The Engagement

A screeching cackle was heard outside the window. The treble within in it was shrill and sharp. Sitting alone with your legs folded on the couch, your ears perk up. Head turns and cold chills like pin pricks have your hairs erect. The blackout curtains do not really allow any insight as to the origin of such a sound. The couch is a forest green faded suede loveseat that you sit upon. Patterns of long periods of lounging are visible. The curtains are a similar hue. The walls are a dark and dull crimson painted only a few months prior. To the back of you sits a white 3 inch diameter candle, which is lit, as the soul source of light in the room.

Turning your attention to the outside you spread the index and middle fingers vertically as to peer behind one of the curtains. As you sneak a slight gaze outside still shocked, you see nothing but a haunting malevolent darkness. After a 45 second examination of the yard, no culprit is found. You slowly slide down the back of the couch and start to question if anything ever happened. Memories of sudden noises and there effects begin to flood your mind. How many times has this happened? Did this just happen? How would you begin to explain this to someone else? Is it even worth another minute of thought? A slight confusion washes over you.

On to another matter altogether. After slowly exhaling as to extinguish the candle gently, a shift in mental excitement is received. Standing up you feel one of your legs is asleep and the pins and needles that accompany it. Shuffling to flip the light switch you feel an uncomfortable arousal. The sensitivity to light and sounds grows within you as a certain paranoia takes seed. With the lights now on and the room illuminated it brings an uneasy feeling. Maybe a trip to the kitchen to view the contents of the refrigerator, can shift your mind onto something else altogether. Shuffling off the couch, and planting firmly on the beaten and roughed up brown shag carpet, the journey begins.

Taking notice of every cardinal direction it is almost a tip toe through the living room. this isn't intentional but rather a reaction to the previous cackle. Slow but not snail like, your feet hit the cracked linoleum. parts of it almost crunch under your weight and gait. Careful about generating any further noise you clasp your mouth with your hands tightly. If someone cannot hear you then they cannot hurt you. Another 4 feet and the light switch will bring light to the entire kitchen. Within though, it seems further away as your fear and paranoia grow rapidly. Your mind races as it gathers heed to your fears. A small bead of sweat is felt on the right temple. It gathers mass and liquid with each step. You spy the switch and with almost a gasp your flip the switch. The room is lit. carefully inspecting now with intense focus, you search for any abnormalities. A misplaced bag of chips. An overturned bag of sugar. The freezer door standing open chilling the air. Nothing is wrong. Or is it? The paranoia has ascended now and has achieved new heights. Is everything you see still occupy the same space as the day before? What about the pantry? Has it been ransacked for any reason? Are those the same dishes that were in the sink? Its gathering steam and building. Panic is not far off. Talking to yourself and insisting it is just your mind losing it's comforting effect.

Reaching for the pantry door for an inspection you hesitate. Hesitating in a way to avoid that classic jump scare situation. Handling the pantry door with a quick and almost jolting between your thumb and index finger , you jump back a half a foot as to brace for confrontation. Door is open now. time to inspect. Scanning the contents and keeping an open mind, its hard to notice if one thing has shifted recently. This war is about to be in full swing whether you consent or not. Just then another cackle comes from your bedroom...

This one is deeper than the previous. It has a more developed baritone quality to it. It even sounds like a tape being played backwards. More full bodied it continues for another 7 seconds. This war in your mind has erupted now. Panic is in full swing. The hairs on your neck, arms and back are charged with adrenaline and are fully erected. Cold sweat sends your pores into hyperdrive and sweat beads all over you body. It cannot be a good idea to walk towards the potential meeting with catastrophe. However, there must come a direct confrontation with the terror.

Next to the kitchen via a worn and chipped wooden frame lies the hall. The kitchen is disheveled and unkempt as the sloth of your room mates contributes to it filthy demeanor. Spoiled food and empty wrappers litter the counter tops. The microwave door itself is caked with exploded food leaving it sanctuary for flies. Cabinet doors are frozen in a state of mid opening. You can imagine this as a place where mice and vermin flourish. Next to that is the hallway. It is pitch black and devoid of light with only 1 switch that is half way down next to the unused room. The room from which you heard the deeper cackle, resides at the end. Now being so dark you have 5 steps to the switch. Your heart is beating faster now as you step very lightly and stealthily. almost like a burglar in a cartoon. 2 steps down your eyes shift all around grasping for any source of solace or security. Darting back and forth they reinforce the rising heart rate and bring you closer to full blown panic. 2 more steps and a bead of sweat drops on the floor from the end of your nose. 1 more step. You flip the switch....

Examining everything except yourself, it all appears in some sort of surreal dream now. Adrenaline is flowing and pulse has skyrocketed. Noticing you are trembling with an absolute fear of the unknown, is the least of your concern. The number one threat in your life now is yet to be discovered and confronted. 2 steps forward after another assessment of the hallway around you, there is nothing visibly wrong or out of place. The door you are beside is open and suspiciously you inspect the room. Assessment is clear. no threat detected. A sudden hard thud on the door at the end of the hallway immediately catches immediate attention. Vision is getting hazy and blurred due to the seat now pouring down your face and dripping in front of you. Several minutes with almost choking swallows proceed. Tiny gulps as your mouth is evaporating of lubrication. 6 steps from the door now and closing in.

Time has frozen completely for you now and it will take every last ounce of courage you have to get to the door. Still panicking and sweat pouring down your face you take 2 more steps closer. 2 louder thuds in quick succession now violently reverberate through your being. Your shallow gasps are replaced by deep and labored breaths. You receive an additional wave of shock and terror. Your mind is telling you to abandon this but your soul pleads with you to stay the course. 2 more steps and you are within arms length of the door. It plays through your mind to reach out and turn the knob, but leaves you vulnerable to falling forward. A strong and powerful stance is needed to open the door and brace for whatever is inside.

Seemingly in another world, these final 2 steps are the most crucial. All possible scenarios are racing through your mind as you negotiate hypotheticals in your mind. Duck, dodge, strike, fall, die, so many things. only one thing is certain and that is this force must reckoned with. You take your wet arm and slowly wipe your brow and eyes. a deep breath filled with stale air helps you get centered. Only one way to find out now. The mouth is so dry and almost has you choke when you exhale. Heart is beating rapidly, feeling somewhat outside your chest. Your face is flushed and adrenaline is surging through you. You gnash your teeth as your grip the knob. Turning the knob ever so slowly towards inevitable, you are locked in a mental spiral. Up is down, Left is Right. The soul is pleading that you must only move forward into this terrifying abyss. A few more centimeters counter clockwise and you hear a loud click. With everything at stake and your destiny and fate intertwined, you burst forward with all your weight behind your shoulder in a spectacular show of force...