A Deadly Hide And Seek

“1, 2, 3 …” John was waiting for 50 to come out of his mouth and he could start his hard search for us while playing hide and seek. Amy and harry were going here and there in search of a good place to hide. All of us were in our uncle’s home. There was a huge garden, having a gigantic rubber tree whose branches extended to the balcony of the second floor of the luxurious house. It was night and it was adding a lot to our horror, but fun is something considered different in the presence of fear. We all were fearless.

“Hey Kevin—where are you supposed to hide?” Amy asked as she was passing beside me in kitchen. “I can’t find a nice hiding place.”

“I don’t even know where to hide, but there is a good place for you to hide,” I said. She was impatient to hear what i was about to say. A small change in my lips turned into a grin and then into a cackle. “Go to hell!”

I laughed and ran away from her. She was foaming at mouth.

“You’re too good to say nice words from your big mouth!” She shouted back. “Brainless! Frog-like stupid!”

“Infesto inferno!” I kept on saying. (Infesto inferno means go to hell).

My uncle and my dad had gone to see one of their friends. We were here—alone!

“23, 24, 25 …”

I had no time left. Tick, tick and tick made the time pass in seconds. My feet took me upstairs. I was alone and horrified. I was scared to be alone, but I didn’t have time to think about this. John was just about to come. I was glancing hither and thither in all directions to find a good place to hide, but my head was having explosions of emptiness of no final decision.

“41, 42, 43 …”

I didn’t wait more and rushed towards the balcony door, and stepped beneath the dark shadow of rubber tree’s branches in the darkness of the vague night.

“49 and 50! Here I come!”

There was a huge branch which touched the floor of the balcony. I arranged myself in its leaves in such a way that no one could ever trace me out.

Time passes by like a fast racing car speeding away in front of you in such a way that before you could even feel its existence or can even observe it, it runs away, letting you do nothing but stare at its rear.

The same happened with me. I didn’t know for how much time I had been sitting under the sheet of leaves. My eyes were close. Closed, so that no scary thoughts enter in my mind.

I came out from the bundle of leaves. It’s too late, I thought. Couldn’t they tell me when the game has ended! I looked down the balcony.

A stunning shock came and made me shiver from head to feet.

Blood! Blood everywhere!

Amy, Harry and John were beneath the tree. Their corpses were full of blood, but I came to know that all were not dead! John was still having slow breaths.

“Kevin, run! Run away! He’ll do the same to you because he came for you! The creature in the rubber tree. Leave the leaves and run away! The darkness is more beautiful than dark! Run or you’ll be one of us, like a dead body. Run for your life. You can escape him by — “John ended. His knell had been rung.

Before I could force myself to take an action, I heard some footsteps behind the balcony door. The leaves of rubber tree started to rustle. It felt that the man was standing behind me; his face full of my cousins’ blood; his powerful hands clutching my neck firmly and my death in front of my eyes. But all this was supposition and thoughts. The truth was behind the balcony door. I was alone and helpless in the big house and the sight of opening door entered my eyes after a deadly knock.

I opened my eyes. It was a night mare. A short nightmare! I was still under the coat of leaves. I was afraid and scared. So, I came out from the sheet of leaves and glanced down the balcony. No one was there! I thought that John was still looking for me. I looked at the place where I was under the leaves before. Someone was sitting there!

Someone who looked just like me. My clone! He looked back at me. A smirk appeared on his face.

“I like your body,” he said coldly.

No! He took my body. I am not alive!

The wooden balcony door opened. “Kevin, are you there?” John asked.

But how could he know that I was there, because I was dead. I was a part of the souls of the world.

I didn’t know that my dream will take such an enormous U-turn. Apparently, my cousins died, but actually, I was nothing more than a helpless soul looking at its corpse invaded by a wicked creature.

The creature stood up. A long dagger in his left hand.

“Your end is near my boy. Meet your mortality!” He shouted, stabbing the knife in me. A deep anguish travelled throughout my body. A pain which I had never experienced before!