Tatatatatata. Tatatatatata.
A flutter of footsteps echoed through the large corridor. Within the dim space was a sinister synthesis of eerie shadows and an oppressive silence that caused overwhelming pressure.
A figure could be faintly made out making their way down the corridor hurriedly. Their feet were small, which made covering the large distance a burden on their tiny body. They moved on, speedy footsteps slowly breaking out into a run as the figure hurried forward.
Arriving before a door they stopped, "Mom?"
The soft voice echoed, it held the juvenile tone of a child and was laced with worry and fear. They called out a couple more times, first for their mother and then for their father all to no avail.
After the umpteenth time, they took matters into their own hands, reaching out on their tippy toes to open the door, only to be met with an empty room.
The child gulped, something about this night was scary. Why was everywhere so quiet? And where was everyone?!
"Guys?! Where are you?!" the child exclaimed, clamoring through the corridor, opening every door they came across only to be met with emptiness every single time.
Sniff.
The child's tears fell; there was nothing more terrifying than being alone in this huge mansion with no one in sight. Their body quivered uneasily as their little hands wound tightly about the fluffy toy lying briskly on their chest.
Standing before the last door, fear enveloped them; what if no one was here too? Did they have to go downstairs as well? But that was so scary…..
Sniffing sadly the child slowly opened the door and was instantly thrilled! It wasn't empty! They could make out shadows! It was—
"Huh? B-b-blood?"
A crimson light suddenly enveloped the room illuminating a chilling sight.
Bodies… Bodies… Bodies…!
"AHHH!!! AHHH!!! AHHH!!!"
An unexpecting manly scream erupted from the child's throat as their figure morphed into that of a man.
The man crawled out of the room in horror. He ran… and ran… and ran… he ran with no end in sight. The previously navigatable corridor became an unending path and no matter how much or how fast he ran, the room remained behind him.
His heart was racing, teeth chattering, heavy heaving, shortness of breath, and chills traveled from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and yet somehow, he kept on propelling through the endless path.
Behind him was a deep, deep darkness that threatened to devour him, and before him was an endless path, and the more he ran, the closer the room came to him.
Finally, it appeared right behind him, and hands, multiple hands, clawed their way toward him, grasping his head, hands, legs, and torso.
It clenched unto him tightly, dragging him into the abysmal darkness behind as he struggled like a decapitated worm in an attempt to escape.
But it was all futile; the hands completely encompassed him, slowly dragging him into that avalanche of bodies. Only a peek of his red-rimmed right eye could be seen, and from it, a single teardrop fell into the consuming darkness.
Blank out.
A flash of red.
A splash of thick metallic crimson liquid drowned him. His eyes parted in terror… anyone… help!
****
After rinsing out his vomit-infested mouth, Terrence leaned tiredly onto the sink, gasping softly for breath.
After taking a short breather, he slowly came out of his toilet, weakly sprawling onto the sofa.
The lights in the room were as bright as can be; had they not been, he couldn't imagine how much worse tonight's little episode would have been.
Reaching out his phone, he checked the date, and sure enough, it was today. Today was his family's death anniversary; he had completely forgotten about it, but his body made sure to remind him of it.
He lay silently, his eyes drifting to the bright lights as his mind wandered to "that" night. Sure enough, the memory was blurry. Somehow, after reaching his teen years, the memory faded into a blur, only to be always reenacted perfectly in his dreams.
He couldn't tell if that was a blessing or a curse but he had no choice but to accept it as it was. Therapy never helped, and after taking drugs for a long time to no avail, he decided to do away with them.
Finally regaining a little bit of his strength he made his way to the sink to wash his face. Looking up to the mirror before the sink he stared blankly at his sorry figure.
Messy blonde hair that sprawled across all angles, dead gray eyes that had completely lost the light within them, and a stubble that only added to his unkempt look.
A drop of water made its way down, trickling from his face unto his naked upper body. His pale look and dark circles gave him a sickly look, like a patient who had prematurely escaped from the hospitality.
Just then, his phone vibrated bringing him back to reality.
His face furrowed slightly in confusion, he found it odd someone would be calling him today of all days. After all, despite forgetting what this day was, he had always made it clear beforehand that he wanted no contact on this day, so who…?
Looking at the contact his surprise waned. It was Elara; this was understandable. After all, she was the only one in his contacts who didn't know of this rule.
Feeling a pounding headache besiege him; he knew he was not in the mood to entertain her, so he decided to reject her calls and explain later, only for his hand to slip accidentally.
"...."
He frowned, how annoying; he had mistakenly answered the phone call.
Elara's clear voice instantly disrupted the quiet space, "Hello? Hello? Terrence? Are you there? It's Elara! I was wondering if you're free to hang out!"
He was about to reject it when Elara continued, "It's my birthday today, so I made a lot of food, but it turns out my friends had plans. I didn't want to disturb you but you're the only one I could reach out to. You did complain I never invited you out… so here I am!"
Feeling even more agitated, Terrence considered turning off the phone and explaining to her later but was stopped in his tracks with a sudden thought.
What if he tried leaving?
It wasn't that he had never considered this before, but the last time he did… The results were terrible, and he never wanted to do it again.
He wanted to dismiss the thought but found it already sprouted roots within that short moment.
Elara's voice was jovial, reflecting an entirely different mood from his. It reeked of joy; although she was to spend her birthday alone, she was more than satisfied with that.
Because even without being present her loved ones had probably showered her with wishes and gifts. Her life was great, filled with love, good health, and comfort. She was very blessed; of course, she'd always be happy.
What was even more ironic was the fact that her birthday fell on the same day as his family's anniversary; as if to highlight the disparity between them. While Elara was in jubilation he was in sorrow and pain.
He smiled with a sense of sarcasm, life truly was unfair.