Bogleech.com's 2016 Horror Write-off:
Real light
Submitted by
Kirbymongerr
It had been quite a shock to humanity, when it was discovered that what was thought of as the 'known universe' was inside some sort of immense shell. After science recovered from the shock, it set about figuring out where the openings in the shell were, and how to get humans outside of it.
That had been thousands of years ago, and now the ship launched way back then was about to coast outside the shell, and the astronauts within were soon to be woken up from stasis.
The world listened with bated breath as the time came around for their transmissions to reach earth.
"I hope your listening world, because humans are about to break into the real universe!" The declaration was met with near global cheers. An endeavor thousands of years in the making was about to reach fruition.
"We're about to exit the shell. In 3... 2... 1... WE DID IT! It's so bright! I guess this is real light, its like we've been underground for our whole lives! SOMETHING IS IN THE SHIP. My copilot is missing replaced with some kind of abomination! Wait... are those... my hands? No that's not what humans look like, is it? Oh god. Oh god. We couldn't see it. We were in the dark. We couldn't see. Oh god. This is what we were like? The whole time? Its disgusting... To think I loved things that were like this! I hate it, I hate it, oh god its disgusting. This can't be me, this can't be what I'm like, this can't be my body. Oh god its horrible I'm horrible.I can't bear having this body and this flesh!" Humanity listens on, horrified by the sounds of bones cracking and meat being torn.
"I have to destroy it, it's awful. I have to get rid of all this disgusting skin. These limbs, ugh! I can't bear it! Oh god. There are billions of... these abominations listening to me right now. All of you, you're horrible you just can't see it, you need to be in the real light to see just what we look like its disgusting! I'm getting sick thinking of how many of you there are... looking like this! Tear yourselves apart, please! We need to not exist, we need to rot away nothing can be allowed to see us in real light. Oh god what if animals are the same. Is it just a planet of abominations? There, I destroyed my eyes, now I don't have to look at... that. But I know its still there, so horrible. I need to keep going, keep destroying. I'm about to rip out my lower jaw, so I won't be able to talk anymore, but please destroy yourselves. You just don't know what we really look like, in the real light!"
With one last rip, all talk ceases. But a world frozen in terror, stuck listening to the sounds of a body being destroyed keeps listening. Until it goes silent, except for the occasional sound of something dripping.
What are they supposed to do about all the other ships heading the same way?