My monster of a secret

Shana-Kay Brown, Contributor

The ceiling was bare and daunting. I lay there riddled with fear and distress, my mind was racing with a million thoughts, so much so that I could not even hear myself think. I was in a confused state, shocked by what I had witnessed. The thought of it petrified me beyond comprehension. I covered my tired eyes that were swollen with grief, red tears welled and overflowed down my cheeks.

The sweet sounds of the ground doves on the window sill of my new home were now like deafening shrieks reminiscent of her shrilling cries.

I cringed when I saw her face in my mind, defenseless, like a clay pigeon. I could not keep this hidden anymore. I had to expel this monster of a secret that was building up like a volcano, ripening for a catastrophic eruption.

I shuffled into the hallway, fatigued and weary. The deafening silence fostered a kind of fear that I had never felt before. I peered through the window and I saw a figure standing there, watching. I hurriedly closed the windows and all the doors, double-checking the locks as I feared for my safety. I tried to remain calm, but my body had a mind of its own.

DEADLY TORMENT

The white, antique kettle on the countertop that my great grandmother had given me for Christmas, conferred a quiescent feeling, one that made me long for a warm cup of coffee. Maybe that would put me at ease for a while until I woke up from this terrible nightmare, I thought. I sat on the old wooden stool in the corner of the room. I rested my head against the cold, hard wall and closed my eyes. An unbearable pain drummed incessantly, creating a deadly torment.

I unknowingly drifted into a doze and the nightmare played all over again.

I was walking along the pavement on the block to where I recently moved in the dead of night, on the vacant streets where dogs conversed with each other in high-pitched howls. Just as I reached the trail I always took to go home, I heard gut-wrenching screams coming from behind an old water drum. I halted in my tracks, listening, frightened by what I was hearing. I hid behind a wall and quickly searched for the phone in my bag. I could heard her crying and begging. Piteous shrills escaped her mouth. I heard him slap her, choking her under his perverted grunts. I felt utter disgust.

I saw him pummeling her, robbing her of her dignity and innocence. He was a humongous and muscular bastard; his skin like tar. His features were cold and evil and his monstrous, horrid face bore a long, distinct scar. The fear and the anger building up inside me made it difficult to breathe.

I gasped for air as I felt the cold, hard phone in my hands. I gripped it, but my nerves got the best of me, making me tremble like a leaf dropping the phone on the pavement. What have I done?! The perverted grunts suddenly stopped. I covered my mouth, closing my eyes as tight as I could, hoping and praying he would not find me. I wanted to scream for help but I knew no one would hear me.

I RAN FOR MY LIFE

I garnered all the strength I had left and ran as fast and as far as I could. I did not look back, not once. I was so terrified I might see the monster behind me. I finally ran up the steps to my door and quickly searched for my keys, looking behind me every now and then. My hands shivered with fear as I plunged the key into the keyhole. The keys fell, crashing halfway down the steps. I dove after them with no hesitation, dashing against the door. I could feel the monster getting closer, his hot, disgusting breath on my neck. The keys turned and I flung the door open and gasped for air, awoken from my dream by the shrieking whistling of the kettle.

I jolted from the stool and removed the kettle from the stove. I checked all the locks and peered through the window. The figure was gone. I proceeded towards the kitchen, a little relieved but confused. I slowly poured some milk into a mug along with hot, scorching water. I sat and watched the steam dancing above the mug in a hypnotic dance when suddenly a dark shadow shifted down the hallway. I jumped, petrified. I grabbed the knife from the kitchen and slowly paced down the hallway.The lights flickered on and off and I could hear my heart beating as loud as drums.

Then I saw her, curled on the floor in a foetal position, weeping uncontrollably. My head spun and I closed my eyes and screamed. Deafened by my own screams, I opened my eyes and she was gone! I ran to the phone and I called the police, hyperventilating. I tried to sound as sane as I possibly could, explaining in detail what I had witnessed that night. Finally, my troubling secret had erupted and I felt a sense of peace. The monster can finally pay for what he had done. I felt proud of myself.

REDEMPTION

There was a knock at the door. My heroes had finally arrived. I proceeded towards the door and opened it to an officer clad in uniform, his face partially hidden by his hat. He slowly looked up at me and our eyes met. I saw a familiar scar along his tar-like face. His beastly, horrid presence bore an evil reminder of the tales that haunted me. His eyes unclothed me and my eyes unclothed the gun in his holster. The evil, gruesome monster had finally found me. I seized his gun like a sly fox, swift and cunning, pointing the cold, hard nozzle between his heartless eyes. He was so astonished, he pissed himself.

"You've been a very bad man Mr Officer, see you in hell." I whispered. I closed my eyes and squeezed the trigger and a gasp fluttered from my lungs. The monster was dead and the nightmare was finally over.