All Chapters of Thirteen girls....: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Last night was the most heart-wrenching and frightening of my life, so much so that I can barely bring myself to contemplate it. By now I will have submitted what occurred during my visit to that cursed place I once called home; a visit which heralded the return of my childhood fears. No matter what foul thing befell me then, nothing could have prepared me for last night.After waking up to the chilling sight of that toy soldier, bitten in half, I found that the window to my bedroom was slightly ajar. On closer inspection it looked entirely as if the window had been prised open from outside. The latches were bent back, out of position as if subjected to an unrestricted, unbound brute force.From the outside looking in, I could see three indentations where the unwelcome housebreaker had used some kind of tool to leverage the window unnaturally away from its latch. What was peculiar about those markings was that they seemed to cut across the outside of the window frame l

Momentarily I froze, but love is a powerful motivator. Had I been on my own, fear would have taken me, shaking any possibility of resistance from my mind, but with Mary sleeping soundly in the same room as that thing; shielding someone I loved from that wretch was my only thought.I turned around slowly and as I did so, I could hear it wheezing, gasping, groaning for air. At a quarter turn, I could smell its breath, the stench of death hung in the air, plague-like and foul. Then, I heard another voice. It was not that horror in the darkness, but Mary. She let out a scream which startled and distressed me to my very core. A scream which will haunt me for the rest of my days.I turned quickly and laid eyes on it, but it wasn't behind me, it was on the bed! It writhed and rasped, wheezing in delight, its bony spine curved with the anguish of countless years protruding through a ragged, torn piece of cloth which hung loosely over its torso, in a vain attempt to appear almo

It pulled itself in close to me and through a shard of light provided by the moon, I saw its face. Skin hung from its jagged features. Glassy eyes stared deep into me as its grin spread up through its face, unnaturally wide as the result of its half rotten flesh, exposing the rotten muscles, broken teeth and sinews of its rancid smile beneath.Pulling closer it opened its mouth revealing a wet and putrid tongue which could be seen through part of its missing jaw. Wheezing, breathing heavily, a foul stench which stung my eyes and filled my mouth elicited a response from me as I wretched, my body attempting to expel its poisonous fumes, and as I did so it stopped for a moment, and then cackled to itself; happy, content. Staring into its icy cold eyes, it yet gave the impression of an afflicted and increasingly weak old man. It was still incredibly strong, but it seemed as though it had lost some of its potency.Perhaps leaving that elongated room had somehow affected it?

Everyone knew the stories of the monsters that were supposed to hide in the dark in closets or under beds. Some young children even believed in it. But Tim knew that there were no such so-called monsters. At 20, he was clearly too old for that. So he happily went off to take care of his little cousin, who still believed in monsters. His aunt and her husband wanted to go to the theater that evening and since his cousin was scared by himself, they asked Tim to take care of the little one. Tim liked to do it. His aunt paid him well and a few more bills in your pocket were always useful at his age. For Tim, it was actually very easy money as his cousin was already in bed when he arrived. Tim parked his bike in front of his aunt's house. Then he ran through the garden and rang the bell. His aunt opened the door for him and after a short greeting, they went together into the living room, where Tim also met his aunt's husband. After a short exchange of words, phone num

Tina spent the rest of the morning in the garden. Again and again, her gaze was drawn to the old swing. So she walked slowly towards the wooden frame. The wood was rotten, nobody would want to sit on the swing anymore. Tina took a closer look at one of the wooden pegs. Somebody had scratched something in the wood. There was a name. It had become quite illegible over the years. But after a while Tina was able to decipher the name Clarissa. Was that the name of the child she was standing in front of the swing? Perhaps old Frau Müller could tell her more about it that afternoon. The afternoon had come and the two women ran across the street to an even smaller house than Mara lived in. In the open door stood an old, bent woman. Her eyes, however, looked very young. She smiled friendly at the young women. Mara introduced Tina to her and followed the woman inside, where tea and biscuits were already waiting on a small table. After they sat down, Mara explained to