The Sinister Revelation

“You’re too stubborn,” Tom said.

Isla’s back straightened as much as possible; cold fury went through her now.

“Don’t say that to me. Why do you think that I need to be taken care of? I don’t need anyone’s protection and certainly not yours!” said Isla

“So you are in trouble? What happened, Isla? What are you not telling me?” asked Tom.

Isla’s head swiveled to the package. The darkness had hovered over it now because of the late hour. A cold breeze rolled off the damn thing.

“I am not in trouble. It’s been a long emotional day, and I must get things done.”

Tiredly, Isla worked herself up on her weakened, nerved, painful legs.

“Ouch!”

“What’s wrong, Isla?”

Isla grabbed her lower back, hoping it relieved some from the shocking nerve vice squeezing at her core.

“Ouch! Look, Tom, I’ve got a sciatic nerve pain that’s building into one of my back spasms. I really can’t talk right now.”

“Let me come over and help you.”

Groan

Flashing her eyes into the dark hallway leading to the back door, had she checked the lock earlier?

“Isla, Isla! That’s it… I’m coming over right now.”

Tom ended the call.

“Shit! Tom!” Isla knew it was too late. “Damn it, I don’t need him to come here to care for me!”

Groan

Isla jumped again, causing her muscles to coil into an even tighter chain around her body. If she didn’t relax soon, movement would become impossible. A wailing gust of wind assailed the windows, adding to the haunting atmosphere that enveloped the apartment.

A fear crept along her nerves, sending her body into a fresh wave of electric shocks down her spine and legs. A large brass candlestick was sitting on top of the marble fireplace. Isla reached up for it and grabbed hold of it to have as protection. Her eyes met the Tiffany clock at 11:30 p.m. Where had the time gone?

“Hello? Is there anyone there?” Isla asked the shadowy hallway.

Isla slowly made her way towards the hallway. She clutched the heavy candlestick, ready to use it as a weapon if she had to. Her back spasms put her at a considerable disadvantage. With each step she took she groaned, adding to her level of anxiety.

Continuing through the darkened kitchen, her heart pounding was drowning out any other noises. Before she could reach the back door, she saw from the corner of her eye, a small dark shadow coming full force at her.

Luna came leaping out at her from the corner of the kitchen. They bumped into each other and looked like a tangled bunch of trees fighting the wind. Isla’s nerves were so frayed that she hadn’t seen that Luna had left the living room earlier.

Her energy drained fast from her body. Ever so slowly, Isla melted on the floor in her kitchen near the fridge. She carefully leaned against the cold door, cradling her arms around her knees.

I’m scared; I don’t know what to do. I keep getting these packages. I’m not sure what to do. I want to be strong and care for myself. Isla stared outward toward the package that was sitting in front of her on the counter by the kitchen island. It was waiting for her. The malevolence of this package was getting to her.

It brought out her weakness. It was as if it was saying, “We both know you are weak and scared. That you need to be taken care of. You have been doing a shit job trying to move on from losing your daughter, and I will keep reminding you of that.”

Just then, Luna approached her. Her ears flapped backward, ready to leap at any moment. Luna’s heightened senses connected and sensed the impending danger.

While stroking Luna, Isla’s mind raced with thoughts of what horrors the new package might hold. Another wilted dead white rose? More accusations of what she did? She’d delayed this moment long enough; it was time to face it. With trembling legs, Isla stood and made her way closer to the island. The ominous howl of the impending storm echoed the dread within her.

The air became excited as if it knew something dangerous would be uncovered. Isla reached her hand out, pulled open one of the small drawers, and picked up a knife. She scrutinized the medium-sized package, so neatly wrapped in brown paper. Whoever wrapped it, did so with incredible care. A weird thought drifted into Isla’s mind.

“Incredible care? It doesn’t seem right to use those words when talking about you,” Isla yelled at the package. “What! What do you want from me?”

Isla felt she was starting to lose her mind.

“Great, now I’m talking to you, like somehow you will answer me!”

For the first time all evening, Isla started to rage at the package and “The Judge,” who now invaded her sanctuary.

“Are you enjoying yourself? Are you getting a kick out of terrorizing me?”

Isla took one side of the triangle paper and sliced it open. She turned over the package, slowly began to unwrap the brown paper, and then removed it.

Cold metal paralyzed her hands, stopping her from continuing. The metal box suspiciously created warning bells inside her head.

“Don’t go too fast. You may not be ready for what will come next.”

Isla fixed her gaze on the white tinned, metal box. Its shape and size reminded her of the old-fashioned vintage lunch boxes she used to carry to her all-girls catholic school. Her heartbeat getting louder in her chest; she was so sure it could rival any drums in the orchestra.

Another wave of ice-cold dread began to spread from her chest to her stomach as her arms slowly descended her slender legs. Isla moved her finger slowly over the hook, sliding it up and over the latch. It quickly fell over with a whimper. It was saying hurry up and open me.

A whispering breeze fell over her body, causing a new chain reaction of shivers. Isla’s eyes met Luna’s over the kitchen counter; even Luna worried and kept her distance from this diabolical package.

Isla slowly lifted the metal box’s lid. Her eyes fell on the familiar white stock card, but her attention was immediately drawn to the wilted, thorny, dead white rose beside it. Trembling hands and rapid breaths couldn’t keep her from the note card. She skimmed it, struggling to grasp the words.

Isla was shaking so badly that it was getting harder for her to stand up straight. Her eyes went back to the note; her brain struggled to comprehend what the words were saying, but she tried again to force herself to slow down. She read the carefully written words in block print.

“Happy Birthday to what could have been… I know if it was me, I couldn’t have moved on so fast. It looks like she would have been a complication to the life you decided to live because as your Judge, I find you guilty.”

Her brain was trying to focus on what these words meant this time, but a shivering dread stole her heart and chained it; no, not today. She slowly lifted the note to see what was lying under it.

What was she seeing?

“NO, NO, NO,” Isla started, horrified by what was in the package.

The twisted, flesh-colored tube-like structure had bits of dried-up blood here and there; its shriveled layers of tissue were old and fragile. Dark spots danced before Isla’s vision.

My god, “The Judge” had just sent her a shriveled-up umbilical cord on what was supposed to be her daughter’s sixth birthday.

At that moment, she was plunged into total darkness. A low, haunting moan sent shivers down Isla’s spine.

Was that a door opening?

From which direction did it come from?

She painfully turned around. Her heart was racing.

The knife in her hand as she caught sight of a looming figure. Its dark shape, a massive, muscular presence was coming toward her.

Was that another silhouette behind him?

As her vision blurred and the world swayed beneath her, Isla realized too late, that she should have asked for help before she succumbed to the encroaching darkness and hit the floor.

******************************************************************

This is chapter five of five from a short fiction story: The Haunting Package.

Thank you for reading this short thriller story. This is my first one ever and I hope I did it okay. This was written as a free write from a book of prompts that I decided to take a little farther. I am very interested in who you think just entered her apartment. Please leave your comments and theories in the comments!

The Haunting Package is a suspenseful short story, Isla MacGregor, haunted by a mysterious, threatening sender known as ‘The Judge,’ receives packages that make her face the past and test her resilience. As Isla battles her inner demons and a menacing presence, her determination to stand alone may lead to her ultimate downfall.

This way originally posted on Medium.