The Well

  If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss will stare back.
  I can't remember who wrote that first, or even what they actually meant by the phrase. I've always imagined it was one of those sayings that you already had to relate with to fully understand. But if the phrase was meant to be taken literally...
  Then I finally understand it. At least, I think so. I can't be sure what I'm looking at right now, in the gaping maw that I've called a well for as long as I can remember. The hole below is too deep to see the bottom, and the resulting darkness has always been a sight of refuge for me, ever since I could climb to the stone top of the well, and peer down into the inky blackness, imagining the nothingness was the only other thing in the world with me. Using it to hold my thoughts as they came through, and creating insight I'd never imagined before.
  But this time, I could swear I saw something. It's impossible, I know... It has to be my eyes, adjusting to the dark. Or a result of sensory deprivation. There can't be anything down there, not alive at least, not... Staring at me, with red glowing eyes.
  Shaking the image out of my head, I lean back, away from the black below, and turn for home. That's when I hear it. What sounds like wet mud being slapped against the stone, as though someone had smacked it against the well. I turn around, the hairs on my neck standing up, and peer back into the well. For a moment, there is nothing. Suddenly, the same pair of eyes I'd seen those few minutes ago open up, bigger, closer than before, and even without a mouth to see, I know it's smiling. At me.
  I run faster than I ever have before, straight for home, only thirty feet away. My heart pounds in my throat, as my feet slam into the ground, and my arms pump hard. As I shut the door loudly, I can see the blood vessels in my eyes, fluctuating with every beat of my heart. Shaken, and scared, I peek out of the living room window, at the well far away. The sun is just setting over the horizon, but I can't pay attention to the beautiful pinks and reds in the sky. I stare at the well, waiting for something, anything to happen. But nothing does.
  I refuse to look away, however, even after it's gotten dark. I know I saw something. I just know...
  I'm ripped from my thoughts as I watch, eyes wide in horror, at the black figure crawling up above the well below. Its form is slender and jagged, but has fluid motion as it moves over the wall, onto the grass, crawling on hands and feet. Its head slinks in my direction, and its eyes immediately lock onto mine.
 I shut the curtains quickly, before turning to the kitchen, stumbling for the phone. I grab it, thumbing the numbers 9-1-1, waiting for the operator. Absolutely no sound escapes from the phone. Gasping in shock, I throw the phone, losing my breath as I panic. My head turns to the door, and there IT is. It looks human, now. A pure-black shadow, imprinted on my door. The red eyes are the only hint that it ISN'T a shadow. That, and... The feeling of dread that overcomes me, as I look at its form. Its form, from which several dozen tentacles protrude, extending towards me from every direction, which slowly grasp me. I want to run, but... I feel myself relax, to the point of paralysis. My mind melts away, and everything feels warm...
  I have one last moment of full, agonizing consciousness, trying feebly to break free from my restraints, before everything fades to that familiar black...