Deadly comfort

Joe walked through the cold evening wind, shivering. It was near sunset, the giant ball of light hovering above the horizon. The light coloured everything it touched a strong orange, the shadows lengthening as the day drew to a close. Joe looked down at the dark streak behind him as he walked home. He wished he hadn't.

Joe was scared of the dark. He always thought of all the little horror stories and the monsters, always just behind you. Hiding in the closet, somewhere you can't see them. You can tell somethings wrong but you don't know what it is, what's there, until their hands -
Joe put the thought to rest. He wasn't going to get caught out her after the light disappeared. There was a slight mist curling around his feet.

The front door opened and he stepped inside. He switched the lights on eager to hide from the night. There were soon smells coming from the kitchen, a stew. He sat down with a hot drink in front of the television.

His attention was on the news, and yet something was wrong. A quick glance behind him revealed a wall painted cream. There was nothing hiding from him. No one else was around. He could see nearly everywhere in the flat from here, yet he was missing something. He noticed a few shadows in the corner of his vision, and despite thinking it was paranoia, moved to look at them. They were gone by the time his eyes had moved.

The curtains were thrown open, to reveal nothing. Joe searched the flat, turning on all the lights. The ominous feeling continued and he couldn't help but feel that the lights weren't enough to keep the monsters out. He heard rattling in the kitchen, growing louder. As he moved to look in the kitchen there was a crash.

He jumped as he saw the stew boiling over. He had put too much water in, and the lid had hit the floor. He sighed, reminding himself that the monsters in the dark only existed in his imagination. He turned the heat down, and with a sense of relief, returned to the sofa. There was a moth flying around the light bulb. It was strange, as none of the windows were open. He dismissed it.

Normally his paranoia didn't effect him this much. Tonight he couldn't sleep. He was too scared to the lights off. He had to see everything, just to be sure. He was safe as long as he kept his eyes wide open. He saw a second moth.

He empathised with moths, thinking that maybe they were as scared of the dark as he was. Joe went to see if his stew was edible. He hadn't put the lid back on, and some of the water had evaporated. It was done. The only issue was the three grey-brown creatures floating at the top. He was wondering how the moths kept getting in. He took them out with a spoon.

Finally, Joe began to relax. Maybe he'd just been hungry. He was just relaxed enough to find that having several moths flying round your head is rather annoying. He managed to swat one of them before trying to get some sleep.

He left the night light in his bedroom on. His mind had taken him to a dark building, an abandoned complex in his nightmares. It was always the same thing; the lights went out, and he woke up. It wasn't morning yet, and he was coated in sweat, utterly terrified once again. He ran to turn on the light, only when he turned it on, the scene was not what he expected. There were over a hundred moths in the room. He looked in his wardrobe only to find rags where the moths had chewed their way through.

He was safe from the darkness for now at least. He opened the door into the rest of the flat, wondering why it looked so dark under the door. Joe thought he really ought to call an exterminator, or someone, to deal with the moths, and looked to turn on the lights. Or at least he would have, had there not been a more pressing concern. desperately trying to close the door as moths poured into the bedroom.

The door broke from the force of the insects, drawn by the only light in the house. Joe quickly started batting them away only to realize it was futile. He tried to escape, only to realise he couldn't see. The light couldn't be seen past the weight of the moths. He stumbled blindly, now unable to even breathe. Not long after he couldn't even move, the moths crushing each other in an effort to get to the ever comforting light.