The Man With The Limp

Kevin is chased by a strange man in his nightmares

 

Kevin jumped awake, screaming loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. “Another nightmare,” he whispered through heavy breaths.

That made it twenty-six nightmares in a row. Every single night terror was unique in its own sick and twisted way, yet they all had one thing in common: The Man With the Limp. The Man was at least in his mid-forty's, with the stamina of a twenty-year-old athlete. For whatever reason, The Man wanted only one thing, which just happened to be the end of Kevin's existence. Other than that, he was a complete mystery.

In this particular nightmare, everything appeared to be normal, which was already vastly different from all of the other ones. Thinking he had finally managed to get a peaceful night's rest, he eagerly climbed out of bed, ready to take on the day.

As soon as his foot touched the hardwood floor, his bedroom door burst open. The Man stood there, gripping a knife thats blade was coated in rust. Before Kevin could even blink, he charged at him, swinging the blade around like crazy. Kevin ducked under The Man's arm and ran down the stairs, tripping on the middle step. He tumbled down until he slammed into the front door.

The Man was at the top of the stairs in seconds. Waiting. Watching. Kevin's whole body was in pain. It took everything he had to pull himself up. He threw the door open, only to be surprised by a brick wall instead of his sunny front yard.

The Man was now limping down the stairs, slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. Kevin ran to every door in his house, but they were all dead ends. With nowhere else to run, he finally gave up. The Man's speed increased as he neared the cornered Kevin. Now face to face with Kevin, The Man brought the knife as far back as he could before shoving it towards him.

When the blade was inches away, Kevin jumped awake, screaming loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. Angry, he got out of bed and headed towards his window. Looking out at the calming world in front of his house, something caught his eye. Directly across the street was The Man With The Limp. Waiting. Watching.

Author's Note

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. This was just a short story idea that popped in my head. Just like with The Call, I may turn it into an actual story if it gets good enough feedback.

Reviews

[Marius Partenie]

Captivating and quite a thrill.

At the end, is he still in a dream? Like Inception - a dream in a dream. I like that you start and end the story in the same manner: Kevin jumping awake.

Also, reading the comments below, maybe instead of a full story, you might try writing a series of short stories. Each being one of Kevin's nightmares about The Man With The Limp. Just an idea.

Anyway, great work!

[CowboyAustin]

He might be, I don't know :) hahaha. But, the short story thing's a really good idea, I never even thought doing it that way. Thanks for the review and for and the suggestion, helps more than you know.

[Justin]

Goosebumps! Haha, not the kids series, but I actually got them at the end, very good piece. Good descriptions, I had a pretty good feel for the surroundings in this short story. Good job keeping me interested too! I didn't get side tracked once, so all in all, very good piece man. :)

[CowboyAustin]

Haha, thanks, man, for real. I'm thinking I may actually try to make a full story out of it sometime then, since people are liking it (I totally didn't expect that) If you have time, feel free to check out the other stories I have on here, (they're a little lengthier, so if you don't, its all good.)

[Justin]

I will definitely! Tomorrow though, it's study time now.. But hey, I would definitely read the full story to this, hands down.

[CowboyAustin]

Haha, hey, I'll take tomorrow. Better than nothing, right? And that's good to know. I might start thinking something up for a full story tonight.

[Bella Luna]

This is amazing! I felt terrified for Kevin and the ending is such a surprise! Great job, I really enjoyed this!

[CowboyAustin]

Thank you :) I kinda came up with it on the spot, which is way, to me, it's not as good as it could have been. (then again, I'm always thinking my writing is bad haha)

[Bella Luna]

Haha no it's really good! For coming up with that on the spot, I'm definitely impressed!

[CowboyAustin]

Well, then I think you should know, you just made my entire week lol, so thanks.

[Bella Luna]

:)

[Michael X]

This style of storytelling reminds me of a movie script or journalist's account and captures the theatrical flare, gripping and well written!

[CowboyAustin]

Thankya thankya, that definitely means a lot.