Jeffery Suwak

Listen, you’re in really bad danger right now. I mean, like, pretty much the worst danger ever. And it’s not the kind of danger you think it is, either. You need to come outside. Right now.

This is Doug Evers writing. Remember me? I grew up next door to you. You used to make me peanut jelly and butter sandwiches.

I’ve seen you looking out your window a few times and I waved, but you never waved back. I tried your door a few times last night, too. You probably heard. What the heck is that thing made of, anyway? None of the other doors in the neighborhood have given me so much trouble. That door is ridiculously strong!

So, listen, you’ve got everything all wrong. I bet you heard that crazy story about how a meteor landed outside town and released a bunch of gas, right? I bet you heard that the gas was full of tiny eggs that turned into worms inside people’s lungs, right? And I bet you heard that the worms took control of people’s brains and turned them into monsters that eat people and are really stupid (which is totally ridiculous), right? Well, listen, I’m telling you right now that all of that is WRONG!

There was gas in the meteorite, but no worms. What the gas actually did was to make some people start seeing things that weren’t there. That’s what happened to you, and that’s why we’re writing this letter to you. We’re trying to save you from yourself. The people in your yard are NOT monsters. We are your friends.

You’re the last one left in the whole neighborhood. We got everyone else out of their houses already. Their doors were easy, not like yours. What is that thing made of, anyway? It’s seriously the strongest door ever.

So, come on outside with us. It’s safe. There aren’t any monsters out here. This is Doug Evers from next door. You used to make me peanut jelly and butter sandwiches, remember?

Oh! And you know what else? That gas that’s making you see things is also going to make you and your husband go crazy and totally start killing each other. That’s why you have to come out here with us! Right now!

I’m going to slip this note under your door (seriously, I have no idea what that thing can be made of). Of course, if you’re reading this, then you already know that I slipped it under your door, so there’s no reason for me to say it. Duh!

Come on outside. It’s totally safe out here. We are NOT monsters. We’re your friends. We want to help. I promise. I’ll even make you a peanut jelly and butter sandwich if you come out, just like you used to do for Doug Evers.

Think about it. Seriously. Come on, brain worms? You’d have to be a total idiot to believe that!

JEFFERY SUWAK lives in Washington state. He likes the word ‘carbuncular.’ Some of his recent short fiction publication credits include Plasma Frequency Magazine, Spark: A Creative Anthology, and The Colored Lens. He’s the author of “Beyond the Temepst Gate” and “No Punchline; Or, the Night Chale Thayer Blew his Head off at the Punchdrunk Comedy Club.” He regularly contributes to Song Places, Song Facts, and The Prague Revue.