Pantomaniac

Chapter 8

The night was still. There was no sound of cars driving by the house. Or the distant sound of gate opening as people returned home from work. It was like the universe understood that Kef needed the peace and quiet.

And it was true. Yes, he managed to make his way to the corporate building, where he was soon starting a new job as a day guard. After the incident with the mime, the GPS led the way without any problem. Kef pulled through the night, giving the best impression he could when signing the employee form, waiting until he stepped out of the premise to let his frown return.

Throughout the journey home, his eyes kept stealing glances to the passenger seat and each time they did, Kef's heart stopped beating. The rhythm only returned when he saw the seat was empty.

Even when he got home, he checked every corner. And it was the quickest shower he had ever had. All he wanted to do was to jump on his bed and let everything sink in.

That, of course, proved to be a challenge. The moment his back touched his bedsheet, his mind began replaying the scene. The white arm. The blank stare from the mime mask. The very mask which had been haunting his life. The question remained unanswered. Who was that child? What did she want? Just when Kef thought he could start to turn his life around, life decided to yank him the other way.

In his mind, Kef traced his experiences with the ghastly being from the very first instance. He fought to put the pieces together but there weren't really any pieces. Not so much as the mime deciding to appear wherever and whenever she wanted. And that was it.

Kef started to feel the weight on his eyes. Staring at the ceiling, he tried to stay awake. He wanted to at least form a theory before calling it a day. But the more he thought about it, the more his eyes felt like they were being pulled shut by an invisible string. They were watery. His vision fuzzy. And he finally let himself drift into the night.

*****

The familiar smell of the smoke made its way into Kef's nose. He had been in this place before. Even the sting of the cold air on his skin was familiar. The trace of chilly air blending with the pungent smell wrapped Kef in a memory that was so vivid.

But how could it be? He could feel his eyes were closed but everything before him was so clear. Except for the presence that kept popping up behind the smoke.

He stood rooted to the ground. Kef turned around, trying to locate how to get out of that place. But everything around him was filled with smoke. There was nothing else. Just smoke.

Then he saw movement. Something white was moving in and out of the smoke in front of him. Was it a wave? Hands? Kef stepped forward. His eyes squinting and, for a moment, he was oblivious to the smell of smoke. As he walked, the hands appeared more often. It was like someone was trying to crawl out of the mist.

"Hello...?"

Kef's voice echoed. And he stopped walking.

The echo went on for a few more seconds before it died. Kef stared ahead. He waited for the hands to appear again. He waited for one minute. And then two. And two more.

And then they emerged. Rising from behind the smoke, the hands became vivid. They were gloved. They turned around midair, as if trying to loosen up the wrists. Then they pushed the smoke aside. Kef gasped when the smoke cleared a path. Standing before him was a mime child.

Like in the dream before, she was once again retreating. Taking one step after another away from him. And Kef started matching her pace. One foot after another. He kept moving forward.

"No...no...," Kef shook his head.

But he still stepped forward. Nothing he did broke the motion. He dropped his weight on his legs. He pulled his body back. Nothing worked. Then the mime raised her hands. Her dead mask stared at him. She grabbed the bottom of the mask. In a pulling motion, she started lifting the mask.

Kef saw her chin. It was soaked in blood. And she pulled it higher up her face. The first trace of the lips appeared. They were smeared in thick, dark liquid. Drops of red fell down the floor.

Kef shut his eyes. But he still moved forward. No...he could not fight it.

When he opened his eyes, her mask was halfway off. He saw her nostrils. But something else caught his attention. Her free hand was moving. She gripped at something. And she kept pulling her arm back. She was pulling him.

The invisible string!

"Nooooo!!!"

His vision went blank for a split second. Then, he was in another place. Kef looked around him. The walls were old but it was surprisingly a rather large room. So large that he felt like an ant.

Turning his head from one wall to the next, his eyes spotted something in the corner. He squinted. Why was that area so dark? Everywhere else was dimmed but that particular corner was extremely black. Like a blackhole. Kef approached it. He took one small step after another, consciously telling himself to breathe softly.

His steps grew smaller as he got nearer. It was pitch black. All of a sudden, the corner lit up. Kef stopped.

There was a dental bed. A man had his back against Kef. And... there was something, someone on the bed. Holding his breath, Kef went nearer. He could see the man moving his arms above the "patient's" face. What was he doing?

Kef was only three feet away. Still, the man did not turn. A thick smell poked at Kef's nostrils. It smelled like the wet market, except worse. It was the smell of...blood!

Kef took another step forward. What he saw nailed him to his spot.

A child lay motionless on the bed. Her face...no. Half of her face...was gone! Slowly, the man moved the knife upwards, peeling her face from the chin up. He moved with such grace that it almost seemed like he was sculpting.

He was. With every move of the knife came the sound of scraping. The wet, mushy sound of blood and human cells. Kef wanted to look away but his eyes refused to close. He saw how the blood smeared the knife. How the blood flowed down the child's chin, painting the neck red. And the man did not stop. He was already approaching the forehead.

That was when he stopped.

Slowly, he twisted his head. Inch by inch, he turned around. Kef gasped. The man's face was a blur. His shoulders started shaking a little but as moments passed, the shaking grew harder and harder. He was giggling. And seconds later, he roared with laughter, piercing the silence in the room.

In one swift movement, without even looking at the child, he sliced what was left of the face!

*****

Kef sat up. He clutched at his chest. His other hand feeling around his bed in darkness. He scooted to the edge of the bed and fell down. Retching, he got up and stumbled towards the bathroom door.

He barely had time to open the door when his insides came pouring out. Kef splashed his meal from yesterday all over the bathroom floor. The smell of vomit rose into the air.

Almost falling back, he leaned against the door. Kef felt for the switch and turned the lights on. The image of the mime banged against his skull with every move. As Kef stepped out of the bathroom, his world spun. He took one step after another until he reached the switch and lit the room.

Kef sat on the floor. Then he spotted a glimpse of white on his bed.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the edge of his bed and pulled himself up. There was a piece of small cloth on his mattress. It was no bigger than a quarter of a handkerchief. Its edges torn.

Kef grabbed the cloth and examined it. Then it clicked. The cloth had the same colour as the fabric on the mime's dress.

Kef lost his balance and fell back down. Hethrew the cloth aside. Staring ahead, he started shivering. Slowly, he turnedtowards the door, expecting to see a figure standing there.