The Dark Window

By Joyel Puryear

You do not know fear, until you have walked briefly in the shoes of Sarean Landcaster.  He knew what fear was.  It has been months that he had been dealing with his little…shall we say, problem.  He lost sleep, and could not eat, and was scared at every turn.  Within these last 2-3 weeks he had been plagued by strange visions, and things appearing before him, as if they were hallucinations.  He was a drug free lad that had lived a carefree life previously, before it started happening.

               Sarean was a 23 year old bachelor that lived with his recent fiancé.   Together they eked out a meager existence living off of Sarean’s paintings.  The first night that the strange occurrences started happening was late one Sunday evening.  He was preparing a new painting, and had just nodded off to bed.  Within minutes he heard strange sounds coming from his window.  He arose before his Fiancé even heard the noise, and was stunned to see nothing there.

               He returned to his bed, and was asleep within minutes.  Later that night he awoke around 3:00 in the morning to strange gurgling sounds at the foot of his bed.  As he glanced forward in the dark, he saw a strange shadow that seemed to spin around within the darkness.  He tried to focus his eyes, and within a few moments he saw the solemn outline of his fiancé.  As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that she was dancing in some strange motion. 

               “Wonder what she’s dancing so late for?” he thought to himself as he rose from the bed.  He drew near the light, and as he turned it on, he shrieked in a horror unlike any has ever heard.  His fiancé was hanging by the ceiling fan, and her body was spinning in circles as the ceiling fan continued to spin.  Salean fell to the ground, screaming and crying and not understanding how this could have happened.  She was not the type to commit suicide, or have any suicidal thoughts.

               Within a few minutes, he managed to make his way to a phone and call the police.  Within minutes they were at his doorstep, and investigating the scene.  Within a matter of hours, they had ruled it as a late night suicide.  To them, it was an open and shut case.  He was still shaken up about it days later, as he found himself crying every night until slumber took him. He had lost a dear and valuable part of his life, and he wasn’t even sure how. 

               He remained in the same house.  Every night he would wake up with nightmares of her hanging below the foot of the bed. Every night he would wake up in vicious cold sweats as his heart would begin racing and he would wake up screaming, night after night.  After a few months, he had almost recovered from the initial shock and the real grief began to sink in.

               It was that night, on that cold winter Saturday that made him really think about what kind of nightmare he was living.  He awoke, again at a very late hour, and heard a sound at the same window he had heard that night before her death.  He slipped into his closet, and grabbed his pistol then swiftly headed for the window.  He threw the blinds back with the pistol drawn, and through the window he saw a head hanging from a thread right outside his window.  The pistol was already prepared, and he shot the head 2-3 times before even realizing he had pulled the trigger.

               Once the neighbor heard the gun shots, they called the police and they promptly arrived at the door. The man explained what happened but to his astonishment, and the reluctance of the police, the head was gone.  He was cited for firing a weapon in a public area, and was yelled at by the local police.  He did not understand what had happened, and thought that for a minute…he might have been losing his mind. He know what he saw, and was at a loss to explain how it was there one minute, and gone the next.

               The horrible nights continued, every single night.  It was always around the same time, roughly 3:00 each night.  And every night it was a totally new horror, unlike he had ever experienced before.  One night it was an old man getting attacked by a vicious group thugs.  Another night, it was a pack of dogs tearing someone apart.  Yet, another night he saw a scene of a satanic sacrifice ritual.  It was never the same thing, and every single time it was equally, if not more so, horrifying than the previous.

               Weeks rolled into months, and months rolled into years, and the horrible nightly sound on the window was always there.  The strangest part of all is that the sound would always continue until he went to the window.  Never did he see the same thing twice, and every time it was some horror beyond the imagination.  Every time, he would go back to bed and swiftly fall asleep, knowing that by now it was routine.  Over the years, he got to a point where he started going mad.  He could not even speak to a human in a normal way, and lost almost every ounce in sanity that he once had. 

               Finally, on a cold and lonely night a rather random occurrence would change his perception of the cursed window, forever.  One of the nights he arose at his regular window outing, and saw…a horror beyond anything he had ever seen.  It was a dark and foreboding vision of his girlfriend, half alive.  She seemed to be trapped somewhere between our world, and some other world, some type of hell.  Although, it was not hell…it was some place that he had seen before in countless dreams.  He felt deep I his heart that she was still alive somewhere…and just didn’t know how to get to her.

               Every night this continued from thereafter, she was always there in the window.  Screaming from another world, and crying for his help. It drove him further into the brink of madness.  One night, he could not contain himself anymore.  He was in a daze, and rage took him over, with all of his might he smashed his fist through the window, and suddenly his fist went into the window.  No broken glass, it just slipped into the window. He felt something on the other side, something with a dark and ominous presence.  He yanked his hand back with such ferocity, that he staggered back into the wall on the other side of the room.

               He set there for so long, crying and was filled with the darkest presence he had ever felt. He dragged himself up from the floor and crashed on the bed, instantly falling into a deep sleep unlike he had ever fallen into before.  The next morning, he was reflecting on the situation, and he tried to touch the window again…nothing.  He knew at that moment, that it only happened at night. 

               He had an idea…a strange idea.  He went to the gun store that day, and he bought some extra ammo for his pistol.  Once done there, he headed for a few other stores.  He picked up a small dagger, flashlight, and a few other odds and ends. Everything he needed to prepare himself for what he knew he intended to do.   He had something in his mind, and he was going to get to the bottom of that window…even if it meant the death of him.  The next night he did not sleep…he simply waited for the same noise from the window that happens every night.

               At just the right time, 3:00 he went to the window again, and this time the same thing…his fiancé as it had been recently.  He grabbed what he had bought, prepared himself and jumped through the window head first with no hesitation.  Once through the window he was overcome by darkness.  He appeared in a dark room, with no light.  He cut on the flash light which he had purchased previously in the day, and the room was filled with light.  The most horrible display of death he had ever seen was splashed across the entirety of the room, to the point where he could not stop vomiting. 

               He staggered slowly out of that room and into an ornamental hallway.  A strange little hallway, unlike he had ever seen, save ancient Chinese movies.  He left the grotesque scene behind him and a memory he never wanted to think on again.  He took a few minutes to compose himself, and then headed towards the only doorway in front of him.  From the hallway, it led him into an area with a few strange creatures. At first he was stunned at them, and was about to fire at them with his pistol, when he noticed they were not even paying him any attention.

               The creatures were a strange two legged creatures that were hunched over and looked very similar to humans, but were obviously not.  They seemed like docile creature, and had a variety of different types of colored hair along their backs.  They seemed asexual in nature, as he didn’t see anything that would allow him to identify them as male or female creatures, and none of them wore any clothes.  They were as the beasts of the field.

               He tried his hardest to ignore them, as he walked past them slowly and out of the room, into an outer corridor.  Inside this corridor, he thought he saw a glimpse of his fiancé.  She was laughing and crying at the same time, as she disappeared around a far corner of the room.  He took off in pursuit.

               For what seemed like hours, he ran and ran behind her. He was always seemingly a few feet away from her, but never out of eye distance.  Every time he got within grabbing distance, she would slip away.  He kept running, until exhaustion overtook him.  He passed out into the deepest sleep, he ever experienced.

               The next morning he woke up from his bed, as if he had been ejected from the window, or as if it was only a dream the entire time. He was stunned to say the least.  He would have thought it but a dream, if he had not of noticed that the battery in his flash light was going dim, from being on too long...and also noticing that he was still in the clothes and even the same shoes he had been in when he went into the window.  He shook his head in disbelief, he was decided among himself that he was going to have to try again the next night. He had to find out what was going on. He always had the option of moving…he knew, and felt, that the window was connected directly to the house he currently lived in.  He knew that upon moving, he would be rid of this nightmare forever.  However, no matter how hard he tried, he always pictured his girlfriend.  Somehow, he knew she was alive…and would not leave her within that window, for anything.

               The next night, he prepared himself again, and swore to himself that he would find his fiancé and get her back, even if it meant his life.  When the nightly sound, from the window, returned, he swiftly jumped through, into the dark abyss yet again.  This time he appeared somewhere completely different than before.  He was in an alleyway, not even 15 yards from a group of thugs just now trying to attack a couple.

               Without thinking Sarean drew his pistol and started shooting towards the thugs.  Within seconds the thugs had turned on him, and changed into grotesque beasts, unlike he had only seen in horror movies.  The beasts transformed from 2 legged humans, into 4 legged humans, and then slowly hunched over with a three humped back, hairy body, and fangs. Their eyes turn such a violent red that it could be seen for a half a mile.  

               Sarean went into a blind rage never knowing anything of combat, or ever using a gun, save the firing range, he started firing blindly towards the blood lusted creatures.  He closed his eyes as he fell backwards and emptied the clip.  When his eyes opened, he saw only the dead couple, that he thought he was trying to save just a few minutes before.  The strange and grotesque creatures were nowhere to be seen.  He laid there a minute crying, as he could see the couple was obviously killed from multiple gunshot wounds.  Those gunshot wounds were from him.

               He heard sirens coming in the distance, and slowly got up to turn around and ran off into the darkness.  Again he ran for hours, he ran and ran until his legs gave out from in under him and he fell, face first into the concrete.  His face slammed into the ground and he fell into unconsciousness.    The next morning he woke up, again as he did the previous night. His face was bleeding still from the fall, and he was extremely shaken up. That time, he had not even seen his fiancé once, which was the only reason he kept going into the window.

               As he made his way through the day, time seemed to drag.  He was filled with a fear he had never felt before, and did not know how to get his fiancé back.  He happened upon a newspaper late in the day that startled him beyond belief.  A man, in a nearby city had shot two people (a couple) to death in an alley.  Witnesses had claimed the presence of the strange man a few miles off, and he had been arrested.  He was proclaimed to be the south paw slaughterer, one of the most dangerous criminals within the country.  He had been wanted for many murders across the world.  When he was arrested, he ended up killing 3 cops, and taking 4 gunshot wounds himself, before finally dropping his weapon and being taken into custody.

               This news shook Sarean very heavily. He knew he was there that night when it happens, he knew he had actually taken the roll of the Slaughterer during the killing…but only in his own twisted fantasy illusion world.  He did not know how to take the news, and was stunned that the mirror had other connections to the real world that he had only feared possible. He had no idea what the truth was behind the window that haunted him every night.

               He debated among himself throughout that next day, trying to decide if he wanted to return into the window.  He wanted to try to find his fiancé, but every time he went into the window, strange things happened.  He was horrified with himself every day.  He started debating strongly to leave the house.  By the end of the day he had decided to totally remove himself from the house. The next morning he was going to prepare himself and leave the house forever.  He was going to start packing the next day, although at the current time it was too late to even hope to be able to move.

               As he went to bed that night he put on some earphones and swore to himself he would stay away from the window, he was going to arise first thing the next morning and move from the house forever, into an apartment.  He was still shaken from the previous nights, but he swore to himself he would not go into the window no matter what happened.

               Again…late at night, the sounds started again.  He did not hear them at first due to his head phones, but it was still there.  After a while, the sound got louder, and louder.  Then suddenly a loud screaming sound started from the window, so loud it was that he heard the sounds through his headphones.  He woke up with a start and ran to the window.  Crying he jumped in, he knew what he had to do.

               When he entered, he appeared in a strange corridor, his fiancé right across from him, on the other side of the room.  He looked at her in astonishment, she looked like she had been through hell, and he had no idea what to even say.  Suddenly, she began to speak, “Say nothing.  I know why you’re here.  There is nothing you can do to save her, so leave now.  Once you leave this time, the window will close you out forever; you should have never been able to enter here in the first place.” With a sudden gust of wind and smoke, she was gone.  He thought to himself, and the creature before him previously was not his fiancé, he felt in his heart that she must be alive, but he did not know how

               He chased after the creature, from room to room, and area to area trying his hardest to catch the creature masquerading as his fiancé, to stop and talk to it.  He knew in his heart that if he was to get removed from the window again, he would never be able to return…and as such, he would never know the truth behind what happened that night.  Finally he just pulled his gun out, and in a last ditch effort he pulled the trigger.  The bullet missed the target, but by some off chance lucky shot, it bounced off a piece of metal on the side of the wall and reflected back into the creature’s leg.  He screamed in pain, in his fiancés voice, and fell to the ground face first into a roll.  He was screaming and holding his leg.

               Within minutes Sarean was right above him with the pistol pointed directly to the creatures head.  “Who are you, and what have you done with my fiancé, I know you are not her?” he huffed.  The creature looked directly into his eyes, and the creature’s eyes started turning a fiery red.

               In a dark and otherworld voice that sounded like the echoes of a thousand voices at the same time, he spoke, “You foolish human.  You really think you know what is going on here.  It is her fault this even happened” The words pierced deep into Sarean’s heart and he was stunned at the creatures bluntness in his voice…he knew he wasn’t lying based off the tone of his voice.

               The creature threw its head back and screeched in pain, as it continued, “Well Human, perhaps there is something you can do to help end this curse…allow me to explain what your mate did to me, and my kingdom.  I was the ruler of this kingdom, a once totally normal and respected kingdom.  Until someone used an ancient artifact called the Medallion of Judgment.  As I understand it your fiancé used the medallion and kept it beside your very bed.  With its power, it opened a portal to my dimension, and disrupted the entire fabric of my universe.”

               The creature paused for a minute to catch its breath, and continued speaking, “One afternoon, I noticed a giant hole in the sky, one that seemed to be emitting extremely dark energy. It was the portal between my world and yours, created by that horrible medallion that she possessed.   I watched as my entire kingdom was twisted and distorted by this dark portal.  All of my most trusted friends, family, and follows were slowly turned into dark creatures, unlike any that I had ever seen before.   I knew that the answer must come from the dark window above me.”

               The creature continued, “So…with no other choices, I made the obvious decision for my people, and headed through the dark window directly into you’re world.  I came to try to find what caused this horrible portal to appear in the first place.  I saw your mate, and I saw her playing with the strange medallion.  I recognized it, as the medallion of judgement.  It is a horrible and cursed artifact that should never have fallen into mortal hands.  Within minutes she looked up and saw me, and slowly put the medallion into the drawer.  She acted as if she was possessed by some horrible creature.”

The creature continues, “She slowly came to me, and grabbed me by the throat. Before I could react, she threw me back into the window, and as I feel backwards into my realm I heard her utter a strange curse, which misshaped my body to look as hers, and made  drove me almost to the brink of madness.  This was the last I saw of your mate, or the medallion.  I am assuming that upon throwing me through the window, she ended her own life to stop the strange demon from controlling her any further.”

               “At that point, every other person within my kingdom had been changed into horrible creatures.  They took over what left of my kingdom, and left my people in ruins. The last of the civilized people who were not changed into horrible beasts, locked them-selves in my kingdom and have not been heard from since.  The only way that your world can be detached from mine, and that my kingdom can be restored, is by destroying the medallion.” he finished.

               Sarean thought for a minute, and began to speak, “If this is all true, then why do you always run from me?” The creature responded, “It was my attempt to lead you out of the dark lands, here near the window, and lead you further into my realm. The further into my realm you go the more sane things become, and the less damage has been done. It just so happened that my castle and city were all located right near the window, that is why everything I know and love has become corrupted…the same thing will eventually start to happen in your world.  That is why you ended up taking the roll of someone in your own world one of the times you came through the window.”

               Sarean began crying uncontrollably, “All of this time…if I had of known she was no longer around I would have left the house long ago and moved on with my life, I thought this entire time you were her.”  The creature responded, “Within a matter of years, your entire world would have been consumed by the mirror, and so would mine.  Our only hope, and the only hope for your world, is to destroy the medallion, or at the very least throw it back into the window so that I can properly deal with it.  There is a small chance, that once the medallion is destroyed, that I might be able to use the last of my influence in your world, to bring back your mate.”

               Sarean thought for a minute, and responded, “I understand. When I get out tonight I will destroy the medallion immediately.   I am unsure where she even got the medallion, or how it could have controlled her.  I will destroy it immediately.  I will go out now, and destroy it. I am sorry for your leg, and I hope you are able to get your kingdom restored once we get rid of that horrible medallion.”

               Sarean knew that the only way out of this dark world, was through unconsciousness. That is the only way he had ever gotten out before. Without a thought, he rammed his head into the wall, and allowed darkness to overtake him.  Within hours, he was awake back in his bed the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened except a giant cut on his forehead where it met the unsuspecting side of the wall.

               He immediately jumped out of bed, and grabbed the medallion. He went to the living room, and starting a roaring fire in the fire place, and threw it into the fire.  Within minutes he heard loud horrible sounds from his bed room. Screaming sounds, scratching sounds, and 2-3 horrible explosions.  He rushed back up to his bed room, and where the dark window use to be, there was a giant gaping hole in the wall as the window fell out of the wall, and towards the pavement below. Up blew a giant puff of smoke, and the words “Thank you, Sarean….for saving my kingdom” was written across the smoke as it evaporated into thin air. 

               Sarean fell backwards, stunned and not understanding what to even think about the whole situation.  The first thing that came to his mind, was his fiancé.  He went immediately to her grave, and to his astonishment he heard her screaming from within the grave.  He quickly got the grave keeper, and they exhumed the body within a half hour.  She arose from the coffin with a gush of fresh air, she jumped up and gave Sarean the biggest hug, he had ever experienced. 

               A flurry of words began parting from her lips,“Sarean, my dear…I know everything. I was watching you the entire time I was inside that thing.  After you destroyed the Medallion I was released.  King Arianoch let me go. He told me to tell you thank you for saving his kingdom.  Within minutes I had awoken in my coffin...I almost died though, if you had not of come along.”

               Sarean grabbed her, tears streaming down his face…he was finally re-united with his lover.  They moved from that awful house a few months later, together into a brand new house that was funded by Sarean’s art career, as it started to take off again.   They lived together, happy, and married a few months later.  The nightmares they had dealt with were over, never to bother them again.