The End

Power Cuts (written when I was 12)

I have updated this story slightly as it was way below satisfactory.
Also, I hope you enjoy listening to the clip whilst reading.
----------------------------

The girl ventured into the house, the door slamming behind her. Mice and spiders took cover, daunted by the person that had disturbed the silence. She cautiously edged on, passing portraits of vicious men, their beedy eyes pinning to her, and paintings of ruthless battles. The door to her left slowly swung open on its own accord. The girl crept towards the door, not thinking of the dangers that awaited her. Robbed of her vision due to the sullen room, she branched out her hands ahead of her. The door abruptly slammed shut causing the girl to whip her head towards the noise. She turned around and ... BOO!

"Aaah!" Clara shrieked, catapulting her popcorn skywards.

"Why, why did you go in the room, you idiot? Everyone knows that you die if you go towards the killer; It is called common sense!" She ranted, recovering from the shock and cleaning up the mess she made. Clara was a self-reliant girl since her parents were always on business trips. She tied her velvet hair on top of her head and scoured the floor of her aunt's living room with her jade eyes for any more popcorn. Her freckle splattered pale face hosted a concentrated look, consisting of biting her full red lips and scrunching her eyebrows together, as she scrutinized the floor for rubbish.

Once she was certain that the floor was clean, Clara returned to her movie. She sat on the sofa, curled into a ball, transfixed by the blood-curdling film. It wasn't as great as a Halloween party but it was something. All of a sudden, she was engulfed in darkness. The only light source came from the flickers of the flames in the fireplace.

"A power cut right at the good part of the film. It always happens to me." She mumbled, groaning as she grabbed a torch from the cupboard near the sofa.

She flashed the torch in the direction of the TV in hope of sparking a life inside it. To her dismay, it didn't work. She moved the torch, gradually examining the room. As the beam reached the bay window to the left of the room, it uncovered the figure of a grotesque savage-looking man with blood caked hand and atrocious scars on his face. Clara was paralysed by fear, her eyes meeting the black holes of the man. He stalked closer to the window. Reaching into his pocket, the anonymous man pulled out an object. Illuminated by the light of the full moon, Clara could clearly identify it. It was a knife.

Clara woke up from her frozen state and dove under the blanket on the sofa. She reached into her trouser pocket, tore out her phone and fumbled with the keys. Once she had entered in the correct digits, she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Pick up, Aunt Jay, please pick up." She prayed with her eyes clamped shut.

"Hello love, everything alright?"

"No, Aunt Jay... there's a man... near the window... he has a knife!" Clara whispered out, breathing heavily as if she had run a mile. Fear was overtaking her. She was going to die!

"What?"

"There's a man outside. He's got a knife. He saw me!" She whispered close to tears.

"I'm on my way."

Clara slipped the phone back into her pocket. 'What if that is the last phone call I'll ever make?' She thought. She began to beg and pray to any God she could think of. Even though she wasn't religious, desperate times called for desperate measures. It seems she would do anything to live.

Not a moment later, the blanket was violently ripped off of her and a bright light illuminated her face.

Clara let out a piercing screech, guarding her face with her arms and curling into the fetal position. This was it. Her final moment spent looking cowardly. What an excellent last breath she will breathe. Her hair plastered to her face by the tears still pouring out of her eyes. They will stop soon. She wouldn't be able to cry any longer.

"Calm down love. It's just me. It's alright." The soothing voice of Clara's aunt concluded her shaking. She was safe. Clara engulfed her aunt in a tight hug which was gladly returned.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're safe now. I'm here." Aunt Jay cooed, bringing Clara closer to her. "Let's put the power back on." She said once her niece had calmed down.

The two walked down the stairs to the basement. The power fuse was in the far corner of the ice-cold, dark room. Aunt Jay winced slightly due to the tight grip Clara had on her. The duo walked cautiously into the room and shone the torch in all the nooks and crevices. No one was there. Feeling more confident, Aunt Jay walked up to the power box and flicked the appropriate switches.

A piercing scream ruined the silence. Clara let out a cry of her own and ran closer to her hero. The said protector let out a laugh.

"Clara, it's just the movie. You must have imagined the man. If you get this frightened, why do you watch horror films anyway?"

"How did the power go off then?" Clara was frustrated. She had not imagined the weird person. Why didn't her auntie believe her?

"It looks like the switch flicked off on its own."

They returned to the room she was previously in and sat down. Clara scrutinised the room looking for the haunting man. He wss definitely outside the window before. She looked out of what in the darkness looked like a window and saw herself.

'No, that wasn't right.' She was imagining things. Maybe her aunt was correct after all. She blinked and looked again but it was still there. 'Please, no!' Clara was desperate now; she pinched herself, rubbed her eyes, shut them and reopened them but it was still there.

The mirror.

Clara screamed and jumped up, one hand clamped over her mouth and the other pointing to the mirror. The rivers begsn to flow down her face as she continued to scream and cautiously walk backwards. She was the prey retreating from her personal predator.

"Clara, what now? What's wrong?" Aunt Jay asked concerned for her niece. 'Something was wrong with her, she is imagining things.'

"The window...n...n...not...w...window...a m...mirror."

As Aunt Jay pieced the words together, realisation and unease flashed across her face.

"Honey, was that what you saw the man through?" she asked praying for an answer she knew her niece wold not respond with. Clara couldn't comment so she nodded her head. She was pressed against the opposite wall and darting her eyes everywhere

"Oh god, that means he was behind you! He was in the house... he could still be in the house!" Aunt Jay panicked. Clary began to convulse, her tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. Aunt Jay walked towards her and gave her a hug whilst whispering reassuring promises in her ear. Beneath her strong exterior, she was freaking out. There was an intruder in the house. She was uneasy - 'did Clara imagine the man?'

"Everything will be okay."

A loud crash came from the fireplace and the warm flames went out.

The lights flicked off...

"You can hide but I'll always find you."