Michaela's Monster

Chapter 4: Malicious Intent

Even as she continued in that direction though, Michaela's mind flipped through a catalog of dark theories towards what kind of 'Lovecraftian' nightmare may have been hiding down the path she didn't take.

Images of interwoven, blood-soaked tentacles flashed through Michaela's mind, along with glimpses of countless eyes, all blinking out of sync so that the creature wouldn't lose track of its prey for even a fraction of a second.

Pictures of rows, upon rows of jagged teeth, sawing back and forth in anticipation made Michaela suddenly conscious of how sweaty she was, and then of course there were the terrifying thoughts of how many piles of bones were assuredly cast off to either side of the hallway, picked clean of any and all flesh.

Michaela unconsciously picked up her pace to a brisk walk, taking another two forced turns, one to the right, then one to the left. As she tried to silence the horrific fictions that her mind was generating, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was behind her, following her, stalking her.

It was almost as if Michaela could feel the darkness' invasive gaze upon her, like an unwelcomed hand on her shoulder, or that time she caught Mike Telford staring down her V-neck T-shirt after he had asked to borrow a pen.

As Michaela looked behind her, she saw nothing but the same flicking lights, rotten tiles and warped linoleum that had been there moments ago, yet still she continued onwards, driven by the nagging sense of fear.

Before Michaela could turn back around though, she walked into something solid, rattling her brain for a moment with the force of the sudden impact.

Shaking her head clear, Michaela found herself standing at a large, black, metal door with a rusted push-bar across its midsection.

Warily glancing over her shoulder once more, Michaela expected to finally spot her pursuer standing in the distance, watching her from the edge of the shadowy corner, but instead she found herself alone.

For a brief moment she found comfort in that, but any feelings of security were immediately shattered when the flickering of the lights in the hallway became increasingly erratic, and the fixtures in the distance started shutting down one after the other, in quick succession leading towards Michaela's current position.

With wide eyes and a fresh wave of terror washing over her, Michaela watched as the darkness quickly approached, making her feel like she was a meek herbivore that had suddenly spotted it predator emerging from the tall grass at full speed, two seconds too late.

Frantically, Michaela tried to push her way through the large metal door, but the rusted push-bar didn't want to budge, as though it were stubbornly working in tandem with whatever hid in the darkness.

As a fixture a mere twenty yards away from her position turned off, Michaela began throwing all of her weight into the door, yet still it refused to budge, but in that moment of desperation, a sudden wave of clarity washed through Michaela.

She thought back to that sensation of the 'fireball of rage' that she had felt at her core, when she was in the Chapel. Sure, it seemed stupid, but nothing else was working.

Staring at the door with malicious intent, Michaela channeled every ounce of anger and fear that she had swirling within her and put all of her negative energy into a single, solid kick at the push-bar in the center of the large door.

The hinges screamed in response as the door finally gave way, allowing Michaela to jump through the doorframe mere seconds before the darkness would have fallen upon her.

Turning around to slam the door behind her, Michaela was certain this was the moment she would come face to face with her pursuer as they made one last, desperate lunge towards her (like they did in the movies).