How long can you hold your breath? I’ve been holding mine for a while now. So far I’ve gotten 45 seconds. A new personal best! I hope I can hold it for a while longer. Maybe I’ll get the world record. That’d be the day. 

If only I’d had more time to practise, but as it stands I’m kind of in a dilemma. 

It all started when I arrived home from basketball practise. It was just another gloomy Thursday, and I had a warm microwaveable pizza to look forward to. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. I threw my bag on the hall floor and walked into the kitchen.

“Hello? Anybody home? Mikey? Dad?” The house was full of that overpowering silence, the stillness before the storm. 

Oh well. I wasn’t really a people-person anyway. It’d be nice to have some personal relaxation time after my strenuous training. I stepped out to our little storage room in the backyard, planning to rifle through the freezer for some of that GoodFellas Double Cheese pizza. The door was unlocked and ajar. Weird. 

And that was when I saw something that made my body open up and my stomach fall out. A bloody handprint, on the freezer door. It was one of those massive freezers that lay on its side, and the handprint was positioned so it looked like someone had been struggling to get out.

I let my hand rest on the handle for a full minute, thoughts racing through my mind. Maybe someone had been in an accident? Maybe that’s why everyone was out! They were all in the hospital waiting to see a doctor. 

I knew that wasn’t the case though. They’d have phoned me. 

So I just mustered up the courage and yanked the door open.

Inside was my brother Mikey, his head quite noticeably separate from his neck. I stared at him. His head stared back. I fell to the ground and started dry-wretching. I didn’t feel like pizza anymore.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Heavy footsteps. Someone was coming. I was suddenly running full pelt through my back yard, and before my mind had time to catch up with my body I was up a tree. Up a tree? Whatever. Maybe I could get into my neighbour’s yard from here.

It started raining, the sound of footsteps merging with the sound of rain hitting our swimming pool. The pool I had spent so many lazy summers lying beside, just watching the sunlight shimmering on the water in a blissful daze. There was no sunlight now, just a dirty grey pool reflecting the clouds above.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. 

It was definitely coming for me. The person – the thing that had killed my brother was coming for me. It was only then, in the most inconvenient of places, that I remembered my phone. Clutching to my branch for dear life, I reached my other hand into my pocket and clumsily attempted to flip it open. To my dismay, it slipped out of my wet hand, and I watched it tumble towards the pool in slow motion, before hitting the water with a loud “plop!” and sinking to the floor.

So now I was alone, soaking wet, and just waiting for this thing to show its face. After another minute of dreadful, uncomfortable waiting, my backdoor slid open and I saw the most terrible abhorration, something so twisted and strange that it was difficult to compare to any kind of animal I’ve ever seen.

It had long, spindly legs and arms like thin branches, ending in four long curved fingers. It’s back was hunched, and you could see the shape of its spin through its torn grey cloak. It’s skin was a disgusting mustard yellow, even missing in some parts, showing bone. 

And it’s face! It’s face! It had a large bald head. The skin was mottled and cracked, and stretched as if there wasn’t enough to cover the whole thing. It had two massive red and yellow eyes, and a grin that stretched from ear to ear, showing tens of sharp interlocking teeth. 

At first it slowly limped across my yard, and I thought it hadn’t noticed me. It came to a stop about ten feet from where I was standing, and it slowly turned its upwards to smile at me. 

What can I say? I panicked! You would too in my situation. My arms went lose and I plummeted to the water below, splashing into the icy water. Kerplunk!

I sank to the bottom, right beside my phone. I was overpowered by the freezing cold, and I very nearly screamed. Lucky I didn’t, or I wouldn’t be telling you this story right now.

As I lay on the pool bottom, eyes foggy, I saw the grinning head pop into view, staring at me through the water. It knew I couldn’t stay down for long.

How long can you hold your breath?