The Small Dark Room
(A Tale of Horror)
Written by laurap414 on 9/12/00 8:28:40 PM
OK after going through a complete waking nightmare
yesterday and today I am on the other side of the fire and
(somehow) did not give in. I wrote this story tonight for
everyone here, please enjoy and be strong.
Love Laura
------- The Small Dark Room (a horror story)
Once, my existence was confined to a small, dark room.
In the room was a button. When I pressed the button the
room was filled with light. It was a warm, sunny light,
which filled every crevice of the room with its brilliance.
The light made me happy, and made me feel safe. The
problem was, after a few minutes, the light would begin
to fade. Soon the room would be completely dark again
and I would have to press the button again. My life
consisted of always getting to that button when the
darkness began to fall. The darkness was scary. It was
tiring getting to that button hour after hour. And in this
life, it was always, always night.
I heard people say that if you could endure one night in
the dark, without pushing that button, you could
experience Day. In Day, the button would not be needed.
It would always be light, and there would be no dark to be
afraid of. People said that when it was Day, you could
actually leave the room. The button was still there, but
you would not be reliant on it anymore. I remembered my
life before the button, and looked at my friends who lived
in the Day. And I knew that was what I wanted, more than
anything. I hated it always being night; even though I had
my button to light the world it was still depressing living
from brightness to darkness, never being free, and never
seeing the sun. And so one day I decided to stop pushing
the button, to try and be free.
At first, the darkness was a little uncomfortable. I could
not see a thing, but then again the light had only been out
for a short while. I knew what was in the room, no
monsters there, right? Just the dark. But then, as the night
progressed, scary things began to happen. I heard strange
noises in the dark. Sometimes ghosts and apparitions
would appear to me. And each time, no matter how much
I wanted to be brave, something scared me so bad that I
would reach for that button again. I never made it for
more than a few hours in the dark. I would run screaming
for the button, and give it a good smack. Thank God!!!
The light would be warmer and more lovely than it had
ever been. But then, as always, the light would begin to
fade. And I would realize to my horror that it was
midnight again. And I was even more afraid of the
encroaching dark than ever.
One day I heard of a group of people who had made it
through to Day. I wanted to get out of my terrible night,
and so I asked them how they made it to dawn, and then to
sunrise and Day. And they told me some secrets. They
told me how to deal with the ghosts who would appear in
the dark, how the room would change and how all sorts
of horrible things would happen. They warned me that it
would be worse than a nightmare at times, but that I
could do it. Best of all, they said they would help me
make it through the night. This is the story of how it
happened, one minute at a time.
11:59 pm. I push the button for the Very Last Time. I am very afraid…..
12:00 midnight. The room is dark. Not so bad. I can do this.
12:15 am Hearing scary noises. Scared, but I'm ready for
this. I can do it.
12:30 am A man appears out of nowhere.
"Push the button!!!!" he screams. "Aren't you afraid of the
monsters? Aren't you scared of the demons? Push the
button! It will be light again!!!! Just do it!!!!". He is
scaring me.
I look at him fiercely. He goes away. He comes back
many times during the night.
1:00 am The floor has turned to snakes. I am horrified. I
can hear them slithering around. I want to turn on the
light. I need to see them. I need them to go away. I ask my
friends and they say this is normal, that it will get better.
1:30 am I can hear moans in the dark. The snakes are still
here. I think this room is haunted. I am so scared of the
dark. I want to push the button so the light will make the
ghosts go away. I keep telling myself I am headed towards
the dawn.
1:45 am Something cold and dead brushes my face. I
scream. I reach for the button. My friends tell me I'm
doing a great job. They tell me the moises are just
phantom noises. They tell me to think of the coming
dawn. The snakes are still around my legs. I think the
floor is getting wet and sticky, I can't tell. The noises are
getting stranger. I am shivering with fear and revulsion.
2:00 am If it weren't for my friends I would have gone
insane or hit the button hours ago. I begin to think that
that the floor is wet and sticky with the blood of people
who have killed themselves in here. My friends tell me it's
just my own sweat. I know that if I hit the button it will
all go away. The noises are unbearable. My only comfort
is knowing I have made it this far. I tell myself I can make
it a little longer. I break down in tears from exhaustion.
2:15 am It's getting a little better now. The dark is still
filled with bizarre monsters and strange sounds.
2:30 am I look out the window to see if the sun is coming
up yet. It is still pitch dark. I cannot see a thing.
2:45 am The scariest part of night. I sense that I am
surrounded by ghouls. I am trying to be strong even
though I am beside myself with fright.
Suddenly a woman appears in the room. She is holding a
candle. She looks like a very competent lawyer or
something, and looks very kind. I am so relieved to see
her, and I invite her to sit down.
She explains that she has contacted the owners of the
room and that they have agreed to make an exception for
me. Since I am experiencing so much fear, they will let
me push the button once without setting the clock back to
midnight (right back where I started). She said that they
have been watching me, and since I've been so brave, they
will allow me a little bit of light to "get me through the
night".
"I thought that once I hit the button, I go right back to
where I started no mater what", I say.
"No, no, we have made a special exception in your case,"
she says, smiling. She looks so caring and professional. I
begin to believe her. She seems completely trustworthy.
I look over the contract she has brought. It all looks very
legal and above-board. I get to push the button once, and
the clock is not set back to midnight. It sounds extremely
sensible. I am listening to the noises in the dark. There is a
big bump from the darkest corner.
"What was that?" I say.
"That was a ghoul," she says pleasantly. "It will rip your
throat out and kill you if it gets you. So not to rush
things, but perhaps you want to sign the contract right
NOW…".
I look into her eyes. I want to believe her. I reach for the
pen. And then I see behind her smile, this evil green
glimmer. And I smell death on her clothes. With horror, I
realize that she has been sent by the Nicodemon. She is
pure evil. She leans in closer, and hands me the pen.
I pull back. "Get away!" I scream. "Get out of here at
once!!!!".
"Oh no, sweetie" she says in her pleasant voice of death.
"You asked me to sit down. You read my contract. I'm
going to stay a while". I know she is in league with the
Demon but I can't seem to move or scream. I am
transfixed with her voice, her glinting eyes, her tempting
smile. "Why don't we sit and chat awhile my dear?" she
smiles sweetly. It seems like two hours pass. I cannot
move. I have never been so scared. Crazily, I still think
about signing the contract she is holding. I think of how
hitting the button would make her go away.
Finally I summon all of my strength, and with great effort
I am able to make myself realize that she is evil and full
of lies. Finally, when I admit this to myself, she stands up
to leave . "I'll be back for you!!!!!!" she shrieks as she
leaves. I smell her horrible stench after she goes and I
want to vomit.
I am shaking with the effort and terrified, but I realize I
have won a battle. I am slightly proud.
3:00 am Still afraid but hanging in there. Telling myself
I've made it this far. Trying to ignore the snakes and
ghouls. When I ignore them they are not so bad.
3:15 am The man keeps coming back. He is not as scary
anymore.
4:00 am I think I can finally see the dawn rising in the far
distance. I am completely exhausted. But I think , this is
it! I have made it to Day! I am very excited.
4:15 am
A little old lady appears. She is very sweet looking and
gentle. "Hi honey!" she says.
"Hi there" I say, glad for some company.
"Rough night, huh?" she says.
"I'll say", I agree. I feel relaxed, relieved, happy, so proud
of myself.
"And you've done such a great job," she says. I thank her
for the compliment. "Such a great job, " she says, "that
you deserve to hit that button one more time. Just to see
it once before it's gone. It was such a lovely light wasn't
it?" she says sweetly.
"It was a lovely light," I say. I look fondly at the button,
and then look outside to the greying sky, which is filling
with a dirty pale light. I think of my brilliant warm light
and how it used to cheer me up instantly.
"You do deserve it," she says.
We chat for some time about what a great job I've done
getting through the night. She is a very sweet and
understanding lady. We stroll around the room for a
while, and then I look down. When I do, I realize my hand
is on the button. I look into the nice lady's eyes, and
suddenly I see the glint of evil green grinning back at me.
"Why don't you push the button now?" she growls, in a
voice that sounds like the grave.
"AARGH!" I yell. I jerk my hand off the button. The lady
vanishes in a puff of noxious fumes. But her words were
powerful poison and it is a while before I can walk away
from the button. I am terrified by the close call.
4:15 am It's getting brighter now.
5:00 am Things are going OK. I have survived a few
more close calls. The old lady came back, and so did the
lawyer lady, but I fought them off. The snakes and ghouls
I realize were only in my head. Things are looking
normal. I can see again!
6:00 am Sunrise! I never thought I would see it. It's only a
matter of time before I get to see the Day. I realize I will
never need my horrible button again. I am so relieved I
could just cry. I am full of gratitude and thanks. I am so
proud of myself, so humble. I've come so far.
And then I hear the voice. It is icy cold and gravelly, and
sounds like a thousand monsters whispering together. It
comes from everywhere and nowhere, it echoes through
my brain.
"There are monsters everywhere, my friend," it says.
"There are monsters which can attack you in the grey light
of dawn, monsters under the bed at sunrise, and monsters
which will haunt you invisibly during the Day. These
monsters can only be conquered by pressing that magic
button. Did you think that daylight would protect you?
Oh no. Never forget that the monsters are ALL
AROUND, my friend. And the button is the only thing
that will keep them away FOREVER. So watch out
where you step, and listen whererever you go…".
I am chilled. I am terrified. I look to make sure the button
is not far away. It is still there, and I am slightly
comforted by this. The sunrise is not as safe as it seemed.
6:15 am I look around for day-monsters. Sometimes I can
see them lurking under the bed. I had no idea that I would
be afraid after sunrise. I miss my brilliant warm light. Just
waiting for Day to come.
7:00 am. Sun keeps rising. Doing much better now.
Monsters are less frightening. Really beginning to feal
positive.
7:15 am Getting very bright. Feeling great. Knock at the
door. It's the neighbor.
"Hey lady," he says. "Howya doing in here? Listen, I
dropped off because I noticed your light wasn't on. I just
wanted to let you know that if you push that button over
there, you can see a whole lot better!"
"Yeah I know", I say, "but when you push the button, it
stays night. The longer I leave it off, the brighter it gets,
and eventually it'll be as bright as Day."
"Well, I hate to tell you this," he says, "but you know, it
never really gets as bright in the Daytime as that light was.
I mean, I tried that whole Day thing and it ain't what it's
cracked up to be. Sure, the light gets kind of bright during
the Day, but then there are cloudy days, and whatnot. And
you can never really read a book with the same amount of
clarity as you get with that button".
"Really?" I say. "I did not know this. Because you know, I
am a big reader".
"Oh, yeah, that Day light, it's never the same! You can't
read by Day light!!! Not the way you can with this baby
you got right here. I tell you what -–if you want, I can
jimmy this light so that it doesn't get dark at all! That way,
it'll be on all the time, and you'll NEVER know it's night
outside. What do you think?"
"You can do that?" I say. "I mean, I tried that before. I
tried a LOT of different things to make it not seem so
bad. But I still knew it was night. That light still kept
going out."
"No, no, no -- that was last time. I guarantee you I can fix
it so that you will never feel scared that it's night, and that
light will always be on. Believe me, it beats the hell out
of Day. I promise you. I mean look at this crappy light",
he said, jerking his thumb towards the weak sunrise.
"Well, OK" I said. "What do I have to do?"
"Just push the button once, so I can get it going, then
you'll be all set," he said. "And if you don't like it, you can
always try this Day thing another time, right?" He grinned
pleasantly, and gave me a friendly wink.
I looked him over to size him up. He was really a
good-looking guy, so friendly and polite. It was obvious
he knew what he was talking about, and he had a very
honest face. Perhaps, I thought, my friends were wrong
about this Day thing? I mean, here was a guy who could
just rig up my button to fix it up just like that. And it
sounded like he knew from experience that the button
light was better and brighter than Day. Plus he had
promised that it would work. Why would this guy lie to
me?
He was still standing there, smiling at me.
"OK" I said, "What the heck". And I reached to shake his
hand.
"Excellent" he grinned. But as he smiled I got a glimpse
of what was between his lips, and saw that his mouth was
full of maggots. Suddenly I realized that he reeked of
rotting corpses and death, and when I touched his hand, it
felt like cold icy death. I looked into his eyes and saw that
I was staring face-to-face with none other than the
NicoDemon.
"Nicodemon!!!" I shrieked.
"Yes, my dear" he growled, and as he grinned at me,
moving his face closer to mine, his breath smelled like
ashes and cancer. "Just push that button and I'll fix that
little button for you RIGHT AWAY". The maggots were
still spilling out of his mouth, and to my horror I realized
that his body was made up of decaying flesh. Every
surface of his body was covered with sores, and from the
sores leaked pus and phlegm. I looked down and saw that
I was still clutching his rotting, deadened hand.
"Argh!" I yelled. "You are a LIAR!!!!!! That stuff is not
true! What you say is never true!!! You can't fix that
button! If I push it I'll be back in the night! The button
will not make the monsters go away! It never did! All it
did was keep me in eternal night!!!!! NOW GO AWAY
AND GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!! YOU BASTARD!!!!!"
And I kicked him right in the balls.
"AAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
shrieked the NicoDemon. With a cloud of poisonous
fumes and toxic gases he began to melt into a puddle of
phlegm, until nothing was left of him except a small pile
of ash.
"Ha". I said. I swept up the ash and put it outside. I had
won this battle, and I deserved to be proud. I had
outwitted the most clever villain of all. And I had done it
all by myself (with a little help from my friends).
But I knew he would be back.
Epilogue
Sometime Around High Noon
Well the sun has finally come up and it's Day. It's
everything my friends promised it would be. The sun is
out, the birds are singing, and it's simply glorious.
Eventually, I even walked out of that small dark room,
and left the button behind.
The best part about it is, the sun never goes down here. It
just stays high noon all day long, and the sun is shining
almost all the time. My friends are here with me, and we
never have to go back into that horible night.
The Demon came back a few more times, in a few more
disguises. He almost fooled me that night that I went
through the dark, and he might fool me again. But I've got
my friends behind me and they tell me about the different
tricks he likes to use. He is a crafty, conniving, horrible,
evil spirit, and I know that he will always do everything in
his power to try and get me back.
But I will be ready, and waiting. And God willing, I'll
keep outwitting that son-of-a-bitch.
THE END.
Thank you Laura, purplkoala
1/20/2001