"

"Otto..." , I don't know what compelled me to respond. I couldn't take my eyes off it, so perfectly creepy. It was like those shadowy monsters you would kind of see in the dark as a kid, only those weren't making you respond with your name.

"And what do you do for others of your kind?" It's voice was so menacingly detached from the body, which was itself seemingly always twisting and changing.

"I help out at the local market..." I can't remember exactly how many years I've wasted doing something so meaningless like that. All I want is to design, to be an architect, but no-one though anything special of anything I dreamed up.

"And what do you dream of, Otto the merchant?"

Like clockwork. Did it read my mind? Did I accidentally speak out loud? Wait... I can actually think before talking now, but why?! What's so special about that question?

Before I answered like it was nothing.

I answered without hesitation.

Maybe I didn't want that?

Why wouldn't I?

I don't know...

I looked, realizing I closed my eyes. That damned smiled, one that sent shivers down my spine.

"That's a good answer..." , it's fingers curled around my shoulders. They were something alien to anything I had ever felt. "I shall show you my love, as the All-Father..." That terrifying smile opened up, showing a black hole that swallowed me whole before I knew anything.

I don't feel the cold anymore...