The Dark Snare

“Anna, where are you going?” Rose said as she leapt to stop her daughter from sleepwalking out of the house. As Rose grabbed Anna’s arm, however, Anna pushed her back and knocked her off her feet.

“Leave me alone!” Anna said, opening the door and marching outside. Rose got to her feet and bolted towards Anna, pinning her down and slapping her twice to wake her up.

Anna struggled to break free from her mother’s grip, still only half-awake.

“Hon, it’s me, your mom!”

Anna came back to her senses as she opened her eyes and saw her mother’s worried face. “Mom! I thought…”

“Yes?”

Anna shook her head. “I don’t remember anymore.”

“You need to start seeing your therapist again, hon.”

Anna nodded as tears began to emerge from her eyes. “Sorry for the trouble, mom.”

“It’s alright, hon. You don’t need to apologise.”

Rose helped Anna back to her feet and escorted her back to the house. As Anna got into bed, she told her she was locking the door, just to be safe. Anna opposed the idea at first, but Rose persisted until she agreed. She locked her daughter in her room and kept the key under her pillow.

The next morning, however, as Rose stepped into Anna’s room, she found the bed empty and the room window wide open. Rose rushed to the window and looked down; Anna wasn’t there. She ran downstairs and found her car keys gone. Rose grabbed the phone and called the police; they said they’d look into it. Meanwhile, she found her body begin to tremble as she sat on her sofa and stared at her phone.

Rose switched on the television and surfed through the channels. There was news about a young girl who had crashed a car into a tree. Rose visited the hospital right after and found that it was Anna who was in the accident. She was still unconscious. Watching her daughter lay there on a hospital bed, Rose wanted nothing but to trade places with her; and that’s when she felt a bizarre presence.

“Mom, it’s me,” a voice whispered from behind Rose.

Rose felt the hairs on her back rise as she looked around. “Anna?”

“Yes, mom. I need your help to wake up. Will you say yes?”

Even though she was unconscious, Anna could see the horror that lay before her eyes. It was what she had feared the other night while she was woken up by her mother. A wraith had been controlling her. The dark spirit was looking to trick her mother, and there was nothing Anna could do to stop it.

“Mom, that’s not me!” she screamed, but her voice went unheard.

Rose said yes to the wraith and was soon possessed by it. It was too late.