31 Days of Halloween

Day Two: The House

No one said the house was haunted. Wasn't that supposed to be a guaranteed thing? If death or paranormal activity happened in a house, the real estate agent is required to tell the buyers. Steph didn't care if someone had died in the house. That kind of thing happens and if Steph were about to die, she would want to die where she felt at home and safe and loved. But if those people dying at home created something otherworldly Steph would want to know that, too.

It started with creaks and groans. She thought it was just the house settling; isn't that what they always said about old houses? Steph could ignore it if she had to and most of the time, she was at work anyway. Being a nurse on the graveyard shift didn't leave much time for being home. But now, Steph would wake up and find that her I.D. card or her favorite set of earrings wouldn't be where she last left them. She would wake in the night to a cold and empty bedroom but still her heart would pound with fear. Steph felt something in the house with her, watching her pour a cup of tea or fold her laundry.

And then this morning, while she was stepping from her shower, a black inky shadow crossed in front of the open door. Steph froze with the towel half wrapped around her small frame, her hair dripping cold water. She scrubbed a hand over her eyes, thinking she must have imagined it. There's no way a shadow crossed her doorway. Not when she lived alone. Slowly, Steph tied the towel tight under her arms and went out into her bedroom. Nothing greeted her except a breeze from the open window that was shut when she got in the shower. She crossed the room and slammed it shut, her arms shaking.

Steph sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clamped onto her upper arms and her whole body now shivering. She didn't know what to do now. She's new to the area, no friends or family to speak of. If her house is indeed haunted, she had no one to turn to who could help her. Steph was on her own.

So, she decided to ignore it. She dressed in a hurry and bolted to work, not willing to stare too closely at anything. When Steph got to work, it was quiet. People milled around checking on patients, but everyone kept their heads down. Occasionally, Steph would see a patient walking the halls. All in all, it wasn't an unusual day.

Until her shift was over, and Steph was confronted by the black mass in her house in the parking lot. Steph screamed when she saw it, there was no other appropriate reaction, and then her entire body froze. She watched it slide closer and then convulsed when the shadow passed over her and she felt how cold and lifeless it was. It chilled her to the bone and started up a deep ache in her chest; her breath whooshed from her lungs and she felt lightheaded. Panicked, she turned and ran the block to her apartment, shoving the door open and slamming it closed without turning off the alarm. The noise blared in her eardrums and Steph tried to punch in the code, but it felt like her fingers weren't even touching the buttons. She decided she was still cold and shaken from the black mass and tried even harder to type in the reset code. Steph didn't feel like it worked but she supposed it did since it suddenly turned off and Steph was met with silence.

Not knowing what else to do or what else she could do, Steph went upstairs and fell asleep fully clothed on the bedspread.

Isabel woke from her fitful sleep, the sheets tangled around her ankles. Once again, she had a nightmare about a strange woman. A woman who was leaving work and was jumped by a hitman that had the wrong target. Isabel had read about it in the papers. The woman, Stephany, had been new in town and worked at the small hospital in town as a nurse. People who worked with her said she was quiet but a sweet girl. When she was walking home, a man identified as Howard Lowe stabbed her through her spine until the blade exited through her right lung. Stephany had died before the paramedics arrived and Howard said he hadn't realized she wasn't the target until it was too late. Isabel knew the story.

Disturbed and knowing she wouldn't be sleeping again tonight, Isabel went searching for her husband or a strong shot of whiskey. The note on the fridge said her husband was at work so Isabel opted for the whiskey. She had a shot, began pouring another when the security alarm went off by the front door. Isabel dropped the shot glass and raced for the door, seeing it open and letting in a cold breeze. Shaken, Isabel punched in the code and put her hand to her racing heart as the alarm went off. She slowly closed the door and then felt another cold breeze pass over her left shoulder, as if someone just walked right by her. Isabel felt a sense of dread and sadness before the cold spot vanished and she could think clearly again.

Not knowing what just happened, Isabel calmly went upstairs and fell asleep in a bed that didn't feel empty anymore.