By Bear

After grandpa passed away, we brought all of his belongings and put them into the guest bedroom until we could rent a storage unit. Nobody had a clue what had happened to Grandpa, he was in great shape for his age, and was in pristine health. He was an air force pilot and had maintained his workout program throughout his life. His death was a surprise that struck us all.

I laid in my room that night, thinking about him a lot. I loved his old, scratchy voice, it sounded so wise and so … close ?? What was that ? My mind must be playing tricks on me. His voice sounded so close to me it was unnerving.

Run

There it was again, so close. I need sleep. Right before I drifted off I hear what sounds like drums and I shot up out of bed. They sound like they are coming from the guest bedroom …

I cautiously swung the door open to the guest room and turned on the lights. No drums. Nobody here. I noticed a wooden crate in the corner that I hadn’t seen when we were unloading. It had the word Caution spray painted in red lettering on the side. As I am sliding off the crate’s cover I hear my grandpa again. Run. I clearly need rest. Inside the crate were a few rocks and fossils of fish bones, a journal, and at the very bottom was a something wrapped in brown paper. I uncovered the object and revealed a tribal looking mask with red and white feathers. I know grandpa was stationed around New Guinea in his youth so this must be some of his treasures from there.

I stand up and go to the mirror to put the mask on. I looked silly, but it made me feel like I was with grandpa. Oh well, time for bed. The next morning I wake up with a pain in my stomach.. must be something I ate. I rolled over and felt something under my covers. It was the mask. Odd …. I thought I put it back into the crate last night. Oh well. God my stomach hurts …. I stand up out of bed and look down to reveal that I am totally naked. And covered in blood. My head starts spinning .. I cant figure out what happened and I can feel myself going into shock. I need to get to mom and dad so I race into their room, but they aren’t there. Panicked, I run into the kitchen to grab my cell phone that I left charging from the night before. When I skid to a stop, I notice a huge cast iron pot on the stove, and a terrible stench that was making my already sick stomach curl. I step over to the pot, which is halfway filled to the top with a disgusting brown liquid, and pieces of a nightgown and reading glasses floating on top.