For some odd reason, I couldn't get a moment of shuteye at all. The day was fine, a regular old school day. But every time I shut my eyes, I would lay there for hours, idle but still awake.

My eyes flew open when the clock alarm came blaring on. It was probably early morning, judging by lack of sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. All I could really see was the bright red of the clock's LED lights, forming the time of 5:45am. I groaned as I slowly crawled out of my bed. I clumsily picked a school uniform from my dresser. I then opened my bedroom door and ran into the bathroom across the hall. About ten minutes later, I was finished my shower and I ran downstairs to make some quick breakfast.

"Jeremy, why are you awake so early?", I heard the tired voice of my younger sister Sarah call down from the top of the stairs. I turned and peered up at her, confused.

"Isn't there school today?".

Her eyes narrowed, like she was trying to burn a hole in my skull.

"It's Saturday", she shook her head and walked down the stairs, joining me. I felt like a complete idiot. How could I forget about the weekend?

"I'm never getting back to sleep, I guess I'll join you for breakfast", she sighed. I wondered if she had a hard time falling asleep as well, as we walked into the kitchen. I opened an overhead cupboard and pulled out two bowls. Sarah had already took the cereal out of the pantry and was digging through the fridge for a carton of milk.

I set the two bowls on the table, lining them up with the box of Fruit Loops that was the centrepiece. Suddenly a flash of light blinded me for a moment. I shook my head and looked out the large bay window that was facing the street. There was a thick sheath of dark grey, nearly black clouds cloaking the neighbourhood. At that moment, the wind quickly picked up to a strong gale, blowing the trees over at an unusual angle. I could hear the howl of the air rushing through the little crevices throughout the house.

"Well, it's definitely going to be shitty day", I muttered as Sarah joined me at the table. She must've heard my remark, since she nodded as she was pouring her cereal. Right as I started to pour the milk into my bowl, the low bass of thunder shook the house. The intensity was shocking, something that probably measured on the Richter scale.

"Jere, your cereal", Sarah said, snapping me back to reality. I completely forgot about my breakfast for a moment, and now a waterfall of milk and cereal was overflowing onto the table and floor. Sarah had already started mopping up the mess on the floor, so I opened a drawer next to the kitchen sink and pulled out a dish towel to clean the table. When the cleanup was over, I decided to just go back up to my room and try to sleep again. I probably was going to have worse luck than the night before, with this storm in full tilt...

"I'm going back upstairs", I told Sarah after I tossed my bowl in the sink.

"I'm just going to watch TV then, something to distract me from all the racket.", she replied, before walking into the TV room.

"Have fun watching infomercials.", I said in obvious sarcasm. Not long after that, lightning struck again. But the blinding light wasn't a flash like before. It never faded away. I would describe it like someone hit a pause button mid-flash. I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard the TV shut off, and the vibrating hum of the fridge suddenly stopped.

"What the....", My sister's utterly confused voice led into a piercing shriek, following a loud bang and shattering of glass.

"SARAH!", I yelled, my fearful voice cascading through the house. I ran in the direction of her voice. I felt her grasp me in a bear hug. She was bawling her eyes out. I opened my eyes in a squint for a moment to see the window in the TV room shattered and a large tree branch on the floor. It must've narrowly missed the girl.

"Sarah, hide in the closet. The one in the master bedroom.", I commanded. The walk-in closet was the only windowless room in the house. She nodded and ran upstairs. I was going to follow her, but a supernatural force made me freeze. Chills ran down my spine, followed by a moment of silence. Suddenly my ears were flooded with ghastly noises that resembled banshee screams. I opened my eyes to see shadows of demons dancing on the walls. I plugged my ears and squeezed my eyes shut as I darted upstairs and into the bedroom. I dove into the closet and slammed the door behind me.

Sarah and I held each other tightly in fear, our eyes riveted to the light streaming under the door. All of a sudden all I could hear was a bloodcurdling howl of pain. I stared in complete horror at my sister. Her face was pale as death, her eyes rolled back into her head. Blood spewed from her mouth, drenching us in the warm crimson liquid. And then she disintegrated into ashes.

Peering through a pile of old clothes in the corner were the evil eyes of a demon, piercing into my soul.

There was no time to run, I was already dead by then.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 09.02.2013

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To the depths of my demented mind.