The party was in full swing. I was turning fifty when my friends decided to throw me a big birthday party at the local supper club. There was music and plenty of drinks, but I hadn’t seen the birthday cake yet.   “Hey Bob, what’s a birthday party without a birthday cake?” in a somewhat slurred voice, “Oh there will be a cake Matt. We are just putting some final touches on things.” I smiled at that thinking _what did these guys do now? _   I didn’t have to wait long because all the sudden I saw one of those large birthday cakes that you see in the movies being rolled out. I hope these guys didn’t get me a stripper. Delores would be so pissed if she knew I had a stripper. I was lucky she let me go out tonight for my birthday with the guys, she never did trust Bob…even though he was my best friend.   Bob gestured for me to come over as he staggered over to the cake and then made an announcement. “Everybody may I have your attention. This is my best friend Matt and since it is your fiftieth birthday we thought we would get you something special.” he said as bowed and waved his hand in the air like a circus master.   I stood and smiled and waited for the show to begin, but nothing happened. Mike stood staring at the cake and again announced that it was something special, but still nothing. A look came over his face of frustration and he walked over and knocked on the cake and said, “It’s time, come out.” All the sudden there was some movement in the cake and the top opened up, but it wasn’t a stripper, it was something far worse, a clown.   “Hey there gentleman, I’m here to entertain.” The clown said in a growling voice that matched his outfit. He had red hair in an afro with white make up and dark circles around his eyes. His face was painted on crooked like The Joker in Batman. His outfit was red and black with big black boots to complete the ensemble.   Everyone stood in complete shock and didn’t move until they saw the machete pulled out from inside the cake, and then everyone started to scatter. Running for the exits only to find out that they had been locked from the outside by someone, he must have had an accomplice.   The clown jumped down from the cake and began swinging and hacking at people. Blood began to fly all around. People began to slip and slide as the floor became a crimson ice-skating rink. A group of guys tried to tackle him, but he seemed to have superhuman strength and just tossed them aside.   Bob was standing right in front of me and turned around with a huge smile on his face and said “don’t worry Matt, he won’t hurt you. This is my gift to you.”, “What do you mean a gift for me? Why would you think I would want this?”. Bob began to laugh and in between chuckles said “I know you wanted a promotion, but these assholes were in front of you. You were never going to be promoted if they were here.”   That’s when I looked around and noticed that he was right. All of these guys were my competition for the supervisor position that I was applying for…” Bob you are one sick son of a bitch.”, “I know.” he said and looked around one more time before looking at me and saying, “Happy birthday buddy.”

Ben’s vision blurred before he snapped back to what was happening in front of him. His closest friends were clapping and cheering for him and there was a single layer cake laid before him, with 34 candles lit on top of it. Ben managed a half smile and took a deep breath and then blew out the candles. He felt like a kid again. Ben glanced past his crowd of friends again towards the tree line, but the man with the half burnt face that was menacingly staring at him mere seconds before was gone. “Who the fuck was that? Where did he go?”Ben thought, panic replacing the breath he just exhaled over the birthday cake.

At 37 years old, you have three minutes until you are halfway through your lifespan, and four minutes until you’ve lived most of your life. At least according to the average lifespan of people in your country.

This isn’t the first time you’ve seen it looming over you, but every time you blink, it’s closer than it was before. You’re sometimes reminded of it when you’re alone with your thoughts, if only for a moment, before you force it away.

But you know that someday, it will take you away with it no matter how much force you use.

Two minutes left.

The sands of time feels like sandpaper on your skin, bristly and prickly. It litters your locks like dandruff, stuck between your toes, inside the sleeves of your clothes, and underneath your fingernails. You are 37 years old.

But you still feel like you’re in your twenties, don’t you?

One minute left.

Honestly, some days you don’t want to be alive. You say you feel dead when you come back from work, after all. But other times, you will watch thriller shows about people putting their own lives before their loved ones, and you can’t help but wonder if you would do the same in such a situation.

Your time is almost up nonetheless.

Happy birthday.

Anxiety was growing in me with every single thought that crossed my mind, with every step I was taking, I was feeling closer and closer to the end. I was shaking and words kept coming and running in me as memories were kept in this interior loop and chasing circles. Faces that I couldn’t recognise filled my mind with their laughter and joy. I was holding on to familiar faces, familiar smiles and shiny silver bracelets in the way that only a dreamer can. I was still very close of driving myself off the the road, but I never wanted to be left alone. I wasn’t searching for empty roots and bones. My mind was playing me a game with unknown rules. It had everything settled down and I was the only one who needed to play around, pretending it wasn’t a last goodbye.

Suddenly, from down the road came my nightmare dressed in black, disguised as my little friend. And, soon, I fond myself running from place to place, chasing and begging my enemy to run slower and wait for me. Not only that my little friend didn’t listen to a words that I said, he kept running away from me, like I would’ve been the dream killer.

My so called friend ran away. I was very disappointed but I wanted to come back and celebrate with all the happy and friendly strangers. When I turned around, I was standing at the crossroad. I chose one path and started running. I heard my heart beating heavy as I fell into another painful dream of mine. I had my eyes open but I was into my own world, my puzzle that kept me away from reality. As I escaped from the first nightmare, another one caught me and I fell down into the black hole. I got carried away one more time while knowing how time went by.

When I taught that I’m completely lost, many hands pulled me back to my place and hurried me back to the strangers. Their faces had no expression and their touch was lifeless. I understood what they wanted me to do, but it was way too late…I was late. The party was over, I missed everything and all my struggles were in vain. All strangers went away, right after devastating my place. My closed once have been searching for me for hours and they couldn’t believe that nightmares stole me. Nightmares blinded time and let me go when danger was around.

They scream at me and I couldn’t say anything. I was filled with empty smiles and sharp lies. I was marked by the lack of time.

This is going to be the best birthday ever. I finally get to celebrate it without having to share a party with my sister. All my friends are here and…oh, even my crush Ben. This is perfect! We have pizza and soda in the basement and snacks. Everything that I wanted as a child, it was all here in this house. Now I know what you may be thinking…I must be a pretty entitled brat if I thought that all my past birthdays sucked. That’s not entirely true. I’ve enjoyed playing with my sister and eating cake with her…but it was only ever one cake. And that cake was always her choice since she was the youngest. I almost never got to invite more than a friend to come while Lucy got to have as many friends as she wanted. On top of that, Mom would rarely pay attention to when I was opening my presents…so yeah, now you can see that I never really enjoyed my birthday.

So when I found out that Lucy wanted her own birthday this year and not share it, I was thrilled and begged Mom and Dad to let this happen. They gave in and I cheered. I was so very happy about this. Lucy was smiling. I guess she knew how unhappy I was and wanted to give me the spotlight this time.

So now I am sitting at a table with all my friends as we talk and joke with each other. It’s the best time. Lucy was eating her pizza and I could tell she was happy. Dad came down with a pink cake that I finally got to pick out and I just stare at it as if it is the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was small…smaller than Lucy’s. But I didn’t care, it was still the most beautiful because I technically got to pick it out. “Make your wish.” Dad says after everyone sings happy birthday. And I do. The lights suddenly turn off and I look around. Okay. Whoever flicked off the lights as soon a I blew the candles, that was pretty good.

The lights turn back on and I see no cake. Seriously? Okay, the joke is no longer fun—“ Dad comes in with the same cake. Everyone starts singing happy birthday and Dad tells me to make a wish.

“Wait…I already did that.” I say. Everyone stares at me as if I had said something crazy. “Umm…good one kiddo. Come on, make your wish.” Dad says…so I do. And the same thing happens, the lights go out and…Dad comes in with the same cake. “Seriously. What is going on? Where is Lucy?” I ask, remembering Lucy sitting near one of my friends. Dad tilts his head and looks at everyone. “Who is Lucy, Maggie?” “My sister! She was here a moment ago!” “You’re our only child, kiddo. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I get up and race out of the basement to go look for my sister…something’s off. This isn’t right. Every single picture…is me. There are no pictures of Lucy anywhere. It’s as if she never existed. I go to her room and it’s just a guest room.

“Who are you looking for, Mags?” Someone asks and I turn to see Mom standing in the doorway. “Mom, where’s Lucy?” “Lucy? Who is Lucy?” “Your second daughter!” “Are you feeling okay, Maggie?” “Don’t suddenly ask if I’m okay and pretend you never had another child! Lucy, my sister!” I grab my phone to find one of her…but there are none. It’s as if every memory of her left in thin air. Did any of her friends know her…?

Mom grabbed my shoulder. “Come blow out your candles.” She says and I pull away. “I already made my…wish.” My voice trails off as I realize something…. “Oh? What did you wish for, then?” It takes me a second or two to respond. “I wished that I could have a birthday every year and…for Lucy to be out of the picture….”

“Where is Uncle Derek?” the little boy asked. He had on a conical paper hat that was bigger than his head itself. The hat read “Birthday Boy” with a big number four. “He is probably still outside.” His aunt said to him. “I am sure he will be back in soon.” She bent down and took the boy’s hand, leading him into the kitchen. “Would you like some chips?” “Yes.” The boy said with a big smile. As he grabbed for them his aunt, Marie, could see Derek sitting on the steps outside through the kitchen window. There was an ashtray half full to his left, and five empty beer cans to his right. She walked over to the window and cracked it just a tad. “Jesus, Derek, we have only been here an hour.” She whispered, as not to be overheard by the rest of the party guests. “Not my fault they had the dumb thing on football Sunday.” He gruffed without looking at her. “He is opening presents in a couple of minutes. Please be inside for that, at least.” She shut the window and walked back into the living room. Derek took another draw of a cigarette and stubbed it out. He got up slowly, took a big gulp of beer, shook it to make sure it was empty, and placed it next to the other five. He walked slowly to the back door, opened it without making a sound, and slunk to the back of the kitchen. He could see the gifts from here. Marie turned from the couch and they caught eyes. Derek put a comical smile on and waved to her. Marie rolled her eyes and turned back around. “Just five minutes.” Derek said under his breath. “Just five minutes with these morons and I can go back outside.” He walked to the fridge and grabbed another beer. When he opened it a million eyes turned and looked at him. Derek looked back. “Happy birthday!” He yelled and chuckled to himself as he walked back to the edge of the kitchen. “Is he okay?” Marie’s sister, Tonya, asked her. “Who knows.” Marie said back. “His drinking has been really bad. Which makes no sense since he barely works. What is there to be stressed about?” “Oof.” Tonya replied.

….to be continued

I was at my friend’s , Axar, birthday party. All was going well. The party was normal. There was cake, games and presents. First, we played pin the tale to the donkey. Then, there was the piñata. Inside was plastic spiders. Then, we had cake. It was a delicious cookie cake. Then, presents were opened. We laughed and had a good time.

Suddenly, the door opened, and an officer walked in.

“We know what you did.”

I laughed. The room changed, and all around me were the ghosts of my friends, and the turns of the party.

Evan is having his birthday, he invited all of his classmates to come, that includes me. Almost everyone attended the party, a small portion doesn’t have time for this or dislikes Evan. Everyone was enjoying the party, but Evan still haven’t made his appearance after he welcomed everybody. Just as we’ve been confused and concerned, the light turned off. Evan’s parents and some of my classmates volunteered to go check the circuit. The rest of us were nervously waiting for them to fix the circuit, but after a while they still didn’t come back, the light was still out. Some of us were inpatient, they left the party early. I went inside the bathroom as I had drank too much drinks. When I got out, I saw timid girl and boys screaming in terror. A blood soaked mysterious figure stand in front of the door, he wore a smiley mask and a black jacket, and holds a knife. The figure seem to be vexed by the crowd’s screams, he broke into the house, everyone scattered around the house trying to escape this scene. Some brave and overconfident people tried to repress the figure, but they seems underestimated what a knife can do. They were all knocked down with a single stab, blood spilled from their body to the floor creating a small pool of blood. Witty me has been hiding in the attic, I tried to call the police, yet the WI-FI had been cut off, I’m certain that it must be that murderer. I simultaneously heard screams of my classmates, they were caught by the figure. They were killed one by one slowly as my anxiety build up. Eventually the sound of the figure came closer and closer to me. As I heard the door opening cautiously, I recognized that my life would end here. The figure appeared and approached to me, I saw the face under the mask, it’s Evan.

A little four year old boy was having his birthday party in the backyard. His uncle had taken the responsibility of making the cake, his mother was in charge of watching the children outside; his grand mother was decorating. The boys farther was out gathering his sons big birthday surprise.

Time flew as the boy and his friends had fun cloning everything and anything. Getting into all of the snacks, and the only time the calmed down was for cake.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear….” Everyone sang; then the awaited time came time to cut the cake.

The little man could not hold his excitement in any longer and fisted a whole bunch of cake into his face. One handful after another. Then everythig stopped, hard and sudden.

The boy gasped gripping at his throat, slowly closing his eyes and falling backwards off the bench.

Everyone gasped and screamed in terror, the children burst into tears and snot rockets rolled down their faces. As some adults consoled the children ushering then inside the house the others gathers around the boy freaking out and trying to get him to breath.

They tried everything, rolling him over, CPR, mouth to mouth, everything but it was too late. The boy was declared dead by the paramedics that had just arrived, “what happened to they boy?”

“No one knows, he was happily eating cake when he grabbed his throught and fell over.”

No one had yet looked at the cake to see that it was the reason the boy died. The rocks inside it caused him to choke and die from lack of oxygen.

The uncle quickly scurried off with the cake and pulled out the remaining few rocks, then hurried back outside where all the adults were crying.

No one ever suspected a thing he got away with it the boy was dead nothing could go wrong thought the uncle. But was that something else that could screw it all up? Like a security camera…

(Authors note: Happy birthday to the co-founder!!)

I keep hearing it.

The rough knocking of a wooden door.

But there are no doors here…right?

I glance around at the cars theamed birthday party. Little kids running around playing tag. Or trying to take a bite of the hot pink race car cake.

My little brother runs over and tugs on my shirt, “Issac play hide and seek with us!”

I glance behind him to see his little friends, all of them looking at me with almost pleading eyes.

Pleading… bloody eyes?

I see their eyes dripping crimson, dripping down their cheeks. Dripping down onto the floor one drop at a time.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

But then I blink. And everything is back to normal. Just little kids staring up at me looking really annoyed.

“So?” Ben says loudly, “Will you play with us?”

I nod, distracted. The knocking is back and I just can’t ignore it. But I have to play with my brother so I nod again and put my head in my heads. Counting to 10.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1…

I turn around and trip on something heavy. I crash to the floor, scraping my hands on the once smooth floor. I feel something slowly trickling into my sock and that’s when I see what I tripped on.

I stifle a scream and scramble away as fast as I could possibly go.

It’s a body. And not just anyone’s body.

Ben’s.

The lights overhead start flickering on and off. Each time the yellow fluorescent lights turn on, more and more bodies appear.

Little kids with blood soaked eyes. All in grotesque positions, their mouths open in silent screams.

I stagger further back, my heart pounding. The knocking sounds growing louder, more insistent, begging for my attention, and I realize that the knocking is coming from the floor beneath me.

Desperate I shakily rise to my feet and run towards the exit. The walls seem to close in on me, and the once cheerful decorations, warp into nightmarish figures.

My fingers tremble as I try to open the door of the exit, but it won’t budge. The knocking becomes overwhelming loud and I feel a cold breath on my shoulder.

I turn around to see a dark figure emerging from the shadows. It’s soulless eyes staring into mine.

“Please,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face, “Let me out.”

I blink and suddenly everything shifts. The knocking is gone, the dark figure has vanished, and I’m back at the party. Laughter fills the air as I watch the cake being served.

My brother tugs on my shirt once more, “Come on! Let’s have cake!”

I sit next to Ben and observe everything around me. The cheerful chaos and the once haunting scene is now just an ordinary birthday party, with no trace of the nightmare that felt so real.