Kyle

Untitled Part 1

No one seems to remember Kyle. It's been one week down the line since we left Mtwapa. Everything is back to normal except for one thing, Kyle.

The memories of that night replay vividly in my mind every night as I close my eyes.

We were on a three-week school academic trip. One that involved us visiting the hospital each day in order for us to gain a bit of exposure in the medical field. Like any other government facility, the university had managed to get us a cheap hostel apartment where we spent our night. Despite the place being an average hostel, at least it had a swimming pool, though it was salty all the same. After a long day of hospital activities, many of us purposed to deep ourselves in the salty pond, others went to the beach to enjoy the cool coastal breeze.

Most of the time, I'd go to the beach, play football and take a long night swim at the pool after supper. This time round, I opted to do things differently. Instead I decided to watch a couple of movies I had downloaded. I got into our room and quickly fixed my eyes on the laptop screen. The room was fairly large, able to accommodate four large sized beds with a couple of seats leaving some bit of space. It had a cool glass slide door that led to an amazing balcony. The balcony provided an awesome view of the Eastern sky which was constantly coloured beautifully by the rising sun at dawn. And as for the evening sky, the stars light up the place exquisitely.

I wasn't able to tell how time flew so fast. I was midway through my fourth movie when my laptop warned me of my battery status. I went for my charger and quickly plugged it in. The chilly wind making its way from the balcony made me shiver a little.... Yes! I wasn't able to resist the breeze. I was compelled and my whole body taken hostage as I leaned on the balcony edge. Everything was perfect; the beautiful night sky, the wind that made its way in my nostrils, the silence...

Everything except the silence, something was not in place. The only sound was the rustling leaves of the tall trees. Curiously, I checked the swimming pool section, the water was quite still and no one was there.

Weird! I thought to myself.

I went to the next boys' room. No one was present even though the lights were on. I walked through the cold hallway to the very end where the girls slept. I gently knocked on every door with each one offering no response. I decided to get in, same story in all of them, no one present. Perhaps everyone had left for some party or just somewhere without informing me, I thought.

I quickly went down the stairs to the receptionist section. No one was present, the clock on the wall was stuck at 00:05 hours, "Odd," I mumbled. I checked the waiting bay and the watchman's residence, no single soul. Surprisingly the university bus was on the same spot it usually packed. "This is turning out to be one heck of a puzzle and a very bad game." I said to myself sarcastically.

I immediately took my phone and dialed Bob's number. It went straight to voicemail. I then dialed Mark's number; voicemail. Finally, I dialed Kyle's number, it rang. No one picked up. Frustrated, I dialed the number again, this time he picked up almost immediately.

"Hallo, Kyle where..."

"Oh Lord... thank goodness. David ... is that you?" Kyle interrupted, taking large gaps of air.

"Of course, who else would it be?"

"Are you with the others?"

"Calm down... I don't even know where the rest of the squad is." I tried slowing him down.

"Are you serious..."

"First things first, where in the world are you?"

"Am hiding in the girls... Oh no, I think he's spotted me... David...."

Just then the phone went silent. My heart raced for no apparent reason.

He spotted me? Who? Where? Why?

I dialed Kyle's number again, the phone number was out of service. Jesus! How is that even possible? My legs began to wobble; my tummy did a flip flop. What was happening? I took the stairs as I raced for the girls' rooms. The lights went off abruptly as I was in the middle of the hallway.

My heart was right in my mouth, my whole body trembled as my teeth rattled repeatedly. At that moment I was sure I was going to wet my pants. I immediately went for the walls as I tried tracing my steps to any room. A loud bang at the end of the hallway sent me to the floor as I squeaked like a little girl. The lights zoomed back on. Kyle appeared from one of the rooms sprinting towards my direction yelling, "Run!"

Never in my life did my legs carry me like that night. I was right on Kyle's heels as we descend the stairs in a split of a second. We raced across the parking lot to some bushes in the furthest end of the hostel's compound.

"We are dead... we are dead... we are really dead..." Kyle mumbled tears rolling down his cheeks

"What's happening Kyle?... What is happening?" I was out of breath

"This place is haunted.... Look, over there..." Kyle covered my mouth as he pointed towards the waiting bay direction. "Can you see that beast?"

At that moment, my eyes betrayed my soul. What I saw can never be described by words alone. A shadow had come to life, the most grotesque form of any being. The devil himself was walking on this earth. I gazed right upon his eyes and stared to the very definition of evil itself.

"Kyle... Run!"

This time there was no stopping. Just as we were going across the wall. Kyle got stuck, desperately I turned to help him.

"Run David, save yourself... run!"

I hesitated for a while as Kyle constantly begged for me to go. Tears were all over my face as I left my friend to die in the hands of evil. I ran as fast as I could into the dark night not turning my back.

The piercing rays of the sun warmed my face as I scrambled to my feet. Morning had arrived. My eyes squinted as I tried to adjust to the bright morning light. My feet were sore and knees were very tired. I struggled through the bushes and arrived at the hostel. I could barely remember the events that led me to this condition. I dragged myself past the gate to the receptionist desk. The clock read 0915 hours. The lady behind the desk was shocked as she looked at me mouth agape.

Bob arrived round the corner form the swimming pool direction. He was all wet and water dripping off his short.

"Oh, David, I saw your missed call early this morning. Are you okay?"

All I did was stare blankly at him and mumbled, "Kyle?"

"Whose Kyle?" He asked.

Everything turned dark as my head hit the floor.