I rushed from the bed to help my girlfriend off of the floor. Even considering the bruising on her right shoulder and down her arm, she was quite calm and collected. She told me she must have been sleep walking and ended up there, but the dark marks under her eyes led me to believe she was awake the entire time. I wasn’t going to press her though. I don’t know what was happening, but it seemed organized. Spirits are more scattered than this. They don’t plan, they don’t work together, but it felt like something was pulling their strings and I couldn’t shake the thought that, that little girl was at the head of it all.
During the day was the only time I really felt safe. Maybe safe isn’t the right word, but I felt like I still had control over my life. Something about that day felt like a fever dream. I can really only remember short moments that took place over the course of a 12 hour span. I remember the house feeling empty. More than just the spirits or even us. Nothing felt real. I left for work later that day and I can’t even remember my drive. I don’t remember seeing anyone either. I work in a packed office and of course it was busy, but it was like any interaction with them was erased.
When I came home that evening I remember shutting my car off and getting out. The hinges on the car door screeching gave me goosebumps for some reason. I was on edge and I couldn’t snap out of my haze long enough to pull myself together. I remember every reverberating noise of my dress shoes against the stone walkway up to the front door. I remember the door being cracked. I paused expecting my girlfriend to greet me. It would have been unexpected but welcomed. As I waited, I noticed how dark the house was. The sun was still setting and the streetlights had only just kicked on, but the house was pitch black. I could almost feel the darkness beckoning. It was the first time in such a long time, I felt the need to leave.
I began to feel my legs shake. Not enough to visibly notice, but inside it felt as though the muscles were spasming violently and I couldn’t steady myself. My heart honestly raced and for the first time, I decided to call for my girlfriend… no answer. I called her again and once more to no avail. With many trepidation, I approached the stairs leading inside. Every creak against the feeble, chipping wood reminded me of a time I said I would replace them. I stopped at the door, took a deep breath and pushed it open.
The push was enough to open it ever so slightly as the creaking ran chills down my body and I felt sick. The darkness began engulfing the remaining space as the shadows from within my home surrounded me. I remember looking down at my shoes as I took the first step inside only to lose my foot in the darkness. Panning upwards, I followed a dim, flickering light to the end of the hallway to find a blurry silhouette standing against the back wall. I couldn’t tell if it was facing me, but I could feel an overwhelming negative presence throughout the home. As I squinted my eyes to see more clearly, I began making out features. Hands, arms, torso, the legs were hard to make out, but I couldn’t see a head. I took another step forward as the heel of my shoe against the floor echoed through the empty hall. I froze, fearful of what would happen next.
Everything became silent again and the shape didn’t waver that I could tell. I took in a quiet sigh of relief. Just then a shriek came from the end of the hall, as something thin and long grew from the figures shoulders. It took a moment to realize what I was looking at, but as an oval shape took form above the thin mass, I began to realize I was looking at its head protruding from its long, cronenburg esque neck. Mortified, I froze again, as my girlfriend appeared in front of me, completely obstructing my view of the creature.
I felt myself almost furious with her in this moment. I shifted to look behind her, but only the flickering light at the end of the hallway remained. It took me a second to realize something was very wrong with my girlfriend. Her eyes looked wild. She told me that she didn’t hear me pull up and that she had cooked me a special dinner. I asked her why the house was pitch black and she told me that we lost power earlier in the day. The story didn’t add up but I was afraid to push. I asked her how her day was as she made her way into the kitchen. She told me about how she had called the power company and sat on hold for over an hour as I took my shoes off in the family room. I took my phone from my pocket to lie it down as I brushed against something and knocked it to the floor. She continued her story about how she had to call out of work and how the electric company never even came out. A small blinding light filled the space around me as I looked down to see her phones Lock Screen. 7 missed calls from “work” and a nearly full battery. I glanced toward the windows to notice lights coming from neighbors homes. I checked the light switch, but nothing. I shouted from the family room “so how did you manage to pull this dinner off without power?” She told me she cooked it before the power went off. Nothing was adding up. She wasn’t herself and I was afraid to be alone with her.