Never should have believed

By: Mahe Shah

TW: Horror

Bang.

She fell to the ground with a small whimper. What happened? Her confused mind scrambled to find answers as she slowly got up again. She could hear scraping sounds coming from downstairs, but she was the only person in her house… right?

Silently and hesitantly, she gently opened her room door and let it close with a small creek. The sound was too loud in the silent night, but she couldn’t do much about that. She crept down the stairs, one hand holding a flickering candle as she peeked through the corridors to see where the sound was coming from.

Tilting her head to get a closer look, she was not prepared for the harsh woosh as a huge gust of wind blew open the windows. Her eyes widened with fear as the candlelight flickered out, leaving her standing alone in the pitch darkness of the vast and ancient room. Hands shaking, she hurried back to her room, despite knowing that it would be elusive for her to fall asleep again.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The sounds of the clock had never terrified her; yet with every second passing the sound grew louder and closer to the confines of her room. She gripped at her newly lit candle, staring unwaveringly at the door, for any second the door could burst open and her worst fears would be ignited.

All of these unusual events led her to imagine things that, most likely, weren't there. She was adamant to have noticed a tall, dark shadow running across the room.

Never in a million years had she imagined that her first day of work - as a caretaker of this wretched house - would be the opposite of what she imagined. When her aging uncle had first approached, and asked for her to take care of his ‘charming mansion’, she’d been thrilled. After living in the city, isolated and alone, this opportunity came as an adventure.

She sighed, pushing herself up from the bed and letting her legs dangle off the frame as her eyes scanned the doorways and corners. The house was, fairly obviously, neglected, with a haunted look in the cobwebs strewn around the roofs and shadows covering every surface. The house was pitch black, even in the day, with a few bloody scratches here and there - she had painted over them, but still, it creeped her out…

The long corridors’ windows were shattered and not fixed, with shards of glass pooling the floors. She hadn’t dared to clean it up, for the corridors had a hideous smell as if something had died there. Something, or… someone.

If that wasn’t creepy enough, there was a looming fear of someone, lurking in the shadows behind them. She’d walked the perimeter of the mansion before, and the cold breeze had run through her shivering body, chilling her to the bone.

The graveyard behind had countless tombs. Rumor had it that they came alive at night… but of course, that was surely just a rumor…?

She jumped off the bed with a soft thud. With all her might, she dragged a heavy wooden chest covered in clothes. She let it be pressed firmly against the door, and hopefully would keep… whoever the monster was, outside.

Feeling a bit more safe from her unknown enemy, she wondered if it was a cowardly move to hide under her bed. Probably.

And then she froze, adrenaline spiking up so much that she feared that she might have a heart attack.

She couldn’t help but hear a set of huge feet… which she knew definitely did not belong to an ordinary human marching closer, making no attempt to be quiet. Her heart thumped against her chest as she waited for the footsteps to recede into the darkness. She closed her eyes, holding her breath, for the slight exhale might turn into a scream of fear.

But the creature outside definitely had other plans. It stayed still, and she began to feel more drowsy as the time went on. Maybe she should get up.

Bad idea.

Clang!

Her head hit the wooden pole supporting her bed frame. With a small gasp, she could feel her consciousness drift away before she woke up again.

Was that some weight on her? She couldn’t tell… then she looked up.

She resisted the urge to scream, scared that she would draw the attention of the shadow above her bed. With sweaty palms, she let her cheek press against the hard, cold floor beneath her without saying another word. She closed her eyes in desperation, hoping that none of this was true, and that it was only a figment of her imagination. But she knew that this was not, for she could smell the monster’s reeking breath.....