I Married A Stranger

There's a small party happening at my friend Kassie's house because it's her birthday today. I've had a lot to drink and my vision is starting to spin because my alcohol tolerance is low. My eyelids are getting heavy because I'm getting sleepy. Maybe I'm already drunk.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it's already eleven. It's late, I need to go home because my mom might be worried about me.

"Kassie, I'm leaving. It's late," I said my goodbyes. I also bid farewell to my other friends who were there.

"Alright, take care," Kassie replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek before escorting me to the gate of their house.

I didn't take a tricycle because it's already late. There are many crazies out there these days, I might end up in a bad situation.

I walked towards my house, it's only a few kilometers away from Kassie's place. It's quite a distance, but it's walkable. The road is dark because the streetlights are off, I can only see a few that are still lit. The wind is cold too. I hugged my arms to my body to ward off the chill.

There's no one around. I was about to cross the street when I heard a loud dog howl. It barked at me again and again. I got scared, so I quickly walked in a different direction, but the dog ran after me.

Its tail was up, and its sharp teeth were showing. I ran as fast as I could because I was afraid of getting bitten. I just kept running. I glanced back while still running and I was somewhat far from it. But the dog was still chasing me. I kept on running until I reached a dark place, a place that was unfamiliar to me.

I stopped running when I couldn't figure out where I was. I looked around, there were no houses and no lights nearby, only the moonlight giving me some visibility. I walked around to try and find my way back to where I came from. As I walked, I passed by a small church with a high gate in front. I went back to where I came from earlier, it seemed like I was getting even further away. But it turns out my return was futile because once again my feet led me to the front of the church.

I was supposed to go back to where I came from when I suddenly felt the urge to pee. What the heck?! Just when there's no bathroom, I feel the need to go. Ugh, where can I pee now? In the grass? Gross, what if an ant bites me down there.

Before the crazy ideas in my head could run wild, I looked for a place where I could relieve myself. I approached the tall gate of the church, it was open so I went in. As soon as I entered, fear gripped me because it was dark. What if there's a ghost? What if the tree is actually a kapre, and it suddenly touches me when I pee underneath it. But I really need to go. I have to be brave because I might end up peeing in my pants, and that's even more disgusting. And there's probably no evil being here. It's a church, not a horror house. God is here, not Shomba.

I walked towards the front of the church. I was about to go inside but the door was closed and I couldn't open it. I really had to pee so I quickly ran to the back of the church. When I got there, I saw a lot of tombstones.

Oh my God! Hell!

I shuddered, but I still didn't pay attention to it because I was more concerned about peeing in my pants.

I really had to go, so I disregarded the fear I was feeling. I ran quickly towards the shade of a tree and hastily pulled down my pants. I sighed with relief when I finally let out the pee I had been holding. Thank goodness no ant bit me. Hehe.

I stood up and zipped up my pants.

The surroundings of the church were illuminated by the light from the full moon. The moon looks bigger today compared to normal, maybe it's closer to Earth now. The strong wind blew again.

It's so cold.

I once again scanned my surroundings. There are so many tombstones; there's actually a cemetery here behind the church.

Oh no! There might be ghosts here. Oh my God, I need to get out of here before I encounter scary beings!

I headed towards the gate to leave, but when I got there, it was already closed. I was overcome with intense fear. It was just open a while ago, but now it's closed, and there's a chain and a big padlock hanging on it.

W-wait, why is it closed now? Did someone close it? D-don't tell me there's someone else here. And why is it closed? What will they do, why did they close it? Strange thoughts started filling my head. Calm down, Rica, you're getting too paranoid.

I took my cell phone from my pocket and dialed my mom's number. I waited for her to answer from the other line, but the call wouldn't connect. I heard footsteps getting closer to me.

Oh no, why is there no signal now?!

I pressed the phone to my ear and pretended to talk to my mom.

"Hello, Mommy, I can't see you. Where are you?" I thought that if the person approaching me heard me talking to my mom on the phone, they might think she's outside the church waiting for me, and they wouldn't try to harm me.

I looked around, it was getting foggy. The whole area was covered in thick fog, so even right in front of me, I couldn't see clearly. As I glanced through the dense fog, I saw a dark figure of a man who seemed to be coming closer. Will he not stop coming closer to me? I just waited for whoever it was to emerge from the fog. Maybe this person is kind, maybe I'm just being overly paranoid.

As he approached, I smelled an incredibly foul odor. Like a dead rat, a sewer, spoiled food... just extremely foul!

He was right in front of me and finally emerged from the thick fog, so I could see the image of the man—a living corpse! His skin was rotting, one eye was being consumed by maggots, and on the other side, there was no eye. He was turning black, and all of his nails were gone. Plus, the skin on his face was peeling, so I could see the flesh!

I screamed in terror. "Waaah! Zombie, zombie! There's a zombie!" I ran as fast as I could in any direction. I didn't look where I was going, I just kept running. Because of the thick fog, I couldn't see where I was going, and I collided with another zombie.

"Where are you going?" it asked in a terrifyingly loud voice.

I screamed loudly out of shock. I quickly picked up a stick. "Don't come near me!" I pointed the stick at it.

"Hey, he's got a stick. How scary..." the cheeky zombie said sarcastically.

Soon, the zombie I saw earlier arrived too. They whispered to each other and laughed loudly at me.

"Don't come near me! I'll hit you!" I threatened them.

"Wow, we're so scared of your little stick," the mischievous zombie retorted. "Come on, let's get her," it invited its companion.

They slowly approached me.

"Waaaaah! I told you not to come near!" I waved the stick in front of them. "Stay away!"

Suddenly, one of them sprinted towards me. "Bwahaha! We're here!"

I ran as fast as I could. I couldn't see where I was going because of the thick fog, so I crashed into a tombstone. I fell down and my head hit something hard. I felt dizzy. I don't know what happened after that.

I woke up. My head felt extremely heavy, I was so dizzy. I touched my forehead as I tried to get up from where I was lying down. I felt the part of my head where it hurt the most. It was swollen.

Oh my goodness, I think I have a bump. And there's a really strong, foul smell. What is that?! It smells like poop!