One Short Story A Day

July 21, 2024

Prompt: You are in an interrogation room. A man walks in and throws a bunch of photos on the table in front of you. The photos are old and were taken at different points in history. You're in each one. He demands to know who you are..

The harsh fluorescent lighting in the interrogation room flickered ominously as I sat handcuffed to the metal table. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for the mysterious man to return. Moments later, the heavy metal door creaked open, and a tall, imposing figure entered the room. He was dressed in a dark suit, and his steely eyes bore into mine as he made his way over to the table.

Without a word, he tossed a stack of old, yellowed photographs onto the table in front of me. I stared at them in disbelief as I realized that I was in each one. The photos were from different points in history, but I was unmistakably present in each one. In one, I stood in the background of a Civil War battlefield, my face twisted in fear as soldiers clashed in a bloody frenzy. In another, I was seen lurking in the shadows of a Victorian-era street, my eyes glowing with malevolence.

The man's voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Who are you?" he demanded, his tone icy and authoritative. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

How could I explain the impossible truth? How could I possibly make him understand that I was somehow present in these photos from centuries past? The man's gaze never wavered as he scrutinized me, waiting for an answer. Gathering my courage, I finally spoke, my voice barely a whisper. "I. I don't know," I stammered, my heart racing in my chest.

Suddenly, the room seemed to grow colder, and a sense of dread settled over me like a heavy shroud. The man leaned in closer, his cold breath brushing against my ear as he spoke in a low, menacing tone. "You may not remember your true identity, but I know who you are," he hissed. "You are a being that has existed through the ages, a creature of darkness that feeds on fear and despair."

I recoiled in horror, my mind reeling with disbelief. How could this be true? How could I be a being of darkness, a malevolent force that had haunted the shadows of history for centuries?The man continued his relentless interrogation, his questions growing more and more intense with each passing moment. "What do you want?" he demanded, his voice rising in anger. "Why are you here?"

I struggled to find the right words, to convey the truth of my existence. "I. I don't know," I repeated, my voice a mere whisper in the oppressive silence of the room.

But the man was not satisfied with my answer. With a sudden burst of rage, he lunged across the table, his hands wrapping around my throat in a vice-like grip. I gasped for air, my vision swimming as the world spun around me.

As I fought for breath, a flash of memory suddenly pierced through the darkness. Images of past lives and forgotten deeds flashed before my eyes, each one more horrifying than the last. I had been a demon, a specter, a shadow that haunted the nightmares of mankind throughout the ages.

The man's grip tightened, his face contorted with hatred and fear. "You are a monster," he spat, his voice filled with loathing. "You are a curse upon this world, a being of darkness that must be destroyed."

As the world faded to black around me, I knew he was right. I was a being of darkness, a malevolent force that had haunted the shadows of history for centuries. And no matter how hard I fought, there was no escaping my true nature. And as the man's hands tightened around my throat, I knew that my time had come. The darkness had finally claimed me, and there was no turning back.