Coffin

I awoke to complete darkness, the air stuffy and dry. I blinked a few times thinking I was at home in my bed. I could usually see the moonlight through the window in my bedroom, but all was pitch black. Had I gone blind? I tried to sit up, only to be met by a pillow covered in smooth fabric. I fell back to laying down and froze. Confused by this I reached out to touch the pillow that was above me and touched the fluffy silken object only to find that it covered a solid panel of some kind.

What is that? I hit the pillow, a loud thud that sounded like a wooden door shook me so that I was fully awake. The grogginess of sleep was gone and I was fully aware of the small space I was trapped in. My breathing sped up as I panicked, I kicked and punched the panel above me but it was solid. I tried to scream, but my throat was so dry that barely any noise came out. What’s happening? Wait a second…I’d heard of people being accidentally buried alive, but that doesn’t happen anymore… does it? Was I in a… no, I’m too young to die. What if I… no, is this a coffin?

The realization of my situation hit me like a brick. I’m in a coffin… underground… and I can't get out or call for help. I’m going to die here. I needed to get out, the oxygen would run out, or I would starve if I lasted that long. I tried to slow my breathing, but I was already hyperventilating. I need to calm down or I'm just going to die faster... I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself. I'm stuck... what do I do? I felt around more, trying to find a weak spot, or something I could use to get out. There was nothing. I checked my pockets, empty.

The air became thicker, it was harder to breathe. I panicked again, I kicked more and clawed at the wood containing me. Tears formed in my eyes, there is no escape. As my breathing got heavier, so did the air around me. I tried to gasp for air, the more I tried the less I succeded. I could feel the tears rolling down the sides of my cheeks, I'm dying. Somebody please help, anybody please! I shook as I tried to breathe again, getting nowhere. No more air. The darkness gained a warm, fuzzy quality and I became less and less lucid. I'm already dead, aren't I...

Original Work by P.H.

Valentine's Day

Steve had never had a girlfriend, he had always wanted someone special to spend valentines day with, but nobody ever wanted to spend it with him. He thought about online dating, so many young girls that he could spend the day with. Many of which lived alone, and were gullible enough to fall for anything. Perfect, nobody to question them leaving abruptly. He could get away with it if he had the guts to do it, and he definitely did. Jack had not lived a luxurious life, he was poor, alone, and didn't really like people. Even though he wasn't overly fond of strangers, he longed for the feeling of being loved by a woman, to have someone to call his own. He'd had enough cold nights spent wishing he had someone to hold, someone to be his. Things would be different, he had already made up his mind.

He started planning a week before valentines day, first he made his profile on the online dating site. He put in a fake name and fake information about himself, somethingnhe thought that women would find appealing. He got a picture of another man off of the internet and set it as his profile picture, it looked kind of like a younger more athletic version of himself so it would do nicely. He created the most perfect illusion he possibly could, the perfect man just waiting for love. He got a lot of messages from girls who weren’t what he was looking for, they just sent him crude messages that he didn’t like. He kept reading through his inbox looking sor something good, it took a while but there was one girl that really stood out.

There was this lovely little thing named Danielle, she was beautiful, seemingly very intelligent, and had a nice calm way of going about things while they chatted. She didn't have many friends, and her family lived out of state. She lived alone in a small apartment, no one very close to her. Steve was surprised at how willing she was to give him all of this information, and then he remembered that his illusion was almost flawless. He seemed so perfect that she couldnt help but trust him. She was the perfect target, she had no one to notice she went missing until it was too late. At that point he would be long gone, and he would have exactly what he wanted.

Steve went out and bought a nice suit, it was gray with a white dress shirt underneath. It even had a nice vest that matched the jacket, so handsome he thought. He wore a blue tie because it matched well, and people tend to associate the color blue with calm and trust. He was going to use all the psycological tricks he could think of to get her to love him. He had wanted this for years, he just needed a little push. He hadnt always been like this, Steve used to have a Siamese cat named Jess, she was the most important thing in Steve's life. Jess was a beautiful cat that was calm and kind, she wasn't destructive or messy, and Jess loved Steve as much as he loved her. When Jess was around 12 years old she was not doing well, she was sick and didnt have long left. Steve tried everything to help her but she just wouldnt get any better, eventually Jess passed away and that's when Steve snapped. The thing he loved most in the world, the only thing that he cared about was gone. He was tired of being alone, he would never be alone again.

Steve arrived at Danielle's house right at 6:30 as scheduled, he wanted to be punctual as he was very excited for his date. She walked out of the apartment complex wearing a mid length, elegant red dress with short black heels, she was just as stunning in person as she was in her pictures. They had agreed to meet at the coffee shop next door, Steve said he couldn't find any parking and met her outside of her apartment instead. His plan went perfectly, he stepped out of the car and acted surprised to see her. She asked why he parked there and he explained that he just picked a random parking spot and it just happened to be right outside of her apartment. He explained how didn't want to be late so he parked quickly, not knowing this was where she lived. She believed every word. They greeted each other nicely, then Steve waited for her to turn her back and took out a cloth he had prepared with chloroform from his pocket. He quickly grabbed her and put it up to her mouth and nose, holding her as she struggled to get away.

He held her and like that until she went limp in his arms. He easily carried her tiny body back to his car and drove away, he already made sure that there were no security cameras or witnesses so they were free to go to Steve's house in the middle of nowhere. Steve was crtain that nobody was around for miles, she wouldn't escape, he wouldn't be left all alone. The drive was about an hour long, but she didn't wake up. She barely moved in her sleep but she wouldn't be lucid enough to escape even if she did wake up, but she wouldn't. He took Danielle's limp body out of the car and carried her into the quiet house, the dining room table was set up with candles and flowers, the metal chairs had padded seats and lovely filligrie around the edges. He sat her in the chair and cuffed both of her hands to the strong, decorative, metal armrests. The cuffs were tight, but just to be sure he grabbed some rope and anchored her to the chair even more. He gently brushed her hair out of her face, and observed her closely. Pretty, but dumb as a box of rocks Steve thought. Steve walked to the kitchen adjascent to the dining room, he looked at her to make sure she was still sedated, then continued what he was doing. He prepared a nice vegeterian soup and potato salad, keeping in mind that on Danielle's dating profile she mentioned that she was vegeterian.

He set the beautifully painted bowls of food on the table in front of the both of them, she would be waking up soon and might be hungry. Steve moved his chair closer to Danielle and waited for her to wake up. It was only a few minutes before she lifted up her head and began to look around the room, when she realized what was going on she began to scream for help. Steve didn't like that, he screamed back at her causing her to stop and freeze. Her eyes were fixed on him as he shook his head at her, "It's not polite to scream at your host. I suggest you have some manners." he responded. She wimpered and pulled against her restraints. Steve took a bite of food, then picked up her fork and offere some to his date as well. She was still frozen in fear, he shoved the food at her agressively. She hesitated, then opened her mouth and took a bite. Steve smiled at this, things were going well. A tear rolled off of Danielle's cheek, she chewed up her food and swallowed it.

Bite after bite she silently ate the food Steve fed to her, scanning the room in between bites. Steve knew she was looking for a way out, but she wouldnt find one. She might get out of the restraints, maybe even leave the house, but there was nothing but forest outside. He had even hidden the car keys under the porch outside just in case. Steve smiled at her and she shivered under his gaze, she stayed quiet though. He got up to put the dishes in the sink, she struggled against the ropes and cuffs. The metal clanged together as she tried to free her arms, but she couldn't. Steve wasn't pleased, he'd been a good host hadn't he? Yet she still didn't love him. He would try harder, he would make her love him.

Steve drug the heavy chair into the living room with him, Danielle was still in the chair. He wanted to watch a movie with her, to cuddle her and hold her. She wasn't ready for that yet, Steve thought, she was still getting to know him. He turned on the small television set, adjusted the antenna, then went to sit on the couch by her. The program was some old black and white movie that he didn't know, but he was ok watching anything as long as he was next to Danielle. They were watching the movie for a while before Steve started to yawn, he was starting to get tired. The movie wasn't the most interesting one, and the meal that they had was getting to him. Danielle noticed him dozing off and watched carefully until he fell asleep and started snoring. She noticed a small notch in the filligrie and the sharp edge on it, she worked the rope into the notch and started to saw the rope with it. The metal cuff gently clanged against the chair, she was careful not to make too much noise. She couldn't wake him up or she'd lose her chance.

The rope finally broke, she had a little bit more mobility in her arm but she was still handcuffed to the chair. She wiggled as much of her hand out of it as she could, but it kept getting stuck. She kept pulling at it as much as she could until her wrist was bloody. She yanked once, hard, and her hand slid out of the cuff. She was so happy that she didnt even realize that her hand was skinned, a large strip of flesh hanging off of it. When she saw this she had to hold back the urge to scream, the pain wasn't terrible, the adrenaline drowning most of it out. She untied the rope on her other arm, but she didn't want to have to tear her hand from the cuff like she did the other one. She looked to Steve, he was still asleep. Danielle scanned the room for the keys, but didnt see them. There wasnt anything to cut them or pick them with either. Steve rolled a bit in his sleep, startling Danielle. She looked at him in silence for a minute before realizing that the keys were in his pocket. Danielle used all of her strength to pull the chair closer to Steve, as quietly as possible she turned it so she could reach into his pocket.

She cried in frustration as she reached for the keys, they were so close but she still couldn't reach them. She carefully leaned over him more, she quickly maneuvered her hand into his pocket. He rolleda little bit, but didnt wake up. Her wounded hand scraped the fibers of his clothes, causing her to grit her teeth. It hurt, but she wasn't going to be trapped here with him. She pulled the keys out of his pocket quickly, and to her horror, Steve's eyes shot open at the sound of them jingling. Danielle quickly jumped back as Steve slowly pushed himself out of the couch, the cushion was so soft that he had a hard time standing. she took this time to shakily shove the key into the handcuff and unlock herself from the chair. She ran into the dining room, then for the first door she saw. She tried to turn the handle but it was locked, she fumbled trying to turn the lock but unlocked it before Steve clumsily rounded the corner. She opened the door quickly, denting the wall from pulling so hard on it when it swung open. She ran outside, Steve following closely behind shouting something she didn't pay attention to. Danielle kicked her heels off and gained more distance from him, she tore though a hundred feet of forest before stopping behind a tree to catch her breath.

Steve yelled after her,"You won't get far without driving, and these woods have mountain lions. You might as well come back to me now." He was met with silence. He angrily stormed over to the porch and grabbed the keys from underneath," I have the keys to my car right here, why don't you come get them?" Steve jingled them in his hand, taunting Danielle. She saw him from the woods, she wanted so badly to run and get the keys but he was easily 100 pounds heavier and would overpower her in a second. She couldn't go deeper into the woods, he was right theres nobody out there. She could see the mountains from the small hill she was on, no people though. No houses or signs of any other humans as far as she could see. She turned to look back at Steve walking back into the house, she didn't know how to survive in the woods with no food, water, or shelter. She slid down the side of the tree and sat on the cold ground, she had no choice but to go back. Or she'd die out in the woods, alone and cold. Danielle heard the door shut and turned back again, she hadn't noticed the small shed outside before.

The shed probably had supplies, or at least something to help her. She stayed in the brush, slowly making her way around the back of the house. Looking for a blind spot, she circled the perimiter of the house. There were windows on each outside wall, he would see her if he looked out any of them. The main rooms all connected, so she would be visible from all at once. The bedroom and bathroom however, were sectioned off from the rest of the house. She could wait until he was there, and run to the shed as fast as she could. Maybe he would fall asleep again, but it would be a while.

A few hours later Steve was pacing around the living room, looking impatient and nervous. Something was wrong, he turned and walked into the bedroom. Danielle sprinted through the trees and brush as quickly as she could, she felt sharp stones stab the bottom of her feet but ignored the pain. She reached the shed and hid against the outside, facing away from the house. She carefully looked around the corner, scanning the house for any signs of Steve in the windows. He wasnt there, she ran around to the door and pulled on the small handle. The door was locked. She pulled harder, again and again but it wouldnt open. She tried puching it open but still nothing. She hit the door in desperation and anger, then screamed as she felt large hands wrap around her again. The farmiliar scent of chlorophorm flooded her senses, then everything went black.

Steve carried her to the house again, this time dropping her on the dining room table. He saw her hand, the dry blood crusted and smudged all over it. The piece of skin torn off, just hanging from the back of her hand. He thought about going to get the first aid kit, it needed cleaned up and wrapped. Just as he was thinking about it, he looked back at the flap of skin. He had a great idea, this time she wouldnt be able to leave. She would never leave. She would have to love him, she would need him.

It was a bloody mess by the time he was done, he had used a towel to sop up the crimson liquid. He wasnt very good at sewing, but he did a fine job of stitching her up. He sat her in the chair once again, this time without any restraints. He stood back and observed her, she looked so peaceful. She would wake up soon but for now, she was so calm and perfect. He took the towel and rinsed it in the sink, then took it back out to clean up some of the blood left on her skin. He dabbed the blood off of her wrist, and then wiped the table once more. He heard her moving, she was waking up. He turned to her and watched as she groggily looked around again, a look of terror quickly told him that she realized where she was. He smiled at her again as she tried to use her hands to get out of the chair, then she froze.

Danielle slowly looked down at her hands... or lack thereof. She wailed in horror, Steve had cut them off. There was stitches on the end of her wrist, but nothing more. She screamed and cried, Steve let her this time. He understood that it would take some getting used to, but he was pleased with his work. Danielle then looked at her feet, they were the same. She couldn't even walk. She cried more, she couldn't beleive that this was real. She looked to Steve in disbeleif, he was standing there with a smile on his face. "You're all mine now, we will be together forever."

~ Nobody ever found the bodies, but when Steve had a heart attack years later Danielle couldnt call for help. She starved to death, trapped in that house with his wretched, rotting corpse staring at her from across the room.~

Original Work by P.H.

Creature

 

I ran along the dark street, the only thing illuminating my path was a dim glow from the old street lights. I heard its thudding footsteps close behind me, echoing through the empty town around us. I ran up to an intersection between buildings, I ran right. Dead end. A brick wall stood solid in front of me, blocking my escape from that thing. I turned to run, but it was there. This ugly creature stood right in front of me, its torn skin loosely hanging from old, dry bones. Its limbs were bent unnaturally, arms and legs twisted backwards and sideways. It was tall, taller than any man as it towered over me. Its oddly shaped head hung heavy on its crooked neck, it twitched to the side while it looked into my wide eyes. Its eyes were glowing grey orbs inside of its dark, empty sockets. It wore a wide, distorted grin almost like it was giddy to see my fear.

It stepped closer to me, its bones making a wet, cracking noise and its foot thudding harshly against the ground. My breathing came to a hault as I waited for the creature to make its move. Its disgusting grin widened, revealing its sharp and rotting teeth barely hanging on to its decaying gums in its ugly head. It pondered me,” Do you believe in God? In heaven and hell? Do you believe something can save you now?” it’s cold, gravelly voice rang through the small alley. I stood frozen, I couldn’t think of an answer much less speak it. It spoke in that ominous tone once again, “God doesn’t exist, nobody can help you, and hell, my dear, is this very life. After you are through here, there is nothing left but cold, dark, emptiness.” A tear rolled off of my cheek, this is my end. It lunged at me before I had a chance to move, I saw nothing. There were no sounds, no light, no feelings, nothing but pain tearing through my body.

Then I heard it, that creatures laugh. It was a dark chuckle that would send chills through anyone’s bones. It laughed, and laughed. The laugh got quieter, it sounded farther away. I couldn’t tell if it was leaving or if I was dying, the pain never stopped. That evil cackle was the only thing in the entire world, the only thing to show me that I was still alive and it was fading away. The pain was still there, the laugh was still there, but there was nothing else. Slowly, its laugh disappeared into nothing. There was only darkness. Just like it had said, there is no one, nothing after life, this is all that lies beyond.

Original work by P.H.

The Door

I opened the door, it creaked loudly as it swung open along the hinges. The room was dark except for the small lamp in the middle of the room. The lamp sat in a wooden table along with a folded piece of paper, I walked to it. I reached down slowly and picked up the yellowed note, it read "Can't. Leave." I inspected it more, flipping it to the other side but it was all blank save for those two words. I heard the door shut but the echoes all around me made it impossible to know where it came from. The lamp only illuminated the small table, I couldn't see more than that. The walls were dark and seemingly far away. I heard a strange noise, scratching, scuttling, movement of some kind. I walked towards the lamp so that I could see around me as the noises grew louder. Long, spindly legs moved into the light. The resembled giant black widows legs, but they just kept going. There were no bodies, no abdomens, no eyes, no mouth, just legs. Sharp stabs to my legs brought me to my knees, more made me fall flat on the floor. I coughed up blood, adding to the puddle forming underneath me. The thick warm liquid warmed my skin as I slowly lost conciousness, my vision slowly faded. I felt bliss, serene as the life drained out of me. I watched as another long leg raised above me, and came down through my skull. Then all was dark.

I opened the door, it creaked loudly as it swung open along the hinges...

Original Work by P.H.

Gravity, and Darkness.

My parents had a chunk of land that was about 3 acres in the mountains a few hours away from home. I loved camping and went to our land a lot. I was walking through the forested part of the property and found a large cavern in the ground, I looked down into the hole trying to see what lay inside. It was too dark to see anything, I ran back to the cabin and told my father. He told me we would look at it tomorrow, but I was eager to explore what was inside. I told him that I would go look by myself if he was busy, he said don’t go too far and don’t get stuck or anything. I laughed and said I would be careful and just look around a bit.

I grabbed my small flashlight and walked back to the cavern. I looked at it one last time before pressing the button on the small metal light, shining it into the hole in the ground. It was almost completely void of life and anything but oxygen. A few beetles scurried around, some roots hung from the edges. It went farther than my flashlight would reach, I decided maybe I would crawl in just a bit to see what else there was deeper underground. I ducked and started to crawl down into the dark cavern, doing my best not to obstruct the beam from my flashlight on the ground that my hands were sinking into. My knees hurt from the sharp rocks stabbing their way through the soft dirt beneath me. I crawled until I came to a fork, left or right? I shone the light into them to get a better idea of what was inside.

On the left, the tunnel continued still narrow and small. On the right, I couldn’t see the walls, meaning that this opened up to a cave. I shone my light around the right side more until something shiny caught my eye, I looked hard but couldn’t tell what it was for the life of me. I looked behind me to the mouth of the tunnel I had entered and it was dark, I assumed that it was night time now. It had been late in the evening when I had entered, so it would be dark outside by now. I turned my attention back to the cave and crawled deeper into the large room. I looked for walls but saw nothing around me, just endless darkness save for the hole in the wall where I came from. I looked at the ground, it had a dull sparkle when I shone the light on it. I stepped further, looking for more. I walked for several minutes, not finding anything. This was the largest, darkest place I had ever been. I eventually turned around and made my way back towards the wall where I had come from. I walked for what seemed like an hour but found nothing, not even a wall.

I started to panic, but kept walking. I had to find a wall or a ceiling somewhere, this place couldn’t literally be endless. Nowhere is. I walked for hours, only stopping when my legs couldn’t hold me up any longer. There was no way to tell how long I had been walking around that place, I could have been there days. My flashlight eventually started to flicker, “ No… NO DON’T DO THIS! PLEASE!” I yelled. It was no use. The light flickered out, and I was left in complete darkness. I cried, I was never getting out of here. I threw my light to the ground in anger. I heard a strange cracking noise somewhere in the cave, I couldn’t tell where it came from, the echoes were in every direction. I stood as still as possible trying to figure out what was happening, silence filled in the space all around me. I took a step and heard another crack… it was the floor. The floor was starting to shatter because I had thrown the light. I tried to tread lightly, moving forward into the darkness. More crackling came with each step, until the silence was broken with the loudest one yet. Loud echoes of the sound surrounded me, then the floor beneath me dropped.

At first I couldn’t tell that I was falling, I just felt my body get as light as a feather. I didn’t have to hold my weight up with my legs anymore. I soon felt the air swiftly blowing upwards around me, and I started to tip backwards. I was flailing my arms grasping for anything, but there was nothing. I just kept falling. The darkness made it seem more endless than it already was. I kept falling forever, never stopping. There was no light, nothing to grab, and no ground to fall on. Just an endless falling sensation that lasted forever.

Days, and weeks passed. Even my sleep was filled with dreams of gravity pulling me downwards towards endless nothingness. Sometimes there would be regular dreams, walking in the park, sitting at home, but they all turned into dreams of me hurtling downwards into emptiness. I was alone in this endless tunnel, darkness my only company, no food, no water, just darkness everywhere. I was starving, and had nothing to eat or drink. I wished for anything to satisfy my hunger or thirst, but there was nothing. I accepted this and waited for something to happen, the ground, a ledge, something had to kill me eventually right? A while later a strange phenomenon came to light, I didn’t quite understand why but I welcomed anything that wasn’t darkness. Water started flying up around me, small droplets hitting my skin.

At first I hesitated before drinking them, afraid they would be poisonous. After a while I got so thirsty that I didn’t care whether they would kill me or not, I just kept falling in the darkness anyways. They tasted putrid, slightly like sulfur and metal. I was so thirsty that I didn’t care. That was the only thing in that cavern with me, other than the darkness that encapsulated everything. I almost didn’t notice the droplets because they were the same temperature as everything else, the wind constantly hitting my skin had numbed it as well. I only felt it when it streamed across my face, I wasn’t crying so they couldn’t be tears. I discovered that they were coming from underneath me, falling at a slower pace than I was making it seem like backwards rain. I don’t know how they got there, but they weren’t there long before I was if I ran into them.

I fell more, I fell forever. I never stopped. There was no food so eventually I could feel my muscles being eaten away by my body, trying to keep me alive for as long as possible. The whole world became darkness and water droplets occasionally pelting my body. I lost all sense of direction, I couldn’t tell how long I had been falling in that cave. I wouldn’t last much longer without any food. I lost my hearing from my eardrums being bombarded by wind for what was probably weeks. My senses dulled and eventually were gone altogether. At last, after an eternity of nothing, I fell asleep for the final time. Never to wake from my sleep again, I kept falling forever. Never found by anyone, lost in this dark void forever.

Original work by P.H.

October

Blood everywhere. The entire floor was red, the walls spattered as well. Chunks of human flesh around me, I felt… complete. Warm, thick liquid dripping from my face onto my shirt and into the puddle on the floor. Ripples through the crimson lake covering the floor. Pieces of people floated on the surface. Some sat on the ground, being tall enough to pierce through the surface and be seen above. My reflection looking back at me, grinning sheepishly. White teeth turned pink, navy shirt turned jet black by the red filter of the liquid mirror.

I silently chuckled to myself, causing more ripples throughout the red sea below me. I stepped towards my table, cold, silver and in pristine condition. Then to the tray, my tools glistening beautifully. I kept them all in order, like a professional surgeon would. By now I was basically a professional, all of the experience that I had perfecting my techniques. The blades had become my friends, moving seamlessly, so precise, I had practiced a lot. A person doesn’t get this good at my hobby without putting in many hours of focusing and learning.

I had been stalking them for many months. I saw them at the mall, shopping. They laughed and made light conversation, flashing a smile at something funny that they said. I followed and got closer to them without anyone noticing, they were even more attractive up close. Bright smile, rosy cheeks, kind to the people around them. They were perfect. The best fit for my project, my newest muse.

I moved carefully, being bright and charismatic, kind to them and other people around us. They smiled and made conversation with me, trying to be kind to a nice stranger. I asked to buy them a drink from the food court, some smoothies maybe. They hesitated, “Not supposed to take food from strangers… that could get us in some serious trouble…” I laughed and said alright and backed off. I’ll convince them one way or another. They invited me to stay with them though, not wanting to be rude. I told them I’d hate to intrude, I lied. They said it was alright and included me in their activities at the mall until they started complaining about being hungry, I offered to buy dinner. “Haven’t I earned your trust? I’m not a psycho or anything I promise.” I lifted my hands as if being vulnerable to them, they had no idea and laughed at my comment.

We walked to the food court and I bought them all their burgers and shakes of choice. I walked to get everyone’s trays, and pretended to get straws and napkins while I slipped the pills into their drinks. They would be next, just a few more minutes. They ate, drank, and laughed and by the time they finished their meals they said they were tired and would head home. “So soon? We were having such a good time!” I argued. They said they would talk to me later and got my phone number and walked away. I followed behind them, making sure they didn’t notice of course. I stalked my prey carefully. They had carpooled here so they all got into the same car, by this time the drugs were really affecting them. They all passed out in the seats before even starting the car. Too easy. I got in the car with them when nobody was looking and moved the one in the driver’s seat to the back so that I could drive. I found the key in one of their pockets and started up the car, I’d be back for mine later.

When we arrived at the old farmhouse that I had converted into my workshop, I pulled the car into the garage that was attached by a hallway to the house. I carried all of them to the basement where my tools were, and tied two of them into the metal chairs used for patients in mental hospitals. The third I strapped onto my operating table. This didn’t take long, after all I am an expert. The others squirmed, I had caught about 15 people and chained them to the wall before bringing my new project home. This was going to be fun.

They all slowly woke up, trying to scream through the gags. I laughed, “Good morning, how was your rest?” they tried to scream again. I laughed.” Well I’d love to chat but I’ve got my work cut out for me.” I turned to the table with my tools, and looked at the person on my operating table. I put on my mask, the kind doctors use to keep from breathing onto their patients during surgery. I picked up the bone saw, and started cutting away the limbs. Everyone cried and screamed behind me, it was muffled enough that I didn’t lose my concentration. The blood spilled off of the sides of the metal table, dripping deliciously onto the concrete below. It felt so good to be in control, I had been waiting for this moment forever.

After I had removed all of the limbs, I picked them up and hooked their leg stubs on meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. Then I took my scalpel and cut their jugular, spilling more blood onto the floor. After carving up all 15 of them there was a significant puddle covering almost the entire floor in the small room, a pool filled with blood. I then took their severed limbs and chopped them into small pieces with a butcher knife, flesh, and bone flew everywhere. Splashing in the blood when it fell to the floor, so satisfying. So much blood.

I set my tools down once I was done, and looked around the room. Lifeless, limbless bodies hung from the ceiling. Blood covered the floor. Everything was perfect. I took the pocket knife out of my back pocket, my father had given me this knife before he shot my mother, then himself. I would be seeing him in hell. I opened it, slit my wrists, then my neck. The blood spilled out over my body, warming me like a blanket. My blood swirled and mixed with theirs, we were one. I smiled as my vision dimmed, I could see silhouettes, their bodies around me. Some swayed, like they were dancing in midair. I was barely breathing now, but all I felt was complete satisfaction.

Original Work by P.H.

Ghost

 

Dark, cold, darker, colder. Empty, empty, empty. No more warmth in my body. No more feeling. No more body at all. Where? How was I here? What’s happening? I remember me, my life and the people in it. I remember who I am… who I was. Normal human being. Living amongst the others, walking along through life not worrying about an early death. I should have worried; I don’t know how I got here. Is this death? So much dark. What happened? Nothingness. Am I dead now? Is that it? How did I die? Don’t remember, no thought. Hard to think, cloudy pictures, memories. So fuzzy and unclear.

Loud noise, more noises around me. People in the room. I see dark and dull floorboards, and faded wallpaper. I turn around and see the rest of the room, fuzzy, like I just woke up. Groggy and tired. Two outlines of people in the fog, I tried to step towards them. The floorboards creaked underneath my feet, they whipped around towards me looking startled by the unexpected noise made by my movement. They turned their heads towards each other, I tried to speak. “He-hello?” I said quietly, yet loud enough to be heard. The flashlight flashed in my direction and went right through me, and back onto the wall behind me. I froze, they didn’t seem to see me. They squinted and looked around the room, scanning it before the taller one shrugged and turned to leave. The smaller one grabbed its arm above the elbow and followed.

Darkness again. If I’m dead, then why am I here? Am I dead? They didn’t see me when they looked right at me. Am I a ghost? Loud voices circling me, I recognize them. Who were they? I knew them, and yet I didn’t. Thoughts tangling in a web like flies, stuck around each other. Bad, evil thoughts clouded and cluttered around with the good ones. Good thoughts puffed away in a cloud, bad thoughts sinking the entire web like rocks in a lake. Sadness trying to overtake me. Short bursts of thought and consciousness. Less and less human. No, darkness drowning out the light. Suffocating me, no sight, no sound, no feeling. Just dark.

Days passed, and turned into months and years. A few people came by, I tried to talk to them but they didn’t listen. I got mad and threw things at them. Broken plates, and vases littered the floor along with other random objects. I screamed at somebody and they heard me. They were frightened and ran away. That was the only person who ever heard my voice. I scared a lot of people. I didn’t want to hurt them, but thought of it invaded my mind more and more. Ghosts didn’t really hurt people did they? Ghosts are just there, they don’t interfere with living people. I found that ghosts weren’t all good, I got so angry all the time. I wanted vengeance, but on who? I didn’t know.

I tried to hurt people who I encountered in hopes of feeling better about my demise and situation. It didn’t work. I even tried killing, dropping heavy objects on people. I always missed, no fatalities yet. One day a tall man walked into the house, I couldn’t make out his face. As I got closer I got a weird feeling, like we had met before. I felt a feeling of rage course through me, I tried to hit him with my hands but they just phased through him. I threw a floorboard at him from across the room, hitting him in the back hard. He hit the ground with a thud. I felt good that I had incapacitated him, finally someone that I could kill for sure. I crawled up the wall and ripped it from its place, causing a kind of avalanche of sheetrock and dust to fall down on the man. It wasn’t enough to kill him but he was coughing up a small amount of blood. I wanted to kill him so badly.

I thought about how to kill him, images of the fireplace flashed through my mind. I saw the old, rusty poker in front of it and immediately walked over and picked it up. I carried it over to the man and looked down at him. I recognized him somehow, in that moment everything became less foggy. The world was almost clear, clear enough to make out the man’s face. I remembered. That man had walked into my house saying that he needed help. I let him in and made him tea, brought him a blanket, made him a guest in my home. He had said that he called someone to pick him up but it might be a while. At this point I had realized that I hadn’t asked him why he needed help. He was in such a panic that I just wanted to help him with whatever he needed. I turned to the stranger sitting on my couch, “So what happened?” he looked at me and sighed. ”I was hoping you wouldn’t ask, I was just starting to get comfortable.” I gave him a puzzled look. He took a gun out of his pocket and ordered me to be quiet.

I obeyed, and put my hands up in front of me. I nodded at him and waited for him to say anything else.  “Sit.” He said while gesturing to the chair that I was sitting in moments ago. I sat back in my chair shakily but as calm as possible. I stayed quiet as he stood up and walked around, “You have such a lively home miss. So many beautiful, and expensive belongings.” I followed him around the room with my eyes, he had his eyes on my carved wooden elephant from India. He traced the pearls draped on its face and the flowers painted on its head. “This is a lovely piece of art, where did you acquire it?” I thought for a moment, “It was a gift from my cousin when she came back from India.” He smiled, “A lovely gift indeed.” He turned around towards me, “I would like a meal, do prepare one for us and set the table.” He said confidently, like I was his servant. “A meal? I really don’t think this is the time sir.” He had the gun pointed at my forehead. “I really don’t think this is the time for resistance miss.” He retorted. “I would feel more comfortable if you would put down the gun.” He sighed. “I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I guess all good things must come to an end.” He let his arm fall and pointed the gun at the ground, I let out a sigh of relief. “Goodbye miss.” I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant but before I could get a word out he aimed and pulled the trigger. Then nothing.

The world went fuzzy again, my vision blurred and the room spun around me. I was back in the dark old house with the man who murdered me. He had aged by about a decade, his hair started to gray, skin wrinkled around his eyes and mouth, but still him. He looked around the room, examining the torn wallpaper and dusty floorboards. I felt so much anger, rage filled me and I felt the room shaking. I looked up at the broken chandelier dangling from the ceiling, the man also looked as it swung back and forth. He would have fell if he were to move so he crouched a bit and stayed where he was, trying to regain his balance. I shook the chandelier harder, the ceiling started to crack, the metal clanging against itself. He looked frightened, “Do you feel that? That’s exactly the same fear that I felt before you shot me in the head.” He must have heard me. He cried out, “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” he begged ne to stop. But it was too late for that. I pulled the chandelier from the ceiling, and threw it down on him with a wet cracking noise. Blood spattered the floor and walls. My anger subsided, my killer was dead.

All was quiet, peaceful even. The front door opened, slowly, and quietly. The darkness of night was all there was to see. It was calling to me, asking me to go out into the night. I walked to the door, out of the house for the first time since I had been trapped here. I was drawn to the yard, almost in a trance. I walked over to the garden, and I started to dig down into the ground. I dug for a few minutes, throwing dirt into the grass behind me. I never thought that this would be what I found. A small wooden box with cloth on the lid, embroidered with my name on it. I picked it up and brushed off some of the dirt. I opened up the box, only to find a note and the necklace I was wearing when I died. The note read:

My dearest,

I am so terribly sorry. I wanted you to be happy, I wanted to give you the world. I failed you. I tried to get to you. I gambled away all of my money. I asked everyone I knew for help, but nobody would give me the time of day. I didn’t ask you because I was afraid you’d think me a fool. I lost everything. A man came along and told me that he could get me to you if I worked for him for a month. I told him your address so that he could get me to you and thought nothing of it. I thought he wanted to help me. I’m sorry I was so wrong.

He had me interview people for his company, though I didn’t know what his company was. I soon found out that it was a testing facility, they tortured and killed people so I tried to quit working for him. They took me and locked me in a cell. They experimented on me, starved me, and many other people. They were trying to make people into weapons. After feeding me a strange chemical I got so weak, they thought I was dead. They threw me into a box with many bodies. I couldn’t talk, I could barely move, and my pulse was almost nonexistent. They left me in that box for almost a week. I almost died, but I thought of you and fought on.

I ate rotten food that they threw in the box with our bodies, I assume it was the garbage. As soon as I was strong enough to escape I got out and ran from them. Whatever they gave to me made me stronger. I fought for money until I made enough to see you. By the time I got to you they already had. He killed you, darling I am so sorry he got to you. Your necklace was the only thing left in the house. It was caught on a floorboard. I picked it up and wept for you. I am so sorry.

I hunted them down, I killed them for you. But I couldn’t find him. He didn’t work for them. I’m sorry. I will never stop until he is dead, so I leave this with you. I will avenge you, I swear it.

Love,

Your dearest father.

Original work by P.H.