Bogleech.com's 2013 Horror Write-off:

" The Eye Above "

Submitted by Partlysmith

The Eye first appeared on February 22nd, last year. A massive, all too human blue eye, lids and all, floating above the city. I don’t remember its exact length across from one lid corner to the other, but it’s easily the largest thing I’ve ever seen, noticeable from practically anywhere in the city, as long as nothing’s obstructing your view. It hovers over one of the small parks around town. It hangs there several miles in the air, but still close enough to remain in perfect focus. It doesn’t cast a shadow; any light from above seems to pass right through it, but any lights cast from below will easily illuminate its surface. And the Eye never moves, its pupil always fixed in the same spot.

There was quite a riot when it first appeared, as one would expect. We were told to stay indoors for three days before anyone realized the damn thing never moved.

People had their theories; experimental aircraft, aliens, God, Satan, a fucking wizard. They were all equally absurd. Scientists of every field studied it, but they never got anywhere. All they could determine was that the Eye’s genetic structure was nearly identical to that of a human’s.

Eventually, people got used to it. As far as we could tell, the Eye was harmless, but it was here to stay. It’s even become a small tourist attraction. Not big enough to draw bustling crowds and a price of admission, but you can buy Eye mugs and t-shirts in the nearest 7-11.

For a while, I hadn’t really given the Eye much thought… but my brother sure did. We were roommates at the time, sharing the rent in a moderately sized apartment. It started when I found him staring out the window, asking simple, innocent questions like “do you ever think about it?” to which I would respond with “not really,” or “sometimes, I guess.”

Not long after, I noticed him spending a good amount of his free time glued to the window. I didn’t give it much thought at first, but, after a while, it started to get harder and harder to pull him away from the Eye.

It didn’t take long before he ended up skipping work entirely, which quickly lead to him neglecting hygiene, food, and sleep.

I tried to tell him that there was something wrong, that he needed help, but he was stubborn, and the tone of his voice grew more violent with every refusal.

And then, one day, he was just gone. I scoured the entire building looking for him. I called his girlfriend, his boss, our mother, anyone who had the slightest connection with him. Nothing. I gave the Eye a quick, angry glance, blaming it for his disappearance. I thought something was off for a second, and gave it another look. The lids had moved.

I made my way to the park, stopping directly under the Eye’s pupil. The lids had definitely moved, drawing closer together. No one had ever seen the Eye blink, and nobody seemed to notice or care. I looked up at the Eye again. The lids were closer now, subtly, though.

I stood there gawking under the Eye all day. Nobody gave me much thought; I got a few confused glances, but everyone went about their day immediately after.

The lids drew closer as the day went on. They had almost completely closed late into the night, but I dozed off about an hour or two later.

When I awoke, the Eye had fully opened again. But there was something different about it. The color was wrong, and a few subtler changes had also been made. I couldn’t pinpoint them exactly, but there was no mistaking the overall image.

It was the eye of my brother.