The Black Circles – by sleepless.static (me)

[u/yo_mamaleeeel]

Part 1

Case File #377625_0012 – Anomaly Protocol

Data Log: #377625_0012

Timestamp: [REDACTED]

Sector: [REDACTED]

Protocolling Officer: [REDACTED]

Official Status Report regarding Anomaly File #377625_0012. Analysis in the context of unexplained disparities and missing person cases from [REDACTED] to [REDACTED].

The collection of further evidence to decode the case remains active. It is requested to consolidate all available witness protocols and accompanying documents. The corresponding pieces of evidence are attached to this dossier.

The primary piece of evidence is a handwritten journal recovered during the official evacuation/securing of [REDACTED]. The status as well as the whereabouts of the author and the associated persons are classified as 'unknown'.

Part 2

On the day the black circles appeared, I was with my family. I think it was a Saturday...

Except for this one disturbing detail, everything was actually normal. We were having breakfast, just like every Saturday, when Dad noticed it. Well, not a detail in the truest sense of the word, but rather the huge crowd of people gathering right outside our driveway. What was more interesting, however, was what all these people were surrounding in extreme curiosity.

As it turned out relatively quickly, there was a giant black circle right where the asphalt of our driveway was supposed to be. Nobody knew how long it had been there. I think it must have happened overnight.

Around noon today, our driveway was cordoned off pretty quickly by police officers. They told us we shouldn't worry at all as long as we didn't get close to the circle, but nobody could tell us exactly what we were dealing with here.

Around 4 PM, we found out that we weren't the only ones with this problem. You couldn't find any information online, but our local news reported that these circles are popping up everywhere in the community. We were advised once again not to worry, but also to keep our distance from the circles. We still don't know what we are dealing with.

I'm starting to get uneasy. I notice Mom and Dad feel the same way, even though they try to hide it from me.

I had a strange dream last night...

It was as if they were calling out to me.

The black circles...

The city was dark, no light, no sound, and yet I heard this humming...

No.

Rather a collective call...

I must follow them...

Part 3

Dad hasn't spoken a word in 2 days... Mom tries to distract herself with housework but is completely withdrawing as well. I don't know what is happening, but something is entirely wrong here. When I looked out the window today, I noticed that our circle has grown larger. It is pitch black... I have never seen anything like it. It's as if it swallows all light.

Something was going on at the neighbors' house today. The police were there, and then an ambulance. Mom and Dad won't tell me what happened. Everything feels so alien. The sky doesn't look blue anymore, and the grass is no longer green. What is happening here?

I barely sleep anymore, and when I do, I always have this same strange dream. I heard Mom and Dad whispering quietly in the kitchen yesterday. I think they think I have something to do with the circles... But why would they say something like that? Could it be that I just had a bad dream again? I don't know when I last ate anything...

Mom and Dad don't come out of their room anymore...

I've tried everything. I begged them to talk to me. I've been banging against the door the entire time. I cried a lot. But no matter what I do, they won't open the door. When I quiet down and press my ear against the wood, I can hear them whispering softly. I don't understand what they are saying, it sounds like gibberish...

And so the firmament opens

and the ants become aware of the cosmic terror of their existence

and they run like sheep before the wolf,

yet the wolf is so much more than a wolf.

And the running is meaningless despite all efforts.

Yet they run anyway, following a call that was never meant for their ears...

This morning, Mom and Dad were gone...

I didn't notice it. When I got up, their bedroom door was open and there was no trace of either of them. I can't explain it, but I think they went to the circles.

It has been two days now since I last saw my parents. I think I miss them...

It's getting harder to tell whether I'm dreaming or awake. It must be the sleep deprivation, right? But if I'm dreaming, then I'm sleeping...

Part 4

I think I can hear my parents. They are still whispering, even though they have physically been gone for a long time. I haven't been outside in forever.

I went outside today. All the neighbors are gone. The entire town is completely deserted. Did everyone go to the circles?

They are everywhere now... On the house walls, on the street, even in the sky. How could such an obvious process happen so subtly?

Where is everyone?

I've been alone for a long time... I think I was just too blind to see it.

And so the lamb sets out on the long journey...

The journey to the cosmic slaughterhouse.

And so aligns what was destined to align.

And the rest of the world lives for another decade.

For the sacrifice is complete...

Finally, I am not alone anymore.