Trash Night
I slowly stalk out the front door of my small house. It’s after midnight, somewhere between three and four. I tightly clutch the thin plastic bag filled with garbage in one hand, while I softly close the door with my other.
The first thing I notice is the cold. It seeps into my skin like fresh water on barren soil. It drenches me until I’m chilled to the bone. This cold doesn’t hinder my progress and I stride fearlessly across my lawn.
Now I notice the darkness. It lurks around the edges of my vision as if to close in on me and destroy me. My eyes are locked on my goal, the immense black plastic bucket that sits beside my driveway on the edge of my yard. It sits beneath the street lamp. The only other source of illumination besides my porch light. The orange glow of the street lamp helps me remained focused on my goal.
As I reach the trash can, the silence seems to catch up to me. I freeze, inches from the lid of the black bucket, and listen. I hear nothing. The small town where I live is asleep. It will not be awake for many hours yet. It’s unsettling to hear the sounds of a silent town, and I grip the lid of the trash can and toss the plastic bag inside.
I turn back to my house, anxious now to return to whatever source of noise was distracting me before responsibility and guilt motivated me to take out the trash. I can’t see my house anymore. The light on the porch has burned out.
The chill in my bones turns into a shiver, as I stand silently in the small ring of orange light beside my trash can. The silence is deafening. What was that? Did I hear something just outside my vision? Is there some horrible entity waiting beyond the safety of the street lamp’s light? Does it want to kill me?
My pockets are empty, I left my phone inside. I can’t even rely on it’s dim digital screen to partially protect me from the unknown beast that no doubt lurks in the shadows. That’s when I hear it. It speaks to me in a low hiss. If a serpent could speak, this is what I imagine it would sound like.
“I.. can… enter the light…”
The sound makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I swallow back the lump in my throat, and step closer to the wooden pole that supports the light. Is the monster toying with me at this point? Is it feeding off of my fear? In my worst nightmare I’d never considered something as terrifying as the beast that lurks on the edge of the light. Then I saw it, and it hissed again.
“You are afraid… You cannot escape…”
A horrible appendage crept towards me from the shadows. It looked like a human hand, but the skin was sickening. It was hanging loose of the bones of the creature, almost dragging the ground. It had three long rubbery fingers, which were grasping the air as it reached toward me. My back was now firmly pressed against the wooden light pole.
“No where… To run…” it hissed, as it inched further into view.
Now I could see more of the disgusting creature. The side of it’s body slumped low to the ground, the sickly skin still hanging loose and dragging the ground. As I stared, paralyzed by horror I couldn’t help bu notice the yellowish boils on the creatures sagging skin. They seemed to ooze a thick fluid, which turned my stomach.
“You… will… diiiiiieeeeee….”
The side of it’s head began to push into the light as it hissed it’s final threat. Just then a bright light came from the street. A car was driving past. As it did so the light passed over the where the creature lay and it was no longer there.
I didn’t hesitate. I took the opportunity to sprint back to my front door. After that night, I swore to get the trash out on time.
End
