Short Stories By Me

Hellia Chronicles: Devil May Care

    My birthday was a few weeks ago, but my big brother never showed up that day. Afterwards, Robin felt guilty that he missed it, so he let a group of my friends and I have a slumber party at his apartment.

    On that night, we arrived, a bundle of smiles and laughter. "Watch out though." Robin whispered to us at the door with a secretive wink. "Sui, the landlord's daughter, is very strict and doesn't like to have fun. Basically a stick in the mud. If we encounter her, be careful or we'll be a load of trouble."

    One by one, everyone entered the room. As I went in, I stood in wonder looking around the room. It was spacious and cozy, with a large bed in a corner beside the door and a window across from it that stretched from floor to ceiling. Karma, my absolute best friend in the world, squealed at the sight of a pile of beanbags, and promptly proceeded to run over and bounce on them. Smiling at their antics, I sat down on one and dropped my bag beside me. Just as the party was about to start, someone came in the door with a disapproving look. "Hey, who are you kids? You know this is not a playground, right?"

    "Speak of the devil," my big brother muttered as he saw who it was. "Sui, these are my little sister Ria and her friends. Everyone, this is Sui."

    Sui crossed her arms and nodded slightly. "Ok? And? Why are they here?"

    I immediately disliked her the moment she spoke. Ugh, big bro was right. She's so snobby. I stepped forward and explained. "We're having a slumber party tonight. Robin missed my birthday because he had to go on a class trip first thing that morning. We have permission from the landlord to do so. I believe that's your father, right? Hope it's alright with you as well." I smiled, like I was issuing a challenge.

    A few seconds of tension passed as we stared each other down. "You're a tiny one, aren't you?" Sui gave a shark-toothed grin. I bristled at her words. Another one...

    "Alright, I'll allow it." She continued. "But! You need to be chaperoned by at least two adults. Rules are rules."

    "Robin is 19." I responded, gritting my teeth.

    The woman smirked as she looked down at me. "Who's the other one then?"

    With that condescending tone, I was done. I've turned 18, but I'm still treated like a child. People always think I'm younger than that. I know I'm short and have a childlike face, but that doesn't mean I am still 8!

    I ran over to the corner and grabbed my driver's permit from my bag, showing her my age. Taking a look at it, Sui gave a slight frown and walked out the door, grumbling like an old troll. With that confrontation over, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and we started the party.

    At around 9 pm, Karma called out, "Hey guys! Let's get some late-night pizza! Ya hungry or what?" Everyone agreed that was a good idea. Robin called a nearby pizza place and ordered, saying he'd pay for the meal. After a while, the doorbell rang and we all scrambled to the door. A delivery boy from Pirate's Pizza Cove had arrived. Robin paid for the pizza and said, "Thank you for coming this late. Hope you have a great night!"

    Just as my brother was about to close the door, the delivery boy blocked it with his foot. "Sorry, but I know someone here. I'd like to speak to them for a moment," he said. As he looked around the room, he grinned when his eyes landed on Karma. His creepy smile unnerved me as I watched him from the bed. Looking over at Karma, I saw that they were also creeped out.

    "Lab, why are you here?" Karma asked. "I thought you were in Virginia with your family."

    "I heard you were having a party without me." Lab responded with a pout.

    "Actually it's Ria's-"

    "Come on, Karma. You know whenever you're with these people, I don't trust them to keep you safe. Here," he said, taking out some papers from his satchel. "Let us recreate a story."

    "There was once a boy who loved a girl. He didn't know how to approach her because she was never alone and always cold, so much so that people called her the Ice Queen behind her back. Little does he know she's the heir to a mafia. He wrote a poem to her and sent it to her home. Reading his heartfelt words of "Drowning in your love is a death more beautiful than a life without it," she melted. The girl knew her duties to her family came first, and there was no way her mother would let her marry this random guy she barely even knew." As he continued reading, I had an unnerving feeling. Meanwhile, everyone sat there, entranced by the tale.

    Suddenly, Lab started to run towards Karma with a crazed look in his eyes. He dropped the papers, scattering them all over the floor, continuing to recite the story seemingly by memory. I grab the last sheet out of midair and swiftly read the story's ending. They commit suicide, together in death and onwards to the next life. The sound of rushing water flooded my ears as I realized the parallels between the story and what was about to happen. He's going to take her with him. I thought in horror as the sight of her corpse on the concrete pavement appeared in my vision. He's going to take my best friend away from me.

    With that echoing in my mind, I ran towards Karma, who was still being chased by Lab. I grabbed her hand as I directed her towards the large window in the corner.

    "Ria?!" Karma gasped in surprise.

    "Trust me!" I called back to her, hoping my plan would work.

    But it didn't.

    Lab grabbed Karma's other hand and pulled her towards him. "She's mine!" he snarled.

    As my hand slipped out of Karma's grasp, everything erupted into chaos. The crazed Lab pulled a knife out of his bag, and everyone began to rush for the door as they saw the murderous intent in his eyes. My tunnel vision set in as I got carried away by the crowd. All I could hear was screams. The voice of Karma in agony, the sounds of my friends in fear, the rushing beat of my heart. Screams of horror and despair, everything cutting and glitching in and out.

    "WAKE UP!" I yell at everyone else in desperation as we run through the halls. "THIS IS JUST A NIGHTMARE! REPEAT 'AWAKEN' IN YOUR MIND UNTIL YOU DO!"

    Next thing I know, I'm out in the dark parking lot, the streetlamps dimming from old age. I run and hide in between cars, finally settling myself behind a large black sedan.

    Suddenly, in the silence, Lab's voice echoed throughout the lot. "No one will take my Karma away from me," he said in a low tone. "Absolutely no one."

This was supposed to be a celebration, I thought in horror. Not a bloodbath. I wished and prayed, thinking this is just a nightmare, this isn't real. My train of thought is broken by a scream behind me. It echoed out into the night, then suddenly disappeared. Then another to my left. And another, farther away. As the screams play out like a slow melody of torture in my mind, I could sense their souls, appearing as multicolored lights. I could see them in my mind, floating at the place of their demise. As one by one they slowly faded to red, I wished, I prayed, I hoped, as I fell into despair.

This is another story I've made based off of my nightmares, and what I alluded to at the end of the Sleepy Hollow sequel. I have plans for this, and hopefully they'll come into fruition. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, leave them in the comments or send me a message. I have many projects in the works right now, so will be busy. There might be a bit of a delay for when the next story comes out, but we'll see. Thanks for checking out my work! I'll see you guys next time!