Haunted: A Collection of Frightening Tales

Rise And Shine

"Baby, won't you lock the door?"- Melanie Martinez

Waking up in the middle of the night with a kitchen knife pointed at your throat is exactly as terrifying as you'd think it is. The person wielding such a thing is another matter entirely.

"Finally! I didn't think you were ever gonna wake yourself up. Scared me a little. You know, you toss around quite a bit. It was really hard to keep myself from slicing your throat open." Her voice was unnervingly pleasant. She lowered her face a few inches toward mine, her small and pointy freckled nose so close to mine. Her thick black hair nearly blocked out all of the light from my little blue lamp, but I could still see her toothy grin.

"Okay, Jessica. What is it that you want?" I spoke as calmly as I possibly could, as if I were speaking to a frightened animal.

This is the third or fourth time she's broken into my 5th floor apartment. I almost expect this from her now. Although, this is the first time she's brought a weapon with her.

"I just want you, honeybee! You are a very forgetful person, you know that? You just keep locking the door, forgetting me outside. I AM NOT A DOG, HANNAH." She angled he face upward. Her eyes were wide with anticipation.

I took a slow, shuddering breath. She put all 90 pounds of her weight on my stomach, making it hard for me to breath. She had my arms pinned under her legs.

The first time she did this, the night watchman for my apartment complex called me into his security room. I remember just standing there in fixed horror, watching her watch me. She didn't make a sound; she just sat there at my desk. She was supposed to be 1000 miles away in Saint Xavier's Asylum for Lost Souls.

You see, she and I had had a falling out of sorts, which is why she was in Saint Xavier's. She had killed my best friend's dog because she thought I was paying more attention to Killer than her. Ironically, Killer was the sweetest thing in the world and would never hurt a fly. I had just met Jessica about a month earlier.

"I know you're not a dog, baby. It's just like you said. I'm very forgetful." I attempted my sweetest smile, but it drooped a little. "I didn't mean to leave you outside."

Jessica pressed the tip of the knife into the first few layers of my skin. I felt the blood trickle down my throat. She edged her way to the nick and licked it. I cringed. She brought her gaze back to mine and wiped my blood off of the knife's sharp tip on to my nightgown. I tried to turn my head, searching for an escape route. She nearly broke my jaw when she grabbed it. Jessica forced me to face her.

"YOU WILL ONLY LOOK AT ME!" She growled. I swear she did. It didn't sound like any kind of noise a set of human vocal cords could make. Jessica's skin paled. Her perky green eyes turned an emotionless black and her teeth turned into hair-splitting razors. Her ominous smiled remained. A tear did what I was failing to do and trailed its way down my face, escaping into my parted lips. It tasted like I wasn't going to get out of this alive.

"Hannah," She breathed out, wrapping her tongue around every letter. "I just love saying your name. Hannah, Hannah, Hannah." Like a snap of the finger, her physical appearance was back to normal. "I love you, honeybee. You know, that?" She caressed my cheek, bringing the knife away from my throat. I nodded. Jessica examined my face in the mirrored surface of her knife.

"I know, baby. I love you, too." I began to shake. This is so not how I wanted to spend my Saturday night. Jessica brought the tip of the blade to my cheek and pressed down softly, as if she was testing the waters. "Jessy, sugar, what are you doing?" My words trembled under the weight of her blade.