The Watcher Ch. 03

She heard what could have only been a footstep on the tile floor. The wheezing breath seemed to be only inches away. Jenna's entire body shook. Her eyes cut over to the edge of the shower curtain, where just beyond she could see the open door to her closet. As the figure came into view, her insides went numb.

Its flesh was predominantly a sickly pale grey color, spotted here and there with knotted black markings, and hung loosely from its frame and appendages. In other places, such as its back and the rear of its head, the skin seemed to twist or stretch tightly. The oddly bent arms were quite long and thin, and she recognized the enlongated hands and bony gnarled fingers that clawed absently at the air like the legs of a spider.

The thing stepped further into view, affording Jenna a disturbing sight of its awkwardly swaying and jittery gait, its legs stretching far ahead and peeling itself along with each step. It twisted its head around, and she could see with detail one half of its face. The large lidless eyes were sunken deep into the sockets, and flitted around erratically. The nose appeared stretched, flattened, and horribly puckered.

Jenna screamed in her mind upon seeing the twisted grin it wore. The lips had seemed to recede back around the gums, while its cheeks drooped and sagged, hanging far past its jaw in loose flaps. The tongue seemed to never rest, constantly slithering out and across the gapped teeth, and down along the knotted flesh of the chin. Hair hung from the peak of its head in thin strands, swaying with the creature's every move.

Oblivious to Jenna's hiding spot behind the shower curtain, its head twisted this way and that with its lip twitching and its tongue sliding. The large, hauntingly bluish green eyes darted around in their dark pits, scanning the bathroom eagerly. Jenna watched as it placed its large deformed hands on either side of the door frame of her walk in closet and peered inside, tapping its bony black fingers on the wall.

Her watery eyes and her nose burned, and her throat felt as though she had inhaled sulfur. She fought back the urge to gag, though her stomach contracted reflexively. The creature's head whirled, its scraggly hair whipping around and its glossy eye rolling. The horrid black pupil fixed on the shower curtain. Its tongue rolled out of the corner of its grinning mouth, flicking at the air.

Jenna could wait no longer. There was no hope of remaining hidden. She flung the shower curtain aside and scrambled from the tub. In an instant, she tore herself from the bathroom, stumbling through her bedroom and into the hall. She reached her front door, the echoes of a strange wail ringing in her ears. Pulling the door open wide, Jenna bounded down the steps of her front porch and sprinted into the rain.

Before she realized it, Jenna was charging for Blake's house. Her bare feet slid in a muddy puddle in her yard. Her body slammed into the wet earth with a thudding splash. The air burst from her chest and she tasted bitter muddy water in her mouth. The sky lit up above her as Jenna clawed her way to her feet. She was sobbing loudly, though her cries were drowned in the rain and thunder.

Just as she reached her feet, Jenna glanced back at her house to see a pale blurry shape emerge from her house. She was spurred onward by the image, all but screaming as she climbed the steps to the neighboring house. Jenna beat both of her palms on the front door until they grew sore, sobbing and yelling, praying that someone would quickly answer.

The door swung open before her suddenly, and Jenna fell forward into the house. She landed on her hands and knees on the hardwood floor with rainwater pouring off of her body. Jenna wept breathlessly on the floor, her mind still tumbling and reeling. She tried to stand, but her muddy feet slid out from under her and she stumbled weakly on the hardwood.

Jenna screamed when a pair of arms slid under hers and pulled her upward. As she turned, she came face to face with Blake's solemn faced brother Matt. Even now Matt was silent, though his expression was one of shock and bewilderment.

She tried to speak, to warn Matt of all that had happened, but her voice was nothing but a gasping jumble of unintelligible words and sobs.

"Jenna?"

She grew somewhat silent, turning to find the source of the voice, for it was not Matt who said her name.

"Jenna, what are you doing here?" The strange voice hissed.

The house was dark, lit only by a few dull lamps, and what seemed to be candles to her impaired vision. She blinked, her eyes stinging with tears and rain. Peering into the dim blurry light, she saw a the form of another person take defined shape before her. Jenna gasped and backed away absently into Matt.

"D-Danny?" She trembled.

As he came closer, fear built anew inside of her. Danny's eyes were so familiar to her. They were quite large, and though they were the same beautiful blue color of his brother's, she recognized them for the way they seemed to sink within the pits of his skull. His hair, unlike his brother's, was shaggy and unkempt. The skin of his face seemed to sag slightly in places, while elsewhere it was tight and thin. To her, Danny looked terribly sick.

Danny was tall, more so than his two brothers; however, one could not tell by the way he slouched and bent over as he walked. His legs were long and lanky, and he kept his likewise long and bony arms held close to his chest, with his skinny fingers rubbing and scratching constantly.

"Oh... oh my god," Jenna muttered fearfully.

Danny ran his tongue across his teeth inside his mouth.

"You shouldn't have come here, Jenna."