Trigger

Trigger: Chapter 3

“Hello?” I called out. There was no answer. I paused, taking a deep breath. It’s probably nothing, I tried to tell myself. Gripping the handle, I yanked the closet door open with one quick motion and stepped back. It was empty.

Thump.

The noise was coming from the opposite side of the wall. I walked back out to the hallway.

“Ayden? Mick?” I called out as I made my way to the next room over. “Sorry, I probably should have asked before coming up here,” I apologized guiltily.

Reaching the room, I opened it to find it was empty. This one was much less tidy. Most of the furniture was broken and destroyed. The glass of the window had cracks spreading in all kinds of directions. Dark drapes covered half of it, creating a darker gloom in this room than the last.

I looked at the wall that would be on the other side of the closet. Near it was a rocking chair that was gently rocking back and forth. The source of the thumping noise I’d heard was from the back of the chair smacking against the wall. I let out a sigh of relief realizing it was nothing. The chair slowed to a stop. The only question left was why it was rocking in the first place.

The window was shut, ruling out the usual “it was just the wind.” There wasn’t anyone else up here. What was the explanation then? Ghosts perhaps? At this point, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

“Hm, interesting,” someone hissed in my ear.

Startled, I spun around, losing my balance and falling so that I was sitting in the rocking chair. I was even more stunned to see what had spoken. I felt the shrill scream of fear fall from my lips and my eyes grow wide as I frantically tried to push past it. It was hideous.

“You’re not the hunter,” It growled.

It had long onyx fangs with eyes to match. When it breathed, it sounded thick and raspy. Its body was completely deformed, contorting in sickening ways as it moved. Instead of two arms and two legs, it had four elongated legs with two thin arms. It looked dirty as if a strange thick mud was smudged across its entire body.

“What are you?!” I screamed in horror, pressing myself against the wall. My heart and mind raced as I searched for an exit. I’d have to jump over the bed to reach the door. It seemed unlikely I could out maneuver something with so many legs, especially after I could barely escape Ayden and Mick.

“Little girl, you are not in a position to know about creatures such as myself,” it murmured with a glowing smile. Its voice was deep and rough. “It is not you I came for, but I will take the liberty of reliving you of the misfortune of my discovery.”

It then quickly moved towards me. With another impulsive yell, I flung myself over the bed having no other choice.

As predicted, it quickly caught me, more able to work its way across the bed with four legs. It tried to pin me down with two of its legs while holding itself up with its other two, laughing at my struggle. I flung my arms around, my legs kicking furiously at anything they could collide with. I felt something cold press against my thigh. The knife.

I kneed the creature, mostly by accident, in a soft spot on its belly making it cringe and loosen its grip on me slightly. This opportunity allowed me to reach for the knife. Thrusting it with all my might, I shoved it into the creature’s torso and shoved it back forcing it to stumble backwards. Just as a person on stilts, it had trouble keeping on its feet after the impact, falling back clumsily.

Without hesitation, I rolled off the bed and began running down the hallway. I could hear it recover and stagger after me.

“Help!” I cried in desperation. “Please, help me!”