Dark As Night

My Living Hell

I woke up, feeling sick and decrepit. I slid out of bed, and my feet touched the cold floorboards. I walked over to my door, and placed my hand on the doorknob.

Just then a cold shiver ran up my spine. I just stood there, waiting for something. Something felt wrong. I opened the door regardless and walked downstairs, the floorboards creaking under my weight.

I walked over to the fridge to get some breakfast. Upon opening, I noticed the light at the top was off. Was the power out? I glanced over toward the microwave; it was blank. I cursed and gave up. I walked back upstairs and dressed. Everything felt cold.

I walked outside and locked the door behind me. Nobody else had any lights on. I walked the streets aimlessly, looking for something to hold my interest. I wandered over to the woods, feeling dead inside. I wandered on, lost in thoughts, and ended up in the backyard of my friend's house. He should be there, and that should help dissolve the morbid atmosphere.

I knocked on his door, and it creaked open. I walked in curiously. I know I should go get help; the place looks like its been ransacked. What if somebody broke in here? I ran through the house, looking for signs of struggle.

There were no signs of a fight in the whole house. It just looked like it had been abandoned for years. The lights didn't work, the water was brown, and the electricity was gone. Everything had a layer of dust. I walked out of the house, trying to calm myself. I glanced across the road. A nice elderly couple lived there; maybe they could explain why my friend's house was in such disrepair. It had been lively and happy the last time I was there. I knocked on the door, trying not to panic.

Again, the door swung open. I tried to reassure myself that they probably forgot to close it - they must be forgetful in their elder years. I searched the house high and low for any signs of life. There wasn't even a spider, which I assured myself, meant that the left recently. But where?

I searched a few more houses, but they were all the same: all desolate, all deserted. I ran towards a small suburban town nearby, where there must be people! Is there guaranteed someplace where there will be life? The town had a high school, where my friends and I used to go. That must have people. I sprinted past buildings, all looking as desolate as the others.

As I turned the final corner, I saw something that made my heart lift. There was another person in this ghost town! It was my best friend Ethan. He meant the world to me, and seeing him almost guaranteed I could survive this nightmare. I ran toward him, shouting his name. He recognized me and started running toward me. I felt happy for the first time that day, but this nightmare wasn't done with me.

There was a gunshot, and Ethan started falling. It seemed in slow motion. I reached him right as he hit the ground, sending up a hot puff of dust that stung my eyes. I stared at his body, not believing my eyes. Hot tears ran down my face and dripped onto him. I pinched myself, trying to wake myself up from this nightmare. I didn't wake up, and the pain felt real. All my mind could comprehend at this moment was that I wasn't dreaming. I turned my friend over, and closed him eyes. I kneeled beside him and sobbed.

When I opened my eyes, there was a tarantula as big as my head crawling over to me. I screamed and jumped backwards, falling on my back. Another one crawled onto me; I was face-to-face with one of my biggest fears! I panicked and flailed my arms, hitting the tarantula in the face and dazing it. With that, I scrambled up and sprinted away, seeing my friend get devoured by these beasts. I ran until I could no longer do so. Then I collapsed, curled up, and resumed sobbing.

I probably would have stayed like that, but I needed to avoid those spiders. It felt like hours later when I finally got up and tried to plan what I would do next. The image of my friend falling haunted my mind. I couldn't focus. I picked a random direction and started walking. Just then my backpack started weighing me down. I reached back and found out my backpack was hairy and had eight legs. I felt the fangs pierce the back of my head. I fell face forward into the dirt, my vision and hearing blurred. I looked up straight into the disgusting face of the tarantula, which blurred in and out of focus.