Release me (short horror story)
Note: You can find our stories also on our YT channel in audio format!
A young girl was weaving through the busy crowds of people. It was almost midnight, but the street was still full of life. The coffee shops and restaurants were still open and the street vendors were inviting passersby to buy some of their merchandise in a mixture of Indonesian and sunda. Occasionally they could be heard a word in English, but that was rare.
Near the fountain, she could see a group of people in black and white. A guy in a black wig and white dress, a girl dressed as a bloodied nurse, a girl dressed like a stereotypical witch, and a guy bound in a sheet with a bloodied face. That one looked odd since the sheet he was born in was pink with red hearts. While she was passing by them she made eye contact with the guy in white dress. His eyes were hidden underneath white contact lenses. The brightness of the light eyes was uncanny. She stared into those bright eyes, while she played nervously with the new bracelet she bought.
The tension in the air was dispelled when she noticed another figure heading toward the group. It was another figure bound in a shroud. The white cloth looked more intimidating than the one with red hearts on it, but the little waddling steps, the performer was forced to make to move looked comical.
The girl almost busted into laughter, but she passed by the group, made a beeline around Captain America, and headed toward the center of the busy street. She took out her phone to order grab. She did not even bother to order a car. A motorbike will be there faster and she will get home faster with a bike weaving through Indonesian traffic. She chose parallel road as a pickup spot since it would be easier to find the driver.
She ducked into one of the side streets heading towards the pickup spot and just barely escaping one of the pushy street vendors. The stark contrast between the busy main street and this empty side street was eery. The noise of the main road was fading quickly with each step she took into the dark alley and when she emerged on the correct road, it was completely silent. She stood underneath a street lamp watching the driver's road on the Grab app. She was nervous, it was almost midnight and she could not wait to be home. She was playing with the metal bracelet, brushing her fingertips over the intricate ornamental pattern.
She jumped at a sudden loud noise, and when she looked for the disturbance, it was two stray cats chasing each other. The girl released the breath she did not know she was holding. „I almost had a heart attack.“ she laughed. Another movement caught her eye. When she looked properly, she could see a person in a white shroud and bloodied face staring at her from across the street.
„Well somebody is taking their job way too seriously.“ Muttered the girl. The figure just stared at her. „Leave me alone! I don’t want a photo with you!“ The street lamp above her flickered. When the light returned the shrouded figure was two meters in front of her. „This is not funny!“ She yelled as she tried to back away. Then the street lamp dimmed and the street was plunged into darkness. She could hear a raspy voice, but she could not comprehend the words.
She sprinted away. She did not know where she was heading, just away from there. She stepped into the hole in the pavement and stumbled. As she caught herself from falling. The light from her phone illuminated white clothed figure. The raspy voice could be heard again. „Release me.“ Her nose was hit with the putrid smell of rotting flesh. She turned to run the other way, but not even two steps before she bumped into the same figure. The stench made her eyes water, her heart was beating fast and she could taste a metallic taste in her mouth as she put herself in her tongue.
„Release me.“ The voice sounded like two rusty metal plates scaping each other. The Street lights flickered and she could see the sticky blood on the bluish-dead face before the street became dark once again. She tried to back away, but she could not, her bracelet got caught in a shroud of that ghostly figure. „Release me“. She kept tugging on to free herself. „Release me“ She kept tugging the heart beating rapidly. Her eyes are still blurry with tears. „Release me.“ With the last tug, she stumbled backward. She fell, and the lights flickered once more. She could breathe, the street lamp once again illuminating the street and the shrouded figure nowhere in sight.
Her hand still felt heavy. She realized the bracelet was still tangled into the piece of cloth that tied the shroud of that creature together. She detailed herself from it and got off the ground. Her phone pinged with a new notification. Her Grab was almost there.