When the lights went out, the house was filled with terrified screams.
It was a game.
A fun, little slumber party game the girls thought would be fun to play since the moon was completely shrouded and for whatever reason the streetlights were out. They were proud of themselves for coming up with this plan of hide and seek in the dark. My suggestion of just telling scary stories by a makeshift fire was labeled stupid.
I didn't want to play. I hate the dark. I never know what sort of thing could be hiding in the shadows, just waiting for the right chance to attack. I like to be proactive and not give the creatures any advantage. Sadly, these girls do not share my sentiments.
They taunt me cruelly, calling me a whiny little baby and a coward. Their chants still ring in my ears as if it was a song stuck on repeat. It frustrates me that the only way they will agree to stop is if I agree to play along with them.
My so called best friend, Rin, tried to assure me that everything will be fine. There is nothing that I should be afraid of. I wanted to convince her otherwise, but she, like the rest of the girls, was dead set on doing this. It wasn't right to keep her from being happy just because of my anxiety.
To make things slightly more comfortable for me, they agreed that we would stay inside. But it does nothing to quell my fears. Its practically darker in here than it is outside. The only difference is there is less room to hide and the smaller possibility of being abducted.
They labeled me as 'it'. I figured it would happen due to my reluctance. Plus, it would make it more fun for them, since they get to hide and exploit my fear. It's times like this that make me wonder why I even bothered showing up to this party.
Most of these girls are not even my friends. They do not care about me.
So why should I care about them?
"Make sure you count you count all the way to twenty!" Naoto shouts while running away. I'm amazed she hasn't tripped over anything. It is pitch black in here.
one...two...three...four...
I turn where I hear receding footsteps, but I can't see anything in that direction either. The windows are open, but there is no ambient light from the outside world. No stars, no moonlight. The clouds are heavy enough to block them out.
Raindrops tap against the window.
The rain usually calms me down, but not tonight.
...five...six...seven...eight...
I take a few steps forward, stubbing my toe on what I think is the living room coffee table. I take a deep breath to avoid shouting out in pain. Finding all of them will be a great challenge. Great in the sense that I am the least graceful person in the house. I'll stumble over everything before I manage to make it out of one room.
It would be easier if several flashes of lightning were to occur consecutively.
I wish Rin would turn the lights back on.
...nine...ten...eleven...twelve...
Hearing someone's heavy breathing nearby, I gravitate toward the kitchen. To avoid running into things and giving away my position, I take slow and light steps. My hands are slightly outstretched to feel for any obstacles I may run into that my feet won't touch.
This must be what it feels like to be blind.
...thirteen...fourteen...fifteen...sixteen...
The breathing gets louder. I smile, thinking I have this one in the bag. I bet it's Tokiko, she isn't great at these sorts of things and she has asthma. She probably didn't want to go too far into the house because it would require too much work which her lungs can't handle.
I stand in the middle of the kitchen and merely wait.
I almost enjoy the sounds of her labored breathing.
...seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...twenty.
"Ready or not, here I come." I whispered softly.
Tokiko's breathing intensified. I saunter slowly to the other side of the island where she is definitely hiding. She is hunched over, hugging her knees to her chest. The girl rocks back and forth, uttering something quietly. I think that she's more afraid of the dark than she was willing to let on.
I should put her out of her misery.
"Found you." I announced in a sing-song voice. She looks up at me in absolute fear. I kick her in the face, sending her body to the hardwood floor. Before she has a chance to scream, I pounce on her, covering her mouth and nose.
She thrashes wildly, trying to throw me off of her. But I have the upper-hand in this position. Her body convulses for some much needed air. I press harder on her face, trying to hasten her death. It's a pity how hard the human body will fight to stay alive. But the way I see things, her time was coming to end sooner or later. I might as well be the one to end her life. It's more humane if I do it than to let someone else have the pleasure of getting rid of her.
After a few moments, her body goes limp. Before I leave to find the others, I stomp on her throat to ensure she wouldn't wake up. I move to the basement where a few of the others are bound to be.
I hesitate before opening the door to the basement. I couldn't even see the stairs. In spite of all my inhibitions, I slowly descend down the steps, cringing at how creaky most of them are. If any of the girls are down here, they certainly know that I am here. My heart skips several beats when I miss a step and almost fall. I gasp audibly, clutching my chest to collect myself. This further solidifies how much I hate this idea and a bit of myself for going along with it.
There were no signs of people being down here; no breathing or quiet giggling. As I turn to go back upstairs, I was tackled. My face was held down into the musty shag carpet. I scream as loud as I could, but it was muffled by the carpet.
There are two distinctive voices, undoubtedly the twins. My fear quickly turns to anger. They think they can do whatever they want because there are two of them and only one of me.
These brats really think they're funny. I elbowed one of them in the face, relishing the painful cry she emits. When I try to get up, the other sister starts attacking me with heavy handed slaps.
It's almost cute that she thinks that will be enough to take me down. Almost though, she and her sister annoy me to no end. I grab both of her hands, surprising her. She screams for me to let her go. I comply by headbutting her and pushing her off me. I grab the golf club lying against the stairs and smash her head with it. The club breaks in half from the force of hitting the girl's skull.
Her darling sister decides to come to her rescue, lunging at me with her fist ready to punch me. I jam my fingers into her eyeballs, pushing them further into her eye socket. She screams for me to stop while scratching my arm in an attempt to free herself.
I kicked her in the gut, sending her to the floor. She yells damning things as I drag her by her short, brown hair. I smash her face into the exposed brick wall until she goes silent.
I walked back upstairs and stood in the foyer, wondering why I haven't found anyone by now. They couldn't all be upstairs, that would be too predictable. The lights came back on. I hear Rin walking behind me. "Sakura, what is going on? What was all that noise I heard?"
I turn to face her, noting the horrified expression on her face. "What's wrong?"
She stumbles backward. "Oh my gosh, we need to call help!" I merely watch as she runs off in the other direction. I look down at my hands and scream. Why were they covered in blood? Rin returns, this time looking concerned. "Its okay Sakura, everything will be fine." She soothes.
I knew she was lying. Nothing could be okay if I was covered in blood. I knew the darkness wasn't a safe place.
"Tokiko, Yoko, Naoto! The game is over!" She shouts before pulling me into a hug.
There was no response. None of the girls came rushing to where we were, the house was silent except for my panicked gasps.
"Guys, seriously!"
More silence. They really are into this game.
Rin groans and rolls her eyes. "Can you check down here, while I check upstairs?" She asks.
I comply with her request. I checked behind the curtains of the living room and behind the couches, yet there was no one to be found. Walking past the mirror, I thought I saw one of the girls in the reflection. When I turned around, no one was there. Although I only saw a glimpse, the mirror certainly didn't reflect myself, it had to be one of the girls.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I slowly walk back in front of the mirror.
I didn't see pink hair and green eyes. What I saw didn't look like me at all. I smash the glass with my fist, to shatter the image. I run to the kitchen, trying to shake the haunting image of those wicked, blood red eyes from the reflection.
In my haste, I wasn't paying attention to any obstacles. I tripped over something and landed hard on my side. A sharp pain races up my arm as I try to push myself to an upright position. I glance over my shoulder to see Tokiko sprawled out on the floor.
"Tokiko?" I call out, hoping it would wake her. She doesn't move or say anything to indicate she's conscious. I move to check her breathing and pulse. She wasn't breathing and when I placed my ear on her chest, I couldn't hear a heartbeat. I checked her wrist, neck, and temples; there was no pulse in any location.
"Sakura did you find-" Rin chokes out a sob. "Is she dead?"
"Yeah, and so are you." I stood up, grabbing a knife from the sink. The look of pure terror on her face is amusing. She's so scared that she couldn't even beg for her life. I lunge at her, causing her to grab a nearby pan and toss it at me.
The pan misses me, but nevertheless she used the momentary distraction as her chance to escape. I chuck the knife at her fleeting form. My deadly accuracy stopped her in her tracks. Her body falls face forward. I walk over to her, removing the knife and kicking her on her back. There was still a little bit of life in her eyes.
I straddle her defenseless body and repeatedly stab her in the face and chest like I'm trying to hammer a nail. Blood splatters onto my face with each wound I inflict. When I was done, she is barely recognizable. I lick her blood off the knife and wander toward the living room.
I twirl the weapon in my hand a few times before plunging it into my abdomen.
The sudden pain shocks me and sends me to my knees. Blood drips out of my mouth. When I tried to wipe it away, more came up. I touch my stomach, finding a foreign object sticking out of it. I pull on it a little bit, causing more pain. I try to scream out for help, but blood gurgled in my mouth, drowning the words.
I collapse on my side, wondering how this even happened. The broken pieces of glass on the floor showed not only those eyes, but the entire face. He smirks wickedly as I continue to cough up blood.
Heavy footsteps retreat from the area, and those haunting eyes fade to black.
