Monster in a Box
Monster in a Box
The closer you get to the end, the more your mind becomes aware of the afterlife. Maybe the evil that lurks in those dark places has always been there. They have just been beyond our comprehension, but they will now reveal themselves with death approaching. Maybe it is a mechanism that our almighty has put into place to ease our transition into the darkness. What we know is a person can start to see their own death. Call it a premonition but some would do better not to see their fate because the horror of it is more terrifying than death itself.
Her hair was wet with sweat from running through the damp forest. The rain had stopped only moments before, but an Alabama night doesn’t need help with humidity. Mist from the warm earth created an eerie cloud that hung low enough to hide what lurked in the darkness. Fear made her run and fear of what lay ahead made her scared to take another step. The screaming, the crying, the whimpering was driving her mad. Her foot caught on a root and the weight of her body hitting the soft earth caused mud and water to scatter.
For a moment, the whimpering stopped, but the music that she heard in the forest started it once more. She tried to hear the direction from where it came, but the crying drowned it out. Her frustration caused her to scream and she realized the sounds were coming from within her. The only way she could hear the music was to hold her breath. The tune was coming from behind her.
“Da Dump, Da Dump….Da Duh Dah Dah Dump, Da Dump, Da Dump, Da Dah Dump.”
She was too frightened to stay still any longer. She jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could, not knowing where she was going, but too scared to stay where she lay. The moon illuminated the fog at times, creating shadows, forming blackened places that hid the demons and created false images.
A light appeared in the distance and once again her crying started coming from her throat. She had seen the monster that was after her before and felt its anger. The teeth had ripped her flesh. She remembered how the claws tore at her skin and muscles separated from bone. The young woman tried to break free from the nightmare that gripped her and held her captive, but she was frozen in time, motionless, helpless to the vision playing in her mind. Her heart pounded, the music sounded loudly now and she knew in a moment the beast would be on her once more. The clock sounding brought her back from the night terror that had now consumed her mind and relentlessly filled her thoughts.
She didn’t open her eyes, but the tears escaped and found their way down both cheeks, into her ears and onto her neck. Autumn didn’t bother wiping them. They were coming so fast, it was a losing battle. She turned and placed her face into the pillow and screamed. The reality is that it was only a dream; however, the truth was yet to be told.
The dream had been recurring more often now. It was only Thursday and she had relived it twice that week. Each time, it was a different scene and more horrific than the time before.
She slowly placed her feet inside her two inch heels and looked down at the floor. Nothing seemed sacred any longer. This monster invades her privacy at will, stalking her dreams and then devouring her.
What is she going to tell the therapist today? Autumn had always been completely grounded. She took no drugs, had limited alcohol and did not believe in psychiatric therapy. Now she will be on the couch, pouring out her feelings to a stranger.
“How do I tell someone that I’m fucking terrified a puppet will come out of a box and rip me to shreds?”
Her hands covered both eyes and she wondered if she really was losing her mind. Autumn’s ex-husband had scolded her like a child.
“Those fucking horror movies will give you nightmares.”
He always said it so condescending, as if he were better than her for not entertaining the movie genre.
Autumn laughed as she thought that might be the only thing he was ever right about in his entire life. He had been unemployed most of the time while she worked her way through college. When she received her degree, he didn’t even show up.
The memory of her last day with him came into her mind. As he walked toward the door, the boots she had bought him made the sound of a horse on cobble stone. Adam looked so out of place in his work outfit.
“Hope you’re satisfied. I’m finally getting out of the house. Maybe you won’t be such a bitch now.”
Her lips moved as the words formed but no sound was made. She wanted to say she was proud, and he had done well. She wanted him to have a good day but the truth was harsh. It was too little too late. All Autumn wanted was a little effort on his part.
She had begged her Dad to hire him again. This would be the fifth time. Each instance he would fail to show or walk off the job. Her mind was made up that if he quit this time, she was finished.
When her Dad showed up early that afternoon, it was her first thought.
“Dad, I’m sorry. What the hell did he do this time?”
Her Dad’s face suddenly showed its age. The wrinkles in the corner of his eyes were deeper and his skin seemed to droop from his chin. When her father’s hand touched her, she knew something bad had happened.
“He’s dead.”
That was all she remembered from that day, but it played in her mind like a nagging commercial. The story of his death weighed on her conscience. It was horrific and everyone seemed to take great pride in sharing their rendition of it.
“Autumn…It was so terrible. He was standing right beside me, just inches away. The metal cover was going so fast that we didn’t see it falling from the grasp of the crane. It cut him into three pieces as it crashed to the ground. I have never seen anything like it. I still have nightmares about it.”
The renditions of the story became more gruesome with every recount. Most wanted to console her, some just to have sex with the grieving widow, but there was very little grieving and Autumn had no appetite for men.
It wasn’t long after he died that she had the first nightmare. She thought it may have been caused by her grief, but it never stopped. At first it was just the music, then the chase and now the torturous death.
“That fucking music.” She thought as it played in her head once more.
“Da dum da dum da dum da dah dum.”
There was a time that she loved a jack in the box toy. It was a child hood favorite. It wasn’t a typical clown; it was a lion like puppet. Now, somehow, it horrified her. The timer went off on her watch signaling she must leave or risk being late. Autumn cleared her mind and walked out to start her day. For a moment she thought the notes of a music box played as she walked through the door frame. Chills formed on her arms as she pulled the door closed. Her breathing became shallow as she wondered if somehow the creature had escaped her nightmare.
“Ma’am. Are you ok? Ma’am. Excuse me. Are you ok?”
Autumn became aware of her surroundings. She had been sitting in a trance, wondering how she would explain her thoughts. For a moment the receptionist stood by her, wondering if she needed assistance.
“It’s ok. I am fine. I, I just need a second”.
A loud thud came from behind her inside the wall. Autumn screamed as if something had grabbed her. Everyone in the waiting room stared. Their downturned smiles made her uneasy and the smirk on their faces caused her to want to hide. She just wanted to tell them that hell yes, I’m crazy. I see puppets that tear my flesh away.
“Miss Showers, the doctor will see you now. Autumn stood up. Her mother had loved the play on words. She chuckled to herself, reminiscing about all the times someone had asked her about it. Changing her name back was the first thing she did after the funeral. She couldn’t stand being Mrs. Dix. She knew it was the wrong spelling but just hearing that word everyday was enough to make her scream.
Sometimes she would just say it over and over.
“Dix, Dix, Dix”. Autumn said in her mind.
“Excuse me”, the psychiatrist said as she walked in.
Autumn’s face contorted as she stared at the doctor wondering if she had been lamenting out loud.
“Please have a seat, you can call me Hilary”.
Autumn looked for a couch, but it was across the room.
“In the chair” Hilary said as the tips of her red nails clicked on the leather seat.
Autumn squirmed as she struggled to get comfortable. Hilary watched her every movement, analyzing even her most minute gestures. It seemed as if the silence had lasted an hour before she spoke.
“Start from wherever makes you comfortable.”
Comfortable? Her lips trembled and the notion caused a sound resembling a laugh to escape from Autumn’s lips. Remembering her last true moment of comfort was close to impossible. Visions of the Creature flashed in her mind. Her heart raced and she started to panic.
“Try to stay calm Autumn. Tell me what you’re seeing. I can tell you are under extreme stress.” The therapist leaned forward. Her eyes narrowed and the wrinkles around the corners indented slightly.
“Try to remember that your manifestation, however realistic cannot harm you. They only have the power that you grant them.” Hilary sat back in her chair, rotated her shoulders.
Autumn watched as Hilary encouraged her to speak. She leaned forward on the chair, covered her face and for a moment there was a silence that seemed to last forever.
“I’ve dreamt of my death for the last five years. Every day seems to bring me closer to the event and now...”. Autumn could not bring herself to say it and once again there was a deathly silence.
A music box sound began to play from across the room.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum, Dah Dum Dum.
Autumn screamed and Hilary flinched as if she had been stuck with a pin. She stood up and walked over to her computer.
“I’m sorry if that frightened you. I have visited a website which a colleague of mine told me about. Someone told him if you hear this music, a puppet will come out and rip you to pieces. The slam of the door made Hilary look up and suddenly she was alone.
Her feet were moving as fast as she could run. The side walk was full of people; some avoided her and others she ran over.
She glanced up and was relieved to see a familiar place. Autumn went into the Houndstooth Bar and didn’t stop to take a seat. The back of the bar was open to the door and she went straight to the alcohol. A quarter full bottle of vodka sat on the counter. The bottom of the 5th went into the air and she didn’t let up until the bottle was empty.
“Holy Shit”, Samantha said. “I’ve been tending bar for twelve years and that’s a first. Are you ok?”
Autumn put her elbows on the bar and began to cry. Samantha reached and placed her hand on her friends shoulder. Tears were running down her face and she didn’t know why. Autumn was just a customer that she had known since she started working there seven months ago. They weren’t that close but the emotion which was coming from Autumn’s body overcame her.
The alcohol kicked in and she began to relax. “How could Hilary had known? Was the therapist just messing with her? Had someone told her about it?” There were so many questions and now she regretted running away.
She looked out the window and realized that somehow the day had escaped her.
She reached for her purse to pay and her heart sank. A vision of her purse sitting beside the therapist chair came into her mind.
Autumn looked at Samantha and the expression on her face let the bartender know exactly how she felt.
“Go, take care of yourself.”
Autumn turned and squeezed Samantha until it almost became uncomfortable.
“Thank you. I needed it so much.” Autumn kissed her on the cheek and never looked back.
A slight breeze ran down Samantha’s spine and chills formed on her arm. The sound of a music box played and the bartender looked around to see what had created the sound but the bar was empty. Her eyes scanned one side to the other but there was no one. She sighed a deep breath and went back to work.
The sun sat behind the buildings as Autumn tried to make her way back to the office where she had left her purse. An orange haze illuminated the windows around her. Her senses were dulled by the alcohol, but the sound and something scratching the wall in the alley as she walked passed was distinct and startling. It was impossible for anything to make such a sound. She moved her legs faster and the sound was lost in the crowd as the shops approached. The crowd of people moving stopped at the crosswalk. She made her way through them one by one up to the street. A cell phone began to play.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum.”
The man beside her struggled to answer. He pressed answer and a low gurgling noise came from the speaker.
Autumn fell back against the crowd, her eyes wide. She ran out into the street. The tires of a car shrieked and the sound of metal on metal filled the street. Vehicles crashed into each other and the momentum forced the Jeep forward. It slammed into her legs and her head hit the hood with a thud. Her body twisted and fell to the pavement. The heat of the asphalt felt warm against her face and voices of strangers speculating on her death rang in her ears. The taste of blood filled her mouth and the flow of liquid seeped from her lips and onto her neck.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum.” The music box sounded in the distance. Her eyes sprang open and she jumped to her feet. Pain shot through her hips and up through her spine, but she had to leave. She could not allow the sound of the music box to finish playing. It was the final note which released the monster, setting in motion the horrifying her death.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum Da.”
She struggled to fight through the crowd and leave the morbid sound behind her. It had haunted her now for five long years, but somehow the dreams could not contain it. Her consciousness allowed it to escape and it wanted to claim its’ prey.
Autumn was surprised to find the front door to the office was still open. She had fully expected for it to be closed. It was passed the time marked on the door. The lights in the office were still on and nothing was different from the time she was there. Her hand touched the door and the knob stuck to her sweaty palm, burning her skin and freezing it all the way to the bone. She jerked her hand away and the door slowly opened. The lights were off as she stepped inside Hillary’s office. Cold air formed a mist as the warmth flowed into the room. Autumn stepped on something soft on the floor. She took a step forward and tripped over an object that rolled across the room.
Her trembling hand traveled across the wall until her finger touched the switch. She pressed up on the cold hard piece of plastic and for a moment the lights blinded her. Slowly her eyes adjusted and made contact with Hilary’s. Her eyes were locked in a cold dead stare, motionless, except for the faint drops of blood that seeped from the arteries dangling from her neck. Hilary’s head was torn from her torso which was strewn in the floor beside the receptionist. Both bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and their appendage’s decorated the room as it they were placed there as some morbid joke.
The scream that came from autumn’s throat could be heard for a city block. The sound, “The requiem for the almost dead”, began to play.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum”
She had not even recognized the large red words written in blood on the wall as she ran out the door. Sometimes the mind doesn’t translate what our eyes take in. Her hand did not touch the handle as the momentum of her body smashed through it. The door slammed into the side of the building sending glass outward onto the sidewalk. As she ran down the side walk, she became aware of the words on the wall.
“Pop goes the Weasel.”
She stopped in front of the Dollar Tree sign, now void of emotion and thinking of the dreams that haunted her night. The pain, the fear and the relentless stalking was just too much. The sound now came from an ice cream truck that passed her.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum,
Under her breath she whispered the words that nobody ever heard.
“I’m fucked.”
She ran down the street with the sound coming from every radio, from every television and even the multitude of phones. Every person held the anthem to their head and it played relentlessly as she ran past them. The music followed her to the apartment. She ran up the stairs inside the building, finally experiencing silence. It was impossible for her to move anymore, her lungs burned and now her legs would not allow her to move. She fell to the carpet and pulled herself along into her bedroom.
Her last bit of energy was spent raising her body onto her bed. Autumn closed her eyes and was thankful for being back in her own home until the music started playing. Even with her eyes closed she could see the light from her computer as it came up on the website.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Da Da Da Dum”
The dream played inside her mind. Once more she ran through the woods with the monster coming up behind her. Tears ran down her cheek. Tree limbs hit her face and she tried to get away.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum Dah.”
She could feel the heat from his body as it came closer to her. The gurgling noise now just a few feet behind her.
“Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum Dah Dum Dum.’
She could feel its touch on her leg and she screamed. Her legs kicked frantically. This could not really be happening. She would soon wake as always. Autumn screamed to herself.
“Wake up! Wake up Dammit.”
Her face was wet from a mixture of sweat and tears. She couldn’t move. The creature was on top of her. As always, sleep paralysis had her weighed down. In her dream, it’s heavy legs pinned her down and the feel of its’ sharp claws reminded her of what would happen next.
“Wake up, God help me. Let me wake up.”
The computer continued to play the song. It came to an abrupt end.
“Pop goes the Weasel.”
She screamed frantically, eyes closed, still paralyzed in her mind by the creature. The sound of her heartbeat echoed in her mind. Chills formed on her neck as the humid stench of its breath touched her face.
“God please, let me open my eyes.”
Her eyelids parted and the creature’s mouth was fully exposed and opened wide with teeth sharp as razors bearing down upon her. The creature voraciously attacked her. The crunching noise and the pain were simultaneous. Half of her nasal cavity was visible in its mouth. She could feel the huge nails ripping her breast from her rib cage. The loss of blood caused her vision to go black, but she could still feel the monster ripping her arms from her body at her shoulder joint. Shock sat in and mercifully masked the pain. The creature amused himself by placing parts of her anatomy around the room. It slowly wrote the words across the wall.
Autumn succumbed to her fate. Her life had been taken, but the nightmare had finally ended.
Across town, a young boy opened an email. Emblazoned on the screen were the words, “Play Jack in The box, click here.”
