Mother's Day

I turn the key in the lock, swinging the door wide open, and rush to the bathroom. As I relieve my bladder of what has been an uncomfortable drive, I hear my parents, grandfather, and sister enter the house as well. Steps slow and heavy, an obvious sign that a full meal is weighing them down. Sleep attempting to take hold of them is also probably, in part, to blame: it is very late at night.

Today was Mother's Day, so we had gone to a fancy restaurant for once to celebrate. I, of course, couldn't appreciate the fine dining: I had recently had my wisdom teeth removed, and my were still swollen up to the size of grapefruits on either side. I instead drank some juice. While at this point in my recovery, alcohol was again allowed, I had to fore go it due to also being the designated driver. The rest of my family had enjoyed all the treats the restaurant had to offer, Dad especially taking advantage of the vintage whiskey selection. The dinner had been with some family a few cities over, so the drive home had been long.

As I left the bathroom, I saw Dad sitting on the couch in the living room, eyes heavy and drooping. He would probably sleep there unless Mom brought him up to their bed. However, Mom was currently rushing past me into the bathroom.

"Put your sister to bed!" she hollered, just before I heard a retching sound come from within. Dad lumbered over "She maybe ate too much?" and then entered the bathroom as well, shutting the door behind him. My sister approached from the kitchen, holding a glass of water, and went upstairs, and I followed close behind. I looked up, and through the banister saw Grandpa shuffling for his bedroom, backlit by the only light on the floor emanating from the bathroom.

We walked up the stairs together, and approached her room. I reached for the set of lightswitches by the door of her room, but they remained lifeless.

"Weird, did they both die at the same time?" I wondered aloud. I squinted into the darkness, a stream of orange light entering from the sliver of opening from the curtain, originating from the street lamp outside. Her room is slightly lower than the rest of the floor, with 3 steps leading down to her room. About two steps in, it seemed to disappear into oblivion. The hallway behind us was dark, and the room ahead even darker.

I went and got the emergency flashlight from the bathroom, and returned to the doorway. I turned the light on, but again the light failed me. It flickered once in my hand. My sister jumped beside me, and I stared at her.

"Something is in there"

Curious, I fiddled with the flashlight some more, coaxing power out of it, while straining to see into the room again. The yellow of the fading bulb gave three more flashes, which was enough to see a dark object lying across her bed, with two little yellow flashes highlighting the eyes. It must of been the size of a full grown man. My sister jumped again, and my own beat quickened to triple pace. My eyelids clamped shut completely, and it took a few seconds for me to will my eyes open again and push on. I pulled her to myself and went back to the bathroom to get the second flashlight. I returned to the doorway for a third time, and switched on the flashlight. This time, blue light sprang from the flashlight without any fuss.

In the room, the bed was empty, but not completely made. What had seemed to be a mass on the bed was simply the covers lumpy enough to create a long menacing shadow. I laughed softly and we both descended the steps into the bedroom.

After checking the closet and under the bed for any intruders, she climbed into bed without any fuss, but pulled in the covers extra tight, and right up to her chin. As I left her room and shut the door, I noticed Grandpa's door was wide open still. Odd, I thought, and approached it. Having left the flashlight with my sister, I again first squinted to see in the dark. By now my eyes had adjusted enough to see that the bed was still made, and no sign of Grandpa on it. I flipped the switch, and immediately saw my grandfather, huddled in a ball behind the bed. Before I could even think to rush in to help him, he sat back up, and stood, facing away from me. A green pool of vomit was surrounding his feet.

"Grandpa, whats wrong! Are you sick?" I asked stupidly. He simply stood there however, swaying from side to side, hands out a foot from either side of him. He seemed odd, almost apelike. Almost as if his arms had grown in length just a bit.

"GRANDPA!" Finally he responded, but by cocking his head a bit to the side. He slowly turned to face me. Vomit trailed from the right side of his cheek, smearing his right sleeve and shirt. His mouth was bent in a smile, but not in any way he had ever smiled before. But his eyes, his eyes were the worst of all. One was a sickly green, and the pupil elongated and brown, like a cat's eyes. His other was the same, but the brown and green reversed. Both his eyes were also open wide, and they seemed to focus on a point passed me. I stumbled backwards in surprise and horror, unsure what to do. He shuffled forwards again, slowly and unevenly, like the first steps of a child. I stepped backwards again, out of his way, as he made for the bathroom. Grandpa stood in front of the sink, still smiling, looking himself in the eye in the bathroom mirror. I stared at him, horror mounting, as he bent over and threw up again into the sink, the green vomit the consistency and look of relish. I nearly threw up myself just watching him.

"MOM! COME QUICK!" I shrieked, and backed away from Grandpa. I felt horrible for not rushing to his side to help him, but this situation was far too intimidating for my brain to comprehend. I took a few steps down the stairs, and saw my mom's legs standing in the hallway.

"MOM!" I yelled again. Slowly she shuffled into view. Her hands were held at her sides, a foot apart, as she took tiny steps. A terrible feeling of comprehension took hold of me as I took a few more steps down to see my mother.

She, too, had a trail of green vomit down the front of her dress. Her eyes were also wide, a mixture of brown and red, but pupils elongated into cat's eyes. She smiled as well, but her jaw was clenched, and lips pulled open into a wide smile that showed all her teeth. I heard Dad stumbling away downstairs, probably just as frightened as I was right now. But then I heard a deep thud, loud enough for me to know it was his body hitting the floor. No further sounds indicated he was conscious past this point.

I shut my eyes again, this time trying to convince myself to go to their aid. I opened them again, and saw my mother at the bottom of the stairs, and my grandfather at the top. The stairs curved, making a right hand turn, and the floor below and to the side of the staircase was also covered in green vomit. I noticed not that it was smeared slightly, and led off to the kitchen, where Dad had collapsed. Both Mom and Grandpa's eyes were no longer unfocused. They were both staring directly at me.

"Mom? Grandpa?" They both didn't respond. They simply grinned and smiled respectively, and took a step towards me. It was then I noticed my mother's arms. while her elbow still seemed to be at the right spot, her forearm had doubled in size. It protruded from her sleeve, and her hands were held out to her knees. I looked up at Grandpa, and the same was true for him. Through the banister, I could see my sister emerge from her room. While merely back lit from the bathroom, I could see that her arms too had elongated.

Again Mom and Grandpa took a few steps towards me. I was now in their grasping distance, but their arms remained at their side.

Unsure what their intent was, I swallowed the ball of fear that had formed in my throat, and took hold of the railing. Peering down at the puddle of green vomit, I braced myself and vaulted over the railing. My form was perfect, and my landing should have been secure. Should have been, had the floor been dry like it normally was. But in a pool of vomit, my feet lost all traction, and I slipped, falling backwards. I felt my descent down in slow motion, peering up at the stairs and railing above me. My grandfather, mother, and sister, were all leaning over the railing, peering at me. Their eyes seemed to glow just a bit, with black ovals of their pupils highlighted in contrast to the glow. Their smiles seemed to grow wider as my head cracked solidly on the marble floor.

My fear reached it peak, but my vision turned red, then finally faded to black.