Screams went through the room, echoing through his empty house. He was watching late night horror movies alone, good idea right? Haha, yeah didn’t think so. I’m that guy, Jerome Sanderall. Funny name trust me, I know, but I wasn’t laughing at that at the moment, I was laughing at the poor acting as giant ants eat people on a black and white television screen. I just moved to this house, therefore I have barely anything to keep me entertained. Yes I put down the main furniture and security, but I just need the internet and television company to get the memo, until then, I’m stuck watching these old-school movies until the other of the U-Haul truck arrive.
It was a nice, old house, in the middle of nowhere but it was a decent price, there was forests around me but a road to and from my house, connecting to the nearest cities, only three miles from my house, but still a good walk. The electricity is still able to be connected to my area, but it takes many telephone wires and pipes to get all that, and water, to my house.
Enough about the house and who I am, you want to know why we’re here, at this time. Well I just sat there, full of boredom until I heard a knock from the front door. I walked downstairs to the door and looked through the peep hole. I opened the door to greet a pizza delivery man, he gave me a large pepperoni and jalapeño pizza, I paid and tipped him and he left. I thought it was odd because I didn’t hear the engine after a little, I guess the forest blocked out the noise of his car.
I went back inside to grab a paper plate and walk upstairs, I know, why not eat out of the box and yadda yadda yadda, but I just don’t care alright, I like eating off a plate, don’t judge me because I have some class left. I continued watching hours of poorly made movies from the 50’s. It went from 10:46 at night to 12:53 in the morning. Hell I must’ve been out of my mind for staying this late, but something in me was telling me to stay up, whether it was the jalepenos or the nightmares, I just did it. I heard a beeping from my outdoor camera then I decided to look at the monitor I have connected to it.
“What the hell?” I murmured. What I saw was interesting and just, plain creepy. Three men, kids maybe, just outside my house, all with those skiing masks, the beanies with the holes for the eyes and mouth cut out. They all looked around my house and one saw the blinking light of the camera. You can hear the “oh s**t” from one of them and the other’s shushing. One got up close to the camera, he must’ve been around my height, about six foot, maybe taller.
“Hello sir, we’re girl scouts, interested on if you would like to buy some,” He had a pause, an oddly long one, then he whistled and continued. “Cookies.” He laughed. The other two, who had left once he whistled, came back with a girl in their grasp. She was bound, with duct tape on her mouth, barely conscious.
“We are what you would call social experimental scientists.” One of them says. “You open the door and let us in, otherwise this little cookie,” He pauses as she finally attempts to regain consciousness and looks at the three masked men. I can see the terror flashed across her eyes. “Oh look, it’s awake.” He grabbed a machete from his friend, and held it against her neck. “As I was saying. Let us in, or this cookie, will crumble.”
I didn’t know what these three were trying to do, use us as hostages, rob me, hell knows what their plan was, I don’t even know if this girl was with them or not. I grabbed a landline telephone and dialed 911, but nothing was going through. I became frustrated and slammed the telephone back down. I heard light static and then the first person’s voice.
“If you are trying to call the police, nice try, we had already cut the landline. We know you have nothing in your house, you are Jerome Sanderall, you just moved into this s****y house. But know there are more to this house than you think.” I grabbed the monitor and shook it as I see the second man’s arm raise up with the machete in hand. I yelled and looked away as all you can hear is a repetitive noise of flesh ripping, a giant knife splitting into the side of her neck, and grunting. They all laughed and jumped around like maniacs as her body fell. She was so young and just innocent. She was probably around sixteen, seventeen maybe.
“Look, we asked you to let us in, it’s all we wanted. If you had just complied, maybe, just maybe, she’d be alive.” The first one says. What shocked me was the fact he used maybe. Maybe? Maybe?! You are telling me that she MIGHT be alive? They would’ve just killed her anyways even if I did let them in. That’s sickening, terrifying. I threw up in the corner and left the room, looking around for anything to fight them off with. But what I heard next almost drove me to tears. One of them had an axe, chopping at my wooden door, over and over, a constant thumping noise. Thump, thump, thump. Over and over echoing in my house.
I ran into the kitchen and grabbed my only knives that I had. But as I was on my way back upstairs, the electricity went out, all of the lights. I hear the thumping continue, until it got to the point where it was just the ripping of wood. I heard a couple whistles then I faced to the door.
“Here’s Johnny!” One yells as the rest laughs maniacally. They were mocking me, knowing I was a trapped prey. I saw something knew though, as one of them stuck their arm through the hole to open my door, their masked changed. They now have something glowing on them, their eyes have X’s over them and their mouths show a wide glowing smile. They opened the door and all I see is floating smiling faces, I ducked down and went to the direction where the stairs were. I can see one of them jerking their head around, like they’re watching me. I ran up the stairs and at that moment, that one person who was acting with animal instincts, started to chase me.
“I got him!” He yelled out as he began to run up the stairs, fast. I got to the top and waited for him, then I took the knife and when he came I jabbed it into him, he fell back and down the stairs. I heard the others cry out and went to check on him, I can tell one of them was enraged by the way he came charging. The stairs weren’t that high so I jumped over the railing. The landing was rough, but I know the one who was chasing me was frustrated, I went around the halls until I stumbled into the kitchen.
I still had one knife in my pocket I remembered. I looked up, and notice the glowing smiley face of the mask, it was green and the substance dripped. I got up and walked around the figure, then tackled it onto the floor. Wood and splinters went everywhere as I knocked down what I thought was one of the intruders, only to feel that it was just a coat hanger with the mask of one of them. I felt a pounding in my heart as a metal blade cut through my right side. I fell to the floor in pain as I see a face of dead eyes and a wide smile peering over me.
I grabbed my side then I remembered, my knife is in this pocket, I grabbed it and kicked his knee, pushing him down onto me, then I made the final blow into his neck. I cried out in pain as his body pushed down on my wound in my side. I grunted and cursed as I push the body off of me, but as I did I hear the calls out from the shadows.
“John?” He said. “Are you okay?” I got up and limped as I walked over the direction of where I thought the door was at. He must’ve heard me walking because I started hearing sobbing. “He told me you would do this, he told me you wouldn’t die.” I turned around and stared shocked as I see him running towards me. “I guess I’ll finish you myself.” I dodged him, walking to the side as he ran into the door, he bounced back and fell to the floor, but quickly, he got back up, and from the glowing of his mask I see the blood on his mask, he was bleeding. He jolted towards me and I backed up over and over until I grabbed his arm and pushed against his elbow, making him shriek as a loud crack fills the house, and then his knife fell. I looked over him seeing him on his knees.
“It’s over, who are you, why are you here.” I asked, but he was quiet. Then from the darkness that I was staring at, I see his glowing mask, rising up. A low, horrible chuckle grows from his shadow.
“Things like these,” He says as I feel a jab in my right leg. “never end.” I fell back when he pushed me down, pinning me. I cried out, holding him from finishing me, I heard him continuing to say “die, die, die” over and over until I stab him in the neck. He fell down dead, bleeding on the floor. When I tried to get up all I did was fall, I was able to crawl out the door until I got to the side of the road, where I was almost hit by a car, but when the young couple pulled over, they helped me up and called the police. When the cops got here to take my statement, and investigate the scene. When they pulled the bodies out, one by one, I noticed that one of the boys, he was the pizza delivery guy, but the other two, I couldn’t recognize.
It has been seventeen years now, I have a wife and a sixteen year old son now and as I’m telling you all here I am worried about what happened to my son when I told him this story just the other night, he called his friends to go all hang out, one being a pizza delivery guy, John, but now, I’m hearing sirens from the forest as one of the townspeople complain about how their daughter is now an hour late from her curfew.
Epilogue
He heard screams from his television screen, watching The Bat, an old horror movie, but now his pizza had arrived as it is heard by the doorbell ringing. He paused the movie and walked downstairs slowly, looks in the peephole and notices the young teenage boy. He opens the door to greet him and take his food.
“One pepperoni and jalapeño pizza for Jerome, uh” He paused, confused.
“Sanderall, it’s fine, I get that all the time, thank you.” He said as he paid and tipped him.