The Master remembers

I still get goosebumps, when I think about it. It was quite an experience, ya know? It happened like 15 years ago; I was but a teen, back then. You know, at the age of 18, when you think you’re on top of the world and that kinda shit. Well, it was that one weekend my parents decided to leave town, so I was home alone during that time. With a few friends, we threw up a small party; the numbers peaked at like 20 teens. It was awesome, though. We had lots of beer, scotch and wine. At some point in that evening, a fellow of mine came along and brought weed. It was one hell of a party, with loud music and naked girls, hah. We all enjoyed it. Right until 2 o’ clock, or something. Suddenly, the music stopped and electricity went down. Some of us that were still sober tried to figure out what happened. Then, hell unleashed…

The whole thing happened upstairs. Me, my cousin Brad and his girlfriend Anita went downstairs to check things up. It was strange because, right when we finished going down the stairs, all the lights turned up. We went upstairs, but there was only darkness. We freaked out a bit then went downstairs again, where the lights were turned off. As soon as we got in the kitchen, the lights were up, again. I was searching for something, can’t remember exactly what, and Anita was looking at the window. Suddenly, she started crying. Brad hugged her and sighed.

“Hey…look…” he told me, with a trembling voice.

I got on my feet and looked outside. There, a man dressed in a suit, with some sort of cape covering his clothes and face, was standing still. He rose his right hand and snapped his fingers. Lights went off, once again. I didn’t understand anything. If someone was inside my yard, Rex should’ve barked. He is a fucking  230 pounds Mastiff! Only if…no. For a brief moment, I thought this creepy stranger killed my dog. But that would be impossible…Rex was trained for personal and yard protection. We paid a lot of money to have a real guard dog at our side. As I was drowning in my own thoughts, I didn’t realise that Brad and Anita disappeared. Well, in that moment, I really freaked out. I knew that my father was keeping a huge axe in the garage. Until I got there, I grabbed a  knife, from the kitchen. My house was as silent as a grave, during that time. I didn’t understand why, nor did I try to explain it. I just moved, slowly and sneaky, all the way to the door that should’ve led to the garage. When I reached it, I tried to open it, but guess what…it was locked. Fucking locked. I started crying. I heard how the front door opened. Well, that was enough. I dropped the knife and started running. I ran outside, all the way to Rex’s cage. The dog was sleeping. Damn…probably a killer was inside the house and he was sleeping! I shouted and shouted and shouted…but he wouldn’t wake up. I heard a whisper.

“He will not help you.”

That voice was…awful. I don’t know how one could put in words the way that grotesque voice sounded like. I freaked out even more.  I ran back in the house and wanted to get the knife. Surprise! It wasn’t there. And, to make things even worse, the door to the garage was open. I stopped breathing for a couple of seconds, trying to hear anything. Not a fucking thing. It was like I was the only one, in that house. The only one alive, at least. I wanted to go upstairs, to check on the others, but I heard Rex barking. I ran back to the yard and what I saw was…I don’t know. Anita was running and holding the axe with both her hands, above her head. Rex reacted immediately and launched himself against her. He just rammed into her, the poor girl falling on the ground. Then, he did what he was taught to do. His clenched jaws were around her neck. He shook his head several times, then released the bite. Her body flew away like it was nothing. Then, Rex looked at me and waved his tail. He did not do anything wrong; he did what a guard dog is supposed to do, when an intruder is on his propriety, with a god damn axe over his head. If only things stopped at that…

Gunshot. Upstairs. I turned my back and Rex barked. He was running to me. His brown eyes were stating clearly enough: “I’m coming with you.”. Can’t lie, his presence gave me confidence. We went upstairs. Rex smelled something and started running towards my parents’ bedroom. I was right behind him. He stopped at the door and growled. I look inside and saw Brad. He was fucking one of the girls, while stabbing her in the chest. They were on the bed, while on the ground – corpses. The rest of the girls and some boys. All with lots of plagues, due to Brad stabbing them. He stopped fucking her, then looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot. I swear to God…that man was not my cousin! He smiled. A broad, evil smile. Then, with that kitchen knife, he beheaded the poor girl and started laughing. Rex barked.

“Sit!” I told him.

He obeyed the command.  Still, I couldn’t explain that gunshot. Was it the man in the suit? I didn’t know.

Brad got up from the bed. He pointed the knife at me and spoke. His voice was the same as the voice I heard, outside.

“You will die, you fucker.”

He made one step towards me. Rex growled again. I knew he was waiting my command. I closed my eyes, wishing it was a nightmare. I felt how he rose his hand, preparing to strike. It was too much…

“Bite!” I yelled.

The huge mastiff listened. He bit Brad’s leg. I could hear his bones cracking. That dog was one hell of a guardian, I tell you. After that, the voice whispered, again. “This is the price for what your father did. The Master remembers.” I blacked out right after that.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital room, with my mom crying beside me.

“Oh my god! You’re awake!”

I could barely speak.

“Brad…” I tried to say.

“Yes. Brad and Anita died in a car crash, heading towards you. His father called us and delivered the unfortunate news. I don’t know what were you thinking, to smoke so much weed. Damn…”

Fifteen years passed since that night and…I still don’t know what happened to Brad, Anita and all the others. My father died in a car crash, soon after those events and my mom insisted we move town. Assumingly, she knows what truly happened there. But for me…some things are better left unsaid and buried.