《Hollow John》


 John

    A boy stood in his room and stared at himself in the mirror. While it was common for a teenage boy to do so, what wasn¡¯t was the fact that his clothes began to disappearing one after another. After all of his clothes were gone a sickening event occurred. His skin vanished and now a muscular skeleton stood there, as if it had stepped straight out of an anatomy book. A second later the skeleton lost its muscles and was now standing there with floating organs inside of its ribcage. It wasn¡¯t but a moment later that everything was gone, no sign of the boy¡¯s existence remained.


    A pair of floating eyeballs appeared, then vanished. This repeated a few times. A voice seemed to come from the eyes, ¡°If only I could see when I was completely invisible, even if it doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    He walked over to his door and locked it before laying in bed. Ever since he became a teenager his parents hadn¡¯t walked into his room without knocking before, probably out of fear of accidentally catching him in the act.


    The only thing worse than them seeing me doing that would be if they walked in when I was just a pair of floating eyes. It¡¯s pretty amazing I was able to keep my power a secret for this long and I definitely don¡¯t want that to change.


    Waking up to his alarm the boy ran over to his mirror, only a pair of floating eyes were visible. A single word escaped his transparent lips, ¡°Awesome.¡±


    He had tested it out on the objects he had turned invisible but was now sure of it with his body too. ¡°Anything I turn invisible will stay that way until I turn it back.¡±


    His body slowly began coming back, one layer at a time. Standing there he attempted to fix his straight black hair that had flattened out on the side where he had slept. Unable to do so he rubbed his almond shaped eyes while releasing a yawn as the excitement from his experiment waned.


    He quickly showered, dressed, and left for school while ignoring the sounds coming from his parents¡¯ room. He was always thankful that they had adopted him since they were such loving people. However they could be a little too loving at times.


    Gross. Whenever they get behind closed doors they turn into animals no matter the time of day.


    Locking the front door behind him he took a deep breath, ¡°You can do this. I¡¯m ready even if he says no but I¡¯ll give it one last shot¡­ I¡¯m not that scared kid anymore.¡±


    He had left his house early in case he was able to see her. If I get to talk to her I¡¯ll probably just skip school today. Sure Mom and Dad might get mad but that doesn¡¯t matter. Not if I get to see her.


    Knock, knock, KNOCK!


    His heart raced as the heavy footsteps grew louder. The door flung open and a tall, round, dark skinned man stepped towards him. The man eyed him, ¡°Who the hell are you and why are you knocking on my door so early in the morning?¡±


    The boy tightened all the muscles in his body to control his nervous energy, ¡°I¡¯m John. I was hoping to speak with Mary.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Oh, I remember you now. You¡¯re that chink-boy that used to run around with my daughter aren¡¯t you? I thought I made it clear the last time we spoke that you needed to stay away from my girl. Did I not hit you hard enough?¡±


    ¡°Please, I only want to talk to her.¡±


    The tall man shut his front door behind him, ¡°Listen here you little bastard. You and your devilish intentions are never getting near my daughter, you understand, boy?¡±


    Finally the emotions overcame John, ¡°Just let me talk to her! I haven¡¯t seen her in years. What did I do wrong? I don¡¯t understand, if I could just ask her?¡±


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    The man shoved John and he flew right over the three steps and slammed into the uneven stone pathway to the porch.


    Click.


    As John rushed to his feet in a rage he saw the gun in Mary¡¯s Father¡¯s hand. ¡°If you think you can come on my property and yell at me you¡¯ve got a surprise coming for you.¡±


    John froze at the sight of a firearm, even if it wasn¡¯t pointed at him. What the fuck is wrong with this guy! He only hit me last time, but now he¡¯s pulling out a gun! Is it because I¡¯m older now? I¡¯m still only 15!


    His heart pounded as his feet hit the ground. The second his mind had started working again he had turned and ran. Tears formed in his eyes.


    What did I do Mary? Whatever I did I¡¯m sorry. He wiped the tears from his eyes after coming to a stop since he was far enough away. I have to know. So I hope you forgive me for what I¡¯m about to do.


    Going through the motions at school it wasn¡¯t long before lunchtime. No one had spoken to him all day, though that wasn¡¯t surprising since he didn¡¯t have any friends. Everyone stayed away from him for the most part since he was known as a stalker. His obsession over some girl had long ago caused them to isolate him. It wasn¡¯t just the people at his school. His parents too had treated him differently when they found out about his obsession with that girl.


    Even if it¡¯s the whole world against me, it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m going to see you again.


    Luckily his parents had long thought him over it and had gone back to treating him like they always had.


    John hurried out of his classroom; he knew he didn¡¯t have much time before the kids came for him. Darting into the boy¡¯s bathroom he entered a stall and began turning himself invisible. He had gotten good at it over his years of practice. Now just a floating pair of eyes once more he opened the stall door and looked in the mirror. The floating eyes began to fade and his vision became foggy. Now a ghostly set of eyes he walked out of the boy¡¯s bathroom and into the girl¡¯s.


    The eyes were faded but if someone knew what they were looking for or happened to stare right at them they were easy to spot. However someone just walking by could easily miss them. He once again entered an empty stall. Closing the door and locking it he sat down on the toilet.


    The chatter of the teenage girls droned on in the background as he was lost in his thoughts. Those assholes are lucky I can¡¯t let anyone know about my power or else I would have put a stop to this a long time ago. After all if people knew I could become invisible they would probably burn me at the stake or lock me up at least. If not for the supernatural power then for the crime of being labeled as a pervert. I¡¯m not a pervert. Anyways, who steals lunch money anymore? Maybe they are just that poor. Even if they are that, it doesn¡¯t make them not assholes.


    The school day was over before he knew it. He went to bed early that night. After hearing the typical sounds of his parents starting their nightly skinship ritual John snuck out of the house. The nights always helped me clear my mind and make decisions.


    Walking while thinking much time and distance had passed. ¡°it¡¯s settled then,¡± I¡¯m going to sneak into her house and ask her myself since that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been training with my power so much for. Maybe once I talk to her she¡¯ll understand. I can even tell her about my power to show her that she can trust me. I never got to it when we were younger.


    John felt someone grab him from behind and then something cold touched his neck. Instantly he froze just like when he had seen the gun. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. Give me your wallet and we¡¯ll both walk away like this never happened. Or you can do something stupid and I¡¯ll air out your neck.¡±


    John could barely speak, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have a wallet.¡±


    The cold knife pressed harder against his neck, ¡°What?¡±


    John felt as if his heart was skipping beats left and right. ¡°My Dad says I don¡¯t need a wallet until I have a job.¡±


    The knife pulled away from his neck, ¡°A job-your dad? How old are you?¡±


    John stuttered, ¡°Fif¡­ Fifteen.¡±


    ¡°Jesus kid what are you doing out here this late?¡± The man¡¯s grip began to loosen on John.


    Kid? He¡¯s right. Same as back when I was 10 and Mary¡¯s father beat me. I¡¯m acting like I did back then, no, like I did earlier today. Weak, I¡¯m weak. Stop being weak! John spun around and slammed his hand to the man¡¯s chest, ¡°I¡¯m not a kid!¡±


    Immediately the man, his clothes, and the knife he was holding vanished. Then came his screams, ¡°See! What! I can¡¯t SEE! What happened to me?¡±


    ¡°I have to prove I¡¯m not that stupid kid anymore to Mary.¡± John stood there confidently. Wait, what do I do now? He knows about my power. The man continued to scream in the background while John thought. All he really knows is that he went blind. Even if he told the world somehow I think I would be fine.


    Suddenly a loud crash rang out and the mans screaming stopped. Snapping back to reality John looked up as a car was skidding to a stop after the impact. John quickly turned invisible and ran home.

 Fathers House

    Hyperventilating, John tried to convince himself, ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault. He.. if he hadn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t know. He¡¯s a criminal. No one will miss someone like that. Yeah, he¡¯s just a bad guy and the world will be better off without him.¡± John curled up in his bed and faded away.


    John woke up and went to school as if the night before had never happened. While hiding in PE he daydreamed. What am I going to wear? It has to be something nice. Something that shows I¡¯m mature. Mary is 18 now so I have to let her know that I¡¯m not a kid. A suit then. But I don¡¯t have a suit. I could steal some money but it might draw attention if I buy a suit. I¡¯ll just have to steal a suit then.


    Standing up John slipped into the locker room, changed, and left the school. He arrived at the mall and found his way to a men¡¯s clothing store. With his bookbag emptied and invisible, he picked out the pieces of clothing he wanted, turning them invisible and stuffing them into his book bag. It wasn¡¯t long before it was full.


    Walking around the mall he finally found a store with flowers. The yellow ones were always her favorite. Grabbing a bushel they disappeared in his hand.


    A voice came from behind, ¡°Excuse me, do you need help finding anything?¡±


    He quickly turned with a nervous laugh, ¡°Oh no thank you. I was just looking.¡±


    The voice belonged to a rather tall and scary older woman with dull green eyes. She seemed to be scrutinizing John while scanning the area around him. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll be going then.¡± John made his way out of the mall and to Mary¡¯s house.


    Standing outside he changed into his suit. Are suits supposed to be this loose? It doesn¡¯t matter, a suit is a suit.


    Standing around the side of the house John waited. Night came and he jumped the fence into the backyard. Standing on the back porch it was a couple of hours before Mary¡¯s father came out for his nightly backyard drink. The man opened the door before going back and grabbing his glass with ice and the bottle of alcohol.


    Perfect.


    John slipped in, careful not to move too fast to stay quiet. This place is spotless, nothing is on the counters at all. Almost like they didn¡¯t own anything or just moved in. Now which door is it?


    He began putting his ear to each door. Not only is it spotless but noiseless. Is she not even here? Wait, what the hell is this?


    John approached the door that had multiple locks, on the outside. This must be a storage room or something. Even so, might as well check it. John put his ear to the door and listened carefully. Water, that must be a shower. She¡¯s got to be in here.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Scanning all the locks John noticed that all were unlocked except for the two latch locks at the top and bottom of the door. Undoing them he cracked the door and peered inside. It was a plain, almost empty-looking bedroom that was illuminated by a low-level orange lamp. There was a door off to the side of the room that was slightly open, letting a much stronger light escape into the dim room.


    John shut the door behind him as he entered the room and snuck over to the bathroom door. Opening it slightly his floating pair of eyes came around it. Instantly He saw a woman in the shower. He had expected as much but what caught him off guard was the fact that the shower was a completely clear, seemingly magnifying, glass shower.


    He jerked his head back accidentally bumping it into the door frame.


    A soft voice came from the bathroom as John backed away, ¡°Father?¡±


    John stood there, his heart racing but holding his breath. After a long awkward moment, he could hear her begin to move again, resuming her shower. John now paced back and forth. Was that her? That can¡¯t be! She¡¯s so much.. Bigger. Maybe her mother and father got back together? But that voice, it was almost certainly Mary¡¯s.


    John stood there thinking of what he was going to say to her. Before he knew it she was opening the door, dressed in a thin nightgown. He couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her as she stared at the bed. She then sat down on the edge of it and faced the bathroom door. Her face was blank but still held remarkable beauty to John.


    John stood there hesitantly. I don¡¯t know what to say. I can¡¯t just suddenly appear in her bedroom. What other option is there? John¡¯s mind continued to race as time passed. He noticed Mary¡¯s shoulders jolt.


    The door opened leaving her father standing in the doorway. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I left the latches unlocked. Oh, but of course, my little girl didn¡¯t leave.¡±


    John was in the corner before he knew it, his vision almost completely blank as he made his ghostly eyes nearly invisible. However, her father¡¯s own eyes never left Mary. It didn¡¯t take long for John to notice, making his eyes more visible so he could see what was happening.


    What is he doing? Why is he taking off her?¡­ he¡¯s not.


    Mary turned her head to the corner of the room John was standing in. John had never seen her eyes so empty, as if she wasn¡¯t even alive.


    He can¡¯t!.. But she¡¯s?... Is this why¡­ How long has¡­ John dropped to his knees, the man¡¯s loud voice masked any sounds John made, including his sobs.


    While tears ran down his face, and his body stiffened as if he had long been dead, not a single tear fell from Mary¡¯s eyes.


    After a time her father¡¯s voice died down. He brushed the hair out of her face as Mary lay there, ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡± After leaving the room the sound of numerous locks clicking played rhythmically.


    John stared into Mary¡¯s eyes and unknowingly she stared into his. It was a long time before she moved, making her way into the bathroom, the door shutting behind her. It was even longer before John moved. He hugged his legs tightly trying to stop the shaking.


    Mary didn¡¯t come back out of the bathroom and John didn¡¯t move from his fetal position in the corner. At some point, sound came from the door in the same rhythmic pattern as when it was locked.


    Moments later it opened. ¡°Come on Mary, let¡¯s eat some breakfast together.¡±


    Shockingly Mary¡¯s voice came from the bathroom, it was relaxed as if that hadn¡¯t happened ¡°Yes, Father.¡± She moved from form the bathroom out the door and into the hall, her father brushing her cheek as she did.


    A faint voice came from her room though she nor her father heard it, ¡°I didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m so sorry Mary. I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t know. Why didn¡¯t you tell me? How couldn¡¯t I have known? How was I supposed to know? I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t know.¡±