A NEW ONE! I know I haven't had one for a while and this has been sifting for some time. I tried my HARDEST not to fall into the crack with everyone else and write a vampire story, but this idea leaked in a while back and I just couldn't ignore it. Yes, this needs tons of work, but I wanted this initial bit out. Hope you like the idea!
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Darkness. It's something you are used to in the depth of sleep. Alone in your room. Nothing but silence to bother you, but it's a safe darkness. Nothing like the darkness of four wooden walls, two by six and a half feet. A cold, unmoving body next to you.
I knew who was lying in the dark with me and why I was here. And as much as I was waiting for and expecting my punishment, I was still terrified to the point where I couldn't squirm, couldn't find a way out, or even muster a scream. At least, until the arm of the dead body slid around my waist.
I put our picture away. I couldn't keep looking at it knowing he was gone. Knowing that wherever he was, he wasn't smiling and he didn't love me anymore.
I wouldn't talk about it and when the pastor came by all fake smiles and soft tones, he told my family it would be best just to leave me alone for the time being.
"Don't press it until she's ready." He'd said, his arm resting a little too firmly on my mother's shoulder.
I'd never be ready. I didn't need to be. It was my fault and everyone knew it. Nothing else needed to be said. I couldn't save my soul if I wanted to.
Thom was dead.
And I killed him.
The police said his suicide had nothing to do with me, but they didn't know that it should have been my fingerprints on the razor, not his.
And if that didn't convict me, then the fact that I was seeing him everywhere, that he was haunting me would land me in a mental hospital at least.
I couldn't attribute it to imagination, trick of the light. He was definitely there, solid and unmoving. Behind me in mirrors, passing me on the street, sitting alone in a dark booth while I work at the local bar and grill, waiting by my car when my shift was over. He'd never look up. Never let me see his face, his hands always in his pockets or in the shadows. He was hiding his wrists from me. And when I'd blink, he'd always be gone again.
I had no doubt that, sooner or later, I wouldn't just be seeing him. His ghost was a sign, a warning. He'd be coming for me soon.
I lugged my heavy feet up the stairs toward my room after my closing shift at work. It was nearly two in the morning. I was exhausted to say the least, ready to flop into bed without even taking off my apron, but my little brother stopped me in my tracks.
Rubbing his eye he stumbled out of his room, slow from sleep. "Kae." He yawned.
"Lance, what are you doing up so late?" I walked over and scooped him up. He was three years old. Born when I was nineteen. In some ways he felt more like my kid than my brother. I kissed his head as he cuddled into my shoulder, he'd been clinging on to me more and more lately.
"Thom was at the door while you were at work." He said. His words delayed, but my heart started pounding in my chest the moment he said his name.
I knew that this could both be true and just a late night dream. Still, he didn't really understand what had happened to Thom. "Oh? What did he say?" I cooed.
"I told him…you weren't home…." He began as I laid him down in his bed again. "And he said… he'd find you…later." He finished with a yawn.
"Okay." I leaned down and brushed his hair out of his face, doing my best to keep my hand from shaking. "Thanks for telling me."
He mumbled something incoherent than started to fall asleep again. I had to keep myself from running from the room.
Fine.
If he was going to find me, it wouldn't be anywhere near my family.
I hit the stairs again, fishing my keys out of my purse when my mom poked her head out of her room.
"What'd Lance say?"
I didn't stop my decent down the stairs, "Nothing mom, he just had a dream."
I'd let my panic sink in the second I thought I was alone, so this came out rushed and cracked.
"Kaelyn, what's wrong?" She was at the top of the stairs as I was at the bottom.
"I'm just going for a drive!" I called as I closed the door behind me. I had to get out of there.
The only thing was, I wasn't sure if I was going to be back.
The chilly fog that had settled on my way home earlier hit me harder than I thought as I made my way to my car. My keys clanked in my hands as I shivered trying to open the door. Part of me expected him to be sitting next in the passenger's seat and I was glad when he wasn't.
I hadn't gone far, but far enough to get out of the housing area and into the winding coastal road looking over the ocean. It was a wonderful sight, but there wasn't anywhere to really sit and enjoy it or even get close to the water, just endless cliffs. There was a break in the fog along the water, the full moon giving it a peaceful silver glow.
I rounded a long corner, keeping my eyes close on the road, despite the hour I knew that I could easily make a mistake passing another vehicle or even misjudging the side of the cliff and fall to my death.
My headlights illuminated the road, a sudden clearing in the fog. I could see more ahead and the front of it was a silhouette I knew by heart.
I considered driving right through him. He was a ghost, so I could do that…right?
Thom's figure didn't waver, flicker, or float.
But what if he wasn't a ghost, what if he was still alive? No. I'd seen his body at the funeral. So a zombie? Then would driving through him be so terrible? It'd be a better alternative to getting my brain eaten. He'd probably rip out my heart first then toss what he didn't eat over the cliff.
The closer I got the more my headlights made shadows across his face and arms. The light was definitely hitting something. I couldn't see through any part of his body.
Damn.
I slammed on my breaks.
The screeching of my tires against the road rang through my ears like frenzied coyotes. I came up to Thom like someone had put Zoom on hyper-drive. I was sure I was going to hit him, but to my surprise, the car halted just inches from his legs.
No one moved for a moment. I sat white knuckling the wheel and he stood, head down, a frown on his face.
I blinked and he was gone.
I let out a breath. More tricks then.
It wasn't until the chill bit at my ankles that I realized my car door was open and Thom was leaning in.
"Hey babe." He said as I turned, my heart in my throat. Thom peered down at me with eyes redder than blood, his irises almost invisible in the near black darkness of it. "Did you miss me?" he added, a smile jumping onto his lips a set of white fangs appearing in his teeth. And that was when I started to scream.
I knew who was lying in the dark with me and why I was here. And as much as I was waiting for and expecting my punishment, I was still terrified to the point where I couldn't squirm, couldn't find a way out, or even muster a scream. At least, until the arm of the dead body slid around my waist.
I put our picture away. I couldn't keep looking at it knowing he was gone. Knowing that wherever he was, he wasn't smiling and he didn't love me anymore.
I wouldn't talk about it and when the pastor came by all fake smiles and soft tones, he told my family it would be best just to leave me alone for the time being.
"Don't press it until she's ready." He'd said, his arm resting a little too firmly on my mother's shoulder.
I'd never be ready. I didn't need to be. It was my fault and everyone knew it. Nothing else needed to be said. I couldn't save my soul if I wanted to.
Thom was dead.
And I killed him.
The police said his suicide had nothing to do with me, but they didn't know that it should have been my fingerprints on the razor, not his.
And if that didn't convict me, then the fact that I was seeing him everywhere, that he was haunting me would land me in a mental hospital at least.
I couldn't attribute it to imagination, trick of the light. He was definitely there, solid and unmoving. Behind me in mirrors, passing me on the street, sitting alone in a dark booth while I work at the local bar and grill, waiting by my car when my shift was over. He'd never look up. Never let me see his face, his hands always in his pockets or in the shadows. He was hiding his wrists from me. And when I'd blink, he'd always be gone again.
I had no doubt that, sooner or later, I wouldn't just be seeing him. His ghost was a sign, a warning. He'd be coming for me soon.
I lugged my heavy feet up the stairs toward my room after my closing shift at work. It was nearly two in the morning. I was exhausted to say the least, ready to flop into bed without even taking off my apron, but my little brother stopped me in my tracks.
Rubbing his eye he stumbled out of his room, slow from sleep. "Kae." He yawned.
"Lance, what are you doing up so late?" I walked over and scooped him up. He was three years old. Born when I was nineteen. In some ways he felt more like my kid than my brother. I kissed his head as he cuddled into my shoulder, he'd been clinging on to me more and more lately.
"Thom was at the door while you were at work." He said. His words delayed, but my heart started pounding in my chest the moment he said his name.
I knew that this could both be true and just a late night dream. Still, he didn't really understand what had happened to Thom. "Oh? What did he say?" I cooed.
"I told him…you weren't home…." He began as I laid him down in his bed again. "And he said… he'd find you…later." He finished with a yawn.
"Okay." I leaned down and brushed his hair out of his face, doing my best to keep my hand from shaking. "Thanks for telling me."
He mumbled something incoherent than started to fall asleep again. I had to keep myself from running from the room.
Fine.
If he was going to find me, it wouldn't be anywhere near my family.
I hit the stairs again, fishing my keys out of my purse when my mom poked her head out of her room.
"What'd Lance say?"
I didn't stop my decent down the stairs, "Nothing mom, he just had a dream."
I'd let my panic sink in the second I thought I was alone, so this came out rushed and cracked.
"Kaelyn, what's wrong?" She was at the top of the stairs as I was at the bottom.
"I'm just going for a drive!" I called as I closed the door behind me. I had to get out of there.
The only thing was, I wasn't sure if I was going to be back.
The chilly fog that had settled on my way home earlier hit me harder than I thought as I made my way to my car. My keys clanked in my hands as I shivered trying to open the door. Part of me expected him to be sitting next in the passenger's seat and I was glad when he wasn't.
I hadn't gone far, but far enough to get out of the housing area and into the winding coastal road looking over the ocean. It was a wonderful sight, but there wasn't anywhere to really sit and enjoy it or even get close to the water, just endless cliffs. There was a break in the fog along the water, the full moon giving it a peaceful silver glow.
I rounded a long corner, keeping my eyes close on the road, despite the hour I knew that I could easily make a mistake passing another vehicle or even misjudging the side of the cliff and fall to my death.
My headlights illuminated the road, a sudden clearing in the fog. I could see more ahead and the front of it was a silhouette I knew by heart.
I considered driving right through him. He was a ghost, so I could do that…right?
Thom's figure didn't waver, flicker, or float.
But what if he wasn't a ghost, what if he was still alive? No. I'd seen his body at the funeral. So a zombie? Then would driving through him be so terrible? It'd be a better alternative to getting my brain eaten. He'd probably rip out my heart first then toss what he didn't eat over the cliff.
The closer I got the more my headlights made shadows across his face and arms. The light was definitely hitting something. I couldn't see through any part of his body.
Damn.
I slammed on my breaks.
The screeching of my tires against the road rang through my ears like frenzied coyotes. I came up to Thom like someone had put Zoom on hyper-drive. I was sure I was going to hit him, but to my surprise, the car halted just inches from his legs.
No one moved for a moment. I sat white knuckling the wheel and he stood, head down, a frown on his face.
I blinked and he was gone.
I let out a breath. More tricks then.
It wasn't until the chill bit at my ankles that I realized my car door was open and Thom was leaning in.
"Hey babe." He said as I turned, my heart in my throat. Thom peered down at me with eyes redder than blood, his irises almost invisible in the near black darkness of it. "Did you miss me?" he added, a smile jumping onto his lips a set of white fangs appearing in his teeth. And that was when I started to scream.
