(no subject)

[onerthes]

For the next two weeks, whenever Peter happens to see a person that he knows and cares about, he will hear a faint, sinister giggle out of the nearest shadows. If he looks, he will see only the faintest shadow of a 'something' that is there, a something that is distantly familiar and yet not quite right. It almost seems human, and yet not quite. A glimpse of beady, glowing yellow eyes, but by the time he turns fully it is gone. There is a clearly sinister element to the snickering and he will feel his spider senses kick in almost as if he were in immediate and mortal peril. However, he will feel it with absolute clarity that it is not him but the person he has just seen who is in danger.

Something will happen in the next seconds. His eyes will be drawn. Perhaps a heavy piece of furniture is being hauled up and the chord snaps. Perhaps a monster lunges out of the shadows. Perhaps there is an explosion. Each occasion is different, and each appears to be ready to cause immediate mortal harm to the person that he has just seen. However, no matter how close he is, even if he is standing right beside them, he will always be just a second too late, and be forced to witness as whatever peril claims them seconds before he can reach them.

Only when the person interacts with him next will he realize that it was an illusion, that they were never in true danger. And no matter what, it will be impossible to shake the fear that each of these illusions is leading up to an occasion where it is no longer fake, and the peril is in fact very real. Should he ignore the peril, that fear of 'what if' will gnaw at him to the point of distraction every time. Should he try to avoid human contact, his spider sense will be on fire non-stop, interfering with his concentration. The only way to reduce the impact during this period is to talk about this gnawing ea, about the worry that he won't be able to be there the one time it counts.

This may begin at any time. If you have any questions regarding this horror, please reply to this comment for clarification!