"There is nothing like getting bitten on the ass by something that you didn't quite believe in."—Cliff Pollick

Upon leaving the library come its closing time, I remarked quickly to myself on the utter darkness of the deserted parking lot that lie before me. I walked in long strides, as I always did, towards its end. The street beyond the lot was just as deserted, and just as dark.

There was, apparently, no one upon the road and it seemed that none of the street lamps were in working order at the moment, and I stood in darkness absolute. It was about then that I realized that there was something horribly wrong. I hadn't seen a damn thing since I had stepped out of the library. I knew I was standing upon the road, I'd quite clearly felt myself step over the curb to get onto the street that I usually walked home upon. But, still, I couldn't see, as said before, a damn thing.

I stood for a second, bewildered, thinking perhaps that my eyes needed a moment or two to get used to the darkness outside of the brightly lit library in which I had been sitting and reading for the past seven hours. Suddenly, realization hit me as I remembered the musty old tome I had been reading last, a hefty volume on magick and the occult I had been perusing for a paper I was writing for one of my college classes, a paper on the absolute absurdity of so called "Magickal Thinking". I remembered, panicking now, of what I read upon the very first page:

"Non-believers, take thee heed
There is no reason thou shall need
To refer to these pages in word or deed
And even now, your fate doth speed
Towards darkness absolute."

Suddenly, fear gripped me as, for the first time since I was a child, I doubted whether or not my skepticism was well placed. I stumbled blindly forward, panicking more even still and moving awkwardly towards god knows what, or where.

Suddenly, then, I heard a ghastly shriek, and felt a crushing pain in my side so intense that it took my breath away, and I felt and heard air rushing past me, and I hit the cement with a sickening sound, and I felt an ungodly coldness permeate my being….

I jerked awake with an audible sound of fright as I sat up from the library table I had fallen face down in sleep upon. Exhaling slowly to calm my nerves, I looked down at the occult volume before me with a newfound fear and revolt. I stood, quickly, loudly, I am sure, as my movements attracted several stares, and managed to return the sinister book to its rightful place.

I then returned to the table, gathered my things and made for the door under the worried and ridiculing glares of my fellow library patrons. I cast my eyes down to the floor as I walked rapidly through the door and past the well-lit parking lot, my mind spinning. What was I thinking? How could I believe in something so ridiculous as a book cursing me?

I was so distracted, that when I stepped onto the road past the parking lot, I didn't see the cars there, but apparently they saw me. As they both swerved to avoid hitting me, they collided head on, directly in front of me, launching what seemed to be broken glass in every direction, including at me.

I was hit full in the face, and recoiled, stumbling backwards, my eyes shut against the glass and the pain, I could feel blood upon my face, and I opened my eyes to survey the damage that had been done to me, but when my eyes opened, I saw no difference. I saw nothing but darkness. I stumbled, crying out in pain, anguish and fear, unable to see at all, and I heard the ghastly shriek of a car horn, and felt a horrible crushing pain in my side as the car honking collided with my form, and I flew the air, smashing onto the concrete, and was plunged, into darkness absolute.