Perception vs Reality

I had just moved in to a small cottage in Tennessee. It was nearby the Great Smoky Mountains, and I needed to get away from some drama I was going through back in my hometown involving a murder case. I was now living in a small ghost town of a community that had about 500 people in it. So everybody knew everybody. I was currently unemployed since I took an unexpected exit from my hometown, and I had planned to search for a new job while I was here. People in the area were generally pretty friendly. On my first day I got a warm welcome to the neighborhood from a nearby resident. "Hey there buddy, I'm Tommy. Good Afternoon and welcome to Pine Springs" he said. "Oh hey Tommy my name is Billy, I just moved here from Kentucky and I'm tryna get settled in to the Tennessee lifestyle." I replied. So where do you live Tommy?" "Right nextdoor to you" he said as he pointed to this mysterious old house sitting on top of a hill. Some towns people said it had been abandoned for nearly a decade, and it appeared so deteriorated that nobody would want to go near it. From what I heard strange things used to occur around the property. "Like you, I'm new to this community as well. I moved here from Alcoa, and that's my new home now" he said. "So now you know...you're not the only new fish in the pond" he said. After my first day in this new community things appeared to be quiet and drama-free. I was tired from packing boxes and driving for hours on the interstate so I decided on an early bedtime tonight. Like right now... It was already getting dark outside anyway. It didn't take me long to fall asleep as I was passed out within a couple minutes. Before I knew it I was fast asleep. Then suddenly the clock struck midnight, and a nasty bloodcurdling scream rang that out through the neighborhood. It pierced through the sky as snakes and cockroaches crawled from their hiding spots and bats flew over the treetops into the moonlight. My blood froze as I woke up with a start and began to sweat bullets. "That scream came from Tommy's house" I thought to myself as I gazed out the window at it. I tried to call Tommy but no answer. I felt scared and somewhat confused, and I couldn't go back to sleep. "What a great way to spend my first night here" I said to myself. The next morning the police were investigating a crime scene nextdoor at his house. I went over there and neighborhood residents and police units were crowded outside around his property. I asked somebody what happened and they said Tommy disappeared in the middle of the night. I was shocked to hear about it; the police suspected he was either murdered or taken against his will, but there was no evidence found at the scene. Some believe he committed suicide, but not many people seemed to know much about what happened that night. Fortunately for unknown reasons.. a "rat" happened to bring my name up during an interview with police and told them I might know something.

The next day, I awoke and began to cook breakfast when I heard a knock on my door. "I'm never going to finish unpacking at this rate!" I yelled as I walked to the door and answered it. "Good Morning Billy." said a gentleman with dark slicked back hair and wearing a white button-up shirt with a black tie. "Good Morning Sir" I replied. "I'm Detective Smith with the Pine Springs Police Dept." he said. "I wanna ask you a few questions about that Tommy fellow that disappeared a few nights ago." "Alright that's fine. Come on in. I've got some unpacking to do so please excuse the mess" I said. "Sure" he replied. "So anyway, how long have you known Tommy?" I paused to think. "Ever since I moved here..about three weeks maybe" I said.(time passed) "Yeah, I know you and he are both new residents. Was he the first person you met when you arrived here?" he asked. "Yes" I answered. "Did you happen to see anything out of the ordinary that we should know about on the night he disappeared?" he asked. "No I didn't." I replied. "Not unless you count that prime rib dinner they had at the Cracker Barrel for $4.99" "Oh Man,I already know" he said with a laugh. "But anyway, just so you know, I've just been checking in with all the family members and acquaintances of Tommy to try to get some facts straight about the case we're dealing with. I don't much about Tommy and I'm trying to learn some things about his lifestyle. We believe he may have committed suicide... So when did you last hear from Tommy?" "About three days before he disappeared" I answered. "Did you and he ever have any confrontations?" "No" I said. "Tommy and I were best friends, and I'm unaware of any enemies he may have had." "OK..do you know if he was taking any drugs? Or did he ever seem depressed or suicidal?" "No. I don't think so. I'm sorry Detective, I wish I could be of more help but I just don't know much about Tommy. I didn't know him long enough to learn anything about him" I said. He looked at me puzzled and paused for a few seconds. "Alright well sorry to bother you Billy, thank you for your time. You be safe and have a nice day" he said. "Oh and do you mind if I have a glass of water before I go. I have a long drive to Memphis this afternoon where my cousin stays and I'd sure like to put this whole thing behind me for the weekend." "Sure" I said. "Not a problem Detective, I'll be right back in a couple minutes." I said as I was walking to the kitchen.
I picked out a glass and turned on the faucet, and the water coming out was dark red. It was blood. I was startled as I dropped the glass and jumped back away from it. "Whoa buddy!" Detective Smith said. "Calm down. What the hell's wrong?" I shook my head and looked into the sink realizing it was just normal tap water and said, "Nothing's wrong Detective. I just saw a spider crawl down the drain that's all." I was in a state of confusion at the moment as I tried to judge what I thought I really saw.

Detective Smith went on his way, and later that night I decided I would pay a visit to Tommy's house and do some investigating of my own. But first, I decided it was TV time. It didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep while watching American Idol, and when I did I dreamed I was on my way to Tommy's creepy old place. I stopped in front of the stairs that led up to the front porch taking a deep breath. I sighed as I approached the front door of Tommy's home. I jiggled the door's handle but it was locked. I peeked in the windows but it was pitch black on the inside. I started to walk away, but then I heard the door slowly opening behind me. I turned around and walked inside. I scanned the area before me. It was dusty, and there were many old civil war antiques in his living room. The house also had an upstairs. Once I had taken a few steps inside the door slammed shut behind me. It startled me as I turned around and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. Then I heard a loud thumping noise coming from the pantry. I slowly crept across the living room toward the kitchen. I walked through the kitchen toward the pantry. The noise got louder and more intense as I got closer. I reached for the door handle and then it stopped. So then I aggressively opened the pantry door and nothing was inside. So I shut the door back and thought nothing of it. Then just as I began walking away the niose came back again. I opened the door and was shocked by was what I saw...Tommy's hacked up dead body hanging from the ceiling and covered in blood. I screamed and took off running to the front door as fast as I could but it still would not open. Then I heard footsteps coming from upstairs, and I looked up at the staircase and saw the tall, dark shadowy figure of a man with a machete coming down. He was looking directly at me, but I could not see his face. Being in panic mode, I literally yanked the door open and ran away. And then I woke up from that nightmare that seemed like a reality, and there I was lying on the couch in front of the TV set.

It was already dark outside, and I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night once again, because this time I slept through the whole day after I dozed off earlier. "I hope this isn't becoming a habit" I said. I was planning to pay the unemployment office a visit the next morning, but I overslept. And the unemployment office was usually crowded in the afternoons, and when I glanced at my alarm clock it said: 3pm. "Wow" I said thinking out loud. "I must have pushed the snooze button a few times. Looks like I'll just have to go...tomorrow." I went into the kitchen to cook what I like to call an 'afternoon breakfast' and then I heard a voice yell out of nowhere "Billy! You son of a bitch! How could you do it Billy!?...What the hell's wrong with you!? It sounded like a familiar voice. "Tommy?" I said with curiousity..."No, I must be going crazy" I told myself. But a few hours later, I made up my mind that I was really going to go to Tommy's house to find some answers; and determine if what I just heard was actually real or just me going temporarily insane...and so much for my 'afternoon breakfast' that I had my heart set on. But anyway, as I walked up to the front porch of Tommy's house I took another deep breath before entering, and then waltzed through the front door. I quickly walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of the pantry door. There was a brief moment of silence. Then I swung open the pantry door and saw nothing. No dead body, not even a trace of blood. "Wow Thank God" I thought... but just then, the man wielding a machete dropped down from the ceiling and landed right behind me. I was terrified. I looked around, but there was no place to run. He started walking towards me, and I backed away from him as much as I could until I bumped into the wall behind me. He came closer and closer and then stopped right in front of me. He was very dark and evil looking, and I could not directly see his face or make out his features. He was like a 7-foot walking shadow. But then all of a sudden this blinding light flashed in front of me and he was gone. He literally disappeared without a trace and then I saw Tommy's dead body lying on the floor in front of me. I was shocked as I didn't know what just happened, but I looked at myself..and noticed I was covered in blood, and was holding the machete that was used to kill Tommy. And then I noticed Red and Blue lights were flashing outside all around the house, and it was surrounded with SWAT team members. Then I heard Detective Smith's voice say, "Billy! We know what you've done!..And we know your still inside the house! Now this is your last chance to come outside and surrender!"

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