The
loft
Paranoia gets us all…
A Day For A House
As the breeze swept through the trees outside the
house that was up for sale, she thought to herself this is the house I want.
The woman always knew she wanted a house like this for herself and her future
family. As she stared at it intently, she saw her and her future family moving
in and living life within the house. She could smell the dinners they could be
having.
She looked at the estate agent, the estate agent
looked back at her with a cold hearted glare as if to say; “Buy this house, now... Buy it… I don’t care about you as long as I make
a sale, do my job and get paid!”
“You
want this house, I can tell”, said
the estate agent. The woman hesitated as she looked at the estate agent for a
second, she knew she wanted this house. But she had to be realistic. The cost
of living, getting furniture, food, bills to pay, insurance. Etc
All these things circulated her mind, yet she wanted
this moment to mean something. The start of living life. Instead of being
wrapped up in her own indevers like her job and university. She wanted to break
free and live for once. She just wanted to be free.
“Yes, I’ll take it”. She said this in
a split second. Her words were so intense and believable that it frightened
her, but she knew in her heart of hearts her decision was right.
“Are you
sure?” said
the estate agent. For a brief second she seemed to be concerned, but the estate
agent switched back to her cold status, because she knew that the woman was
sure about her decision. The woman said, “Definitely”, as she turned from the estate agents glare of
pressure toward her very first house.
As the woman looked at the house she set her heart and
money on. All she could think about looking forward to in the many happy times
she knew she would have to endure. She smiled because of this thought.
The estate agent looked on, with her cold glare across
most of her face and her foundation starting to crease as her cold glare turned
into a sinister smile. “Lets
talk numbers. Shall we?”. The
woman smiled at her.
The estate agent left the woman at the scene of the
deal they had just made. The estate agent had all the documents and forms from
the woman signed and sealed. Now she was of to get her pay and go out for the
night; drinking and gambling. Even though the estate agent was only of mid
thirties, she was keen on taking risks in poker and other sorts of gambling.
Much like the woman, who had just purchased her dream
house. The woman was still mesmerised by the risk she had just took. Buying a
house she knew she wanted, but out of the moment. She knew it wasn’t the right time to buy this house,
what with her career and university in the way. Then again her career for
paying the bills for uni was being a waitress, which she knew was a dead end
job. But after all it pays and it got her the money to buy her dream house. But
to her she still wanted to take the chance and be whimsical about her decision.
Which she was
She knew her parents would be totally freaked, but at
the same time they would be proud that she is being responsible and independent
about things. The woman walked up to her house, she jingled the keys and
unlocked the front door.
As she walked in she smelt the air inside. It was pure
and to her it felt new. She looked further into her house, a smile on her face
as she entered each room.
She knew she was finally home.
Night came swiftly and surely, the trees outside were
moving as though they were alive in pain and terror. The wind was aggressive
and had so mush force. The gate, which led u the footpath to the house was
covered in leaves that had become detached from the branches, the leaves were
covered over the footpath like blood spilled over from a fresh cut or wound.
The wind died down, but rain wasn’t for behind. It soon came and wind
joined in creating a massacre of sounds that sounded as if it coincided with
screams of someone dying.
As the wind and rain eventually drew to a close, all
that was left was a breeze sweeping its way down the street, making the street
lights flicker.
* * *
In her new house, the woman had just finished her
dinner and was cleaning her dishes. She was wearing a tight white vest, for
lounging use only obviously, she was no skank. Short shorts, which she loved the
texture of and wore only indoors.
Her hair was tied back in a pony tail. Her hair was
thick and glowed, golden- brown sparkles whenever light hit it. As she
stretched and walked into her living room. She wondered what to do.
Her innocence spread through the room that made it her
presence known. “Think I’ll watch a movie”. She said to
herself in a zany manor. “Horror,
I fancy a horror”. She
said as she knelt down to look at her DVD collection stacked in a cabinet
located next to the TV.
Her right hand flicked past
each of her films. Her hand landed on a film, ‘Halloween’. she loved this film,
it was her favourite horror. Plus she wanted something that was going to give
her decent scare and thrill. And after all the horror movies she had been
watching lately, and no horror in them what so ever. This would be perfect for
her.
Once every week, when she
lived in the city that never sleeps. She used to go down to the multiplex to
see the latest horror. Little did she know that what she would turn up to see
would be a big pile of old mush.
She opened the packaging of
the DVD ns took out the DVD its self. She placed it into the DVD machine. She
sat down and grabbed the remote and pressed play. As it started to play she sat
down on her luscious sofa and laid back. She tied her thick brown hair back in
to a bun and took off her long dressing gown which had pictures of flowers and
teddy bears on, that creased inward as she folded it up.
She began to get into her
groove and relax. As she did this the films opening titles came on. She relaxed
and began to watch the movie.
All too soon her eyes began
to slumber deep. They kept on opening and closing. Eventually they closed. Not
lasting the first three minutes of the film.
The Beginning Of A
Nightmare
As she entered her
dreamscape, She saw her life through her early years; to leaving high school;
to college and working for the college newspaper; ‘The Melody’. To her
moonlighting job as a waitress, in a old restaurant called ‘The swallows nest’.
That name even to this day plagues her mind. Then it got to the point where she
bought her house, for which she desired and longed for. In her dream she saw
her self and another figure standing in the darkness. The figure was filled with
rage that even she could feel. As it walked over to her she began to scream.
She awoke.
The woman sat up on the sofa
and watched the movie. Whilst she was watching it she thought of the dream she
had just engaged upon. She thought of her life at the newspaper place she was
part of, at college. She thought for a moment of reviving that and making it
her career goal. Just as she got into the right frame of mood for the movie the
DVD stopped. The lights flickered and the TV switched off. Then the lights blacked
out. There was a darkness that filled the room. The woman froze as the darkness
swept upon her and a silence fell upon the house.
The woman slumped to the
floor in fear, she sat of the floor for a while, with her arms folded over her
legs. She knew she had to get a hold of herself. “Ok, get a grip, its just a
blackout”, she said as her face suddenly became a fighter look. She arose like
a phoenix from the ashes, not to be beaten by this mysterious, scarce turn of
events. Her eyesight suffered as she walked into the hallway. She couldn’t see
for looking. She used the walls as a guide towards the kitchen. The walls were
cold. It spread across her finger tips, through her arms, toward her upper body
and touched the edge of her soul, with a frost of darkness and unknown about
it.
As she entered the kitchen
her hands reached through ever draw she encountered to find a light. On the
third draw she came across she found a torch. She turned it on and pointed it
in the direction of a closet door which behind it held the key to salvation.
She opened the door and looked for the central electrical system to switch on
the power. As she looked she saw it cover up behind some coats of hers. She
gazed upon it for a while, examining the words that instructed her to turn on
or off the power. She gently pressed the ON switch, but nothing happened. She
left the kitchen and proceeded into the living room, she looked outside but
everything was as normal, the street lights were on and every other house
seemed to have lights on too.
She proceeded into the back
living room where she looked into the garden. It looked so dead and motionless.
The darkness filled everywhere and the woman couldn’t see a thing. Shadows
emerged from bushes and light from passing cars. The shadows looked like a body
moving through the grass. The woman saw a shadow of an arm that seemed to reach
for her.
She sat back on to her arm
chair. As she contemplated a plan a screeching noise came from upstairs. She
froze in a state of shock. It was as if someone place their nails on a black
board and clamped down to make this noise. She realised she had to find out
what was causing this unknown series of frights.
As she arose from her arm
chair she heard the screech noise again, she knew it was coming from upstairs.
She walked into the hallway and proceeded towards the stairs. She creaked her
way to the top and shun the light on the loft entrance where she heard the
third screech noise come from.
As she looked at the loft,
she heard more screeching, it continued four times in a continuous loop. She
was scared, it was dark, frights were beginning to take their toll on her and
her paranoia about what was causing this was building.
* * *
“WHO IS THERE”, she demanded.
“Please just stop!”. her voice began to sound as though she was about to
breakdown. The screeching started again and this time it didn’t stop. “Ok.
Forget this, I’m outta here”. “I’ll just call the police. At least I’ll know
I’ll be safe”.
As she said this, she ran
down the stairs, whilst holding her mobile trying to find a signal. She ran for
the front door. As she turned the handle she looked back for one last glare. As
she turned she saw a figure of some sort run past the banister, its shadow cast
a image in her mind that something evil was up there.
She froze in terror as she
realized what she just saw, she had to think quickly, strategize. She let go of
the handle and turned toward the stairs. She knew she had to find out what this
figure was. She pointed the light towards the kitchen for the last time. She
walked in and grabbed a sharp kitchen knife and stumbled towards the stairs.
* * *
She took her left leg and raised
it onto the first step where her foot rested for approximately three seconds
while her other half levelled up to it.
As she approached the last
step she pointed the knife in front of her, she saw a reflection cast in it.
But all she could see was darkness, but no figure…yet.
She finally got to the top.
Her hands were quivering with fear of what could happen. She was aware of the
danger she was in. Unless this was all her imagination? The paranoia could be
taking its toll. As all these thoughts shot through her head, the screeching
started again, it came from the loft. She knew she had to go up there.
She pulled down the ladders
to enter the loft. The darkness swept down toward the darkness below. It was
now even darker, and the torches light seemed to become defenceless against its
dark force, and it seemed to be dimming.
She climbed up the ladder one
foot at a time, a shadow shuddered past her. It sent a cold shiver through her.
She shook the shiver off her and turned round to find nothing, a thick,
freezing nothingness.
She was now even more
determined to get to the bottom of everything that has happened. As she
approached the top, she thought to herself. It would be ironic if her dream
could kill her.
* * *
She got to the top and
rotated the torch across the surface of the loft. As she did she saw something
move, she stopped in her tracks and started to shake as she moved the torch
back toward the moving creature. It was a rat caught in between two old boxes.
She climbed further in and
released the rat from its own fear of being trapped. She saw the scratches on
the boxes that made the screeching noises.
As it scurried off into the
darkness she sighed knowing that it was all in her head, and laughed as she
thought she was almost a victim to her own paranoia.
The Final Scream
A strange figure swept
through the living room and reached for the remote. Just then the lights came
back on, the electrics and all the appliances had been restored to normality.
The figure’s hand played the movie.
The woman heard the theme
music from ‘Halloween’ she looked down to the surface of upstairs and down. The
lights were back on. Once again she sighed.
* * *
The figure swept passed the
hallway and up stairs like a bolt of frightful energy. The woman suddenly felt
cold. She knew something else was wrong. A hand reached up toward the woman’s
shoulder. It hovered upon her. The figure reeked of an evil presence. As the
woman grabbed the torch, she dropped the light as she was pulled down.
As it dimmed out the woman
reached back up to the loft’s surface. She grabbed onto the light. She screamed
a scream which broke the loft windows frail hinges. As she was dragged down, she
dropped the light again. She screamed even louder, a painful scream that
rattled down the stairs and through the house.
The light stayed on for five
seconds, blinking on and off before its light finally died out and darkness
filled the loft once again.
BY SCOTT COBURN
No comments:
Post a Comment