Julian awoke with a loud groan. He put his hand to his head as he woke up. His eyes widened as he discovered that he was in his house.
"What?" He gasped. "How is this even possible?"
He heard voices behind him and turned around. To his surprise, Randal and Sam were seated around a table playing a game of cards. Julian shut his eyes and shook his head. He had to be dreaming. He had to be definitely dreaming.
"Welcome back, Sleepyhead," Sam was laughing. "We thought you would never wake up."
"Yeah," Randal nodded in agreement, placing a card on the table. "You're such a heavy sleeper. Even an earthquake wouldn't rouse you."
Julian still didn't reply. He stood like a statue, staring at them with his mouth partly agape.
"Earth to Julian," Randal waved. "Why are you acting so strange?"
"But how?" Julian asked, his eyes filled with wonder. "You guys are supposed to be—"
He paused again. He couldn't say that dreaded word.
"Supposed to be what?" Sam questioned.
Julian quickly rushed towards them and began to feel them. He patted Sam on the head and then on the shoulders. Turning to Randal, he repeated the same action. Sure enough, they felt real. They were not ghosts.
"Julian, what has come over you?" Randal snapped, swatting his friend's hands away.
"Yeah, you're acting weird," Sam said. "Even for you."
Julian shut his eyes tight and backed away from them. He opened his eyes seconds later and sure enough, they were still seated there.
"How did you guys get here?" Julian asked.
"What do you mean?" Sam frowned. "Randal called you earlier today. We came over to your house and we were discussing something. You fell asleep midway into the conversation."
"I did?" Julian scratched his head in confusion. Was there something he was missing at the moment?
"Julian," Randal had a worried expression on his face. " Are you feeling okay?"
"He's fine," Sam chuckled. " It's probably one of those childhood habits he had where he slept for long and woke up without remembering what happened hours ago."
Sam and Randal shared a laugh. Julian stared at the two men. He was confused right now. Everything seemed normal. Was it all a dream? The whole encounters he had in the past. Did they ever happen? A thought occurred to him: Nancy. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he dialed her number. It redirected him straight to voicemail.
"Weird," He muttered under his breath. "This has never happened before."
At that moment, there was a soft knock at the door. Julian stared at it, raising his eyebrows. Was there someone else he was expecting that he couldn't remember?
The door opened and Julian blanched. His eyes went wide in fright as he saw the person who entered. He had only seen that face once, but he could recognize it anywhere. It was the mugger. The man who robbed him and stole his car. But how was he standing here right now?
"It's you!" Julian cried out, startling everyone. "You stole my car!"
"Your car?" The man was clearly confused. "Your car is right outside."
Julian quickly peered through his window overlooking his front yard. His car was right there. In one piece. Also, he could see Mr. Wyatt reading a newspaper in front of his own porch.
"What the hell is going on? " Julian mumbled as he turned around. A decision he regretted as a terrifying sight met him.
His living room, which was normal moments ago, was now unrecognizable. His table was flipped over and there were fire burns everywhere. There were cobwebs around the ceiling and dust on the ground. The air smelt like doom. But what terrified him most was appearance of the three people in the room. Or at least what used to be people. Their skins were pale green and their eyes sunken and lifeless. Their mouths were wide open, and Julian could see the yellow slime escape their lips. Their heads slumped sideways as they gave him a deadly gaze.
"Julian," They chorused.
Julian recoiled at the terrifying way his name came out of their rotten lips. It sounded like the wail of old witches and the sound of jackals.
"Join us," They said. "Complete the sacrifice."
"No!" Julian exclaimed, backing away. "You are not real."
At that moment, they cackled. The strange, unnerving laughter filled the air and shook him to his bone. Then they stopped. All was silent. He stared at them. They stared at him. All was silent except the ominous wind that could be heard outside the house. Julian glanced sideways to look outside the window only to discover it was dark outside. The daylight he saw minutes ago, was gone and replaced with the night.
He turned around just in time to see the three reanimated corpses charge furiously at him. Julian cried out in shock as he quickly evaded a grip from the zombified mugger. He knocked him aside and quickly dodged an incoming charge from Sam. Finally knocking Randal aside, Julian took to his heels up the stairs, the other three hot on his trail.
"Join us!" Julian could hear their angry cries behind him. Approaching the door to his room, he kicked it open.
His bedroom was gone. What stood in front of him was a narrow hallway. The walls at each side were painted red. Julian could not see the end of the hallway as it was dark. The four bright bulbs above him lined up in vertical fashion, providing the only light in the hallway. Looking to his left, he saw a large black door. Before Julian could access the sudden change of location, he was reminded that he was still being chased. The cries and groans of the three reanimated men behind him were heard. He jolted as he discovered they were few inches from him. Few inches from having him in their grasp. He quickly stepped into the hallway and slammed the door shut in time for them to collide against it at the other side. Leaning with his back to the door, he sighed as he heard their faint pounding at the other side. He was safe for now.
His relief was short lived when he heard a faint moan from the dark area in front of him. His heart pounded rapidly as he heard another sound. The shuffling of feet. Then he saw two red lights. Julian gasped in shock when the lights moved. They were eyes. Red eyes that stared at him menacingly from the darkness. The owner of the eyes stepped into the light and Julian's eyes widened. It was the mayor. Or what used to be the mayor. His skin was pale blue and bloated. Worms were crawling out of his large, exposed belly. His red eyes narrowed at Julian. Before Julian could get the chance to wretch at the repulsive sight, the obese corpse grunted and sprinted towards him.
"Join us!" The decaying corpse screamed with his arms outstretched.
Julian quickly turned to the door by his left. He kicked it open with his feet and rushed in just as the mayor's hand almost grabbed his arm. He slammed the door. With rushed breaths, Julian turned around and his heart almost left his chest.