Kathryn Dahne - Curse of the Nun

She rolled over onto her stomach and pressed her face into the pillow, letting one arm drape listlessly over the side of the bed. She was so ready to be out of this place. In the chaotic riot of her thoughts it took Anna a moment to process the unwelcome feeling of chilled fingers slipping between her own.

She screamed and tried to rip her hand away.

The icy fingers squeezed tighter and yanked hard. The force of it wrenched her shoulder, sending Anna sprawling to the floor.

Panting heavily, Anna struggled wildly as she tried her best to free herself from the preternatural grip. Her free hand fought desperately for purchase on the floor, making no difference as she was drug under the bed. Almost as soon as she was under, Anna felt herself flung hard out the other side.

Anna crashed into the wall with force, disoriented and trying to frantically pull herself back to her feet. She sprang towards the door in terror, unable to process anything other than the overwhelming need to get away. She desperately twisted the doorknob, her sweat slicked hands unable to find a firm grip. She screamed in frustration. It felt as if it had been locked from the outside.

“SOMEBODY HELP!” Anna pounded frantically against the door.

The icy fingers returned, snaring themselves in her hair. The hand grasped tight, and Anna shrieked as her head was ripped back.

SLAM!

Anna’s vision spotted out as her head connected violently with the wooden door. She crumpled to the ground. Dazed and whimpering in the wake of the sharp pain sparking across her forehead, she felt something clamp around her ankles, an unseen force, dragging her backwards across the floor towards the bed again.

Anna grunted, managing to catch hold of one of the bed legs. The thing kept pulling at her. She felt her nails digging into the wood, gouging deep like claws, then giving way as her fingernails ripped back under the strain of the force that had her in its grip. She screamed again; in pain, in fear. In animal defiance.

The dragging force stopped as suddenly as it had started, as if her shout had driven it off. She wasted no time in scrambling back to her feet and dashing back to the door in futile hope. She slammed both her fists against it again.

“PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!”

The door shook as something knocked back from the other side.

“Anna? Are you okay?”

Anna almost wept in relief at the sound of Mike’s voice.

“Mike! Someone’s in here!”

“Okay, I’m coming in.”

“Hurry, I’m hurt,” she whimpered.

Anna backed away, expecting Mike to come crashing through like some action hero cop. The door gently swung inwards a few inches and then stopped.

Trembling all over, Anna pulled it completely open.

“Mike?”

The hallway was empty. No Mike. No sign that he had ever been there.

The hairs on the back of Anna’s neck stood on end and she whirled to face whatever threat was approaching from behind.

Nothing. The room was empty.

Grave-cold fingers slid across her face from behind. Anna made a choked noise of terror in the back of her throat as she frantically pried them off of her face. She sprinted towards the adjoining bathroom the instant she was free. The connecting door slammed shut behind her. Instinct was shouting at her that she needed to hide. She tried to open the door to the linen closet first, but it was shut as tight as the bedroom door had been earlier. Anna crawled into the tub as the sound of footsteps approached the bathroom door.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

Anna could barely think around the fear that clawed its way up her throat. She tried to keep her breaths shallow and quiet as she curled up in the tub. It was the only other spot that offered some shelter.

The connecting door to the bedroom slowly creaked open. The sound of steps padded across the tile toward her. She bit at the inside of her cheeks to suppress a whimper.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

The footsteps halted and, for a moment, the whole world seemed to hold its breath.

A hot jet of water from the tap overhead spurted down directly into Anna’s face. She shrieked reflexively, shocked, and then choked, the torrent of water gushing into her mouth and up her nose. Hacking and spluttering, she tried to push herself up into a sitting position.

Smack!

Her face smashed into what felt like a glass barrier. Anna found herself suddenly entombed in the tub. Her bloodied fingertips slid across the underside of the barrier, leaving smears of red in their wake. She couldn’t help the animalistic noise of fear as a dark shape loomed above her. Anna got her first look at her attacker, the image distorted by blood and steam.

A shadowed form in a nun’s dark habit was staring down at her with a palpable feeling of triumphant cruelty. Sinister eyes peered out of sunken sockets. Her lips were cracked and dark veins stood out against pallid grey skin. She reached out and placed her boney hand against the barrier.

Bloodied letters scrawled themselves across the glass beneath the clawed fingers of the nun. “STAY” spelled itself out before Anna’s eyes in harsh strokes.

“ LET ME GO!” Anna screamed back at her.

The water had risen quickly. Anna felt it lapping at the side of her face, trickling into her ears as she thrashed. She pressed herself tight against the glass trying to escape it. She was running out of time. She was running out of air.

“I can’t breathe, ” she cried.

The nun just watched her, unmoved by Anna’s pleas.

Anna drew a last frantic breath before she leaned back underwater and kicked up with all her might.

She flailed into a sitting position as the barrier vanished against her feet. She half-crawled over the edge of the bathtub. She was soaked and shaking, but somehow managed to pull herself up to her feet. Her eyes darted around the room. Her shoulders were tense. Anna braced herself, looking for the next attack.

The nun was gone. She looked back. The tub was empty and dry.

Anna tiptoed her way to the door, hoping she could open it this time. The handle turned smoothly in her hand and she cautiously stepped into the bedroom. There were no signs of the violent struggle that had taken place. Sunlight poured in from the windows, bathing the room in soft light. The air was still and serene. Even the bed leg that had been gouged and bloodied by her fingers was pristine once more.

Her purse sat next to the bed where she had dropped it earlier, completely undisturbed. Anna glanced at the bedside table where her phone still rested. She needed to call for help. Not that she would have the faintest idea of how to explain what happened. She just needed to get out.

She sucked in a deep breath and took another wary look around the room, not trusting the unsettling normalcy around her. She quickly crossed the short distance to retrieve her phone. She picked it up, punching in 911 with fingers that left small smudges of blood in their wake.

“Martin’s Pizza,” a voice on the other end of the line responded promptly.

“What?”

Anna pulled her phone away from her ear to stare at it in disbelief. The display clearly read “EMERGENCY SERVICES.”

“You there?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.

“Hello? I need help,” Anna said into the phone.

“Wait a second,” the voice on the other end replied. “You’re the lady that didn’t pay for her pizza!”

“What?”

“I came up short because of you!” The voice continued indignantly.

Anna hung up. What the hell? She jabbed in 911 a second time.

“911, what is your emergency?” A voice responded promptly.

Anna felt a rush of relief.