LIMBO

Chapter 4

That same afternoon...

Cory Simson was one of those boys who stood in life's background, and a person who was also easily forgotten. He had only one friend, Mike, whom he thought was his best friend. Unbeknown to him, Mike was only his 'friend' because Cory agreed to do just about anything Mike purposed. Unfortunately Cory wouldn't have the chance to discover this harsh truth for himself.
It was late afternoon as he cycled home from school on his neon orange bicycle. He turned the street corner sharply and came to a stop at his tarred driveway. Climbing off the seat, he rolled the polished two-wheeler up his front porch, where he chained it to a stand he had assembled during one boring summer. He fixed the lock and quietly entered the house.

Cory's steps echoed around his empty home; his dad worked afternoon shifts as a security guard at a shopping mall and wouldn't be back until late that night. He walked into the kitchen to make himself supper - a frozen pepperoni pizza he snatched from the chest freezer that stood in the lounge - and he switched the oven on. He put the pizza on a tray and pushed it onto the metal grid before closing the door and setting the timer. He fell onto a couch and brought out his phone to look through one of his social media apps. He quickly made a post on his profile and scrolled through the different accounts he followed.

The timer eventually went off and Cory dropped his phone on the coffee table, getting up to take out his food. He slid the pizza onto a plate and took his time with eating. It was nearing dusk when he was done and he dumped his dirty plate in the sink. Cory's day was the same routine: Get home, eat, shower, and lastly bed. Unlike Mike, Cory preferred to sleep early rather than late. As he was getting his clothes together he began humming a tune from one of the new songs Mike had showed him, which had been released the previous week. He grabbed a clean towel and soap from a cupboard on his way to the bathroom.

Cory turned on the hot water as he started to get undressed so that by the time he stepped through the glass door the water was already steaming. He was in the middle of washing himself when he heard someone walking down the hallway.
He turned the tap off and shouted out, "Hey Dad. You home?"
No answer came.
Weird, Cory thought after a pause, maybe it was just the cat.
The Simsons did own a grey cat which, when he was seven, Cory had dubbed Mittens because of its white paws. It preferred to sleep outside at night. Cory got out the shower and walked across the cold tiled floor to get to his towel. He dried himself and put on his pyjamas.

It was just the cat, he thought again as he fidgeted with the corner of the towel in agitation. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't prevent his mind from pointing out the obvious, Those sounded like footsteps. To ease his mind he searched cautiously through every room in the house, but anything that could be opened was still locked - both the doors and the windows.
Cory entered his room, a feeling of uneasiness trailing behind him, and he closed the door with his foot. He glanced briefly at the clock that hung on the wall above his bed, thinking about how the ticking sound it made always soothed him. Cory left the window slightly open in case the cat decided to sleep in his room and he turned to put away his towel and dirty clothes. He couldn't help but be alert and on edge, noticing that his heart beat had quickened distinctly.

He calmed himself down as he switched off the lights and climbed into bed, allowing the ticking of the clock to distract him. Moonlight shone through the open window and a breeze blew in. Cory shivered and gripped his blankets tightly. He looked around his room, seeing that there was nothing to be worried about, and he closed his eyes with a chuckled. Scared of the dark, really?
That was when the ticking stopped. There was complete silence. Cory frowned slightly, remembering that the clock was still fairly new. Sighing he opened his eyes and looked up. The thing that clung to the ceiling looked back at him. It moved a pitch-black hand to its mouth and made a quiet sign with its fingers. Cory couldn't breathe and the hairs on his neck rose. All he could manage was a soft mumble.

The creature continued to gaze down at him with its piercing white eyes, and it smiled, "Hi Cornelius." It tilted its head as Cory tried to cry out for help, "Don't be scared. You're going to be part of something great. You should be glad."
Cory tried to move away from the terrifying being watching him from above, but he only managed to make it to the edge of his bed when the thing fell onto him. As it closed its fingers around his neck, Cory found his voice and let out a shriek that rang throughout the entire house. Then he was no more.