Terrifier: Splatter

6

Mallory sat up in her bed, breathing fast and heavy, beads of sweat gathered on her forehead as she woke up. This was the second nightmare she had this week about Art. It was strange, because she thought she had finally gotten over him in the dreams department. Each time her dreams featured him coming back to life and killing her once and for all. She knew this was impossible, and only something her mind conjured up.

What if he was still alive? She stayed on her bed, thinking about it. She had watched him every second he was in the shredder, she watched as he was torn apart completely. That specific memory was becoming a little fuzzy to her, both from her blanking it out from her head, and from it happening six years ago.

She had went through a ton of 'What ifs?' in her head before she heard a thump from inside of her house, bringing her back to reality. Could it be him? Did he break in so he could tie her up and slowly strangle her to death in the comfort of her own home with that sadistic grin on his face?

Mallory got out of the bed, carefully opening a small hidden compartment in her nightstand, she took out the pistol she kept in there. She opened her bedroom door, and took slow, silent steps down the hallway, the gun ready to be fired.

When she entered the living room, she saw Sarah putting her bags down on the floor. The now dyed redhead looked up, smiling as she saw her friend. "Hey, Mal! I hope you don't mind I came early and brought more of my, um..." Her smile fell as she noticed the gun that was awkwardly behind Mallory's thigh now, in a quick attempt to be hidden.

"I thought you were him. Sorry." she spoke tiredly. Sarah sighed, walking over to her. "I get it, I'm sorry for not telling you I was already coming, I kinda wanted to surprise you that I was gonna be fully moved in here with you today... but I forgot that surprises aren't good nowadays." she trailed off, sucking her lips in so she doesn't ramble anymore. She gives a pat to the other woman's back comfortingly.

Mallory cracked a smile, putting the gun down on a table. "Oh, yeah. Now I have a roommate! Y'know, I've always wanted one." She brought Sarah in for a hug.

The redhead chuckled, embracing her back.

◇

Mallory closed the pill bottle, putting it back in her drawer as she swallowed the pills down with water. She was given these after her therapy sessions ended five years ago. As long as she takes two a day, it should keep the nightmares and the hallucinations away. Yes, she had frequent hallucinations of the clown, they never went away after that night she defeated him. So she still knew every detail about his appearance, up to the tiny painted black dot on his pointed nose.

Today, she had to get some groceries, because Sarah would be living with her, and she had a small selection of food in the fridge. She would also pick up her boyfriend, Thomas, and her friend, Vivian, so they could all go out and pick a Christmas tree for her living room later. She hadn't decorated for Christmas once since she moved into her new home, never having the urge to. It was already December third, and according to Vivian, it was mandatory to have a tree set up before December, so Mallory failed at that.

She had moved in to this house further away from her old one five years ago, still in the same county, but it was an attempt to separate herself from everything that had occured while she lived there.

Aside from having to take pills in order to get rid of her hallucinations, she was pretty happy. She had a boyfriend, friends she could count on, a new home, and her bestfriend was going to become her roommate. On top of all of that, it was going to be Christmas this month, and that puts everything into a cheerful mood.

She decided to walk to the market, since it was just a few minutes away from her house, and she was planning on getting only essentials for this grocery trip. She started going down the sidewalk, and felt a strong breeze come in. Mallory grabbed her coat, tugging it to cover herself more from the cold. While moving her arms, her purse slid out from her grasp, falling onto the floor. "Ah, damn..." She huffed, snatching it off of the cement, and making sure nothing fell out of it.

When she got back up, her eyes locked onto the familiar clown wearing black and white clothing. He had been standing there, staring at her from the alley next to the market. It can't be... she took her pills this morning! She took a step back, and he smiled. Mallory finally allowed herself to blink, and the moment she did, he was gone. Ugh, hallucination. The breath that held itself back slipped from her mouth as a big exhale, and she suddenly felt lightheaded.

She carefully walked past the alley she had seen the clown in just seconds before, still glancing with an uneasiness in the direction of where he had been standing. She entered the store, and heard the sound of Christmas music playing at a low volume throughout the building. People whisked by, most having decorations for the holiday in their shopping carts, or presents.

She took a cart, and began to shop for what they need at the house. It took her about an hour to finish going through all the aisles and finding which essentials she had to get.

Grocery shopping finished, she carries the bags out of the market, going back to her house. Sarah helps her get inside with the bags, and puts the items away. "I'm gonna go get Thomas and Vivian." Mallory tells her, before leaving the house again, she started the car, and drove to where Vivian lived.

"Gosh, it got pretty cold out there." Vivian did an exaggerated shiver, sitting in the backseat. "Aah! I'm so excited to decorate your house!" She clapped.

"Me too." Mallory says, heading to Thomas's place next. "So, how come you love Christmas so much? I like it too, but not as much as you obviously."

The blonde-haired woman sighed happily, thinking about it. "Well, ever since I was a little kid, I've loved happy things. Why waste your time being sad, you know? Christmas is the season where I can be as joyful as I want without judgment... also I just love decorating."

The other woman nodded slowly, thinking about her words. "Hm, you're right."

She parked outside Thomas's house, texting him that they are here. It takes him a few minutes to come out. He sits in the passenger's seat, smiling at Mallory before kissing her, which she gladly returned. "What was the plan today?" he asked.

"We're going to my house, Sarah should be done getting ready so she can come in the car, and then we go to the new Christmas tree picking area that opened."

She parked into the driveway of her house, and waited for Sarah.