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The Lurker
Many years passed but flashbacks of that horrific night still lingered in her mind vividly. A little past midnight and her eyes were wide opened and staring into the dark, and to the barely visible rotating fan above her. She had an unusual sleeping pattern where she woke up every night successively before the break of dawn, but tonight was different. She was woken up to a rattling sound of a branch against her slide window. The night wind run wild tonight in the avenue, yet her room had an unusual build up of heat. One of her breasts had escaped the warmth of her body and dropped through the side of her tank top.
The tall tree barriers that beautified the streets and cast shade on the tarred road during the day stood directly outside her apartment on the first floor and banged against her window. Her room stood completely dark, except for the few rays of head lights that made its way through her window, cast by passing cars. She had enjoyed the sunset view the evening passed and had forgotten to draw the blinds before going to sleep. Her will to get out of bed to draw the blinds was refrained by her weakness and unwillingness to leave the comfort of her bed. She turned to watch her clock that stood underneath her favorite bed lamp. Her digital clock read 23:55 and for a second, she wished daybreak was near so she could endure the constant intruding light that made its way over her eyes. She remembered all those years growing up when she couldn't get anything done without giving it a countdown first.
The branch banged hard against the window again. "I need to call someone about that damn branch." she thought. She’ll call the caretaker on her way out to work later that morning but for now, her main problem was the stream of parallel light from her window that rose over her face and climbed up her wall. She turned to get out of bed when she was frozen by the sight of a dark figure that stood in the corner of her room. The figure, The Lurker, as she later called it, stood a minimum of seven feet. He seemed darker than the rest of the room.
Kim's mind wandered in search of the right word to describe the pitch-black nature of this figure. In her stillness, she remembered the word—Vantablack, she had watched a documentary about this super-black substance which was voted the darkest material on the planet.
“But what is it doing in my room?” she thought.
"Can't be" she said, in an inaudible voice, when she thought it was the grim reaper. “He wasn't carrying his scythe." Besides, bright green lights were perfectly placed in The Lurker’s face where its eyes were supposed to be, and the grim reaper never showed his face, let alone his eyes.
The figure approached her in a hover and stopped halfway between her shoe rack that stood parallel with her bed.
Kim didn’t know she had been holding her breath till her clock struck 00:00 with a beep. She got a scare to her core, could feel her heart throb in a rush, and could hear the gush of blood in her veins past her temples.
A pattern of rays made its way across her eyes through her unblinded window but she didn’t blink. It was least of her worries now, and she couldn’t help but keep her eyes on this figure.
Occasionally, during her early years, she couldn’t be woken up to a tap on her body or of a mention of her name. The doctors called it Sleep Paralysis, and tonight of all nights, she happened to have the fit.
Kim could feel tears swell up in her eyes, and she began to rue the fact that she chose to get an apartment of her own. She always imagined having her sleep paralysis in the middle of a fire outbreak, and the one she imagined and feared the most, although unrealistic—that she’ll be buried under the impression that she was dead.
For every passing moment, The Lurker seemed to make slow but gradual progress towards her. The base of his cloak waved and he didn’t seem to have feet. The figure stood close to her, close enough for her to know he was charred in coal. He smelled like a chimney or a fireplace and his aura was filled with so much lifelessness—death.
She wondered who’ll find her lifeless half-naked body first. She had no boyfriend to check up on her regularly, she was a freelancer and didn’t have a definite boss to call her in, either. She was a rather principled person and paid her rent in time and if it had to be her landlady banging on her door for due rent, it’ll at least be a little over half a month from now. And the stench that’ll welcome her landlady, Mrs Anderson, at the door will be enough to send the 86 year old to the grave.
“What a way to leave earth,” she thought.
In her fright, she tried one last time to force a scream but her voice gave up on her. She shut her eyes for a brief second to allow the welled up tears to pour out. She didn’t know how long her eyes had been shut cos she didn’t want to see what The Lurker was going to make of her. The branch banged again against the window, breaking the silence yet increasing the tension.
Kim opened her eyes momentarily and saw her black coat hanging on her coat rack in the corner of her room, in the exact spot The Lurker stood before hovering towards her bed.
Apparently, the constant bang of the branch had cracked the window slightly at the bottom, allowing breezes of the wind to move the coat non-directionally. She sat up in a rush, barely realizing she thought it was impossible to move her body.
“So the sleep paralysis had been in my head too?”, she asked the quiet room. She was still, looking carefully at the broken window and trying to make sense of the situation as the cold night air whistled through the opening and moved her coat.
In her disbelief, she got out of bed, walked warily towards her door and turned the knob. The door was locked.
Two possibilities existed now—that The Lurker had mysteriously vanished from her room, or the obvious explanation, that it was a mere figment of her imagination resulting from the broken window and the moving coat on the coat rack.
She gave a sigh of relief and could swear she wasn’t wrong about what she’d just seen and experienced in her room—The Lurker.
© KinDel
The tall tree barriers that beautified the streets and cast shade on the tarred road during the day stood directly outside her apartment on the first floor and banged against her window. Her room stood completely dark, except for the few rays of head lights that made its way through her window, cast by passing cars. She had enjoyed the sunset view the evening passed and had forgotten to draw the blinds before going to sleep. Her will to get out of bed to draw the blinds was refrained by her weakness and unwillingness to leave the comfort of her bed. She turned to watch her clock that stood underneath her favorite bed lamp. Her digital clock read 23:55 and for a second, she wished daybreak was near so she could endure the constant intruding light that made its way over her eyes. She remembered all those years growing up when she couldn't get anything done without giving it a countdown first.
The branch banged hard against the window again. "I need to call someone about that damn branch." she thought. She’ll call the caretaker on her way out to work later that morning but for now, her main problem was the stream of parallel light from her window that rose over her face and climbed up her wall. She turned to get out of bed when she was frozen by the sight of a dark figure that stood in the corner of her room. The figure, The Lurker, as she later called it, stood a minimum of seven feet. He seemed darker than the rest of the room.
Kim's mind wandered in search of the right word to describe the pitch-black nature of this figure. In her stillness, she remembered the word—Vantablack, she had watched a documentary about this super-black substance which was voted the darkest material on the planet.
“But what is it doing in my room?” she thought.
"Can't be" she said, in an inaudible voice, when she thought it was the grim reaper. “He wasn't carrying his scythe." Besides, bright green lights were perfectly placed in The Lurker’s face where its eyes were supposed to be, and the grim reaper never showed his face, let alone his eyes.
The figure approached her in a hover and stopped halfway between her shoe rack that stood parallel with her bed.
Kim didn’t know she had been holding her breath till her clock struck 00:00 with a beep. She got a scare to her core, could feel her heart throb in a rush, and could hear the gush of blood in her veins past her temples.
A pattern of rays made its way across her eyes through her unblinded window but she didn’t blink. It was least of her worries now, and she couldn’t help but keep her eyes on this figure.
Occasionally, during her early years, she couldn’t be woken up to a tap on her body or of a mention of her name. The doctors called it Sleep Paralysis, and tonight of all nights, she happened to have the fit.
Kim could feel tears swell up in her eyes, and she began to rue the fact that she chose to get an apartment of her own. She always imagined having her sleep paralysis in the middle of a fire outbreak, and the one she imagined and feared the most, although unrealistic—that she’ll be buried under the impression that she was dead.
For every passing moment, The Lurker seemed to make slow but gradual progress towards her. The base of his cloak waved and he didn’t seem to have feet. The figure stood close to her, close enough for her to know he was charred in coal. He smelled like a chimney or a fireplace and his aura was filled with so much lifelessness—death.
She wondered who’ll find her lifeless half-naked body first. She had no boyfriend to check up on her regularly, she was a freelancer and didn’t have a definite boss to call her in, either. She was a rather principled person and paid her rent in time and if it had to be her landlady banging on her door for due rent, it’ll at least be a little over half a month from now. And the stench that’ll welcome her landlady, Mrs Anderson, at the door will be enough to send the 86 year old to the grave.
“What a way to leave earth,” she thought.
In her fright, she tried one last time to force a scream but her voice gave up on her. She shut her eyes for a brief second to allow the welled up tears to pour out. She didn’t know how long her eyes had been shut cos she didn’t want to see what The Lurker was going to make of her. The branch banged again against the window, breaking the silence yet increasing the tension.
Kim opened her eyes momentarily and saw her black coat hanging on her coat rack in the corner of her room, in the exact spot The Lurker stood before hovering towards her bed.
Apparently, the constant bang of the branch had cracked the window slightly at the bottom, allowing breezes of the wind to move the coat non-directionally. She sat up in a rush, barely realizing she thought it was impossible to move her body.
“So the sleep paralysis had been in my head too?”, she asked the quiet room. She was still, looking carefully at the broken window and trying to make sense of the situation as the cold night air whistled through the opening and moved her coat.
In her disbelief, she got out of bed, walked warily towards her door and turned the knob. The door was locked.
Two possibilities existed now—that The Lurker had mysteriously vanished from her room, or the obvious explanation, that it was a mere figment of her imagination resulting from the broken window and the moving coat on the coat rack.
She gave a sigh of relief and could swear she wasn’t wrong about what she’d just seen and experienced in her room—The Lurker.
© KinDel
