5 Minute Reads | Anthology

Voices

By ElizabethFolsom

The air was damp, the smell of mildew and rotten food rising to her nose as she stepped forward into the shadows. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness of the pathway, barely any of the dusk's rays peeping over the edge of the rooftops. There was trash littered everywhere, small animals scurrying about, trying to grab as much food as their little mouths could carry before darting back into dark corners. They were afraid, their little body shivering as a tense body stalked past them. And they were right to be afraid.

They knew what was to come.

Margaret was finally going to do it, finally going to put an end to all of it. She had to do it, for her children. It wasn't safe for them anymore, not when he was constantly hanging around them, plotting against her and the kids. Strange things kept happening, odd conversations with sinister themes, and accidents that could have been deadly. She had heard them last night, whispering in low voices to her husband as he watched TV. And then it all clicked. She knew they were evil, but she could have never imagined this. She knew that they were trying to get rid of her, and he was just a pawn in their game.

But she wasn't that easy to get rid of.

It would be quick and clean, and no one would suspect her. She had never told anyone that they followed her, no one would been her even if she did. They* hid in the shadows, always whispering, always one step ahead of her. But this time, she was going to beat them at their own game. She held the pistol in her hands, like a child cherished a toy.

The time to act was now.

A metal door swung open with a loud bang, and a man came out from a nearby door into the alley, wiping his hands on the dirty white apron he had tied around his waist. He wiped a stray bead of sweat from his brow, huffing from exhaustion, before pulling out a lighter and a cigarette. It wasn't till he held up the lighter to ignite the tobacco that he noticed the figure standing not far off. His brow furrowed.

"Hello?"

Margaret began to draw closer, the pistol pointed directly at her target as she stepped out of the darkness and under a nearby lamp. She could see them off in the distance, huddled next to the garage bins, laughing menacingly as they pointed at the man.

"He's going to kill you," one of them hissed in a low voice, an evil grin plastered on it's face."He's going to kill you and your children, and we got him to do it so easily."

"I won't let you hurt them," She said, and the man burrowed his brows, recognizing his wife standing before him.

"Maggie, what's wrong? You're supposed to be at home with the kids..." he said, noticing the gun "Maggie, what are you doing?"

"You were gonna kill us, they told you to do it," She said, pointing at the garage cans "But I won't let you."

"Who, Maggie?" her husband replied, "There's no one there!"

But Margaret knew he was trying to distract her. She knew they were over there, hissing and jeering him on. She could see the knife in his pouch, still dirty from chopping meats. She knew that he was leaving to go home, to stab her children and then her as if they were pieces of meat at the cutting block.

"Do it, it do it now." They hissed from the darkness.

"Maggie!" her husband yelled as she raised the gun.

Bang! Too late.A shot ran in harsh echoes around the alleyway, and a harsh guttural noise came from the husband as the bullet tore through him. A nearby cat jumped from its perch in fright, before high-tailing it out of the alleyway and down another street. A loud thug hit her eardrums, followed by gasping breath and finally, silence. It was over, it was finally over. A strong feeling of satisfaction washed over as she wiped a white cloth over the hilt of the pistol. She would dump it in the river, no one would find it there. They watched her from the darkness, smiles on their twisted faces.

"You're safe," they hissed, sinking further back into the shadows, "for now."

"I'm safe." Margaret repeated. "I'm safe."

She stashed it back in her pocket, turning around and walking away into the night with a hint of a smile gracing her face.