Maisy Elizabeth

Prologue

      At night I can feel it's eyes trained on me, just watching me waiting for the right moment to pounce. When darkness surrounds me, I can feel it's presence. I'm not scared of the nonexistent but I know this is real. I know there's something out there waiting for me. I can't sleep with the lights off or it will come for me and take me away. I've never seen it but I know it's out there.

​

Feb. 6

7:50am

      "Nikki?" Amber tugs on my black hair to get my attention.

      "Huh? What?" I ask as I blink away my thoughts. 

      "You were spacing out again." 

      I yawn, "Oh yeah I know. I'm just really tired."

      "You're always tired!" She complains.

      "I already told you why. You know..."

      "Oh come on you can't be serious. I'm not that gullible."

      "Well you should for your own safety." I whisper too quietly for her to hear. Amber sighs in response to my silence. 

      We walk together to our high school's entrance. I push open the door for Amber to enter but before I can close it Courtney enters holding her Starbucks coffee. She looks at me and rolls her eyes. 

      "Ugh. Nice to see you looser, not." She flips her blond hair back and laughs at her own pathetic joke.

      "She is so annoying," Amber says under her breath. 

      "I know right," I say as I flip my hair to mimic her. 

      "Ha, ha, nice one."

      We separate and walk to our lockers. I grab all my things for my first classes and go back to Amber. Although, as soon as I reach her we have to be parted again due to the bell. 

      "Ugh English," I think to myself. I walk to Ms. Hanson's room and take my seat. Once the bell rings and she begins to talk, I can already feel myself zone out for the second time today. I look up from my desk and Ms. Hanson looks at me expectantly. 

      "What?" I ask clearly confused about the question I didn't hear. 

      She sighs, "What was the reason for the creation of Hades in the Greek myths?"

      I don't know what we were exactly talking about so I guess, "Well, they needed a god of death since they had a god of everything else. Also, nearly every culture and religion has a personified version of death." She looks pleased and I can't help but feel proud of my guessed answer.

      "Okay, good response, however next time please pay more attention and be better rested for class."  

      I sink into my seat a little at her words. "Okay Ms. Hanson," I respond.

​

Feb. 8

12:45pm

       I can't help but race out of math class at the lunch bell since it's my least favorite subject. I catch up with Amber at the lunch line. 

       "How were your classes?" Amber asks.

       "Ugh, the same as every other class, boring and tedious. I zoned out at least two times in each of my classes then got a stern talk about getting enough sleep."

       "They are right you know, you do need more sleep."

       "I know but I can't sleep when I constantly feel like I'm being watched." I respond.

       "Really..." She looks at me and rolls her green eyes.

       We sit down at our usual table and continue talking, but I notice Courtney walking over to us with her usual attitude.

       "Hey girls," she says as she plasters a fake smile on her face. Amber and I exchange glances at Courtney's unusual friendliness. 

       "Hi?" I say warily. 

       "So, I have this party this Friday and you guys have to be there. There's going to be drinks, food, and a DJ." I look at her like she's crazy. "Don't think that you are special. I had to invite all the seniors, even the pathetic ones." There's her usual self. "So, like here you guys go," she hands each of us an invitation. "The directions and time of the party are written on there, it's going to be at my house. Well, that's it, got to go, bye." She waves and leaves our table. 

       I stare at her as she leaves in shock my eyes wide in confusion. "What the heck just happened?!"

       "I have no idea. But either this is the beginning to a wonderful dream or a horrible nightmare," says Amber.

​

Feb. 10

8:00pm

      Somehow Amber convinced me to go to the party. So right now I'm getting ready to go. It still confuses me that Courtney actually invited us when she hates us and always bullies us. 

      I put on a pair of skinny jeans and a tight fitting tank top. To get past my parents, I add a jacket to my outfit. They would never let me wear a tank top in the beginning of February. Technically, it is winter but how cold can it get in Southern California?

      I grab a flashlight to keep away the soul piercing stare of the night creature. I put it in my purse along with my phone and a few other necessities. I sit down and wait for Amber to arrive and take me to the party.

​

9:00pm

      We arrive at the party in one piece, no thanks to Amber's "talented" driving skills. We park next to the sidewalk and walk to Courtney's house. The walk down is pretty long because many people have already arrived and parked their cars. It looks like more than fifty percent of the school is here. 

      When I see Courtney's house my mouth drops open in awe. Courtney doesn't have a house; she has a mansion. White marble holds up the balcony and gives the entrance an amazingly regal appearance. It looks like it came out of the Roman Empire, as if it were home to Caesar himself.

      "Wow," I say.

      "You could say that again. Are you ready to get in?" Amber responds to my remark with an equal amount of awe.

      "No, not really."

      "Come one," she smiles, dragging me inside.

​

9:30pm

      We open the door and are greeted by tons of drunk teens. Of course they only ignore us or give us dirty looks for "crashing" the party even though we were invited. It's dark and the flashing strobe lights blind me for a few minutes. Loud music flows through out the house and tortures my ears. I can't help but want to leave. However, I already promised Amber I would stay with her. 

      We enter the living room where the DJ is stationed playing different remixes of popular music. I look up at the high ceiling which holds an elegant golden chandelier. Lights dance and glitter on its metallic paint.

      Amber pulls me deeper into the house then stops so we can begin to dance. I slightly sway back and forth since I'm not much of a dancer. Amber is the opposite she goes all out by jumping around and creating different dance moves. 

      "Nikki, you got to be more enthusiastic than that. You look solemn enough to be at a funeral," Amber sighs, annoyed by my apparent lack of happiness.

      I groan, "I'm just not a dancer, okay." She rolls her eyes and continues to dance. 

Something picks at my senses and a tingling sensation climbs up my spine. I slowly stop dancing. I suddenly freeze as I feel eyes trained on my back. Air tickles the back of my neck, I know someone is behind me. I hold my breath as I turn around slowly. 

      "Hey, Nikki," a familiar fake smile greets me. I exhale the breath I was holding in. I am relieved that's it's only Courtney here to bother me.

      "Hi, Courtney," I answer. 

      "I hope you guys are enjoying the party. It lasts until 2:00 but there's going to be some interesting things going on later tonight so you should stay. Got to go, I have to tell everyone about the events." She smiles again and walks away.

​

11:30pm

      Amber and I have been dancing for a while and I am getting tired. Amber seems to have everlasting energy. She acts as if she has had a pack of energy drinks even though she has only had water. 

      "I'm going to grab some punch, I'm getting exhausted," I yell over the music. 

      "Okay, can you grab me some too?" She smiles.

      "Okay, will do." I walk away from her and make my way to the food table. It's hard to get my way around all the people because how crowded it is. Once I get to the table I stop. Beer cans litter the table making it challenging to find empty cups and punch. When I find the punch I grab the spoon and put it into the bowl. The punch doesn't feel right it has a weird thick consistency. I take out the spoon and it is heavy. I put the spoon at an angle to pour some out but like syrup it slowly leaks out of the spoon and splatters back into the bowl. I look closer, something is definitely not right. It's hard to see because it's so dark. I take out my flash light and push the button to turn it on. Pure light pours out and I stifle a scream when I see what it is.

      Thick, dark, red blood sparkles in the beam of my flash light. My heart beats as fast as a hummingbird and I breathe heavily as I walk backwards towards the door. When I get far enough away from the bowl I break into a sprint. I grab the handle and try to open the front door but it won't budge. I panic and use my shoulder to knock the door open but it doesn't work. I run to another door and the same thing happens. Each door I go to is locked and won't budge. I have no place to run.

​

11:59pm

      The strobe lights turn off for thirty seconds longer then usual and I can't control the fears racing through my mind. The girls scream and someone turns on the normal lights. The bright lights flash on and I can see everything for once. Scared faces surround me but it doesn't last long because everyone and everything seems to be okay. But I know better. 

The lights flicker off again and screams pierce my ears. One light remains on. The golden chandelier swings back and forth above us giving the room an eerie appearance. The lights on it start to turn off one by one. Three, two, one. Pitch black surrounds us. I cover my ears as single loud scream hits me. The lights flicker on again and I can see the owner of the scream. 
       A girl around my age stands staring straight ahead. Blood oozes from her throat, coming from the single slice across her trachea. She falls down to her knees then falls forward, dead. More screams come from the people around me but all are only from the scene we just saw. People rush to the door in attempt to leave but it's too late. 

The lights flicker off again leaving only the chandelier light on. Once again it counts down each light turns off one by one. Three, two, one. No one screams until the lights blink back on. A boy hangs from the chandelier mouth open eyes bulging trying to take a breath. His hands try to pull the rope away from his throat but he's gone. His hands drop to his sides and his eyes close. 

      At this point many people are breaking down and crying but I know better. I turn on my flashlight and prepare for the next attack.

​

Feb. 11

12:15am

      Three, two, one. The lights blink out but this time I'm more prepared. My flashlight lights the room and by back is against the wall. I can't be sure that this light will stay on but I can only hope. The light turns back on and no one is dead but all eyes are on me. I make my way towards the center of the room and stand on a table.

      "Where is Courtney?!" I yell out above the crowd. 

       A petite hand rises above the people "I'm over here," she says with a voice hoarse from screaming and crying. 

      "Stop this NOW! Unlock the doors and let us leave!" I scream at her.

      "B-but it's not me."

      "You expect us to believe that?! It's your party and your house, who else could have done this?"

      "You have to believe me," she begins to sob. "I may be mean, but I would never, ever kill anyone. Do I look like a killer to you?"

      Voices start mumbling and arguing whether or not to trust her. "She has a point, she is mean but she isn't a murderer," a boy speaks up. 

      "Well, if it's not her then who is it?" 

      "How should we know?" Says the boy.

      "Okay so, even if we don't know who it is we have to be prepared for another attack," I pause for a second as I relocate Courtney. "Courtney help us find all the flashlights you own. Everyone else needs to turn on your phone's flashlight right now." 

      Everyone starts to fumble with their phones trying to get the lights on. I follow Courtney as she starts looking for flashlights. Our first stop is the kitchen. As she grabs the flashlights I grab a small knife for self-protection. Then we continue to look on the second floor for more lights.

​

12:30am

       I look at everyone around me. Everyone seems to be shaking from fear for what will happen next. I grip the knife and flashlight in my hand so tightly that my knuckles are turning white.

       As the first chandelier light flickers off we all jump. Three, two, one. All the lights on the chandelier are off. In unison, all the phones mysteriously turn off. A few people drop their phones out of shock while others scream or whimper. I hold my breath, waiting for the inevitable. As I expected, the flashlights also start to flicker off one by one, until I'm the last one with a powered flashlight. Mine starts to blink in and out. On the last stretch of light scream. What I see scares me to death. A dark hooded figure stands before us. His soulless white eyes stare at me. A familiar feeling rushes over me and at that moment I know he is the one who has been watching me. The light turns off; darkness surround us all.

      The lights turn back on. In front of me a girl is convulsing, her eyes roll to the back of her head and foam comes out of the corners of her mouth. I take a few steps closer. When I see who it is I feel paralyzed. The girl in front of me is Amber. When I can finally move, I run up to her and start to cry. She is my only friend and she is going to die. 

       The convulsing ends but she is still breathing which confuses me. She starts moving to get up, her pupils still not visible. I quickly shuffle back onto my feet, unsure of what's happening or what to do. 

        "Amber?" I say in a weak voice, barely above a whisper.

       She looks at me and sneers. In an unfamiliar voice she says, "You all will die tonight, at my hand. Starting with her." She points at me.

       "I thought the Grim Reaper can only take the dead, not kill," I say.

       "I cannot kill, but this girl I control can do my bidding."

       The lights turn off without a warning. I hold my knife ready. Something cold hits my right side and pain radiates up. I suck in air through clenched teeth and stab at where the attack came from. I was too slow though. This time I'm hit in my left thigh. I spin around with force and stab at the air. On my second strike there is a scream of pain and I know its Amber. The lights flicker back on and before me I see Amber's eyes back to normal staring at me, struggling to catch a breathe but can't. I look down the knife I'm still holding protrudes out of her chest. I let go, disgusted by what I have just done. She drops to the floor dead. 

       I start to feel woozy and feel myself beginning to black out. Spots cloud my vision as I look down at the wounds Amber gave me. A deep gash at least five inches long is on my side and on my leg there is another deep cut. Thick dark blood flows out of each wound landing in a puddle on the ground. I slowly fall to the ground. People rush around me trying to cover my wounds. The spots in my vision grow bigger until I can't see anything. I finally let my heavy eyelids close. Now I can't even hear anything. 

​

12:50am

       I thought I would have a chance but now I see that the reaper was right. I am the first to die and I can only pray that some will survive his massacre. Now, only darkness and shadows surround me.