“Think of it like a dare,” Lisa said.
Kevin brought it up to his nose and smelled it. It didn’t smell off. It probably was just Kool-Aid and they were putting him on. He took one last look at it and downed it with one drink. All the kids started to hoot and holler. Kevin felt an instant rush and for some reason the conversation between to the two kids in the hall at school came back to him.
“I don’t think he is like the others,”
“He will be,” the other boy had said.
Trevor crept around the house and stopped to sniff the air. He smiled to himself when he was done. He was in the right place. He made his way up to the kitchen window, making sure to stay in the shadows. He looked inside and saw what he wanted. He saw Mr. McCann taking a tv dinner out of the microwave and carry it to the table. Smiling, Trevor left the window.
Mr. McCann was just sitting down to eat when the doorbell rang. He swore silently to himself and got up from the table. He didn’t know who it could be, he wasn’t expecting anyone; he was never expecting anyone. He lived alone and that was the way he liked it. He enjoyed the quiet and didn’t like being disturbed. Especially after he had to deal with kids who thought they knew everything all day. He made his way to the door, ready to cuss out whomever he found standing there. He opened the door to find Trevor standing there.
“What are you doing here?” He asked.
“I told you I’d see you later,” Trevor said as his eyes turned yellow.
“What are you?” Mr. McCann asked as he stepped back from the door, terror evident in his voice.
“You’re about to find out,” Trevor said smiling, as he stepped through the door.
He pushed the door shut behind him and then there was a scream.
Kevin was still feeling a little loopy when Trevor came in. He didn’t know what was in that little vial that they gave him but at this point he didn’t really care either. He had a strong feeling that it had to be some kind of drug. He had never done drugs before, but if they made one feel like this all the time he could see how people got addicted. When Trevor came in he was carrying a big scrunched up brown, paper bag that had reddish brown stains on it. To Kevin it kind of looked like blood, but he discounted that. That had to be the drugs talking. All of the others seemed pretty excited that he had it.
“What do you got there?” Kevin asked.
“Just some eats, you want some?” Trevor asked.
“Nah, I already had dinner,” Kevin said and giggled.
Yeah he was definitely high and it felt great.
The next day however, did not feel so great. The alarm went off and Kevin reached out and shut it off. He didn’t remember coming home or going to bed last night, which was extremely off putting. He was curled up in the fetal position. His stomach was killing him. It felt like the worst stomachache he had ever had in his life and he once had appendicitis. As a matter of fact this was making appendicitis look like happy fun time. He was also pretty sure that he was going to throw up. He got out of bed and turned on his bedroom light. He instantly regretted that as the light sent stabby pains shooting through his eyes and into his brain. Kevin hurried up and turned the light back off, he would make his way to the bathroom in darkness.
“Oh my God Kevin what is wrong,” his mother said when he stepped out into the hallway.
He was holding his arm across his stomach and couldn’t even stand up all the way to walk correctly.
“I don’t feel very good,” he replied.
“No school for you today, go back to bed and if you don’t feel better later we’ll call the doctor,” she replied.
Kevin didn’t feel better later, if anything he felt worse. He was now pale and sweating profusely on top of the debilitating stomach pain and body ache. He was lying in bed, shivering despite being hot enough to sweat when there was a knock on his door.
“Come in,” Kevin said.
His bedroom door opened and Lisa came in. Once he saw it was her he tried to pull himself together but it was a no go.
“I told your mom I wanted to check on you since you weren’t in school,” Lisa said.
“Yeah, I’m not feeling very well,” he replied.
And now on top of everything else his vision was starting to blur.
“What did you guys give me?” Kevin asked.
“That’s not what’s important right now. What is important is what you need to do,” Lisa said.
“Oh yeah and what is that?” Kevin asked.
“You have to eat,” Lisa said.
Kevin started to laugh and stopped when he realized that even with everything that was going on he did feel hungry, down right ravenous in fact.
“I also imagine that your vision is a little blurry by now,” Lisa said.
“Yes, how did you know, what did you do to me?” Kevin asked.
“Don’t worry, I’m here to help,” Lisa replied.
She helped him out of bed and helped him across his bedroom to the mirror he had on the wall.
“I’m going to teach you how to see,” she said.
“Oh yeah, how are you going to do that?” Kevin asked, he was getting real close to official freak out status.
“You’re having stabbing pain in your eyes due to the pressure you feel inside them and you’re fighting it. Now relax and don’t fight it, let the pressure to fill your eyes,” Lisa said.
Kevin did what he was told and everything came snapping into focus. His eyesight was crystal clear, clearer than it had ever been in his life as a matter of fact and the pain in his eyes was gone. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and almost screamed. His eyes were yellow and the pupil was black and slit like a cat’s. He reached up and touched his face.
“See, all better,” Lisa said.
“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Kevin asked.
“You’ve grown another set of eyes. Normally they hide behind your regular eyes and you can switch back and forth. See?” Lisa asked and showed her eyes to him. They quickly switched from regular to like his to back to regular again.
“Now you try, just relax and feel it in your eyes, you’ll know what to do,” she said.
Kevin took a deep breath and relaxed. In the span of a blink the yellow disappeared from his eyes and his regular eyes were looking back at him
“Do you know how to make this pain go away too?” Kevin asked.
“You have to eat,” Lisa replied.
“Okay, I’ll have my mom make me something,” Kevin said.
“No, that’s not going to cut it,” Lisa said.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked and then all at once it was like he knew what he needed.
Lisa could tell by the look on his face that he had figured it out.
“I have to get out of here,” Kevin said
Over Lisa’s protestations he got dressed and went out the bedroom window.
Kevin hit the ground and landed on his feet, he felt agile and loose. More effects from the change he figured, and took off running. The pain in his stomach was getting worse. He knew he had to eat soon. At first he had intended to flee as if he could somehow outrun what was happening to him, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead he found himself running towards the gate. He leaped over the wall and landed with a thud. The guard who was making his rounds jumped and backed away. Kevin looked at him and then pain and hunger intensified.
“You need to get away from me now,” he said.
He didn’t know what it was that he was changing into but he knew it wasn’t going to end well. He also knew now why this guard always looked so terrified. He felt the pressure in his eyes again and did what Lisa taught him, he knew they changed because his vision became clearer, but more was happening now. He felt pain in his gums and a feeling that felt like his teeth were growing, he reached up and felt them; every tooth in his mouth was a good inch and a half longer and sharp, sharper than any blade he had ever felt. He grimaced and fell to his knees. He looked at his hands and saw that his fing
ernails were growing. They all grew to over three inches long and turned brown. He held his hand up in front of his face and stared as his skin started to turn a chalky white and he could see black spots of various sizes forming under the skin. He looked up to see that the guard was still standing there, rooted to that spot in terror.
“You’re not human,” the guard said.
“I know,” Kevin replied and pounced.
Lisa heard the guard’s scream and knew she was heading in the right direction. By time she got there the carnage was over. There were body parts and blood everywhere. She found Kevin sitting against the wall, a severed arm in his hands, chewing away.
“Save some for me,” Lisa said as she sat down beside him.
“What am I?” Kevin asked in between bites.
“Most popular culture call us ghouls,” Lisa said.
“I’m still so hungry,” Kevin said.
“You’re always the hungriest right after the change. Your parents are home,” Lisa said as she grabbed a body part.
“Yes they are,” Kevin replied.
It was a cold winter’s day when Karen and her family moved into the gated community that was going to be their new home. She was on her fifth trip back to the moving truck and cursing the cold, it was never cold like this in Florida, when she noticed the gaggle of teenagers standing on the sidewalk. They were a coed group with boys and girls pretty much represented equally and they were all looking at her like she was a new animal at the zoo. A boy who was holding hands with a girl who was wearing a denim skirt and jacket combo headed towards her. Just as he reached the yard Karen’s parents came outside to see what was taking her so long.
“Hi, I’m Kevin,” he said when he reached Karen and stuck out his hand.
Karen shook it.
“I’m Karen,” she replied.
Behind him the rest of the teens still stood on the sidewalk and watched the whole exchange with very keen interest.
“How old are you?” He asked.
“Sixteen,” she replied.
“Well I just wanted to be the first to welcome you to the neighborhood,” Kevin said with a smile.
“Thank you very much. So will your parents be introducing themselves as well?” Karen’s mother asked.
Kevin smiled.
“My parents are out of town right now,” he replied.
GOING DOWN
Richard stepped into the elevator and went to press the button labeled L, but was stopped just short when someone pressed it for him. He looked up and saw a middle aged man who was dressed in an all-white suit smiled at him. He smiled back and watched the doors close. At first the elevator didn’t move and just as Richard was starting to get worried the motor overhead kicked in with a dull clunk and the elevator began to slowly descend.
“How are you today Rich?” The man in white asked.
“Fine,” he replied casually.
Inside he was anything but casual. How does this man know my name, he thought. He tried to remember if he had ever seen him around the building before, but he was drawing a blank. Still, that meant nothing. It was a big building and just because he couldn’t remember ever seeing this man before didn’t mean the man had never seen him. That still doesn’t explain how he knows your name, Richard thought. He looked down at his feet, feeling even more uncomfortable than before, and that was when he caught site of the piece of plastic still pinned to his shirt. His nametag. The man must have seen it when he got on the elevator. Richard smiled as he felt his muscles start to relax, but now he was faintly aware of a tingling sensation in his chest, and was it him or was this elevator taking its sweet time? It was the end of the day and he had somewhere to be. His mind went to his basement and his heart skipped a beat. He was already starting to feel the anticipation. His heart rate sped up, and his palms were starting to sweat. His tongue shot out and licked his lips
“Big day?” The old man asked from behind him.
“The biggest,” Richard replied.
Once again his mind went to his basement and what was waiting for him there. He felt himself getting hard. What in the hell is going on with this elevator? He thought to himself. The building only had six floors they should have been to the lobby by now. He reached out and pressed the already lit L button three times in rapid succession.
“I don’t think that is going to work,” the man said.
“Well it fucking should,” Richard replied, letting his excitement get the best of him.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and noticed that the tingling feeling in his chest was getting more pronounced. Richard tried to put his basement out of his mind, but it wasn’t working. Inevitably his mind kept going back to the chains…
“There is no need to rush. Sometimes you just got to stop and enjoy life,” the man said.
“Oh, I take time to enjoy life. Trust me,” Richard replied.
Again his thoughts went to the basement. The dark gray concrete walls, the cement floor, the damp smell; the way the second and third wooden steps creaked under his weight as he made his way down to do his work. The duct tape he got for a dollar ninety-nine at the hardware store. His special tools that he used for his special work; the wooden work table and lastly, the chains.
“I bet you do,” the man said.
This brought Richard out of his thoughts and back to the elevator. The elevator that believe it or not was moving slower than before. Once again Richard felt the tingling in his chest only now it went deeper, almost like an itch or a tickle. It didn’t feel uncomfortable but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. He chalked it up to excitement. He really couldn’t wait to get back to his basement.
“Is it just me or is this elevator really slow?” Richard asked.
“I think it’s just you,” the man said and stood there looking serene.
Richard gritted his teeth, he didn’t like this man very much. How he was just standing back there, happier than a pig in shit, talking about enjoying life. He didn’t like this man being so laid back when he had places to be and things to do. Richard was starting to think about how he would like to take this man home and get him on his worktable but that wasn’t…
“Your style,” the man said from behind him.
The world stopped for Richard. Suddenly the only thing he could hear was his heart beating in his ears. That not quite tickling, itching sensation in his chest doubled. Surely he was imagining things. There was no way that man had finished what he was saying in his head out loud. He fixed a smile on his face and took a deep, steadying breath before he turned to face the man.
“Excuse me, did you say something?” Richard asked.
The middle-aged man just stood there in his white suit smiling at him. Richard suddenly wanted very much to be out of this elevator. This man was creeping him the hell out and he didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t supposed to be the scared one; he was supposed to be the scary one. Again he reached out and pressed the button for the lobby three more times.
“Why won’t this thing go down?” He asked himself.
“The elevator hasn’t moved since you got on Richard,” the man said.
Richard stopped as he felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, the feeling in his chest was now a burning sensation. He didn’t know when that started, and there was something about the way this man kept saying his name. He didn’t say it like someone who had just read it off a nametag five minutes ago. No, he said it as if he had known him his whole life.
“That’s because I have Richard,” the man said.
His bladder felt weak. His knees turned to rubber. He reached out and leaned against the wall to keep from falling on his face. There was no denying it this time. This man was in his mind.
“Who are you?” Richard asked.
“That is not what is important right now. What is important is that you are Richard Burnett of nine seventy five Russell Street,” the man said.
Richard felt his lunch rising, hot and nasty, back into his t
hroat. He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself.
“The same Richard Burnett who killed his first dog when he was nine years old, and a second one not even five days after that. You were prolific even then,” the man said.
Richard hit his knees and repainted the elevator floor with his lunch. It disappeared as if it had never been there before he made it back up to his feet.
“Oh what the fuck?” Richard said.
“I don’t like messes,” the man replied.
Richard stared at him.
“But you love messes, don’t you Richard?” Oh yes you do,” the man said.
Richard frantically reached for the panel and pressed every button he could get his hands on, and when he was done they were all lit.
“That’s not going to do anything. I told you, the elevator hasn’t moved since you got on,” the man said.
“I felt the motor,” Richard said.
He looked back at the panel and all the buttons were dark.
“You still want to get me on your table? Something tells me I’m a little too old. A little outside your age range,” the man said.
With that Richard’s bladder let go.
“What did I say about messes?” The man asked.
Richard didn’t say anything.
“Why don’t we take a look at some of your messes?” His voice was new now. It wasn’t the man’s voice. This voice belonged to a child.
Richard knew who it was without having to look up. He never forgot one of his kids. When he did look up he screamed. It was a ten year old boy standing there. Him Richard remembered, his name was Michael and he didn’t look so good.
“Of course I don’t look good, I’m dead. You killed me,” Michael said.
His skin was gray and cracked which really made his black hair and blue eyes stand out. What made Richard scream was that Michael had no lips and was missing parts of his cheeks. All you could see was decaying gums and teeth.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Richard said.
Michael touched his arm and in a flash the elevator was gone.
The next thing Richard knew he was sitting in the front seat of his car, driving down the road. Oh, you fell asleep at the wheel, he told himself. That was either a very vivid dream or you are finding out what it is like to go crazy, but none of that mattered now. What mattered was that he was in his car and not really in that fucking elevator. Even more important than that he was on his way home to his basement. Once again his mind went to the chains. The way they felt heavy in his hands. The smell, the texture, the sound they made when they clanged together. A small smile spread across his face. They always struggled against the chains.
Night Terrors Vol. 1 Page 2