Today's Reading
He went to the bathroom to get his toothbrush, some soap, and a razor, then realized he needed to pee and walked over to the toilet—after all, it might be a long time before he saw another toilet. As he stood there, he repeatedly glanced around, afraid that the orb would appear behind him. Because of this, the ten plus seconds it took for him to relieve himself felt like an eternity.
When Jeong-su left his house and hurried toward his car, he kept his distance from dark shadows and walls. If someone else had been watching him, they would have thought him mad. When he arrived at his car, he opened the door with shaking hands and quickly hopped into the driver's seat.
But just before he started the car, he paused.
How can I be sure I'm not hallucinating?
He thought for a moment. His neighbor had disappeared. And he had heard the screams of another. But if two people really had been killed, would the neighborhood be this quiet? He looked down at his shoes, which he hadn't put on properly. In the back seat of his car were his bag and a mess of clothes. The car door, which was still open, was starting to chime.
Am I really in danger? Am I positive I'm not seeing things?
Then, suddenly, he saw through his rearview mirror a woman run out of a building. Behind her was the black orb. The woman tripped as she ran for her life, and as she fell, her foot grazed the surface of the orb, initiating the absorption process. She let out a piercing scream. Finally, Jeong-su came to and turned around. He stared through the back window and watched as she was sucked into the orb.
First her legs disappeared, then her body. But just before her head was pulled in, she turned to look at Jeong-su. Her face was filled with anguish and horror. Her arms, which were still outside the orb even after her head disappeared, thrashed wildly looking for something to grab onto, but eventually, they too were pulled in.
The orb now turned to Jeong-su and started toward him. He quickly shut his door and turned the key to start the engine. All the while, the orb was slowly coming closer and closer. He glanced through the rearview mirror again, getting a good look at the orb's surface, which was impenetrably black and as smooth as mercury.
Although this thing looked similar to a perfectly spherical bowling ball, it was like no ball he had ever seen. Jeong-su was turning the key to the right, but the car was just puttering and not starting. The orb, which was moving closer and closer, finally reached the car. When this happened, it passed through the trunk like a shadow falling on the ground, then reappeared through the back seat.
Finally, the car started.
Screeeeech.
The sound of the car's wheels trying to get traction filled the alley. The car started moving forward, leaving the black orb behind. Jeong-su kept his foot on the gas, going faster than he had ever driven through this alley. All the while, the undeterred orb continued to slowly pursue him. When he turned the corner in the alley, an old man appeared and stood in front of the car, forcing Jeong-su to slam on the brakes.
He looked in the rearview mirror to see how close the orb was, but because his car had already rounded the corner, he couldn't see the alley from which he just escaped.
"I heard a woman scream," the old man said as he stuck his head through the driver's side window. "What happened?"
Seeing Jeong-su panting and unable to answer, the old man pressed the issue.
"What's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything? You didn't hit her with your car, did you?"
"It wasn't my car. There's a horrible thing back there. Look—"
"You're lying. I bet you hit someone and are trying to run."
The old man, who must have heard the screeching of rubber meeting road after the woman's scream, seemed to think there had been a car accident. Jeong-su had no idea how to explain to this old man that there was a dark spherical monster roaming the neighborhood swallowing people whole.
The two women from the store (the same two who had refused to believe Jeong-su and given him suspicious looks) appeared again to see what all the commotion was about. The old man implored the old women to call the police because there had just been a car accident.
"If you don't run, you're all dead!" Jeong-su shouted finally. "A black orb is killing people! You're all dead if you don't run!"
The old man and the women looked at each other, not sure what to say, then turned to look down the alley where Jeong-su was pointing. By now, the black orb had just come into view. It wasn't fast, but it was persistent.
"What is that?" one of the old women muttered.
...
