Saturday, March 2, 2024

Nobody Could Hear Her...

 Aimee and John, both husband and wife, slept in on the weekends. Aimee woke up at 8 A.M., with a startle while John remained fast asleep like a baby. Aimee saw her Mother coming downstairs in her and John's apartment, giggling like a grade school girl. Aimee found it very odd as this behavior was not like her Mother at all. All of a sudden, her and John's black Tabby Cat, Moonshine, began to hiss and growl at Aimee's mother. The hairs on Moonshine's back and tail stood up like a bad static effect, and Moonshine recoiled back to under the bed. A small white Calico kitten was in Aimee's Mother's arms, purring. However, Aimee's mother did not seem to acknowledge her, John, or Moonshine. "What are you doing down here, Mother"?, Aimee asked annoyingly. Aimee's mother did not respond, nor did she even acknowledge her daughter's presence. John remained sound asleep, unable to be woken. Aimee turned to look at her husband for one second then turned around. Her Mother was not there anymore. The curtain had not even moved, as though nobody came downstairs at all. That was odd, Aimee thought. Aimee tried to go back to bed, then heard commotion upstairs that came out of nowhere. "Are we having people over"?, Aimee asked herself aloud. Aimee heard her brother Jimmy, coming downstairs. Jimmy was followed by his 1 year old son, and his wife. "What are you guys doing here"????, Aimee asked her brother. Jimmy, his son, and wife, did not respond to Aimee. It was as if they did not see nor hear her. Aimee saw Jimmy look over to his wife and say something, followed by a chuckle. However, Aimee only saw her brother's lips move with no sound. John was still sleeping. This was getting strange and creepy now. Aimee shook John, trying to wake him. John would not budge. Aimee turned back around, to see Jimmy turned around, closing curtain behind him, but his wife and son were nowhere in sight. Aimee tried to follow her brother, so she opened up the curtain leading to the stairs, only to find zero trace of her brother. She called out Jimmy's name. She called out his wife's name. She called out her Mom's name. No answer. Okay, that was totally weird, maybe I am dreaming, Aimee thought. She went back downstairs to her and John's apartment, and John was gone! The bathroom door was open and the kitchen was empty. John's car was still in the driveway. "John!", Aimee cried out. No answer. "John!". This time Aimee's cry was more unsettling. Still no answer. John's cell phone was on the dresser going off. Aimee checked John's phone. On the Caller ID, it read Unknown. Aimee looked around the room in a circular and dizzying motion, causing an unusual inebriating effect. Aimee was not so sure if she was actually dreaming and unable to wake up, or if she was losing her mind. Aimee staggered to the stairs, going upstairs to where her Mother lived. Aimee held onto the railing, afraid to fall, and walked upstairs calling her Mother. She opened the door, and saw a whole new apartment she had never seen before. 

The apartment had all changed and decorated elegantly for a formal party setting. This was too highly unusual for Aimee's Mother to throw an elegant party. Aimee's mother walked from her bedroom to the beautifully decorated living room. But Aimee's Mother had completely changed! She was younger and dressed in an elegant black and white evening gown, donning diamond sequences, with diamond earrings and black heels to match. Aimee's mother had gone back in time to before she had Aimee. "Mom!", Aimee cried out. Her Mother did not see nor hear her own daughter. Aimee called out again. No answer. She walked around the elegant looking living and dining room, with the glasses of champagne on the platter all set up for guests apparently. But which guests? Aimee's mother was hosting a party which she was not invited to. All of a sudden, Aimee's Grandmother, begins to walk down the stairs. She too, was dressed wearing the same exact evening gown as Aimee's Mother. But her Grandmother was 90 years old yet all of a sudden, she reverted back in time as well before Aimee was born. Aimee's Grandmother and Mother both spoke softly and inaudible for Aimee to make out, but they both smiled at each other rather nefariously, and embraced. Aimee tried running towards them but couldn't seem to move. Her feet were stuck like cement. "What the Hell"?!, Aimee shrieked.

Aimee woke up. She felt a sigh of relief. It was just another dream that made no sense she thought. Aimee smiled then turned over only to find her husband was not there! However, she did see the same white Calico kitten from her dream. Aimee's eyes continued to widen with horror as she saw the same kitten from her dream, licking blood off its' paw...


***Fictional Story Written By Zainab Ali**





Thursday, February 1, 2024

The Husband - Short Story

 The Husband...


Nancy woke up at 4 A.M. , with her heart racing heavily and startled by the shower turning on suddenly. Her husband Steve was not right next to her which was odd. It was Saturday and he usually slept in during the weekends. Plus he always showered in the evenings so this was a bit strange. It was still pitch dark outside.  None of his belongings were packed so it did not seem like he was ready to take off and leave her in the middle of the night without telling her where he was going. 

"Honey??", Nancy called..

No answer...

"Honey??", she called a little louder for the second time..

Still no answer..

She walks over to the bathroom door and knocks. Finally the shower stops.  Steve walks out. 

"What are you doing taking a shower at this time honey"?, she asks her husband.

Steve does not answer nor does he make any eye contact with his wife. He walks right by her.  For a moment, Nancy did not even recognize her own husband. She was still feeling apprehensive.

"Come to bed babe", Steve tells her. And she does..




Nancy once again wakes up startled by the sound of the shower. She frantically looks at the time on her cell phone. It is 4 A.M.  Steve was not in bed with her. This was beginning to get really weird. She was feeling apprehensive and now starting to sweat a little. Was this a prolonged strange dream?, she wondered. She calls out for her husband.

No answer...

She does it again louder. But still no answer.

She walks over to the bathroom and knocks on the door. The shower stops. The door opens but it wasn't her husband who walked out. It was Johnny, the man she was having an affair with. Johnny walks right past her without making any eye contact and goes over to the bed.

"Come to bed babe", he tells her. And so she does.

Nancy wakes up startled at the sudden sound of the shower turning on. Her alarm goes off. It was 4 A.M. However, she does not remember setting her alarm at that time. She looked beside her but nobody was there. She is now not sure weather or not she is actually still stuck in her strange dream or if she is awake. Is she just confused? Or is she beginning to lose her mind? She calls out her husband's name.

No answer.

She calls out Steve's name again.

No answer.

She walks over to the bathroom door and knocks. The shower stops and the door opens. It wasn't Steve nor Johnny who walks out of the shower. It was Mark. Mark is Steve's best friend who has always been insanely obsessed with Nancy since she married Steve. He threatened to expose her affair with Johnny if she did not sleep with him too. 

He walks by Nancy without even glancing at her and gets into the bed.

"Come to bed babe", he tells her. So she does.

Nancy wakes up with a loud shriek at the sudden sound of the shower turning on. The alarm went off once again at 4 A.M. "Whoever or whatever is doing this, please STOP! This joke is not funny anymore"! She looks beside her and Steve is right next to her. Nancy breaths a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. A crazy prolonged dream she thought and smiled. She goes over to hug her husband and turns him over and screams...


Steve is laying in bed dead beside her. He had been stabbed to death multiple times...


Fictional Story Written By Zainab Ali..

Monday, October 30, 2023

Zombie With A Shotgun (2019)

 


Infection is dangerous. It destroys families. It destroys love. It destroys sanity. Infection kills.

But can a certain kind of infection give its' host special powers such as the power to communicate with Zombies? And who is getting first dibs on the special host? The corrupt Government!

Can they relate? Maybe even possibly have a shady transactional business relationship can't hurt..

Aaron is torn, after being infected with the Zombie virus, between survival of his own world vs. the Undead world. Time is literally of the essence as Aaron makes it a point to put an end to this post apocalyptic nightmare. You are either with him or against him, but the one thing he knows he can always rely on is his weapon of choice...his shotgun!

Hilton Ariel Ruiz puts his own dramatic spin on the Zombie genre with an emphasis on survival, keeping the audience engaged. 

10/10!

Monday, October 2, 2023

The Woman In The Maze (2023)


 What's behind door No. 1? A lie? A secret that is dark, deadly and vengeful? Is that very same thing behind door No. 2? 3? 4? 5? Etc.

The house has a dark intention in every corner. You feel trapped with no sense of navigation in this lethal labyrinth. 

Beautiful and ambitious, Gabby Reynolds, takes on a certain Real Estate "assignment" with a partner Owen Bannester, in haunted and eerie Jerome, Arizona. Every town has it's story and secret and Jerome's atmosphere is a very apprehensive one. 

Real Estate professionals are supposed to have a key to the property. However, there is a particular cursed home that Gabby is renting out, where there is no key to leave. The house is a malevolent maze in which Gabby is trapped in because the former Homeowner, Angus, condemned it. To avenge his wife Judy's affair, he murdered her and the curse was set forth where now any woman who enters, will never be able to escape...

Keep your wife locked in the house like a prisoner in her own home, and be rest assured she will be obedient and never stray again, right? And now poor Gabby has to pay for Judy's transgressions. Angus felt the need to make a prime example of his adulterous wife. So now, in every nook, behind the doors, lies the lies, secrets, and revenge that Gabby desperately attempts to flee from but is unable to. The house is very soundproof and even Owen is unable to hear her pleas for help. Angus is the only one who holds the "key" and utilizes certain visually conniving means by bringing Gabby's Doppleganger to "help" her escape. When Owen and the Sheriff finally come to Gabby's rescue, "Gabby" shoots the Sheriff dead. After the altercation with "Gabby", only ONE Gabby manages to flee with Owen, while one remains imprisoned, per Angus' curse.

The Woman In The Maze, provides a chilling and eerie atmosphere accompanied by a great cast performance.

10/10