That’s Not Rain

What's that falling from the sky?

I’m a light sleeper.
I wake to the sound of rain.
Plat. Plat. 
Not a steady fall—
Spaced out. Deliberate.
Hitting the glass.
It’s rained every night this week.
That doesn’t happen in Nevada.
I swing out of bed. Check the window.
The latch is tight. Locked.
I turn back—
and stop.

Something’s off.
I step closer. Lean in.
Plat.
A drop hits the glass—
and stays.
It doesn’t bead. Doesn’t run.
It spreads.
Slow. Dragging itself downward.
Thick. Like syrup.
Yellow. Cloudy.
Another drop lands beside it.
They touch and merge.
That’s not rain.

I look out. 
Big drops of this gooey, jaundiced substance falling from the sky.
I grab my phone from the nightstand.
2:00 A.M.
I open social media.
My feed is inundated.
“Anyone seeing this?”
“What’s this rain?”
Photos.
Videos.
Windows streaked in yellow.
Streets coated.
It’s everywhere.

My phone buzzes.
Texts.
I ignore them.
Refresh.
More posts. New ones—
“Don’t go outside.”
“It burns.”
“Look at what it’s doing to my window—”
I turn.
Rush to the glass.
Yank the charger from the wall as I go.
I stumble—
catch myself against the window.
Pain.
I jerk back.
The glass is hot.

Maybe I’m imagining it.
I pinch myself.
Definitely awake.
I can feel the heat from here.
A foot away.
Plat. Plat.
More hits the glass.
It spreads.
Crawling across the window.
Blotting out the street.
Then—
a buzzing sound.

Where is it coming from?
The buzzing grows louder.
From the window.
A crack.
Then another.
Lines splinter across the glass, branching like lightning.
I step back.
A sharp pop.
Then—
the window explodes.
I scream.
The yellow mass spills inside, hitting the floor.
Fizzing.
Sprawling.

I shuffle back.
Catch my heel.
Go down hard.
Scramble up.
Another pop.
I flinch.
Then another.
I run into the living room. 
Every window — shattered.
Yellow pours in.
From all sides.
Suddenly—
Pain.
My right shoulder.
I gasp. 
My left.
I look up.
The ceiling. 
Dark spots ballooning.
Softening. Sagging—
then burning through.


I write weekly bite-sized horror vignettes.

You can find more of my work here, including exclusive expanded endings of my stories → https://rickshorrorflicks.substack.com/

(P.S. This story has a wild plot twist in my expanded complete version!)