The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Imaginary Friend
by Kathleen McCluskey
Susan sat alone, she was always alone. The only other voice she ever heard was the angel of death urging her on, mocking her for getting caught. He was always there, talking and talking. The other patients in the asylum made sure to give her a wide berth. They might be crazy but they were not stupid. They could sense a presence with her. Some could even see the skeletal cloaked figure that was always lurking near Susan.
Susan had always been an easy going child. She had a vivid imagination so when she informed her parents that she had an imaginary friend they played along. Her apparitional friend came to her after a near drowning incident at the lake house. His skeletal face never scared her, it was void of emotion. He only wanted blood, craved it, needed it. His ideas were benign at first. “Let’s see how far we can climb this tree.” Or “Can you make it across the street before that car?” She would comply with his mild suggestions and would come out unscathed. The angel relentlessly talked to her and through the years she learned to filter out some of the more extreme ideas.
The voice grew louder and louder the more she ignored it. One afternoon she couldn’t silence the angel and went with his idea. The varsity softball tryouts were being held and he urged her to participate in the tryouts. She took her father’s baseball bat as good luck. The angel urged her on as she swung and connected with her classmate’s skulls. Standing out of breath the angel once again spoke to her, “Job well done.” Before she could comprehend what she had done, three girls lay dead in the locker room. The angel was laughing as the life drained from her classmates. Covered in blood she was taken to court and then the asylum, labeled criminally insane.
Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from Kathleen McCluskey:
The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror
Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.
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Women in Horror Month 9
Wonderfully, and darkly, written.