She’s standing there subconsciously awake, staring at the wall as the darkness wraps around the room consuming everything in its path. The sound of wood cracking as if it was the bones of the house breaking fills her ears. I tried to move her, to save her but shes stuck and no amount of force can mover her from the grip of it.
30 seconds in. It has entered the room quiet and still, waiting for the right time to make the move that would change everything.
1 minute in. Everything it touches becomes one with it, its presence is enough to send her stomach into a bowl of knots.
1 minute and 30 seconds in. It becomes stronger the longer it stays here, one person isn’t enough to fight it off.
2 minutes in. It’s becoming harder to breathe it starts to seep through the walls, slowly claiming her as its own.
2 minutes and 30 seconds in. There is nowhere left for her to run shes completely surrounded by its darkness, every step she tries to make is a death wish.
Its darkness surrounds her feet crawling up her body, she was struggling to get away reaching for anything she could grab. she released a scream that could destroy everything in her path. Her eyes went black, veins crept up her neck and her teeth rotted that’s when she saw me, she was now apart of it. Making her way toward me, I was now the one who was stuck. She clutched my neck, I’m running short on breath … gasping for the last part of air before I became apart of them …
Suddenly the fresh air flowed through my throat, I was safe. holding my neck where her hands once rested, my heart pounding as if to escape. I was covered in sweats and the room was acting as a carousel, I knew something was wrong. The phone rang, the chime sounded like glass shattering in my ears. I scrambled for the phone, the screen burned my eyes as I made out the numbers 4:25am. Clutching the phone as if it was the only thing keeping me alive, my hands going numb from the pressure. The shrill of a voice I barely recognise echoes down the phone line “it’s here”. Headlights of the cars ahead flooded the empty streets as the speed gauge shivered over 100, my heart matching the pace. Everything slowed the moment I stepped through the door, I felt as if I was standing in the grave of my past; how was I meant to move past this. The lumpy motel beds weren’t the comfort I needed to make it through the endless nights. Talking to the executioners whilst choking on my own sobs as night turned into day …
The gruelling 12 months passed, I was back in the house where it had laid its head to rest. Every step I made as slightly off, every squeak and creak was the unknown ashes letting their presence be known. The ceilings scream and the floors weep as the shadows in the walls continue to tell the story of it …
By Jade L. Cosmo
Jade L. Cosmo 