by Sean Stec
Limbo
Copyright 2015 Sean Stec
It was five minutes until midnight, and the shadows grew antsy with excitement. Edward could hear them shuffling around downstairs from his bed, in which he lay, eyes open. He had been awake a solid three hours since going to bed at 8, which was nothing compared to the three days he hadn't gained an ounce of sleep. He could hear the excitement downstairs; muffled whispers filled the hallways. He could hear the creaking of the floorboards as the shadows danced around the living room, then the kitchen, then up the stairs. He glanced toward the foot of his bed, making sure they hadn't already found their way in his already pitch-dark room.
He lay back, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he would ever find reprieve from these macabre celebrations. Edward could see breaks in the light under his door, as if someone were walking past it. He looked again and this time he saw what looked like someone standing in front of the door.
Then came a faint knocking.
"Hello?" Edward called out hesitantly, fearing a reply. He got out of bed, into his slippers, fumbling around his nightstand for matches to light the candle. He lit the candle, and let the light flood the room, most of it still blanketed in darkness. The shadows in his room darted away from the path of light, but still the darkness felt oppressing, like a black hole sucking up the candlelight. He quietly made his way to the door, noticing the two "feet" were still there. Edward knelt to the ground, peeking under his door, to try and catch a glimpse of what might be on the other side.
Nothing.
He got up, took a deep breath, and reached for the handle. Just as he was about to turn it, the door flew open, as if forced open by a furious gust of wind. Edward let out a cry as he was knocked on his bottom, candle still in hand, still lit. He held it up to the doorframe, but the light showed nothing other than his gaping doorway. A shiver went down his spine as he regained composure. He made his way to the door, peering out into the hallway, stretching the candle out in front of him. He looked down both ways, but saw nothing in sight. Downstairs he could hear the chiming of his antique grandfather clock, each chime grew louder and louder. "That must mean it's 12 o'clock." Edward thought to himself as he hurriedly entered his room and shut the door, making sure to lock it. He knew based on past nights that midnight was not a good time to leave the room. He quickly got into bed and shut his eyes, leaving the candle lit on his nightstand. It was a kind of comfort to him, a ray of hope.
He could hear the shadows' whispering grow louder and louder with each chime. Not only that, but they seemed to be getting closer and closer. Edward dare not move, for he couldn't, his body was paralyzed with anxiety. He counted each chime. Eight, the sounds were coming from the kitchen; he could hear pots and pans rattling. Nine, they moved slowly to the living room, pictures on the wall were shaking; he could hear books falling off the shelves. Ten, the shadows danced their way to the stairs, he heard the steps creak. Eleven, he heard from over his shoulder the doorknob rattling incessantly, with a loud knocking at the door.
On the twelfth chime, suddenly everything stopped. All rooms had gone completely silent, as if the house itself fell asleep. Edward lay still in bed, taking in the silence. It was the quietest he heard the house in three nights.
A couple minutes had passed in silence, only to be interrupted by the sound of the candle being blown out. Edward still lay motionless. He was afraid of what he might see if he opened his eyes. He felt an overwhelming presence in his room, but he heard nothing. Another couple of minutes passed.
Suddenly, a creak in the floorboards.
Edward started to shake. Another floorboard groaned, and another. Something was slowly making its way towards his bed, but he could not distinguish what it might be. Edward turned on his side, back facing the door and whatever was coming. He felt something on his bed, as if someone were climbing in next to him. He heard a sigh, and that unsettled him greatly.
Edward finally gained the courage to flip over and face his unwelcome guest, but when he did, he saw nothing. Aside from the imprint on the bed, it was as if no one were ever there. "What is going on?" Edward asked himself, "Why is this happening?" He climbed out of bed and relit the candle, making his way to the door. It unnerved him to find that it was still shut and locked. From behind the door he could hear a faint laughing, at the end of the hall. It was a mockery; these shadows were toying with him. Edward took a breath and unlocked the door, jumping out into the hallway. He shined the candle towards the source of laughter, and illuminated the end of the hallway. The laughter ceased immediately, but he heard it again, this time from the other end of the hallway. He spun around, and lit up the opposite end. Again, the laughter ceased, but started up behind him. Edward reached for the lights and flicked them on, and the hallway lit up altogether. He was met with silence, and relaxed a little. Just as he turned to enter his room, the lights shut off, and the laughter came back, only this time it sounded more mischievous. A shiver ran down his spine as he tried turning back on the lights. The circuits were fried, and nothing could be done. His only source of protection was the candle in his hand. We walked slowly towards the darker end of the hallway, listening for any signs of activity.
He made it about halfway when he saw faintly what looked like two long slender legs creep out of the darkness. Edward only stopped walking when he saw six more. He heard a faint hissing from the end of the hallway, and started to retreat. The legs followed, and scuttling from the darkness was a monstrous, black spider. Edward let out a cry as he ran to his room. The door had shut, and he hurriedly shook the doorknob to get in, glancing over at the spider slowly making it's way to him. When the door wouldn't budge, Edward ran. He ran to the end of the hallway, and huddled in the corner, holding the candle out in front of him. His hand was shaking, and the hissing grew louder and louder as the spider ran full speed toward him. Edward shielded his eyes, shouting as the spider lunged straight at him.
A few seconds passed, and he could no longer hear the hissing. He opened his eyes, and saw an empty hallway. Edward rose to his feet, still shaking. He made his way to his room, which opened turning the doorknob, was no longer locked. He could hear the laughter of the shadows as they darted across the walls; all the while the clock was striking 13.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Edward let out an exasperated sigh. He leaned back against the door, and slid down until he was seated on the floor. Holding his head in his hands, he looked at the slowly flickering candlelight. Edward could still hear the snickering from outside his room as the shadows planned their next form of torture.
He didn't have to wait long.
The minute the clock stopped chiming, Edward could hear footsteps and creaking floorboards coming from the above attic. Normally, this would not have been as unsettling as it was, but something struck Edward which sent a shiver down his spine: his house didn't have an attic. Edward went into his bathroom and turned on the light. He turned on the sink and washed his face with a handful of cold water.
Edward glanced up in the mirror and saw a figure standing right behind him. He shouted and spun around immediately, only to find himself facing his room. His bed, flooded by the bathroom light, the candle still lit on the nightstand. Only this time, the candle was dancing and flickering wildly. He dried off his hands and started making his way to the bed when he heard a distinct creaking sound coming from the hallway. It was the sound of metal, which was odd for him seeing as there was no possible source for that sound. The creaking continued, and against his better judgment, Edward decided to check it out.
He must've stuck his head out a good three or four inches in the hallway and looked both ways before all of the sudden, from the d
arkness charged a gleaming suit of armor. Edward shoved his head back just in time, as the next thing he knew, the suit of armor brandished a sword and swung for his neck.
Missing his neck, the sword guillotined down and smacked into the ground. Edward slammed his door shut and sat up against it, heart pounding. Not a moment passed before the sword stabbed through the door just about his head. He could hear a macabre cackling as the sword continued to penetrate the door, each time a different place. Edward could hear the armor take a few steps back, getting ready to what