Every night I make certain to place my glass of water exactly 5 inches away from my head. Door closed. Closet door closed. Coat hanging on the rack..
Yet every night, it seems someone must have plans different than mine. At first, I thought it was a mistake or something because of my cat. I mean, who knows, maybe she developed half a brain and learned how to open a door. Good kitty. But then there was the water. I mean, I suppose she could push it away from me, but wouldn’t I notice? There was room for speculation and I simply kept it in the back of my mind.
A week later I found my coat open on the floor as if it had been laid out. Laid out like someone had done so purposely… I had laughed at myself. What psychotic thinking! If, and this is only if, someone had broken in, surely they wouldn’t have just not taken anything and lay out my coat, all ready for me to pick up and slide on for work. Silly Jason. Just plain silly. At first I would just laugh nervously and talk to my cat. “Watch the house Jasmine, ok?” I would say as I left for work.
One day it was a piece of laundry. I distinctly remember placing it in the bin, so why in the world would it be on the floor? That afternoon I bought a gun.
Sitting in my living room I first kept the gun in the same place. The kitchen since it was so accessible.
More laundry moved; I move the gun to the same room I’m in.
Water spilt and glass broken; I constantly kept the gun in my hand.
Quite soon I would begin laughing spastically some days, other days looking crazily back and forth, eyes bloodshot from the restless sleep.
I stopped going to work. Have to protect Jasmine. Watch the house. Have to. I would sit, glazed eyes staring at a stain on the wall of my room. A stain which I realized was never there before.
Ketchup! Yes! What else could it be? Salsa? Maybe. So obviously I went to go taste it. Sweet, a bit coppery. Expired, that was obviously the reason for copper, no mind there is no copper in the container.
Rolling back and forth I lay on my back on my bed singing or humming a careless tune. It seemed the walls were enclosing, suffocating me. That same day the approaching hurricane finally hit, destroying and decimating the once beautiful trees that stood outside my window and my poor barn. What a poor barn! A horse or two drowned or frightened and in too much shock to even dare move. Jasmine was who matters though and she was fine, protected by me. Such a good feeling to know I protected her.
Despite knowing it was just ketchup and probably Jasmine was just messing with me because you know, she’s just such a silly girl… a very silly, silly girl, I set up a camera. Yes, for Jasmine’s safety of course. Not being a protector if I’m not certain what even she’s up to! So that night I hung a camera with some scotch tape in the corner of a the room up above the door frame. As night approached I eagerly turned it on, a giddy laugh escaping me from the pride I felt in being such a protector. And with such confidence and joy, how could someone not sleep soundly? That was exactly the question I asked as I fell asleep for the first time in a long time.
The next morning I awoke comically with a yawn and a stretch. What a glorious day today would be! Adrenaline pumping and with the excitement of a child up way too early on Christmas Day in anticipation of the presents that awaited them. I got up and snatched the camera off its resting place. Cross legged on my bed I sat, lightly bouncing with a stupid grin on my face as I pressed the play button.
“Look Jasmine, that’s me, asleep!” I hollered out to wherever she might rest. The film kept rolling and I watched hours upon hours, never ceasing to smile or stop commenting about the simple everyday things in life that were recorded. However at about 3 AM, something unordinary did appear.
A sound could be heard, like that of a snake slithering on a rough surface from outside the closed bedroom door. Leaning in I tried to make more sense of it, but after a while I just shrugged it off dismissing it as Jasmine. Just about when I completely forgot about the noise, it started again, growing increasingly louder until the classic “click” of the door latch seemed to signal the release of it. Suddenly the silence was oppressive, enough to make sweat appear on your brow and your hands become clammy. With horror I saw a black figure slink into the room. My smile faded and replaced with a gasp. Then I began to laugh, scoffing at my insecurities. That was Jasmine! That little trickster. Matter of fact, where was she now? He couldn’t seem to recall. But that’s besides the fact, so I resumed my video.
As Jasmine slowly crept into the room, she began to… contort. The fuzzy, low quality video that was also black and white made it hard to figure out the details, but the body hunched up as if in severe pain. Fur seemed to extend, resembling a mane. With a gasp I watched as whatever this was, certainly not Jasmine, raised on its haunches. Growing and growing, it seemed it would never stop. One foot, two, three, four, five, and finally what must be six feet. Fur was sprouted and in thick rods, standing on end like a beast version of the fly. With disgust and horror I stared at my sleeping body that was so unaware and content with such a disgusting and grizzly creature mere feet away. Just as I thought it couldn’t be worse, the creature turned around with blazing red eyes that no doubt were the devil’s own and locked eyes with me through the camera.
What’s worse is I was in the room this nightmare happened in right now, rehashing it.
Breathless I began shaking, turning around to leave. Leave this place. The ketchup. Was it ketchup or was it Jasmine? Tears starting pouring down my cheeks, racking my body. I was about to get up when something rough and hairy slapped across my face, ceasing my scream that was about to rip from my throat. I now registered the grunting and snarling sounds I was unaware of mere minutes before. My muffled words could be heard if anyone were listening in, and surely they wouldn’t believe this scenario was truly happening. But oh, it most certainly was. The beast took my chin in its other inhuman hand, grasping and turning my head to become face to face with what could be my worst nightmare.
As I slightly opened my eyes I screeched, of course muffled by its beastly hand, and the face I saw caused my eyes to catapult open as wide as saucers. Red eyes that were somehow bloodshot stared me down. I could’ve sworn they were on fire, dancing like embers. The face had fangs, seeping out of its muzzle with pointy ears eerily resembling horns. I couldn’t take it anymore. Within the grasp of the beast, I violently snapped my neck, ending it all.
So come visit Jasmine and I. We’re waiting.
Short Stories
Comments are closed.
3 Likes
1110 Views
Share:
Wow..this is amazing. By the end, my mouth was hanging open. I really like how your sentence structure changed as he began to grow more crazed with fear and paranoia. The short, choppy sentences reflected his frantic thinking and paranoia, and the end escalated very quickly, but it flowed nicely. This is great!