Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25884665-20141217144009

Locked Out

It was an icy winter afternoon, a little windy with a chance of snow. I stepped off of the bus, my tennis shoes clacking on the dark gray driveway. My backpack a medium weight on my shoulders. My house was at the end of a cul-de-sac, with cold tall shadowy woods behind it and another house next to it. I reached in my pocket, hoping to feel the cold metal of keys on my warm fingers. But they weren’t there. My heart sank and my lungs filled with the cold air as I inhaled. I pounded my fist against the door and rang the doorbell… But nobody answered. I was locked out for the moment.

I sank down onto the concrete step and sighed. It was getting colder, so I pulled my cell phone out of my other pocket and dialed my mom’s number. The phone quickly beeped, entering the number and calling my mother. That tone that told the caller that no one could answer . Beeep Beeep Beeep , “Shit” I muttered as I closed the phone and stuck it in my pocket.

I then decided to circle around the house, snow falling at a slowly quickening pace. My feet crunched the frozen grass that surrounded the place, leading to the usually quiet woods. I could see my breath and my fingers tingled a bit from the cold. The back door was locked, but I could have sworn the sliding glass doors on the deck was open, as my mother had been out there this morning sipping her coffee. I glanced up at the deck which was about 5 feet above the lawn, I could climb it with success, I mean I would probably break a nail but that didn’t bother me. So I decided to do it. I slowly encircled one of the wooden posts that held the deck aloft with my legs and arms and shimmied my way up the post. I could feel splinters in my thighs, cutting small holes in my pants. I swore under my breath and grabbed onto the edge of the deck. I swung my leg up and onto the edge and started to pull myself up.

Then. I saw it.

A flash of darkness, quick like a fox.            <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It turned away back behind a tree. <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I gasped and lost my grip on the edge. <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">My leg caught under the railing. <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It twisted, bending my leg in an obscene angle. <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I cried out, pain shooting up my leg and my stomach knotted.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I flailed my arms as I fell onto the ground, and everything went dark. <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I then had a dream…. I was stuck in the woods, cold and wet from the snow. Something was following me. I started to run and when I looked back, I saw the shadow. It just stood there ominously and I kept running. A root from a tree caught on my foot and I fell into the snowy mush.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Then, my eyes flickered open. It was dark and snow had fallen in great quantity, painting the ground white. I looked down at my leg, it was twisted and bloody, painting the snow a dark pink. I was so cold, and began to crawl my way toward the front door, dragging my leg along through the snow.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ten minutes later I reached the door and scratched at it. I pounded my fists against the door. “Open up!” I screamed, “Open up, Open up, Open up.” I screamed over and over again. No one answered. A cold wind blew toward me then, as I slumped against the red front door. I looked out and into the front lawn. The shadow I had seen while I was climbing the post, stood there ominously. I pressed myself harder into the door, trying to get away from the creature.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">A light came on in the hallway, “MOM!!!!” I screamed, “Open up! Please!” I said as I pounded on the door and started to cry. Warm, salty tears fell from my face. I was scared… So goddamn scared. That thing came closer, and it reached out a shadowy arm. I started to crawl away from the door, my broken leg was numb, and I couldn’t even care. The thing turned to me as I army crawled away from this incident. I had to get away from it. I had to or it would do something to me and I didn’t want to find out. Snow covered my face as I crawled into the woods, my breath coming and going in short bursts. I looked back, my trail painted red by the blood flowing from my leg wound. The shadow now on all fours, stood over my trail, a mouth filled with razor teeth and a pointed tongue licked the maroon snow. It growled, a low and yet high pitched sound. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t let it get me… I hid myself up against a fallen tree trunk. It was just like my dream, cold and wet and running from something…

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Why didn’t my mother answer the door? Why was the light on but nobody answered? <span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> I wondered to myself. I hear the thing crawling around on the ground, about 4 feet away from my hiding spot. My leg throbbed and I felt something hot fall down my face. I was fucking scared. So. Fucking. Scared.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I started to crawl away, toward a clearing in the distance. I could see a large tree with sprawling branches. I could probably hide in there, it could have been warmer than this tree trunk and maybe this thing would go away… I was cold as I crawled away from the tree trunk and into the clearing. The moon shone down, making a bright circle around the large tree. I looked up into the shadow of the tree, hoping to see a hole in the tree that I could hide in. There were none so I crawled up to the roots of the tree and hunched myself as close to the tree. My stalker stood across from me in the clearing. I hoped that I couldn’t be seen and I wanted to cry. I could feel a cry bubbling up my throat. I put my hand over my mouth. I felt something warm hit my cheek, not salty like tears… It was coppery, like blood. I looked up into the tree branches and saw something horrifying. I think that was the moment I knew there was no god, nothing could have had saved me then…

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.0791666666666666;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;text-indent:36pt;"><span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:#980000;font-weight:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">My mother’s torso was impaled on the tree branch. She was legless and her organs flowed out of the open orifice. Her head was on another, tied to the branch by her hair. Her eyes were rolled back in her skull and her face was bloody and scratched up with deep claw marks. I couldn’t find her legs anywhere and I felt a scream rush up from my lungs. I screamed loudly and violently. “Somebody help me!!!” The thing noticed, grined a razor sharp grin  and lunged….

<span style="font-size:19px;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:rgb(152,0,0);white-space:pre-wrap;">I didn’t just lose my leg that night… <ac_metadata title="Locked Out. My first pasta..."> </ac_metadata>