A Tense Situation

© Rick McQuiston

Linda watched the doorknob jiggle back and forth as her captive attempted to free herself. But she knew very well that her friend wouldn't be able to escape. She had wedged a heavy chair up under the handle on the door.

“Linda? Answer me dammit!

Marla paused for a moment. “I know you can hear me!”

Linda smiled to herself. “Don't waste your breath Marla. I'm not letting you out. Or at least not yet.” She tilted her head to one side as if to emphasize her confidence. “And I think you know why too.”

Marla continued to struggle against the door, pushing and hitting it with all of her strength. But it held firm.

“Where's Jason at?” she demanded.

Linda scowled. “You don't need to worry your pretty little head about him.” She pushed her long blonde hair back. “He's not your concern anymore.”

Marla, straining to control herself, bit her lip in anger.

“Did you kill him too?”

“Listen to me little Miss innocent,” Linda retorted. “You know perfectly well who the killer is here. Don't try to feed me any of your bullshit cause I know better!” A tear welled in her eye when she remembered all that they had been through together. It truly pained her to be forced to lock up Marla but she felt as if she had no choice. “You're probably one of those things. I don't think you're even human! Jason told me he saw your eyes change. He said they were red, blood red!”

Marla fell to the floor of the closet. Exhaustion had taken its toll on her. All she could do was reason with her friend. She could only rely on their friendship and all they had been through to make Linda see reason and let her out.

“Linda, it's me Marla. We've been through so much together. How could you do this to me?” She listened to any signs that Linda was changing her mind. “I'm not any freakin' monster. You know it and I know it. I didn't kill Tommy or Ross or even the damn cat. When I found them they were already dead, all of them.”

A long dead silence followed.

“Linda do you hear me? Linda you bitch listen to me! Linda!”

Linda stood up and sauntered over to the bed. Lying down, she kicked off her pink tennis shoes and stretched herself out.

“Jason will be here any minute ya know,” she teased. “He told me we were gonna find out if you're human or not.” She sat up in the bed and pushed her long blonde hair back over her shoulders. Her eyes tightened into a squint. “Oh and he's bringing Tommy and Ross with him too.”

Marla stood up and rubbing her swollen eyes concentrated on the door. Thin plumes of wispy smoke floated up from her head, filling the closet with its thick aroma. With one swift wave of her hand the closet door crashed to the ground as if made of cardboard.

“I do hope those bastards hurry up,” she grunted in a deep, guttural tone. “I'm starving. I haven't eaten in months.”

At that very instant Jason, Tommy and Ross burst into the room.

“Hello ladies, we're here!” they all laughed.

Tommy and Ross fell onto the bed, flanking Linda who was smiling from ear to ear. “What took you guys so long?” she asked. “We've been waiting forever.”

Tommy snapped his hands back releasing two-inch long talons from their sheath. “You know we had to wait till the right time baby. We couldn't show up earlier.”

Ross was swinging his arms around his head as if he were doing some sort of bizarre ritual dance, his face a mixture of pleasure and pain. In a split second one of his hands swung near Linda's head, slicing off one of her ears, which landed across the room in a thick bloody pile. Linda only laughed.

“Is he here yet?” Jason asked. “I'm getting hungry.” His eyes had become such a deep shade of red they were nearly black.

“You moron,” Marla spat. “Of course he's here. Who do you think is narrating this horror story?”

“Could be a girl,” Linda giggled. The side of her head where her ear had been was thick with blood. It contrasted strongly with her smile. “They taste good too.”

Marla nodded. “I stand corrected. He, or she, fell into our trap perfectly.” Her elongated fingers clenched in excitement. “And as usual they don't have a clue.”

And then the entire group, Linda, Marla, Tommy, Ross and Jason, all turned and looked at me. Their hungry, red eyes glowed with an evil hunger beyond description, content in the knowledge that I was doomed.

I had been foolish enough to fall for their ploy, to involve myself in their situation, to care about what happened to their characters. And now I was trapped.

I can only watch helplessly as they advance towards me with grins too wide and teeth too long for any human. Hopefully they won't see you as well.