COMMON ROOM: A Short Story Anthology

Leave the Light On by Ashley Jellison (Wattpad username: AshJellison)

LEAVE THE LIGHT ON

by Ashley Jellison (Wattpad username: AshJellison)

Mentor: Jenny Martin, author of TRACKED, releasing May 5, 2015, from Dial/Penguin

 ***

It’s late, and you start to yawn. The bed invites you in, and you pull the blankets high, then reach up to turn off the light. Finally. Tonight will be the night you get enough sleep. It will be a good day tomorrow when you wake up and walk into the office. Your boss will notice you remembered his favorite coffee. Just as you close your eyes, though, you hear a sound from the hall. A soft scratching, a low moan.

You’re sure it’s the cat and roll over. The sound gets closer, until it is a foot from the bed. You sit up and turn the light on, ready to tell the cat off. But there is nothing there. Nothing is sitting next to the bed, although you are sure you heard it.

You decide to leave the light on and try to sleep again. The sound comes back. This time, from the hall. You get out of the bed and reach for your slippers, though they aren’t where you thought you left them. After a minute, your feet find them and slip them on, but now they feel less comfortable than usual. You leave the room and call for Watson, your fluffy tabby cat. She runs to you and jumps on the bed behind you. You are about to crawl back into bed with her, annoyed that she kept you up. But then you hear the sound again. And it’s not coming from behind you.

You glance back at Watson just in case, but she looks at you with her eyes wide. She wants you to protect her from the sound. You would rather her protect you. But she isn’t a dog, so you walk into the hall, turning on the light. Nothing is there. But you hear a soft scratching. A sound that should not be coming from your bathroom sink.

The bathroom is empty. You leave it and go to check the large hallway storage closet, which holds anything and everything. You open the door and step inside for a closer look. There is nothing inside, just a bunch of blankets and sheets. You reach for the doorknob behind you, but as soon as you touch it, it’s ripped out of your grasp. The door slams shut, and you are locked in. And you get the feeling that you aren’t alone.

The darkness presses in, leering at you. You scream, pound on the door, but it won’t budge. You have to get out. You have to steady yourself. You rock back and then throw your shoulder toward the door. Before you make contact, the door swings open, and off-balance, you fall through the frame. You’ve barely hit the ground when you leap up, ready to face whoever is out there, but there is no one.

At this point, you are scared. Terrified. You don’t know what is happening in your house or why it is happening. Your breath catches, too loud in the silent house. A scream builds in your chest, but it won’t come out. You have to go back to bed. Get out of this crazy nightmare.

You’re exposed. You’re lying in the hallway, panting. You hear the moaning, but now it is louder, more haunted. It creeps closer. You crawl backward, scrambling from something you cannot see. But your back presses up against something that has never been in your hallway before tonight.

It feels solid but molds to your body. It’s cold; feels like your skin has just frozen. You screech in terror and hear the whisper of a chuckle tickle your ear. Its fingers caress your back, tracing patterns and reaching up to play with your hair. Something else grabs your ankle. You cannot escape. They surround you. You will not survive.

You hear a rustle to your right and know you are finished. But then Watson hisses louder than ever before and whatever is around you vanishes. Watson’s eyes are wide and frightened, staring at a place right above your feet. You try to catch your breath and fail, resorting to hugging your cat tight.