The Antique Indian

The cool night air whipped across my face as I ran. Faster and faster each step being matched by heavy booming footsteps behind me. Its speed was supernatural and so were the awful noises it made. The low toned moans that repeated like a broken record against my eardrums.

I kicked open the gate that screeched like a banshee as it scrapped across the concrete of the sidewalk. Still, it followed close behind me. Boom! Boom! Boom! Its steps like jack hammers as it followed me onto the porch. I swung open the door and leaped inside, turning around only for a moment to close it back. I grabbed the doorknob and yanked the wooden slab of wood closed. The moans got louder as it got even more angry. Wham! Wham! Wham! It's cracked and callused fists banged against the door. I held it shut with all my might, praying to God the thing would leave.

"What's wrong?" My grandmother asked, a look of worry in her eyes. To her my actions were strange, but the loud banging quickly gave her an answer to her question.

"It's trying to get in!" I yelled, my back against the door. I pressed against it, my feet sliding across the carpet. The whole ordeal had my mind racing.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, her voice frail with fear. Then I remembered the cause of this, the origin of this devilish ghoul. It all started earlier that morning, when we visited that antique store on the way home. What started as a simple window-shopping good time, quickly evolved into a nightmare. We had separated, my grandmother going upfront while I continued to look around.

Amongst the comic books, tin signs, and vinyl records sat a carved wooden bust of a Native American. Traditional in appearance, it had long dark hair and old timey clothes. One thing stood out though, and that was its choice of head dress. Instead of the typical feathers and beads, the indian wore a tall black top hat. The thing creeped me out and the booths were leaving me quite disappointed. So, I decided to find my grandmother and leave.

On my way back through the various booths and shelves, I froze in place at the sight of the bust sitting before me again. Thinking whoever made the other one made two of the same indian, I continued on still fairly creeped out by the thing. I rounded the corner and came face to face with another one, which made me pick up pace in hopes of getting out as soon as possible. However, as I rounded the last corner something different happened. Instead of another bust, I heard a noise come from behind me. It was no other than that low toned deep moan that echoes through the house right now. I turned around in hopes of seeing an old man in one of the booths, thinking perhaps he made the sound. All the booths were empty aside from their items. That's when the footsteps began. Boom! Boom! Boom! Bricks against the tile, they trudged along, rounding the corner. There it was standing seven feet tall and less than a yard away. Its clothes tattered, skin dark, and mouth hung open wide as the moans bellowed from deep within its chest.

I ran as fast as I could, seeing the exit ahead. I practically leaped through the door, just in time to feel the rough caress of a hand on my back. My grandmother was already in the car and the beeps from the horn as she pulled up to the door were music to my ears. As we pulled out of the parking lot, I retrieved her bag from the backseat. It was slightly heavy. "I got you something I thought you might like."

Her words sparked the curiosity that had killed so many cats in both metaphors and actual situations alike. So, I opened the bag only to find that cursed bust staring back at me once again. Now, hours later here we are in the dimed light of the living room. My entire body wait pressed up against the age-old door as monstrous moans come from the other side. In a moment of surprise, the sounds stop. we both look at each other as we each let out a sigh of relief. I relax, my muscles tense and swore. Then as I take a step forward, another moan seeps in from the crack underneath the door. My eyes then widen as a dark and bloody fist bursts right through it.