Page 3 of Vistaria

red haired female started appearing too? He shook his head amid the pain, because none of it made any sense. More than likely he was imagining it all as his friend suggested, and the so-called figure was nothing more than light refracting contours in the paint. Brody had to get to work, stating, “Some of us have to work you know.” And left for work.

  Zayne grabbed some coffee and donuts for breakfast, and decided to lounge around with the eventual objective of a nap. He always did sleep better in his easy chair. Leaning back and stretching out to get comfortable, even as one hand was on the remote flipping through channels, and out of four hundred channels he found absolutely nothing to watch, so why is he paying the high prices for repeat channels and knife shows.

  Finally he pops in an old horror flick he’d watched many times, as the repetitive drone began to lull him to sleep. In the distance he could hear the people in the movie kept saying don’t close your eyes, don’t fall to sleep. However he had drifted into a deep sleep, as the voices of children kept resonating throughout his mind, “One, two, he’s coming for you…” It was dark here as he shrieked, “Who’s coming?” His voice became an unbearable echo, as he felt a physical jolt reel him back into the driver’s seat of his car only moments before the accident. His mind kept screaming, “This can’t be real!” It had to be a nightmare, as everything was in slow motion, and he realized the man had blood on him even before his car hit him. “My God!” he cried, “What’s going on?” Ethan had been running from his attacker, and the only other person walking in the vicinity was the red haired woman. Abruptly there was an ear-piercing screech, even before the accident occurred, and his focus went to the woman feeling as if she were watching him, however she never looked his way. An intense feeling beyond the nightmare invaded his head, as he fought hard to awaken, and escape the hold the draught had on him.

  Zayne had opened his eyes at a dark screen at the end of the movie, and for a brief second in the television screen he’d thought he’d seen a figure leaning over his chair. At once he was upright, seeing that he twisted to look in that direction, only to discover it was yet another figment of his imagination. Oddly he felt out of sorts and uneasy, and he needed to know what was happening to him. The Internet was a good source of information; possibly he might find the answers he seeks there.

  It was now just before dusk he was sitting at his computer looking up images that might be similar to what he thought he’d seen, and he’d been here for hours, but to no avail. He was just too tired to go on, as he nervously glanced back at his bed, and was almost terrified to sleep. He tried to force himself awake, as he ran his palms roughly over his face. However the effort was pointless, as his drooping head began to nod towards the computer screen.

  Shockingly he was jolted awake by the sound of the neighbor’s dog barking again. He checked the time, and it was already 10:30 pm. Then he remembered the last time the dog barked that woman had walked passed, and he had also had one of those strange nightmares. Out of the murky shadows of his bedroom came a wonderfully brilliant idea, as he checked the file storage for his web cam, and decided to record everything so he could review it at a time his head was clearer. This would solve everything in his mind, as sure as if he might discover something ghastly in the footage, or he may not find anything at all. No matter what he might find he just had to know. Zayne turned the cam on, as he documented everything that had happened up till now, and why he was recording. He could bear it no longer, as his head was quite dizzy, and he had to get to bed or end up in the floor. Slowly he crippled to his bed, leaning on everything along the way, and flopped unceremoniously upon the bed. The sleep was all too welcomed, as the darkness quickly overcame his ragged senses.

  The next morning there was still no relief from that damnable headache. In fact he would even say it was worse than ever, but he had been under a lot of stress since the accident so no wonder. Zayne’s hand had involuntarily moved to his forehead, as his fingertips dragged over his face, and he quickly saw the crimson on his palm that most likely had left a red streak down his face. “Damn!” he wanted to cuss to high heaven, as he needed to know what the hell was really going on. At last deciding he must see the doctor tomorrow. He would call before he left for the funeral today.

  Several hours later he had made an appointment to the Doctors office for the following day. Then he was dressed and on his way to Ethan Messengers services. He oddly felt apprehensive the closer he drove to Hires funeral home, after all he was the one who hit Ethan Messenger, and his vehicle still showed some signs of the accident even after being put through the carwash.

  Suddenly his mind flashed back to the events leading up to the accident. Dammit, he didn’t even have time to hit the goddamn brakes. His body was shaking now, as he knowingly uttered the ominous words, “It was all my fault.” Then he struggled with the shame of surviving, striking both palms on the steering wheel, “I should be dead too.” He pulled into the parking lot, and was hesitant if he should even show his face inside. The last thing in the world he would want is to cause the Messenger family undue stress, but he needed to do this for his own peace of mind. He collected his unruly emotions, and walked towards the funeral home doors.

  Almost immediately he felt the sense of being watched, as he nervously glanced back and forth from face to face of every passerby’s, and couldn’t identify where the sensation had originated. He tried to ignore the feeling, as he joined the people entering the building, and overheard bits and pieces of their conversations around him. A young woman sobbed, “He was too young to die.” Then a man stated something outlandish, “I can’t believe he had heart problems at the age of 24.” Another man disputed the fact, “Age doesn’t matter.” Zayne had the urge to know more, as he daringly asked, “When did he find out he had problems with his heart?” One of the men answered him, just before entering through the door, “He found out about a week ago. After a relative of his roommate died of liver failure.” Zayne was totally bewildered, as the story took on a complexity he couldn’t even imagine.

  At the moment he stepped through the doorway his entire body felt heavy, as if he were walking through some kind of bad dream. Each of these strangers around him was immersed in varying forms of grief, as some smiled like being at a family picnic, and other in an utter state of tears.

  He respectfully waited to make his way to the casket, just as he sees the red haired woman leaving from Ethan’s corpse, and she ever so slightly glanced in his direction and wickedly smiled. “What the Hell!” his mind screeched. He was going to find out what was up with that damn woman, as he left the line, and followed her in the direction she had gone. Doorway after doorway, and just around the next corner, until he had came to a dead end, with the red haired woman nowhere in sight. Zayne thundered, “That bitch!” Then he recalled where he was now standing, with the surety that the family didn’t need to hear his rude outbursts, and headed for the nearest exit.

  He was still mumbling profanities on his way home, and about a block from his house he almost sworn he had seen the red haired woman again. He knew it had to be her by the glimmering red hair in the sunlight. What the hell is going on? How did she get here so fast? Then he backtracked as he realized it took him about the same amount of time to get here, but it was still too unreal. How did she escape the dead end room? Quite convinced that was no damn woman, on the other hand what she is exactly is a whole different topic.

  Once inside his home he calmed down a bit, as he mixed his favorite cure. He ventured into his bedroom stressing over the idea of sleep, seeing that he had left his computer on, and the web cam was still recording. The feeling of being watched was unbearable, and he knew that he was alone. He replayed the recording, as he fast forwarded through him asleep, and confident the rest of the film was just as boring.

  An unforeseen shadow moved athwart the darkened room, as if it were insignificant specks of black gathering all in one place, until it assembled next to his bed. Zayne restlessly held his breath, as the fo
reboding idea of what was there was still unclear, but it was becoming much clearer. Was this thing involved in all the deaths? First a liver, then a young man’s heart, and now my brain. Why? The hideous being appeared like a ghost, as it’s long gauzy raiment trailed eerily behind, and it floated above the flooring. However its features remained indistinct. Horrifyingly the demon leaned over his bed, as it attaches itself to his forehead, and a grimace creased the lines of his sleeping face. “Oh my god!” he burst out, as he watched in horror for nearly half an hour before the beast was frightened away. What the hell is that thing?

  Quickly he sends a copy of the video to his friend Brody, telling him he must watch as soon as possible. Then informed him about what had happened at the funeral, seeing that he planned to record again tonight, and prayed his friend might help him figure it out.

  This thing had to be what was chasing after Ethan, and why he was so terrified it was waiting for him. Zayne still felt he was being watched, and wondered if it was waiting for him right now. He uneasily glanced around the room knowing full well there was no