The Assignment

Checklist for a horror story;

- The storm of a. century

- Storm cuts off roads, bridges, electricity, and the means for rescuers to reach you

- A big mansion with creepy stuff

- An unfinished basement filled with snakes

- Frenemies

Mali twirled her pencil in her hand and wondered if she could turn these writing prompts into a dastardly tale without being to Agatha Christie. She didn’t want to write the typical trope storyline, where all the characters are trapped in a mansion after a storm, and the bodies start to stack up.

After years of reading her favorite detective stories, she feared she was tainted by her experiences. She needed to dig into something new, but was dystopian horror what she needed to read to stretch her abilities to weave a tale?

Shutting the lights, Mali crawled into bed with her new books, read the back covers, and feared she’d never sleep a wink if she read any of these stories.

Since Dylan was away, she decided to set aside the story about the serial killer who seduced his victims. Her brain would turn every creek in her house into an intruder, and she’d never sleep without Dylan beside her.

The stillness of the night intensified her fears as she picked up book number two. How was she going to read about the stalker who lived next door and hid cameras in a college student’s room? She’d be up all night with fears that she was being watched.

Doubts started to swirl around her brain, taking over her imagination. Before she even cracked open a book, she feared the stories hidden within their covers.

Setting the books aside, she turned out the lights and hid under the covers. Grabbing her phone, she decided to text Dylan.

Mali: OMG sooooooo not cut out to write horror!

Dylan: Lol. You ok?

Mali: yeah, just scared myself

Dylan: you were never into horror? Why are you trying to write that stuff?

Mali: it’s for an assignment at school

Dylan: can you get out of it?

Mali: nope!! I’ll wait for you to get home. It’ll be easier with you

Dylan: so, you can be scared and keep me up

Mali: or… hear me out… you can distract me 🤣

Dylan: that works for me!

Mali: I figured ❤️ GN! See you tomorrow

Dylan: ❤️U2

Trying to focus on Dylan and not the horror stories floating around her brain, Mali closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over. After several minutes, she groaned, aggravated at the images of stalkers that haunted her.

“This isn’t working,” she said, jumping out of bed. Stumbling in the darkness, she turned on her lamp and looked around the room. Grabbing her desk chair, she slammed her bedroom door shut and put the chair in front of it.

“This better work!”

Sliding under the covers again, she tried to sleep with the light on and a pillow over her eyes, but she felt like someone was watching her. What if her TV had a remote camera hidden inside? Or was her computer camera secretly recording her?

Bounding out of bed again, she shut her computer, threw a shirt over it, grabbed her coat, and hung it over the TV. Feeling slightly better, she shut the lights and hid under her blankets.

An hour later, Mali was wide awake. Every sound turned into an intruder! Her nerves were fraying around the edges. Picking her phone up, she thought about calling Dylan, but he’d be asleep by now.

How was she going to stop this cycle of fear-mongering? Perhaps she needed to read the third story. Maybe then, she’d be so tired that it would not matter how scared she might be: sheer exhaustion would take control.

Sitting up, she turned the light on and grabbed the third book. It wasn’t your typical horror story. It was a paranormal tale about the fae. Lucian was a beautiful creature on the outside, but it was all a pretense. On the inside, his body was rotting, and he needed souls to regenerate.

This plot was outside of the realms of possibility, and Mali actually felt sympathy toward Lucian, the soul-stealing fae. After all, his victims were unaware that their souls were stolen in the end.

By four in the morning, Mali had read almost two-thirds of the story and was starting to reread the same paragraph over and over. Figuring it was time to go to bed, Mali shut the light off again and curled underneath her blankets, wondering if she would fall for Lucian’s charms. Would she be strong enough to see through his veil of deception?

As sleep to hold, she figured she’d fall in love with Lucian like all other hapless girls. She dreamt of kissing his sultry lips and letting him ravage her body. She gave into his touch without reservation, knowing this was only a dream.

As the hours passed, Lucian pleasured her in ways Dylan had never touched her. Mali begged for more, pleading for relief as his tongue danced upon her wanton skin.

As the tendrils of sleep began to loosen their stronghold over Mali, Lucian asked, “Will you give yourself to me?”

Wild-eyed and frantic, Mali replied, “Yes! Forever! I need to feel you inside of me.”

A look of triumph crossed his face as he touched her lips.

Mali woke up panting from her dream, her legs and arms wrapped around the warm body lying next to her. Mumbling in her sleep, she asked, “Umm, Dylan, when did you get home?”

Without answering her, his lips found hers and he took from her what she freely gave until she was no more.

I hope that you enjoyed this little story!

Thanks,

KA Stefana