NOTE: This story was written entirely by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The only human influence was to correct a few spelling/grammatical errors (e.g. double spaces) and to turn the third paragraph italic. Enjoy 🙂
The stranger slightly adjusted his grip slightly to ensure a better hold on the handle of the shovel. He walked past the gravestones, carefully examining them as he made his way through the cemetery. A little sickened by some of the epitaphs that were etched into marking stones, but mostly not caring- he had a job to do and that was all that mattered right now.
He paused for a second at a grave, one with a particularly interesting epitaph. It read:
Rest in Peace Hellen Keller- A woman who made the world see.
A polite chuckle escaped his lips- this woman had clearly not died if she was able to leave that message for future generations. The stranger continued on his way through the cemetery, stopping at another stone that caught his eye. This time it wasn’t an epitaph though- it was simply an inscription carved into the surface of the headstone itself; ‘Sarah Goode’. He always did like these old traditional inscriptions, they were much easier to get information out of than someone’s dull view of their own death (‘beloved’ this, ‘loved’ that.)
The stranger paused. He knew this name- it was the name of a local witch executed for witchcraft hundreds of years ago. There were two women with that exact same name though? Which was more likely to be the time traveller? He noted the inscription down in his notepad, he would need to check later if this stone really belonged to her. Now… Where did he keep those records again…?
A rustle made The Stranger turn around quickly- he frowned as he saw what looked like an animal darting away through the trees behind him. He stood still for a minute or so just in case it returned, but nothing happened so he carried on walking towards where he had parked his car.
Something caught his eye- a flash of bright yellow through the trees. He stared in that direction for a second, but nothing seemed to be moving. No- this must just be an animal, there was no way it could have been anything else here in this time period. He shrugged and continued walking to his car, occasionally glancing behind him to check if anyone or anything was following him.
No one was there though, he thought it best not to mention it in his report tonight- people would get suspicious if they heard about how The Stranger had seen something from the future flitting around their back garden…
The barn loomed out of the darkness at him as he rounded another corner- all desolate and gloom. Just perfect for his research. He walked up the creaking wooden steps- they were so noisy, but that was just how he liked them. If somebody heard him then it would be that much easier to scare them off if they decided to snoop around.
He opened the door and walked inside, finding his way over to where he had left his bag by the light of the moon streaming in through one of the windows.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a small glowing device- a brand new technology which he himself had helped to develop using power from Time itself and all sorts of other brilliant stuff… It basically worked like a torch but with one very important difference- it could see what The Stranger couldn’t… Well… What he couldn’t see in the present anymore.
He paused for a moment to marvel at the workmanship of the creation, before switching it on and directing its beam towards one of the old joists in the ceiling- there was definitely something up there. Something small and white… A perfect skull for his research… Maybe this stay wouldn’t be so bad after all… He made a note of where he’d found it and then walked over to leave the barn again- just as another rustle sounded from outside. What could that have been?
Once more The Stranger paused and looked around him warily, but everything seemed to be calm apart from the breeze blowing through trees outside. It must just be an animal, he thought to himself, trying not to let panic cloud his judgment.
He shone the device around the room, looking for anything he may have missed before. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for – something about this place felt off though. Perhaps it was because nobody had been here in hundreds of years? Or perhaps it was because his Time Glasses were picking up something very strange happening to this area of space…? He didn’t know yet- he needed to look further into this.
The Stranger stopped shining the light around the room and stared at one particular spot. He slowly walked over to where he had seen that glimmer earlier, wishing that his Time Glasses still worked properly. They were his favourite creation, he had spent months designing them- making sure that they wouldn’t slip through Time itself the way his last few inventions had… Sometimes he thought about starting again with fresh ideas and forgetting all about this place, but then again what was the point? He’d come too far to stop now, and besides- he missed his old job. He was one of the best in his field back then- not an amateur who couldn’t even get their Time Glasses to work properly.
And that had been exactly the problem with them, The Stranger thought to himself as he shone his torch around the corner where he had seen that glimmer of light. Not only had they been incredibly inconvenient to use, but on one particular occasion, he’d almost lost his head because of them… In the end, The Stranger had vowed never to use them again- at least not while he was alone- and yet here he was using them again today.
Something glimmered in the light from his torch once more- he shone the light at the glimmer and saw that it was a golden object of some kind. He reached down to pick it up, cradling it in his hands as if he were holding something precious… But this wasn’t just some trinket. The Stranger knew what this was- oh yes… He’d seen one before, once upon a time when he was young.
This device was the last thing that anyone remembered seeing the person holding it- so much so that they called them Memory Stealers… Whenever their holder went missing, everybody would suddenly forget who they were, where they worked and what they had done with them… It was truly terrifying. The Stranger even knew one person who had been affected by one of these devices- a school friend he’d lost contact with over the years, who was now completely unknown to most people.
The Stranger turned the Memory Stealer around in his hands and smiled as he spotted the small gemstone on its end – this little gem atop it would be worth a small fortune, he thought to himself. His mind was made up – he would leave the Memory Stealer where it was and keep quiet about its existence. If anybody else found it, more than likely they’d either smash the Memory Stealer or try to use it… Either way, if they were uneducated enough about what these devices actually did, then precious time on this planet would be wasted for something that didn’t need to happen …
The Stranger began walking out of the building, pocketing the Memory Stealer as he went. He was satisfied with what he’d found here- there were no signs of any danger or anything like that, so he could continue his journey back home without having to worry about anything. Nothing was going to stop him now, he thought to himself – nothing at all…
The Stranger walked out of the building, shining his torch in front of him so that he could see where he was going. The only other person he’d ever met who knew about these devices had lost contact with him months ago after moving away from his area and he’d not bothered to try and contact him ever since. It wasn’t as if they were close friends or anything like that, The Stranger thought- but it was worth a shot asking around about something like this…
No matter how hard he tried though, nobody seemed to remember who the man was or what his name had been- The Stranger’s quest to find his old friend had failed, and he was left once more with nobody but himself. The only other person who knew anything about these Memory Stealers was gone- for all intents and purposes, they were the only two people on this planet who understood what these things actually did…
The Stranger looked up as something caught his eye- a glint of light from his torch. He tried to ignore it and carry on walking, but he couldn’t help but wonder what that was over there… There seemed to be something shining in the darkness ahead of him, beneath a broken lamp post…
The Stranger approached slowly and cautiously, shining his torch so as to see rather than be seen. As he moved closer, the light glinted off of something metallic- it was a piece of metal that was sticking up between two pieces of stone that had been ripped apart as if somebody had smashed into them with great force or dropped something heavy on them that caused this damage…
The Stranger shook his head and looked at the ground, realising that this could be dangerous… He couldn’t see anything around for miles so whatever had caused this damage must have been very large indeed. The Stranger stood up to his full height and looked into the distance, searching for any sign of what may have happened here.
He saw nothing in any direction- just darkness or empty space where the light of his torch didn’t shine. He was about to turn and head off home, deciding that whatever had happened here wasn’t something he wanted to be near…
As The Stranger turned away from the site where the object had landed, it glinted in his torch beam once more and he heard a metallic ‘clunk’ as it fell to the ground below. Something about this was odd- it seemed as though whatever had hit the ground, whether it was a meteorite or something else entirely, had been travelling slowly enough that it hadn’t smashed into thousands of pieces but fast enough that when it landed, gravity simply took over and caused it to fall from the sky…
The Stranger shone his torch at the ground, looking for where whatever it was had landed… The object seemed to be fairly large and metallic in appearance, but he couldn’t make out exactly what it was. He turned away from the metal and began walking home- perhaps in the morning when it was light outside, he’d see what this thing was and then he could finally head home.
As The Stranger walked back the way he’d come, something began to happen inside his mind… He looked down at the ground as a voice appeared in his head, speaking softly but firmly all the same… ‘I am analysing you,’ it said- ‘I must discover who you are and why you are here…’
The Stranger shook his head, trying to clear it of the strange voice that was now speaking to him. A strange sensation, he thought… Like somebody had placed a small device inside his brain and it was now taking readings of everything that was happening around him. It felt slightly intrusive- as though somebody had accessed his memories or thoughts without his consent…
The Stranger continued to walk away from the area where the metal object was now lying, still shining its light in his direction as it fell towards the ground. He tried to ignore the voice that spoke inside of his head and carry on with what he was doing- but then, suddenly, he found himself unable– he had to turn and head towards the metal, he had to walk towards it…
As The Stranger came within a few feet of the object, he found himself unable to move his legs any further- there was power holding him in place, preventing him from moving forward. He glanced up at the sky and saw that the moon was shining down on him- it was full and bright, allowing him to see the object that had fallen from who knows where…
The Stranger looked at the metal for a few moments… He saw the strange markings on its surface- strange carvings of symbols he’d never seen before. He glanced down at his hands, trying to find something he might be able to use… His torch! He shone it at the metal, trying to work out what was happening- why he couldn’t move.
He could see now that there were wires or tendrils reaching out from the object towards him, wrapping themselves around his chest and waist as if they were taking vital readings of his heart rate or breathing patterns. The Stranger looked back towards the moon, seeing that it was beginning to fade slightly…
The voice inside The Stranger’s head had gone silent- whatever force it was had now left his mind. He tried again to move away from the metal but found he still couldn’t. As he glanced down at his hands, he saw them turning grey and scaly, his fingernails growing long and sharp. He felt pain in his feet- like something was pushing out through the soles of his shoes…
Then, he looked up at the moon once more… It had almost disappeared now- just a sliver of light remaining before it would disappear entirely. The Stranger tried to speak but found that he couldn’t make any sound come out of his mouth. He tried to scream but no noise came…
Then, the light from the moon faded completely- it was gone. As it did, The Stranger’s chance to escape passed with it. His body began changing rapidly, becoming something else entirely … The lower part of him became that of an animal – sharp claws grew from his fingers, mouth elongated into a snout, his ears became pointed. As the moonlight disappeared completely, The Stranger roared in pain- he bellowed like an animal at the top of its voice, letting out all of the rage and fury that had built up in him throughout life…
Eventually, he fell silent … He continued to change, becoming less of a human and more of something else entirely; his legs grew thicker, his arms became shorter. Before long he was no longer The Stranger- he was something else altogether…
The new animal looked up at the night sky once more. It felt stronger, better than it had done before… lighter too. It could see further, hear better… Smell things that its old self would never have been able to do. The creature ran towards the forest and saw The Stranger – its former self – staring at a gravestone.