Read Online Screamscapes: Tales of Terror by Evans Light - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Evans Light
Ads: Link
was very early morning.
His head and fingers throbbed with pain – it must have been a long evening at his desk again, he figured. The blackouts were happening more frequently, with him stumbling to bed later and later each night, exhausted and mumbling incoherent nonsense. The endless hours of typing were taking a toll. He had to find a way to make it stop.
He slid out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom, being careful not to wake Sonia. Her irritation with him and his erratic writing and sleep habits had been growing. The last thing he needed right now was to wake her up; then he’d have to deal with a fight on top of a splitting headache.
Gerard pushed the bathroom door shut behind him and flipped on the light. The sudden incandescent glare stung his eyes and caused his head to throb even more. He reached for the cabinet above the sink to get some Motrin, but stopped when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
The sorry person reflected there startled him. He had never been so thin before; his sallow complexion belonged to someone in the final throes of a terminal illness. No wonder his wife was fed up with him. He had let himself go.
“What’s wrong with me?” he asked himself out loud.
The moment the words crossed his lips, his hands gripped the counter, and his body stiffened in a spasm. He watched in the mirror, helpless, as his mouth began to move by itself. The thought occurred to him that he was having a seizure.
His mouth spoke.
“You want to know what’s wrong with me ?” it asked, his voice sarcastic and strange. “There’s nothing wrong with me ! There’s something wrong with YOU !” His own face grimaced at him in the mirror.
“Look me in the eye when I’m talking to you!” he commanded himself. “Look me dead in the eye and I’ll show you exactly what’s wrong with you.”
Unable to do anything else, Gerard looked himself in the eye, his manic reflection staring back at him.
The pupil of his right eye began to dilate. As he watched, the black circle in the center expanded slowly until no white remained. Something wriggled like a maggot inside the clear viscous fluid of his eye.
The sight of it panicked him. He tried to jerk back, to look away, but his hands and body held him fast.
“Stop trying to get away. Look at me!” his voice commanded again, the tone severe.
The thing inside his eyeball pressed itself against the interior of the transparent lens; it bulged from the pressure. He could see every detail of its shape. It reminded him of puckered petals on a still-closed morning glory blossom.
The petals unfurled, revealing a small twitching eye. It stared back at him - an eye inside his eye, centered where only the darkness of his pupil should have been.
“Shit!” he yelled, and discovered that he had regained control over his body. He backed away from the mirror, knocking over Sonia’s White Diamonds perfume in the process. The glass bottle made a racket as it clattered against the hard tile floor.
“Shit, shit, shit!” he stammered, breathless. His heart was pounding in his ears.
“What are you doing in there?” Sonia yelled from the other side of the bathroom door. She sounded pissed.
“I’m about sick of this crap,” she said bitterly. “Some of us have to go to work in the morning.”
Gerard thought it best to say nothing. He leaned over the sink to examine his eyes in the mirror again, dreading what he might find. But they looked fine; bloodshot, but otherwise normal.
Then his lips began to whisper.
“So now you know what’s wrong with you,” they said, in a hiss at first, but then shouted: “ SO DON’T FUCK WITH ME !”
The lamp clicked on in the bedroom. The squeak of mattress springs confirmed to Gerard that he was in trouble.
“What did you just say to me?” Sonia screamed as she flung open the bathroom door. “I refuse to live like this! Go sleep on the couch,” she yelled, her index finger trembling with rage as she pointed
His head and fingers throbbed with pain – it must have been a long evening at his desk again, he figured. The blackouts were happening more frequently, with him stumbling to bed later and later each night, exhausted and mumbling incoherent nonsense. The endless hours of typing were taking a toll. He had to find a way to make it stop.
He slid out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom, being careful not to wake Sonia. Her irritation with him and his erratic writing and sleep habits had been growing. The last thing he needed right now was to wake her up; then he’d have to deal with a fight on top of a splitting headache.
Gerard pushed the bathroom door shut behind him and flipped on the light. The sudden incandescent glare stung his eyes and caused his head to throb even more. He reached for the cabinet above the sink to get some Motrin, but stopped when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
The sorry person reflected there startled him. He had never been so thin before; his sallow complexion belonged to someone in the final throes of a terminal illness. No wonder his wife was fed up with him. He had let himself go.
“What’s wrong with me?” he asked himself out loud.
The moment the words crossed his lips, his hands gripped the counter, and his body stiffened in a spasm. He watched in the mirror, helpless, as his mouth began to move by itself. The thought occurred to him that he was having a seizure.
His mouth spoke.
“You want to know what’s wrong with me ?” it asked, his voice sarcastic and strange. “There’s nothing wrong with me ! There’s something wrong with YOU !” His own face grimaced at him in the mirror.
“Look me in the eye when I’m talking to you!” he commanded himself. “Look me dead in the eye and I’ll show you exactly what’s wrong with you.”
Unable to do anything else, Gerard looked himself in the eye, his manic reflection staring back at him.
The pupil of his right eye began to dilate. As he watched, the black circle in the center expanded slowly until no white remained. Something wriggled like a maggot inside the clear viscous fluid of his eye.
The sight of it panicked him. He tried to jerk back, to look away, but his hands and body held him fast.
“Stop trying to get away. Look at me!” his voice commanded again, the tone severe.
The thing inside his eyeball pressed itself against the interior of the transparent lens; it bulged from the pressure. He could see every detail of its shape. It reminded him of puckered petals on a still-closed morning glory blossom.
The petals unfurled, revealing a small twitching eye. It stared back at him - an eye inside his eye, centered where only the darkness of his pupil should have been.
“Shit!” he yelled, and discovered that he had regained control over his body. He backed away from the mirror, knocking over Sonia’s White Diamonds perfume in the process. The glass bottle made a racket as it clattered against the hard tile floor.
“Shit, shit, shit!” he stammered, breathless. His heart was pounding in his ears.
“What are you doing in there?” Sonia yelled from the other side of the bathroom door. She sounded pissed.
“I’m about sick of this crap,” she said bitterly. “Some of us have to go to work in the morning.”
Gerard thought it best to say nothing. He leaned over the sink to examine his eyes in the mirror again, dreading what he might find. But they looked fine; bloodshot, but otherwise normal.
Then his lips began to whisper.
“So now you know what’s wrong with you,” they said, in a hiss at first, but then shouted: “ SO DON’T FUCK WITH ME !”
The lamp clicked on in the bedroom. The squeak of mattress springs confirmed to Gerard that he was in trouble.
“What did you just say to me?” Sonia screamed as she flung open the bathroom door. “I refuse to live like this! Go sleep on the couch,” she yelled, her index finger trembling with rage as she pointed
Similar Books
