Somber Tales: A Collection of Short Stories

The Call of the Void

I'm waiting for a visitor. 

He should have been here hours ago. I lay in my bed, the street lights shine in, giving the room an orange tone and allowing me to know that he isn't there yet. 

Maybe tonight I can finally get some rest. I closed my eyes. Orange turns to black. I hear a whoosh come from my opened window. Before I open my eyes, I know he is there. He stares at me with yellowish white eyes. He never talks or moves, never makes any indication as to what he wants from me.

This is how my night goes, we stare at each other, nobody making a move until the- 

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" 

The alarm clock causes him to go back where he came from, he vanishes. 

But he's not really gone. I can hear him calling me throughout the day. 

As I crawl out of bed, my eyes tired from lack of sleep, I head toward the mirror. As I stare at my reflection, I imagine myself breaking it. Glass flying everywhere, I take a piece. I hold it up to my chest and-

I have to get going. I have bills to pay and work to finish. 

I step into the shower. The hot water should relax me, instead it makes me think. 

What if I took a bath instead? Filled the water right to the brim. I've heard you can drown in as little as a puddle. But just to be sure-

I shut the water off. My stomach is growling. 

I open the cupboards. Some stale Cheeze-its, an old granola bar, some taco shells. Moving onto the counter, there is a bowl of fresh apples. My mother has been here, but she forgot the number one rule. Don't leave me to cut them up by myself.

I grab an apple and the knife from the back of the drawer and-

Time for work. I'm running late. 

I head to my garage, turning the key in the ignition. 

I'm so tired. I could just nap in here, keeping the car running to keep me warm. I would drift off to sleep and just-

The garage door opens. 

The drive to work only takes fifteen minutes, but it feels more like five. I drive in a haze, having memorized all of the turns. As I look out the window, cars fly past me. It would be so easy to slip into the other lane. I would barely know until-

"Crash! Bandicoot is coming out with a new game this summer..." I turn the radio off. It's all talk shows in the morning. 

Finally at work, I shut my car off. Across from me is a large man, smoking a cigarette and yelling on the phone. If I scream obscenities at him will he beat me to a pulp? He looks strong. Strong enough to break some bones, possibly enough to-

I walk past the man, who is seemingly upset about his girlfriend's new dog. 

The room is a bright contrast from my life. The overhead lights are white and cheery, people bustling around, having conversations by the coffee pot. 

People wave and say hello as I walk in. I smile back, or at least try to. 

My office is on the second floor of the building. This part of the office is not as cheery. Three people work up here. We give each other sad, distracted nods and go back to reading emails or looking through endless paper stacks. It's quiet. 

I find myself drawn toward the only source of light in the room, the window. 

But I'm drawn to it for a different reason. It's a two story fall. It could be higher, but maybe, just maybe, if I jump-

"Pling!" An email. "Want to come over tonight? -Cecelia" A girl from downstairs. We were friends in the past. 

What could it hurt? Maybe he won't follow me there. 

I spend the day stapling, stamping, replying, calling, typing. The endless monotony of work. 

Back in the car. Driving to Cecelia's requires you to drive the country roads. The windy, hilly country roads. One road in particular is known for accidents. A steep cliff with a measly guard rail to keep you from falling. 

The guard rail hasn't been fixed since the last driver hit it. There aren't many drivers out here. I could speed up, break the guard rail and-

"Honk!" In my rear-view I see Cecilia waving and grinning. 

I reach the top of the hill, parking in her dirt driveway. She parks beside me.

"God, you're a speed demon. I could barely keep up." I mumble a soft apology. 

She leads me into her house as a pack of dogs bark and howl in the distance. 

"They don't like strangers, you know that." She points to the scar on my leg where I was bitten. 

That was when I wasn't trying to be killed. If I didn't run away. If I let them attack me, would they go for the jugular? 

"I'm going to get changed, just make yourself comfortable." As if that was possible. "There's some beer in the fridge." 

Inside the fridge, there was definitely beer. Enough for at least ten people. I could drink them all. I would be so drunk I wouldn't even think about choking on my own-

I closed the fridge. One for now, maybe more later. 

After she came back, we talked. Or she talked anyway. 

For a while, I didn't feel him watching me. I managed to laugh a little at her jokes. 

For once I felt human.

But the night has to end. There's more work in the morning.

"I had a great night. It feels good to let off some steam." She smiled. 

I nodded. It really did feel good. 

"See you tomorrow." She shut the door.

On the way home, I turned on the radio. For the first time in a long time I enjoyed the music. It was cold outside, but I didn't care, I rolled down the window to let the breeze in.

Arriving home, I set my keys on the table. Changing into my pajamas, I didn't have any thoughts. Or when brushing my teeth, or getting a glass of water. Once in my room, I noticed the street light was out. The room was black. 

I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. For awhile, there was nothingness. I relished this nothingness. It meant I was sleeping. 

A familiar whoosh startled me awake. 

He was there. 

He was getting closer. I'd never seen him this close before. 

His eyes glowed, he looked angry. 

Before I knew it he was right above me. Staring into his eyes, I knew what he wanted. 

Me.

And then-

There was nothingness again.