//------------------------------// // .... // Story: Knock. Knock. // by Arreis Of Avalon //------------------------------// I shift around on my bed and stand, my hooves scratching up the rotting tiles as I do. My candle is with me. I am awake, now. “What’s that noise,” I whisper to myself. My ears twitch - ticking? “It’s the clock, ticking… I’m finally awake, now.” I glance out the window - blackness. “And as usual, in the early hours of the morning. It’ll be sunrise soon.” I hear a creak somewhere in the house. It is just the house settling. I’m sure of it. “... For now, I’ll just check if everything’s all right. I dreamt that the front door was unlocked.” I thought about the dream, staring at the floor. My shadow danced around me. I spoke to it. “Someone was knocking. I had to get up and look. Then I regained consciousness in the forest and could hardly find my way back.” I look at my bed. I hide behind it; just testing it, of course. Behind the bed, my candle does not light the room, and all looks dark. I quickly stop hiding. The dark is scary. I shuffle towards the door. Clop. Creak. Clop. Creak. It’s locked, and takes me a minute to open. The door swings open and I walk into a dim hallway. Another broken light. I set down the candle and turn it. Time speeds up as I do. Actions cause time to go again. Light burns my eyes as I pick up my candle again. “Just a minute. I’ll wait for my eyes to adjust.” I stay still for a few moments. The light seems dimmer the longer I stand still. It helps. I walk to the door and open it too. It swings open after a few moments. “I don’t even recognize my own home,” I whisper. “Why does it look so empty?” It shouldn’t be empty, should it? Where are the pictures and bookshelves and memories? Gone. No one home. “It’s probably just my eyesight going bad,” I mutter, glancing around in the darkness. “My eyesight’s getting worse and worse after dark.” I take a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I only have to wait a little longer. Soon it’ll be daybreak.” I walk into the darkness. My candle does little. I walk under another broken lightbulb as my ears twitch; there is noise, somewhere. “During my nightly rounds, it is vital to turn on the light in each room for a little while. It’s the only way to put everything back in order.” Order. That’s all I ever wanted. Order, and a break from this nightmare. “A scientifically proven fact: if the home is kept in order, then the nightmares will go away.” I fix the light. The dark is scary, but order is more important than safety. The light comes in due time. I am by my telescope. The skulls gape at me in wonder at my mastery of the light. “Finally. Everything’s in it’s place. I can see it clearly.” I stop, thinking. The skulls seem to think too. The lights flicker. “Something is wrong with my head. I’m still half - asleep.” I shut my eyes softly, exhausted. I open them again; my clock is behind me. I go to it and wind it up. The lights all go out as I do. Time does not like my lights. I will have to turn them on again. I still wind; daybreak is more important than sanity. The clock disappears. I am hiding in this time. Why am I hiding? My eyes are covered - I cannot see what I am hiding from. If I open my eyes, if something is out there, it will see me. Should I look? I step out hesitantly. I see nothing. My candle is the only source of light. “All I need is to last until sunrise. Dawn will put everything into it’s place.” I think I hear something upstairs. Lightning strikes nearby. I gulp. "There turned out to be nothing,” I try to reassure myself. “Daybreak is very close now. I just have to survive until dawn.” I urge myself to go downstairs. Turning on the light will put all the rooms in order. Perhaps turning on the light downstairs will put it to order too? I go down the ladder only to hear loud static. I try to ignore the static and just make my way to the light. I turn and it clicks and it crackles. I get halfway through fixing it when the door begins to pound. It sounds angry. I turn quickly towards my ladder and rush to head upstairs. There is no place to hide, down here. I run through the upstairs, scared. My skulls watch me, and each looks as though they are laughing. I turn on each light as I go. I go up further. It is pitch black in this room. I run to the nearest light and begin to fix it. Do not - Don’t… no… yo- keep th-- house. I look around as the light comes on, eyes wide. Nopony home. Nopony here. I run into the next room, trying to shake the whispering from my mind. It wasn’t real. I get to the bulb and start to turn. No need. There is a sharp crack and a long creak. The light comes on. Nopony there. I run to the next door. I shut my eyes for a moment. I’m exhausted. I open them. My bed is in this room, now. I don’t know how, but it is. The light turns off. “Who… just sighed? Is someone here?” It is right… behind you… I turn quickly. A pony stands in a white gown, a box for a head. Cracks appear in the walls. The pony is gone. The lightbulb cracks. I am in the room adjacent. “I shouldn’t have turned on that light! Something was wrong in there!” I think. “Actually, everything is wrong in this house. Once again, everything is different. What is real?” I look at the door but decide against returning to that room. I trod to the ladder and walk down. At least I have my candle. I walk into my bedroom - the real one. The door to the outside is gone. Nothing can get inside. So where did that pony come from? I hear creaking. I turn back and walk towards the hallway. I stop in the hallway. I was sure it came from here, but now it almost sounds right on top of me. Upstairs? I hear pounding. It can’t be on my door, however. Where is it? Knock Knock Knock. Where was it coming from? It knows where you are. I turn away from the black telescope room, or what should be the black telescope room. “I have to hide! I don’t know why but I have to hide, now!” I run towards the bedroom - I can always hide under my bed. I know that. As I run, the lightbulb blows out. There is a one legged pony in the darkness. I don’t know how it follows me, but it does. The straightjacket around it trails along behind it, the strings to hold it to it’s hooves dragging. I run. I do not scream. I have no voice now to scream. I run into the dark telescope room. The pony whispers while I run, but I cannot hear it. My heart pounds too loudly to hear it. I do make out one sentence in my mad gallop. It is inside. Clipclopclipclopclipclop! I dash behind the telescope and cover my eyes. I shake and tremble but make not a sound. I cannot let it find me, under any circumstance. I feel it’s eyes on me. I can feel each and every breath tingle down my neck. My fur stands on end. I want to cry, but I do not in fear of making any noise. I can’t make any sound. Nopony home. Where… are y- come out! It watches for so long. Time exists no longer; every clock has stopped ticking. I stay behind that telescope for eternity. I cannot even breath to calm my heart. How does it not hear it racing? The light flickers. I step back out, the feeling starting to dissipate. I take a deep breath. I am fine. I am calm. I was not found. “This is some game… Brings me back to my childhood. You hide and feel how the time starts rolling backwards.” I start to make my way to my bedroom. It knows where you are. I stop in the doorway. “What’s that over there?” Static. “No. Don’t look. No light. It’s just my nerves.” Creak. “I’m not looking. Not one bit. I’m not even turning my head. There isn’t anything there.” I turn. Nothing is there. I sigh in relief and turn back again. I run as fast as I can after turning once more. I should not have looked behind me. It is there again, that one legged pony. I’m haunted by troubling thoughts, I think. They insist on crawling into my head! As if they were alive! I keep running. The pony with the box head stands before me. I freeze. She doesn’t seem to notice me. The forest is creeping inside, I think. But my home is impenetrable. The lights are off. The windows closed. The doors are all locked and bolted. I hide again and hear the static. I cover my eyes once more. I don’t want to see it all anymore. I don’t want to see it at all. The lights flash and I know she’s still there; I can hear the boxhead breathing. I know she will not leave. I run out and towards my bedroom once more. I just want to escape. I just want it to be dawn now. I want the moon to set. I get to my room. The darkness is scaring me. Reluctantly, I put down my candle and turn the light. I just need light. A few minutes in darkness will not kill me. Hopefully. I fix the light. I blink. My clock is there. I breath a sigh of relief as softly as I can and begin to wind it. The lights go off. I curse silently the darkness I had just fought. I keep winding. Dawn will fix all things. The clock disappears. I hope dawn will be soon. Creak. I freeze. Are they back? I don’t want to move. My hooves have turned to lead. I walk very slowly towards the hallway, holding my candle high. I can’t see anypony… Clop…. Clop…. Clop…. I fix the light in the hallway. Light will bring order. I hear something move in the darkness. Light floods the hallway. I’m alone. I blink, adjusting my eyes. Another clock appears. I wind. The light stays on this time. Not much longer now. I hide out in my room, though not hiding. Hiding turns back time. Winding speeds it up. Lights are bad but good. My candle will save me. Monsters are scary. The forest is coming inside. It’s already inside. The sun rises. I awaken.