The Fifth Room. Part III
...The night was peaceful, quiet. I finally fell into a long deep sleep after days of restlessness. That night I dreamt, like I always do. This time it was more conventional.
It was a good dream, I was in a crowded room, a party. Many people dressed in elegant tuxedos and long dresses exchanged conversations over a glass of white wine. Waiters diligently loitered around waiting for any opportunity to make themselves accommodating. As I entered the room, applause thundered from everyone.
Warmth, respect and pride hit me like a cold shower on a sunny day. All these people were cheering me on, snapping pictures, celebrating me like a hero. I turned to my side and saw Lewis next to me, dressed in a dashing tuxedo, he was acclaimed as much as me. The golden light that enveloped the room made it feel like a Disney princess’ palace. I felt so good, I felt belonging, appreciated, famous. I felt like I felt in room 505.
As we made our way through the crowd, it slowly split up like the Red Sea, revealing a big wall at the end of the room.
On it was the mural I was commissioned to restore, it was perfect looking, like it was painted just hours before. In that moment the feeling grew stronger, it became overwhelming, something I had never experienced before. I remember thinking “this is what drugs must feel like”.
The light grew along with the pleasure, I felt part of something much bigger than I could ever imagine. Part of something that would change the world, make it a better place, revolutionize it. It reached a point where the light enveloped everything, shining bright like a million lightnings.
That’s when I woke up, sunshine from the window resting on my face, Lewis next to me in bed.
The dream was over but the feeling remained, although I could feel it fading away.
Lewis was also awake.
We looked at each other.
“We must go back.” We said at the same time.
We got up and readied ourselves. We took precautions this time, packed some food, water, flashlights and I made sure the switchblade was with me.
We didn’t really have a plan, we just knew we had to go back, it was as if we had withdrawal symptoms, we weren’t sick yet, but we needed to feel that way again and that’s the only place in the world where we could. We were getting hooked on it.
I took the files on the patients with me, I felt like there was more about them than it seemed, after all I got them from the room.
We had woken up late and that was both a good and bad thing, we felt well rested and recharged but it was also already early in the afternoon, we wanted to go back, but we weren’t too eager to do it while dark.
We went anyway, planning to stay there until sunset and then leave. We wanted to know more, understand it…experience it again.
It just felt right, I spent my whole life suffering, feeling excluded, feeling different. This was my reward, a place where I could be myself, accepted. I deserved it and nothing would take that away from me now.
We got in the taxi and headed to the Shining.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Asked me Lewis.
“Never been more sure of something in my life.”
“Good.”
“…are you?”
“Y-yes, I am”
I looked at him in the eyes, the same eyes I looked into last night, something about them was different. They were full of confidence, determination. He may have sounded unsure but I couldn’t doubt him, it felt wrong.
“You know, I never did anything for myself, ever” He broke the silence. “I always followed a path laid out for me by someone else. Study this, graduate here, work with him…I never even stopped to think if that’s what I really wanted to do.”
He stared right ahead of us, didn’t look anywhere else while talking, he didn’t want to, he couldn’t.
“I have so much to say, so much to do and I never bothered to take the time to express my opinions, to become who I wanted to be. It was easier to follow the path after all, trains don’t work off the rails and neither do I.” I took his hand.
“But maybe I was never a train, maybe I was never meant to travel along these never ending tracks, now I know I’m meant for something bigger.” He finally looked at me, his eyes watery. I took off his glasses and reached my hand out, wiping the tears off his eyes.
“ I never followed any rules, never listened to the others, never ran on tracks. I always put myself first and followed what my heart told me and that made me a target…It was hell at first, didn’t have any friends, my family despised me and I got very ill…it was very tough. But it made me who I am today, someone I am proud of, someone I can rely on, someone that doesn’t need anyone or anything.”
“Everybody needs somebody Angela.”
“Maybe…I don’t blame you Lewis, It’s a lot easier and safe to follow along the path you have in front…but I believe none of us are stuck on rails, we all have the freedom to choose our own destiny, we just have to find the perfect road that leads us to it. Sometimes it’s bumpy, sometimes it’s smooth but they all lead to happiness, we just have to get there and, to do that, we can’t stop.”
“You really believe all of this?”
I put both my hands on his. “Of course I do, we can do it.”
I only believed half of what I was saying, I think it’s true that destiny is waiting for us all, but it’s not happiness, it’s not sadness, it’s death. That’s the only thing that is sure in life, the universe sure has a fucked up sense of humor.
I obviously wasn’t going to tell him the truth of what I believed. We were on our way to a haunted house that somehow made us feel more alive than ever, it definitely wasn’t the right time or place for existentialism or crude realism.
Not to mention the fact that my beliefs were also under great scrutiny, I didn’t really know what to think at that point, I still don’t. It’s clear there are so many questions still left unanswered, the scary thing however, is the notion that the answers to them are out there…somewhere.
Regardless, just because some things should be said, doesn’t mean they have to be heard…which is also what I wish Lewis knew…
“The other day…” he started. “when I fell ill in the lobby…”
“You don’t have to tell me Lewis” I interrupted him.
“I-I know, but I want to…that word, “winder”, is what I used to get called as a child.”
“Oh…I’m not sure what that means…”
“I know, it’s something very specific, it’s also why it shook me to my core…people used to call me that because I would “wind people up” whenever I talked.” I kept silent.
“That turned into the “winder”…he who would wind people up…me.” It made sense now, I could see why people would say that, after all he also winded me up really good the first time I met him, but it’s now clear to me that there’s much more to him than what it seems. Perhaps we’re not so different me and him.
“Nobody knows this…only those who called me that would know…and I haven’t heard from them in years…whoever or…whatever etched that into the wall, somehow knew.”
That’s when the jigsaw fell into place. It made sense, the way I felt when I met the…shadow, it felt like it looked straight at me, through me. I think that’s also what happened to Lewis, whatever haunts the Shining can see and know everything about us.
I didn’t know how to feel about that, on one hand it really freaked me out, on the other it felt reassuring, I wasn’t on my own on this one. I debated telling him about my experience, I never had the chance of telling him, not that I really wanted to but this seemed the right moment. However he anticipated me:
“I should also tell you something else…”
“What is it?” I asked.
“That day we ran from the house, when we both got ill…I saw something while in the taxi.” I knew it, I remember that moment, he looked back at the house and almost fainted.
“What did you see?”
“When I looked back…I saw what must have been a thousand orange eyes looking at us.”
“Like the eyes of a thousand owls?” I didn’t skip a beat.
“Yes, exactly like that!...how did you kn—“
“I saw them too Lewis…While we were running, yesterday night, they were there in the lobby and again, when we ran away.” I thought that perhaps telling him the truth would make him feel better this time.
“We’re in the same boat.”
“Let’s hope it’s not the Titanic ehehe.” I guess he didn’t lose his sense of “humor”, not sure how I felt about that.
We got to the Shining at about 4:30 PM, that gave us roughly two maybe three hours to look around. The truth of it is that we didn’t have a plan, all we wanted was to chase that high again, we came prepared but it wasn’t out of logic, it was out of cope, we knew we were threading mighty thin ice and we didn’t want to admit it.
Entering the house felt different this time, I didn’t feel any uneasiness or anxiety. It felt like I knew the place, the same way the place knew me, I was getting used to it. I think Lewis also felt this way, he looked the opposite of what he did the last time we were here.
I guess it was also a good opportunity to grab back our equipment, we had left it here in a hurry when we thought we were gonna die a horrible death.
That was still on the table and I think we both knew it but the reward was worth the risk. We didn’t waste much time, we settled our things down on the parquet and went upstairs, the usual lavender smell showing us the way.
The door to room 505 was closed, the way we left it last time when it slammed shut. Everything else also seemed the same, the mural was still there, along with my equipment, nothing out of the ordinary.
“Are you ready?” Asked Lewis.
“Yes, let’s go.” We didn’t have any time to waste, we were itching to get back in there, back to a place that treated us right, somewhere we belong.
Lewis led the way.
He stepped forward.
Grabbed the shiny golden handle and pulled on it.
Nothing happened.
“What is it Lewis?” I asked nervously.
“It-it won’t open”
“What?”
“It won’t fucking open.” He kept on pulling but it just wouldn’t budge.
“There’s no way, let me try” I got right next to him and started to pull on the handle. Not one inch. It was glued shut, it felt like it weighed a million pounds, I might as well have been pulling on a wall.
“What the fuck.”
“Jesus, it won’t fucking open.”
We both started pulling on it, nothing. We began banging on it, pushing it, scratching at it…nothing. After some time, we collapsed on the floor, defeated. All this trouble, all this effort for nothing. We sat in silence, our minds slowly realizing what this meant. That’s when Lewis freaked out.
“I can’t fucking believe that we can’t open it…how are we supposed to get inside?” He got up and started pacing around the room as I stayed on the floor.
“There must be a way, a key of some sort maybe? You should look at the files you got from the room, they must mean something!” He was not himself, he was neurotic, manic, he was losing control over his urges and that scared me.
“Calm down Lewis, we’ll find a way but you need to slow down.”
“We need to find it now Angela, time is ticking and we don’t have all day, don’t just sit there, do something!”
“Hey don’t you fucking yell at me, I am not happy either that it’s not open but I’m not freaking out like some kind of psycho so just settle down.”
“Don’t you get it Angela? We NEED to get in there or God knows what will happen to us.”
“Are you insane? We can just leave, we don’t have to be here, we can come ba—“
“I need this now.”
“You need to calm down…now.”
“I can’t, I have spent my entire fucking life being calm, now it’s time to demand, it’s time for me to take what I wa--.”
That’s when I slapped him across the face. He took the hit and finally shut up.
“I said, calm down.”
He snapped out of it.
“I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t know what came over me.”
“That’s okay, but you need to control yours—“
BANG, a loud crash coming from downstairs interrupted me, my heart skipping a beat.
“What was that?” I asked, trembling.
“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out”
Lewis didn’t skip a beat and went downstairs with a steady pace and a closed fist. It felt good to see him so strong.
I remained upstairs, I like to think of myself as a courageous person but sometimes being brave could also mean being stupid, I wasn’t sure what Lewis was being at that point, and in these cases, it usually means being stupid.
“Hey Angela, you should come down.” His tone was relaxed and calm, there was clearly nothing to fear.
I went downstairs and stopped next to Lewis, he raised his hand and pointed it towards the table in the lobby.
As my gaze followed his finger it stopped just underneath the table, where Berry the black cat sat, eating some of the food I had brought along. The crash was likely Berry knocking it off the table to eat it.
“No way.” I chuckled.
“He’s so cute, isn’t he?”
He walked up to it and picked him up, the cat letting out a squeaky meow. I closely followed and went to pet it, Berry started loudly purring, it was nice and relaxing, they say that a cat’s purr has beneficial effects for humans.
Something about the frequency of the vibrations they make, I don’t know if it’s true or not but it certainly calmed us down, finally allowing us to think straight.
“Look, I don’t know what is happening, but I don’t think it’s good” I said.
“We just need to slow down and take our time…like you said, we could always leave and come back another time, it’s not like it’s going anywhere ehehe.”
Lewis was really not gonna let it go, despite all the weird and bad things that had happened to us, despite the weird effect this whole situation had on our minds…he still wanted to chase that high.
The sad thing is that I didn’t blame him, deep down that’s also all I wanted but I have been through this kind of things before, well, not this fucked up anyway. I know what this thought process gets you and it’s nothing but trouble.
“Alright…well, how about we grab our stuff and leave? It’s already late, the door won’t open and it seems like the right moment to get our things back to the motel.”
Lewis thought about it for a moment.
“Ok Angela…let’s just check one last time if the door is still shut.”
I didn’t have time to reply, Lewis handed me Berry and went upstairs to check. The black cat looked at me with his big yellow eyes, it seemed like he wanted to tell me something, like it was warning me about someone…or something.
In folklore black cats are harbingers of bad luck, the tireless companions of witches and akin to their fellow black ravens and crows. I always found it sad that people would kill these cats because of this reason, they are fantastic creatures and extremely lovable.
To die because of some abstract concept makes one wish that death would treat them better than life did. However there’s one more piece of folklore about cats that always fascinated me. Cats can see or sense spirits. Anybody that has ever had or been around cats will have a story about some creepy or weird behavior they had. Whether it’s staring at a specific point in the room; reacting to seemingly nothing or acting weird after someone’s passing.
“Might not be a bad thing to have you around in here” I thought as that notion came to mind. Berry meowed back, as if he had heard my thoughts; cute.
That’s when his head stood up, eyes wide open and the ears moving around.
Shortly after that a deafening roar shook everything.
My instincts were to hit the ground and cover my ears, it felt like an artillery shell had just landed a couple of feet from me, the house creaking around, Berry bolting away to safety.
“What the fuck happened.” I said quietly under my breath.
Darkness enveloped everything around me, not the same darkness I saw in room 505, it was as if someone had dimmed the sun down, dropping us into a twilight like atmosphere.
Then came the tapping. A waterfall dropping on the house. I looked outside of the window to see heavy rain falling all around, the darkness being the product of heavy overcast blocking the sun, the roar being thunder. In a matter of seconds a storm had gathered right outside the door.
“Angela, are you okay?” I heard shouting from upstairs.
“Y-yeah, are you?”
“Yeah, come up.”
I got up and went upstairs, the deafening sound of rain hitting the roof accompanying me every step of the way.
Lewis stood in front of room 505.
“Lewis?”
“It just won’t budge.”
“That’s okay…let’s just leave, it started raining, didn’t you notice?”
“Uh? Oh yeah…it started raining” He looked distracted, didn’t seem at all worried about the sudden and intense storm. I came up next to him and grabbed his hand.
“Come on, Lewis…let’s go” I said softly.
“Yeah…yeah…I’ll-I’ll call a taxi.” He finally took his eyes off of the door, the rain in the background silencing any other sound.
“Oh...my phone’s dead.” He said abruptly.
“What?”
“Look…the battery’s dead.” He turned his phone over to me, on the screen the irrefutable proof of no power, “You should call it.”
I got out my phone and went to unlock it.
Nothing happened. Black screen.
I went to unlock it again.
The empty battery sign flashed on the screen.
“What the-- How is that possible it worked flawlessly until now, it was at 95% battery.” I pushed back, we had no way to call anyone, no way to message anyone, no internet, nothing.
“I-I don’t know but it must be a sign! Something is happening don’t you see? The storm and the batteries, it can’t be a coincidence!” Lewis was right, it did not sound like a coincidence but the most dreadful thing is that he believed it to be a good thing.
“There must be a way to get in, or we wouldn’t be here.”
“I think you’re just seeing things Lewis…how about we leave anyway?” I replied with despair in my voice.
“What? Are you crazy? Don’t you see there’s a storm outside? It’s dangerous.”
“Oh because staying in here is so much better.”
“Yes it is, what if the door finally opens?”
“Lewis you’re scaring me, the door is not gonna fucking open, this feels like a fucking trap, we’re fucking trapped in here.”
“We have no choice Angela, the storm outside is too strong and too dangerous, the nearest town is a 40 minute drive and we have no way to call for help…the best thing we can do is wait it out…and hope for the best.”
I hated the fact that he had a point. The logical solution was to just wait for the storm to die down and then just get out.
After all, rule number one is “if you have shelter, stay with shelter.” the problem arises when your shelter might not be what you think it is.
“Fine, but as soon as it slows down, we’re going.”
“Of course.”
I had decided that if shit hit the fan, I was gonna leave anyway, with or without the storm, with or without Lewis.
The rain was pounding the roof and the wind howled, echoing across the house. It was pretty late in the afternoon at that point and the clouds covered the sun completely, the little light that filtered through, was quickly fading away and darkness was setting in.
We set up camp upstairs so that we could keep an eye on the fifth room, Lewis was hoping that it would magically open, I dreaded it. The same way we might have gotten in, something might have come out.
We sat down underneath the mural, eating a snack and just waiting.
“Do you have those files?” Lewis asked.
“Yeah, I have them here but there really isn’t much you can gather from them.”
“Can I see them anyway?”
“Yeah” I replied, annoyed, handing them over. He took a look at them, as I told him, not much to see.
“Do you think this place is haunted?”
“I don’t know…this place certainly isn’t normal.”
“Could it be that all those figures we saw were ghosts? Trapped in here for some reason?”
“I think you might have watched too many horror movies.”
“Come on Angela, are you really telling me that after all we’ve been through you haven’t questioned your beliefs at all?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore Lewis, I just know that I don’t like this place.”
“I don’t like it either you know?”
“Oh really? It doesn’t seem like it.”
“You’ve felt that way too, you remember.” I did feel that way too and at that point I was fighting every inch of my body to not fall into that spiral of desire, not to fall victim to the cravings that I felt.
I like to think I was doing a good job, I have always been good at separating my heart from my mind, even when I ended up following my gut. This time I knew there was a lot more than just pleasure at stake.
“Yes…I remember, but we have to keep our head Lewis, we can’t just go crazy.”
“I know, I know, as soon as we can we’ll get out.”
I was on edge, every possible outcome didn’t seem particularly good at that point, part of me knew that the better solution would be that damn door opening, going in there and just letting go, letting the universe envelop me and stop worrying about everything.
I knew it was some kind of death wish, who knew what that fucking room was, it could have been hell. Except it didn’t feel like it, it felt like heaven, peace at last.
It felt like complete silence, when is the last time that you actually couldn’t hear anything? I remember each one, it only happened twice, it’s a sort of realization, some kind of epiphany, you think “fuck, there is complete silence right now” even your thoughts seem incredibly loud in comparison, that’s the closest I have ever been to feeling at peace. Room 505 promised that and so much more.
“Can I ask about your tattoos?” Lewis snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Y-yeah, sure.”
“I didn’t really get a chance last time it came up.”
“Yeah well, it wasn’t the right moment, sorry” Not that this was the right moment, but it’s not like we had things to do.
I was fascinated by Lewis, he somehow changed from the first time I met him and remained the same at the same time. He was both the annoying dork that pissed me off and also the man with a tormented past full of confidence that had gotten the best of me. Really made me think about this old Japanese saying I once read: “A man is whatever room he’s in”.
“Why do you have so many?”
I usually respond sarcastically to these kind of questions, nine times out of ten they come from people ready to judge me, saying dumb stuff like “do you know they last forever?” or “what if you regret them later?”, stupid questions deserve stupid answers.
This time however, I thought I’d be nice for once.
“I think that in a world where nothing lasts forever, the opportunity to carry something with you until you die is a delicate and very special one, I take pride in knowing that I didn’t pass up on it.”
Lewis stayed silent, you could tell he liked that answer.
“…Plus they look cool as fuck.”
We both chuckled.
“That’s a nice philosophy I must say, I always wanted to get one but…you know, never really got around to make that decision.”
“What did you want to get?”
“It might sound dumb but…I wanted to get a firefly.”
“That doesn’t sound dumb, look what I have.” I lifted up my sleeve, pointing at the moth I have tattooed on my inner forearm.
“Yeah I saw that” he chuckled, I smiled. “It’s my favorite out of the ones you have.”
“Really? It’s not bad but also nothing to write home about.”
“You know I always wondered…can’t the flame come up to the moth for a change?”
“W-well…I never thought about that.” It somewhat left me speechless, I thought that was a pretty deep thought, I remember getting that tattoo simply because I thought it would look cool on me but now, it sort of developed into a whole new meaning.
“Do you think moths go after fireflies in the woods?”
There was a moment of silence, and then I kissed him. He may have been annoying and a dork, but he knew what to say to get me.
It felt good, it felt like the right thing to do, I didn’t question what it meant. In that moment it was the one thing that would give me relief, it felt like everything was going to be okay.
The kissing became a lot more passionate, we started touching each other and we were soon in the mood for a lot more than just kissing. We never got that far unfortunately.
The now dark room was quickly lit up by a flash of light, followed by a deafening thunder that, again, shook the whole house. It startled us; until that moment, other than the first one, only rain and the howling of the wind inhabited the house.
“Fuck, is it getting worse?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t care.” replied Lewis, quickly going back to kiss my neck.
Another flash.
“Oh what the fuck” shouted Lewis. Thunder.
“What? What is it?” I reacted.
Lewis got off of me and rested his back on the wall, eyes wide open.
“Did you see that? There was someone there.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I was starting to get scared.
Another flash.
This time I saw it too.
As the room lit up, there, on the wall opposite to us, stood a shadow figure.
The same silhouette I saw before. Thunder. The smell of tobacco assaulting our nostrils.
Back to darkness, yet we knew we weren’t alone anymore.
“Holy shit I saw that as well.” I trembled.
Me and Lewis got close, supporting each other, back against the wall.
Another flash, another figure.
It was two of them now. Thunder.
The second one was new, it was a taller silhouette, standing next to the first one.
“Jesus Christ it’s him.” whispered Lewis in a terrified voice.
“Who the fuck are you talking about?”
“The smiling person.”
Out of all the things, that was the last one I wanted to hear.
Flash. The same two silhouettes, the second one had a big, white, teethy smile on what would be its face. Thunder.
The smile lingered as the room fell into darkness once again. It felt the same as when you look at something really bright, a bare light bulb for example, and when you look away you can still see that impression.
I got the switchblade from the pocket of my backpack. Not sure what I was going to do with it, but it made me feel less naked. Lewis popped open one of the glow sticks he had brought, a faint green light enveloped our immediate surroundings.
Flash. The silhouettes moved closer. One on the left wall, one on the right, close to the stairs. Thunder.
“They’re coming for us.” squeaked Lewis.
“We need to get the fuck out.” I replied.
“Go!” shouted Lewis.
It was at that moment that we both sprung up and sprinted for the stairs, grabbing whatever we could.
I got almost halfway to the stairs when I heard “Wait” whispered in my ear.
I stopped. In a split second I recognized that voice. I had heard it in my dreams. At that moment I knew there was nothing to fear, the panic vanished but the adrenaline kept on pumping.
“Lewis, stop! Wait!” I shouted.
He was already gone, he kept on running without looking back and disappeared in the darkness below the stairs. I stood frozen in place. I could not move, it felt as if someone was holding me.
I look around.
Flash. The shadow is now standing right next to the fogged up window. Thunder.
In the darkness, the faint glow of Lewis’ stick reflected on the window where, suddenly, letters began to appear.
It was as if someone was writing on the foggy window with their finger.
I was finally able to move, I slowly made my way over, picking up the glowstick on the way. As I got closer, it became clear what was written on it.
“don’t go.” The shadows were communicating with me.
“W-why?” I let out in a frail voice.
“not safe.”
“What-what the fuck am I supposed to do then?”
“wait for him” appeared back.
I settled down, these…spirits, were telling me to wait for what I could only imagine to be Lewis. I didn’t feel threatened, I didn’t feel in danger, I knew they were not going to hurt me.
The adrenaline crash hit me fast and hard, my shaky legs crumbled and I fell to the ground, my eyes slowly closing, my consciousness steadily fading away.
I woke up some time later, the feeling of something wet hitting me in the face quickly woke me up. It was Berry, he had come back and was licking me in the face.
“Lewis?” I innocently called out, still in a daze.
The realization of where I was quickly came back to me and I immediately went into high alert. The only one that replied was Berry which now kept close to me.
Silence all around. I looked outside the window to see that the rain had stopped and moonlight was now shining through, offering me a respite from darkness. How long was I out? How long has it been night?
On the window the evidence of previous conversation was slowly fading away as the rain had stopped God knows how long ago. One word, however, stood out from the rest, one I didn’t recall.
“hide”
I looked at it confused, desperately trying to remember when that happened and still trying to collect all the fuzzy memories from before I passed out.
I didn’t have enough time to do that as Berry quickly snapped its head towards the stairs, a loud hiss escaping its mouth.
Shortly after a loud BANG came from downstairs.
“ANGELA?” I heard shouting. It was Lewis, he was back.
“LEWIS? Is that you?” I shouted back.
“Yes, it’s me, you’d never believe what happened to me!” His voice was upbeat, happy, full of anticipation and pride. It felt off.
“I’m coming upstairs.”
Berry growled, his fur standing on end, he was ready for a fight. Instinctively I grabbed my switchblade, this time I knew it would be useful if needed.
I held my breath as I heard each step come up the stairs, I was hoping Lewis had found help for us to get out but it seemed like Berry knew something I didn’t. The message left by the spirits now made sense, they had anticipated his return, I wasn’t going to hide.
The way the moonlight entered the house, the top of the stairs were still dark, you could see just enough to understand whether there was someone there or not. As the steps got closer, I could see the silhouette come up.
It really was Lewis.
He stopped at the top of the stairs, still in the shadows.
“It finally happened Angela!” he said, not moving a muscle.
“What happened? Y-you just ran away, I-I-I stayed here Lewis, they told me to stay, I-I tried to tell you but you just didn’t stop.”
“That’s okay Angela, they lied to you anyway.”
“What…?”
“I got us some help! You think they want the best for you? That they’re here to protect you? TO WARN YOU?” His tone shifted, he became aggressive, assertive, loud.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“They’re not who you think they are, they’re not like him, they won’t help you…he will, you can trust him.”
“Who is he?”
“Don’t you understand?” Lewis slowly started to come closer.
“He told me the truth.” Another step forward.
“He showed me the way.”
Lewis finally stepped into the moonlight, his clothes were raggedy, covered in mud and wet from head to toe, sticks and leaves were stuck all over him, it looked like he rolled down a hill.
Behind those thick glasses, where those beautifully confident eyes sat, were now two deep bloody holes.
“I was blind but now I see.”
“Oh God.” I screamed in shock, tears rolling down my eyes, hands shaking yet resolute in hitting the switch on the knife, snapping forward like a spring.
“Stay where you are Lewis.” I threatened, knife pointed at him.
“Don’t be afraid Angela, you’ll soon join me, you’ll soon see” He replied in a soft, calm voice.
From below a series of huge stomps began to echo through the house, slowly getting closer, the floor below me trembling.
“W-What the fuck is that?” I asked, terrified at a proper response.
“It’s him, he’s here.” Replied Lewis as he got on his knees.
The heavy steps were right beneath me and they quickly made their way to the stairs, after only a couple of steps, I began to see something emerge from them.
A glowing dark red light pierced through the shadows, getting stronger and stronger.
Along with it, a pair of horns appeared from the steps, slowly revealing the goat like head they stood on, a pair of blood red eyes soon stared back at me as the entire figure stepped forth. A giant, 6’5’ body of muscle covered in thick black fur, standing on its hind hooves, a white human grin rested on its face, reflected by the filtered moonlight.
Sharp black shiny claws tickled the wall, a grinding sound echoing through the room.
“This is it.” I thought, end of the line.
There’s no way I’d be able to escape this monstrosity, the realization that I would spend the last moments of my life in absolute terror, staring at unfathomable horror, waiting for a painful and violent death…or something worse, really saddened me.
I stood there in absolute terror, all the confidence I had before evaporating in an instant. I wasn’t going to fight that, I didn’t even think about it.
My mind was overwhelmed by the sheer horror of what stood in front of me. I felt at peace. The pain would end, the sadness would end, everything would end. Soon total darkness would finally envelop me, and total silence would settle in.
Except it didn’t.
An overwhelming flash of light exploded from the window behind me, soon followed by a deafening thunder which mixed in with the roaring screech of pain coming from the monster’s throat. Its claws shielding the red eyes, its balance shaking.
“RUN.” I heard coming from somewhere in the room. I wasn’t going to question the nature of that voice.
I instinctively grabbed Berry, clutching him with my left arm, the right one busy wielding the knife.
I sprinted towards the abomination, my heart in my throat, adrenaline in my veins.
I got past Lewis and soon found myself face to face with the giant, the strong smell of rot and death coming from its fur almost making me vomit.
I didn’t stop.
I ran my knife into its right leg, a crunchy sound escaping it, dark red blood pouring from the wound.
A sharper screech so loud it must have been heard for miles silenced every other sound.
I made my way down the steps of the stairs, looking back over my shoulder.
The looming figure reeled, blinded by the light and the pain, its claws ripping into Lewis in a fit of rage, turning him into nothing more than a cloud of red mist, what was left of him sat lifeless and untouched on the perfect, parquet floor.
I sprinted outside, the cold breeze of the night caressing my hair, goose bumps on my skin, tears down my cheeks.
I kept running, didn’t matter where, my eyes locked on my feet, carefully making sure I didn’t trip on the many roots of the woods.
It wasn’t raining but the drops of water falling from the trees echoed a relaxing symphony. Berry kept silent and close, its claws digging into my sweater, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
After a while I stopped, exhausted. It was the middle of the night and I was somewhere in the thick bayou, clueless, scared and cold.
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