The Fears Within

In the Dark

Achluophobia- Fear of darkness

Dylan woke in a small room, the only source of light coming from a dim lightbulb hanging in the middle of the room.

Strangely, it was swaying as if someone had bumped it. Fear pounding in his chest, he closed his eyes. The imprint of the lightbulb danced across his closed lids, changing color and shape the tighter he squeezed them shut.

Steeling himself, he opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings. He was strapped to a chair, the cold metal biting into his skin. Because of the lightbulb, his eyes couldn't get used to the darkness. All he could see was his body from the chest down, and the lightbulb.

It was still swaying, rhythmacially moving back and forth...back and forth...back and...back.

CRASH. The noise resounded around the room from somewhere behind him. Dylan turned his neck, trying to see, but the damned lightbulb had imprinted its image on his eyes again and he couldn't make out anything in the darkness. By the time it had faded, whatever had made the noise would be long gone.

His breath started to come in quick gasps. There was something in the room with him. He knew it.

CRASH. There is was again! He whipped his head around frantically, his eyes widening. The lightbulb was swaying again, even faster than before. Something had bumped it again!

Dylan started screaming for help. Rocking his chair back and forth he screamed at the top of his lungs in fear. There was another crash, but by now Dylan was so scared that he barely heard it. There was something in the room. There was something. It was going to get him. It was going to kill him. And he couldn't see it. He couldn't see his death.

Finally something in him snapped. He started yelling nonsense, his eyes lolling in his head until he passed out into deep, dark, oblivion.

____________________________________________________________________________

The scientist stared through the two-way mirror at the sad excuse for a human being.

"Was it a success?" His assistant asked shakily, as he stared at the broken, shell of a man in the small room behind the glass.

"Yes." The scientist said coldly. "It seems even the toughest of men can be scared into madness by swinging the string of a simple lightbulb and dropping a box in the corner of a dark room. I'm almost ashamed at how easy it was."

There was silence for a moment. Then the assistant spoke. "So now what do we do?"

"We cart this husk to the insane asylum down the road and continue on with the experiments." He paused and stood up, turning towards the door. "How fragile humans can be when faced with their deepest fears."

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So this is the first story in my short story book of fears :) comment, vote, or don't, whatever :)