The door opened with a beep as Scarlett inputted her password and walked into her apartment. The whole place was dark, just as she had left it; she clapped twice as the light bulbs came alive.
After a long day at work, all she needed was a hot bath accompanied with wine and music, relaxing those tense muscles on her back.
Scarlett tossed her handbag to the couch and was in the process of slipping off her jacket when the lights died.
What the hell? Was there a blackout?
She was just about to investigate the blackout when the lights came back on and she sighed in relief; she hated dark places.
Scarlett slid the jacket down the rest of her arm and tossed it to the side. She wanted to ransack her bar attached to her living room for a bottle of wine when the light flickered off engulfing her in darkness.
Was this some kind of joke?
She slid out her cell phone from the pocket of her pants, put on the torchlight, and began to find her way around.
But her attention was drawn when a loud thud came from the kitchen; something crashed to the ground. Her heart skipped a beat, had someone broken into her place?
Heart beating a mile a minute, Scarlett searched her abandoned bag for a taser when a spooky cackle from nowhere caused her to scream and jump out of her skin.
Where did that come from? A burglar robs property not scare people, right?
Scarlett turned around with excruciating slowness, shocked to see her television was playing a movie.
She gulped while her brows furrowed together in confusion, how had her television turned on? She was sure it was off seconds ago, then how?
Her palms become clammy, her brains were hyped with thoughts that she didn't even realize she was shaking.
This must be a prank.
Yes, someone must be teasing her, but who? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't think of anyone that could come up with this crude joke.
But she didn't believe in paranormal events either, there was no way on earth this could be the doing of a ghost, right?
Fine Scarlett, we could do this. You're a strong woman, ghosts don't exist; they're just stories used to scare kids, you're not a kid anymore. So wake-up!
Easier said than done cause when her television went off on its own, she was convinced beyond doubt, this wasn't ordinary.
"Who are you? "
Her voice was a whisper but it was firm even though she was reeking of nervousness. Be it human or ghost, it was a coward by hiding in the dark.
A gust of wind flew past her, tossing her hair while the hairs on her arm stood on edge. Scarlett was sure that someone - no something, was here with her.
"Who are you and what do you want from me?!" She yelled this time, tired of its petty game. Whatever it was, they should settle their score head-on not playing tricks behind her back.
The room temperature dropped with no warning.
Shivering, she rubbed her hands down her arms for warmth. The room was so cold, she could've sworn winter was happening in there.
Her breathing formed mist in the air, Scarlett searched around the living room with the light from her phone for her jacket, the cold was too much to bear.
Where was that damn jacket when she needed it?
Her battery died as her phone switched off.
Great.
Scarlett released a torrent of curses.
Eyes blazing with anger, she screamed, "What do you want from me?! Why don't you show yourself?!"
Why was it tormenting her? She had always been a good person nor could she remember offending any ghost, heck she was a human, what association would she have with a ghost?
When she didn't get any response, Scarlett began to feel her way around with her hands. Her phone was dead, she was now swallowed in darkness and it wasn't doing her any good especially now there was a ghost hot on her trail.
Thanks to the darkness, Scarlett bumped into something hard and cried out in pain. She hated being at a disadvantage, if this wanted to torture her, it should at least give her a fighting chance.
Cutting her sense of sight was equal to incapacitating her, how could she defend herself in the dark?
Then she heard it, eerie voices all wrapped in one deep somber tone continuously humming strange words in her head. Was this her end?
Scarlett had never thought of how she would die but being killed by a ghost? That one never crossed her mind.
"Just let me go! " She cried out this time, walking briskly with no sense of direction.
God, her wedding was around the corner, she couldn't die yet. Yes, she had to escape this place.
With such determination in mind, she was keen on retracing her steps when something wrapped around her leg and brought her to the ground.
Scarlett screamed, falling to the floor but she was unable to stand back up, her hands and legs were tied to something and no matter how much she struggled, couldn't release herself.
Her breath came in gasps while her heart slammed against her chest, her earlier bravery was lost; now, fear washed over her.
"P-please " her voice was cracked but one could sense the desperation in it.
Scarlett trembled when something touched her face - this was different - she couldn't see it but she felt it.
Her throat dried up but she still summoned the courage to ask, "What do you want from me? "
"You "
The voice seemed to come from everywhere but it was firm and straightforward.
"I don't understand, what could you possibly want from me? I don't even know you "
It laughed, but it scared her
"You know everything"
That was all it said when the bulbs lit up, the light enveloping the whole apartment and blinding her momentarily.
Scarlett blocked her sight with her arm from the sudden brightness, she sat up abruptly with shock and disbelief.
There was no scar on her wrist or ankle where she had been tied up nor was there snow in her room as she had believed.
It was as if everything that happened was a figment of her imagination. The only pain on her body was where she had bumped her head earlier.
You got to be kidding me.
Scarlett muttered and passed out.