LJ Idol Prompt 2: Three Little Words
LJ Idol Prompt 2! In honor of Halloween I decided to try to make it a bit ~~creepy, but it's not usually my style. Yes, it's fiction, but the feelings are quite real I think :P
It was nearly midnight, but her stomach didn't care. It grumbled and twisted uncomfortably as she sat hunched over her computer. She hadn't moved in hours, but despite the pain in her back and the cries from her stomach she continued to scroll through forgettable pages. One startling growl from her stomach more, though, and she decided to answer its plea.
Sighing to herself, she pushed her computer aside and stretched backwards. Every vertebrae in her spine crackled pleasurably as she did so. Without a sense of urgency she managed to push herself to her feet and walk the short steps to her bedroom door. As she reached her hand out to open the door, though, she hesitated.
What is on the other side of the door?
She mentally scolded herself for her childish fear and pulled the door open hastily. The light from her room poured into the corridor for a few feet before the midnight darkness conquered it. Trying to ignore the fear swelling in her chest, she moved hesitantly away from the light. Her footsteps shrank with the waning light, but her heart beat began to double. After only a few short steps, there was no more light in front of her and the panic began to set in. She quickened her pace and half sprinted to the end of the corridor where she knew the light switch on the left hand wall would meet her. She reached it and flicked it on in the same second and relief washed over her from the lightbulb.
Next was the stairs.
The stairs were gloomily lit from the light switch she had just turned on and she knew that the hall downstairs was dark. She pictured the next light switch as she slowly inched her way down the stairs. It would be at least ten feet in the dark entry way before she would reach the light in the kitchen and the light above her was fading rapidly with each step she declined. Again, her heart began to race and she quickened her pace. The bottom of the stairs welcomed her with nothing my blackness. She could swear someone was watching her as she took off down the entry hall and dove for the light switch.
The kitchen was lit.
The relief she felt in the safety of the light calmed her heart immediately. She temporarily forgot about the fear as she raided the fridge for a midnight snack. Whatever she ate wasn't important. She munched without thinking for a few minutes until she felt satisfied. As she replaced the remainder of the food in the fridge, she felt the eerie sense of foreboding again. Her journey to the kitchen kept the light behind her, but the journey back to her room would leave behind the dark. Yes, this return was much more treacherous.
She double checked the kitchen was empty behind her as her right hand hovered nervously on the light switch. She had ten feet to the stairs, but even then she would only have dim light to look forward to until she reached the upstairs corridor. The path in between took her once again through the open entry way where anything could be hiding the corner. Was it really childish to think something was there? Couldn't there be something watching her from the dark corners? How could she possibly know?
She flicked the light switch down and was blinded by the dark. Like a frantic animal she bolted towards the stairs. She could feel the thing behind her and sheer terror overwhelmed her. Her socks slipped on the wooden floor and she fell to her knees. Ahead of her she could see the dim light beginning to peer from the stairs, but behind her she could only feel the coldness of the night. Was that a breeze or was she imagining it? The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her skin begin to crawl as childhood nightmares flooded her brain. She could feel it behind her and around her. She could feel what she couldn't see and she knew it was there before she heard it.
"Don't turn around."
It was nearly midnight, but her stomach didn't care. It grumbled and twisted uncomfortably as she sat hunched over her computer. She hadn't moved in hours, but despite the pain in her back and the cries from her stomach she continued to scroll through forgettable pages. One startling growl from her stomach more, though, and she decided to answer its plea.
Sighing to herself, she pushed her computer aside and stretched backwards. Every vertebrae in her spine crackled pleasurably as she did so. Without a sense of urgency she managed to push herself to her feet and walk the short steps to her bedroom door. As she reached her hand out to open the door, though, she hesitated.
What is on the other side of the door?
She mentally scolded herself for her childish fear and pulled the door open hastily. The light from her room poured into the corridor for a few feet before the midnight darkness conquered it. Trying to ignore the fear swelling in her chest, she moved hesitantly away from the light. Her footsteps shrank with the waning light, but her heart beat began to double. After only a few short steps, there was no more light in front of her and the panic began to set in. She quickened her pace and half sprinted to the end of the corridor where she knew the light switch on the left hand wall would meet her. She reached it and flicked it on in the same second and relief washed over her from the lightbulb.
Next was the stairs.
The stairs were gloomily lit from the light switch she had just turned on and she knew that the hall downstairs was dark. She pictured the next light switch as she slowly inched her way down the stairs. It would be at least ten feet in the dark entry way before she would reach the light in the kitchen and the light above her was fading rapidly with each step she declined. Again, her heart began to race and she quickened her pace. The bottom of the stairs welcomed her with nothing my blackness. She could swear someone was watching her as she took off down the entry hall and dove for the light switch.
The kitchen was lit.
The relief she felt in the safety of the light calmed her heart immediately. She temporarily forgot about the fear as she raided the fridge for a midnight snack. Whatever she ate wasn't important. She munched without thinking for a few minutes until she felt satisfied. As she replaced the remainder of the food in the fridge, she felt the eerie sense of foreboding again. Her journey to the kitchen kept the light behind her, but the journey back to her room would leave behind the dark. Yes, this return was much more treacherous.
She double checked the kitchen was empty behind her as her right hand hovered nervously on the light switch. She had ten feet to the stairs, but even then she would only have dim light to look forward to until she reached the upstairs corridor. The path in between took her once again through the open entry way where anything could be hiding the corner. Was it really childish to think something was there? Couldn't there be something watching her from the dark corners? How could she possibly know?
She flicked the light switch down and was blinded by the dark. Like a frantic animal she bolted towards the stairs. She could feel the thing behind her and sheer terror overwhelmed her. Her socks slipped on the wooden floor and she fell to her knees. Ahead of her she could see the dim light beginning to peer from the stairs, but behind her she could only feel the coldness of the night. Was that a breeze or was she imagining it? The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her skin begin to crawl as childhood nightmares flooded her brain. She could feel it behind her and around her. She could feel what she couldn't see and she knew it was there before she heard it.
"Don't turn around."