Short story

Silent Footsteps

Part I

Shut in a room; I didn't see anything. I was breathing...breathing.... breathing. Suddenly I was gasping for breath. I was choking. My whole body ached as if someone had punched me everywhere. I needed air. I felt my lungs burning. Someone had cut off the oxygen supply!

I woke up. I was panting. I felt a trickle of sweat running down my back. My whole body shivered. Where was I? I felt so shaken, so strange. The air was freezing cold. It was dead silent. What was that shining gloomily as if watching me carefully and laughing at me in ridicule? In a mirror, I saw something move. I caught my breath. Did I see a face? My heart beat fast. I waited in silence. Seconds passed. I could hear a nearby clock going tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. Dread had filled me as I watched, waited. No movement. No face. No one was there. I was relieved but where was I? Only then did I realize that it was my room. It was my alarm clock that I'd heard and it was my mirror that I looked into. I let out a sigh of relief. Yes, I was in my bedroom safe and sound. I felt secure. I didn't feel that there was a presence in the room anymore, a ghostly presence.

I looked at my alarm clock. It stared back at me eerily. It was midnight. Soon, my mind drifted back to my dream. I still felt entranced by it. So real it was, yet a dream - right?

I lay in bed and I wondered. I am a very heavy sleeper. My mother always says to her friends, "Simone is a very heavy sleeper. She could even sleep through a hurricane". It is so embarrassing. Well, I am myself, who else could I possibly be? I usually don't dream and even if I do, I don't have nightmares. And never a nightmare so real, so ghastly, so painful so terrifying! Slowly I drifted back to sleep.

In deep sleep, I heard a faint sound. Riiinngg! Riiinngg! It was the telephone. Lazily, I put out a hand to take the receiver. I looked at my alarm clock. It was still three in the morning. I wondered who would be calling at this time.

"Hello. Who is speaking?"

"Help me, Please! They want to burn me alive. I am too young to die!"

"Who is this?"

"Please help me. They will be coming soon. I can't escape. I need your help."

"Is this some sort of a joke?"

"No, no. I truly need your help. You know them. You can help me."

"What? Who do I know?"

"You know them very well. You are the only one who can help me. You know them."

"Who are you? Who are 'they'?"

"You know them. Just help me. I beg you, please do."

The line went dead.

I was stunned. Who was it? It was a lady, but who? Was this a hoax? But she sounded so frantic. I sat there frozen. I gazed at the telephone. Then I realized that I had to get some sleep. I dozed off to sleep once more.

A few hours later I found myself dressing up to go to college. In the morning I went to college by car, when my father went to his workplace. I walked when returning home. After having my breakfast, my father and I left. As I left, I turned back to wave goodbye to my mother. First I thought I saw two people. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me because a split second later I saw only my mother.

While we were travelling on the car, I gazed out of the window. The clouds in the sky looked grey and dark. The day ahead looked forlorn.

"So how was your night, honey?" My father's voice broke into my thoughts. "Confusing", I replied promptly. Realizing what I had just said, I hastily said, "I mean, not bad." "I heard the telephone ringing early in the morning. Was it for you?" "Um, it was a wrong number." If I had told the truth, he would think I was crazy, so it was best to keep quiet.

"Oh. Alright then". He turned towards the road. Once again I drifted off to my own world.

Suddenly, with a loud screech and a jerk, the car skidded. It kept skidding. My father looked worried. He tried to steer the vehicle to safety, but it was clear that the vehicle was out of control. I couldn't help but scream. I screamed even more, when the vehicle... hit SOMEONE!

We were dazed. In an instant my father and I got out of the car. There was blood all over. The mouth was twisted, distorted. The eyes were bulging out. I closed my eyes. It was a cat! A cat! We had hit it early in the morning. This was a bad way to start my day. We went to school quietly. And silently I cried over the innocent cat.

When I reached my college which is an old building standing over Hazel Street, I saw Suzanne, my best friend. She was plump and had wavy, shoulder length, blond hair. Her eyes always mesmerized me with its cool blue shade. I have always envied this. Though a lot of my friends found my eyes irresistible and desired my long, healthy black hair,I am not really won over. I feel they exaggerate.

I flashed Suzanne a weak smile and greeted her. She smiled back and signalled that she was busy at that moment. I didn't want to bother her. Besides I didn't want to speak with her though we were best friends and never kept secrets between us. Finally my day at college was over. I couldn't wait to go home, couldn't wait to be off from Surrelina High, the college I went to.

I climbed down the stairs slowly, after watching everyone leave the floor. I wanted to be alone. Then I heard laughing behind me. Before I could turn around, someone had placed her hands on my shoulder and pushed me down the stairs. I kept falling. I shot out my hand to stop myself but I wasn't doing well. My eyes swept towards the stairway. I didn't see the person properly, only her hair. She was a brunette. And as I rolled down someone was eagerly looking at me from the bottom, welcoming me with a face that had flesh dangling out of it and a body which had blood drooping down. The skin had been torn apart from the body. She was looking at me intently. A smile crept in from one corner, the most menacing smile.

I continued falling. She kept looking at me and blood kept pouring out of her body. Slowly, her eyes came apart from her face. She placed her eyes in her hands and held them forward and smiled hideously. I blinked my eyes and she was gone. I didn't even hear her go. Finally when I had stopped falling, I looked at the spot where she was. There wasn't even a trace of blood. She had vanished into thin air. I was weak and shocked. Gradually, I went out of the building. My mind was filled with fear and questions. Who pushed me down the stairs? Who was there downstairs? Was I hallucinating? But someone definitely pushed me down and she was a brunette, but who? Why did I someone with blood dripping all over? I knew I had to find answers to my questions. I had to know who the brunette was. I had to.

As I returned home, I felt as if someone was coming as well. Eagerly I turned around to see who it was. It was awkward - there was no one there. I turned around and started walking again. I heard footsteps, one by one, closer and closer. A shadow fell over the pavement. I turned back. The shadow disappeared. No one was there. I started walking again. Clicking of shoes on the pavement. I turned around once more but no one was there. As I turned around and started walking a bit faster, I could hear the clicking of the heels on the pavement very clearly.

Click...click....click....click....

My heart was beating fast. I started walking faster even more. The shadow was still getting closer. The footsteps sounded very close, very near. They became faster.

Click....click.....click....click...click.

My heart was pounding now. I glanced back. The leaves rustled suddenly. Some one was following me. I started running. The footsteps started running as well coming closer and nearer. Fear swept over me. The cold wind made my body even stiffer. My hair stood on end. I didn't look back. My legs were heavy. Running for so long, I was panting. I needed rest. My heart beat raced so much that I could hear it go thump... thump. Then thumthump, thumthump, thumthump, thumthump.

I couldn't run anymore. I felt dizzy. Noises all around me.

Click....click....click....

I felt myself drag my legs along the pavement.

Thumthump, thumthump, thumthump.

Click...click....click...

Thumpthump, thumthump, thumthump

With all these noises swirling around me I felt shaky, very wobbly. I stopped in my tracks. I couldn't move. I was too exhausted and too stiff with fear and dread.

I tried to move. I couldn't. I heard footsteps coming very close behind me. I tried to move again. Too late! I felt a hand grip my shoulder. I turned around and screamed.

Continued next week