Monster

are you a guy

February 14th. You're alone. Messengers are buzzing: Eros Global has released the MatchMade app. No questionnaires—the algorithm scans your neural connections and fears to find your perfect match. Overcome by longing, you download it. The app requests access to everything, even your geolocation. You click "Find. "

The screen is distorted by static. A face stares back at you. At first it seems human, but the longer you look, the chill deepens. The skin is bluish-white, the eyes narrowed with animal hunger. A smile slowly spreads from ear to ear, revealing bloodied teeth. Your heart sinks. You turn off the screen, blaming it on a glitch, and drift off to sleep.

The night is pitch-black. A dead, cottony silence. You wake up abruptly, as if jolted. Someone else's gaze. Hundreds of gazes. Opening your eyes, you see the walls and ceiling moving. They are covered in millions of eyes, staring at you, unblinking, predatory.

Your scream gets stuck in your throat.

BOOM. Heavy footsteps below. BOOM. CRUNCH. Someone is breaking the steps as they approach. The footsteps fade behind the bedroom door. The handle slowly turns.

The door swings open. IT stands there—the very same face from the app. Long limbs, a body made of human fragments, a smile from ear to ear. The creature steps inside. Eyes on the walls blink joyfully.

A voice, low and vibrating, comes from within:

— I finally found you. Now we will always be together... Forever.

his hands slowly reach out to you