Drip
A short scary story
"See you soon, honey. We'll be back in a few hours." My mother lightly kissed my cheek before strolling out the door, my father trailing closely behind.
Before the door closed fully, he quickly stuck his head back inside and reminded me for perhaps the hundredth time, "Remember, lock all of the doors and windows. We don't want anyone getting in again."
"Yeah, I know, dad," I said in an annoyed voice. He was talking about the time someone broke into our house while we were away and stole a ton of my mom's jewelry, including my great-grandmother's golden locket. Ever since then, my dad had always pestered me about making sure everything was locked, even the windows.
The door clicked shut behind him as he walked out, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. I was extremely greatful to have a night to myself. I turned on my heel and sprinted down the hall to the family room, jumping and landing on the couch right next to my australian shephard, Charlie. He lifted his head a little and looked at me, as if to say, Are you serious? I was sleeping! I laughed, burying my face in his soft brown fur. "How about some TV?" I asked him, grabbing the remote and turning to my favorite show. I cuddled up to Charlie and relaxed. No more parents to pester me for the next few hours!
After watching two episodes, I could already feel my eyelids growning heavy. I glanced over at Charlie, and saw that he was already sound asleep. Turning off the TV, I slowly rose and trudged to the front door to lock it. I then preceded to the front window, the back door, and so on, locking each one. However, when I reached one of the small windows in the basement, I found that it wouldn't budge. I eventually gave up. It's only one little window, I thought.
Going back upstairs, I walked into my bedroom and fell back onto my bed. I glanced down to find Charlie already laying on the carpet beneath me. Yawning, I reached over to turn off the light, and quickly fell asleep.
It felt like I had only been asleep for a few seconds when I woke up. A fimiliar sound filled my ears. Drip, drip, drip. I groaned knowing that the sink must be leaking again. I crawled out of bed and slipped into the kitchen, but when I reached the sink, it wasn't dripping. I shrugged, still half asleep, and went back to my room. But before I had a chance to turn off the light, the strangest feeling washed over me. Like I was being watched....I shuddered, before reaching my hand under my bed and feeling Charlie give my hand a reassuring lick. Good, that meant I was safe. Everything was fine. I turned off the light and went back to sleep.
Again, seeming like seconds later, I woke up to dripping. Drip, drip, drip. I jumped out of bed and stormed to the kitchen sink, again. Darn you, leaky sink! I thought, but noticed that it wasn't leaking. Fairly confused, I went to the drawer and pulled out a small towel, wrapping it around the sink nozzle. There. Now, if it started to leak again, I wouldn't have to hear it. I quickly walked to my room and sat on the edge of my bed. I was about to lay down when, suddenly, I got that feeling again. That I was being watched... I reached my hand under my bed and let Charlie lick it, assuring me that I was perfectly safe. I then reached up and turned out the light.
This time, when I woke up, I was absolutely perplexed. Drip, drip, drip. I slowly rose from my bed. I tied a towel around that sink, why am I still hearing dripping?! I peeked into the kitchen, and saw that the towel was still firmly in place. Suddenly, a thought occured to me. I slapped my hand onto my forehead. I am so stupid, it was probably the bathroom sink the whole time. Weird, though. That sink had never leaked before.
Turning around, I walked back down the hall, passing my bedroom on the way. I stopped midstride, the hair rising on the back of my neck. There it was again. That feeling. Wanting to get back to Charlie as fast as possible, I ran to the bathroom and threw open the door.....
There are no words to explain the absolute horror I felt as my eyes focused on my now dead dog. Hanging from the ceiling from a rope and nail, blood was covering every inch of his body. Below him, a puddle had formed from the dripping blood. And then it hit me: the dripping had been coming from my dog the whole time...but then what had been licking my hand?
As I stood there, petrified, I could see headlights coming into the driveway from the window. My parents. Still, I couldn't move. My eyes slowly moved their gaze to my bedroom door.....and I couldn't help it. Slowly, I crept up the hallway to my door and gently pushed it open.
The sight I saw before me still haunts me to this day. Written in big, red letters were these words:
Humans can lick, too.
pianogirl68