Pantomaniac

Chapter 10

Faint laughter crept its way into Kef's ears. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling. It took him moments before he realized where he was. As he got up, his head throbbed. His skull screaming. Kef stood up just in time before the first worker entered the office. Luckily for him, she wasn't paying much attention and headed straight to her cubicle.

As he sat up, the world spun. Kef took a deep breath. But the room kept on spinning. And the workers' voice grew louder. He had to get up soon or risk being the weirdo on his first day at work.

Pressing his nausea down, Kef stood up and rested his arm against the wall. A couple of deep breaths later, he could make out the distant faces of the workers heading to their cubicles. One of them walked pass the room, glancing for a moment at him before continued walking ahead. Kef heaved a sigh of relief.

Few more hours to go before he could head back home. And figure out what the hell had happened.

*****

With every drop of water came the face of the mimes. How they pressed their masks onto the glass. How the girl had dissolved into the wall and came right at him.

Kef scrubbed and scrubbed, letting the friction push the images out of the mind. But just as soon as one mime face got out of his brain, another came crawling in. The eyes, the mouth. The dead features. And the hungry, empty stare. Kef sat down on the floor, all of a sudden feeling the urge to toss his afternoon meal all over the bathroom.

Then the water stopped running.

Kef looked up. F, Kef just sat. He did not move. He did not breathe. Waiting for a sign telling him that it was nothing. That the water running out was just plumbing issues.

But then the light on the ceiling flickered. Seconds later, darkness enveloped Kef. His arm ached with a sudden rush of coldness. It soon stabbed at his bones. Drops of water dangled by the shower head. Everything else lay still.

For a few minutest his whole body, leaving him shivering in the darkness.

Shaking, Kef fought his way to a standing position. He stared at the door. His mind raced back and forth – should he stay there in the bathroom or run into his bedroom where there was light?

He didn't have the time to think because his body acted on his behalf. Tiptoed, Kef moved closer and closer towards the door. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, putting more than enough pressure until he felt the cold of the steel on his skin. Slowly, he twisted the knob. The sound of the steel echoed in the bathroom, blending with the shy drops of water from the showerhead.

Click. The door opened.

Taking a deep breath, Kef pushed it open and peered outside. The first trace of light greeted him like an old friend. He closed his eyes and resumed breathing.

But just as Kef stepped into his bedroom, the bedroom light went off. Kef froze. Seconds later, the light in the bathroom came flickering to life. The buzzing sound invading his ears. Then it went off again. Kef stared outside his room. The hint of light from the staircase was glowing. But that too went off seconds later.

Once again, everything went pitch black. Kef's chest moved up and down. His arms trembled by his hips. His forehead thickened with cold sweat.

Then something he didn't expect happened. Something he didn't know was possible took over his body. Slamming his palms on the bedroom switch, he turned on the lights. As soon as it got bright again, he stomped out of the room and marched down the staircase. His breath growing furious with each descending step.