The creature behind the mask.

A Story by Jess Holden

Short story.

As I sat in the dark, I held my arms as I felt my chest struggle to draw in a breath. My face was wet with tears, as I felt the cold air pass my dry lips, a shiver running down my spine. I herd screaming come from somewhere in my room, but couldn't identify the voice or where it was coming from. So I continued to sit in the dark, litening to the stranger scream. I could imagine some strage deformed demon of a human, sitting in the corrner of my room, holding its arms like me, screaming.

Its face would be unlike any other; small hints of humanity would be lost within huge gashes and soars left from encounters with threatening animals and objects. It would have a tall, slender body with limbs long enough to reach the ground, the bones visible through its thin skin. It would have crooked, broken and rotted out teeth, with breath that reeked of death and decay. Its eyes would be nothing more than empty holes, with the distant flicker of a flame that once blazed on with pride. As the image of this creature came into my mind, it grew a personality of its own.

It was alone in the world.

It had no one left to turn to.

All I needed was a name. Something that could pass as a demon, but also a human. I wanted something close to my name, so it was known that it was a part of me. After moments of consideration, I wiped the tears from my face, and sat up in the dark. The screaming became quieter, until it slowly stopped.

I began to worry.

Why would my creature stop screaming? I felt sudden panic spread all around my body, as I slowly made my way off my bed, slinking towards my light switch. Suddenly I saw something black move in the shadows at my left. I froze, unaware of what or who was in my room. Was this creature real? Could it be possible? I raised my hand slowly towards the light switch, until my right hand met the switch. I herd a deep growl come from the shadow, as I saw it move a little closer. I tensed my arm, as the thing threw itself at me. I dodged to the right, flicking the switch on at the same time. I fell back onto my bed, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. I held my breath and waited for something, anything to happen.

Nothing did.

I was all alone again, as I felt tears begining to form in my eyes. I stood up, flicked the light off, and slunk back into my cocoon of loneliness. I was never going to have someone, I was never going to have friend. As my face began to become wet with tears again, and I held my arms against my convulsing chest, I herd the screaming begin again.

The sound erupted from my lips. It matched the sound that came from my imaginary beast.

I was the beast.

What's wrong with me?