The Figure

Trigger Warning:

Violence, some language, death

"Houston, we have a problem." Martha said in a cartoon voice that seemed like a mix between Bugs Bunny, and Minnie Mouse.

"Mooooooommmmmm, that's not funny. Are you going to help me or not?" Jay whined at his mother.

“I said we have a problem, I'll have to e-mail your instructor this is beyond my scope." Martha straightened up from where she had been leaning behind Jay on the couch and began to walk out of the room.

“Mom! But, do I still get my device time?” Jay snapped.

Martha paused without turning around, “Excuse me?” She asked quietly in a tone that they both knew did not mean “what did you say?”, but that meant “I heard what you said and there is no way you just spoke to me like that.” 

Jay quickly adjusted his tone knowing the way he proceeded would determine how much he enjoyed the coming weekend. “Mom, can I still use my device time since I did try to do my work?”, his tone sounding now more like a child coaxing a favorite pet out to play.

She resumed walking and threw her words back over her shoulder as she went up the stairs, “Sure, but you have to pause your time if we hear back from your teacher.”

Jay mumbled an absent minded “ok” as he reached for his headset and controller. 

CHECK YOUR CONNECTION- flashed on the screen as he tried for a third time to log onto the server. Frustrated he threw the controller to the side and it bounced against the cushions and then onto the floor. “Mooooooooommmmmmmmm” He yelled again as he trudged up the stairs to find Martha and let her know the internet was not working, so he hadn’t used any of his device time yet.

“Mom, the internet isn’t—-” he paused as he turned the corner into the kitchen because he in fact did not find his mother where he had assumed she had been making dinner. Instead there was a figure sitting in the breakfast nook of their kitchen wearing a ski mask and black gloves. Martha was nowhere in sight. Jay realized he was holding his breathe as he was took in the scene, but he kept holding it because he couldn't process what he was seeing  and holding his breathe made it feel like he was still in choice in whatever was going on. In front of the man was a glass of water and a gun. Jay sucked in a breathe slowly and then said, "um, where's Mom?" Surprised that his voice wasn't shaking. 

The figure said "what do you need her for Jamison?"

Jay blinked slowly, processing. "What? Who are you? Why are you–"

"JAMISON!" The figure stood abruptly and covered the length of the kitchen until he was close enough for Jay to smell something sickly sweet on his breathe. "I asked you a question Jamison!" the shout now becoming a whisper, "What do you need her for?" 

Jay drew another breathe, terror making it feel impossible to remember why he had originally come searching for his mother. He scrambled through his thoughts desperate to appease the figure with the gun. Words began pouring out of his mouth faster than he could think or realize what he was saying. "Um, the internet wasn't working. Erm, 'Houston we have a p-p-problem'." His stutter making an appearance at the end as he wondered why he added that last part and if he would ever hear his mother do silly voices again. 

Pain shot through his jaw and he felt blood in his mouth as he suddenly found himself on the linoleum looking at his attacker's shoes.

The figure was shouting again seeming more and more unhinged, "Jamison, do you think this is a fucking joke?!"

Jay's face was throbbing now and he began to sob. The figure walked back to the table and picked up the gun. Jay suddenly felt adrenaline surging, he leapt to his feet and began to run out of the kitchen. Then three things happened simultaneously.

Jay slipped on something slick on the floor, he tripped over something heavy that usually was not in the hallway, and he felt white hot pain shoot through his left arm like nothing he had ever felt before. 

He fell, hearing footsteps behind him. 

All of the sudden he was enveloped in the familiar Vanilla Cucumber scent that was always on Martha, and then he realized he had fallen, not on the rug that often tripped him when turning the corner, but on his mother's limp body, still warm. 

He let out a blood curdling scream and then felt a sudden pressure in his middle. He couldn't move his legs any more. Things started to get hazy, but he watched as the figure picked up Martha's phone from the hallway and then pressed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner. He walked to the internet router and leaned in to read the small numbers on the side. A pause "yes I seem to be having some technical difficulties with my router."

It was then Jay noticed the cords to the internet router had all been cut off and were dangling almost to the floor where the pool of blood was sliding towards the figure, a little closer with every passing moment. 

"Yes, we'll just have to do without it for the weekend. I understand Tuesday is perfect". The figure said into the phone.

Jay noticed the crazed tone was gone entirely from the voice.

"Thanks so much, buh-bye". 

The figure pressed a button on the phone and then let it splash to the floor in the growing pool of blood.

"Goodnight, Jamison." The figure said, it turned and walked out the front door. Leaving it wide open, as Jay's vision grew dimmer and dimmer and he began to feel cold.

4 days later:

Steven pulled up to the last house on his route ready for this tedious day to be over. His boots crunched on the gravel. As he approached the house he saw the door was open, and then he smelled something awful. And then "Oh my fucking God! Jesus Christ!" He screamed as he doubled over from the vomiting.