Muffled sounds of a television played throughout the house, coming from the living room. Waking up in the middle of the night, Samuel looked around in confusion, his stiff neck slowly turning from side to side. Where am I? Looking at the walls he saw the paint flaking off in some places, with sizeable holes punched into them. The room looked decrepit and rundown, as if no one had lived there for decades. The room was cramped and small, looking more like a closet space than a bedroom. With no toys or decorations, the room lacked the fun and vibrancy typical of a kid’s room.

Slowly, his memories started to come back to him. The years of living in this cramped space, and all the years of abuse flooded back to him, filling the old man with inconceivable rage, but dwelling under that rage, there was an undercurrent of fear just waiting to bubble up to the surface.

The staticky sound of the old TV played through the floorboards, and Samuel heard the muffled commentary of a football game.

Am I having a nightmare? But everything feels so real...

“Good morning, Samuel. You had a very rough childhood. One constantly plagued by fear, pain and anxiety. Your father was a broken man who took out his anger on you and your mother. After years of abuse, he left an indelible mark on your soul. One so strong that even after he was gone, you couldn’t wash it away. A lingering shadow waiting to pounce on you when you least expected. One day, it finally struck. Overwhelmed by the pain and misery deep in your soul. More than anything, you wanted this pain to go away, and so you indulged in it, allowing it to do as it pleased. After killing your first victim, it grew quiet. It infected your soul, turning you into the very same monster that you feared."

"But luckily, you still have a chance to turn this around. It is time for you to face your fears and repent. Your one path to salvation is to seek forgiveness from those who you have hurt. So, will you let the shadow control you, or will you trudge your way back through your life, and cleanse yourself once and for all? The choice is yours. Good luck.”

Samuel took a while to process what he just heard. This must be a nightmare. Nobody knows about what I did. I covered my tracks perfectly. Hearing the TV turn off, his heart raced, and he struggled to breathe. I need to get out of here.

Quietly, he got out of the bed, shuffling towards the door. He gently pulled it open, making as little noise as possible. As he closed the door, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

“SAM, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE.” George drunkenly shouted while stumbling towards the stairs.

Hearing the footsteps getting louder and louder, Sam ran to his parents' room, remembering that there was a closet that he could hide in. Getting out of the hallway, he ran to the closet, as fast as his old bones could carry him.

He stepped inside, closing the door and blanketing himself in darkness. Breathing heavily, he heard his bedroom door slam open.

“Now where did the little shit run off to.” His father mumbled as he passed the bedroom door.

Eventually the sound of his father’s footsteps all but disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief, he opened the closet door quietly, and stepped forward. His brain froze for a moment, before becoming flooded with an overwhelming sense of rage. In front of him was a young couple sleeping peacefully. His fists clenched, feeling the clinging elasticity of plastic gloves, as a knife appeared in his right hand.

In his rage he lifted the blade, holding it above the man’s neck. Pressing the blade against the skin, Samuel’s mind cleared a little, allowing him to see the faces of the couple. His hand froze, the blade pressing the skin down, but not breaking it. The words he heard earlier played through his mind, slowly wiping away his anger.

Shakily, he movesdthe knife away. It slipped out of his hand, clanging against the ground. Flinching at the noise, he looked towards the door, waiting for the sound of footsteps. Hearing nothing, he turned back around to see the couple sitting up and staring at him. A blank expression was left on their faces. Terrified, he dropped to his knees.

“Please don’t hurt me.” He whispered, tears already forming in his eyes as he looked to the ground. Feeling them looming over him, he looked up to see them standing right above him, staring down at him. “I’m sorry.” he cried, as they moved closer, leaning in until their faces pressed against his. Pale as a sheet of paper, he started trembling, his body unable to move.

“All is forgiven. Find the others and you will be set free.” They said in tandem before disappearing.

Left shivering on his knees, Samuel took a moment to calm down. He carefully got up, his bones creaked, sounding deafeningly loud atop the silence of the room. I need to find the others. Gently, he moved towards the door, listening for his father’s footsteps. Hearing nothing, he steps back out the door, thinking about where to go next. Where will I find the others? Walking down the dark hallway, he tried to remember the layout of the house. Other than the bedrooms, there should be a study on this floor, I’ll try there before I head downstairs. Getting closer to the study, he paused at the door, trying to listen into the room. In the silence of the night, he heard a light breathing coming from the other side of the door. Slowly, he put his eye up against the keyhole, trying to see who was in the room.

Looking through, a bloodshot eye blocked the room. Freezing for a moment, the door slammed open throwing him into the wall.

“There you are.”

His vision blurred, he looked up to see his father approaching him. Without thinking, he got up, and hurriedly limped down the hallway, rushing for the stairs. Hearing the heavy footsteps behind him, he ran as fast as he could. Getting to the top of the stairs, he stumbled, crashing down the stairs.

Lying in a heaving mess at the bottom, he heard his father walking down the stairs. Dragging himself up, he limped past the living room and down the hallway. Getting to the end of the hallway, he took a sharp turn and opened the laundry room door. He closed it behind himself and jumped into the linen closet.

Heaving, he tried to listen, hoping that his father didn’t find him. Minutes passed, and still, no one had opened the laundry door. Calming down, his body ached all over. Shit. He stayed in the linen closet until the pain subsided. Opening the door, he stepped out and the rage flooded back into his mind. Prepared this time, the rage failed to overwhelm him, seeing the couple standing at the washing machine, their backs turned to him, he instinctively raised the knife.

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Shaking his head, he cleared his mind and threw the knife to the ground. Turning around, the couple saw the old man on his knees, his head pressed to the ground.

“Please forgive me.” Hearing them walk closer, his heart started to race, hoping that they would be like the others.

Hearing nothing, he looked up, only to feel a heavy thud as they both slammed their heads into his. Staying still his head started to ache, but his breathing stayed calm.

“All is forgiven.” They said before disappearing.

Letting the headache subside, he crawled towards the door. Pressing his ear against it, he heard the sound of the tv again. He must be sitting in front of the tv. He opened the door. Looking down the hallway, he saw the light from the TV hitting against the wall. Relieved, he walked to his left, keeping an eye on the hallway at all times. Opening the door slightly, he squeezed in before taking one final look down the hallway.

The TV turned off and his mind froze up in fear as he saw a figure standing in the hallway. The rage flooded back in, mixing with the fear. Moving towards the shower, he pulled the mask over his face with one hand, while lifting the knife with the other. The sound of running water got louder as he stepped closer. The room filled with steam as the glass fogged up. Opening the shower door, his arm stabbed forward several times, the knife squelching as it slid in and out of flesh. The bodies dropped to the floor as the blood washed down the drain.

Heaving, Samuel stood over the bodies, a look of rage and satisfaction on his face.

“AAAAAHHH” A banshee-like scream shattered the rage in his mind, leaving him standing there with a blank look on his face. Looking down, he saw two faces staring back at him, smiling creepily. They both opened their mouths to let out another scream. Stepping back in fear, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. His mind racing, he tried to run for the door, but felt a heavy weight on his legs, making it difficult for him to move. Looking down, he saw the bodies gripping his legs, digging their nails into his skin and drawing blood. Out of fear, he stabbed them a few more times, even trying to slash off their hands, but to no avail. They remained tightly connected to him. Hearing the footsteps get louder, he gave up on trying to get rid of them. With all his strength, he made it to the door. He burst through the door and tried to make his way down the hallway. Blocking his way, he saw his father walking towards him, George’s face flushed as he looked at him with rage.

“Stop running.” His father said as he walked past the kitchen door, blocking all possible exits.

What do I do? There’s nowhere for me to run. His breathing grew heavy as his father got closer. His pace weakened as the added weight overwhelmed him. Grinding to a halt, he waited for his father to catch him. He stared down at the ground, unable to look his father in the eye. Hearing him get closer, his heart ground to a halt, as he felt death approaching him.

The walking stopped and for a moment all was silent. Hearing a thud, he looked up to see the first couple standing in front of him. Past them, he saw his father crumpled against the wall, clutching at his side in pain.

“Go.” The couple shouted as for a moment, the weight was lifted, and he could run. Without thinking, he sprinted up the stairs and barged into the study before slamming the door shut. Getting a moment to breathe, his heart started to go back to normal as he looked around the room for a place to hide. Spotting an old wardrobe in the corner, he crawled into it. He finally started to think about what just happened. The couple saved me. I thought that everything was over, but they protected me.

He tensed up as he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders, turning his head around, he stared into the lifeless eyes of the couple he killed in the bathroom. This time, instead of holding onto his calves, they had piled themselves on top of him.

“Why would you do this to us?” They whispered into his ear.

Freaking out, he fell out of the wardrobe, landing heavily on his back. Ow. As he got up the bodies reattached themselves to him, and the rage took over once more. Sitting at the table in front of him, there was a young couple working on university assignments together. Sluggishly he walked over to them, his body being weighed down by the corpses, making him even slower than normal. This allowed his mind to start working again before he could get close to them.

Hearing a heavy thud behind them, the couple turned around to see Samuel kneeling. They pushed themselves against him, somehow helping to relieve the pressure.

“All is forgiven.”

They disappeared.

Getting up, Samuel dragged his feet as he got to the door. Listening out, he heard someone rummaging through the kitchen drawers. Aching and feeling heavy all over, he waited for the sound to stop, and followed the sound of the footsteps as it made its way from the kitchen to the stairs. The sound grew louder as it made its way up the stairs.

He waited for the sound to pass by him, listening as it disappeared down the hallway. Hearing a door open, he quietly entered the hallway and made his way downstairs. Hearing nothing behind him, he stopped at the kitchen door. Opening the door, it creaked open, causing him to tense. He quickly entered the room and dragged himself to the pantry to hide. Hearing the footsteps above him, he closed the pantry door and waited. The bodies squeezed up against him, their foul stench covering him, making him feel like it was impossible to breathe. The footsteps stopped, remaining upstairs.

Struggling to breathe, he prepares himself for what was to come and opened the door. He felt the rage flood in, but he was able to fend it off. He calmly stared at the couple making dinner in front of him. Hearing their laughter, he dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

“All is forgiven.”

Hearing that, he breathed a sigh of relief. I’m almost free. Just one more. He moved sluggishly, barely able to move forward. The weight of the bodies, seemingly no longer limiting itself to the physical world, but also weighing on his mind and soul. His mind felt like it was running through quicksand. He could no longer move as all his strength was sucked away from him. I need to deal with this. Looking at the bodies, he calmly knelt. Ignoring the smell, he pressed his head against their faces, feeling how cold their bodies were. “Please forgive me.” He whispered, as the knife appeared in his hand once more.

Taking the knife, the bodies stabbed it into him, twisting it. Samuel groaned and wailed, as the knife slid in and out. Blood seeped from the wound.

“All is forgiven.” The bodies disappeared as his strength was restored. Getting up, he was now able to move normally. Feeling freed from the pressure, his mind started running like normal. He stopped and listened. Hearing nothing he opened the door and started creeping towards the living room. Seeing the couple snuggling on the couch, he blocked out the rage and walked to stand in front of them.

Suddenly his body froze as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Now I’ve got you.” His father’s breath hit his ear. His father gripped onto him tightly, not allowing him to move.

Feeling like a child again, he was unable to react, his mind froze as he turned to see those bloodshot eyes next to him. Trembling, he felt his soul leave his body.

George threw him into the wall. His bones creaking and breaking as he struggled to move.

“You should have stayed quiet.” George grabbed a hold of him again, repeatedly slamming his head into the wall with a sickening thud, blood splattering onto the white wall.

“Unfortunately for you Samuel, it seems like you were unable to liberate yourself from the horrors of your past. The shadow had too much of a hold on you, and no matter how hard you tried to get rid of it, it always came back. Now it is too late, and you have failed. Enjoy Hell Samuel. Goodbye.”

Only the sickening thuds remained.