Shhh..Don't Tell A Soul

SHHH..DON'T TELL A SOUL 

 Kristina stumbled to her bed after a long day at work. As soon as she laid down, she heard something purring in the darkness. 

 "Come on, fat guy,"  she mumbled as she felt her cat, Smokey, pounce onto the blankets. 

  After snuggling up to his warm body, Kristina closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

   A loud banging sound in her kitchen woke her up well after midnight. She shot up out of her bed and searched for the Colt 48 she always kept in her nightstand. Fumbling around in the drawer was making too much noise, so she grabbed the baseball bat she had stashed away in the corner. 

  One could never be too careful living alone. She knew as a young, single woman, she could possibly be a target for intruders. 

  She quietly made her way to the kitchen, with only the moonlight shining through the windows as her light. 

  She instantly regretted moving all the way out here in the boondocks. Not only was she a long way from the nearest police station, there weren't any neighbors for miles. 

  The woods and privacy, not to mention the low risk of encountering other humans who would undoubtedly expect small talk, convinced her to buy the small cabin last summer. 

  "Should've touched up on my peopling skills and got a house in the city," she thought to herself. 

  As she rounded the corner that lead into the dark kitchen, she raised the bat above her head, ready to bash someone to death if she had to. 

 She flipped on the light, certain she would find a masked intruder, only to find Smokey on the counter kicking everything out of his way so he could get to a few scraps left on a plate. 

 "Smokey! You fatty! Don't tell me you are in here searching for food again?! Are you too good to eat the food in your bowl?" 

  She put the bat down next to the refrigerator and went to get him. 

 

 She smiled as she picked him up and cuddled him against her. She rubbed his head as she walked back to her room. 

 "Now get in bed, chubby!" she said with a smile as she gently plopped him on her bed. 

  Kristina suddenly remembered she had went to bed before washing the makeup from her face. She went down the hallway to the bathroom and flipped on the light. 

  After getting the water warm enough, she leaned down to splash her face. 

 When she stood up to reach for the face towel, she glanced in the mirror and looked right into the eyes of a person standing behind her. 

 The instant she began to scream, the figure lifted the baseball bat she had left in the kitchen only minutes earlier. 

 "Scream all you want, Kristina. No one will hear you." 

   Kristina began to turn around, intent on getting out of the bathroom and to her loaded gun in the nightstand drawer. 

  " The gun is gone. I took care of that. There is no escaping this. I will make you pay for what you did", a feminine voice said. 

 Kristina had no clue who this lady was or what she was talking about. She'd never seen this woman before in her life. 

 "You have me confused with someone else," Kristina said in a shaky voice, water still dripping from her damp face. 

 "Oh, how quickly you have forgotten! How dare you act as if you don't remember me, you bitch! You thought you could get rid of me so easily!" the woman screamed as she stepped closer to Kristina. 

 Kristina squeezed her eyes shut as the woman swung the bat at her. It connected with the left side of her skull and sent her flying against the edge of the bathtub. 

 The pain shooting through her head, combined with the sharp pain in her ribs, caused her to cry out in agony. 

 "Please don't kill me! I swear, I don't know you!! I haven't done anything to you! I swear! " Kristina pleaded as she placed her hand to her head to catch the pouring blood. 

   "I have no intention of killing you. But I will make you suffer, just as you did to me," the woman replied in a menacing tone. 

  Kristina had no clue what this woman was talking about! She watched in terror as the crazed woman lifted the bat and aimed it at her legs. She took a huge swing and hit Kristina's knees with full force. The pain caused her to black out. 

 When she was finally able to crack open her eyes again, the early morning sunlight was creeping through the bathroom window. 

 She tried to move but the pain made it impossible. She could hear Smokey meowing at the bathroom door, desperately trying to claw his way in. 

 "Fuck that cat! You've always cared more about that damn cat than you ever did me!" the woman said vehemently. 

  Kristina slumped back against the tub the instant she realized the stranger was still there. She turned her head to see the lady sitting in the corner, the bat covered with Kristina's blood still at her side. 

 The woman even had blood splatter on her face and hands, and hadn't even attempted to wash it off. 

 "I told you, I don't know you. Why won't you believe me?!" Kristina said through her tears. 

 "So you are still pretending, I see! Pretending as if you don't know me! Well, let me give you a quick reminder! My name is Amy and you ruined my entire life! You stabbed me in the back, just like the bitch you are!" 

 They both grew silent when someone began pounding on the front door. 

 "I have to answer it. My car is out there. They know I'm here," Kristina said softly, with fear in her voice. 

   Amy threw her a washcloth and told her to wipe the blood from her face. She grabbed the robe hanging from the hook on the bathroom door and tossed it to Kristina. 

 "Put this on to cover yourself. Answer that door and get rid of whoever the hell that is or I will kill them and you," Amy said through gritted teeth. 

 As Kristina donned the robe, pain made tears leap to her eyes. She tried to fight them back. 

 

 She could barely stand and her head was spinning. It took everything she had to stay on her feet. 

 As opened the bathroom door, Amy yanked Kristina to her by the robe, put a finger to her lips and said softly with pure hatred in her eyes, "Shhhh...don't tell a soul I'm here. One word and you're dead." 

 She shoved Kristina out the door and followed behind her.  

 Kristina opened the living room door after Amy was in place behind it. She was shaking so badly, she could hardly turn the knob. 

 She was shocked to see Dr. Mitchell standing there. 

 "Doctor, what are you doing here?" Kristina asked in surprise. 

 "I was concerned about you. You've missed our last three appointments," he said with worry in his eyes. 

 He looked Kristina over from head to toe. She looked like she hadn't even slept. 

 "How are you feeling? Still struggling with insomnia?" he asked. 

 Kristina tried her best to let him know someone was in the house with her. She darted her eyes towards the door. 

 Dr. Mitchell caught on instantly. 

 He shoved open to door to find an empty room. 

 "Kristina, it's happening again. Isn't it?" he asked while gently guiding her back inside. 

 "She's behind the door!!" Kristina screamed in terror. 

 Dr. Mitchell didn't move. He didn't even bother to look. 

 "I said she's behind the fucking door!" Kristina said in a frenzy. 

 "She's not here, Kristina. She's not real. Amy is all in your mind. Just as she has been for the last ten years. You've done this to yourself. You have Dissociative Identity Disorder. We worked a long time to get rid of Amy, but you've seemed to have brought her back," Dr. Mitchell said calmly. 

 "When I found out you hadn't been to work in a week, and also had missed our appointments, I knew I had to drive out and check on you," he continued. 

  Kristina looked at him stunned. 

 "Haven't been to work? I've been every day," she said, genuinely confused. 

 "No, you haven't. Come with me. We need to get you to a hospital," he said as he lead her to his car. 

  Kristina followed him without hesitation. The pain searing through her head was making it hard for her to even concentrate. 

  As he sat her in the car and closed the door, he ran back to shut her front door. 

 Kristina watched in horror as Amy walked from the shadows of the room and beat him over the head with a bat. She bashed him until he was nothing more than a bloody pulp. 

 Amy looked at her and slowly began to walk her way. Kristina was frozen in place. 

 "I told you I would kill you all..."