Megan's Birthday Surprise

“Happy birthday to you…”

I slowly began to open my eyes.

     “Happy birthday to you…”

      I turned my head toward the seductive whispering voice. It sounded so clear, but there was no one standing where the song was coming from.

       “Happy birthday… Mr. President…”

         I sat up. I was in an unfamiliar room. Everything was starkly white: the walls, the ceiling, the floor, my clothes, the sheets I was under. This was not my room. I did not fall asleep here. I looked around slowly. The whiteness was almost blinding and seemed to intensify slowly. If I was completely alone in this odd room, where was the singing coming from?

           “Happy birthday to…”

           I slid from under the sheets. I had to figure out what was going on. Maybe if I retraced my steps, I could put it together.

           “You.”

           I jumped and spun around, falling to my butt hard. It sounded, no it felt like the woman singing had just whispered in my ear. I could feel her cool breath in that one breathy syllable, but the room was still empty. Confused, I got back to my feet. Once again, I looked around the room. Its only contents were a small, frameless platform bed, and a pair of white shoes. I sat on the bed to put the shoes on.

Suddenly, a door appeared. Truth be told, I couldn’t be sure if it appeared or if it had always been there and I was just now recognizing it. The outline of the frame was just visible. The white tile walls camouflaged the rest of the door. Thankful to have found an escape, I quickly slipped on the sneakers and made my way to the door.

I could not see a handle. I used both hands to push near the center of the door. It swung outward with no resistance.  I found myself staring down an empty hospital hallway. I was at one end of the hall. More rooms lined the left side of the space. A small waiting room and nurse’s station was to my right. Past the nurse’s station was another set of rooms. At the opposite end a red light glowed illuminating the Exit sign.

In the waiting room, an ancient box television was positioned high on a mounted shelf. Despite the antique rabbit ear antenna atop the small box, only static played. The sound was low, but annoying. I walked over to turn it off to rid myself of the sound but being too short to reach and with no remote control in sight; I let it be. As I turned to walk away, the static changed ever so slightly. I strained to hear the faint sound.

“Happy birthday to you…” I recoiled and backed away. This was too weird.

I walked over to the deserted nurse’s station. As I approached, the phone began to ring. I jumped. The sound was blaring compared to the low static sound and random beeping from down the hall. I chuckled. It was just a phone. I continued to approach the station. There was no one in sight. The phone continued to ring, and no one came to answer. Looking over the high counter showed that no one had manned this station in a long time. Cobwebs and a thick layer of gray dust covered every exposed surface. I would not find any help here, that was for sure.

Staring down the hallway again, I had a few choices. I could try room doors and see if there were others like me, or I could head straight for the exit. There were no windows in this strange hospital, so I had no way of knowing what time of day it was. I did not know which floor I was on. I didn’t even know if I was awake. This whole incident had a very dreamlike quality about it.

With a shrug and a sigh, I headed for the exit. The eerie vibe this place was giving off had me spooked. It was time to go. With each step, I became more and more anxious. I could hear abnormal sounds behind many of the doors I passed. The red sign began to flicker visibly and audibly. This was the kind of thing horror movies were made of. I wanted no part of it. I sped up, panting. Just a few more steps…

“Make a wish, Babe.”

I was staring into a double layer cake covered in chocolate icing. The words Happy Birthday written out in multicolored candy letters surrounded lit candles. A strange sensation on my chin led me to investigate and find an elastic string that led up to a cheap paper hat. That’s when I noticed the figures seated around the table with me. They all sat unmoving, each wearing a party hat, showered in shadow as the lights in the room were off.

I felt a hand lightly place itself on my shoulder. I looked up. She looked down on me smiling brightly. I smiled back, relieved. Oh, how I had missed her. I put a hand over hers and squeezed.

“We gonna have to eat wax if you don’t hurry and blow those candles out,” she said in her thick Houstonian accent. I nodded, unable to find words.

Turning back to the cake, I inhaled deeply and let all the air out of my body in one breath to extinguish the flames. There was clapping and cheering, but it sounded odd. Megan reached over me to remove the candles, placing them on a paper plate next to the cake. I knew that she had prepared my favorite- a yellow cake with chocolate icing. It was common knowledge that the love of my life was not talented in the kitchen, so this was no doubt a boxed cake covered in a can of icing. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it came from her.

I inhaled deeply again, this time drinking in the smell of her. She always smelled of lavender. Tonight, it was especially strong. She must have just showered. Maybe it was just because I had not smelled her in so long.

“Are you ready for a slice, Babe,” she asked sweetly.

I reached out and held her around her small waist. I allowed my hand to fall over her hips and she stopped me with her own hand, giggling. “Babe,” she exclaimed. “We have guests!”

I opened my mouth to tell her how happy I was to see her again. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked. But nothing came out. My mouth was moving, but my vocal cords did not respond.

Megan continued to grace me with her beautiful smile. Her green eyes bright and full of understanding. “Shh. Don’t try to speak. Just enjoy, ok?”

I closed my mouth and nodded. I was willing to do whatever she wanted.

Suddenly, the lights turned on. I wasn’t sure how and I honestly didn’t really care. I looked from Megan to the table of guests. If it were possible for me to make a sound, my deep gasp would have been audible. I moved to stand, pushing my chair back and toppling it over with a crash. I took a step backward, then another, on the last try I bumped the chair I had just knocked over. I looked at Megan, back at the guests, then again at Megan. She was still smiling as if she did not understand what my problem was. Did she truly not see what I saw?

At the table, waiting to celebrate my birthday with cake were alabaster colored mannequins. Some male, some female, and no two the same. Their faceless heads turned to watch me with their soulless eyes. Each one wearing a colorful party hat and nothing else. Was this meant to be a joke? Was Megan making fun of me because I had no family or friends? I immediately became enraged, turning on her.

I opened my mouth to speak, to yell, to ask questions. However, just as before, nothing came out. Megan continued to smile at me. The light in her eyes wavered a bit and for a moment I saw a look of pure hatred and malice in her eyes even though her smile never faltered. I grabbed her arm in an attempt to communicate. She looked down at my hand. When her eyes met mine again, she was still smiling.

I tried to plead with my eyes; I needed answers to questions I was incapable of asking. I gestured wildly at the table and the mannequins. Still, Megan offered nothing but a smile. Then, I noticed it. The malice had returned to her eyes, but this time it remained. Her face became increasingly more terrifying to look at as her eyes held murderous intentions, but her mouth remained curved up in that winning smile.

Her face was unnerving. I let her go. She took a step back. Something began leaking from her eyes. Oh, god, was that blood?! Unblinking, she allowed the blood to pour down her cheeks and spill from her chin to the white tee-shirt she was wearing. I felt sick. I turned to the side, dropped to my knees, and emptied the contents of my stomach.

Once I had regained some composure, I willed myself to look at Megan. A pool of blood was forming around her sneakers. Her pants and shirt were blood-soaked, but not from her tears. Small holes and slashes had appeared. I forced myself to look at her face. Oh god, she was still smiling. Her eyes still bleeding. She pointed at me and screamed at the top of her lungs…

Sitting up in utter shock and panting heavily, I found myself in my dingy little studio apartment. The familiar brick walls were a welcomed sight. I looked around frantically and sighed. It was all a dream. More like a nightmare, but at least it was over.

Across the room, on the card table that doubled as my dining room, my phone chimed loudly. I looked at the time on the microwave; it was two am. Who the hell would call me at this hour? I got up and retrieved my phone. The caller ID read: RESTRICTED. Weird. I ignored the call and decided to get myself a glass of water. My cell began to ring again. This time I answered. I would give the caller a piece of my mind.

“Why the hell are you calling me at this hour,” I demanded.

“Happy birthday,” a mysterious voice said. Then, the line went dead. How did this mystery caller know it was my birthday?

I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with cold tap water.

The water felt good coating my throat. I downed it in one gulp. Not satisfied, I poured myself another glass. This time I took it a little slower. The second time I took a sip, I noticed something odd in the clear liquid. There was a single foreign drop. I held the glass up to eye level. In the small microwave light shining down on the stove, I could barely see the drop of red liquid polluting my glass. I was about to pour it out when another fell in. Another drop fell on my hand and still another on my head. I looked up to find the source. Finding what I was looking for, the cup slipped from my hand and glass shattered all over the floor at my feet.

My recent nightmares could not prepare me for what was now attached to my ceiling. A mangled and bloodied Megan was staring down at me with her big bright eyes. How she had gotten there and how she remained there was beyond my comprehension. I had to still be dreaming. Unable to take my eyes off of her, I tried to back away from the kitchen. I didn’t even mind the pain from stepping all over the glass I had just dropped.

Finally, the initial shock wore off, and I could run toward the door. Stepping out into the hallway was a relief. I thought for sure I would not be able to leave. Then it hit me, I’d left my cell phone on the table, beneath Megan.

“No, that couldn’t be Megan,” I told myself. She looked so wrong, plus how did she get attached to the ceiling? Was she attached, though? It looked like she was manifesting through the ceiling. I shivered. The thought was too creepy.

I needed to figure out what to do next. I could try to go back in the apartment. Maybe this was all in my head. I looked at my shaking hands and recoiled. My hands were covered in blood. Much more than the few drops that the Megan ceiling thing had dropped on me.

I heard a door down the hallway creak open slowly. One of my neighbors would surely be able to help me. I rushed toward the open door. Halfway there, I stopped dead in my tracks.

A tall woman with ebony hair and chocolate skin stepped out of the door. She was stark naked. She had a beautiful body and the glow coming from her skin was breath-taking. Something about her was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. When she noticed me, she smiled. Clearly, she needed more help than I did.

“Hey, you ok lady,” I asked shakily. She didn’t reply, just smiled as she sauntered toward me.

           Behind me another door slammed open. I jumped. The naked woman stopped and looked at the source of the sound.

I turned around to face another naked woman crossing the threshold of the open door. Her smile was so exaggerated that it made her look like an anime character. But I have to admit, she was really cute. In other circumstances this would have been lovely. She began walking toward me, head cocked to the side to enhance her anime smile. I backed up slowly, bumping into someone. Thinking it was the other naked woman, I spun around to give my apologies. There was no point. This was a different woman, also completely naked.

Before I could stop to get my bearing and try to think through it, the hall was filled with a dozen nude women. None of them said anything. All of them smiled. They corralled me back into my apartment. The smell of their clean skin was arousing. I quickly forgot about the Megan thing I’d run from as they placed me on my bed. Hands were all over me. This dream was definitely taking a turn for the better. It was my turn to smile. I began to reach out and caress anything and anyone I could get my hands on, forgetting all about the blood. No one seemed to mind. The ladies began to tease me with nibbles and kisses. My clothes were being removed. I geared up for what was surely going to be a happy ending. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy.

Out of nowhere, a head splitting scream came from the kitchen. Megan. I opened my eyes and tried to push the women out of the way so I could get a look at the kitchen ceiling. There was nothing there. I tried to sit up, but the women overpowered me. The tender nibbles became painful bites as they tore at my flesh. The rubbing became clawing. I cried out in pain. Someone shoved something into my mouth, gagging me. I tried to fight, kick, punch. My eyes watered from the pain and effort. In brief moments of clarity, I noticed the blood covering their naked bodies. Slash marks and holes dotted their skin.

I stopped fighting. I was tired. The pain was too much. I let my head fall back. Megan’s face appeared upside down as she stood over me.

“Every man’s fantasy, right Babe,” she asked as she planted a kiss on my forehead.

That’s when it all came back in a whirlwind of repressed memories. All the women I had kidnapped and tortured. All the years I had lived a seemingly normal life, getting away with my crimes. The things I had done to Megan when she’d tried to leave me. The pain intensified as the women tore deeper and deeper into my flesh. Tears rolled down my eyes. There was nothing I could do.

I could give in.

I could let go.

“Happy birthday,” I heard Megan say. Strangely, her voice sounded far away. Maybe she was just hard to hear over the sound of my flesh being devoured.

I closed my eyes, sighing deeply. There was only one thing I could do. I let go…

“Happy birthday to you…”

      I slowly began to open my eyes.

       “Happy birthday to you…”

        I turned my head toward the seductive whispering voice. It sounded so clear, but there was no one standing where the song was coming from.

         “Happy birthday… Mr. President…”

          I sat up. I was in an unfamiliar room. Everything was starkly white: the walls, the ceiling, the floor, my clothes, the sheets I was under. This was not my room. I did not fall asleep here. I looked around slowly. The whiteness was almost blinding and seemed to intensify slowly. If I was completely alone in this odd room, where was the singing coming from?

           “Happy birthday to…”

           I slid from under the sheets. I had to figure out what was going on. Maybe if I retraced my steps, I could put it together.

           “You.”

I jumped and spun around, falling to my butt hard. It sounded, no it felt like the woman singing had just whispered in my ear. I could feel her cool breath in that one breathy syllable, but the room was still empty…