Submitted by HorrorJunkie123 t3_1001ppv in nosleep
“Cheers!” Uncle Bryant roared enthusiastically, clinking his glass against mine.
A cacophony of hearty toasts erupted throughout the room in response. I took a swig of my beer and grimaced, much to my uncle’s amusement.
“Not a big beer drinker I take it.”
“You caught me. I’m more of a wine kind of guy,” I proclaimed, silently praying my older cousins hadn’t noticed my expression.
“I prefer whiskey myself, but beer isn’t a bad alternative.”
I nodded in agreement. I eyed my watch, staring it down as if that would spur the hands to tick faster.
“How’s work been lately? I heard you started a new job a few months back.”
“It’s been great. I’m really enjoying it.”
“Joey, how is it really going? Are you actually liking it there?”
I wearily sighed. Uncle Bryant could read me like a book. He’d always excelled at pulling the truth out of people.
“Okay, so it hasn’t been what I was hoping for. The pay isn’t what I wanted, and I’ve been putting in long hours just to keep my head above water. Even though I just started, they expect my numbers to be similar to everyone else’s.”
Something soft smacked into my forehead. I glanced down just in time to watch a foam football roll to the ground. A chorus of elated giggles emanated from the opposite end of the table as my younger cousins sneered at me.
“Little shits,” I mumbled.
Uncle Bryant scowled at them. They immediately fell silent.
“Sounds like you could use a vacation. Hey, I’ve got the perfect thing! Sherry and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas in a couple weeks. The boys are staying at your aunt’s house, so we’ll need someone to water the plants while we’re gone. If you want, you could stay there until we get back. I’ll even throw some cash your way to sweeten the deal,” he grinned, nudging my shoulder.
I’d only been to Uncle Bryant’s a handful of times. He was right. He did have a decent amount of land and it would be nice getaway from the never-ending mountain of work piling up at my job.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Alright, let me know. I’m always a call away if you need anything.”
I furiously stomped on the brakes as I pulled into my garage.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck I hate him so fucking much,” I raged, slamming my fists into the steering wheel.
“What does that jackass provide that I don’t?” I whimpered, tears brimming in the corners of my eyes.
Gabe had started a month after me, produced lower numbers, and always worked the bare minimum, yet he’d still been promoted over me. I was seeing red. I started hammering the adjacent headrest like a punching bag, delivering harder blows than Mike Tyson.
I had to calm down. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, controlling my breathing in tandem. Nope. That didn’t do the trick. I fished around in my disheveled glove box until I found it. My emergency pack of Marlboro reds. I stepped out of the car and lit my cigarette, inhaling deeply.
“That’s the stuff,” I muttered as I watched the smoke billow high into the brisk autumn air.
I needed a change of scenery. I whipped out my phone and scrolled until I reached Uncle Bryant’s number. He picked up almost immediately.
“Joey! How’s it goin, bud?”
“Uncle Bryant, I’ve been thinking, and I’ll do it. I’ll watch the house while you’re gone.”
The destination is on your left.
Gravel crunched beneath my tires as I squealed to a stop in Uncle Bryant’s driveway. I turned off my Google maps and hoisted my backpack into my lap, opting to return for the rest of my things once I settled in. I took one step out of the car and immediately froze. There was another car in the driveway. And it looked exactly like mine. How did I miss that?
“What in the Twilight Zone is this?”
I tentatively crept up the drive and inspected the car. It was the exact same make and model that I drove. It had significantly more dings and scrapes than my Ford Focus did, but one distinct detail stuck out. The driver’s side mirror was chipped with a dime-sized chunk missing… just like mine.
It was impossible. It had to be a coincidence. Maybe Uncle Bryant forgot I was coming and just happened to hire someone to watch the house who had the exact same car as me? Even I thought that sounded absurd, but it was the only rational explanation I could come up with. Whatever the case, I was going to get to the bottom of it. I trudged up to the doorstep.
I bent down to retrieve the key that Uncle Bryant had left under the mat. It was gone. I began to sweat profusely as a sense of trepidatious foreboding crawled up my spine. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. I weakly raised my hand to knock on the door. It swung open just before my knuckles grazed the wood. My heart dropped into my stomach. I thought I was going to pass out.
The man who stood before me was… me.
I stared at him slack jawed. Yep, I was losing it. This had to be some sort of stress-induced psychotic break. Right?
“Look, I know this is a complete mind fuck, but just come inside and I’ll explain everything.”
That was it. My brain had a mental overload. My vision grew blurry, and everything went black.
I awoke on the couch with an ice pack pressed against my forehead. I scanned the room, searching for any trace of my unwelcome visitor. Discovering nothing out of the ordinary, I attempted in vain to steady my palpitating heart. I had nearly convinced myself that I’d imagined the whole ordeal when he rounded the corner from the kitchen.
“I brought you a glass of water. Three ice cubes. Just like I uh… you… um, we? like it,” he offered, setting the glass down on the table beside me.
I gawked at him, eyes wide as dinner plates while he nonchalantly plopped down into the loveseat opposite me. He sighed.
“I guess I have some explaining to do, don’t I?” he inquired, awaiting my response.
“Y-yeah. You’ve got a lot fucking explaining to do, buddy.”
“Alright, I know how fucking insane this is going to sound, but I’m you from the future. I came from the year 2032. That’s the year that nuclear fallout will occur and it’s up to us to stop it. I won’t be able to stay long. That’s why I need your help. You’re the only one I can trust to see this through. Now, I know you have a ton of questions, so ask away. But try to keep it short. I don’t have much time left,” he explained to my utter amazement.
I pondered for a moment. After I had a chance to really soak in his appearance, I began to notice subtle differences in our features. His hair was significantly more gray and crow's feet were apparent around his eyes. I also noted that he had a small scar on his cheek, unlike me.
“Okay, okay. This is definitely a bit overwhelming. But I guess, why now? Why is Uncle Bryant’s house ten years in the past the ideal time and place to tell me this?” I questioned as the reality of the situation sunk in.
“We haven’t perfected the technology yet. This is the closest I was able to get. I just consider myself lucky that I wasn’t blasted a few hundred years into the past.”
“Yeah alright, but how do I know you’re not an imposter or something who just wants to take my place?”
“Ask me anything. Something personal that only we would know.”
I took a minute to mull it over.
“Oh, I’ve got it! In the fifth grade I had a friend named Adam. We had a secret handshake. Do you remember what it was?”
He met me in the middle of the room and extended his hand.
“Slap, slap, finger tap, boom!” we yelled in unison.
“You’ve convinced me,” I chuckled.
I could sense the tension in the atmosphere dissipating following our interaction.
“I told you. It did feel good to go on that nostalgia trip though.”
“So, um… this has kind of been weighing on my mind lately, but uh… do we ever find, ya know, the one?”
“Yes, we do,” he smirked.
“Her name is Kara. Ring any bells?”
“Wait. Kara from engineering?”
He nodded, his grin growing wider as he did so.
“No way! I’ve been trying to build up the courage to ask her out for months!”.
“She’s the most important thing that’ll ever happen to us. You get married in 2027 and have two beautiful children. She developed the technology that kickstarted time travel. She’s actually how I’m here right now…” he trailed off, his tone suddenly twisting to a solemn grave timbre.
“Oh yeah, why are you here? What do you want to tell me?”
“I need you to do something for me.”
“I need you to murder Uncle Bryant. Ever wonder what he does for a living? How he could afford such a luxurious home? He’s the lead of a skunkworks team developing a super weapon to deploy against Russia. He’s the real reason I’m here.”
His revelation smacked me like a ton of bricks. I gaped at him in befuddlement.
“I know it’s a lot to handle, but I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Remove Uncle Bryant from the equation and we all get to live to see another day.”
“I can’t believe this. I need a fucking drink,” I muttered despondently, standing to head to the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be like this. Is there anything I can do to help make this a little more… bearable?”
“No, no, just stay here. I need a second alone.”
“Okay, let me know if I can make this easier in any way.”
I shuffled to the kitchen and began to pour myself a drink. I rifled through Uncle Bryant’s fridge and liquor stash until I found the ingredients to whip up my favorite cocktail; a Moscow mule. I put the finishing touches on it, dropping a slice of lime into the concoction. I meticulously cleaned my mess, discreetly slipping the knife into the sleeve of my jacket.
“What’d ya make?”
“Our favorite. A Moscow mule,” I stated, sidling up to him.
“You should really try a sip,” I hissed, splashing the drink in his face.
I wasted no time as I pulled the knife from my sleeve and plunged it deep into his gut.
He glanced up at me, countenance contorted in bewildered agony.
“W-why d-did you…”
“I didn’t know a kid named Adam. Jeremy died from leukemia in the fourth grade. I never would have forgotten that,” I growled as I whispered into his ear.
Suddenly his expression coiled to one of pure malignant rage.
“You just made a huge mistake.”
I watched in abject horror as the imposter’s entire body began to writhe and shift like maggots inside a sack of rotten meat. A hideous amalgamation of flesh and viscera squirmed and pulsated, organs turning in on each other until it formed a solid mass. The abomination before me morphed into a pitch-black figure, swallowing up any light surrounding it. I could only discern its features due to the thick coat of blood encompassing its entire frame.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Joey. I really didn’t want it to come to this,” it bellowed in a low animalistic inflection.
I let out a soul-piercing shriek as it reached a handful of mangled gnarled digits toward my face.
That’s the last thing I remember before everything went dark. I awoke in Uncle Bryant’s basement. Fortunately, I still have my phone, so I've been able to call for help. I’m terrified. I don’t know what to do. But I have a sinking feeling that it does. And that we are all in imminent danger.
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