The Stairs: Finish the Story - Week 63

The Stairs

Opening by @ntowl

Source

The darkness flowed into the basement stairwell as Jon opened the door. He paused, listening. Shit! They’re already asleep, he thought. His parents had gone to bed promptly at eleven thirty when the evening news was over. Usually he did his best to get into his room before they went to bed so he could avoid the situation he now found himself in. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to finish that bonus level! It was so easy to lose track of time in the basement hangout.

A tiny night light at the end of the kitchen counter illuminated a small spot on the floor beneath it, but otherwise the room was dark and still. In his mind he ran through the short path that would take him down the hallway, up the stairs and into his bedroom. All he had to do was turn the basement light off in the stairwell and walk through the darkness to get there. Keeping his hand firmly on the doorknob and taking a deep breath he flipped the switch. The stairwell light went out leaving him with after image shapes moving in front of his eyes. Deliberately he closed the door slowly so he wouldn’t wake anyone, and tried not to panic. Nothing to be afraid of, he thought, it’s just my house at night. The hinges creaked and the latch snapped shut with a jarring bang in the otherwise noiseless space.

Stay calm, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Stepping carefully, he made his way down the hallway. As he got closer he could see the faint yellow glow of the upstairs hallway light through the doorway to the next room where the stairs were. He paused, took a breath and continued. At the bottom of the stairs he looked up and saw the light. He hated that light. The dim yellow reflected off the walls, making the stairs and hallway appear dingy, rundown, dangerous.

With his first step on the stairs he felt the darkness close in behind him, lurking, waiting to see what he did next. Another step and he felt the pull of it, coaxing him to step back and let it take him. Stop being stupid. It’s just dark, there’s nothing there, he thought. He went up the next three steps quickly while trying to keep the panic at bay.

Tink, tink, thud. He stopped and turned around. Tink, tink. Waiting, he heard nothing else and rationalized the sounds as the house settling. But he looked at the bottom of the stairs, where the dark now consumed whatever light managed to escape down the stairwell. Nothing moved inside it, but he felt the pressure of it, reaching for him through gloomy light. Instinctively he knew it wasn’t bright enough to hold it back, that if he waited where he was, halfway up the stairs, the darkness would eventually reach him. He didn’t know what would happen if it did, but some part of him wanted to find out. The sane part screamed at him to run.

He looked around the stairs, a burst of courage entered his entrails, he could not be called a hen, even if it was he himself who pointed it out as such in the future, with silent steps avoiding being discovered he drew back, took a deep breath. I am not a child, I must overcome my fears , he thought.

He felt observed, the images on the wall of the space in front of the stairs made his hair stand on end, the movement of the curtains was the cause of his fear, his increasingly languid legs were paralyzed when he heard a sound coming from behind the sofa, his heartbeat was accelerating, he panicked again. If I'm stupid, what am I doing? , he thought.

The cold of the night sneaked between his old and dirty bermuda shorts, the vice he had for increasing his bonus level absorbed so much time that many times he stopped grooming himself, suddenly he saw a shadow coming out behind the sofa, he felt that he could not even shout, his jaw was shivering and a shiver went all over his body; a black cat with white was moving quietly in the middle of the place. Since when do we have a cat in the house, he thought.

Feeling realized, he took the cat in his hands, an immense tranquillity seized him, now if he would go to his room after having overcome his own fears. The faint yellow glow of the light in the corridor now seemed derisory to him.

"Miau cat Miau" Jon whispered to the cat as he walked.

He started climbing the stairs, Tink, tink, thud. He stopped and instinctively turned around, his face smiling as he watched the dark light, as if mocking the invisible enemy that invaded his mind and body. Suddenly he felt caresses on his right leg that reached beyond the knee, he quickly looked for someone who might be making that joke, his reasoning accelerated, he thought it was the cat, and from the dread he felt, he had forgotten that he had the cat in his hands.

He could not utter a word, he ran, and slipped on one of the steps, fear made him stagger like a feather, his path became eternal, he opened the door of his room and there was his cousin.

"Jon, what do you have, these pale?" asked the cousin observing him.
"Hey, give me my cat"
"Should I look for your mom?"

Jon said no with a nod. He sat on the bed and touched his right leg with fear, his breath was choppy.

When Jon recovered a little, he was telling his cousin what had happened and suddenly the cat was heard meowing strangely, the cousin went to look for him and found him on the stairs, when a diabolical voice whispered in his ear "Play with me".

He ran terrified, screaming towards Jon's parents' room.

The End

by @vida-blanca

Thanks to the people of @bananafish and @ntowl for this wonderful contest Finish the Story - Week 63!

This time I was out of my comfort zone, I had never written anything before about suspense/terror. I bid farewell wishing you have enjoyed my continuation of the initial story.

Dear friends thank you for the support, we are in contact.