Shadow Fight

There it was again—the creaking sound of someone treading slowly out in the hallway. Pressing mute on the remote in my hand, the sound cut off from the television and I turned my ear toward the door behind me.

Thump, and then, the long creak of old hardwood floorboards.

My heart skipped a beat, my breath frozen in my lungs as I put the remote down and eased my feet out from under the afghan. My toes curled as they touched down on the cold hardwood. Making a mental note to find my slippers later, I eased around the end of the couch. What is that saying about curiosity killing the cat? I asked myself.

The soft beam of a light under the door broke as whoever was out in the hall took the step that brought them in line with my apartment. I ran as quickly and quietly as I could on my tiptoes to the side of the door and pressed myself to the wall, listening intently for the next step.

Thump. Shuffle.

Crap.

I kept my gaze riveted on the light beneath my door, waiting for the creak of the floor, and for the light to resume its previously unbroken line. Breathe, Hydrangea. I reminded myself, while another darker voice whispered, Open the door, Hyde. See what’s lurking out in the hall. Come join us out in the real world.

Surprised to find my fingers wrapped around the handle, I quickly pulled my hand away as a frown formed between my brows.

Squeak, and the line of light was full once more.

Letting out my breath, I gave myself to the count of ten and slowly opened the door. I poked my head out into the hall, glancing left in the direction the footsteps had taken and stilled.

The delicious scent of pizza filled the air and a young man in a ball cap stood outside the door of the apartment beside mine. He turned his head toward mine, flashing a sharp toothed grin and eyes that glowed with evil.

“Hello, Hydrangea. Be a dear and close the door?” He murmured to me in a deep, gravelly voice. “You’ve seen enough for tonight.”

Eyes wide, I stepped back and quickly slammed the door shut. I gave my head a shake, and then once more for good measure. Surely, I had not seen… No, pizza delivery boys did not have razorblade smiles that would give a great white shark envy. Nor did their eyes glow like the bulbs on a Christmas tree. Nope.

Scrubbing my hands over my face, I gave myself a shake and took a deep breath to steady myself. These waking dreams were getting to be a bit much, I decided, and made my way back to the couch. The television shows a man coated in blood and wielding a knife. As I sit down, I retrieve the remote and change the channel to a game show. So much for Friday nights at home with my favorite television show. Until these strange dreams get under control, I am opting for light and airy, thank you.

The floor out in the hall creaks again and I break out in goose bumps. I turn my gaze slowly to look at the door. I should not—I know this, but I cannot help it. Like a motorist driving by the scene of a horrific accident, my gaze turns toward the door and, sure enough, the sliver of light beneath the door is broken.

I pull the afghan tight around me, curling up against the back of the couch as I watch the door with a sick fascination. Whoever is out in the hall has stopped in front of my door. I wait for a knock, but it does not come, and I wonder who is standing there. Is it the pizza guy? Why are they there? What possible interest could the plain brown paint on the exterior of my door hold for anyone?

“Hydrangea,” a voice like nails on a chalkboard called out from the hallway. “Let me in.”

I shake my head, a thick purple lock of my hair tumbling over my right shoulder. Like hell I would. Creepy pizza guy could stay out there. I was staying right here in the safety of my apartment.

A shrill scream blasted from the television. I turned my gaze toward it, blinking incredulously as scenes from various horror movies flashed across the screen. The episode of Jeopardy I had been watching was gone, replaced by the gore reel for every horror movie ever made. Blood splashed and spurted. Screams echoed throughout my apartment.

Grabbing the remote, I jammed my thumb down on the power button. Over and over, I pressed to no effect.

“No,” I groaned. “No, no, no.”

I ducked under the afghan and weighed my options. Stay put and wait for whatever was going on to stop? Make a run for it to my bedroom? Or did I put on my big girl panties and open the door? There was no way any of this was real anyway. I was a sane, rational adult. One who needed to stop watching all of my favorite supernatural, science fiction shows and take up a new hobby. Like knitting. Yeah, knitting was safe.

“Hyde,” the creature in the hallway called out in a sing-song voice.

Cringing, I squared my shoulders and set my feet on the floor. I could do this. I would do this.

I had barely made it around the end of the sofa when I noticed the doorknob turning. The door began to swing inward, just enough to allow a faint sliver of light in from the hallway.

Inch by painfully slow inch the silhouette of a male revealed itself as the door opened. I recognized the outline of a ball cap and knew it was the pizza delivery boy before my brain had time to register the glow of his eyes and dole out the requisite rush of adrenaline that would spur me to run away as fast as my legs could carry me.

Mesmerized, I stood rooted to the spot and waited for him to make his move. His shadow stretched across the hardwood, reaching toward me in the glow of the light from the hall. I waited at the edge of the yellowish rectangle cast on the floor, my toes just outside the darkness his shadow cast inside my apartment.

The primal part of my brain, the part that tells us to run like hell when our lives are in danger, screamed at me to move. Every instinctual warning bell I possessed was telling me to run. But some other part that I could not identify held fast and dared me to hold still, to see what was waiting for me just outside my door. I desperately wanted that part of my consciousness to shut up and allow me to live in ignorance of what was coming.

It was not having any of that though.

“Hydrangea,” the creature in the ball cap crooned to me. “Step into the darkness. Just dip a toe in and let me show you what fun can be found here.”