Curled up on the couch, Angela lay pressed against the dozing form of her boyfriend, her fingers interlocked with him as she stared into the crackling fire burning in his fireplace, the sole light in the small condominium. Bringing a mug of tepid hot chocolate to her lips with her free hand, she sighed happily; it was only a few days until Christmas and she’d finally convinced her boyfriend to let her stay the night at his place.
Not that Jason was averse to sleeping with Angela… it just seemed as if he was afraid she would find his home unacceptable for some reason. She had been expecting the place to be dirty, or smelly when she first arrived. How surprised she was to find the small two bedroom home clean with the light scent of cinnamon in the air! Jason had been tight-lipped over why he didn’t want her to stay over, merely stating that he wasn’t used to hosting people in his home. A few hours of intense cuddling had finally convinced him that she would be allowed to stay the night.
And now, here it was, late at night on a large couch with her boyfriend softly snoring behind her, and she couldn’t get to sleep. Maybe it was the hypnotic nature of the crackling fire or the gentle sounds of wind rattling against the windows, but Angela found herself to be wide awake.
Slipping her hand from Jason’s she slide off the couch, the long jersey that she’d liberated from Jason’s closet riding high on her thighs, intent on exploring the small home for whatever it was that made Jason so wary about allowing her to stay.
She kissed her fingers and laid them against Jason’s forehead. “Nighty-night… don’t mind me.”
Padding along the tile floor around the couch, she made her way down the hallway where the bedrooms were located. The first bedroom had been turned into a small office for Jason, a place for him to run his business from home. Flicking the light switch, she blinked as the ceiling fan’s lights burst with a blinding glow, illuminating the room in an instant.
A small desk pushed up against the far wall with a computer and phone sitting on it, the room was otherwise bereft of any and all signs of life, save for a half-opened closet that held some rather dusty looking clothes. Walking up to the folding doors, Angela pulled them open slowly, the doors creaking on their hinges, allowing her to look in the closet for anything incriminating.
Hanging from the metal racks were dresses and blouses, all old and faded. The bottom of the closet was littered with shoes, ranging from ragged tennis shoes to high heels; if Angela didn’t know any better she’d say that another woman was living in this place. But judging by the clothes, she could tell none of them had been touched in quite some time.
A low creaking sound caught her attention, bringing her attention from the closet to the room itself, her eyes watching the door to the room slowly close, before a very audible “click” could be heard from the outside.
“Jason?” Angela called softly, walking up to the door. Reaching for the door knob, she found that the door was locked from the outside. “Jason, what are you doing? Let me out!”
Angela let out a small yelp as the lights went dim before flickering out, leaving her standing in the room alone in the dark. Turning, she reached out her hands and walked to where she knew the desk to be, landing a hand on the edge as she found purchase in the pitch black room. A soft giggle made her head whip to the side, looking to where she knew the closet was.
Reaching over onto the desk, she blindly fumbled about until she could turn on the monitor, allowing a faint glow to illuminate the room, enough to where she could see the faint outline of the clothes hanging in the closet.
The clothes that were swinging back and forth from their hooks…
“Hello?” Angela asked aloud, moving to where her back was against the wall. “Is anyone there?”
“Yes…” Came a harsh, feminine whisper from behind her ear. Spinning madly, Angela backed away, looking for any sign of someone else being in the room.
“W-who are you?” Angela asked, taking small steps towards the bedroom door.
No answer came, save for the slight creak of the closet door’s hinges. Angela spun around to face the closet, her mind racing from the strange scenario acting out in the room.
“Jason?” She called out, eyes focused on the closet, her voice cracking as she called out for her boyfriend. “Jason, wake up!”
“Jason… Jason, Jason, Jason…” The voice spat venomously from somewhere in the middle of the room. Angela shivered from a sudden breath of frigid air wafting over her frame. Backing into the door, Angela groped blindly for the doorknob, twisting it harshly in her hand in a futile attempt to open the locked door.
“Ah-ah… you wanted to see what was in here,” the voice chided her, the doorknob growing hot to the touch in her hand, hot enough for Angela to yelp in pain from the sudden temperature change.
“I don’t want to know anything! Just open the door, Jason, this isn’t funny!” Angela called out, trying to listen for her beau to come charging to her rescue.
Angela let out a shriek as a swift movement burst from the closet, a small figure running out on all fours, limbs splayed out like those of a spider. Angela jumped to the left of the door as the figure ran at her, before disappearing into the darkness with a horrid hissing noise. Angela rushed away from the door, tripping over her own feet and crashing down onto the ground with a painful thud.
And suddenly it was on her, a darkness that she could barely describe save for the glowing eyes, and glinting silver teeth pulled back into a Cheshire grin. Arms pinned by hands of ice, Angela kicked wildly in an attempt to buck whatever was holding her down off of her but found no purchase to do anything other than amuse her attacker.
“Kick and scream all you want child, it didn’t help me!” The voice growled near the nape of Angela’s neck, a foul stench billowing up from the hot breath washing over her chilled skin.
“Jason! Jason, help me!” Angela screamed, her voice rising in tenor as she felt her wrists snap underneath the pressure of the frigid fists. The entity only chuckled in response, before leaning in and biting into the side of Angela’s neck. Pulling back, it let go of her bruised flesh with a smack.
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