It was your typical dark and stormy night scenery the day it happened. Last year my mother and I had just moved to a small apartment complex in Fort Worth, TX. As my mom and I were unpacking everything from the boxes, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door to find no one there, only a small package neatly wrapped. This is odd, I thought, because there was really no one in particular I would know who would send us a package. Mother asked me who had been knocking, I showed her the package and we just assumed it was a gift from one of the neighbors. Curious of what it may be, I opened the package and there sat a black candle. Why black? Even though this was still odd to me, I had a lot of unpacking to do, I set aside the small gift and got back to work.
It had been almost 5 weeks since we moved in. And we were doing pretty good with being friendly with the neighbors. Mom had been meeting this one gentlemen she had met at her new job, so I had been home alone a couple of times during the night while mom is out with her date. I was 16 years old at the time, which didn’t really bother me to be at home alone. A little after mom had left, a storm had approached, which was a good thing since Texas does not really get much rain.
I was sitting in the living room watching old western movies trying not to fall asleep, when all the sudden the lights went off. Must have been the storm. I went to the kitchen to find myself a flashlight. I digged through the drawers to find nothing. Where could it be? I checked again. Still nothing. Then just to my luck I remembered the small black candle in my room. I grabbed the lighter I found while digging through the drawer, and rushed back to my room. While trying to light the candle, I had a strange feeling for some reason. A feeling of being watched. I shook off the feeling thinking it was just the dark getting to me, I never had been fond of the dark.
I lit the candle then made my way back to the living room with my phone in one hand and the candle in the other waiting for mother to get back. I sat on the couch listening to the rain pound against the roof. I then received a face time call from my friend Cassandra. We started our conversation with a usual greeting and just had our girl talk like always. I noticed Cassandra kept making weird little faces, I teased her asking if something was on my face. She replied with a chuckle saying she thought she seen something move in the back. Knowing how she jokes I played along, ooh lets just hope it’s not a ghost haunting this place. She then told me in a serious tone she wasn’t kidding. Before I could say anything else to her I heard a loud crash coming from the dark hallway leading to the rooms. I told Cassandra I was needing to do something then hung up.
I grabbed my phone using it as my light source. I cautiously went into the rooms one at a time checking to see where the sound came from. The bathroom was the only room left, when I walked in I seen glass all over the floor. How did the mirror shatter? Then there was that crash again. I rushed into my mother’s room to find her vanity mirror also shattered. Then again with the crash. This time in my room. I ran across the hall from mothers room to my room. I walked in to see my mirror was not shattered but cracked severely. I was now terrified with a million thoughts popping into my head.
I walked closer to the cracked mirror and when I looked into it, I saw him behind me. The tall bony figure with a slight slouch. His pitch black soulless eyes. His razor-sharp teeth that can sink deep into your skin. His claws that could cut off your limbs in one single swipe. That damn smile he smiles like he just received a pleasant surprise. I couldn’t move. The fear I was feeling had taken over me. I couldn’t breath. It felt as if I was drowning in my terror.
I couldn’t stop staring at him. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. His smile then slowly turned into a terrifying frown. He slowly opened his mouth wide, screaming a high pitch scream that was pure torture to my ears. I covered my ears screaming along with him trying to block out the horrendous sound, but nothing seem to work. I then began to weep throwing myself on the ground begging for someone to help. Begging for my life. He then stopped. I covered my face into my arms on the cold hard floor. I listened to the footsteps slowly approach me. All I could do was cry and beg for mercy. He stopped in front of me, slowly bending over to sniff my hair like some wild dog. I screamed as he pulled my head back licking my face with his dried long tongue. I sat there frozen knowing there was nothing I could do. He then grabbed me by my neck lifting me from the ground making it even harder to breathe. His squeeze made it seem impossible for me to even catch a breathe any longer. He opened his mouth wide again. I don’t want to die. I don’t wanna die. I just kept telling myself that. He still had me by my neck. My eyes felt like they were nearly popping out. A sour taste was in my mouth. My throat felt like it was gonna explode. If this was how I was gonna die so be it. Just then I saw the candle in the living room go out. He dropped me. I was relieved to breathe again. I looked up at him. The b*****d who nearly killed me wasn’t there. Well at least not in the form he was in. I looked up to instead see someone else. Dad?