Excerpt: Molem

A scream tore through the silence of sleep, startling the girl so much that she nearly fell off of the couch. Taking a moment to steady herself, she looked around, disoriented. She had not intended to fall asleep in her living room, but it did not much surprise her that she had. Listening to the heavy footsteps of someone running down the hall outside, she scratched the bandage on her arm absently as she wandered into the kitchen.

“What time is it...?” she wondered aloud, looking to the microwave. It, however, offered no answer. Wandering over to it, she reached out and pulled at its cord to find it give easily. When had it gotten unplugged?

She heard more running followed by another scream, farther off this time. She frowned, looking to the windows. It was still dark.

“Gwendy?” she ventured sleepily, getting no response. Moving to the door, she looked out the peephole of her apartment in time to see a man dash by in his pajamas. Undoing the chain and deadbolt, she opened the door just enough to stick her head out.

“Hey-“ she began, too late. The man disappeared down the stairs to her right. She inhaled deeply, the scent of smoke tainting the air. She muttered a curse through grit teeth before she stomped back into the apartment.

“Gwendy!” she yelled this time, grabbing her keys from the counter. She opened her bedroom door, scanning the floor for a pair of shoes. “Where-“

She halted, eyes catching an unusual shadow in the room. Her gaze traveled over the human figure, silhouetted in the light from the open window. It was dressed all in black, a mask covering its face under a hood. Though she could not see its eyes, she felt them upon her as she struggled with the door and retreated into the living room.

“Gwendy?!” she tried one last time, looking frantically about the room. The footsteps of the stranger approached behind her, and she could wait no longer.

Running out the front door, she now could not only smell smoke, but feel the heat in the air. Where was the fire?

She scanned the hallway, finding it already empty. A smoke alarm blinked at her, but made no sound. The things would go off when anyone burnt dinner, but not today.

How convenient. She snarled at the device before following the path of the man she had seen, her bare feet slamming against the linoleum stairs. The heat did not recede as she descended, instead seeming to intensify with each step.

She coughed into the crook of her arm, eyes watering when she hit the bottom step. The third floor was completely enshrouded with smoke. She turned the corner to take the next flight when heat flashed across the flesh of her face and she was forced to stumble backward, landing on her back. The terribly large flames licked the staircase, dancing tauntingly as they blocked her path.

She scrambled to her feet and dashed down the hall, doing her best to breath despite the smoke. As the southern staircase came into view, a rush of triumph filled her veins. Her hand reached out to touch the railing, her legs ready to swing around and hit that first step.

A blast of hot air sent her reeling backward, a scream building up in her chest as she crumpled against the wall. She fell to her side and slammed a fist into the thin carpet.

“Not fair,” she whimpered.

At the other end of the hall, the dark-clad figure calmly descended onto the floor, turning toward her and approaching with no hurry. She scooted against the far wall, the heat of the flames irritating her flesh.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled, smoke rushing into her mouth and hitting the back of her throat. Coughing, she watched the figure continue its approach through watering eyes.

“Stop,” she tried to say through the tremor of her lungs. It did not. She continued to cough, each hack making her curl toward the carpet until she was completely doubled-over.

Her ears picked up the sound of the stranger’s footsteps even over her own noise. Each quiet scuff of its feet sent an extra jolt of discomfort through her system.
She looked up at the being pitifully.

It stopped about a foot away and put its hand out toward her, palm facing downward. Immediately, she felt as if a huge weight had been placed on her back, crushing her chest toward the floor. She gasped, sparks of pain moving up from her chest to dance before her eyes, leaving numbness in their wake.

“Who are you?” she whispered. The figure continued its the silent task, the pressure increasing before she could fight it no more. Her body collapsed, her face hitting the carpet. She did not feel it. As her vision faded, the high-pitched screech of the fire alarm finally split the air.