It all started with the noise.
The beast had made the most terrible noise. They were horrid evil shrieks, scattered white noise that plagued the brain, cut off thought patterns and caused tremendous fear. The first time I heard the noise was when I was a kid. I have been afraid ever since. Now, into my adulthood, the noise serves as a terrible burden for sins that I have committed. It calls to me, tortures my soul. It feeds off my fear. It needs fear to survive, my fear.
I was in my bedroom doing my homework when I heard the horrible noise again. It was here. It was in the house. I froze. The fear overran my body. I wanted to flee, run from the house. But, no, not today, not this time. I cannot run from the beast anymore. I must confront it. I must destroy it.
I carefully crept down the hallway towards the living room, following the madness of the noise. My dog, sensing the supernatural presence, lay frightened, hidden under the table. I passed through the dining room tracing the evil ensemble to a guest bedroom. My only chance was to surprise it, catch it off guard. Too late, it swept into the hallway, it startled me, caught me by surprise.
Oh my god. Here it was in all its majesty. It was waiting, waiting for me. It was definitely not from this world. It crouched. It held its head low to the floor, stomach and the rest of its body above, ready to pounce. It had one infected, glowing eye. It had sharp bristle teeth that spun in its wide mouth. It had a long rat-like tail that vanished into the guest room. But despite its hideous features, the worst part was the noise it made. The beast screamed at me with its terrible, obnoxious noise.
I stood frozen, transfixed in its demonic harmony. Fear took over my body. I couldn’t move. I was scared to death. Why did I choose to confront the beast? Why had I tried to be brave? I was a fool. And now I was going to die. And the last thing that I would hear would be the noise, the horrible, nightmarish noise.
Then, like an angel, my mom swept in and unplugged it. She taught me how to use it. And from that day forward, I would never be afraid of the vacuum again.
THE END
