It’s story time! Everyone gather around, pull up a chair or a pillow and have a seat.
A shout out to The Midnight Society for putting forth the challenge! Check it out here. Even though I think I am the only one out here in the web verse doing this. I am having a great time!
This helps me prepare, flex my creative muscle, for ProjectReutsWay, a short story competition, which begins in November. Read about it here and sign up. What do you have to lose?
The inspiration word for today, that I looked at two hours ago, is night.
Ooooohhhh, the possibilities! My brain has latched onto an idea, so we’ll see where it goes.
Darkness
The alarm blares as sunset coats the sky with red. I jump out of bed, my mind spinning. Moments. Minutes linger before my work begins. Every night. The ritual, the madness.
My hand shakes as I crunch on dry toast and stare out the window. The edge of the sun dips below the horizon. Twilight. My last seconds of peace… before night.
As the light fades from the sky, I flip on the light over the sink. Two steps to electrify the light over the stove, another step and the overhead blazes to life. I follow my path, the seven steps to the living room. The bulbs on the ceiling fan brighten. Two steps to the end table. Six more steps to the other end table. Five steps to the hall.
The spare bedroom.
The bathroom.
My room.
I stand in the hallway. Warmth spreads from every doorway. My trembling body screams that I don’t have the strength to continue the struggle. How many nights do I have left?
As soon as night falls, a click sounds from the living room. My heart leaps as fear takes hold of my mind. I race down the hall, searching for the extinguished light. I nearly knock the lamp over as I twist the knob.
Click.
The kitchen goes dark.
Click.
My bedroom door becomes a black hole.
Like some kind of trained animal, I sprint around the house, chasing the dark. I can’t let it win. For in the blackness, it will come to pull me into whatever hell it comes from.
Click.
Click.
Tears steam down my face. Every night. I fight. But every night, my body grows weaker. My mind threatens to shatter into a million pieces. My legs quiver with every step. I stumble in the hall, falling to my knees.
Click. Click. Click.
Panic drives me to stand, and I trip into the living room. My breaths come in ragged gasps. A fog creeps through my brain. Maybe I have reached the end.
I collapse to the floor.
Click. Click.
With a roar, darkness claims me.
End
Tonight, I’ll be sleeping with the lights on. Pleasant dreams!
