The Glitch

It is midnight and loud noises and screams are heard from the Valdez Mansion. Damien Valdez slowly get's up from the floor with torn clothes, a head injury and broken glasses. The voices keep rising and the furniture was up in the air. "Rachel... She's alone upstairs" He murmurs weakly to himself, "I can't let him get to her." He stands up and runs towards the stairs but the sofa flew over and hit him. He falls backwards to the floor.       "She's mine!" The creature roared in rage. He quickly vanishes into nothingness and the floating sofa falls unto Damien. Rosaline, the house help who had a hole in her chest rose with her heart in her hands and walks over to Damien. Her eyes are gauged out and she had a kitchen knife deep in her skull. She gave him a psychotic smile and pulled the knife out.       "Rosaline, if you're in there please you have to fight it. Rachel needs us, he can't get to her. He can't get to the baby!" Damien pleaded hoping Rosaline was still alive inside even though it was clear that she was already dead. She doesn't utter a word but pauses as she stood over Damien. SWOOSH! She pierced Damien's forehead with the knife. Blood splashes out like water from a broken sprinkler. She pushes it in deep that it came out the other end. A pool of blood slowly appears beneath his head. His eyes were wide open and so as his mouth as he was screaming when she stabbed him. Rosaline pulled out the knife and stabs him again and again and again. She continues till he's face was no longer recognizable. Rachel is in her room. She was in her late 20's and had hair as dark as night and her eyes were as clear and blue as the sky. She's pregnant and has to do everything to keep her unborn child safe from what was after them. Her room was littered with black candles which were already lit and positioned in a particular format. She knelt down in a circle she had drawn with a white chalk along with other designs and patterns she drew within it. "Nazrath Larath..." She mumbles within the circle. With each word she mumbled the flames of the candles grew bigger and brighter. Though she heard Damien's screams she didn't stop. Suddenly the door flew off its hinges; the windows blew open and part of the wall of the room collapsed. A huge wind swooped in and extinguished the flames of the candles. Darkness filled the room. She stood on her feet as she heard the growling of the beast behind her. She turned placing her hands on her stomach as she kept mumbling. She looked at the beast with no fear like she knew that day would come. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she slowly closed her eyes and waited for the beast to take her. The heavens roared and cried as the beast soars in to the air and swoops down upon her. 14 years later... The silver gray Mercedes s600 cruised down the freeway at a high speed. Richard is fuming in anger and drives recklessly like he didn't fear death. Mr. Richard Martins is a lawyer in his late 30's from Brooklyn. He's relocating to New Orleans, Louisiana after series of mishaps his son Victor has caused. His wife, Mary is a calm young lady in her early 30's with blonde hair. She's a reporter in Brooklyn but after the unfortunate incident which Victor caused, they had to move to New Orleans. Richard had bought a property there a year ago, the Valdez mansion. The Valdez mansion has been around for many centuries, no one has bought the mansion after the last owners mysteriously died in 1996 not until Richard did. Richard keeps speeding and honking for no reason.       "Richard, stop! Slow down or else you'll get us all killed!!" Mary pleaded grabbing him by his left arm. He shakes off her grip in frustration and stares at the road without blinking. Few seconds later he reduced his speed and drove safely.       "I'm sorry Mary." He sighs, "You know this is all your son's fault. I told you we're going to have our own kid but no, you just had to adopt him." He honks again and yells at other cars, "I wonder how you got your license! Delinquent!!" He takes a quick glance at the rear-view mirror and sees Victor in the back seat starring out the window. He doesn't seem bothered by what was happening though it was his entire fault. Wrinkles jumps onto Richard's forehead as he frowns more than usual. "Victor! I have had enough of you boy!! We are all in this mess because of you and you're just sitting there with no remorse." Victor ignores him and keeps starring out the window. "I'm talking to you Victor! Victor!!" He still ignores him. Richard hits the brakes out of the blue and everyone falls forward but luckily the seat belts held them back. "Victor!" He yells at the top of his voice.       "What? What happened?" He asks startled, "Who called me?" He looks forward and sees Richard starring at him, fuming in rage.       "Richard calm down please! You've woken Macy." Mary pleads with him while lifting Macy up from the baby seat. "You have to control your anger, remember what the doctor told you."       "Huh... Fine, I'll control myself" He huffs and grabs the keys and starts the car's engines. He quickly drove off while others behind him honked and yelled in anger. He murmurs to himself as he drives. Mary was busy trying to put Macy back to sleep. Macy is their biological child which they had years after adopting Victor. Richard glances at the mirror again to see Victor staring out the window again with no care in the world. He's irritated again but inhales deeply and exhales slowly as his doctor advised to and mumbles the mantra he was taught. "All is well, I am bigger than anger. All is well, I'm in control." 19 hours later the car stops in front of the Valdez mansion. It's already nightfall, 23:10 pm. The moving truck has already dropped most of their properties the day before. Mary gets down and makes her way into the century old building. Victor slowly slides out of the car and stares at the house. There're vines all over the house; on the roof, pillars and windows.       "Viiikktoor..." He hears voices mumbling and whispering his name. He stood frozen in front of the house. "Haaaaaa... Sssshhhh... Viiikktoor....." They call out to him. The crooked window creek as the wind bounces off of it. The tree branches dance to the sweet melodies of the wind. Victor stares as the main entrance door slowly opens, 'Kiiikii... krrkiikikikiiii...' The voices become louder with each inch the door widens.       "Victoor...!" Richard screams out loud in anger. He storms outside glaring at the frozen boy that stared at back at him.       "What? What? Dad?" he snaps out of it sweating and looking pale as if he's seen a ghost. Right before him stood Richard, who was breathing rapidly in a futile attempt to calm himself but ended up yelling anyways.       "Carry the rest of the boxes from the trunk inside!" He yelled out but suddenly feels embarrassed since it was almost midnight. "Since we've talked about moving you've been behaving more strangely than usual. It's not like you had any friends you're going to miss, now get those boxes inside, I want to lock the doors." He huffed trying his best not to be loud. Richard goes back inside while Victor took out all the remaining boxes from the car. 5 boxes later, he comes out to carry the last one.       "Viiikktoor..." He hears a voice while lifting the box and quickly turns around to see who was behind him but drops the box. The sound of the ceramics in the box shattering could be heard clearly. He quickly lifts it up and hurries inside hoping Richard didn't hear them break. On reaching the door, Richard opens the door and he's wearing a frown again. He heard the ceramics break and once again he's battling to control his rage.       "Why can't you ever do anything right! Huh..."- He hits his palm on his forehead –"Just give me the box and get inside." He grabs the box, takes a deep breath and goes in shortly after Victor went in. He slams the door and locks it after dropping the box in the kitchen. Mary was already upstairs with the baby and it seems both are already asleep. The house still needs more work since it was still decorated with dusts, cobwebs and vines. The vines appears to be everywhere in the house. Richard opens the box and slowly takes out the broken ceramics and throws them in the trash. "I already have my own kid, I don't get why I still have to cope with him." He murmurs to himself but tries not to get provoke again. He sees Victor lingering about and couldn't help it but get angry again. "Go to bed, it's already midnight." He stares at Richard for a few seconds and leaves without uttering a word. Richard is furious but decides to sleep it off. He leaves the boxes and went to bed. "We can unpack tomorrow morning I guess" He thought to himself as he slides under the big bed covers trying not to wake Mary or Macy. The lights were already off and the room was not dusty or dirty like the rest. Richard had called three cleaners to clean the house two days before they moved in. The kitchen, Living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms were the only places that the cleaners cleaned before complaining that something was wrong with the house. At 1:56 am Victor got up and felt thirsty. He tried to turn the lights on but it seems they weren't working though they were on when he went to bed. He thought the power might be out but he looked closely into the hallway and the lights were on. He slowly slithered out of bed and made his way into the halls. The door to his room was opened halfway but he was sure he locked it before going to sleep. He's too tired to care or wonder who opened it. The kitchen was located downstairs on the left. He's trudging through the halls on his way to the kitchen but noticed the lights in his parents' room were on and so he tiptoed to their room and decided to eavesdrop on them.      "We already have Macy why do we have to keep him as well?" Richard asks more annoyed than usual.       "We have already adopted him, it's our responsibility now. Besides what will people say if they found out? I don't want Macy growing up and thinking we're bad people for leaving Victor." Mary tried explaining with a lot of concern on her face. Victor isn't surprised, they weren't his parents and so he had no expectations from them. He sneaked passed their room and went downstairs to the kitchen. The lights in the kitchen were twitching. The boxes were all gone but he thought maybe Richard had unpacked everything or kept aside somewhere. He enters the kitchen and opened up the upper cabinet and got out a glass cup. He filled it with water from the faucet but before he could drink, he heard a noise coming from the fridge. He slowly reached out to open it and lights started to go crazy. He stood his ground regardless and held the fridge's handle and keeps exhaling rapidly in fear. The noise grew louder and suddenly a hand grabbed a hold of him from behind. He screamed in fear and turned to see Mary and Richard standing like statues. They had creepy smiles on their faces, he slowly moved back until he was up against the fridge. The noise from it kept getting louder and it suddenly began to vibrate and shake. Victor is frightened to death even more when he saw his parents didn't have eyes. Blood slowly dripped from their eye holes. "You're not one of us... Don't worry soon you will be!" Both repeated simultaneously and it sounded creepy and scared Victor the more. A hand slowly emerged from the fridge and grabbed a hold of Victor.       "Arrrh! Aaah!!" He yelled out in fear. Mary and Richard got close and plunged their hands into their stomachs and pull out their eyeballs and guts. They put in back into their mouths and munched on it. Victor calls out for help as they reached out for his eyes. He couldn't do anything since more hands emerged from the fridge and restrained him. He screams to the top of his lungs and suddenly wakes up in his room. The lights are still on and the door was locked. He's sweating heavily and panting. He rolls off his sheets and gets up from bed. "Huh... Huh... It was just a nightmare." He sighs, "Though Mary and Richard aren't as different as the ones in my dream. I need a glass of water." He unlocks the door and steps into the hallway. He turned on the lights since they were off. He tiptoed to the kitchen after checking to see if his parents were asleep which they were. He entered the kitchen still sweating and frightened and takes a good look around. Everything seems normal and the boxes were still unpacked. He quickly notices the fridge and quietly moves to it. He swallowed some saliva as he stretched forth his right hand to open it. He opens it and jumps a few steps backwards with his eyes closed. He slowly opens them and discovered the fridge was absolutely normal. "Phew!" He sighs and fetched water from the kitchen sink with a glass that was on the counter. He gulps the whole glass up and does another. He quickly drops the glass and tries to run back upstairs but something held him back. "Help... Mum!" He called out struggling to break free till he looked back and realized his shirt was caught on a cracked edge on the counter. He inhaled deeply and laughed at his stupidity and pulls his shirt free. "This silly nightmare is getting to me." He thought while washing his face in the kitchen sink, "I hate this place." He wipes his wet palms dry on his shirt and went back upstairs. He felt uneasy as he went up the stairs, he could hear noises from different corners of the house. He stopped and listened closely. He realized the noises came from the kitchen faucet and the tree branches outside which were banging against the windows. Once again he inhales deeply and proceeds to his room. He walks past his parent's room and took a quick glance inside and they were sound asleep. They looked like a happy family with Macy sleeping in between them. "I'm not a part of them, they're not my family." He murmurs trying to convince himself to hate them including Macy. He enters and locked the door. He took a quick look around his room to be sure nothing was off but it all seemed normal so he jumped right back into bed and slept off. The alarm goes off again at 8:45 am but Victor was still asleep. The alarm keeps ringing and Victor eventually woke up but annoyed. He grabs the alarm clock and threw it against the wall and breaks. Just as he was about to dive right back into sleep the alarm starts malfunction and rings nonstop and loudly as well. "Grrrr..." He growled and threw his pillow away. He got up and saw the alarm on the floor and seems to be glitching. RING! RING!! RING! The alarm clock went on, Victor smashes it further with his shoe but the alarm grew louder and more annoying. Richard barges into his room to what the entire ruckus was about.       "Would you turn that damn thing off?" Richard barks, struggling to be louder than the alarm. He walked close to the other side of the bed and saw the broken alarm clock on the floor. "What did you do?!"      "I did nothing! I tried to turn it off but it got louder so I tried breaking it but it made it worse." Victor cried out hoping he understood.       "Of course, when nothing goes your way, just smash everything you see! I really don't know what I'm going to do with you?" He smacks his forehead in disappointment and inhales deeply. He picks up the alarm clock and removes the batteries and the annoying noise died off immediately. "There're other ways to solve your problem other than breaking things." Richard walks out annoyed. "Hurry up and come downstairs!"       "Hurry up and come downstairs." He mimics Richard in a funny way and slams his door shut in anger. He felt like a fool, he hates it when Richard gives him one of his boring, irritating lectures. He yawned and trudged to the bathroom to bathe. Few minutes later he was done showering, dries his hair and got ready. He got downstairs to see everywhere well decorated and packed in. He walked into the dining where his parents and Macy are having their breakfast. "When did you guys unpack everything? We got here last night and went straight to bed." He asked confused.       "Not everyone is as lazy as you. Mary and I woke up early and did the work because you made it clear you're not going to be much help." Richard blabbed in irritation. Mary gave Richard a stern look to shut up. He rolls his eyes and drinks his coffee while reading the paper. He's getting ready for job interviews by 10.       "Sit down and eat Victor, you'll be at home today with Macy. I have to find a nanny and you a new school." Mary drops the bomb while feeding Macy.       "I don't know how to take care of her. I'm..." He stutters in an effort to change her mind.       "You what exactly? You don't have a job, you don't go to school! You're staying at home with her and if anything happens to Macy you would wish we hadn't adopted you." Richard lashed out at Victor.       "Calm down Richard, you have to go for the interviews so don't ruin your mood and please try to control your anger." Mary pleaded with concern. Richard needs to get a job as soon as possible and his temper had always proved to be a huge obstacle for him. "You're staying with Macy and please be responsible for once." Mary pleaded with him.       "Whatever." He huffed and took his cereal upstairs to his room. Richard glares at him as he exited. He tries to go after him but Mary held him back. He exhales slowly and finished his coffee before leaving. He kissed both Mary and Macy and quickly dashed out. Rachel kept feeding Macy while eating her food as well. Victor sat on his bed with a frown and devoured his bowl of cereal like a hungry lion. "I don't know why they won't let me breathe for once!" He mumbled with his mouth full. In a fit of rage he spills the cereal on his shirt. "Huh... And this was my favorite one." He frowned and took off his shirt. He opens his closet and pulls out a new shirt. While putting it on, he heard noises coming from the closet. He struggles to put on the shirt quickly and see what the noise was. Something comes out of the closet and gets closer and closer to him. He hears heavy breathing and it grew closer and closer. He couldn't stand the suspense anymore. He took off the shirt and turned around to see nothing. He looked closely at the closet and saw one of his hangers shaking so he stretch forth his hand to see what was in the closet.       "Victor! Come downstairs and take Macy, I'm about to leave." Mary called out before he could see what was in the closet. He quickly runs downstairs with his shirt in his hands and puts it on there. "I just got off the phone with a nanny; she'll be here by 11. Please behave yourself and be matured for once." She pleaded.       "Yeah sure, I'll try" She hands Macy over to him and leaves immediately. "Huh... I don't know how to take care of a baby?" He mumbles holding Macy up above his head. He took her up to his room and locks the doors. "Stay here, I want to sleep." He drops Macy on his bed and leaps right in and back to sleep. Macy looks around and after a few seconds she tries to climb down from the bed. She crawls over Victor to the night stand and grabs a hold of it. As she drags herself on to the top, she slips and falls. Richard arrived early than expected at The Bakers Law Firm. He has always been punctual all his life and has made it a must to keep it that way. He alights from his car dressed in a black tuxedo and a red tie. His files are with him and in order too. Victor might drive him crazy but he still finds a way to be organized. The automated doors open as he neared them and he steps right in, nervous but hopeful. The building is large and well designed. The secretary, Linda quickly identifies him. She could tell since she has heard a lot about Richard in the papers and magazines. Linda is in mid 20's and has been working for the Bakers for over two years now. She's average in height and dresses strictly professionally. She has a mole on the left side of her lips. She has dark lips which were due to too much coffee she consumes in an effort to keep her perfect performance at the firm. She has bags under her eyes which were signs of lack of sleep. Her only motivation is the partnership position that's about to open up and she's work harder than ever to get the promotion and finally have her work load reduced.       "Good Morning Mr. Martins, you're early today." She spews out forcing a smile to brighten up her face but her eyes exposes her. Clearly she hasn't been sleeping well. She pulls up her wrist and checks the time once again in her vintage chain wrist watch.       "Morning, you know what they say, early bird gets the worm." He chuckles and stretched forth his right hand for a hand shake.       "Oh! I'm so sorry." She apologized and shakes his hand though she's already carrying a lot of paper work. "There's the waiting room I'll be with you shortly." She informed him pointing at a room nearby. Richards flashes a smile at her and heads into the room. Linda struggles to carry the papers to her desk. she wobbles a few step of the way but unfortunately trips over a wire on floor and fell. The papers flew in the air but Richard grabbed her before she could hit the floor. "Mr. Martins... Ummm... Thank you." Linda stutters as she avoids eye contact with him. She regains her stance and stood nervously in front of Richard.       "You're welcomed and you should probably take a break from work. You might hurt yourself real bad." He advised and flashed a sweet smile at her again before heading back to the waiting room. Lind stares at him as he walks away with such elegance but then she noticed the ring on his hand. She had always had a crush on Richard for a long time and even now though she knows he's already married. She keeps staring and slowly starts fantasizing about him but her fantasies were quickly shattered when someone steps on her hand while she picked up the papers. The pain quickly pulled her back into reality and she cried silently.       "Linda, pick up all these papers and get back to work. Absolutely no day dreaming will be tolerated in this establishment." Mr. Adam Baker barked at her. He's the owner of the company which was his family's legacy. He's in his early 60's and already has a few gray hairs but he's quite vibrant and active both physically and mentally. He's not much of a soft hearted person, after his parents passed, he has been cold to the world and he doesn't plan on changing. He has a few wrinkles and yellow teeth but still looks youngish.       "Yes boss, I'm sorry for the mess." She apologized and makes way for him to pass through. She packs it all in the wrong format and runs to her desk to organize it well and file it before noon. He walks into his well furnished office which had a vintage atmosphere. He had pictures of his family upon the wall and a shelf which bore the weight of all his awards and medals. He had a center table made of glass and a comfortable sofa along with a beautiful brown rug. Richard quickly rose to his feet as he entered. Richard was nervous but has a way of looking confident and bold. They shake hands and Mr. Baker offered him a seat. An hour later, Victor woke up more tired than he was at first. His head hurts and he felt a little bit dizzy. He held on to his bedside and forced himself to stand. He stood still for a while, just long enough for his mind to clear up a bit. He looks at the huge mirror on the wall of his room and is suddenly drawn to it. He staggers to the strange mirror but trips and falls a few times. The door was unlocked and Macy was nowhere to be found within the room. He slowly approached the mirror while dragging his feet as he went. He saw himself in the mirror and nothing more. He stares with curious as his felt like something was on the other side of the mirror. He feels strange and weird like something is wrong. He keeps staring trying to figure out what. Reality On the other side of the mirror were Mary panicking and Richard pacing around as he called the ambulance. The time was still 7:00 am in the morning and Victor was still fast asleep. He hasn't woken up since the night they arrived.       "Let me try something." Richard said to Mary and walks close to Victor. He inhales deeply and yells at the top of his voice, "Wake up you lazy piece of sh*t!" But Victor was still fast asleep. "Wake up! Wake up!! Wake up!" Richard yells again as he smacks Victor in the face severally with all his might but the boy just wouldn't budge.       "Stop that Richard! Can't you see this is serious?" Mary huffed whilst still panicking. "Do you think he's dead?" She asked Richard with fear on her face.       "No I don't think so." He told her and puts his finger under his nostrils and felt the air he exhales,        "He's still breathing. It's seems he's stuck in his sleep or something. Calm down Mary it'll be fine. Stress isn't good for you." Richard assured trying to comfort her.       "When will the ambulance get here?"       "I don't know, maybe in an hour or so." Richard replied and dialed the hospital again. Dream State       "I can only see myself but why does it feel like something is off." Victor asked himself as he kept staring at the mirror. He looks closely and his head starts to hurt a little bit. "I feel like I'm forgetting something important but what is it?" He thinks harder and then it hit him. "Where's Macy? She was on the bed with me. Could she have fallen?" He asked himself worried. He quickly scratches through everything in the room till it looked like a war zone. "The door is unlocked? But who unlocked it? There were only both of us here?" He wonders but then hears Macy's voice downstairs and quickly dashed out of the room almost knocking the door of its hinges. Immediately after he had ran out, the bulb in his room starts to twitch. Ep 02: The Dream State