Miscellaneous Prompts

Automatonophobia

I am actually deathly afraid of the monster in this horror prompt for reasons I cannot completely understand, so this prompt may possibly be the slightest bit more realistic to you due to the truth behind it.

The clicking of my shoes echoed loudly in the empty mall. The bright beam of light from my flashlight swished around, illuminating the white tile floor. Closed shops surrounded me, the signs above the door creating disturbances in the shadows wreathing the entire building. The smallest bit of moonlight glowed through the high glass ceiling, hardly dispelling the darkness.

I sighed to myself. A job as a security guard was quite boring, especially the night shift. The day security got to watch stupid people do stupid things and laugh about it. I had to stare at the same empty stores over and over again. There would be the occasional creak or clatter, but that was about it. My job was basically just walking back and forth.

This was my second month on the job, so I had some experience, but most nights were covered by Barry, the grumpy old man with a snow white beard nearly reaching his waist. I had heard from the daytime security guards that Barry had been around for nearly forty years and was a valued employee. No one knew how old he was, but he looked ancient, as if he had crawled out of the catacombs of Paris or a sarcophagus from the hidden tombs in Egypt.

Barry was an interesting guy. I had never caught him without his signature frown, not once. He was probably well past the age of retirement, but I couldn't think of any reason why he would stick around walking the same paths over and over again until he eventually died. At least, no logical reason.

You see, Barry went crazy a long time ago, probably before I was even born, in this very building. No one knows when, no one knows how, no one knows why. One day he came into work ranting about little kids whispering to him the night before during his shift. The next day, he began complaining about messages left behind for him by "those ratty teenagers", with his name in them and everything. Every night, something new would happen. Something strange and impossible.

Eventually though, people stopped listening. No one dared mock him openly for fear of a note of termination from the manager of the mall, but they did do it privately. I didn't really prefer to do it since he seemed like an okay guy, but appearances can always hide intentions.

Skrrrrrrch.

My thoughts, always tumbling around in my skull like popcorn in a kettle, uncharacteristically froze all at once. I quickly directed my flashlight towards the noise, my heart rate increasing dramatically.

One of the doors to the stores behind me was open. Long scratches marred the doors, almost like claw marks. Nothing moved inside. The entire mall was completely silent besides my heartbeat, but I honestly probably couldn't hear anything over its pounding in my ears.

I made a decision right there and then, one that I felt would solve this mystery for good so I would never have to deal with this ever again.

I began sprinting for the large doors leading outside.

There's no way I'm going into a store that might have some sort of monster inside. Maybe Barry was right. Maybe there were ghost kids that quietly laughed around you. Maybe there were messages with my name on them too, waiting for me in that store.

...Maybe I'm too superstitious. But that night, I had good reason to be. I've watched too many horror films to do these kinds of jobs. I should've taken the night job at Bon's Burgers, the old restaurant that had just reopened after decades of abandonment. But again, the animatronics were the things that had deterred me. Either way, that place had probably been better than here.

I finally reached the doors and tugged on the handles with all my might. They were stuck. With an earth-shattering realization, I was suddenly ice cold with fear. Turning slowly, I looked back towards the way I had come. The shadows draping the walls seemed much thicker than before, almost like solid masses coating them. The lifelessness of the mall after hours felt so much more real than before. So much scarier. So much lonelier.

The only other exit was on the other side of the mall, in the back. The others were locked, including the emergency exits. It was a normal practice after the attempted robbery a few years ago. The delinquents had failed only because they set off the alarms and didn't escape the property fast enough.

But now was not the time to be thinking about this.

Every step I took echoed exactly like it had before, but now it was ten times more terrifying. Every indistinct shape in the darkness, every little sound, every little shift in the light coming from the moon above... I felt all of it. Whoever- or whatever- was in the building with me might be dangerous. From the scratches, it was very likely that they had a weapon of some kind. I wanted to traverse around the store as much as I could, but the only way to the exit was right by the entrance.

I had reached the fountain in the center of the mall when my flashlight flickered. It was a small bit, but I knew then that I was in trouble. This flashlight was the crappiest thing I had ever held in my life. It only had about a night or two of charge before you had to change the batteries, and the beam was kind of weak. It worked okay, but its lifespan was ridiculously short.

A scraping sound resounded from behind me. Whirling around, all I found was the open store. My gut was vehemently opposed to going in, but I had a small curiosity worming its way through my mind. What was actually in there? If it was an intruder, it was my job to stop them. Why had I been acting this way? This was my duty, after all. I was getting paid for this.

With a churning stomach and shaking legs, I approached the pitch black store. My shoulder gently nudged up against the door that was still shut.

Ching!

My heart stopped. I looked up and found a bell attached above the door. Must be to notify the employees of customers. I swept my flashlight across the shop. It was filled with racks and shelves of clothes. Mannequins stood in different poses, showing off the jeans and sweatshirts that had been pulled onto their plastic frames like life-sized Barbie dolls, their nondescript faces blank and lifeless.

I took a few more steps into the store, extremely nervous about what might be lurking in the aisles. This could be very dangerous, but it was what I had to do.

I suddenly heard small clicks to my right, like someone was tapping a hard material against the floor. Pointing my flashlight in that direction revealed nothing. It was to my left now. Wait, no. Behind me. Now in front?

They were surrounding me, whoever they were. There was no way it was just one person. My flashlight was never quick enough to catch any of them, though. I was previously having second thoughts, but now I was completely sure that I should leave. Immediately.

Before I could even turn, however, the door behind me slammed shut. At the same time, my flashlight sputtered out, leaving me and whoever was in here with me in total darkness.

Silence.

Something cold grasped my neck, lifting me up in the air. The people were choking me. I struggled, but their grip was like iron. More cold hands grabbed my arms and legs, holding me still. I tried to scream, but I couldn't.

In a moment of hope, the flashlight began working again and I shined it in my attacker's face. That hope deflated quickly when I saw them. What was holding me hostage wasn't human. Oh, no. But it was remarkably close.

The mannequins had come to life.