Surviving a Real Life Horror Story

Chapter Nineteen

I could hear the crack of my skull as my head hit the bathtub. The room seemed out of focus as I struggled to stay conscious. I could hear a thump in the room, proof that Bruno was still present. Beside the pain in my shoulder, I felt nothing else. I wondered why Bruno hadn’t finished me off yet.

I forced my eyes open and realized that Bruno was no longer standing over me. My heart began to pound in my chest as I ponded the possibilities. My hands shook as I reached for the edge of the tub. The angle propped me up enough to see the floor. Green light casted clear across an unmoving figure. Bruno was lying beside the tub, his knife lying just beside his massive unmoving hand. A brown puddle was forming around his head. I realized quickly it was blood.

What the hell happened? I thought to myself wearily.

My head spun with another round of dizziness. I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself from passing out as I shifted in the tub. In that moment, the dizziness no longer seemed important as I felt the fierce ripping pain in my shoulder.

Instinctively, I reached a hand to grab it. Blood soaked into my skin instantly. The contact brought my attention to the wetness that lined my side. I was bleeding worse than I realized. I felt my breaths start to come in short, frequent gaps.

If I lost too much blood, I would pass out. If that happened, I’d be a sitting duck, waiting for someone to stumble across me and finish me off. I had to get somewhere, and I had to get somewhere fast. I rocked my body with the curve of the bathtub and grasped the edge with my free hand. Using all the strength I could manage, I stood up.

I swallowed heavily as I stepped over the edge of the tub. For a long moment, I kept my eyes on Bruno. It seemed too easy that he could be incapacitated in the blink of an eye. I watched for a minute, alert to any signs of movement.

There were none.

I counted my blessings and decided he must’ve fallen in the shower curtain as I carefully made my way across the room. As I passed Milton’s unconscious body, I noticed the blood that was leaking from underneath him. As I passed him, the glow of the green light lit up his face.

I stared into his crafted face feeling a stab of pain in my chest as I remembered his betrayal. I stared hard at him, feeling myself quickly melt into anger. I knew all along that the only way I had a chance of winning would be to face the competition alone.

I spit at Milton’s body. “You got exactly what you deserve, asshole,” I whispered.

Without another glance at the scene behind me, I slipped into the darkness of the hallway. My shoulder throbbed in pain as my heart rate increased again. Remembering Milton’s betrayal in the shadows made me wary of each and every one.

My fear caused my heart to pump more blood out of my open wound. I could feel my knees buckling, and I knew that my body was on the verge of giving up.

At this rate, I’m not gonna make it, I thought to myself, I have to find somewhere to hide.

I took a careful step forward and felt my ankle give out with my weight. I crashed to the floor, coughing at the dust that went up my nose. I bit my lip, it was the only way to keep myself from crying. The pain in my shoulder was immense. With the darkness surrounding me, the dizziness in my head became overwhelming. My fingers clutched at my shoulder as I struggled to stay conscious.

The hand that propped me up, dug into the floorboards. I could feel my breaths becoming shorter and shorter. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the house. My eyes shot open, taking in the darkness as my mind frantically tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. A moment of silence was heard before the footsteps were heard again.

My heart was pounding louder than ever, I could hear the blood pumping in my ears. Panic caused my mind to race. Without even realizing it, my hand was pulling me across the floor. The small movement gave me hope, and before I knew it, my shoulder bumped into the wall. I lifted my free hand to trace the wall, and I realized quickly that I was lying at the edge of the fireplace I had noticed earlier.

I frowned at the idea. Then, I realized that if the opening was large enough, I would be able to hide in it, at least until the danger passed. With a quiver of hope in my heart, I pulled my body into the confines of fireplace. I closed my eyes and prayed that it would be enough to live another day.