A Plot Hole

Waking up from a dreamlike state,
I get the feeling as I had just fallen asleep,
I lift my face from the cold ground,
bringing my hands to chest level to push off,
bringing my body upright just a little,
I look at the back of my hands,
wondering what this ashy material is,
coating parts of my body once faced skyward.
I'm covered as if by snow, but it isn't cold;
I hold out my hand, unable to feel the ash,
as it gently lands upon my palm,
as my vision shifts focus from before me,
to beyond me, I am in the midst of a street,
houses lining either side of me.
There are people I see in the distance,
most are in or near the roadway I am,
but they appear lifeless, covered in the ash,
or it would be more appropriate to say,
they appear made of ash, color absent.

Forcing my stiff, almost lifeless body to stand,
it was of extreme difficulty, as I stand collecting,
I scope out my surroundings, and fear slowly,
ever so slowly, inches itself chest deep,
eyes gazing, I see house, house, house,
person, house, people, house, street,
more people, more houses, and everything,
all of it, lacks color, lacks life, lacks sound,
as if I am all that exists - and I notice
everyone's shadows are cast in the same direction,
down the street, in the direction I am looking,
as should be a light source, the sun, behind me,
I turn, hoping to see a ray of light,
but instead find a swirling hole of blackness,
completely dark, no light, no anything,
exists behind where I once lay.

The moment I grazed my eyes upon its...being,
it groaned, like what one could imagine their body
saying to their mind at eighty years old trying to stand,
like an ancient boat in a storm, like death,
coming to life for the first time, and it lurched.
It began to move, inching in my direction,
I knew not what to make of this, this blob,
it was nothing but blackness, but where it ended,
and the world began, it looked as ink does
when contacting the surface of water,
a blend of fiction and reality,
but as it spreads, the line gets thinner,
as it's source feeds the ink more and more,
leaking into the world I now know,
I see the tentacles making this thing,
eating away at reality, deciding it no longer
be still and silent, but it will eat away at what I know.

A sense of urgency befell me in this realization,
I knew not who these people were but they needed help,
if they still slumbered as I did then I could wake them.
I broke into a run as best I could, body still stiff,
approaching the first person, as I round their body,
I discover it is my girlfriend, clutching her baby,
shocked and amazed, I wrap my arms around her,
only to have their bodies crumble in my grasp,
turning to ash, breaking apart into pure soot,
I sit there on my knees, holding small amounts
of grey matter in my hands, as it run through
my fingers as sand, and I hear a scream,
it sounded like my girlfriend but a bit unworldly,
the curdle in slow motion, as if she began screaming
and time froze, I look down, the only thing left of her
was the ash and her shadow, her shadow remained,
though she did not, but it moves of it's own accord.
I heard the scream because her little remaining essence
had dropped the baby, the shadowy baby fell,
parallel to the ground, directly toward the blackness,
then my girlfriend began to fall, almost like time frozen,
decided to begin moving again, her scream, no longer
being dragged out, finished itself, as she fell slowly,
then faster and faster, only a shadow falling into black,
as I can only watch, I see fingers scratching away
at the ash left on the ground; as she fell she left
a small imprint of her existence as she tried
to save herself where I couldn't help.
Her shadowy blackness merged with the being,
and she was gone, the scream gone,
only ash remaining, as it continues to lurch forward.

I'm shocked and surprised, scared and lonely,
frozen and feeling an extreme desire to run,
as this thing eats away at everything I know,
I break to the next person, having a gut feeling
I'll likely know them, but hoping I wouldn't.
I approach the person, on his knees,
one hand grasping for help in my direction,
face contorted in the shape of agony,
it's my brother I realize, slowing my pace,
puzzled as to why he is here, like this,
I don't understand, as I look to his right
and my sister is slightly behind him,
in the same pose. I feel a strong desire
to help them, but even stronger in my
uncertainty, why are they here, did I do this?
Am I somehow responsible for their paralysis?
I come between them, hoping it doesn't happen
yet again, as I close my eyes, placing one hand
on his shoulder, touching my other hand to hers,
they both disappear from my touch in an instant.
I open my eyes to see their shadow remaining,
their hands still outstretched, my shadow posed
just right for my hands to meet with their hands,
as they too begin to fall, their shadowy hands
grasping my hand's shadows and I feel them,
I feel them both slip from my grasp,
disappearing indefinitely; I shake, I don't
understand, I have to move on, I see hundreds
of people in the distance, but two stand out.

Ignoring everyone else, the being inching closer
to my feet every moment, I go to the couple,
I'm drawn there beyond anywhere else right now,
they are on their knees, holding a newborn,
appearing happier than anyone could imagine,
I crouch to their level, realizing it is my parents,
my parents who have not touched since I was born,
and I feel a since of love and hate, warmth and fear,
closeness and distance, death and rebirth,
all at once as I look at them coddling this baby,
I place my hand on the baby's cheek,
not a sound is uttered as all three disintegrate
into nothingness but shadows remaining.
I watch as they being to slowly fall into the blackness,
not attempting to grasp for dear life,
but just holding one another, holding the baby,
as they fall into nothingness, feeding the entity.

I stand and look at the encroaching nothingness,
my heart stinging, I lift my left hand up to my chest,
never taking my gaze off the thing,
I touch, lifting my fingers away, to my field of vision,
as I gaze upon a black ooze stringing from my fingers
back to my chest, I look down, and find a small
gelatinous blob forming, growing, staining my shirt.