Caged: Never Look Behind You

This was my entry for the second round of the Wattpad Writing Battle 2014. Out of forty qualifiers from the first round, this piece got the 18th place but a cut-off of 15 persons was needed for the final round. Better luck next time, haha. Unfortunately, I got assigned to the horror-fantasy categories and this was all that I could get from my hypothalamus. A number of 2,500 words were typed into this document excluding this note. Maximum na 'yun. Bitin talaga ito dahil limited lang ang number of words but if you want me to write a longer version, just ask me.

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I looked back with perspiration… every drop of sweat that exited my pores completely left me breathless. A grotesque figure was chasing me and the thing that made me wail was the fact that a crest-shaped blade was pointed right to my chest. It was a few inches away from me and the moment I felt my system constrict, I was filled with the very last glimpse of the metal devouring the flesh of my skin. Then boom—black out.

 “No!”

An erratic surge of electricity crawled through my spine and moments after that; I caught the undivided attention of the people in the room. “Scarlett? What is it?” A soft voice lingered through my eardrums. I shifted my gaze at the petite lady who was sitting beside me. I heaved out a sigh of relief.

I looked at them and said, “N—nothing. It was just a bad dream.”

They arched their brows the moment they heard my statement. “Scarlett! You shouldn’t be shouting like that in the middle of a horror movie! You frightened me to death!” Marie exclaimed. “She had a strange nightmare,” the one sitting beside me, Amanda, said.

“Again?” They all asked me with a hint of disbelief. “I don’t think that’s kind of normal, Scarlett. You should get professional help. You know, the paranormal experts—!” Before they could finish their statement, I shrieked in disapproval. “No! I am not going to—” Amanda immediately grabbed me for a reassuring hug.

“Calm down, Scarlett. It’s alright.” I inhaled a lot of air into my system before several words exited my mouth. “I’m not doing that. Never. I can handle this myself.” I carefully stood up. “I’ll be out for a while. I need fresh air.” They raised their brows in doubt. “At a time like this? It’s almost midnight. That’s absurd.”

I gave them a sarcastic smile. “With you watching horror movies in full volume? I’m better off outside.” After seconds of thinking, they nodded and wave their hands. “Make sure you don’t meet possessed dolls and psychopaths!” Marie said. I rolled my eyes and said, “Get over the movie, will you?”

Immediately, I took my jacket and headed off outside our apartment. With one step off of the porch, a strong gush of wind caused the hair of my neck to stand up. “This will be alright.” I breathed in some air and slowly stepped on the sidewalk. I placed my stare on the luminous night sky and carefully gazed at the sight of an enchanting full moon.

I managed to stare at it for several seconds when suddenly, a small cold hand grasped my arm. My reflexes immediately caused me to shove the figure away but when I came back to my senses, it was just her.

“Oh, it’s you. You shocked me to death, Amanda! I thought I was going to get murdered.” The curve on her face abruptly went up along with her hand which navigated its way to her stomach. “I followed you here since it’s going to be dangerous. You can’t trust people nowadays, you know.” I gave her an intent stare and sighed. “Amanda, if you don’t mind, I can manage. For now, I need space.” Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Are you sure you’ll be fine?” I nodded in response.