If You See Him Once, He Follows You (Part 5, the Final Chapter)

So, this is where I’m at now: the Gooweny-Ein is in my bedroom, wearing my ex-girlfriend’s body like a Halloween costume, and my ex-wife might be on her way over here with my two kids as I speak. Not an ideal situation, is it? My mind races as I try to think of what to do next. If my situation felt dire before, it now seems utterly hopeless.

A hurricane rips through me, swirling countless emotions into it. I catch glimpses of fear, frustration, and even grief in the storm, but there are other emotions I can’t make out – could that one there be shame? – and some others I don’t even know the name of. I bury my head in my knees to muffle the sound as I cry out until my throat is hoarse.

Above me, the door has now split enough that I can see Stacey’s face starting to poke through. I try to avoid looking at her; it’s too painful, and I’m worried that I’ll see that monster’s eyes or hideous smile peaking out from that wound in her chest.

I’m exhausted, it’s been days of feeling like I’m endlessly fighting and clawing to try and gain a few inches of ground, only to find the Gooweny-Ein has pushed me further back. My entire body might as well be made of lead. I have no fight left, but as I feel the door groaning and breaking against my back, I know I can’t give up yet.

I hear a knock at the door. Please don’t let it be Amy, I think.

To my relief, a loud, stern voice says, “Police! Open up!”

My solace is short-lived, though. The Gooweny-Ein quickly notices the opportunity to escape and collect more victims. I hear another snap, and Stacey screams out in pain like she’s being broken on the rack. I cover my ears to shield them from the horrors, but her cries burrow into my brain where they echo and torment me. Then more crunching, snapping, breaking, each accompanied by more cries. I wonder how many times she can scream before the officer busts down my apartment door.

I think back to the woman who chainsawed through herself. The Gooweny-Ein was clearly inside her, yet here he is now – unharmed. That means killing Stacey won’t end the Gooweny-Ein’s reign of terror. At the same time, I can’t recall reading anything about the surviving officers dying under mysterious or violent circumstances. Perhaps that woman’s death vanquished or weakened the monster for a bit. Maybe it could buy me time to spare these officers and my family from the curse. If nothing else, it will spare Stacey further torture.

I know what I’ve got to do, I just can’t sit here thinking about it anymore. If I let my mind dwell on it, I won’t have the strength to go through with it.

So, I stand up, turn, and plunge my knife through the bedroom door into Stacey’s face. I stab and slash with all my might. Tears stream down my face like rushing rivers. All I can do is say. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Oh God, I’m so sorry!”

I hear a bustle of activity outside my apartment and know the officers will be breaking in soon.

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” I say as I open the door and collapse beside her. My body feels like a heavy tarp that’s been draped over a thin string, and now that string has snapped. Her crimson blood envelops me.

“There’s so much I wish I could take back and I…I just –Shit! I’m so sorry I dragged you into this!” I’m blubbering so much that Stacey probably can’t even understand what I’m saying. “I love you. And I’m so sorry.” I like to think of myself as tough and composed – the silent, strong type – but the truth is I never was that, and I’m certainly not now. I have nothing left but regret and exhaustion.

Stacey looks at me; her breath is faint, but she’s still alive. She’s trying to say something, but she can’t seem to get the words out. I hold her tight. Her body grows colder and paler by the second.

On the other side of my apartment, the front door is kicked down, swinging open with a loud bang. It’s only a few meters away, but it feels like it’s across a vast ocean. Three officers with bulletproof vests come in, their various weapons drawn. I don’t have time to make heads or tails of what I’m seeing before an officer with blonde hair is pointing a taser at me. “Drop the weapon!” He yells briskly, but I don’t have time to put it down before meeting the business end of his taser. Pain rips through my body, and for a few seconds, the electricity pulsing through me leaves me unable to do anything but writhe on the floor.

This is the vantage point I’m stuck at when Stacey rises back to her feet, her limbs limp.

“Ma'am, are-are you okay?” A redheaded officer asks, terror filling her wide-open eyes.

There’s a quick gleam of silver as Stacey grabs my knife and plunges it deep into the officer’s eye.
“Fuck!” The blond officer yells as he fires off another taser at Stacey. It doesn’t stop her at all; it might as well be a paper airplane. She pounces on him like a tigress, taring at him with her knife and teeth alike.

She then turns her attention to a black-haired officer, who wastes no time drawing his handgun. There’s a bang that sounds like a firework, and she stumbles back, but it’s not enough to stop her. She gets the jump on him and gnaws into his face, crunching through bones before returning her attention to the redheaded officer, who’s now frantically trying to crawl away.

I’m slowly regaining my ability to move. The block of knives that I knocked over earlier is still on the floor, if I can get to them...

Stacey corners the redhead near the kitchen counter. The edge of that counter is sharp, which she makes quick use of.

The whole thing makes me want to vomit, to cower, to scream – but I do none of that. Instead, I grab a butcher knife and sneak up behind her. I can feel my own heart pounding – I’m sure the Gooweny-Ein can hear it, but Stacey doesn’t turn. Not as I get close enough to touch her, and not as I slice the knife deep into her throat.

There’s a sharp inhale, then Stacey turns to grab my shirt. “Thank you.” She whispers between rounds of coughing up blood. I cradle her in my arms again. I know she might revive and kill me, but at this point, I don’t give much of a shit. I watch as her eyes glaze with death, then I make sure to close her eyes for her. She deserves to rest, doesn’t she?

I don’t cry like I did before. I feel empty now, like a pumpkin that’s been all carved out. Except there’s no little candle inside in me to light me up – just darkness.

It’s a few minutes before I’m able to collect myself enough to check on the officers. I’ve already cost someone I care about their life, but if I can save one of these people, maybe that’ll be some small redemption. Doesn’t take a genius to see that the redhead and the black-haired one are dead, but the blond one is breathing faintly. If I can call 911, he might make it…
There’s a snapping sound behind me.

When I was a kid, sometimes my friends and I would dare each other to run into the lake when the ice had just started melting and there were still giant glaciers along the shore. That water was so cold that when you went in, your body lost all sense of anything but pain. It felt like you were boiling alive even though you were freezing. They say the shock can cause you’re heart to stop. Well, that’s how cold my blood goes when I hear that sound.

I turn to see an arm coming out of Stacey’s body. I look away quickly, then shut my eyes tight. The Gooweny-Ein is climbing out; within seconds, I know he’s in the room with me, this time with no Stacey to hide inside.

I can feel his face inches from my own, peering at me from different angles like a child trying to get attention. My phone rings. I know it’s Amy, and my hand swipes the ground in a frantic search for it, but I can’t find it; can’t tell her to stay away. Don’t come up here, I try to plead telepathically to her, please don’t come up here.

I reach my arm out. All I can feel is that ghastly blank face and that horrible, horrible smile. I know if I open my eyes, even a little, I’ll see him.

I try to move to the left, then to the right; in every direction, he blocks my path. Terror grips every inch of my being.

I’m trapped.