“Joey! Joey! Come on inside, supper is nearly finished!” a woman in a velvet silk blouse yelled in a soothing voice.

  “One moment, mother! I’ll be there in a sec..” Joey responded. He continued digging further and further into the sand, eager to retrieve his latest discovery. Joey was a metal detector enthusiast, or better known as a “detectorist”, who had an intimate burning passion for finding new trinkets and items. His father had passed away when he was merely 3 years of age, so him and his mother had been living a reserved plain life. However, metal-detecting was something that truly sparked his interests. Some people’s trash he deeply considered to be fascinating treasures and precious riches.

  Joey was growing sweaty and exhausted, yet his sheer determination and perseverance allowed him to continue striking the coarse sand with his worn out shovel. One strike after the other, he finally made contact with a hard firm object. DOINK! It was a small metal container with two wooden hinges latched tightly around it. Joey grabbed the rectangular box and couldn’t hold back from shaking it. He could tell there was a spherical object inside the container. Joey had to see what was inside. Using two hands and his brute strength, he successfully pried the metal box open. A small silver spherical object rolled out of the rusty casing.

  He began to closely examine the object. It had intricate carvings with an ancient foreign language written all over it. Something about it felt so eerie and mysterious. Joey was hearing subtle voices and murmurs in his head. It was as if the ball-like item was luring him in, hell even calling out to him.

  “Joey, what are you doing! I’ve already set the table and supper is ready! Come and wash up!” his mother urgently interrupted. He could hear the sound of his mother’s voice crying out in the distance. His conscious had come back to reality and the unsettling uncanny feeling had faded away. He grasped the silver ball and slickly slipped it inside of his right pocket. He hastily followed the path towards the beach house when suddenly, CRACKLE!

  There were continuous rumbles of thunder and streaks of lightning, barely visible in the middle of the ocean that caught Joey’s attention. He glanced at his smart watch which declared that a savage storm was brewing just off the coast of where he lived. It was best that he got inside as soon as possible before the effects of the storm began to take place. Then, the sounds of the mysterious voices and murmurs had returned. He peered back into the horizon at the gray monotone storm. He saw what it looked like to be massive tentacles emerging from the clouds, slithering and twitching in a snake-like motion. Joey gasped. Was what he was seeing real? He rubbed his eyes and looked into the horizon once again. The tentacles were gone. He figured that his imagination was playing tricks on him, and promptly headed inside for supper.

  At the dinner table, there lied a pot filled with Joey’s mother’s homemade chicken and potato soup. It was Joey’s favorite dish; it made him feel close to home and he could imagine his mother’s nurturing arms, hugging him with each and every sip of the soup. By the time he started to take spoonfuls of the stew, however, he noticed that it was already relatively cold and undelightful. He didn’t get that same wonderful sensation he usually got from eating the dish. He began to play with the mushy potatoes in the soup with his spoon, until suddenly, he flipped it over to reveal a horrific sight. The potato was an eyeball floating amidst the cold stew. Joey’s initial reflexes prompted him to jump out of his seat and pull away from the table. He couldn’t believe it! Joey intervened his mother’s laundry-folding session in a disruptive manner.

  “Mom! There’s an eyeball in my soup!” Joey panickingly told her.

  “Honey, why would there be such an object in your food?! This better not be one of your little games again Joey!” She responded, visibly annoyed.

  “Mom, I swear I’m not messing around! Come see for yourself” he insisted. Joey then lead her back to the kitchen where his unfinished bowl of soup was. The eyeball was gone; it was just an ordinary potato sitting inside the soup. Joey was in absolute disbelief trying to plead his case to his mother. She scolded him and carried on with her household chores for the night. Joey began to question his own vision.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “What the heck is wrong me? Am I just seeing stuff??” he seriously thought to himself. He finished the rest of his food and went to his room, preparing for bed. While fixing his bedsheets and propping his pillowcases on, the silver sphere within his pocket began began to glow a green radiating light and make a slight buzzing noise. He picked it up and began to stare at it. There it was again; the subtle murmurs and voices he had been hearing all day came back to him. He couldn’t make out what they were saying. Joey thought he was going absolutely insane as he continued to fidget with the silver ball. CRACKLE! A streak of lightning struck next to his house. The storm had finally approached the coastline..

  Joey looked out the window in awe of the great gray clouds that started to flood the surrounding area. Something felt off though, it felt like someone or something was watching him; like it was closely analyzing his next move. Then he attentively peered through the window and squinted his eyes at the gray clouds. Another streak of lightning illuminated the surroundings for a split second and he was just able to make out the shadow of a dark sinister figure with tentacles. It was the mysterious entity he had spotted earlier. Joey then stared out the window, waiting for the next bolt of lightning to once again reveal the being’s presence. CRACKLE! The peculiar entity was no longer there. Joey also realized that the silver ball he held within his hand was no longer glowing green or making a noise. He placed the ball in his pocket and submerged himself in his soft bed.

  The monstrous storm outside hadn’t settled down one bit and Joey was growing anxious and distressed with each and every sound of deep clapping thunder. The eerie murmurs and voices continued to cloud his consciousness as he buried his entire face into his pillows. The voices weren’t stopping an Joey was becoming restless and irritated. Then suddenly, amidst the darkness of his room, the silver ball began to illuminate the same green color through his pants. He swiftly grabbed the ball and was, instantaneously, interrupted by the sounds of his mother’s screaming. She sounded like she was in deep terror. Joey immediately bounced out of bed and darted towards the sound of his mother’s cry. There, standing at the entrance of the beach house, was Joey’s mom being held hostage by massive green tentacles. The tentacles were gripping tightly on her right arm.

  “JOEY, get out of here while you still can!” his mother pleaded.

  “NO MOM! I’m not gonna leave you like this!” Joey cried out. His mother was then abruptly swooped away by the grotesque tentacles of the creature. She was dragged away into the rough desolate sky, as Joey watched in horror. Joey could sense his heart racing in terror; he wanted to curl up into a ball and give up, as if something good was bound to happen. That wasn’t case, however, and Joey knew it. He had to do something about it. He channeled his inner bravery and built up the courage to confront the entity that had taken his mother. The fierce storm had engulfed the entire coast. The giant being stood within the storm; it’s glowing green eyes visible through the gray clouds.

  Joey walked out onto the front porch and yelled, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MOTHER!?” “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!””

  A deep gurgly voice responded in a treacherous tone, “You have taken something that belongs to me. Therefore, I have taken something that you deem to be precious.” “That glowing silver ball that you have there boy; it belongs to me!” Return it to it’s rightful owner, and everything shall be as it once was..” Joey grabbed the silver object from his pocket and presented it to the creature. Then, out of the blue, it’s elongated tentacles reached out for the antique item. He promptly placed the ball onto the creature’s tentacle, and the entity disappeared out of sight. A dark green vortex surrounded Joey, engulfing him likes flames to a building.

  Joey’s eyes began to flutter and he gave out a loud yawn. He peeked at the clock next to his bed and it displayed, “9:12 AM.” He finally realized that he was back from the horrific event and bolted to the kitchen to check on his mother.

  “Good morning, Joey! Breakfast is nearly ready. Why don’t you go ahead and—” his mother was caught off guard by the warm cuddling hug of her son.

  “I missed you so much mom.” Joey sobbed tears of joy in his mother’s arms.

  “What’s the matter is everything alright?” his mother questioned. Right in that moment, Joey was about to explain the event to his mother but he figured that everything that had happened was all but just a silly dream.

  “Yea, everything is great mom!” Joey happily insisted. As the two finished their happy moment, Joey noticed something disturbing about his mother. There was a black bruise on her right arm with suction cup marks all over. Joey’s eyes widened and his heart fell to the floor. That being was still out there. That was no dream; it was all real..