Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-24130682-20150529193116

Shadows

Before I begin, I should probably explain something. First off, I have never felt safe in the darkness. Yes, you might say that nothing out there can hurt you but trust me, there are things out there that can and probably will hurt you. Something that when encountered you'll never want to see darkness again.



I was excited that exams were coming up in a month. Other people were excited because that meant no school, no homework and no responsibilities. But for me, it meant that I had all the time in the world to just relax near the lake by my house.



The lake was a rather secluded area, with quite a few thorns nearby. It was usually a very calm area with its beautiful waters lying still and glass-like. More like a mirror than a lake. It always looked so peaceful, that whenever a fish broke the surface, I felt a slight annoyance. However, today, instead of showing the beautiful mirror reflecting a calm blue sky I was greeted with a deep, dark grey blob of the storm clouds overhead. I wandered back home and decided that I would go there tomorrow. As I was walking away I looked back and saw a pair of deep crimson eyes glaring back at me through the surface. In a flash, the eyes were gone, descending too far for me to see. I heard thunder rumbling in the distance and left the lake as the first few drops fell into the water.



By the time I got home, the storm was now harsh and windy. Completely drenched and numb from the downpour, I wandered in and threw my clothes into the dryer. After having a hot shower, I noticed that it was 5:40 and yet my parents weren’t home. I walked over to the answering machine after my black cat purred and curled up to me. I noticed there were two messages.



“Hey, Matt. It's just Mom. Me and your father are going to have to stay late tonight. Don't worry. If you get hungry we have some leftovers in the fridge.”



I guessed that they had to work late. I turned on the last message and my body, warm from the hot water, turned ice cold.



“Hello.”  A raspy voice said from the machine. “ ''I hope that I get some fun from our game? Tell me, do you fear the darkness?” '' The voice on the machine began laughing, slowly the sound began to distort.



There was an echoing crash of thunder and the power blacked out causing the distorted laugh to end. I stood there for a few minutes to try and figure out what was going on. I heard a hiss behind me and turned on my phone to see my cat standing there hissing at me. I walked away thinking that he was scared being in the dark. AS I looked out the window to see if any other houses were affected. Every other house was pitch black, and in a flash of lightning I noticed a single person standing out in the rain by the road.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">They didn't look like they were really fat, but they weren't thin either. Kind of in between. Even though I couldn't see its eyes, I knew it was staring straight through the window at me.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">As the lightning faded, my cell began to ring. I didn't know the number, so I decided not to answer it. As the ringing ended, I heard the alert noise, signalling a text. I looked at the number, the same as the call. The message was four words.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Why didn't you answer?”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">I ignored the message and decided to get something to eat. I used the light of my phone to walk to the fridge and grabbed some pizza from yesterday. By the time I got to the microwave I remembered that there was no power. Sighing, I set the pizza down and decided to check with my parents.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Yeah, like we said.” My mother answered when I asked her. “We aren't going to be home for a while. It might be until 11 so just make yourself some leftovers.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">After, I was done hanging up I grabbed my Gameboy and played some Tetris for a while. In about an hour or so, the power came back on. The bright light was so startling that I dropped my game and woke up my cat. Even with the power on, the storm outside made shadows in the dark empty rooms. Then I began to hear the knocks.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">Knock, knock, knock. The door downstairs made the distant sound. Knock, knock, knock. The knocking finally stopped and the phone next to me rang. I answered it and was greeted by the same sinister, monotone voice from the message.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“''Hello, David. Can our game start now?”''

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">There was a click and then silence. I only knew one thing. Whoever was calling me, knew who I was. I started to dial 9-1-1 when I got a text.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“That's against the rules, David.” This text came with a single distorted and dark picture of one single object. My house's front door.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">I dropped the phone and ran downstairs, turning on the lights outside and inside. There was no-one out there. Not even any footsteps except for mine. I received another text.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Let's play hide and seek. You better hide.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">It showed a picture of me from the outside. I turned off the lights and made sure that the doors were all locked. I sat by my computer and went on YouTube to try and check something. I found only one video, five minutes long. It was called DAVID. I tried to exit the window but it kept redirecting to the same page. I heard a text but didn't answer. It rang again. After this continued for a few minutes I had enough. I opened the messages to find three messages and a picture.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Come on, David.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Don't you want to play.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Let me in, David.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">The picture was a shot of me through the glass door that sat a few feet to my left. I looked over but saw no one. Then, I heard the doorbell ring. I ran downstairs and turned on the lights as I opened the door. There was no one there.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">My phone rang and had only one message.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Thanks for letting me in, David.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">As I reached to close the door, I felt a soft, firm, slimy texture on the doorknob. I looked down and saw a blood-like liquid on the doorknob. I shut the door and went upstairs to wash off my hand. I felt my phone vibrate and I found a text. Just four words.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Let the games begin.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">The lights began to flicker and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It looked like the person I saw by the road. I slowly walked over and the lights in the room went out. I was now alone, in the dark with something that knew who I was. There was a flash of lightning and I saw a long shadow behind me.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">Slowly turning I saw the most horrific sight in my life. I don't know what it was but it was tall, It was blood red, and its skin look like melted wax. It had no face and on its left hand, it had a long claw that looked sharper than any knife. It spoke to me in the voice that haunted me all night.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“David,” It wheezed, the voice seemed bubbly, as if it spoke underwater. “The game's no fun when you don't hide.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">AS it said this, it reached up with its claw and jabbed it into its own flesh. Pulling it down, I saw with pure horror, what the creature was doing. It had carved a smile into its own flesh. Its voice was much clearer now.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Can we try again, David?” the voice seemed childlike, innocent when it spoke my name with that smile. However I knew the game was not going to be a regular hide and seek.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">It turned away from me and began to count. I ran upstairs and hid in the hallway closet. I knew I couldn't let it find me. Burying myself in the blankets and towels beneath me, I reached for my phone. I tried to turn it on but I only saw 2 words.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm">YOU'RE CHEATING!

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">I heard heavy lumbering steps creaking up the stairs and I stayed as still as possible. It wandered down the hallway and stood just outside the closet. Then it began to sing. It was calming and yet at the same time, the song filled me with dread.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“''David's hiding, In the dark. From the seeker, in the night. If he's found, his turn to seek. Unless he's cheating, then he's cease.”''

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">As the creature ended its retched song, it opened the door and wandered in, slowly humming the haunting melody. It began the sog again and the process repeated as it checked each room. Mine, my brother's my sister's and my parents'. I heard it begin its descent and I felt my chest burn. While that thing had been wandering around the house, I wasn't able to breathe in case it heard me. I heard no noise when I let began coughing.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">Slowly and quietly, I got out of my hiding spot and slowly walked over to the stairs. I saw nothing but blackness. I took one step on the stairs when I heard the faint creak of a door behind me. I turned slowly and heard the horror's raspy voice call from behind.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“CHEATER!” It said slowly, “David cheated!”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">Without a second thought, I bolted down the stairs as the beast bayed. I ran through the hallway as I heard it leap from the stairs after me. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed one of the knifes we kept in the drawer. I turned to face it as it reached up to its head and wiped the crude mouth, causing it to smear over until it was no longer there.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“Cheaters are not forgiven!” It shrieked as it raised it claw and carved a primitive duplicate of a scowl.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">The abomination dove at me and I slashed at its arm with the knife, which surprisingly slid through its skin with ease. The forearm land on the ground as the creature stared at it with morbid amusement. It slowly reached for it and placed the end onto the stump. As if it was made of clay, the creature smoothed some of the skin around the cut and closed the wound with nothing remaining. As if the arm had never fallen off.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“First you cheat.” it growled, “''Then you attack me. Now I must punish the cheating, David!''”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">It reached its claw to what would've been eye level and carved horrific imitations of eyes. Then it turned to face me, and growled raising the claw once more. It slashed at me and I dove out of the way. I rushed forward to try and slit it's throat. The next thing I knew, it grabbed me by the throat and raised me. I couldn't breathe and with a final gasp, l saw nothing but black.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">I awoke to the sounds of sirens. I tried to get up when I heard felt someone hold me down. My vision cleared and I saw that I was in an ambulance with my mother and father sitting next to me. My throat was dry, but I was able to ask what happened. According to my parents, when they came home, they found me lying on the floor with red marks on my neck and the back door wide open.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">My parents believed that it was a burglar who tried to rob us, but got into a fight with me and decided to leave after choking me out. However, they couldn't figure out one simple thing. When they found me, I had my phone in my hand with one single message.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-style:normal">“''Let's play again soon, David. :)”'' <ac_metadata title="Shadows (Unreviewed)"> </ac_metadata>