This post is part of Writer’s Digest February Flash Fiction Challenge. Flash Fiction is a short, often under 1,000 words, style of writing. I hope you enjoy my 28 contributions!
Day 21 Prompt: Something That Scares You
“Come on, you guys!” Megan pleaded. She was standing in the center of the aisle with her hands on her hips. Sarah and Becky looked over at her, laughing at Megan’s bizarre insistence that they choose a different movie.
“Megan, don’t be such a baby.” Sarah waved the When a Stranger Calls VHS in Megan’s face, adding, “This one isn’t even supposed to be that scary.”
Megan huffed, accepting defeat then trudged off behind the girls as they moseyed over to the candy aisle. Hands full of sugary treats, Becky flashed her mom’s Blockbuster card to the associate and explained that she was fourteen, born on May 22, 1985 specifically, and was of age to rent the PG-13 flick.
Back at Sarah’s, the girls huddled next to each other on the couch in the dimmed living room, shoveling chocolates, jellybeans, and sours into their mouths. Megan voiced how uncomfortable she was when they put the tape in the VCR, but again relented after another mocking comment from Sarah.
No more than five minutes into the movie, a cheap jump scene caused the girls to scream in unison, sending candy flying all over the couch and floor. “Seriously, you guys. I hate scary movies!” Megan had leapt off the couch and was standing in between the couch and the tv, starring at Sarah and Becky with her arms crossed. “They scare the hell out of me!”
“Umm, yeah. They are supposed to scare you,” Sarah retorted, throwing a handful of jellybeans into her mouth. “Honestly, if you want to go home or something, that’s fine, but we are going to watch this movie.”
Megan rolled her eyes and grunted, begrudgingly taking her seat again next to Becky. The movie continued, scaring the girls enough times that they had huddled together under a singular blanket with their knees pulled up to their chests. Finally, the big twist flashed across the screen: the killer was calling the babysitter from inside the house. With a final chorus of screams from the girls, the movie ended.
From behind her hands that were covering her face, Megan said, “I get to choose next week’s movie – that was terrifying!”
The girls unfurled themselves from under the blanket and Sarah walked over to the light switch, flipping it on mercifully, abating the lingering fear roiling within each of them. Seconds later, the lights went off again. But only this time, the tv shut off and the lights on the kitchen appliances disappeared.
With nothing more than the light from the moon illuminating the house, Becky peeked out the window and reported to the girls that the power seemed to be fine at all the neighboring homes.
Megan was growing increasingly anxious, tears forming in her eyes. Sarah, annoyed by the added stress, said that she would call her parents’ friends house where they were off having dinner. She walked over to the phone and took it off the receiver putting it up to her ear as she checked the piece of paper her mom had scratched the Anderson’s number on. Before she could punch in the first number, though, Sarah’s face began to contort into one of absolute terror.
“Sarah?” Becky asked, walking over to her slowly, concern enveloping her face. Megan’s eyes grew wide as she too noticed the blood draining from Sarah’s cheeks. “Sarah, what happened?”
Sarah held the phone out towards the other girls with her arm outstretched and whispered shakily, “There’s someone breathing on the other line…”
