The Stain: V1: Chapter One

An antisocial and paranoid young adult experiences ghostly hauntings everywhere she goes, little does she know what these encounters would lead to

Ava was never alone. She lived by herself in an apartment, isolated from her family, and somewhat antisocial; But she was never truly alone.

Ava woke up to goose bumps on her skin and the hair standing up on the back of her neck.  She checked her body to make sure she didn't have any new mysterious bruises or cuts to explain to her co-workers again. 

She got the feeling she was being watched.  It would come over her each night and it brought her out of her sleep.  It came along with a vibe that made her anxious and shaky. Not just a physical effect that it had on her, it was mental too.  

She rubbed her eyes to try to get them to adjust to the lack of light, and then glanced at the clock on her night stand.  Its bright letters read a quarter after three in the morning.  Turning her head to look through the shadows, she jumped at a figure on the edge of her bed.  

He sat there hunched over with a hood hiding his face from view.  She only saw what he looked like when he looked at her. She could make out hideous scarring and burn marks. She never saw a hint of emotion or expression on his face. To her, his energy felt cold and empty.

The man was dressed in all black with a hooded trench coat.  The first time she saw him, she swore he was The Grim Reaper coming to take her soul.  She thought after four years she would be used to seeing him, but she still felt nervous around him... Especially since he watched her sleep.

She eyed him under her frowned brows, sliding backwards up her bed. "What do you want?" she asked. "Why are you here?"

She asked many times what he wanted, but she finally gave up because he would never answer her. He didn't speak much, he would stare at nothing until dawn when he would vanish.

Goddamn ghosts disturbing my sleep. She thought as she threw her blankets off herself and got out of bed. No use in trying to go back to sleep just to wake up in three hours...

She shook the sleep clouds from her head as she peeked out her bedroom door. Her home was invaded daily by these spirits. They hid in the shadows. She could hear their footsteps and silent whispers as she tiptoed across the floor with a paranoid glance on her face.  She wanted covered her ears when voices threatened her and told her awful things. I'm not welcome here... Then again... I'm not welcome anywhere I go...

After getting the coffee brewing, she returned to the living room to flip on the TV while she waited.  There was another riot in the city square, civilians were being advised to avoid the area and not leave their homes during the night.

The local news was on often, telling horrifying stories of riots and crime that spread worldwide over the last five years.  Between mass homicide, rape, and gang related violence; the TV became a depressing thing for her to watch these days.

Ava looked over her shoulder at the sound of whimpering in one of the corners of the room. She could make out the woman sitting there, curled into a ball while she rocked back and forth.

She raked her fingers through her orange hair, telling herself the "haunting" must have been all in her head. She questioned her sanity constantly. Did she develop cabin fever from being so cut off from the world? Was she paranoid and seeing things that were not actually there?

She knew the broken objects, fires, and bruises she'd wake up with were not a part of her imagination, but after being brainwashed to think she was crazy for so long; even she believed them at times.

During her teen years, as a last resort before kicking her out, her parents took her to a shrink who prescribed her a number of antipsychotics that did no good no matter how often the dose was raised. She was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The doctor also believed she was on drugs no matter how many times she told them she wasn't.

She focused back on the gory clips coming over the screen in front of her for a while, but when she couldn't ignore the crying. Giving a long exhale, she got to her feet and slowly walked towards the woman.

As she got closer, it looked like to her the female was either a teenager or young adult.  She noticed her legs were tightly pressed together with blood stains on her jeans. Long, blond hair covered her face from view as she took careful steps toward her.

"Are... You alright?"

She swallowed hard. She never knew how to react to these visitors.  Some were sa sobbing and shaking mess. Others were screaming and ready to attack.  There was also times where the spirits appeared to be broken, but would lunge at her as soon as she got close. Maybe the spirits wanted help, or maybe they just wanted her to suffer for their pain.

She couldn't stand the sound of the girl's heartbreaking and chilling cries. The whole scene was rather creepy to Ava and made her wish she wasn't so damn empathetic, but at the same time she pitied the poor soul who probably didn't know she was dead.  Her hand shook as she reached out to touch the trembling shoulder.

She drew her hand back quickly when the girl screamed and a sharp pain sliced into her palm.  The living girl saw blood grip from the gash in her flesh and staggered backwards. She stared at the spirit on the floor, who looked at her with wide, bloodshot eyes with a butcher's knife in her hands.

She stumbled into the end table and knocked it over. The light blew out when it hit the floor, blackness surrounded them. The green-eyed girl gasped in panic as she scrambled to her feet.  She gritted her teeth when she felt another slash across her arm. She fell to the ground again and holding her hands up in defense.  

Her fear surged inside her, hot and tingly all over her body. 

She expected to be stabbed to death by a dead girl, but the pain never came.  She opened her eyes and saw a fire burning on her carpet.  She blinked with her jaw dropped for a few moments before the alarm began ringing loud enough to break her eardrums.   She got back to her feet and ran to the door.

././.

Ava was thankful her Landlord was such a kind and understanding man, despite how many fires and property damage has happened in her apartement since she moved there.   The elderly man showed her compassion when other landlords had her evicted.

She returned to her apartment, sighing at the burnt remains of the rug rolled up in the corner. She sat on the sofa with her head in her hands.  When was this going to stop? Why me? Out of everyone f*****g here, why me?  I moved, I got evicted, and even ended up homeless, but they still followed me!  How many haunted houses do I have to live in before I can be normal? Why?

She didn't realize they weren't after her home. They were after her.

The stress made her eyelids heavy and her head pound. She kicked off her shoes and changed out of her work clothes.  Walking into the bedroom, she flipped off the light.  She preferred to have the light off.  While some people might feel safer to have it on, that way they could be alert; She found it was better to keep it dark.  That way, she may still hear the strange noises and voices, but at least she didn't have to see what was there.

She wanted to fight the sleep. She didn't want another nightmare. She fixed her eyes on the ceiling as long as she could, but in the end sleep always won.

././.

The images of crimson-stained bed sheets and splattered walls flashed through her mind along with echoes of screams and pleas of mercy.  Something dug into her brain, pulling at her consciousness. She couldn't wake herself up. Her body refused to obey her mind.  She felt as if hands were holding her down to the bed.

Then there was a second pulling. One grip was yanking her to the left, the other dragging her to the right. She felt like there was a battle raging in her mind; A battle she could not withdraw from.  She could feel the hands tearing her apart, ripping her mind into shreds.

She snapped awake at a loud crash and sat straight up in bed.  She shook in a cold sweat as her eyes darted around the room to find the source of the bang.

The hooded figure stood at the end of her bed. His gray eyes stared at her like a void. 

"You!" she yelled, "What did you just do to me?"

An empty expression was all she got as a reply.

"What the f**k was that? What do you want from me? Why don't you just get out of my house, get out of my head, and get out of my life?" she said.

He stiffened, but gave no verbal response.

"Why me? Why do you people all come to me and bother me?  You know, if you and your little ghost buddies were alive, this would be breaking and entering, stalking, property damage, and-"

"Stop being a damn child." He said.

Her eyes widened, taken back. "What? Me? A child? How the f**k am I a child?"

"Because you are immature and full of so much self pity that you do not see what's actually happening. You don't even bother to look." His voice was a hollow and flat tone, low and soft with formal wording that made him sound more like a robot than a spirit or human.

She cocked an eyebrow, not sure what to say back. "You... Don't know me." she whispered, "Get out."

"I'm not a danger to you... I don't know why you fear me."

"Because you're a f*****g creep who watches me sleep at night like some kind of goddamn pervert."

He glared at her, "If I was going to hurt you... I would have by now, don't you think?"

"Is that a threat?" she asked.

"It's a statement."

"Whatever... Get out." she glared back, trying to mask the knots forming in her stomach while she looked at the hideously scarred face. Did this guy just walk out of hell or some s**t?

She saw a flare of intensity appear in his otherwise impassive eyes. It was dark and menacing.  She quickly regretted using a sharp tone when his hands rolled into white knuckled fists.  She tensed up, putting her knees to her chest.

The darkness left his face and it went vacant again. "Fine... Suit yourself."  Then he walked into the shadows of the room towards the mirror. 

She flipped on the light again, but he was gone. Groaning, she shut off the light again and tried to go back to bed. 

She couldn't run. She knew they would track her down or more would appear whenever she went. It was like they had her scent and were hunting her like dogs. She was tainted with this stain she could not wash out no matter what she did. They would always find her... Little did she know what these encounters would lead to.

Author's Note

I have revised this story about four times now, still working on my writing skills and wanting to grow.

Please point out any issues with grammar, punctuation, or phrasing.