Encrusted Blood - Short Story

Encrusted Blood

I slowly unlock the door to my new home. The blue door is slightly faded and the handle is rusty, but cute all the same. It creaks as I open it. I take a deep breath, absorbing all the nooks and crannies, the smells and sights with in the place. The doormat looks like it had been severely attacked by either a ferocious dog or a ferocious clan of moths, the staircase has a thick layer of dust settled on every step and the the sideboards have holes in them. Mice must live here.

The wind blows the door shut with a bang and I jump, my heart beating fast. This place looked enticing and warm on the outside, but the inside has a cold, lingering sense of deep regret and the atmosphere was of a lonesome sort. All I need now is some sleep. Dragging my two hand luggages up the stairs, I peer into the gloom. My eyes narrow into slits, noticing something odd. The upstairs has no lighting, no light bulbs or lamps, nothing. Mentally abusing myself for making the mistake of choosing this house, I reluctantly march over to the only room upstairs, which I take is the bedroom. I turn the doorknob and enter and I am aghast at what I see.

The first thing I spot is a wooden, carved snake nailed to the wall. Its eyes gleam a menacing red and I quickly look away, it's presence disconcerting me.The wallpaper is flaking and the room stenches of damp. I touch the mustard yellow walls and conclude that there must be a leak because the walls are soaking.

I stare around the room, switching on my dim torch, to locate the bed and discover something that makes my blood run cold. Shivers run up and down my spine as I advance further into the raging darkness, my torch flickering as if the sight I see unsettles it too. The bed mattress has been savagely torn apart, revealing the rusty springs and the remains of a duvet buried between the springs. I disdainfully lift the duvet out of the pit of springs and I let out a strangled scream before I can stop myself. My stomach churns, threatening to vomit. Dead mice...everywhere. More than five motionless mice are laying there, their blood encrusting the ancient springs. They all have bite marks in their necks, piercing their flesh with small, dark holes, brimming with a ragged red.

Resentfully, I slip into my sleeping bag. I will have to rest beside the bed tonight and tomorrow I will move on from this place and continue with my journey. I slowly crawl into my sleeping bag and attempt to settle down, but the noises behind the wall unnerve me. A sinister rattling, rumbling, spitting sound doesn't stop and it continues to get louder, as if something is creeping up on me. I sweep any concerns for that away and assume it is just the poor piping, even though an instinct tells me it is much more malevolent than that.

I start to feel unreasonably cold and the hole in the bottom of my sleeping bag makes my toes feel icy and vulnerable. I chance a look at the snake on the wall, oddly drawn by its ominous presence and dire glare, and find that the nail holding it up has disappeared. My eyes strain into the gloom, dubious towards my own observation. How was it even possible? It was just hung there, unassisted by the nail that seemed to have withdrawn itself from the company of the bloodcurdling silhouette of the snake. I look around to see if the nail has fallen down and notice it lying a couple of metres away from me, not even under the snake. It must have rolled away, but what about the snake? How did it stay up, detached from the nail?

I turn over, trying my hardest to dislodge this thought from my mind and to get to sleep, but it is simply impossible as I have now started imagining whispers and hisses behind the walls. The murmurs linger, evoking shivers and tingles onto my skin. Scrunching my eyes shut, I try to block all the sounds, sights and smells but I am completely unable to. Restlessly, I turn over yet again, hoping that all these thoughts and hallucinations would leave my train of thought. Scanning the floor, I spot the nail within arm's reach and I inhale a sharp, nervous intake of breath. My mind must be playing tricks, as I was certain it was further away. Swallowing hard, I attempt to force myself into thinking about nothing, butI can't stop thinking about those hisses I heard not only a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, I hear a spring bounce from inside the mattress. I sit up hastily to see what had triggered it but I see nothing. I have an incredibly vivid imagination, I convince myself, lying back down. A soft thud is heard soon after, right beside me. I turn over to see the nail lodged between the floorboards, a few inched away from me. I swat it away in blind panic and instantly regret it as it is boiling hot. Flinching, I slowly soothe my burn, dazed and perplexed. The room is eerie and menacing and my mind has driven into overload as my imagination has run completely wild.

The hissing gets louder and my body freezes in panic. I want to move and to run and I have the uncontrollable urge to get outside and to never return to this place but my arms and legs are paralysed with fear and my chest is heaving, my breaths quick and shallow. I manage to utter a slight gurgle, my plea of mercy. I am powerless and completely under the unrelenting control of the sounds, noises and feelings. I can tell something is getting closer now, creeping up towards me. It's just that sensation, like the one you get when you know you are being watched.

I feel the cold hide of something slithering up onto me. I can't move or speak and I'm as good as dead. The creature creeps into my view and if I could scream, I would. But my mind has frozen now, my every thought has stopped and the only thing I can think about is: Snake.

My breathing has stopped and I feel as if I am already close to death. The snake is still there. It's been there for a few seconds now, watching me through its piercing, corrupt, red eyes. I still can't move, benumbed by the snake which appears to have nails protruding from all angles from inside its body. It should be dead. I would move, right now, if I could, but my limbs simply won't function. I swallow hard and it lunges. The last thing I see is the teeth, encrusted with blood. My heart stops even before it makes contact. The fangs feel like nails against my skin. Cold, hard nails.