Photos of the Dark

Prompt:

A babysitter is snooping around her employer's house and finds a disturbing photograph...

Word Count: 1688

"Alright Elizabeth, the number is on the fridge as well as the number for the restaurant-" Daryl said hesitantly, as though he didn't want to think about what would happen if I called him, "Just in case."

"I got everything under control Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick." I said with my most reassuring smile, after all I have been doing this for years, I was CPR certified and never once had to call in an emergency. Babysitting came natural to me after raising my younger brothers.

Angela Fredrick knelt down to give her 7 year-old daughter a big hug. "Mommy and Daddy will be back soon, you listen to Elizabeth here. Okay sweetie?" The girl nodded, her blonde hair hung loosely in front of her big blue eyes. A spitting image of her mother.

"I'll take care of everything, you two have a great night...and happy anniversary!" They grabbed their coats and were off into the snowy night. I turned to Jess with a smile, she was one of my better kids; very respectful of my rules. "So what to you want to do first? We have a couple hours before bedtime!"

She turned her big eyes to me and with a huge smile, "MOVIE!!" I laughed, "Nothing scary though, you remember last time!" She bashfully looked down and I got the feeling that she was already planning on it. She was quite brave, but like any child, suffers from an overactive imagination when the lights go off.

The popcorn was filling the house with a pleasant smell as we settled into the couch. She picked Coraline, which was supposed to be a kid's movie, however as it played on I could see Jess curling up under the blanket and jumping at certain moments. I had never seen it before, I didn't know how dark it really was! I certainly wouldn't have let her pick it if I had. Though when the film concluded she was very happy so I felt better...I didn't want to have to cradle her to sleep after nightmares again. I would, but I wish she didn't have them in the first place.

An hour after it ended, I helped her get her teeth brushed, face washed, and ready for bed. Before leaving I turned on her nightlight, she often complained saying "Big girls don't need them!" but I had a feeling that tonight she wouldn't protest. I cracked the door so I could hear her from the living room, and plopped back on the couch.  My laptop had very little battery left, but I used the remainder of it on Facebook.

It was an hour after the battery died did I hear her. I had the TV's volume on low, but even still I could barely hear her whimpering. I rushed back to her room to find her hugging her knees with the blanket over her head.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay? What's wrong?"

She quietly said, "I'm afraid of the rats." as though she was ashamed to admit that big girls get scared too.

I sat next to her and rubbed her shoulders through the blanket that kept her hidden. 

"It's okay, I'm here and I'll never let the rats get to you." 

She pulled the blanket off her head and I saw the tell-tale tears streaking her cheek.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?"

She looked as though she really wanted to say yes, but instead shook her head.

"Well I don't want to leave you if you are still afraid. What can I do?"

She looked down, wishing she was brave, but too scared to pretend she is.

"I...I miss my shark. Can I have it?"

"Your shark?"

"It's a stuffed animal."

"Oh sure sweetie! Where is it?"

"Mom and Dad took it away last year, they said I was too old for them." She looked down again.

I chuckled, "You're never too old for animal friends! Wanna know a secret?"

She nodded.

"I still have my bear-bear on my bed. He still helps me when I get scared. It's okay!"

She smiled with joy, I was glad it was helping her to know that she can still be a big girl, even if she was scared.

"Alright! I'll get your shark, do you know where they put it?"

"It's in the basement, but I'm not allowed to go down there so I don't know where."

"Leave it to me! Does your shark have a name? Maybe I can call for it." I gave her a big smile.

She giggled, "Harriet. Harriet Hammerhead."

I rubbed her hair which made her smile more, "Alright, I'll go find Harriet. Are you going to be okay while I look?"

She nodded, enthusiastic to reunite with her friend. When I left she was no longer curled into a ball.

The basement was dark, even with the single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, it had an odd chill to it that couldn't be blamed on the winter. It was more of a storage area than a basement that saw use. There were pieces of furniture covered in plastic, most likely inherited. There was a dusty fridge that wasn't even plugged in, and a few exercise machines that looked equally ignored. The far wall was piled high with boxes labeled in sharpie. I could only hope that they were accurate.  Not wanting to leave Jess waiting too long, I forewent exploring to find the shark.

Most of the boxes were labeled with things like, kitchen, living room, and other things that suggested they were reused from them moving in. After some looking I found one that said Jessica's stuff. "Bingo." I said to nobody. I held up the two boxes on top of it to pull it out; nonetheless they came tumbling out with it. The first one landed neatly, but the second one spilled its contents to the concrete floor. I didn't see what it was labeled as, but it seemed to be the miscellaneous box. After a quick inspection of the Jessica box I found her animal. It was a small and somewhat dirty brown shark with the distinct hammer head. "There you are Harriet." I put the shark next to me as I closed up the box. However I couldn't leave here without cleaning up. I wouldn't want the Fredricks to know I went digging down here.

I slowly gathered the random items that spilled on the floor and placed them carefully back into the beaten up box. However something caught my eye; a mahogany box with a silver clasp and a tiny lock that was left open. I hesitated on putting it back, I was just too curious. The box was carved with Nordic knots in incredible detail, the clasp was old, but still retained its luster. My fingers ran over the grooves, wiping away the dust, revealing a small phrase in what I assumed was Latin, engraved at the opening. 

I looked back to make sure I was alone, and then carefully I lifted the lid; the quiet basement was filled with the creaking of rusty hinges. The only objects inside were a series of Polaroid pictures. Pulling them out I set the box down. It had been so long since I've seen one of these that I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic. 

The first one was of this very basement, complete with the bare bulb and discarded items. As though it had been taken recently. I slid the first behind the last. The second photo was of the mahogany box sitting on the concrete floor. Nothing too exciting. I thought about just putting them back but my curiosity won over. The third one was a close up of the bulb. Why would they take pictures of this stuff? The next one was strange. It was nearly all black, but when I inspected closer there was a dark shape in it. I flipped it over to see if there was any writing, but there wasn't so I put it into the back. Then my heart stopped.

The photo I was looking at, was of me. Sitting on the floor browsing through the pictures. "What the hell?" This was extremely confusing considering I've never been here. Hesitantly I went to the next one, which was pretty much the same thing except my face was more worried in this photo...that and the dark shape was in the background. I nervously looked over my shoulder but there was nothing there. I wasn't sure that I wanted to continue, but since I was the subject of these I felt compelled to.

The next one made my heart drop. It was of me looking over my shoulder, as I just had a moment ago. I flipped to the next one, and the next. Both were of me with the pictures, but in both of them the dark shape grew more pronounced. A shiver crawled up my spine. Everything in my body was telling me to put them down and get out of there, but the oddity of the whole thing kept me fixated. My hands shook as I turned to the next one. I spun my head around again but saw nothing.

The photo was like the others, but this time the dark shape was much closer. It was still out of focus but the shape was definitely not human. It looked more like an octopus with all the limbs protruding from it. Everything in me screamed not to flip again, but I was entranced, there was no turning back.

The next one was extremely disturbing...the shape had finally gotten to the spot of light and it definitely wasn't human. It was slimy looking, grey, and had tentacles sprouting all over its body. The head was misshapen and contained waaay too many eyes.  Hesitantly I turned to the last one. It was completely black. Nothing to see in it. 

Suddenly body convulsed with another chill...but this time it was because I felt a wet tentacle wrapping around my body. I looked down. It was grey.

-Hb. Operandi

Source:

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/short-story-ideas.html