Seven-year-old Toby raced his replica cars on the mat by the fireplace in the living room as his parents, Jason and Jacinta, watched the T.V. one Thursday night. One car was blue and one was red. Their house was long and had an open plan. The living room followed directly through to the kitchen, followed by a narrow square hall that led to the bathroom. If the doors of each from were left open you could see from one end of the house to the other.
On this night, the doors were all open and the only lights on were in the living. Toby's parents were nodding off in the sofa as a documentary about the Galapagos Islands reached its second ad break. As Toby raced the two cars around the circuit he imagined on the purple border of the carpet he found himself facing the line of open doors which led his eye line to the bathroom.
The kitchen was poorly lit by the living room lamps, while the hall and bathroom were almost black. Toby looked on as a 6ft middle-aged man looked at bathroom mirror, shaving his face. The seven-year-old looked up to the sofa to alert his parents of the spooky presence, but they were asleep. When he looked back he now faced eye to eye with the intruder. He had stopped shaving and bend his body forward towards Toby, gesturing him to come closer. Toby screamed out to his sleeping parents, but as he did the floor acted like a conveyor belt, sending him to the spooky man.
Toby tried to claw his way back to safety but he didn't have a chance. The man waited for his prey to arrive and in excitement began to draw blood from his own arms, stomach and forehead with the razor he had been shaving with. The blood served to grease the bathroom floor tiles so Toby couldn’t escape easily.
As a last resort Toby shut his eyes. The man shaded in black disappeared as quickly as he entered the world, as did the whole scenario. Toby awoke from his nightmare in his second-floor bedroom. Tired, yet relieved. He was used to experiencing bad dreams from time to time but this one was so clear, so vivid that it made Toby check to see if his parents were well and good.
He popped his head into the master bedroom and saw his mother sleeping. "Dad must be downstairs already", he thought to himself. Toby wasn't going to be content until he saw everyone safe with his own eyes and so rushed down the stairs. As he turned the corner to make a start on the long house in search his father, he saw a middle-aged intruder slashing a knife across Jason's head, arms and stomach as they struggled to gain the upper hand in a scuffle in the bathroom. Just as his father dropped to the bathroom floor with the blood already spilled across the tiles, Toby's eyes locked on with the same middle-aged man from his nightmare. He turned to run, but slipped on the carpet where the toy cars sat parked, tired from racing the night before.
The spooky man stood still as Toby regained his footing and made for the staircase to save his mother. As he did so, a second intruder just as real as the first, grabbed Toby and walked him to the bathroom. The pair proceeded to lock the father and son inside before eagerly grabbing whatever valuables they could. Toby was left in the bathroom with his dad who took the heavy breaths of a sprinter, while lying otherwise motionless on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. His son lay in his arms and clenched his eyes shut, trying to replay last night’s horror, which felt like a dream to him now.
On this night, the doors were all open and the only lights on were in the living. Toby's parents were nodding off in the sofa as a documentary about the Galapagos Islands reached its second ad break. As Toby raced the two cars around the circuit he imagined on the purple border of the carpet he found himself facing the line of open doors which led his eye line to the bathroom.
The kitchen was poorly lit by the living room lamps, while the hall and bathroom were almost black. Toby looked on as a 6ft middle-aged man looked at bathroom mirror, shaving his face. The seven-year-old looked up to the sofa to alert his parents of the spooky presence, but they were asleep. When he looked back he now faced eye to eye with the intruder. He had stopped shaving and bend his body forward towards Toby, gesturing him to come closer. Toby screamed out to his sleeping parents, but as he did the floor acted like a conveyor belt, sending him to the spooky man.
Toby tried to claw his way back to safety but he didn't have a chance. The man waited for his prey to arrive and in excitement began to draw blood from his own arms, stomach and forehead with the razor he had been shaving with. The blood served to grease the bathroom floor tiles so Toby couldn’t escape easily.
As a last resort Toby shut his eyes. The man shaded in black disappeared as quickly as he entered the world, as did the whole scenario. Toby awoke from his nightmare in his second-floor bedroom. Tired, yet relieved. He was used to experiencing bad dreams from time to time but this one was so clear, so vivid that it made Toby check to see if his parents were well and good.
He popped his head into the master bedroom and saw his mother sleeping. "Dad must be downstairs already", he thought to himself. Toby wasn't going to be content until he saw everyone safe with his own eyes and so rushed down the stairs. As he turned the corner to make a start on the long house in search his father, he saw a middle-aged intruder slashing a knife across Jason's head, arms and stomach as they struggled to gain the upper hand in a scuffle in the bathroom. Just as his father dropped to the bathroom floor with the blood already spilled across the tiles, Toby's eyes locked on with the same middle-aged man from his nightmare. He turned to run, but slipped on the carpet where the toy cars sat parked, tired from racing the night before.
The spooky man stood still as Toby regained his footing and made for the staircase to save his mother. As he did so, a second intruder just as real as the first, grabbed Toby and walked him to the bathroom. The pair proceeded to lock the father and son inside before eagerly grabbing whatever valuables they could. Toby was left in the bathroom with his dad who took the heavy breaths of a sprinter, while lying otherwise motionless on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. His son lay in his arms and clenched his eyes shut, trying to replay last night’s horror, which felt like a dream to him now.
Side note; Replay is Gerard’s latest tail
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