Short Stories Galore

Your Turn (Horror)

Thump, thump, thump.

Her heart pounded sickeningly.

Thud, thud, thud.

The heavy footfalls never ceased behind her. Paralysing fear struck her harshly and relentlessly, almost causing her to drop to the floor and give up. But she couldn't. It would get her. It would rip her to pieces.

Pants fell from her mouth as she ran down hallway after hallway of the abandoned building. The... the thing followed her steadily, no signs of slowing. An open door to her left caught her attention and she skidded into the room, slamming and locking it behind her. She took shaky steps backwards, eyes never leaving the door. The room appeared to be empty, dust billowing in the air and a large glass window encompassing one of the walls.

It was open.

Knock, knock, knock.

The woman screeched and begged, prayed for something to save her. Anything.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking at the door grew into a relentless pounding, as if somebody was trying to slam it down with an axe.

"Oh god, oh god," she whimpered, looking around the room wildly for a solution.

The window.

"Let...me...in..."

The woman froze as the dark, gravelly sounding voice seemed to echo around her head.

"Let...me...in..."

"No!" she screamed. "No! Go away!"

Just like that, the pounding stopped. Her ears rang as she stood there, heart racing. A lone tear fell down her cheek.

Was it gone?

"Mummy?"

A child-like voice echoed from the other side of the door. "Mummy? Why won't you let me in?"

"No," the woman sobbed, falling to her knees.

"Mummy, what happened to me? Where am I? It's so cold!"

"Why are you doing this to me?" she screamed, agony now gripping at her chest.

"It's so cold, mummy. I thought it was just a game. You said you would be back soon. You said that I would be fine by myself."

The woman squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her head. She couldn't handle this. Couldn't do it. Couldn't do it.

"It was an accident," she moaned out.

"You killed me mummy. You killed me and now I'm so cold."

The voice was changing again, back to the demonic tone the thing had taken earlier.

"You... killed... her. You killed her and IT'S YOUR TURN."

The door burst open, ripped from its hinges. The woman didn't give the monster time to grab her. To die by a demon's hand or to die on her own terms? She knew which one she'd rather.

With a gasp, she kept her eyes low and pushed herself from the floor. She heard the monster growl, a deep menacing sound that rocked the earth, and flung herself out of the window.

For a second she was flying. She turned her head back towards the room and for one wild moment, she thought she saw her daughter standing there, her hand outstretched. Then she was gone and the woman fell.