~~MINE TO TAKE~~ [HWC2013]

"All the freaks are out tonight!" Ben's boss elbowed him as he walked by.
"Watch out for the bogeyman on your way home!" He snorted and laughed with that hideously annoying sound that to Ben more closely resembled something like a cross between a pig and a donkey. Seems his boss also had personality traits to match both as well.
Ben hated this shift, hated this job. But like everyone, you take work where you can get it, just to survive. Surviving his boss was more work than his actual job. How do people like him get high positions anyway, he thought instantly as his superior left the room to heckle someone else.
"Just thirty minutes left", Ben said out loud to nobody in particular. Then out of here and home to bed. No big Halloween party this year, no friends with nothing else to do. Work was all he had this holiday. Too bad Halloween doesn't pay time and a half.
As he walked down the corridor towards the front desk, he caught his first glimpse, in hours of the now darkened evening outside. A quite somber rain had begun to fall, and though a storm was predicted, he had hoped it would hold off till he got home. No such luck.
The clerk flashed him the same fake mask of a smile that she did to everyone who walked by and he wondered if she practiced it in the bathroom mirror, or worse, kept smiling in her sleep, long after her shift was done.
Making his final rounds, he yawned, long and loud. It had been a slow boring night. Peak season was now over, and he knew many more nights like this were to come. His mind drifted to the leftover pizza in the fridge, and the cold beer beside it, just waiting for him to come home.
He checked his watch, ten minutes to go. Maybe if he walked really slowly to the staff room, changed, grabbed a soda for the road, he could just make punch out right on time. Yeah, that's it.
Time stamp proved him right. 12:00am, on the dot. Damn he was good.
With one foot out the front doors of the hotel, he heard the rumblings of thunder overhead. The wind gusted at him from behind, swirling wet leaves around his sneakers, and the rain poured harder causing him to zip his jacket higher, and quicken his pace.
He was thankful that there was a bus to take him home, but annoyed that it only stopped three blocks away. In this weather, it might as well have been ten blocks, because despite the jacket, he was almost soaked right through.
The walk seemed quiet enough though, as most were retired for the night, or had already taken shelter from the rain. Two blocks down, one two go.
As he neared the intersection of Maple St. and Third Ave. he heard a ruckus of male voices coming closer to him. Around the corner came a group of young punks, some dressed for the occasion, some not. They were loud, pushing each other around, throwing a slew of obscenities at each other. He could see that a couple of them had spray cans in their hands.
Eyes down till you get closer, then just nod…Ben reminded himself. He didn’t like feeling unnerved by a group of kids about ten years his junior, but he was.
One of the group spoke, despite Ben’s gaze being elsewhere.
“ Hey buddy, you got a smoke?” Another voice chimed in as well, “ Yeah y’know where’s a good place to party man?”
Ben just shook his head and managed to stutter out a quick “Nope”, as his feet kept propelling him closer to the group, trying to gather speed to go beyond.
But as they got closer, the group spread out, blocking the entire sidewalk.
“Sorry, guys,” Ben stammered,” I just need to catch my bus.”
“Oh he needs to catch a bus everybody! Did you hear that? Think we should help him with that?” Laughter rippled throughout the gang of them and echoed off the brick walls of the buildings on either side of the street.
Ben felt the sour pang of fear begin in the pit of his stomach and spread the butterflies all around his body, stopping at his heart, their fluttering wings creating a faster beat. He made a sudden move past them, onto the street, and darting past the first half of the group before they could react. Three of them tried to grab his jacket and were within inches of doing so. They gave chase only a few hundred feet before a taxi speeding down the road to its next fare, intervened in the cat and mouse game.
It rounded the corner of the final block of Ben’s walk and startled him more so than the fear urging him onward. He stumbled on the edge of the wet curb, his ankle twisting, and down he went, with the back of his head hitting the wet asphalt.
In an instant the pain shot from his head over his scalp, and a tunnel of black filled his vision mixed with raindrops till he was out.
When his eyes opened again, he was cold, lying in a river running directly over his body towards the gutter a few feet away. His vision was blurry, but he righted himself, sitting up on the curb, rubbing the large bump on the back of his head. Suddenly remembering how he came to be here, he quickly looked around for any sign of the gang of boys who chased him. None.
He checked his watch and made out the time. An entire half hour had passed as he had lain here, and he had missed his bus. Quickly checking his pockets, he also realized his wallet and phone were missing.
He cursed, and kicked at the ground, and began the remaining twelve block walk home, stumbling a little off balance, trying to compensate for the pain and dizziness.
Ben had never been happier to see his own front door. By now he was shivering and a large puddle formed under his feet as he dug for his key in his coat pocket. At least the little jerks didn’t grab that and throw it somewhere.
He locked the door behind him and made his way immediately to the bathroom, peeling off his clothing and turning on a hot shower at the same time. It took the full hot water tank splashing over him to begin to thaw the chill in his bones. He dried off quickly and put on the warmest pajama pants and sweatshirt he owned. Opening the fridge, he pulled out the leftover pizza and placed it directly in the oven to reheat, passing up the cold beer because he didn’t want to start shivering all over again.
He walked back to the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of aspirin from the shelf, downing two pills with one swallow, and no water.
The pizza took the edge off his hunger pangs, but the sourness of the evenings events remained as he lay in bed and pull the blankets up to his neck, trying to get rid of the last of the chill. His hand gently felt over the bump on his skull, and he cursed again, thinking of his lost wallet and phone. Soon the warmth and comfort of his own bed lulled him into a deep sleep.

(Continued next post)

Blackness, with swirling mists of a deeper darker extreme of blackness. He eyes strained to see the patterns, forms being created in front of him. A whooshing sound filled his ears, like driving at high speed with the windows open. A lightness, a weightlessness, like floating on water, on air, mixed with a tingling sensation of a mild electric shock throughout his body.
Ben felt so strange, indescribable. There was a combination of elation and trepidation. He was moving, no flying through this darkness. In the shapes he began to see shades of grey forming into various things, trees, mountains, buildings, people….and all along as he continued the greys became lighter and the forms seemed more solid, more real. At first he was looking down from above, but then he found himself amongst it all, unsure of how he got there.
A forest of tall grey trees towered over him, and the sound of the whooshing wind had disappeared, only to be replaced by a garbled static of voices of which he could make out no words. He watched his feet press deeply into the soft mossy earth of the forest, but he felt no pressure on his soles, no coolness of the damp plants. He smelled none of the decay of the blanket of leaves at the base of the trees. It seemed only his sight and sound were functional here. He bent down to run his fingers over the moss on the forest floor, but it felt like nothing, like air. Although he could see every detail of its texture, he could not feel it.
There was movement to his right, just barely catching his attention. He turned to look in that direction and through the thickness of the trees, he saw them. Three dark figures, standing around something, looking down. The blackness of their form stood out amongst the hues of grey so much so that they seemed illuminated in darkness.
Not knowing if it was wise to be seen or unseen, he crouched down again and slowly crawled along the ground, which he still could see but not feel, closer to observe the trio and what they were doing.
It appeared that they were hovering over a wooden crate, or chest, or…a coffin?!
The taller of the three, was opening it up, and Ben could see that indeed, a coffin was what it was. He suddenly felt that this was a place, a scene playing out in front of him, where he should not be.
He quickly rose to take a step backwards, and as he did, one of the figures turned its head towards him, its red eyes glowing malevolently directly at his. The dark creature let out an ungodly screech of a sound, alerting the other two to the presence of Ben, now labeled intruder.
“MINE!” It screeched. ”MINE!”
“MINE!” screeched the other two figures in reply.

He moved, swift as a hurricane wind, he was moving over the floor of the forest he could not feel, through the trees that had no smell or color, and away from the fearful things darker than a storming starless night. Back, back, back the way he came, till he was no longer running, but again flying, over the light grey forms that grew darker, darker, into a tunnel of blinding blackness.
Behind him the shrieks rose in intensity but he kept going, not daring to slow down and look back. He didn’t want to know how close they were to him.
“ MINE TO TAKE!” He heard from behind, even as the whooshing sound again filled his ears, and the darkness closed in around him.
Ben’s eyes opened saucer wide, but his body remained still. He could not open his mouth to scream, he could not move at all. A terrifying pressure, so heavy, holding his body in place. He could feel his heart beating hard and fast, the panic overtaking him at being completely paralyzed, the remnants of glowing red eyes and shrieking black shadows still lingering with him. He tried a deep breath, then another, and slowly, clumsily, lifted a few fingers, opened his mouth and gasped. It took all his strength, to make his limbs lift and obey his mind to work again. He felt physically drained, as if he had been running a marathon for hours.
He shuffled his exhausted body to the kitchen, while the entire scene kept playing over in his head like a horror movie instant replay.
He made a large pot of fresh Colombian coffee, dark roast, extra strong, in the hopes of shaking off the lingering effects of whatever kind of nightmare that was. For good measure, he cracked open one of the cans of beer and quickly downed the whole thing, chasing it with yet another coffee.
Giving his head a shake he remembered the bump and felt for the swelling once again. It had gone down somewhat but was definitely tender and more than likely bruised. He cursed again. Cursed also his stupidity at scheduling a double shift today after working last night.
“ Today, is going to suck”, he moaned out loud.
He quickly dressed and went to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and fixing his hair. Large dark circles under his eyes conveyed like beacons the night he had, and he knew just what kind of taunting his boss was going to dish out to him, all day, and all night.
“God, this is really going to suck.”
He grabbed his key from his still wet jacket and stuffed it into his jeans pocket, as he headed out the door on the now much longer trek to work.
With no wallet, meant no money for the bus, and no time to go to the bank and explain anything due to his early shift. Ben felt like his nightmare started last night on the walk home, and he must still be in it, and it was going to last the next 16 hours plus.
If it weren’t for the bang he took to the head last night, he was surely tempted to bang his forehead off a brick wall as he walked by.
Not being used to walking to work, Ben had underestimated the time it would take him to get there. So when he arrived ten minutes late, his pigish, donkey-like boss was waiting for him.
Ben didn’t even hear what he said to him. He saw him, saw the scowl on his face, his color go from healthy pink to anger red, the spittle fly from his mouth as the crescendo of his speech abruptly ended and he walked away….but he heard nothing, absolutely nothing.
Lucky for him, the pig-donkey seemed to have spent himself on that single confrontation and preferred instead to harass the poor front desk clerk with the fake smile. In a way Ben pitied her, in a way not. Better her than me right now.
So when his second shift ended uneventfully, Ben was finally feeling like the nightmare was ending. He may still have to deal with the loss of his phone and wallet, but tomorrow is a new day, and also his day off.
He was tired. Lack of sleep the night before and a double shift, had done him in. Tonight for sure he was gonna polish off that six pack and sleep like a baby.

(Continued next post)

Out the front doors and down the street, the same sour fear began in his stomach. He tried to shrug it off. He reasoned with himself that nobody gets mugged in the same place twice, two nights in a row. What would the odds be? He laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the thought.
He crossed over Fifth and continued down Maple. Behind him, he heard the distinct thud/shuffle of footsteps. He shivered a bit, but he dare not turn around. He was terrified of another confrontation of any kind. The footsteps kept a steady pace with his, and Ben was positive he heard someone muttering to themselves with a raspy voice. He’s likely just a drunk…Ben thought. Not much of a threat.
Crossing over Fourth, Ben shuddered to hear another set of footsteps had joined the first.
Oh God…I was wrong. This is it. They were waiting for me the whole time. They just want to finish what they started last night.
He quickened his pace, mentally trying to calculate how many more steps it was to Third Ave, even though he’d walked this street so many times, and how fast could he get there, and when he did what then??? The bus wouldn’t arrive for a few minutes till after he got there!?
One mumbling voice had become two, and their footsteps kept a rhythm with their voices. Step, mumble, step mumble. Ben could not place the one syllable word between the footsteps.
As he walked an icy chill traveled up his spine, like frozen fingers counting each vertebrae until they reached the nape of his neck and electrically charged his hair causing it to bristle.
Just walk, just walk, just look down, JUST GET THERE, JUST GET THERE…
Ben crossed over Third Ave, and quickly rounded the corner.
Spotting the bus shelter, he realized then with a wave of relief, that he was not alone. Inside the shelter sat an old man with a cane, and outside stood the desk clerk with the fake smile smoking a cigarette.
She flashed it at him as he approached, that mask of a smile, but still said nothing. The old man looked down at his feet, talking to himself.
The footsteps behind him and the mumbling were gone. Where they went or who they were he did not know. To him the sight of witnesses probably scared whoever off. He felt his masculinity dip a bit at the thought that an old man and a young woman probably just saved him.
In the distance he could hear the engine of the bus, and watched as the young woman moved closer to the edge of the curb, waiting to board it. The old man remained seating, but his voice grew louder in a one word syllable. This time Ben heard it clear as day. “ MINE”.
He looked from the bus back to the old man, who now rose from his seat and walked towards the curb, and Ben. Out of the corner of his eye, two dark figures were running with the bus directly towards them. Ben kept looking back and forth from one to the other as he stepped back from the shelter, and the young woman and the old man. Not sure whether to run or jump on the approaching bus, he stood frozen.
“MINE” said the old man.
Ben heard the engine roar of the bus and it picked up speed with both dark shadows keeping pace with it. And as it approached its designated stop, it did not slow, but swerved instead, and as it did, the young women with the fake smile, stepped off the curb, directly into its hurtling path. The two figures disappeared behind the bus as it carried on down the road leaving the body of the desk clerk behind.
Seeing all this, Ben had lost sight of both the figures and the old man. He was gone. Just gone.
His mind was reeling with all kinds of wtf just happened when he remembered that he was the only one left there capable of helping the girl.
He bolted over to where she lay, blood on the pavement, and her limbs at odd angles. Even if he still had his phone, he was sure that it was too late.
But as he knelt down over her to check for a pulse, he felt a faint breath escape her damaged face, and her eyelids began to flutter. She opened her eyes, wide and red and glowing, and grabbing him with her broken twisted hands by the throat and she shrieked…
“ MINE TO TAKE”

reply to post by AccessDenied


You definitely tapped into the spinal cord of fears. Fear of being followed, fear of being assaulted, fear of the dark, betrayal of what should be normal, etc. Nicely done, I think I'll stay in and have pizza and beer tonight!

grayeagle
reply to post by AccessDenied

 

You definitely tapped into the spinal cord of fears. Fear of being followed, fear of being assaulted, fear of the dark, betrayal of what should be normal, etc. Nicely done, I think I'll stay in and have pizza and beer tonight!

. Yep,got all the bases covered. Thanks for reading my story.

Great imagery, I enjoyed the story.

S n F

reply to post by AccessDenied


I wanna write a story!!!!! Not a great writer but...as soon as i get my thread count up.. Had a pretty tasty little ats resume but intentionally lokd myself out cuz i felt i had no privacy...now im back to try it again..hahahaha.