By VH
Alyssa's excitement reached its peak as she sat in the bus, only an hour away from reuniting with her parents after years abroad at boarding school. It was a necessity for every kid in town to attend until they turned twenty-one. She couldn’t help but be engulfed by a flood of nostalgic memories during the journey. The way her mother would cook her favourite meal after a tedious day at school or how her father fixed her bruises with a kiss, how her time with her friends seemed to be fun and the Sunday grills with her neighbours always was a good time. Before she knew it her eyes closed and when they opened back up she had reached her destination.
The bus had stopped outside the familiar gates of her apartment complex, but as she stepped out, she realised something was off. It wasn’t the way she remembered things to be. The skies were grey and the atmosphere gloomy. The once busy complex now appeared dreary, with buildings bearing the marks of time, as if the colours had been scraped away by unseen hands. The usually bustling area was now devoid of any signs of life. Alyssa’s excitement waned, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling that gripped her as she dragged her luggage through the screaming gates.
Reaching her floor, she was greeted by the sight of her childhood apartment door swinging open. There stood her parents, arms outstretched, but frozen in an unnatural pose. Alyssa hadn’t noticed her parents’ weird stance, understandably so, she was excited to meet them. Alyssa rushed into their embrace. Yet, the warmth she expected was replaced by a peculiar emptiness. Her parents' smiles seemed plastered, reaching their lips but not their eyes.
Her childhood home felt foreign and ominous. The air hung heavy with an unsettling tension, and the once comforting embrace of her parents now felt like a distant formality. Alyssa brushed off her unease, attributing it to the passage of time or perhaps a shift in her own memories. Not one word exchanged as they guided her to her room which again felt uncomfortable. What was it? Was it her memory? Or was it the disquieting air?
Freshening up in her room, she decided to share the gifts she had carefully chosen for her parents. As she opened her bedroom door, hushed voices reached her ears. Peeking into the hallway, she realised her parents were engaged in a heated argument. However, the moment they caught sight of her, their voices fell silent, and their expressions returned to an disturbing stillness.
With an attempt to break the silence, Alyssa announced, "I brought you both some presents." The response was unnerving – her parents' hands opened simultaneously, a mechanical gesture. Placing the gifts in their hands, their smiles widened freakishly as they unveiled the contents. The disconnect between their expressions and the atmosphere left Alyssa with a growing sense of unease, as if something beyond her understanding lurked beneath the surface of her once familiar home.
Alyssa couldn't shake off the strange encounter with her parents as they thanked her in eerie unison. "Uh, you're welcome?" she replied, her confusion evident. "Mom, Dad, what's going on? Why are you both acting so strangely?” Her mother dismissed Alyssa's concerns with a forced smile. "Oh, nothing, dear. We're just tired," she said nonchalantly, avoiding eye contact as she began setting the table for dinner. Meanwhile, Alyssa's father retreated to their bedroom, locking himself inside without offering any explanation.
Alyssa stood there, an anxious feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. The air felt thick with unspoken tension, and the walls seemed to close in on her. She approached her mother, who continued to arrange the table with a robotic precision. "Mom, seriously, what's going on? This isn't like you. And Dad..." Alyssa hesitated, her eyes fixed on the closed bedroom door. "Is everything okay?” Her mother's forced smile wavered for a moment before she regained composure. "Everything's fine, Alyssa. Your father is just stressed from work, and we're both a bit tired. It's nothing for you to worry about." The assurance sounded rehearsed, leaving Alyssa with more questions than answers.
As dinner commenced in awkward silence, Alyssa knew that something deeper was amiss. Just then her father came out of the locked bedroom, throughout dinner Alyssa’s attempts to engage in conversation during the meal were met with quietness, her parents' responses reduced to curt one-word replies or, at times, complete silence. Frustration and confusion lingered in the room, prompting Alyssa to abandon her efforts and quietly hope for a more reassuring tomorrow.
Just as she approached her room, her father's voice called out to her. "Yes, Dad?" Alyssa responded, turning to face him. With a simulated smile, her father made a request. "We would appreciate it if you wouldn't come out of your room at night." The statement hung in the air, sending a chill down Alyssa's spine. Her mother, holding a seemingly innocent bottle of water, added, "In case you get thirsty, but it would be better if you wouldn't wake up at all.”
Alyssa stood frozen, her mind struggling to comprehend the surreal nature of their requests. "What..." she began, her sentence trailing off as her parents swiftly switched off the lights and closed her bedroom door. The darkness enveloped her, leaving Alyssa alone with her thoughts, the weight of the creepy evening setting heavily on her shoulders. She sat in the dim room, contemplating the cryptic words that had been uttered, her home had been transformed into a labyrinth of confusion and unspoken fears.
Alyssa's eyes scanned her room, absorbing the familiar surroundings. Everything seemed intact, except the landline, it was gone. There was absolutely no form of communication to the outside world. She sat on her bed yearning for a distraction, then her gaze fell upon a photo album, a relic from her childhood, she remembered it, she loved posing for pictures as a child. Fond memories washed over her as she flipped through the pages, relishing the captured moments frozen in time. However, the joy morphed into confusion when she noticed a disconcerting pattern – the adults in every photograph wore the same vacant expression, mirroring the troubling demeanour her parents had displayed during dinner.
"That's odd," she whispered to herself. Alyssa felt as though a shadow loomed over her past, casting doubt on the authenticity of the memories she held dear. Exhausted and emotionally drained, Alyssa sank onto her bed. The weight of the mysterious events pressed upon her, and as her eyelids grew heavy, she succumbed to a deep slumber. Little did she know that her rest would be accompanied by a haunting awareness.
As she slept, she realised her mind was awake because it felt as though she knew what was happening around her, she saw her parents standing over her, watching her sleep with null expressions. It scared her, she wanted to escape. In a jolt, she awoke only to find out there was no one in her room but her. Beads of sweat adorned her skin, she had a sip from the water her dear mother provided but it did little to quench the uneasiness. Alyssa tried to fall back asleep but couldn’t due to the loud howling she heard from outside her window which quickly turned into screams that she heard all around her and she was especially aware of the shuffling she heard in her room.
She lay still in the oppressive silence, Alyssa's senses heightened and suddenly all the noises stopped, she got up once again when she heard the shuffling. To her horror she saw beings that resembled her parents crouched in the corner of her room, their eyes black voids, their skin grey and glass-like and especially their mouths stretched into the same unnatural, robotic smile she had suffered through ever since she entered the gates.
“You weren’t supposed to see us, honey.” Alyssa’s mother stated. From then on the noises and screams just got louder, she tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge, her only option was to use the window, she didn’t care if she fell to her death. She was convinced these weren’t her parents, this apartment complex wasn’t where she used to live and this place wasn’t her home.
The sight out of her window couldn’t have been scarier even if she had imagined it. There was a crowd of people who mimicked the stances and vacant eyes of her parents, fixated their gaze on her. The synchronised, choreographed smiles sent shivers down her spine and most scariest of all, she knew them from her childhood and the way they were staring at her seemed like they recognised her too. As her mother's shrill scream pierced the air, followed by her father's and then the collective wail of the distorted beings, Alyssa succumbed to the overwhelming horror leading to a blackout.
Alyssa’s childhood best friend, Myra stood outside the apartment complex with her bags in hand, she was cheery and preppy. A smile graced her face as she saw Alyssa approaching. "Hey Ally!" Myra greeted, her enthusiasm diminishing when she noticed Alyssa's vacant eyes and unnaturally stretched smile. The unsettling encounter left Myra with a chilling realisation that something sinister lurked around her best friend and the place she once called home.
By VH
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