Alone In The House

A woman starts imagining stuff while on her own at home.

                                           Alone In The House

It was pitch black outside.  The moon stayed hidden behind some storm clouds that floated silently above.  Rain had been promised earlier that evening, but had not yet arrived.  The road where she lived was always quiet.  This at times would make her feel quite fearful when she was all on her own.  In some ways it was a blessing.  No noisy neighbours to contend with, parties which would go on all night long while trying to sleep.  She didn’t hate living here, but ever since she’d separated from her husband, this was the only place she could afford.  It was in the middle of nowhere, away from everyone.  Away from all the things which she enjoyed.  Shopping, going to the cinema, normal things which everyone did.  Her name was Verity, and the last few months had been hard.  Leaving him was the best thing she’d ever done.  Verity now felt at peace for the first time in ages.

She drank the last of the tea.  Putting the mug down onto the worktop she thought she saw something out of the window.  What could that be?  She neared the glass apprehensively.  The outside light was on which lit up only a small area of the back garden.  From behind a hedge a cat could be seen.  It peered at her before running out of sight, a mouse caught inbetween its teeth.  Thank god for that, she thought.  The last thing she needed in the dead of night was her abusive husband turning up out of the blue.  Verity could hear the TV on in the living room, which was a comfort.  She placed the mug carefully into the sink, then made her way towards that room.  She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something wasn’t right.  She sat down and picking up the remote pressed the button to see what was on.  The 10 o clock news was just about to start.  Suddenly something was heard smashing in the kitchen.  What the hell was that?  Her heart began to race.  Cautiously she proceeded back to check it out.  Looking through the doorway she saw the mug laying on the floor in pieces.  How could that of happened?  She remembered putting it in the sink.  Then she noticed something which sent a shudder through her.  The window just above the washing machine had been opened.  

“Is anybody there?” she said, staring straight ahead.  

Something rushed towards her and screaming at the top of her voice the thing stopped.  When she had enough courage to look down, the cat from earlier stood by her feet.  Out of sheer relief she began to laugh.  Talk about overeacting.  Verity closed the window and opening the back door ushered the cat out of the house.  The animal seemed disappointed by this.  But she didn’t care, she’d had enough for one day.  

“I’m sorry cat.  I’ve had a tough day at the office,” she said.  “All I want to do now is relax and head to bed in about half an hour.”  My god, I’m so pathetically lonely I’m having a conversation with a cat.  The animal ran off ignoring her.  She shut the door.  Verity giggled.  I’m such a silly girl at times.  She turned the kitchen light out and headed back to the comfort of the sofa.

......................................................................................................................................................

The news had ended.  The TV now switched off.  It was time to make her way upstairs.  She yawned, stretching her arms.  She turned the lamp off and headed to the bottom of the stairs.  Verity felt tired which was a good thing, as laying in bed not being able to sleep was far from ideal.  She slowly started walking up while brushing a hand through her long blonde hair.  She’d had a bath earlier and could still smell the shampoo.  It smelt nice.  “Night house,” she said quietly.  

No answer.

At the top she proceeded down the little hallway towards her bedroom.  She couldn’t wait to get into bed.  Warm and comfortable.  Lovely.  Once at the door she pushed it open and flicked the ceiling light on.  She began to unbutton her blouse when she thought she heard a noise from downstairs.  “What the hell was that?”  She neared the entrance and poked her head out, looking towards the stairs she waited patiently just to see if she heard it again.  She didn’t know if it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but the faint sound of footsteps walking not too far away sent alarm bells in her head.  Someone was in the house.  Please, god, no.  A door was heard slamming.  Her heart beat like crazy.   “Please leave me be,” she quietly said, scared beyond belief.  

Then a man’s voice said from the bottom of the stairs, “Is anybody there?”

She put a hand to her mouth.  Tears streamed down her cheeks.  She fell to the floor covering her eyes.  She was too petrified to look.  Verity was so sure it was her husband playing games, she stayed where she was.  Opening her fingers so she could see, she used one hand to pull the door closer to her.  She reached for the switch and turned the light off so she now sat in darkness.  With utter shock she could hear someone walking up the stairs.  My god it was Brian.  Why was he here?  She could now hear him in the hallway.  Her breathing was heavy.  She felt a whoosh of air as the door she hid behind opened all of a sudden.  She shielded her face and shouted, “Just leave me be, Brian,” waiting for the first punch.

“Who’s Brian?” said a voice.

After a couple of seconds she glanced up and a policeman stood there with a worried look on his face.

......................................................................................................................................................

“Sorry about earlier,” she said, looking at him embarrassed.

The officer who must of been in his late fifties laughed, and replied, “Well, if I knew about the problems you’ve had with your husband.  I’m not surprised you were scared.”

Verity took a seat so she faced him. “A door was open you said earlier.  How could that be, I closed everything?”

The officer while taking his hat off and rubbing a hand through his thinning hair, then said, “That’s why I came in.  As I drove down the road I saw your front door open and found this very peculiar.”

Verity didn’t like the sound of that at all.  “Do you think it’s Brian playing tricks on me?”

The policeman rubbed both his hands together with an uneasy expression on his face, and answered unconfidently, “I don’t know.  But I’m not sure if I should leave you, just in case.”

She could tell he would rather go.  It was something in his eyes.  “I’ll be okay.  I’ll hope I’ll be okay,” she said again, slight desperation in her voice.

The officer seemed uneasy by this. “Look, I’ve got rounds to do, but I’ll pop back later just to check on you.  Before I came in earlier I looked through the garden and couldn’t see anything suspicious.  Here’s my number, take it.  If you have any concerns ring this immediately.”  He handed her a card.  She put it in her trouser pocket.

Verity got up from the chair and showed him to the front entrance.  She could tell he was reluctant to leave.  “Trust me, I’ll be okay.”

He gave her a smile.  “I’ll pop back later to check around.  So if you hear something it’s probably me.  Or I meant to say, it will be me.”  He laughed, feeling stupid.

Verity didn’t want him to leave.  “Thank you,” was all she said.  “By the way, what’s your name?”

“It’s Kevin,” he answered.  “I promise I’ll come back later.”  

She watched him walk back to the police car which was parked along the road.  Then closed the door to the outside world.

......................................................................................................................................................

What a strange night, she kept thinking.  Maybe it was her who’d forgotten to close the window in the kitchen, and the front door.  It seemed unlikely, but lately her concentration wasn’t as good as it should be.  Verity felt the soft pillow against the back of her head.  After a long day she was happy to be in her bed.  Before long she was sound asleep.

......................................................................................................................................................

Verity awoke with a start.  For a second she didn’t know where she was.  Realising she was in bed, she rubbed her eyes, peering at the clock it was 4.36 in the morning.  So early.  She lay her head back down, knowing the things which had happened earlier had probably made her feel more tense.  This is why she was having trouble sleeping tonight.  She did worry more than she should, but coming out of an abusive relationship took time.

A bang was heard from outside.

Her eyes widened.  What the hell was that?  Even though it was chilly in the room she ran to the window and peering out could only see the garden covered in black.  She put on her dressing gown and hurrying out of the bedroom went into the room opposite knowing it faced the road in front.  The moment she saw the police car relief ran through her.  She then decided to go downstairs and make him a nice warm drink.  At the bottom she walked to the front door and opening it looked out into darkness.  The car was still there.  Verity decided to go and look for him.  He couldn’t be that far away.  With her arms wrapped around her to keep her warm she walked around the house to where the back garden was.  Still no sign of him.  

“I can make you a warm drink if you like,” she said raising her voice a little.  “I’m having trouble sleeping you see, and the company would be nice.”

She made her way further into the garden keeping her eyes peeled.  Where was he?  Then she saw something a few metres away.  It looked like a figure bending down close to where the shed was.  Thank god for that, she thought.  She headed down the little path.  When she was closer something strange happened.  A light from behind her came on blinding her for a couple of seconds.  She removed her hands from her eyes and looking down saw the most dreadful sight.  The policeman’s head was missing and his hands had been nailed into the side of the shed.  Verity let out a terrified scream.  Laughter was heard.  She turned round her heart thumping faster than she’d ever known.  In front stood a person wearing a horrible mask.

He then said, “Verity, Verity, where could we be.  My knife will cut your head off and in time you’ll see, that you are the one for me.”

She put her hand to her mouth, taking a couple of steps back she fell over the policeman her face landing into his crotch.  She screamed again and got back up realising the person had vanished.  She wiped some blood from her mouth.  “What the hell is going on?”

Instinctively she ran back to the house.  Once inside she slammed the door.  The phone sat on a nearby shelf.  She needed to ring the police.  Dialling 999 she was suddenly aware of someone standing behind her.  She faced him.  He still wore the grotesque mask.

“Why are you doing this, Brian,? she said.  She wanted to cry.  She had trouble understanding.

“Brian?” he replied.  He put a hand up to his mouth giggling.  “Little Brian.  Scary Brian.”

Verity put the receiver to her ear.  A voice was heard from the other end.

“How can I help you?”  It was a man’s voice.

Verity stared at the person in front, and down the phone she said quietly, “I need the police immediately.  I have a stranger in my house.  I live at.........”

The line all of a sudden went dead.

She dropped the phone to the carpet.  “What do you want from me?” she shouted, terrified as can be.

He took a step towards her.  He swung his arms about like he was dancing.  Then answered, “I want your blood on my clothes.  Do you like the sound of that?”

She’d had enough of this psycho.  She ran to the kitchen area her mind spinning through utter fear.  She heard him howling like a wolf.  She entered the kitchen and swiftly shut the door.  Looking about her she opened the cutlery drawer and got hold of the biggest knife she had.  Verity hid it behind her back.  Her breathing was heavy.  She waited for him to show his face.  A door slammed from down the hall.  What was he up to?  She wasn’t taking any chances.  “What do you want from me?” she yelled.  “I swear I’ll kill you if you come near me again.”

Silence.

Suddenly the door burst open and the man ran towards her with a sadistic grin on his face.  She lost all her strength and fell to the floor.  He stood over her, a sparkle in his eyes.  He took his mask off.

“Why give up so easy.  Brian would be ashamed of you acting like this,” he said.

“I hate f*****g Brian.  And I hate you,” she yelled.  She rammed the knife hard into his chest.  He let out a scream as he fell on top of her.  She pushed him away.  Verity stood up, not quite believing everything that had happened.  The b*****d by her feet was slowly bleeding to death, an agonising look on his face as the blood ran through his fingers to the floor below.

“So, who are you?” she screamed.

He didn’t answer.  Moments later he was dead.

The knife fell from her hand.  She’d had enough.

“Well done, girl,” said a voice from behind her.

My god, it’s you, she thought with sheer horror.

Slowly she turned to face Brian.  He had a smile.  His shirt was covered in blood.

“Why?” she asked.

He stayed where he was, but a serious look came across his face, before replying, “Because you can’t live without me, sweetheart.  I’ve missed you.”

Verity felt sick to the stomach.  “Why kill the policeman?”

“I could tell he fancied you, dirty b*****d.  Smashing his head in felt fantastic,” he said, shrugging his shoulders like he was bored.  “Let’s have a fresh start.  What do you think of that, Verity?”  Taking a step closer he held a small red box in his right hand.

“What’s that?” she asked, fearful.

He smirked, looking pleased with himself, before answering, “It’s a present for you.  Just to say how sorry I am with the way I treated you.”

She couldn’t believe his bullshit.  “There’s a dead body in my garden because of you, Brian, and you’re talking about a fresh start.  Have you got a screw loose or something?”

He seemed angry all of a sudden.  “Don’t start you b***h.  I’ve missed you, that’s all.  I wanted to make it up to you.”

Verity couldn’t take any more, and yelled, “And who the hell is that bloke laying on my floor dead.  Do you know him?”

“For god sake, Verity.  Why take life so seriously.  I met him tonight.  He was desperate for some drugs, I promised to pay him well if he came with me tonight.  All I wanted to do was freak you out for a little while, so you’d realise that being on your own wasn’t much fun.  Then the copper turned up spoiling everything.”  Brian looked down at the floor, rubbing his forehead he glanced back up.  “Look, sweetheart.  I fucked up.”

She wanted this b*****d to die.  She couldn’t believe what he’d done.  She had a plan.  “I see what you’re saying, Brian.  I forgive you.”  Verity wanted to be sick.  She peered at him.  “Close your eyes my lovely, and the next thing you’ll feel are my lips on your lips.  Will you do that for me, Brian?”

He seemed reluctant.  “Why do I need to close my eyes, is this a trick?”

“If you trusted me you’d close your eyes.  Relationships are built on trust,” she replied.  Her heart raced.  A chill ran through her.

Once he’d did what he was told she picked up the knife stabbing him in the thigh with as much strength as she could.  She saw his eyes open immediately while he screamed in pain.  He fell to the floor.

Verity then decided to run.  She could hear him shouting while she ran up the stairs.

“I’m going to kill you, you b***h.”

Her mobile was in the bedroom.  That is where she was heading.  At the top she ran down the hall scared as can be.  She could hear his footsteps coming up the stairs, she needed to hurry.  She pushed the door open.  Verity could see the mobile sitting on the cabinet beside the bed and hurried to it.  Picking it up she started to dial the number for the police.  She was shaking and by accident she dropped the phone.  It fell under the bed.  Verity got on her knees.  Using her hands she tried looking for it with no success.  

Then a voice said at the entrance, “You’ve really pissed me off, sweetheart.  I’m afraid there’s no going back.”

She lifted her head up so now she could see him.  “Please leave me be?”

“You’ve had your last chance.  I’m going to enjoy this,” he snarled, taking a step towards her.

A metre from her was the window.  With as much speed as she could muster she ran to it.  Opening it she climbed out onto the porch roof.  He all of a sudden had hold of her foot.  Verity peered back at the face of the devil.  Using her other foot she kicked him hard in the head.  Thankfully he let out a scream and fell back into the room hitting his head on the side of the cabinet.  Verity watched him knowing that at any moment he could get up.  But he didn’t.  Then sobbing was heard.  

“I’m so sorry, my beautiful Verity,” he muttered, moving his head to stare at her with saddened eyes.  “I know I’ve done wrong, and I deserve everything that I’m going through, but if only you’d forgive me, it would mean the world to me.”  A tear ran down his cheek.

Verity looked at him disgusted.  “Just rot in hell you pathetic loser.”

Anger covered his face.  Within a second he was on his feet.

She took a step back from the window feeling the edge of the roof.  She saw him coming towards her trying to grab her dressing gown.  She didn’t know what to do.  Then she had an idea.  A few feet from her at the end of the house was a trellis which she could climb up.  Knowing his leg was badly injured she might have a chance of getting away from him and climbing to the higher roof.  

With a disgruntled look on his face he made his way through the window, blood dripping down his trousers.  “I can’t believe you, Verity.  Well, you’ll know about it shortly when I cause you some pain.”  Brian gritted his teeth while searching for her.  Where was she?

She had climbed a couple of metres when she heard the most outrageous scream from below her.  She looked down her heart racing.  He stared back utter hatred covering his vile face.  “Just leave me be?” she shrieked.  Verity then carried on making her way up, not too far now, nearly there.  

“You really think you can escape me,” he yelled, running to the bottom of the trellis trying to grab her foot.

She did her best to kick his hand away, but with no luck.  Then she felt a firm grip around her ankle and she knew she was in serious trouble.  She tried pulling herself up.  Without warning she lost her grip and came tumbling down.  She faced him terrified.

For a second he seemed bemused by the whole thing.  Then a monstrous look came across his face, and he said, “Look what I’ve done because of you.  You’re going to pay with your life, you heartless b***h.”

Verity felt his hands around her throat.  “No, please,” she begged.  He wasn’t having any of it.  The pain around her throat intensified.  She had trouble breathing.  She wanted to cry as the fear of death consumed her.  Then a miracle happened.  A faint sound was heard.  What could that be?  A flashing blue light was observed some distance away, followed by two more.  

Brian noticed something wasn’t right and looked himself realising with utter horror that three police cars were coming down the road towards the house.  “But how?” he said shocked.  He released his hands from her throat and got up into a standing position.  He walked to the edge of the roof peering at them with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.  “But I cut the line, how could they’ve known about this.  For godsake this place is in the middle of nowhere.”

Verity watched him, and using her foot kicked him hard in the back.  He vanished from sight falling to the ground below.  She could hear him crying in pain.  She didn’t care.  The vehicles stopped a few metres from the house.  Five police officers appeared with worried looks on their faces, and one shouted, “Look, she’s up there.”

Verity then began to cry.

......................................................................................................................................................

Three ambulances had turned up within half an hour.  Verity sat in one of them as they checked her.  The man smiled, before saying, “You seem okay.  Nothing serious to speak of.”  

“Thank you,” Verity answered, she didn’t feel okay, if the truth be told she felt terrible.  Then she saw a police woman enter the ambulance making her way towards her.

“Are you okay?” the woman asked, concern on her face.

“Not really,” she replied.  “That poor policeman.  He tried to help me you know.”

The woman wiped a tear from her eye, before saying, “He was a good friend of mine.  I’ll miss him a lot.”

Verity felt like it was all her fault.  “If only he’d stayed away.  He would still be alive.”

The police woman rested a hand on Verity’s shoulder, then said softly, “Please don’t blame yourself.  This was out of your control.”

Verity needed to ask her a question, “How did you know I was in trouble?”

“I tried ringing Kevin earlier several times, but for some strange reason he wasn’t answering.  Then I grew suspicious that something wasn’t right, and knowing he was coming here.  Well, the rest is history.”

“Such a shame,” Verity answered.

Verity peered through the glass back towards the house which had been her home for only a short while.  In one of the windows a light appeared as the early sun reflected off it.  A new day was dawning.  And with it a little hope was felt somewhere amidst the darkness.

                                                               The End

Reviews

[Marie]

I wondered where you were, and was glad to see this story from you. Very suspenseful, as Verity fought for her life. It was sheer horror, yet there was nothing supernatural about it.
This sentence is a bit awkward:
"Something rushed towards her and screaming at the top of her voice the thing stopped." Sounds like the thing itself was screaming. Try "Something rushed toward her and stopped as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Also I think you weakened your last sentence. Try leaving out the word "felt".

[steve]

My computer crashed. So I had to deal with that for a little while, trying to save documents and stuff like that. Thanks for the review, Marie. Yes, I see what you're saying. Good stuff.

[Trinity Essex]

I hope you do not mind Steve the story was good and it was really moving along until the bit when the police cars came,how did they know she was in trouble even though the policewoman friend knew Kevin was going there who could guess what was happening,maybe if Kevin had phoned through about Verity and her fears..then maybe..Hope you dont mind Steven just saying that it just didnt ring right to me at that bit..

[steve]

Good point, Marguerite. And it's very nice to see you on here. I'll add something extra next week as now being a Friday I just want to have fun. Thanks again and much appreciated. I will read your story over the weekend, can't wait. Have a lovely weekend yourself. xx Love Steve.

[Trinity Essex]

hope you a great weekend I cannot say the same as my back has been terribly painful....love from me and all.xxx

[steve]

Ohh!!! Sorry to hear that. xx Love and kisses.

[Worth_A_Wink]

Your last line is very potent. That one little description really sums up a lot of emotions without over complicating it.

All in all, this story is very engaging and although the ending isn't happy for everyone in your story, there is a glimmer of hope as you so accurately describe.

If I were to offer one suggestion, (which is tough because your story is very solid), it would be to add in the smaller details to sharpen up your reader's focus. As we've learned with TV's, a few more pixels make a world of difference, as do a few more words. Here are just a few examples to show what I mean:

"She headed down the little path." vs "She headed down the little path that circled the large vegetable garden."

"Laughter was heard. She turned round her heart thumping faster than she’d ever known. In front stood a person wearing a horrible mask." vs
"Masculine laughter was heard. She turned around, her heart thumping faster than she'd ever known. In front of her, standing next to the fence surrounding the garden, stood a man with a demon-like mask covering the top portion of his face." (I'm assuming top because she noticed his grin later *shrug*)

;)

[steve]

Thank you very much for reviewing my short story. I'll take into consideration what you said.