Illusion

Side-effects of watching a horror movie

"It's not my fault," he shouted, "It's your fault."

"It was you who picked a horror flick!" I yelled at my little brother. My brother is courageous,brave and he loves the adrenaline. I on the other hand, am quite the opposite. We were watching a horror movie that was so scary I literally jumped and broke my father's favourite vase. My father was in his study doing paperwork for a new case. It was way past our bedtime, almost midnight. If the breaking of the vase had not grabbed his attention then I am sure all this yelling would have.

Our fight continued and we yelled on top of our voices until our father came down twisted our ears and took us to our rooms.

Winter was here and it was colder than yesterday. I rolled on to my bed,twisted and turned, trying to sleep but I couldn't.It was pitch black, total darkness, as the night went on the darkness increased. The darkness seemed to engulf me. The night was silent except for the occasional cries of the bat, the shrill sound of the crickets, the bellowing of the cat and the whooshing of the winds. The atmosphere was cold, dark, gloomy, creepy and eerily scary. It seemed as if I was living in a horror movie.

It was half past two and I was still wide awake. At that point I was convinced that the chair in my room was not vacant and I had a creepy feeling that someone was watching me. I tried to shrug away such thoughts when I heard a thud, a few minutes later I heard the roaring engine of my father's car. I peered through the window to see it speeding away in the night. Father just abandoned us, I thought.

He would never abandon us, he usually left home for reasons related to his work. He was a surgeon and he often got called in the hospital for emergencies.

It was 3 o'clock and I was still wide awake but now my throat was dry and there was no water in my room, I was convinced that the entity occupying the chair was doing this. I started my dreadful journey to the kitchen. The old wooden staircase creaked everytime I stepped on it. The bats and crickets continued their song, while the sky roared with thunder.

It was winter yet the sky rumbled. Some really weird things were happening. The water in the glass rose slower than a snail as I waited by the sink. A sweat broke on my brow, I felt as if someone was watching me, I looked out the windows. The water in the glass was overflowing, I turned off the tap and turned towards the door when lightening flashed and I saw a silhouette by the door. I screamed and dropped the glass, it shattered into a million pieces. As the lightening died it stepped into the kitchen, it turned out to be my brother.

"What are you doing here ?When did you come here ?" I asked.

"When you were filling the glass. You are scared, aren't you ? What are you so scared of ?"

"I don't know. I couldn't sleep. That movie has been messing with my . . . " Before I could finish there were three sharp knocks on the door, loud and urgent, "It's just like the movie!" I exclaimed.

"What are you talking about ?" He said.

"Don't you remember the part where there is power cut and the actor opens the door and the killer stabs him to death . . . "

"Are you even listening to yourself ? You are out of your mind !" He said while the knocking continued.

"Okay, I will answer the door. Stay near the backdoor, be ready to run"

"Now you are being silly and paranoid. Now go before the maniac breaks the door."

While I made my to the door, the knocks had grown more frequent and louder. When I opened it, a middle-aged man was standing at my threshold. He had a swollen eye, blood oozed out from his temple and nostrils. I was terrified, more scared than ever.

"Help me ! He has come, he won't let me live, hide me please! " He begged.

"Who ? What are you talking about ? Listen if you need medical help I can call an ambulance, father isn't home "

"There is no . . . " He stopped mid-sentence, his mouth flew open, his muscles were rigid, blood gushed out of his mouth and splashed across my face. I stepped back as he fell, first his knees hit the floor and then his head. An axe was buried deep into his spinal cord.

I was paralysed with fear, I looked up, dazed and horrified from this sudden death. A man was coming towards me, approaching fast. His face was covered with a hood and he was wearing all black.

"Shaun RUN ! " I screamed, and that was all I managed to say before I felt a stark, painful sensation in my back. An object was buried in my back, then with a sudden jerk it was out.I fell on my knees, tasting blood in my mouth. My back burned as if it was on fire, it hurt, it hurt really bad. Blood came out of my mouth just as I hit the floor.

I saw the killer, an axe in his hand, drenched in blood, my blood. I was fading out of consciousness, the pain was too much to handle. Blood continued to stream out of my mouth. I closed my eyes embracing the darkness. The blood on my cheek was the last thing I felt, then the darkness grew, it was as if it had increased ten-fold.

The darkness seemed to engulf me.

‹~•~ THE END ~•~›