Chandelier!

Duncan Mains

Chandelier ! It was the graveyard shift. Judy Ray, a clerk at a small convenience store in

Downtown Portland, Maine, always hated taking the late shift. Twelve A.M. to ve A.M. She always felt like she was going to get robbed or something, even that particular store had never been robbed since it had been built. 1 ! It was four-thirty A.M., only a half hour until Judy could leave work and go home.

Then the door dinged. ! Great, another customer. I was hoping I could go home early tonight, she thought

to herself and sighed. In walked a man in a black hoodie, dark jeans, and black shoes. Then, something she didnt expect would happen in a million years happened. The man walked up to the cash register, and pulled out a gun. She didnt know, or care, what kind. ! ! ! Give me the money, everything in he register, he said quietly. Excuse. Excuse me? she said as she honestly didnt hear what he said. Give me the fuckin money, he said louder, realizing no one else was in the

store, sticking the gun in her face. ! I I cant, it wont open for me. I dont have the managers key, I was just about

to leave, she responded. It was true. ! ! Yeah, likely story. Give me the money NOW, or I will shoot you! He yelled. Im sorry! I would if I could but its imp- he cut her off. He had pulled the trigger. TEN YEARS LATER

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Duncan Mains

It had been exactly ten years since he had robbed that convenience store and

killed that woman, and he was still surprised he had gotten away with it. He had gotten $50 dollars in cash from that cash register after hed smashed it open. He could never believe they had never found him. He had never told ANYONE, not even his wife. It was apparent to Jason Kent that he was a terrible, terrible person. Anyone else, if they knew of his deeds, would feel the same. He hadnt taken the money for some just cause, such as buying his grandmothers medicine, he had taken it for personal gain. He had invested it in the stocks, and when he sold them, had gotten a small fortune. He was set for life. He felt as if nothing could ever go wrong. ! Then, one night at dinner, things slowly DID go wrong. It was very subtle at rst,

but eventually, it was the least subtle thing he had ever seen. ! It all started that fateful night at dinner with his wife and his boss. It was

promotion time, so Jason had been sucking up all month long. He had invited his boss, Mr. Peck, to dinner at his and his wifes old Victorian style home. ! What a wonderful house you have, Mr. Peck exclaimed. I just love old houses,

the architecture is just stunning. ! Yes, it is a very nice, and expensive, place, Jason said. But enough of that, lets

get to the dining room and try some of Lindas lobster, she is an exceptional cook you know, Jason said as he walked his boss into the dining room. ! The woman he had mentioned, Linda, was his wife. They had a large dining

room, with a long table and glass chandelier above it, which branched out into smaller ones over where they would be sitting. They all sat down, and began to eat. ! This lobster IS as good as you say, Ive never had better, Mr. Peck said.

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Duncan Mains

Well thank you, Ive been making it for long enough, it ought to be good by now,

she said. They chuckled. They were all silent as they enjoyed Lindas signature dish. ! ! Then it all started. The large chandelier above them, little by little, started swinging in Lindas

direction. ! Well thats odd, Linda said. Nothing like that has ever happened before, I

couldnt imagine its the wind, ! ! ! ! The chandelier was swinging faster now. What a curious thing! Ive never seen anything like this before, It was swinging violently now. Maybe we should- Linda started to say that they should probably leave the

table, but just then the cord holding the chandelier up snapped and sent it down on her, killing her instantly. ! Linda, Jason yelled as he went over to see if she survived. When Jason and his

boss found out she didnt, Mr. Peck decided to leave after they called the ambulance. He was quite shaken as he left. 2 ! After the ambulance came and took Lindas crushed corpse, it was 7:00 PM.

Jason was quite scared, but he had refused to leave the house. He decided to go to bed. He gured, when he woke up in the morning, everything would be all right. He drank a rum and coke as he got ready for bed. ! As he walked down the hall, and entered his bedroom, he saw something he

couldnt believe. Standing there, in his bedroom, was Judy Ray. Not as she had been

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Duncan Mains

that night, exactly ten years ago, but as she would have been a week or two later. Her esh was gray and rotten, and there was a large bullet hole in her forehead. She was dripping blood. ! ! She came closer to him. Ten years ago, ten FUCKING years ago today, you put a bullet in my head for

fty dollars, and now you made yourself very successful with that money she whispered in his ear, and I am going to make sure that you die at midnight tonight, not a second later. Meanwhile, the rest of your life, she said quietly, will be complete hell. ! No no, you arent real, no way, ghosts do NOT exist. He said. Im

hallucinating. ! No, this is real. One hundred percent real. Who do you think made that

chandelier drop down on your perfect little wifes head? she asked him with a sick smile. ! ! Me. Then, she simply disappeared. That wasnt real, no way. Im just stressed! Thats it. Im just stressed out. No

way was that real. Im not going to die tonight. he said aloud. ! ! Keep telling yourself that, a distant sounding voice said. It was her, of course. Auditory hallucinations are real too, he said as he got in to bed. He got in his

side, and realizing she wasnt there anymore, rolled over to the middle of the king-sized bed. ! He felt something next to him. Something squishy. He looked over, terried, and

saw his wifes corpse, rotting in bed next to him. Her head fell to one side, looking at him, and then her solemn face twisted into a grin. She laughed a sick, loud laugh.

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Duncan Mains

He screamed, and jumped out of bed. He ran down stairs, to the front door, and

turned the knob. He planned to run to the neighbours house. ! ! The only problem was, the door wouldnt turn. God damn it, he yelled, and turned around to go out the back. It was 9 PM by

now. Down the hall, he saw a shadowy gure, dripping something on to the oor. He knew it was blood, and he knew the gure was Judy. ! ! Please please, dont kill me, Ill do anything, he exclaimed. She just laughed at him. Laughed and laughed and laughed. He turned and

started running through the kitchen to get to the back door, the only other way, when he suddenly slammed into something, and fell down. It was her. ! Oh, I wont kill you. Not yet. Youve got about three hours of torture left. You can

run, ne. Leave. Get out, She screamed as the front and back doors splintered and all the windows exploded. ! Leave, now, she said even louder. He didnt hesitate for a second. He ran out

the door, and to the police station. It was just down the road, and his neighbours, an elderly couple, wouldnt be much help now any way. ! When he arrived, he ung open the door. The policeman at the desk in the center

of the room shot up in his chair, startled. ! Theres theres someone in my house, she killed my wife, Jason said. This

was only partially true. ! Just just calm down, well go and check it out, the policeman said as he got

his gun and jacket and walked out the door to his car. He told Jason to follow. It was 11 PM now. According to the ghost of Judy Ray, he would be dead in an hour. They were

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Duncan Mains

screaming down the road to Jasons house, making an effort not to talk to one another. As they arrived, the policeman explained that Jason needed to lock the doors and wait in the car until he returned. If he didnt within 10 minutes, then Jason should drive to the station and get backup. ! He drew his gun, and entered the house. A minute passed. Jason was scared

that the man may never come out. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Two minutes. I die in an hour Three minutes. I wish I had just confessed, Four minutes. Saved myself from this Five minutes. This torture Six minutes. Why did I have to kill her? Seven minutes. I am an awful person. Eight minutes. I deserve this. Nine minutes. I dont deserve to live.

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Duncan Mains

Ten minutes had passed, and no sign on the ofcer. Instead of going straight to

the station, like he was told, he got out of the car, and walked up to the door, which was half open. He slowly entered. He had to face his fate. 3 ! 11:20. He looked around in the entrance to his house. He called out to the

policeman, but got no response. He then slowly crept into the living room. Nothing. Dining room, with the chandelier crashed to the ground. Nothing. Kitchen. Nothing. Living room. More of the same. The downstairs was completely empty. He went up stairs, and checked every room. There was no sign of the policeman or the ghost of Judy Ray. ! The last room to check was his bedroom. He was terried. 11:55. Five minutes

until zero time. He took a deep breath, and opened the bedroom door. Inside, much to his surprise, was nothing. Empty. Where could he have gone? ! ! 11:58. He was relieved. Maybe he left, maybe it was his imagination. He turned to

leave, and go downstairs, and there he was it. A corpse nailed to the wall, eviscerated. The policeman. ! Oh shit, he yelled, as he stumbled down the stairs. 11:58. He ran through his

house, trying to get out the back. Through the kitchen. 12:00 midnight. ! On the ground, next to the chandelier, was the corpse of his wife. He screamed,

tripped, and fell on the chandelier, a sharp, jagged piece of broken glass. It went through his stomach, and he was dead before he could scream. ---

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Duncan Mains

I cant see what he tripped over, or even how this happened. He jammed this

piece of metal in the exact right spot, an inch, no, a 16th of an inch to the left or right, and he would have lived, the coroner was explaining the the chief of police. ! Poor guy, his wife had just died in a freak accident with this exact chandelier. It

fell on her during dinner, but he refused to leave the house. It was really weird, he just sat there, and wouldnt move. Eventually we just left. Maybe he got drunk, to try and forget what happened to his wife or something, and tripped. ! Well know when the toxicology report comes back, but well just have to mark

this down as an accident.

THE END