Characters:
Nina
The host of the sleepover. Nina is a charming girl who loves to push her friends to do things. She has a laughing personality and can always find fun in any situation. But she can also go wild if her friends are ever being picked on. She is the oldest of them at the age of 17, making her feel like she is the leader, the big sister.
Bexen
The jumper. Bexen is a girl who is easily scared and always hides from danger the second it approaches. She is the youngest of them at 15, even though this is only a few months before her 16th birthday.
Kalyn
The narrator of this story. She is an adventurous person with a determined soul. She cares for her friends like sisters and always enjoys their time together. She is the one in the middle at 16, and she’s the one who sees Nina as a doofus while Bexen is a scaredy cat.
Robin
Nina’s annoying big brother. The 19 year old always enjoys to destroy their fun with jokes, pranks or puns. But, even though Robin has been a douche Kalyn sees him as family.
The Devil’s Game
“It was a cold autumn evening in the town, the streets were empty under the dark sky. Curtains were covering the light from every home, and the moon was covered by the clouds. Leaving only the street lights to light up the city. However, there were no street lights in the local park, which is where Rosana was walking, her palms sweaty as she was nervous. She hadn’t gotten home in time and was now scared. The park was her shortest way home, home to safety. Luckily, she wasn’t alone, Rosana’s friend was walking slightly in front of her. It was just far enough for Rosana to still be able to see her figure. Although it was pitch black around them. Seeing her friends figure reassured her.
“Come on Rosana! You’re such a slowpoke!” her friend called for her while they walked.
“Well if you slowed down maybe I’d be able to catch up!” Rosana responded almost out of breath.
They would continue at their pace, like it was a game for them. To see who would give in and who would win. When they were half way, Rosana got a shiver down her spine and stopped abruptly. The second she stopped walking she cast a glare around herself. She couldn’t see anything at all, it was pitch black and completely silent.
“Rosana you-” her friend started but suddenly screamed loudly.
It was a gut wrenching scream that came from her friend, one that was unnervingly cut short. It sent a horrific feeling of discomfort down Rosana’s spine.
She turned to look at her friend, only to see a shadow dash at her. She screamed and started running away, but the killer was faster. He lifted his arm and-”
Nina stopped telling the story and we all snapped back to reality when Bexen screamed out loud, her scream was like the one Nina had described. It had surprised us both, even though we know how jumpy Bexen is when it comes to scary things. So it didn’t scare us, just startled us.
I was quick up on my feet and turned the lights on with a quick flip of the light switch. The bright light made me cover my eyes up for a while before my eyes adjusted.
When I moved my hand away I saw our little circle of sleeping bags on the floor. Bexen was hugging her knees to her chest, while sitting at her bag. Her face stuck in a haunted expression. Nina was sat at her bag with her legs crossed. An annoyed expression across her face.
Nina was in her gray pj’s with the sleepy pandas print coating on it. While Bexen was in her nightgown, it’s pink candy floss colour was somewhat distracting. I myself only had on dark gray sweatpants and a plain gray shirt.
“What is it Bexen?” I asked her, as I sat back down at the sleeping bag, Nina nodding along with my question.
It was comfortable to sit there, on my soft sleeping bag that made the hard floor feel like a soft carpet.
“Didn’t you h-hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“The tud.”
As Bexen explained the tud sound Nina also heard it. She narrowed her eyes and snorted before she stood up. She took a deep breath before she yelled out:
“GET AWAY FROM US ROBIN!”
Her yell had made both me and Bexen jump slightly, our jumps made Nina laugh.
“Warn us next time,” I told Nina, Who kept laughing.
I heard some rustling around from outside the door, then Robin’s iconic laugh. The laugh that screamed ‘I’m an idiot, give me attention.’ I normally don’t like hearing his laugh, but this time I was glad to hear it, as it lets the awkward tension in the room loosen up, even calmed Bexen strangely enough.
“Okay, shall I continue?” Nina asked while walking to the light switch.
“I think it’s enough now.”
“Y-yeah!”
Bexen agreed with me, like she normally does. But this time it wasn’t as annoying as usual. She did just get scared and might still have some adrenaline pumping in her system. I also thought Nina would push it, like she pushes everything we do during the day. She doesn’t let us laze around. But for some reason, she agreed with us.
“Well, that was the last thing I’ve got planned,” Nina said with a huff.
After she said it, I thought about something we could do, as I wasn’t tired yet. But I was interrupted by the sounds of Bexen squirming into her sleeping bag.
“Good plan, Bexen,” Nina said before she too clambered into her sleeping bag.
Then I was the only one still awake, sitting on my sleeping bag and watching my friends fall asleep. It was confusing to see how Bexen, who had been horrified just a minute ago, fall asleep seconds after she had gotten into her bag. Nina wasn’t far behind her to enter dreamland, then it was my turn.
I laid down on my sleeping bag, as I felt too warm to slide into it. Besides, it was more comfortable laying on it because there was more between me and the floor, making it more comfortable.
I woke up to find out that Bexen and Nina were out of their sleeping bags, I couldn’t see them anywhere in the room and the house was silent. Uncomfortably silent. At first I thought they were still sleeping, so I waited to hear anything, maybe I could hear them breath or move.
After what felt like forever, but was probably just a few seconds, I heard only my solitary heartbeat. I never do that in this house. It gave me an uneasy feeling.
“Girls?” I called out loudly as I got up on my feet.
It was like my voice echoed around in the empty room, something that was extremely odd in this house. Especially since Bexen is never silent in the mornings, and Nina always responds to me when I call out. As well as I doubt Robin, that ball of energy, would be silent in the mornings.
“Girls?” I called out a little quieter as I walked to turn on the lights.
I flicked the switch but nothing happened. The power must’ve gone out, was what I told myself. But a part of me told me this was the least of my problems. After my many attempts of getting the light on I decided to get out of the room. The door felt heavy and I needed to push it open with my shoulder. Only to be hit in the face with a foreboding sense of dread. Someone, or something, was groaning. I could hear it as though it was in my ear, a groan of pain mixed with a sob. It didn’t help that there was light shining in the hallway, I still felt trapped in darkness. Like I was living a nightmare.
I turned around a few seconds after I heard the groan, only for the door to shut in my face. It sent a shiver down my spine as it all went silent again. Everything was dead silent, except for my pounding heart. I heard it loud and clear in my ears, it was screaming out.
“Not funny guys,” I said out as I looked around from where I stood. This was annoying and irritating me, they know I don’t like this, it’s uncomfortable.
“Come out already!” I shouted out before something caught my eyes. It made me freeze completely, the hairs on my neck standing on end.
There were scratch marks across the wall, like a trail. They looked desperate and inhuman. I’ve seen many horror movies and heard many horror stories, enough to know decently what to do in a situation like this. I’m not supposed to follow these markings, a scream snapped me out of it sending a killer shiver down my spine. I knew exactly who it belonged to.
“Bex!” I shouted out for her.
The scream was enough to break my defence, I ran towards it with fast steps. The hallway felt endless as Bexen’s scream faded to a low wheezing. The wheezing was familiar from the groan earlier. Tired and deep. But this thought was fogged out as I needed to get to Bexen, and fast.
“Bex whe- oh my god! Bex!” I jumped back as I rounded the corner.
Bexen stood there, her head bleeding and her skin appeared to be covered in frost. It was so pale, it was as though she was dead. Her black hair was tied up in the low bun she always wore. Her face was frozen in a horrified expression and her legs were bent in strange ways. Seeing her like this gave me an uneasy feeling, but it escalated into panic.
“Bex!” I said with a worried tone as I went to check on her.
She was gone the second I touched her hand, now it wasn’t her standing there. It was a hunched over creature with the coldest and roughest skin I have ever touched. It’s like the creature had been burned to charcoal, yet it stood in front of me with its jaw hanging open, letting me hear its wheezing and groaning, as well as letting me see its sharp teeth. Its chest was barely moving as it wheezed for air.
My body jumped and forced me to run away from it. At first it didn’t follow, and I got this feeling of security. But it didn’t last long, as I soon heard its heavy steps and raspy wheezing following me. It was playing with me, this was its game and I played my part as prey. It must’ve already taken the girls, maybe even Robin.
I slid around the corner realising I was passing Nina, I could only get a quick glance at her as it was still following me. She was pinned to the wall with knives in her shoulders, her gut was cut open and a puddle of blood was under her. I saw some of her organs dangle out of her as they barely hung onto her tissue. I had stepped in this puddle of blood as I ran, but it was far from as disgusting as Nina’s body was. I was glad I didn’t see her face as I passed. That would have made it ten times worse, even though the smell of her blood and the sight of her organs barely holding on had made me gag.
I kept going, no time, no time to say goodbye to my friend who was hung on the wall like a haunting decoration. No time to process what I was doing. No time to react. I only have time to mourn if I survive.
I passed another corner. It suddenly dawned on me, the house was no longer the same layout as I’d come to know. It’s just corners upon corners upon corners. Each time I passed a corner I braced for anything strange or gory. I thought it could have hung up Bexen or Robin the same way it hung up Nina.
After I rounded what I think was the seventh corner I had to stop, I was out of breath and couldn’t continue. I gasped for air as I leaned against the wall, while I waited to hear the creatures ragged wheezing. I felt sweat roll down my forehead as I was completely out of breath. My throat was so dry, it was unbelievable.
The creature didn’t follow me here, like it knew I was exhausted and would let me rest to play with me later. This made me tear up, but it was the thought of Nina that made the tears roll down my pale cheeks. I knew I was pale in the face, because I was sick to the stomach. Why wouldn’t I be? My friend is dead, hung up on the wall like a damn decoration.
It was when I let out my first sob I smelt it, there was more blood. The smell was so strong it was like I stood in it. I forced myself to look to the left, which was the direction I was supposed to run. The sight made me cover my mouth to hold back my loud sob and small gags.
On the floor, only a few feet in front of me, laid Bexen. Her gown was now blood-red down her back as I saw her spine stick out in two areas. Her hand was stretched out like she had been thrown onto the floor. Her legs were broken and scratched up, like claws had mauled them over and over again. She lay in a dark puddle of blood, her head towards the ceiling, letting me see her gouged out eyes and broken jaw. Along with her frozen face, she looked like a broken doll, it had toyed with her like it toyed with Nina.
“Oh my god…” I mumbled into my hand.
I tasted the vomit in the back of my throat as my face felt ice-cold to the touch. I couldn’t hold it in for much longer. I turned away from her and fell to my knees before I threw up on the floor. Feeling my stomach going empty as my stomach acid was burning my throat, the uncomfortable retching and losing air followed soon after.
When I finished I wiped my mouth and let out a sob before I heard the wheezing, but there were two sources this time. I couldn’t move myself to face the sounds. I was frozen with my hands and knees on the ground, leaned over a puddle of vomit. But the wheezing got louder and louder, so I forced myself to look up like the sounds seemed to want.
Sitting in front of me were Bexen and Nina, they sat the same way like yesterday. Nina with crossed legs and Bexen with her broken knees to her chest. Nina was holding her organs in her lap as her shoulders were locked because of the knives stuck in them. While Bexen’s back was dangling forwards, her neck broken making her face me. It was like they were living, yet I knew they weren’t. Seeing them like this made me so uncomfortable, my stomach going uneasy while my heart pounded faster.
“…g…girls?” I asked quietly, no response.
I now saw Nina a little closer in my frozen and horrified position, I even saw her face this time. Her face was stuck in a screaming position. Her nose crushed as her forehead was covered in dry blood. The sight was sickening and made me want to throw up again, even though my stomach was empty.
It was a few seconds before I quickly sat up and pushed myself back, only for my back to hit the wall. It sent a jolt down my spine winding me. My friends were in front of me, yet I didn’t see them, I just saw a nightmare I hoped wasn’t reality.
Even though I was weak and trembling I forced myself to stand up. Only to hear the sickening cracks from Nina and Bexen’s necks as they turned to look at me.
The sounds made me gag once more, but I didn’t let my fear hold me. Even though I was shivering and felt cold to the bone, I had to continue. So I ran; I ran and I ran. The sounds of bones cracking echoed all around me. Nina and Bexen were moving behind me, but their bones didn’t move as well anymore, as well as when they were alive at least.
After I rounded three more corners I fell to my knees and threw up again, even though there was nothing in my stomach but bile, the dry heaving really hurting my throat. Nina and Bexen were not following me anymore. I was glad they weren’t, I didn’t want to hear those sounds anymore. I didn’t want to see them in torment, even after death.
I couldn’t move anymore, my hands were frozen on the ground as I was staring down at what had remained in my stomach. This maze of a place was silent again, all I heard was my shaky breath. I heard how it went from simple breathing to sobbing as I teared up.
‘My friends are gone, I have no way out and I can’t move my body anymore. I’m stuck here forever.’
Those were my thoughts, that’s what made my tears drip down my chin. I didn’t care about surviving anymore, but a part of me hoped Robin was still alive somewhere. Hoping he had found a way out of here, and could find me. But then again, all he would find is a corpse. Actually, he’d find three.
“…You win.” I mumbled.
My mumble was a mere whisper as I had forced my lips to move. It was like my entire body fought against those two words. The two words that let the creatures know they won and that they can take me like they took my friends. But, there was no response.
The silence was at first a small relive, maybe it had given up. But I was the one giving up, and I didn’t want this, I wanted to be with my friends again. I wanted the nightmare to end.
“I know you can hear me, it’s not a trap,” I said a little louder.
Then, the silence fell once more. This time I just decided to wait, even if this meant I’d need to wait till I starved to death. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to leave my friends here.
It felt like ages, but it was only a couple minutes, before I heard the wheezing. The second I heard the wheezing the hairs in my neck stood up. It was right behind me, breathing on my left ear. This made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t move, even my eyes stayed still.
It waited there for god knows how long, like it was testing if I actually had given up, or if I was an extremely good actor, which just meant more waiting for me.
It was when the wheezing went silent that it made a move. I felt its claws wrap around my left shoulder, the pressure on them made them slowly enter my shoulder. It didn’t hurt at first, but when I felt my warm blood roll down my arm, the wound its claws made started burning. It made me gasp in pain, which I shouldn’t have done.
It grabbed a hold of my neck with an easy movement, its cold hand was just large enough to wrap around my neck. Like it was made to kill me. It didn’t put pressure on however, it simply held my head up as its other hand dug into my shoulder.
“Shhh…” it whispered hauntingly through its teeth.
Right after it had shushed me, it dragged its claws over my shoulder, past my collarbone and to my throat. Its movement made my jaw open but not a sound came out, its hand around my throat prevented any sound from leaving.
It was far from done, as my blood rolled down my chest and stained my shirt it moved to my shoulder blade. Moving slowly down from the last cut, its claws still just as deep in. I was just sitting there, getting colder and colder as more and more of my warm blood rolled down. It was drawing on me, three ovals were placed from my shoulder, to my collarbone, swinging up against my neck, swirling past my shoulder blade and straight up to my shoulder again.
Surprisingly this didn’t hurt me at all, my body had no reaction to the creatures claws in my skin. It’s like my body wanted it, like it wanted it all to end.
“Mark…” it whispered into my ear.
After its whisper it dug its claws into my left arm, leaving a strange symbol. From what I could feel it felt like random lines following the perfect pattern. That’s when my eyelids started getting heavy. I know what happened to the girls now, it must have toyed around with them like with me.
“Night…” I barely heard it say as the hand around my neck suddenly slashed across it with a quick movement.
That’s when I screamed and jolted up off the floor. My scream sounded like a classic horror scream, the once placed in old horror movies.
“Mmm, are you okay Kalyn?” Nina asked me with a tired voice.
She was curled up in her sleeping bag as my scream had woken her up. I smiled when I heard her voice. It was a nightmare, a nightmare that had left me sweating.
“Y-yeah, just a nightmare,” I answered
I noticed how much my voice was shaking and clenched my fists, it was just a nightmare yet I’m so shaken. It’s frustrating.
“I’ll be back,” I said while standing up.
Nina gave me a tired nod in response before she turned over and drifted back to sleep. I watched her turn her back to me before I walked to the door. I tried to lift my left hand to open the door but it sent a stinging pain down my whole back.
“What the…?” I questioned quietly.
I shrugged the pain off and told myself I’d simply slept on my arm. So I just grabbed the door handle with my right hand instead.
There was no light in the hallway, it’s not pitch black or midnight black, it’s coal black. At first I was startled by it, but then I remembered I’m in my own world now, not the nightmare world. So, I simply closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and turned on the light switch. It was bright at first but I got used to it quite quickly and made my way towards the bathroom after a few seconds of adjustment.
The doorknob was as cold as the bathroom was when I opened the door. It was like getting a cold breeze slapped into my face, it made me shiver but I stepped in any way. My bare feet feeling the cold floor beneath me.
I felt along the door frame until I found the light switch, which took a few seconds. With an easy flick of my finger the dim light turned on and let me see the small bathroom. It’s the smaller bathroom in the house, with only a sink, a toilet and a mirror.
I stepped up to the sink and turned the crank over to let the water run. I took a few deep breaths before I leaned over the sink and splashed my face with water. I let it roll down my face and drip back into the sink for a while. After what felt like two minutes I looked up in the mirror, and my eyes widen.
At the left side of my neck there were three trails leading from my collarbone and down my back. The exact reason for the pain in my arm when I woke up.
“No, no, this is not possible,” I said to myself.
I grabbed onto the edge of my shirt and forced it off myself. Ignoring every pain I got from moving my arm like that. I had to see all of it, I needed to see all of it.
I fell to sit on the toilet after what I saw, my face is cold and pale, my hands shaking and my mouth open.
“N-no,” I whisper, my breath shaking.
“It’s the mark,” I tell myself with a sniffle.
“I am marked…”