Short story: Last Birthday

Hello, I've been on Pokebay for a while now but have been to nervous to post anything so after many months finally decided to post a short story I wrote a few days ago. I hope that at least some of you out there enjoy it. It's a horror, or at least my attempt at a horror. And if you copy it without my permission I will kill you.

I was dreaming of boys of all things.
Tall, tanned, muscular, everything a teenage girl could wish for. They were seated in desks all around me and I suddenly became aware that I was back in school. I was sitting in the back, not in my usual spot, and I had a great view of everyone in front of me. One of the perks about dreams is that things tend to lean your way, so it was no surprise that the cutest boy in the entire school was sitting only a single seat in front of me.
Oh, did I mention that I had a major crush on him?
So there I was, sitting in the back blushing like an idiot while everyone else just kinda did whatever. Every word the teacher was saying was getting more and more distant as my attention focused on my crush like a sniper would focus in on his target. I could practically see the words 'target locked' flash across my vision.
I looked down on my desk and found a sheet of notebook paper. My name, Amber, was written in the company of my crush's with cute little hearts written all around them. I don't think boys really get why we do stupid stuff like that. My blush deepened and I took a stick of gum off my desk. Of course, it was my favorite kind.
I looked back up at my crush and my eyes looked him up and down, focusing on his hair. I wonder how it would feel if I ran my fingers through it? I bit my lip, my blush growing hotter. Thank goodness this was only a dream. I tapped my pencil against my desk, glancing back down at the notebook paper.
That was funny.
My usually neat, well neat by my standards, handwriting had been replaced by gibberish scribbles. Nearly the entire paper was covered with the alien symbols, the only legible writing in the center of the paper. It was written in jagged, all capital letters and circled three times.
TODAY IS YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY.
What the hell?
I brushed the paper off my desk. Well that was defiantly weird, usually my weird dreams involve flying goats with cowboys wearing really tiny shorts. I looked back up again and was quite disappointed to find my crush had vanished. Heck, everybody was gone. Written on the chalkboard was the same cryptic sentence, over and over again.
TODAY IS YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY.
Seriously creeped out, I quickly gathered my things. Looking out of the window I discovered that it was pitch black outside. I swore I saw something move out there so I sprinted out of the class and into the darkened hallways. I turned around and my vision was assaulted by red.
The gray stone of the hallway was soaked in blood, a grisly work of art. I backed up, dropping my things in surprise when my heel hit the lockers. The lights flickered overhead and the air seemed thicker. Water, it was thick like water. Suddenly I was drowning, suffocating. I couldn't scream as darkness overcame me and my green eyes closed against my will.
I jerked into a sitting position. Panting, my eyes opened and I surveyed my surroundings. My room was dark and quiet. I reached over and turned on my bedside lamp, letting out a shaky breath. I didn't usually have nightmares, and this one had left me with a feeling I couldn't shake.
I tried to laugh it off but it sounded forced and unnatural. I decided that after a scare like I wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon so I swung my legs over the side of my bed and heaved myself up. I stretched, yawning unnecessarily loud. I walked over to my dresser and unplugged my phone, tapping the screen to check the time.
12:01.
Great it was midnight. Wait, there was something else. My eyes read the popup on the bottom and widened. It read "Happy birthday Amber!". Memories came rushing back into my head. The message on the paper and the chalkboard. TODAY IS YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY.
Just a coincidence, right? I becha I was just thinking about my birthday before I fell asleep. No need to get creeped out by this. Maybe some coffee will calm my nerves. I left my bedroom for the kitchen, scoffing at myself when I found myself moving at a fairly quick pace. Why was I filled with a growing sense of dread?
As I passed by my front door a chill spread down my spine. How warm is it in here? I checked the thermostat and it said sixty five. I turned it up a few degrees but it didn't seem to make a difference. Focus girl, you came here for coffee. I measured out the scoops and water without any problems, but as the dark liquid boiled there was nothing to prevent my mind from wandering off.
It was still pretty cold. I couldn't help but glance at the front door. It stood there silently but hardly seemed benevolent. Something about it seemed amiss. I decided that a quick peak outside would calm my calm my restless mind. The chill worsened with each step I took towards the door. I pressed a hand against the cold metal and looked out of the window.
It was pitch black outside, only a tiny sliver of the moon shone through the thick gray clouds. I looked around for anything suspicious, scanning the trees in the distance for anything that stood out. Me and my parents lived just outside of a big forest. Apparently deep in the woods there was an old prison that got shut down for unknown reasons.
Seeing nothing of any particular interest I turned back to get my coffee. I had just taken a sip from the warm liquid when my phone vibrated. Probably someone deciding to wish me a happy birthday at the earliest possible second. I reached for the phone and flipped it open, unsurprised to find that I had an unread text. I didn't recognize the number. Intrigued, I made the mistake of reading it.
TODAY IS YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY.
That's what the first line said. It was written exactly in the same way it was in my dream. The next lines were typed in a normal font, nothing unusual about them apart from the fact that they were seemingly unrelated to the text above. It seemed like they were from a diary.
"July 1st, 19**;
Nobody wants to be my friend. Not even my mom and dad. So, I ran away from home. I found a nice place to live in the woods though. There's not many people there, nobody who will try to hurt me. Until she showed up one day. Such a nice girl."
I looked up from the text message. What was going on? The lights overhead were flickering, not helping my paranoia. I tried to tell myself that they always do that but nothing seemed to calm me. My gaze traveled back to the front door.
Someone was looking through the window.
I recoiled and screamed, dropping my coffee. The figure was obviously feminine and quite tall. Her black hair spilled down to her shoulders and she was draped in a tight fitting black business suit and skirt. The most distinct feature of the woman was her face, rather her lack of one. She had no facial features at all, just a blank unreadable surface.
I screamed again as I backed away from the door, the only thing that separated me from the entity outside. The faceless woman's head turned so she appeared to be watching my every movement despite the fact that she didn't have eyes. I was trapped between an instinct to flee and the feeling to not turn my back on the door.
The entity just stood there, watching. It seemed to radiate a malign energy and just looking at it made me feel sick to my stomach. I screamed for a third time and instinct overpowered me. I turned and bolted, the hallway becoming a blur around me as I raced towards my parents room. "Mom dad there's something outside!" I cried as I ran into their room, slamming the door to their room shut behind me.
Their bed was empty.
Where could they have gone? "Holy crap, holy crap..." I said to myself, over and over for all the good that did. My heart was pounding in my ears, out of both fright and exhaustion from the rapid pace I had been running. Dear god what was it doing here? I grimly thought back the text message, rather the first part, and my spirits sank.
This certainly wasn't the birthday present I had expected.
Miraculously, I still managed to keep a grip on my phone. I had almost crushed the poor thing in my panic but it was there, although I probably wouldn't have noticed it if it didn't vibrate in my hand. I knew I shouldn't have but I opened it.
One unread text message from the strange number.
"I'm going to kill you
July 3rd, 19**;
I finally found someone who will play with me. She doesn't seem to mind that I don't have a face, she's the first person who didn't call me a monster. She's so nice and she has such beautiful eyes. I wish I had eyes. My parents said I was born without a face because a demon stole it. Her eleventh birthday is in a few days, maybe I'll get her a special present."
I looked up from the phone, gulping. I couldn't hear anything outside. My parents had their shades drawn so it was impossible to see if there was anything out there. Then again, it was also impossible for anything to look into the room. I took a minute to try and decide what I should do when I suddenly remembered the phone.
"Why didn't I think of this earlier? Goodness Amber," I asked myself, dialing 911. The phone rang once, twice, a third time, I was tempted to start humming the jeopardy theme despite the urgency of the situation. The phone rang for what must have been the one billionth time before it just cut to static. Great, so there goes my first plan.
As I was thinking of plan B something caught my eye.
It was on my parent's nightstand, and I was pretty sure it wasn't there when I had walked, sorry ran, into the room. I walked over to the nightstand and lying there was a piece of notebook paper, not unlike the one from my dream. Only one word was written on this one.
Liar

I threw the paper to the floor. I don't know what kind of witchcraft this is but I do know that I need to think of something fast. I can hear something outside, a faint rustling like wind blowing through the trees. Although I have a feeling that it isn't the wind. I look around the room for something I could use to defend myself against the thing outside.
The only thing I found was a golf club hanging on the wall. Why couldn't my dad take up archery or fencing. I swung the golf club a few times, testing its weight. Gosh, it's kinda hot in here. Which is strange considering how cold it was in the kitchen; how much did I turn up the thermostat?
The crackle of fire made me whip around. The piece of notebook paper had burst into a white hot fire which was growing by the second. I searched for a way out as the fire consumed the room at an almost unnatural rate. The only escape was through the door I had entered through. I bit my lip as my hand wrapped around the knob, every fiber of my being expecting to see the woman in the suit behind the door.
I opened the door, instinctively flinching. She wasn't there. I ran out the door and through the hallway, sliding to a halt when I discovered another fire at the other end of the hallway. I cried in exasperation and turned into the only other way to go, my own room. Thankfully, the fire hadn't yet spread there.
The roar of the fire was right behind me. Smoke was starting to creep out from underneath the door. I coughed, pulling my shirt up to my nose in order to filter the air. The temperature was steadily beginning to climb, it must have been at least ninety degrees in the house. The smoke alarms were blaring, making it even more difficult to concentrate.
The only exit was my window. My room was only on the first floor so hopefully I wouldn't break a leg. I walked over and shattered the window with my golf club, making a mental note not to land near the shattered glass. That would be bad.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
My brain screamed to toss the infernal thing aside and let it burn in the fire. I don't know why but before I could even think about stopping myself I was flipping it open. Just like before, one new text message from the mysterious number. As the fire raged behind my door and the air became thick with smoke my eyes darted across the screen, reading every letter as fast as I could process them. The rest of the world seemed to fade away.
"You took my life
July 7th, 19**;
Today I stole her face. But, that's alright because she was my friend and friends help each other. After years of isolation I can finally roam free without fear of being attacked or labeled a monster. I feel a little bad about taking her face on her birthday, I told her that I would only borrow it, but I guess it's my birthday now. I am her and she is me. Please forgive me, I did it all for a good cause. I deserve it more than her anyways. But don't worry, I'll take good care of your lovely face, my dear Amber."
I dropped the phone. By now the flames had started to consume my room, tongues of flame dancing up the walls and ceiling. I looked up and finally noticed that I was standing in front of my full body mirror. In the reflection, the woman in the suit was standing behind me.
I whipped around, screaming as the woman in the suit silently observed me. The fire seemed to curve around her, not a single spark landed on her perfect suit. I almost took a swing at her with the golf club but the window was closer. I leaped through without a second thought.
I had hardly hit the ground before I was up again, racing away from the blazing house and into the woods. The fire was so bright that it was almost as if it was day again. I took in huge gasps of the cold night air as I sprinted, keeping a firm grip on my golf club as I tore through branches, scraping my cheeks and arms. I nearly tripped and stumbled to regain my balance. I decided to take a moment to catch my breath, looking around and listening for any movement behind me. I couldn't hear anything so I turned around to continue on.
She was right there, standing beneath a dead tree.
I gasped in fright and, deciding that it was now or never, ran at the woman with my golf club aloft. She easily ducked under my uncoordinated swing. Her long arm lashed out and her cold fingers wrapped around my neck. I struggled to get free but she was surprisingly strong for someone with her thin build, capable of hoisting me up with one hand. My breath caught in my throat as terror wrapped around my heart. She tilted her head and seemed to look me over, apparently deciding against strangling me because she threw me into a tree. I slid to the ground, dazed.
I cleared the stars circling around my head and looked up just in time to see the woman advancing towards me with a sharpened wooden log in hand. I didn't even want to think about what she could do to me with that thing. I tried to back up but my back hit the trunk of the tree. Crap, I was cornered. She seemed to be taking her time, stalking towards me like a wolf would to its wounded prey.
I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of an easy kill.
Giving some kind of war cry I leaped up and tackled her, catching her by surprise. We hit the ground in a heap, thankfully with her at the bottom. She elbowed me in the face and threw me off of her. I landed pretty gracefully, spying my trusty golf club not too far off. The woman had by now rolled to her feet, her eyeless face turning left and right as she 'looked' for me. When she finally did find me it was too late.
My nine iron connected squarely with her temple. She reeled back instantly, raising a long arm to her injury to wipe blood that was welling out of her head. I struck again, screaming as I hit her with all of the might I could muster. This time the golf club slammed into her chin, knocking her up and off her feet. She landed a few feet back, trembling as she struggled to get up.
I walked over and planted a foot firmly into her stomach. "Not so tough anymore now are you?" I smiled. "Although I must admit you are pretty persistent. I would have never have thought you would have gone through all this trouble."
The woman gave a feral snarl as she tried to squirm out from my foot. It was kinda amusing to watch actually. I pressed down harder and her movements ceased. "How much longer did you plan on keeping this up? The fire was a nice touch by the way."
She made a few strained mumbles, intelligible to most but I understood the meaning behind them immediately. "Oh, you want me to give it back? Fat chance; with a lovely face like yours I actually can have a normal life for once. People always used to judge and hated me because I wasn't normal but that's behind us now, because I have your face you and took my place. Right Amber?"
The woman moaned.
"Oh, you're worried about your family aren't you? Well don't worry too much, I've been taking good care of them. Nice people they are; much nicer than my parents ever were. Thank you for giving them to me Amber, you're such a good friend for all of the things that you've done for me. I can assure you that when you're gone I'll take good care of your life."
An unexpected voice reached my ears. "Amber!" It was 'my' mother. Perfect. Amber looked towards the source of the sound and made a few struggled sounds. The blood across her face was dripping onto the ground. I kicked her in the ribs before I stepped off of her, rubbing my eyes to make them look watery as if I had been crying.
There were footsteps coming closer. "Mom!" I cried out and the footsteps quickened. From the brush came Amber's parents, both looking quite worried.
"Dear what happened?" her father asked me, looking me over. "We were at your grandparents house because your grandfather had another seizure. The next thing we knew our house was on fire."
"Oh daddy," I cried in a falsely scared tone. "That thing attacked me," I pointed to Amber's shaking body, trying my hardest not to smile.
Both her mother and father gasped and recoiled. "What is that? It's so ugly!"
"I don't know!" I cried. "It tried to kill me. Oh daddy," I buried my head into his leg. I could feel her father lightly pat me on the back.
"It's alright dear, everything is going to be fine now," he murmured. He turned to his wife. "Call the police dear."
He put his hands on my shoulders. "Stay here with your mother," I nodded, wiping an imaginary tear out of my eye. He stood up and cautiously approached Amber's prone body, grimacing at her ghastly figure. He stared at her a moment more as if deciding something, then lifted up a heavy boot over her bloodied head. "May you return to whatever hole you crawled out of demon," he said.
Amber weakly rose a hand towards him. "F-fath-"
The boot came down. And Amber was still.
There was a quiet voice, far too quiet for either of Amber's parents to hear. "How right you were Amber. Today was your last birthday."

OMG YAY you put it on pokebay...see this is what freaked me out, I love it!! :D

Thank you. :) I was also a bit weary of looking through my windows last night. :/

LOL and I love how you said you will kill anyone who copies it. *puts hand up* I wont copy...To busy working on Death Stalkers. ;)
Yeah I thought about the story before I went to sleep again..not the best idea. :(