Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

1
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Silence and Darkness

A Short Story
by Jason Rayburn

2
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

2008 by Jason Rayburn

All Rights Reserved
First Electronic Printing June 2008

3
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Author's Note:

This was written a little less than a year before A Lover Scorned. This was another kind

of experimental story. I hadn't written any scary stories in a long time since I was about 10 or

12 and I had matured and improved a little since then, so I wanted to take another whack at

them. I got an idea for this when I was laying in bed, unable to sleep. I remembered that when I

was little I had trouble sleeping for a few months because I was convinced a ghost would walk

down the hall and peak into my mom's room. This evolved from there. It was meant to be

longer, but I changed my mind on what I wanted it to be, and when I finished with it, I liked it so

much I decided to keep it instead of changing it back to what I originally planned.

4
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Robbie Nermon's beliefs were shattered one dark night in the middle of August. That

night, he learned he didn't know everything -- or anything for that matter.

The night was mysteriously calm, sending chills up Robbies spine. With the wind

blowing, or with thunder cracking, Robbie would at least have noise to listen to, to block out the

sounds of the house you usually dont hear. Rain even provided a soothing lullaby to him. To

him, complete silence was maddening.

The cat that slept at the foot of Robbies bed shifted, stretching its feet in its sleep. It was

a beautiful cat, and he couldnt help but try to stare at it and immerse his mind in the cats unique

fur patterns -- anything to keep from noticing that awful silence.

Hey there, fella, he said. His voice startled him, cutting through the silence

momentarily, but not for long. The words were no sooner out of his mouth before the silence had

regrouped itself and seemed to press harder on Robbies head, as if in anger at him for trying to

rid himself of it.

Robbie sat up in his bed and savored the sound of his bed springs creaking as he did. He

rustled the covers more than he needed to as he crawled out from under them. He sort of

bounced down the bed as he crawled to the pretty calico cat. It purred absently in its sleep as he

stroked its side. He began to sing to the cat, anything to rid himself of the wretched silence. It

5
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

was horrible and foreboding and threatened to swallow him up if he didnt rid himself of it soon.

He sighed, sat on his bed, listened, and sighed again.

The reason that the silence bothered him was not just the quiet itself. In the park, laying

beneath a tree, it was peaceful -- comforting even. He hated it because of the sounds it refused to

mask.

In the middle of the night, the house decided to settle down and sleep. With each pop

from the floor boards as the house settled, Robbie visualized a hundred different murderers and

monsters creeping down the hall to get him. When the door frame groaned, Robbie imagined a

loose floor board being stepped on by some man with a gun, or some monster with razor sharp

teeth, thick saliva, and a hunger for the flesh of young boys.

Oh, Snapper, Robbie said to his cat, why dont you do something? Make a noise. Ill

even get your jingly ball if you want.

The cat opened one tired eye, glanced at Robbie, and rolled over on its other side to sleep

more.

Oh, your no help.

Robbie rubbed his bleary eyes and thought of all the sleep he was missing. He loved how

it felt to drift off to sleep, the feeling as you float off into a dark, but peaceful void, where you

could see and become anything. He wished he could sleep, so he could dream of Ashley

Carrington, the prettiest girl in school -- and a girl Robbie just happened to have a major crush

on.

He sighed again.

6
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Still sitting up in bed, Robbie glanced around his room. There were no sports things in

Robbies room. He didnt like sports. He was no good at them, and he couldnt practice them

because when he tried to do better at school, the bigger kids laughed at him. Robbie did have a

lot of video games though. He had a GameCube on his far dresser, and he had two GameBoys.

His favorite games on them were the games like Mario Kart. He was good at them, and most of

the time he was at a friend's house or in his room playing them.

He was an only child, which made gaming less fun when he wasnt at a friends house. It

also made it hard on nights like this. How he wished he had a brother to share his room with, or

a younger sister that would have bad dreams and come into his room for comfort. Someone that

would trust him to chase the boogeyman away, while, unknown to them, they were chasing the

boogeyman away for him too.

Instead his only comfort was a cat.

A mangy cat, he said aloud, startling himself again. His voice broke the silence, but

once again, it came back stronger than before and seemingly much more terrible. It continued to

press on his mind, to gnaw on it, to make his stomach churn as he laid there in bed. The

darkness brought terror into his heart that was reserved only for those dark nights where your too

wired to sleep, no matter how hard you try, and everything wants to creak and bang.

Robbie sighed again. His stomach was doing flips as he tried to keep his mind off of

what lurked in the darkness. What could lurk in the darkness? He tried to reason with himself,

he tried to talk some sense into himself. Nothing was in the darkness. Nothing. There was no

reason to be afraid.

7
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Thats what they want you to think, something in his mind said.

But why would parents lie to their children? Why would they brush it off when a kid said

that he saw a monster in his closet, or under his bed?

Maybe they dont want to remember

The thought scared Robbie, and he tried to reason out of it, but it made too much sense,

especially when he was so tired.

Pop!

Robbie froze. What was that? Was someone up? He wanted to call out to his mom, to

ask if it was her, but what if it wasnt? What if it was some monster? One that had crawled out

of someones dream, and managed to force its way into the real world just to sink his teeth into

little boys necks -- little boys like Robbie.

That was too much. Robbie screamed and rushed back under his covers. He slid under

and threw them over his head, gasping for air and squeezing his eyes tight. He trembled, and

cold sweat made his pajamas stick to his skin. He strained his hearing for any sounds that might

be coming for him.

Thump!

Robbie had to struggle to hold in his scream. What was that? It couldnt be the house

settling, it was too loud, too close.

Pulling all his courage, he peaked out from under the covers. His eyes darted quickly.

He didnt see anything, so he cautiously stuck his head out to find out what had caused that

noise.

8
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

He scanned, and saw that his globe, a present from one of his teachers on the last day of

the third grade, was in the floor. Robbie sighed and smiled sheepishly. All that, and it was only

his globe in the floor.

Robbie was about to relax, but something caught his eye. The bottom of the globe had a

wide, sturdy metal stand. Robbies eyes went to the shelf, which was wide as well as long --

plenty of room for that globe to fit. It couldnt have just fallen off.

Something flashed in the corner of Robbies eye. He turned quickly, to see a shadowy,

ghost-like figure dive into the closet. Inside the closet, there was nothing but darkness. Robbie

couldnt see anything. Though terrified, he had to look, had to see the beast. What he saw was

the creatures eyes, glowing like hot coals in a fire, and its mouth, a wide grin of jagged teeth.

Finally, Robbie managed to break the spell, and he dove under the covers. He cried

silently, his mind numb. He wanted to scream. He had to scream, but he couldnt. Reaching

just under the mattress, he pulled out a flash light, which he turned on under the sheets.

The light didnt comfort him. Instead, he felt like he was giving his hiding place away, so

he quickly turned it off. After that, he just lay there, terrified. The silence was pressing on him,

crushing him, sucking his very life away. The creature hadnt made a noise since it had knocked

over the globe -- and it wouldnt make another. It wouldnt be that careless again.

Suddenly, Robbie knew the creature had left the closet. The silence was terrible, almost

deafening, but Robbie knew that the creature lived for this moment -- the silent kill. He grabbed

his flashlight again, holding it close to his chest. It was his only weapon against the creature.

Something plopped on the bedspread. It was tiny, about the size of a pea. Robbie

9
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

gasped.

Drool!

Suddenly, the covers were thrown back, and Robbie gazed up on the creature in all its

horror. Its lips barely covered its slimy, jagged teeth, and its burning eyes stared into Robbies

eyes and into his soul.

It opened its mouth and, in a voice that seemed to fill the room, it boomed, That pathetic

flashlight cant save you now, boy!

That was it. Robbie opened his mouth and screamed, high, long, and loud. He screamed

until he literally couldnt scream anymore. When he opened his eyes, the light was on in his

room and his parents were standing there, in their pajamas, wide eyed and pale.

What is it? Robbies mother asked. She walked over and sat on the bed and ran her

hand through Robbies hair.

Robbie could barely speak. He spluttered and gasped, trying to tell them, trying to let

them know how close they had come to not having a son anymore.

What are you saying, Robbie? Robbies father asked.

Theres a monster in my closet! Robbie finally managed.

Robbies mother and father smiled at each other.

Theres no such thing as monsters, Robbie. You were just having a bad dream,

Robbies mom said.

Robbie shook his head violently.

No, its real!

10
Silence and Darkness Jason Rayburn

Robbies dad walked over to the closet and started to turn the knob.

Dad, no! Robbie shouted, tears streaming down his face.

Its all right, Robbie, he said, and threw the door open.

Robbie screamed and closed his eyes. He waited. No screams, no yells, nothing. He

opened his eyes and saw that the closet was empty. Nothing but a denim jacket and an old teddy

bear.

It was there, I swear!

Robbies mom smiled. How about we let you sleep with us tonight? Youll be safe with

us.

She picked him up. He started to protest again, but decided not to. Theyd never believe

him anyway.

Robbies mom made him some hot chocolate and when he finished, she carried him to her

room. Once Robbie was nestled between his mom and dad, he felt safer.

Good night, Robbie, they said to him.

Robbies dad turned the lamp off, and the room was cloaked in darkness. The silence was

back, but it didnt bother Robbie now. He was about to go to sleep, but before he did, his eyes

drifted over to his parents closet.

The door was wide open, and inside, two pairs of burning red eyes stared at him, and two

sets of jagged fangs grinned back.

Robbie started to scream, but they were on them before he could.

Then, silence and darkness took them ... permanently.

11