The house line rang, shaking in turmoil waiting patiently for a hand to put it out of its misery. Mr Matthews jolted awake by the sound interrupting his afternoon nap on the couch, the television showing a football match that had begun to watch the middle-aged man instead. He walked over to the noise-making machine and picked it up as he cleared his throat.
"Hello," he answered gruffly, his right hand rubbing his eyes as a yawn tried to break free from his mouth. "Hello," he said again after not receiving an answer. The other side of the call was dead silent as if no one was there.
"I'm going to hang up if you don't say anything" The man spoke up, sleeping far from his eyes now as he was getting slightly irritated with the ordeal. He worked three jobs trying to care for his sick mother and he didn't have time to waste especially when he was supposed to be asleep, gathering enough energy for his night shift.
"I'm hanging up now, I don't have time for this foolery"
A screeching noise came from the other side finally a sound but it wasn't a pleasant one. It sounded like a little girl screaming as if she had been injured.
"Run!" The voice said its voice dripping with fear. Mr Matthews stood starstruck, his freeze mode set in. Fear coursed through his body at the sound that had just passed his ear. It's a miracle that his ears aren't bleeding already.
He composed himself quickly asking the person on the other line "Are you okay girl? Do you need help?" assuming the voice was a girl because of the scream. He became worried, sweat dancing on his forehead and palms.
'Why had he even picked up the phone?'
"Run you fool!" The voice shifts from that of a little girl to that of a middle-aged man. It sounded just like Mr Matthews! As if his voice was mirrored by this...thing.
"I'm coming for you." The voice said again the screaming coming mere seconds after that statement. Sense finally entered Mr Matthews's head as he immediately dropped the phone, cutting the call. His heart didn't stop racing even as he got ready for his night shift at the hospital where he worked as a cleaner.
He attended to the various rooms he assigned, the incident still lingering in his mind, dancing in the back of his mind like a withered leaf in the wind. He tried to distract himself.
Maybe it was an illusion or a prank by the kids. They were vile but something in his head told him otherwise. He shook his head, a few curls coming to the front of his face. Running his hands through them, he picked up his mop bucket about to exit the empty hospital room he had just cleaned when he heard a laugh.
A little girl was laughing from inside the room, he turned looked around, and then out the window into the night sky. He didn't believe in God but if there was one he begged Him to send help. He shook his head again before leaving the room turning off the lights as he did so.
"Evening Mr Mathhews" a young nurse greeted as she walked him, a smile gracing her lips. He returned the smile but his eyes lingered on her. He liked her but knew she would never go for a man like him. She would want a doctor and he was no doctor. But then she turned back to look at him and smile again shocked he smiled back feeling ever so nervous, which had never happened before but suddenly as it did, it vanished.
The hallway they were in seemed to grow longer, the light flickering off and on as if playing a tune only they knew off. His hands grew sweaty, his eyes finding it difficult to focus. The mop bucket fell to the ground but in the slowest motion. It was as if they had gone to a different dimension. The nurse stood smiling at him, her blue scrubs stained with what looked like blood.
"I told you to run Adrien"
He gasped falling to the floor. Nobody knew that name, nobody had said that name well until now. She walked to him in a slow threatening manner. As she moved to him, he slide on his bottom his hands moving so fast behind him trying to get to safety. He made the mistake of looking behind to see the hallway didn't even have an end. Dread entered his mind.
What the fuck was going on?
He turned back to his attacker only to see her directly facing him, her eyes bloodshot, hair replaced with worms and maggots slithering around some with mouth others with just teeth. He screamed he screamed so loud his body began to shake with him, tears coming out his eyes.
Her eyes began to bleed, her mouth not moving at all but still, she spoke.
"I told you to fucking run. I'm coming for you. Now look what you've done" The scream he had heard in the afternoon sounded again this time it did make his ear bleed.
His ear oozed both blood and wax, the pain pressing his brain, squishing it like a pillow under a sumo wrestler. His hands dove to his head as he screamed and help unto his head in an attempt to stop the pain.
"What the fuck? What the fuck?" He cursed as he fell on his sides. The thing in front of him laughed like a little girl.
"Let's play hide and seek," she said standing to her feet "You try to run and hide and ill definitely catch you" She laughed again but it still sounded like that of a little girl.
"Who the fuck are you," The crying man asked. This infuriated the woman. The veins on her neck popped out of her body, blood spewing on the ground like a whip wrapped around the man's body, he looked on with fear his screams and cries sounding like melodies to her ears. She held him up to the ceiling before letting go allowing him to drop with a thud to the ground.
"Run you fool and pray I don't catch you" she spoke again the laughter oozing out of her. Mr Matthews jumped to his feet, a gash on his head but he didn't bother, he ran with what energy he had left but the hallway had no end, the laughter sounded inside his head, his eyes streaming with tears he used his hands to wipe them closing them for a bit.
He felt his hands holding his shoulders and he knew she had caught him. He became rigid in her hold, his running seized.
"Who.. what are you?" he asked again his body shaking with fear and grief his eyes still closed. He thought of his mother knowing this was his end. How had he even gotten here he had no clue.
She whispered in his ears "I am your worst nightmare" before grabbing his head and prying it off his body, it was slow and painful, his screams and cries of 'no' resounding in the hallway. His neck resisted the torture but not for long it snapped like an overused elastic band, his spine coming off with it. She let out the same childlike laughter and she dropped to her knees the man's head still in her grasp, his body lying on the floor.
Eating his flesh raw, biting off tendons and muscles moaning as she did so. This was like a Christmas dinner to her. She ate his heart and smiled, laughing sheepishly as if nothing had happened. She pocketed his penis as a prize, a trophy for her win.
Grabbing a trash bag from her waistband she cleaned up, tidying everywhere. Mopping and disinfecting. The place shined and glistened like brand new. Carrying the back she walked back into the room he had come from and threw it in there. This floor of the hospital was hidden but he didn't know that. She was a Megamind her plan had worked once again. She cleaned herself, showering in the toilet of the room and putting on new scrubs.
She made herself presentable to be around humans, even if she was not. She licked her lips savouring the taste and smell of his blood. She liked this one. Walking back into the busy areas of the hospital she smiled as she passed residents and patients.