Secure Your Baggage

By Kareem, Year 10

Jerry was comfortably laying on his bed, playing on his new iPhone at around 9 PM, when his dear mother came into his room; 

‘It’s time to sleep, Hun. It’s getting late’, Jerry’s mother said kindly.

‘Alright’, Jerry modestly replied in a sympathetic manner. 

Jerry then proceeded to put his phone on charge, and gently placed it on his bedside table, and slowly went to sleep.

He then woke up in the midst of the dark, angry and hopelessly confused about the time. ‘What’s the time’, Jerry thought, as he slowly reached over to his charging iPhone. ‘3-A-M’, Jerry exclaimed in a soft murmur. Eagerly wanting to go back to his peaceful sleep, he gently slammed his head into the soft, cold, white pillow, inadvertently causing a subtle creak from the iron mattress springs. He felt as if his mind were awake, but his body was as alive as a dead man. Jerry, desperately wanting to go back to sleep, was utterly out of luck. Getting angrier and frustrated by the passing second, Jerry decided to go to his parents’ bedroom to get some comfort. As Jerry got off his old wooden bed, he heard an irritating rattling sound. Initially, he thought someone was outside his window aside his bed but accused his bed frame creaking. ‘Its nothing’, Jerry innocently thought.

Jerry silently tiptoed over to his parents’ bedroom, slowly pulling the crooked handle down and merely opening the door, as not to make a sound. He peeked into his parents’ room; and to his surprise, there was no one in sight.

‘Mum, Dad?’, he said in a soft, questioning voice.

There was no reply. He then realised his parents may be at his baby brother’s room. Jerry subsequently left his parents room, off to his brother’s room, erroneously leaving the door open. While carefully tiptoeing to his brother’s room he heard another rattling noise; the same one as before. He had nothing to blame it on. Jerry’s drowsy eyes suddenly opened, and his eyebrows slightly frowned. He then stopped tiptoeing and started to slowly walk. He had reached his brother’s bedroom. Jerry anxiously looked around the room for a minor second, adamant to find his parents, to scarily realise his parents weren’t there. Jerry was bewildered. ‘Where have my dear parents gone’, Jerry realizingly thought. Confusion overcame him, and worry soon followed. He then slowly walked over to his brother’s crib. Peeking over the side of the crib, his nervous hands were shivering uncontrollably, and his blood was pumping. Hesitant to see if his brother was there or not, he disquietly peeked over, and he wasn’t there. There was no one in the house except for himself, as he thought…

He was immensely confused. Jerry thought he was dreaming; he had even tightly pinched himself, just to make sure. He was awkwardly sitting leaned up against the hard-wooden door of his brother’s room, deciding what to undergo. ‘What should I do’, Jerry indecisively thought. He had no other choice than to go back to his bedroom and desperately try to go back to sleep. He then hastily stood up and opened the door of the room. He walked over to his room, knowing there was no one at home, for him to disturb. He was about to open the door of his room, when the hairs on his arms started rising. He opened the door carefully and looked around just to make sure no one was there. He slowly walked into his room and threw himself lifelessly onto his bed. But what he observed when he did that, was that his bed hadn’t creaked nor had his mattress. His eyes then slowly opened from fear. 

Jerry laid on his bed for only a minute, and he was already outraged and annoyed he wasn’t able to go to sleep, but how could he want to go to sleep when he was to only one at home, and his family was missing? Another rattling sound occurred, and now this time he was intrigued on what it was, he merely looked out his window. Slowly moving the flimsy curtains ‘Ugh, these darn things are so annoying’, he said, he then started peeking through, he saw a slim dark figure. Not being able to perceive the person properly, he unplugged his charging phone from his bedside table, turned on the flash and pointed it at the sinister figure. He looked at the figure again. It was a man wearing a washed-out denim jacket with no sleeves, wearing an old, filthy pig mask with the bright white eyes staring right at Jerry, and the smile was ready to kill. He was holding a bat, with nails hammered in. Jerry blinked and the man was gone. ‘What-The-Hell’, Jerry understandably screamed.

Jerry was inexpressibly shocked; he had nearly fallen off his bed. He was certain all of this was a terrible dream. Abruptly, he heard someone at the front door aggressively knocking. Initially, he thought it was the masked figure, but then he realised it could be his parents. He slowly got off his bed and walked over to the door of his bedroom. Before he opened the door, his hairs rose again, but he nevertheless continued to slowly open the door. Jerry stepped out of his room, looking around to see if anyone was there. He then saw his parent’s bedroom door was closed, despite leaving it open. ‘It’s nothing’, Jerry once-more innocently thought. But Jerry persevered on and continued to walk down the decrepit, creaky wooden stairs of his house to inevitably discover who was at the door. He had reached the door, but before he opened the door, he looked through the window beside the door to see who it was. He slowly peeked through the curtains to find no one was there, but bright congealed blood that was smeared across the window.

Jerry slowly walked backwards hoarsely breathing heavily and eyes fully open, about to turn when he tripped over a black bag. Causing a loud thump.

‘Ow’, Jerry exclaimed vehemently, while supporting his bruised elbow. 

Jerry had never seen this peculiar long, black duffel bag, that had a zipper go all the way down it before. ‘This has to be a dream’, Jerry once-more thought while pinching himself. Jerry felt as if someone was in the bag. Maybe his parents he absurdly considered. It produced a retched smell, that felt as if someone shot sharp needles into his nose. Jerry hesitantly pulled down the zip of the bag slowly, to find there was a body. It was his body, his dead body wearing the same clothes he was wearing. Jerry looked up in utter confusion, and saw the masked maniac murderer, with his bat wound up, ready to brutally hit him. A deafening scream was produced by Jerry, that lasted no more than a second…