And Then There Were Two

If anything ever made any sense at all I wouldn’t be where I was today. I didn’t really know him too well. I didn’t even know how to get to his house, thank god for GPS. I was in my car driving down the interstate with some Pantera song playing I’m sure. I was never supposed to just leave the house unannounced but I left a note, that’s good enough, right? My dad would kill me if he knew I was on my way to a guys house whom of which I had barely talked to in person except for a few times. He was working anyhow, there was no other way to tell him. Now, I’m nineteen years old but have always been daddy’s girl. Mom wasn’t in the picture, let’s not talk about her. Anyways, the drive there. It was late and I needed gas so I stopped by this shady looking gas station right off the highway. The dimly lit street lamp was flickering repeatedly which only made the atmosphere even more unsettling however there wasn’t another stop for quite some time. I parked my car at one of the pumps and sighed as I opened my car door, getting out and shutting it. There were fresh puddles on the ground that splashed as I walked through them to get inside. As I walked in a cheerful chime played throughout the store when the door swung open. I looked towards the front counter and noticed no one there. I walked towards one of the fridge doors, grabbing a drink and a small snack for the rest of the trip. As I walked up to the counter I cleared my throat, looking around for any other sign of life in there with me. There was an office door behind the counter that my eyes locked onto and a soft exhale came through my nose. I managed out a small “Hello?” no response. After a few moments the door to the office swung open with a loud bang that made me jump. A man who seemed to be probably in his fifties walked out and just stared at me for a moment. Clearing my throat gently I nodded and smiled at him, “I’d like thirty on pump two please.” The only response from him was a gruff grunt of acknowledgment before he silently rung me up. After paying I quickly made my way outside and to my car, filling it with gas and getting back in. I looked back at the store and felt goosebumps raise along my arms. Trying to shake the feeling that gas station gave me, I got back onto the highway.

After about an hour I had finally made it to this guy’s house. His name was Daniel and he lived in bumfuck nowhere. I mean bumfuck nowhere. His house was nice however, modern farmhouse style, brown with black accents. As I pulled into his long driveway he walked out of his front door to greet me. I smiled and waved as I put my car into park and got out, stretching my arms and legs that were sore from the long drive. He walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug, his arms long enough to nearly wrap around me twice. After letting go he opened my front passenger door and grabbed my bag for me and we both headed inside. His house was open, not too crowded but nicely decorated. “Make yourself at home” he said with a warm smile, the kind of toothy smile that could melt chocolate to the tips of your fingers. He all around seemed to be a great guy, nice job that pays well, amazing personality. He was the type of guy that could make friends anywhere he went and with anyone. I watched as he took my bag down his long hallway towards what I’m assuming was his room. I stepped further into his living room, my eyes scanning the family pictures that were on the mantle above the fireplace. Pictures of Daniel and his mother. My hand instinctively running along the worn wood. I heard his footsteps coming back down the hallway and I turned to smile at him as he made his way over. He was kind of like me except maybe the opposite, his dad was out of the picture but he spent time with his mom when she was in town. He was a few years older than me, four to be exact. Another reason I knew my father might disapprove if he knew I would be seeing a man who was twenty-three and had his own house already. It was around eleven o’clock by the time I got there. A soft yawn escaped me as I looked into his dark brown eyes. “You tired?” he asked quietly. Nodding my head he grabbed my hand and led me to his room down that same long corridor. His room was at the end of the hall. As we walked in my eyes widened slightly, it was huge, a big bed and just like the rest of his house it was lightly decorated. I laid down on his bed and sighed softly. “Would it be terrible if I just wanted to rest for the night?” I casually asked with a soft grin. He shook his head and grinned back at me, “Not at all, I’m pretty tired too.” As I got comfortable on his bed he laid next to me, turning off his bedside lamp. He turned back around to face me and quietly whispered, “Sleep well, see you in the morning.” Nodding my head gently I felt him wrap an arm around my waist and man if that didn’t have me out within a minute or two.

I don’t really remember what the time was but at some point during the night I woke up with this strange feeling. Like I was being watched. I sat up from his bed and realized he wasn’t laying next to me anymore. Confused and disoriented from still being half asleep I rubbed my eyes gently and tried to look around his dark room. Seeing no sign of him I thought maybe he’d just gone to grab some water or use the restroom. Turning back over I fell back to sleep shortly, the room going quiet once again. It had to have been maybe an hour later when I woke up again but this time was different. I heard a strange noise, guttural like someone was trying to hold in a cough. Sitting up from his bed again I once more rubbed my eyes and looked around the room letting them adjust to the pitch-black. My body was slightly shaky, anxiety evident. Daniel was still not next to me. “Weird.” I thought to myself. Why would he be awake at this hour? Looking around his room, once more I saw no sign of him and I didn’t hear the noise again so against my better judgment I laid down and went back to sleep. It couldn’t have been too long after waking up the last time that my eyes snapped open once again. This time I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. If I’d only known how off would be an understatement… Now, what I’m about to tell you would make anyone’s skin crawl. I sat up again, searching around his dark room until finally I saw him. Daniel was standing in the doorway of his room staring at me, silently. However that wasn’t the only thing that was creepy, it was the fact that there was someone else standing beside him. I couldn’t make out too many of his features but he was as tall as Daniel was, around six-foot three. Both Daniel and the other man wearing a wolfish grin. I felt my heart beginning to pound in my chest and I spoke very calmly, “Daniel… what’s going on?” No movement, no sound. I spoke again, this time more firmly, “Daniel, what the fuck is going on?” Silence. I gripped his bedsheets tightly, staring at them both with fear clearly etched on my expression. Finally after several achingly long minutes he spoke. Well, I wouldn’t say spoke but more so made a quick and loud “Shhh” sound that made me jump. He then pulled a long piece of metal from behind his back, a kitchen knife. The moonlight gleamed off of it. I screamed and looked away for a brief moment to see if there was any other way out of his room, windows, bathroom window, something…anything. By the time my eyes shifted back to the doorway Daniel was gone again, and so was the other man. My eyes widened I slowly and quietly started getting up from the bed. It felt as if my heart was going to drop down to my feet I could feel it thumping so hard. The bed had creaked gently as I stood up and placed my feet on the cold wood floor. Cursing myself for getting up to check in the first place I walked over towards the doorway. Peeking my head out I looked down the empty, dark hallway towards the living room and saw no one. Everything seemed like normal again until there it was once more, that same horrifying guttural noise. Nearly jumping out of my flesh I covered a soft scream with my hand over my mouth and inhaled sharply through my nose. I gathered the courage to walk out into the hallway and follow where the noise had came from. I made my way to a door a little closer to the living room in the corridor that had a light on inside. Closing my eyes and looking up to the ceiling to beg god not to let me die I placed my hand on the door knob and twisted. When the soft creaky door pushed open my heart nearly stopped.

As I had said, Daniel and I didn’t really talk much before this. We had quite a few conversations over the phone and plenty of laughs but we had never talked about anything serious. In fact, we both didn’t really enjoy talking about family or our home lives when we were younger. I’d respected it. Like I said earlier I didn’t want to talk about my mother and believe me you don’t want me to either. There were still some things I didn’t know about Daniel, things we just had never gotten around to talking about. However until now, I have never realized how important it is to talk about them. How detrimental it can be not to. When people mention fear they usually talk about heights, clowns, rollercoasters, you know normal ones not really irrational but maybe a little bit. If I ever said anything besides what I experienced this night at Daniel’s, I’d be a goddamn liar.

I opened the door and looked inside to see Daniel laying on the ground. His mouth taped shut and what looked like an extension cord wrapped around his hands and feet. He was bloody from his face to his arms and legs. Quietly I ran into the room, my voice desperate and filled with obvious confusion, “Daniel?! What the hell, what happened?!” He groaned softly which confirmed that’s what the noise I was hearing earlier was. I gently pulled the tape from his face and he between soft pants and grunts of pain started explaining to me as I started undoing the cord trapping him. “I-I’m sorry… I never told you because I never thought I’d see him again.” I undid the bindings around his wrists and helped him sit up as he started on his ankles, my eyes wide as he continued. “I have a twin. An identical twin. Fifteen years ago we had to take him to Sundance Psychiatric Hospital.” My stomach churned like I might vomit, my ears rang with an intensity unlike any other. So it wasn’t Daniel after all. Who knows how long that psychopath had been watching me. How long Daniel had been tied up like this. I helped Daniel up and we rushed to his kitchen. He grabbed his home phone and dialed 911. Within a few minutes, the reds and blues of police lights were right around the corner from his house.

After talking with the police, Daniel told them what had happened and they checked everywhere. Every crevice, corner and closet of that house. His brother was gone, vanished into thin air. Not really being able to do much else the cops had suggested that Daniel put a home security system in sometime soon and to call back if anything changed, then they left. I pulled Daniel aside and asked him if he told them about the second man as well. He looked at me confused, clearly not knowing what I was talking about. I told him there was a second man standing beside his brother, around the same height, looked to be the same age, and then it hit me. Daniel stared into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity and I felt a pit grow deep in my stomach. That same wolfish grin fell upon Daniel’s face and the last thing I remember was everything going black.

If anything had ever made any sense at all, I wouldn’t be where I was today.