I tried moving my hands again and
again. It sounded like rustling of chains. «Are these
handcuffs?»
The voice of a metal
pipe falling down in the darkness, accelerated my heartbeat into a
climax. I shouted in primal fear: “Help! HELP! Anyone!?”
No one answered to my besought. Fear and uncertainty begun twisting my throat. Breathing became
harder. The panic looped the state, until at it's apex I felt acidic
burn in my throat; my body pushed forward and I threw up on the
floor. I coughed violently, some of the spew got into my windpipe.
But it did not have
a bad taste to it, and the smell was more pleasant than the
compulsive rotten odor inside this damp hole. Maybe it had been a
hour? A day. Or only fifteen minutes. There was no way to be certain
about the time. The unpleasant disposition and my imagination
together eventually drove me to the brink of insanity; making me
scream like a mad man for help. For as long as my throat could make a
sound, I screamed.
Help never came.
- - -
I woke up to a
distant sound. It was footsteps, I was sure of it. I tried to shout
for help; but it was like needles in my throat. My heartbeat drummed
against my eardrums louder for each step. And then the sound of
footfall stopped. My heart kept beating.
A blinding flash of
light was pointing against my face but I kept my eyes closed. A
mellowly sweet and alluring scent filled the air, turning me to lower
my guard. As I opened my eyes, I could see petite hands and a cute
handkerchief; in gentle swipe, it cleaned my mouth. It had to be a
girl, I hoped.
My eyes hadn't
gotten used to the bright light, so seeing anything was impossible;
especially since I couldn't use my hands to block the light. She
teased me by pointing the light against my face. “Why are you doing
this! Help me! Let me out!” I pleaded desperately.
She moved the light
away. A quiet hushing voice filled the empty room and she begun
walking away. Panic and fear of being left alone in here struck my
whole being.
“Please, don't
leave me!” She stopped halfway; I could hear a shy girlish voice
asking: “Do you mean that?”, in a whispering tone.
“Yes! Please,
don't go anywhere!” She moved to the side. Flipping a light switch,
and in a sudden flash the whole room was bright as a day. It took me
a moment to adjust but what I saw, shocked me from the core.
«Wait!? I knew
her! She was... She was... Alice, that girl. That girl that never
spoke much. What was the meaning of this.»
“Alice?”
I asked. I was confused; but
she appeared
calm like a pond,
and eerily beautiful. Her long black hair was something, I really
enjoyed. If
she had ever talked with
me before, I could've maybe
even asked her out.
«What was she up
to? This was not normal. Did someone force her to do this? »
“You...
know my name?” Alice blushed, she held her arms across her chest,
squirming from happiness. That smile, that smile was not natural.
“Alice...”
I spoke, but I was tangled both in my thoughts and words.
“Yes?
Don't worry, I know everything about you Danny.” Her voice,
was so assuring that it was creeping the hell out of me.
“E-everything?”
I gulped.
“Your
favorite color is blue. You like pop music. You can't swim but you
love being at the beach. Oh – Happy Birthday, my dear Danny!”
«Is it now October
31st? This must be a bloody sick birthday party surprise
combined with a Halloween. I think it's best to play along.»
I
pulled a deep breath. Looking at the girl, and
giving her an reassuring
smile: “Thank you, dear Alice!”
Her
face appeared
like it was bursting
from happiness. She took
hesitant steps closer. She
had
a silvery necklace hanging
over her neck, it was the
key. Her smile was absolutely
stunning and her
scent
was even nicer up close.
«It had to be a prank, what else could it be.»
She
pulled in. In the cold cellar her body warmth felt heavenly and it
shred away all my fears and doubt.
“Happy
birthday.” She panted, I could smell her heavy breathing as she
pushed her lips against mine. How could I not have resisted such
temptation.
Her luscious lips had just turned
the twisted situation upside down. A swarm of butterflies flattered
inside my stomach. I could tell from the kiss that she cared for me –
deeply. It felt like that affection poured from my lips into my
veins, infecting my heart with a dark love.
Did
I really have a crush on her. Did she just confess her feelings at
me? I could hear a clicking sound coming
from behind my back, she
opened my handcuffs.
She
took a step backwards, observing me with a smile. I stood up; kissing
her again, this time from my
initiative.
If
I had known better, following my hormones there
was a mistake.
Or perhaps, it was the only way for my survival.
Little
I knew that she had concealed
a weapon nearby. Alice masked
the whole event as a “birthday” surprise,
and she had
masked it well, with no
loose-ends whatsoever. Along with a love
confession she made, I was
fooled to
think that this was all
planned by my closest
friends. Later
at that evening we had a big Halloween party, put together by Alice.
And
I never learned the truth that
once, before Alice came
along; there was a
girl
that had fallen in love with
me. She was buried underneath
the same basement where Alice
kept me that day. Murdered by Alice. That
stench inside the room, that odor that my spew
had concealed was … her.
– To be
continued on next Halloween?