The Nightmare

The last smile

Alex opened the door slowly. 'Hello, nobody's here?', he paused for a second, 'our car broke down in the road'.
No answer, just silence.

The hall was too dark but they had torches and could see as well as an owl. There was a wooden table near the ashtray and on the table two rusted silver candlestick were standing. He kneeled down an touched the ash in the ashtray.
'It's not cold', Harry stood up, 'Somebody is living here'.

On the mantelpiece Alex saw a ship. The ship was in a bottle. Alex always wondered how they could be built in bottles. He examined the bottle and put it back again on the mantelpiece.

' Let's check the upstairs'.

Alex went up first, his heart pounding against his chest, eyes were wide to see anything jumping out of the darkness. In front of them, at the end of the narrow corridor, was a door.
Harry pressed the knife in his hand, he had never been in such situation.

Alex grabbed the knob and turned it to the right. The archaic door lock opened with a click sound. If there was a killer or any goddamn creature, it was prime time for them to show reaction, but the room was empty and untouched. At the left side an old fashioned bed with a frowsy sheet had been fixed to the floor.

A candle was on the desk near the bed. The light that they had seen outside the house was from it. So somebody must have living here, Alex thought.

At the other side, on the wall, there was a poster of a huge ship and the name Titanic was written on its body.
' The person who lived here was interested in ships, like your dad', Harry said.

Alex opened the desk's drower. He found two matches pack, a cigarette pack and a MASK. He took it out and in the light of candle they saw a clown mask. It was as if the mask was smiling at them.

' We must better leave here Alex', Harry looked out of the window, ' maybe the host return and we will be fucked up'.
' I don't want stand here anymore, maybe the killer lives in this hell, he is an evil man, and evil men live dangerous lives'.

When they returned to the safe place which called home, it was 4:00 am.

' We must tell the police about there', Harry said with a weary voice.

' Tomorrow my friend, now go home and rest and don't say anything to anyone about our tonight job'.

Alex drove back to their home.

Norma had not returend yet. He ate to snack and laid on the chair. It was around five when he heard a key turned in the door lock and his father came in.

' I expected to see you asleep at this time of the day', Ed said.
'Hi dad, I thought you'll be their for one week or so'.

' It finished sooner than I expected', he grinned and Alex could see how exhausted his father is.

'Lemme help you dad', Alex took his dad's tool box but Ed refused.

'I'll do it son, if you want to be useful go and prepare the bath'.

After Ed went to the bathroom Alex was curious about his father refusal. He found the work room's keys in Ed's coat and opened the door with them. He closed the door behind him carefully. The tool box was in Ed tool shelf. Alex opened it and the clown mask smiled at him, down in the tool box.

'Oh, you nosy boy, I know you were there last night, you and that motherfucker boy'.

Alex stood moveless.

Ed was standing at the doorknob with an axe in his hand. The grin on his face broadened. ' My ex-son was so curious you, I try to warn him but he denied, so I punished that little pig'.
Now Alex was watching a MAN who one day was his FATHER.
Ed went on, ' I kill him, then his mother. 'Two years later I met your mother and the year after you put your foot in this world'.

' You went to that house whenever you lied to us and stayed there,why?', Alex shouted but a weak hum came out of his throat instead.

' No question my boy, but I promise I won't hurt your mother, maybe she gone mad but as I told you, I won't hurt her'.

Ed stepped towards him, ' Talking is enough, it's time to go good boy'.

The axe raised in the air.

Alex closed his eyes, ' This is another stupid nightmare', and he smiled his last smile in his life.