Hallucination...

She gripped onto the metal rod at the side of her bed, scanning around her room, terrified. It was obvious, obvious that this house was haunted, even after just one glance. Yet her parents, being the oblivious, apathetic people they are, chose this abnormally eerie house, out of all the 14 in the list. And she had no right to complain, after all, since she was just another burden for them.

Screech.

Quickly scooting back to the furthest corner of her room, she kept her widened eyes on the bedroom door, mind filling up with incomprehensible justifications.

Thud.

Locking her knees to her chest using her arms, she tried hard to stay put, holding her breath. She heard one of the doors close downstairs.

Creak.

Closing her eyes, she took quick short breaths, following the creaks of the loose floorboards of the stairs, up to her room.

Suddenly, the house went back to its unearthly silence, even the wind deciding to stop its soft whoosh. She strained her ears for any faint noises around the house, but was instead greeted with eerie silence. Perplexed, she opened her eyes slowly, scanning around the whole room. It looked the same. Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she untangled herself and stood up, making sure to make no sound. Leaning onto the wall behind her for support, she went over the whole room once more, feeling uneasy. Not able to find any difference, she tip-toed slowly towards the door, locking it.

Click.

Then pressing her ear against it, she held her breath, trying to make out any kind of noise, while skimming through the room once more. She couldn’t help but be anxious. Not a thing. Just deafening silence.

I must’ve been hearing things again…

Sighing in relief, she walked back to her bed, curling up under the covers. Closing her eyes, she focused on getting rid of the troubled thoughts in her head and drift to her dreamland.

***

Groaning in annoyance, she pulled herself up. It had been over half an hour of her heading to bed, yet she was nowhere near feeling sleepy. Her mind was too unnerved to be able to relax. Rubbing her eyes in frustration, she rested her head on the headboard, sighing.

Tink.

Gasping in shock, she sat up ramrod straight, frantically feeling around for her metal rod, eyes on the door.

Tink. Tink. Tink.

It sounded like the tapping of glass, coming from downstairs. She looked up towards her ruptured clock, squinting her eyes to read the time in the faint light.

03:08 AM.

Her breath got caught in her throat. They aren’t here yet… they aren’t supposed to be. Shuddering, her eyes locked with the door for a second, before sweeping over the rest of her room, locating her rod. It was glinting at the far corner of the room, where she was hiding previously. Taking a deep breath, she crawled down the bed, reaching out for the rod on the floor, back facing the door. Her fingers wrapped around the bottom of the rod, pulling it towards herself while moving back to the bed. She got back under the covers, eyes returning to the door.

To her horror, her hands flew to her mouth, not letting the scream escape her throat. The rod slid off the bed, clanging loudly with the floor. The mysterious tinking from downstairs suddenly stopped. She was trembling with shock, unable to move her eyes from the horrendous sight. The creaking of the floorboards outside snapped her out of her trauma. Gasping, she shifted even further into her covers, moving to the corner of her bed. Her heart was beating a mile per hour, head bursting in pain. Her slender fingers clasped tightly onto the covers, pulling it up until it hid the bottom half of her face. She held her breath, staring at the door,

Silence.

Again. She stared at the door peculiarly, too terrified to move from her place. After a few minutes of blankly looking at the door knob, she closed her eyes, breathing in and out, slowly. Leaning her head against the wall, she sighed, licking her dry lips. She was still freaked out, letting the situation settle. Burying her face in her hands, she kept trying to breath steadily, decreasing her heart rate.

Why does this feel so real…?

Sighing shakily, she looked up to the battered clock again.

03:19 AM.

Gathering up her courage, she moved to the edge of the bed slowly, abandoning her covers. Placing her bare feet on the cold floor, she looked over to the bedroom door warily, before standing up and stumbling into the connected bathroom. Flipping on the switches, she went over to the sink, turning the tap on and splashing her face with water, hoping it could clear her clouded mind. Looking into the mirror, she scanned her pale face, pressing her lips together in disappointment.

It’s all in my head. None of it is real.

Sighing, she turned off the flowing water and wiped her face using the sleeve of her shirt. Walking back out, she plopped onto the bed, repeating the same sentences over and over in her head. Her eyelids were drooping, brain tired.

Click.

No, not again, please no.

She groaned, hiding in the covers. She didn’t want to go through the whole thing yet again. Using her hands to close her ears, she shut her eyes tight, focusing on going to sleep.

“Aren’t you going to open the door?” A deep voice asked from the other side of the door. Her eyes shot open, recognising the voice. Pushing the covers aside, she got up, checking the time.

03:23 AM.

“Dad...?” She asked in a tiny voice, hesitant, “What are you doing here at this time…?” She looked down at the gap under the door, tilting her head.

“Looks like you’ve forgotten Rule 18.” The voice replied, ignoring her question. She gasped, eyes widened.

Rule 18: Do NOT lock the door, in any situation, even if death is lurking outside, or the world is burning down.

She gulped, looking over at the rule book lying on the mini-table next to the door.

How in the world could I have forgotten...

“I’m sorry dad. I won’t do it again.” She apologised weakly, squinting her eyes back to the gap between the door and the floor.

“Ah, darling. It’s alright, just open the door for now. We’ll decide on your punishment later.” He answered in a sickly sweet tone. Another gasp escaped her mouth, her breathing faltering.

N-no... wait...

“Y-you…” She stuttered, realisation hitting her like a ton of bricks. Hurriedly moving back into the corner of the bed, she stared at the door, eyes wide open.

“What’s wrong, honey? Why haven’t you opened the door yet?” the voice, her dad, queried, in the same sweet tone.

“G-go away… Don’t c-come here… P-please… L-leave me al-one…” She stammered, trying to hold herself together.

“What, dear? Is this the way you speak to your father?” The person, her dad, asked. She stayed quiet, burying her face in her hands, petrified.

Silence. Yet again.

“Ah, you’re one clever little girl, aren’t you?” The voice asked, dropping an octave. She shivered at the sudden change of tone, pulling herself closer together. “Luckily, the keys of this house are quite easy to locate.” He chuckled, the sound of clinking metal audible. She trembled helplessly, taking a deep breath.

This is it, isn’t it? Please, please, please tell me this is some kind of insane prank. Please…

She prayed, cross-fingered.

Click.

He got it. He got the key.

She couldn’t look up. She didn’t want to. She was too scared to. She didn’t want this to be the end. She didn’t believe it was. She didn’t want to believe it. She’s fine with however worse life could get, but she didn’t want it gone. Letting her thoughts get jumbled up, she sobbed. She sobbed her heart out. She thought about her glorious past, her heartless parents, her selfish brother, her rotten school, her two-faced friends, her biased teachers, her unforgivable deeds, her regretful decisions, her depressing life as a whole. She didn't want any of it gone, she wanted to feel the pain, savour it, deal with it, and come out stronger. She wanted to reach her successful future. She wanted to be happy, die content. She was so close...

Sniffling, she wiped her tears after a few minutes, when she noticed something. Her head snapped up, forehead scrunched in confusion. Her wary eyes went around the room, scanning for any differences. Nothing . She blinked twice, traumatised.

That… No… That… That can’t be my head… It was too real… No…

She sighed, slightly relieved, but kept her eyes on the door, still not settling with the fact that it was all in her head.

Click.

“Ah, darling, it wasn’t all in your head, don’t worry.” The voice chuckled dryly, turning the knob. Her eyes widened, her body being frozen in place.

How I wish it was all in my head...

The door swung wide open, revealing nothing but darkness, but... with a sinister smile...